Lapidary

I was running as fast as my human legs could carry me. I ran away from the attorney’s building, past the Big Bridge, and down an alley. I stopped, leaned forward, and puked. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the running or because Bellevue had inherited everything. When I was done, I wiped my mouth and wished I had a peppermint so that I could rid myself of the taste of bile.

I hadn’t planned on a destination – I had just wanted to get away. Yet, here I was, standing in front of Zimran Waverley’s house. Talking to him must have gotten stuck in the back of my mind. Had he chosen a location close to fountains, close to water, because he missed his home in Arameer?

I lifted my hand and knocked, waited several seconds, and knocked again.

“Hello!” I called.

I was beginning to think that no one was home, but just before I turned to leave, I heard a soft whispering. I placed my ears against the door to hear what the musky voice was saying. I couldn’t.

“It’s Natka Roqueze!” I said, but no one opened.

If I had something sharp with me, I would easily have been able to pick the lock in the door. I had been homeless for a few years where I’d learnt valuable skills, such as picking locks and people’s pockets. But that was before I had met Ryker, before he had changed my life for the better. Ryker had promised me I’d never go back to that hungry, worthless lifestyle again. But now I had nothing, and I would have to find a way to survive.

But first, I had to find a way inside Zimran’s house. I wasn’t sure why that thought chilled me to the bone, as if there was something strange waiting on the other side of the door. I headed toward the closest window. It was ajar, held in place by a latch. I plucked a small branch from the nearest tree and stuck it through the gap. I easily lifted the latch, pushed the window open, and heaved myself onto the ledge. I swung my legs inside, sniffed, and entered a dark room.

Something was wrong.

I didn’t have any supernatural abilities, but my sixth sense told me that something was off. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and goosebumps covered my arms. The whispering started again. It seemed to be only one voice, so muffled I almost thought the person was gagged.

I had entered through the kitchen window, and the first thing I noticed was a broken coffee cup on the floor. I stepped around the glass and inhaled the crispy scent of black burnt breakfast sausage. Ants covered the spoilt food, which made me think it had been left there for a while. One untouched plate sat on the kitchen table. I traversed the kitchen and slowly a cracked television screen came into view. Every part of my body screamed at me to turn back and leave the way I had entered, but I resisted those instincts and pushed forward, into the living room.

Then I saw him.

Zimran Waverley sat on a chair with his arms tied to the armrests, and a cloth shoved into his mouth. His blue hair clung to his face, as if he’d been sweating. His head lolled to the side, like that of a broken doll. Blood pooled around his chair, and his fingers had been cut off.

This was the second corpse I’d seen in the past week. I wanted to hurl, but my stomach was empty. I cast about me but couldn’t see anyone else. Who had been whispering?

A song began to play, making me jump. The music was coming from Zimran’s phone, which lay on the coffee table beneath the TV. I slowly reached for it and saw that it was Neron Shelby calling – no doubt to find out what had happened with the will.

I answered but couldn’t find the words.

“Zimran, you better fucking tell me what’s going on. Why were you not at the reading of the will? Why had Ryker changed his attorney days before his death? What the fuck is going on?”

I also wanted those answers. “Neron…”

He hesitated. “Natka? Where’s Zimran?”

“He’s dead,” I said.

“What? Where are you? How do you have his phone?”

“I’m at his house.”

“I’m on my way.”

I hung up before he could say anything else. I dropped the phone and would not call the Sky Watch. The previous time I had relied on them, they had dragged me to an interrogation room. I don’t know how long I stood there, staring at the corpse, before a knock sounded on the front door. I made my way over to the entrance, relieved to find the key in the keyhole, and twisted.

Neron stood in the doorway, frowning, and still wearing his suit. I pointed to the living room, and he didn’t hesitate to go there. I lingered in the doorway, trying to breathe.

“The Sky Watch are on their way,” he said when he returned.

I didn’t reply, and his worried eyes washed over me like a cold wave.

“Who could have done this?” I asked.

“I don’t know. There is no sign of forced entry.”

“It was Bellevue,” I decided. “She burnt the old will and replaced it after Ryker died. And his attorney could testify against that – that’s why she killed him.”

It was a very serious accusation, one punishable by death if refuted. Yet, I somehow knew Neron would never tell.

