“Marius. I was Marius the Violet Shadow…” The voice from the skull trailed off with each word, each vowel emphasized and extended like some caricature of a ghost. This was on top of the raspy nature of the voice and it was a strange voice even with the spell. She wondered if maybe this person had some trouble with his throat.

  As she heard the skull give its name she gasped. “You don’t mean that you were THE Violet Shadow.” She had heard about this person. She had read many books about them. Though it wasn’t a true question, she knew the spell would take it as her fishing for information. She folded down a second finger.

  They were a notorious yet legendary assassin from almost a hundred years ago who had become infamous for always leaving a message at the site of their crimes. “The Shadow sees.” That is what the messages written in purple paint near their targets said. That made the case sensational and many people at the time followed it. If Petra had been around back then she would have followed it, though she wouldn’t have admitted it. Maybe she would have tried to catch them as a freelance investigator. The police would have welcomed the help she would have thought, even if a century ago was a little behind the times regarding working women.

  “Yes… It is I. You have heard of me.” The voice continued.

  She decided that she would make a note of it. She at least knew the Shadow’s first name. She could easily use that information to solve the mystery. If she ended up leaving without finding the treasure she could at least try to gain some money by selling the solution to someone else. Maybe off the books to keep the princess from hearing about it.

  Something was bothering her though about how the skeleton was speaking. She listened to his words carefully, pushing all else from her mind.

  “Do you know the way to the treasure?” she asked quietly folding down a third finger.

  “Yes.” The skull said, “But it is a dangerous way.”

  “That’s okay.” She nodded, folding down the fourth finger. “What danger lays between here and the treasure?”

  “There is much danger. There are traps that will challenge your physical ability and your cleverness. There are arrows and flames and water and falling ceilings. Worst of all is the wraith of the labyrinth which hunts all the people down it sees as unworthy of the treasure. The treasure is not worth it to come so close to death.”

  She smiled softly and folded her thumb over her fingers. This would be her last question, and she had a good one.

  “You’re not talking because of the spell, are you?”

  Marius the skeleton tilted his head. “How did you find out?” his voice sounded more like a man’s now, closer to what she had expected to hear when using the speak with dead spell. The eyes stayed glowing though.

  “Your dead person impression could use some work I’m afraid, even if you are a skeleton. Your joints are loose as though they were still alive. You observed that I knew of you even though no corpse that speaks because of the spell has enough awareness to notice anything after death. You were face down pointed away from the entrance despite the unlikelihood of someone dying in that specific position. Worst of all, you had to sit up when none of the corpses I’ve used the magic on have moved anything aside from their mouths. Did you hear me coming and purposefully fall on your face so that I would think you were just a simple skeleton?”

  “Yes.” He sighed as he stood up. He was taller than her by about a foot. “And I would have gotten away with it had you not used that spell and also if you weren’t…” he tilted his head. “What are you? A police assistant?”

  “A private investigator.” She crossed her arms.

  “Well, times sure have changed I see.” He waved his skeletal hand. Petra noticed that every movement he made was exaggerated a bit to counteract his naturally inexpressive skull. “It’s been a while since I’ve been above ground. I have been retired for almost… I don’t know how long it’s been. Do you?”

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  “About 80 years?” she was sure that had been when the last murder committed by the Violet Shadow had occurred. She wasn’t sure if she liked Marius much. Her arms were now crossed. “That is if you are the Violet Shadow.”

  “Of course, I am the Violet Shadow!” he shouted. “Why would I lie about that?”

  “Because why would someone who did all those terrible things under an alias admit it?”

  “For the record, I only took jobs that I felt would improve the world. I didn’t kill anyone without investigating them thoroughly. Of course, I used a lot of aliases so that none of the clients who hired me to assassinate people I refused to kill would be able to come after me. Everything was in shadows and I’m sure many people were surprised when my messages appeared next to their targets.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I’ve read about you. There were some murders of people who didn’t deserve it.”

  “When you’re as famous as I got to be, people will begin to copy you. There wasn’t much I could do about that because as I dealt with one copycat two more would spring up. It was a never-ending battle.” He sighed. “You know what, I’m not going to argue about my righteousness. There’s no point, especially against someone who thinks highly of the law. I would like to return the favour of questions you have given me. What is a talented private investigator doing in the labyrinth when you could be making it big out in the light above?”

  “It’s a long story.” She said. “And I’m only going to tell it to you because I don’t think you have much of a life above ground anymore. Undead? I’m sure that has something to do with the treasure. Did you wish for it to make you immortal, but it didn’t keep your body from aging normally until it rotted into nothing but bones?”

  “I cannot tell you what my wish was, only that I had it granted. If I tell you I will lose what I gained and I kind of still need it. Also yes, I won’t tell anyone. I live in the labyrinth now. You know two of my secrets, it’s only right that I know some of yours.”

  She gave a nod as she began to tell her story, but she would not give him the full story. It was hard to trust an undead man who claimed to be an infamous assassin from a century ago.

  “I was working on solving a murder case. It was a simple case. It was easy to learn the culprit, but she is in a position where the law will not try her. Not even the king would do anything and only heaven is above him. Still, I put the word out there that she was a murderer, but she only reacted by making it impossible for me to do business. I’m… at the end of my rope and I need something to change quickly.”

  “And you think the treasure will help you?” he sounded amused as he said this. She imagined a smile on top of his skeletal grin.

  “Yes. Even if I don’t find the treasure, there are some things I can discover that will help me at least a little.”

  He laughed. “Believe me, there is nothing here but traps and the treasure.”

  “And you.” She pointed out. “I’m sure that there are many people who would pay to learn that there is an undead man in the labyrinth who claims to be the Violet Shadow.”

  He shook his head. “Would they believe you though? I can see that you don’t believe me.”

  She smirked. “I can be convincing if I try.”

  “Sure you can.” He brushed past her and she spun around to follow him. “If you think that is enough I think you should turn around and leave this place. You don’t want to find the treasure, trust me. A person who wishes for justice will not find happiness with a wish, trust me.”

  “How do you know I wish for justice?” she uncrossed her arms, reaching for the dagger at her side just in case this Marius wouldn’t allow her to leave. The dagger was gone. Her eyes widened.

  “Looking for this?” he said, lifting the dagger in his hand. “I know because you’re a private investigator and you took a case that should have been taken by the police but wasn’t. Also, that whole thing earlier where you were trying to judge me for my crimes. You’re not the only one who can make quick deductions.”

  She began to wonder if maybe this man was the Violet Shadow just as he had been trying to tell her. She felt fear at having nothing to protect herself with aside from the spare dagger that had been packed tightly into her bag.

  He poked the tip of the dagger. “Now, my dear private investigator. I don’t believe that you are really at the end of your rope. If you think my given name will help you then I will let you leave so you can tell the people who run the Violet Shadow Museum out of the boarding house I used to live in. Then you can live your happy life with everything that you have.”

  She thought. Other than Felix and the family that had adopted her when she was a small child, she didn’t have anything aside from her business. That would all be gone if she couldn’t deal with the princess. It didn’t matter how much money she made through sharing secrets.

  “And if I choose to stay and find the treasure?” she asked in a calm voice. Petra swallowed back the dread she felt at what his response would be.

  “Then I guess I need to come with you so that when you find the treasure and get your wish I can tell you that I told you so.”