“She has everything,” I said.

“Not everything,” Neron said. “Ryker has a safe in Arameer. It’s yours.”

“You’re supposed to hand it over…”

“I’ll never do that,” Neron said. “Come to Vesea and get it.”

Vesea was the fae-made city built on the Deftones Deep Ocean, next to Arameer. It was the first city the elves built on Testatha, and they had done so during the days when the world was mostly inhabited by humans. That was before The Shaking – before a rift had been torn between words that caused angels to fall from Heaven and half-daimons to rise from the Netherworld.

My parents lived in Vesea, but I hadn’t visited them, or my younger sister, in years. We had a ‘talk’, and after that, I had left to live on the streets of New Peace, determined to make my own life. I hadn’t even gone back after my father helped design and construct Shark Bay Prison – a job which had finally given him enough money to afford a nice home on the edge of Ocelos, the main island in Vesea. When he had money, he had sent me a beautiful crystal necklace, and I had gifted it to Ryker. I hadn’t wanted to wear it, but it felt disrespectful to throw it away. Besides, Ryker loved it and hardly ever took it off. I assumed it had been stolen on the night someone broke into our apartment.

I heard the sirens before the angels dropped from the sky. I stepped aside so that Asilo and his team could investigate. Neron was called over to answer questions, and I guessed they would interrogate me next. The angels looked around for any clues as to who could have done this.

“There is no sign of forced entry,” I heard Asilo say, after ten minutes of searching.

There was no sign of forced entry, just like there had been no sign of forced entry in our apartment. Were the two events somehow connected? It made sense that Bellevue had killed Zimran so that he couldn’t speak up about the will, but why torture him first? And why break into my apartment if she was going to inherit it anyway?

“Whoever did this is long gone,” Asilo said.

But I had heard a whispering, and I wondered if I was going mad. Maybe, it was a side effect of all the trauma I had endured. I should slip away before they bombarded me with questions I couldn’t answer and accusations I didn’t want to endure. I took the long walk home. I wanted, needed, to be alone.

Once I was in our apartment, I packed food, clothes, and cash into a backpack. I didn’t need much and wasn’t going to try to carry everything with me. I wanted to leave, and I’d go that same day so that Bellevue could come take what had once been mine and Ryker’s.

I left the apartment without looking back, before finding a cheap hotel where I could sleep the night. I sent my resume to several bars, searching for work. I could make a living from playing the violin, but the music in my soul had died with Ryker, and I had no intention to ever pick up another instrument again.

I fell asleep on the hotel bed but woke several times during the night thanks to my nightmares. I was fully awake before the sun had risen, but I didn’t have the strength to get out of bed. I had no idea what time it was when someone knocked on the door, but I pretended that I wasn’t there. Then the door swung open; I must have forgotten to lock it. I sat up in bed as Ace entered the room, tucking his big wings in so that he could fit through the door.

“How’d you find me?” I asked.

“I tracked your phone,” he said.

“Someone is abusing their position as captain of the Sky Watch.”

He ignored my snide comment and sat on the bed. “Why didn’t you call me when you found Zimran? I had to hear about this from Asilo.”

I shrugged as if it was no big deal. I hadn’t had the energy to call him. “Do they have any leads on the case?”

“No,” he answered, although he didn’t have to. “I think the case is going to go cold.”

I lowered my eyes.

“Neron handed over the safe to Bellevue,” Ace informed me.

My heart sank. “What was in it?”

“More precious stones – no doubt part of Ryker’s collection.”

I had nothing. I was nothing. For a moment, I wished I wasn’t even breathing anymore.

“If you need a place to stay, you’re always welcome in my house,” Ace said.

I shook my head.

“Ryker would have wanted me to take care of you.”

Ryker wanted someone to take care of me after he left me. Ridiculous.

A moment of silence passed before Ace said, “Or you could go to your family in Vesea.”

I shook my head again. Ryker was the only male who had ever given me things without expecting anything in return. He was the only male who had ever taken care of me. I had placed all my trust in him. I had relied on him. And look where that had gotten me.

I had nothing, and I would never be dependent on anyone else ever again. Especially not my parents, especially not after that conversation I had with them.

I’d find a way to survive, on my own.