The Chamber of Sins

Lionette’s phone rang, disturbing her from the impatient wait.

“Be quick. I am busy,” the woman said. “I will be there in twenty. Wait for me there,” she got to say as she had been observing Robert lying on the living room couch.

Dubois disappeared for a few moments, only to come back with a small jar.

“What is that? It smells gross,” Robert said.

“That would be holly water with fermented ‘Conocybe filaris’, a poisonous mushroom, and a bit of faith,” Dubois grinned while his only eye was staring at the boy.

A few districts away, Lionette entered a house timidly. She saluted the police officer guarding the entrance door as if she was one of theirs. She covered her nose to keep the infectious smell out of her nostrils.

“Hi, Emily. Where is the body?” Lionette said while keeping her purse pressed against her hip. “You said there is a connection with my family,” Lionette said.

“Do you recognise her?” Emily asked, her abrasive voice making Lionette’s heart tremble. Then Emily uncovered the dead woman’s body. With her lifeless eyes opened, her legs lying on one side, covered partially by a red robe, the woman’s position made one think of a doll thrown carelessly by a bored child. Lionette’s eyes widened while she studied the face of the dead body.

“Lily?” Prominent lines appeared between Lionette’s eyebrows as she turned to inform the policewoman. “I know her - she was a maid at my mother’s house.”

“She had you as a contact in case she-” the woman muttered.

Lionette nodded and squinted her eyes while keeping a safe distance from the corps. The dead woman’s face looked like a poorly made geisha mask - the mascara covering her deep wrinkles, the cheap red lipstick stretched out on the chin. There were no signs of struggle or strangulation. Instead, her hands were clenched into firm fists, prepared to fight with whatever enemy she had met last.

Noticing something, Lionette came closer, endeavouring not to derange the crime scene.

“Does she have a bird?” the woman asked, examining the surroundings.

“Not that I noticed. Let me check with my team,” Emily said.

Lionette leaned over the body and, stretching her hand, grabbed a small black feather from under the dead woman’s forearm. It had an almost perfect form. She put it gently in the tissue and slipped it into her jacket pocket just before Emily entered.

“She doesn’t have a birdcage in the house. Why did you ask?”

“It is just - she loved birds, and I thought I might take care of it. If there isn’t any-” Lionette stuttered under the questioning police woman’s glare. “I should go,” she said. “Thank you for calling me. If there is anything else-”

“Actually, I need to know.” Emily came closer, making Lionette’s heart drum in distress. She inhaled the musky perfume enhanced by the sweet notes of Emily’s skin. “You didn’t return my calls. Is it something that I have done?”

“No, it’s not you. Just-” Lionette went silent for a second, “I am sorry... I have been so busy lately,” the woman put her warm hand on her arm.

“Don’t be. I will call you if there is any news on the case.”

Back at the Midwinter mansion, Margo rushed towards the middle of the room. “Robert? Where are you?” She spotted the bathroom door opening with the corner of her eye.

“Here you are,” she said and stopped speaking at the jaw-dropping view. Drops of crystal clear water were caressing the boy’s tanned body, following the perfectly fit abdomen until they met the towel covering his hips.

She stepped aside from his way and hid behind the baldaquin columns.

“I need to show you something,” her voice trembled.

She studied him while putting on a black shirt. What are you thinking? You’re dead. The girl scoffed loudly, making the boy turn his face towards her.

“Are you alright?” Robert asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Me? Yes, yes, I am fine, but I need your help. It is urgent.” Audible exhalations followed Margo’s words.

“You sound preoccupied,” the boy said and came closer. The girl closed her eyes for a second. She thought he would see those flickers in her dead eyes, and he would know.

“What do you want to show me?” his voice startled her.

“In the backyard,” she showed.

The sun was warming the frosty morning air, making the walk serenely pleasant. The two of them were saying nothing; their steps followed in unison until they arrived at an old, deteriorated building. Robert’s family had renovated all annexe spaces, and this construction was waiting for its turn. Margo invited him to enter first.

It took some time for his eyes to adapt to the darkness. But then, Robert’s foot hit something, and the next second, he fell to the ground.

“Bloody Hell! Where is it?” The boy asked, his hand palpating the cement floor. Then, finding his phone, he switched it on, and a warm light flooded the room.

“Robert?”

“What?” the boy responded peevishly, trying to clean his trousers.

“Look!”

Robert’s eyes stopped on a group of people crowded in a corner. He took a step towards them but halted, realising what they were.

“What is going on?” the boy’s voice stammered.

“They need our help,” Margo explained. “They want to go there,” she continued, pointing at the sky.

“What is stopping them?” Robert asked bitingly as he continued the cleaning process.

“They can’t; they need one of that,” the girl said and touched his pendant. The boy exhaled noisily through his pursed lips, and turning his back, left the building.

“I don’t have time for foolish things,” he grumbled.

“Foolish? Do you call a human being foolish?”

“They WERE human beings; now, they are dead. What happens to them is not my business.”

“You spoiled brat, having everything handed over on a silver plate made you a selfish bastard. They had a life; they had families and children who deeply miss them and need your help. So how can you not show any mercy?”

Robert stopped in the door frame.

“My mother passed away when I was five. Nobody pitied her. She had laid on the road for hours. Then, she died because a coward had hit her and left her agonising.”

“I am sorry,” the girl came behind Robert’s back after a moment of silence. “I shouldn’t have said those things. But they are alone and scared. Vogrons have been hunting them for years. They suck your soul, and you die for real, no Heaven or Hell. Those poor people made mistakes, but they were someone’s children, someone’s mothers.” She placed her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Please, help us, help them.”

“And how do you propose I do that?” Robert asked.

“You can’t!” Derek’s voice reverberated in the room.

“And why is that?” Margo intervened.

“Because you need the pendant and this gadget to enter the Chamber of Sins,” Derek said, waving his left hand.

“Can you use only the key?” Margo asked curiously.

“Occasionally,” Derek muttered, unhappy with the girl’s curiosity. “Wandering souls cannot go straight to the Chamber; they must be quarantined and purified for three holly days. Then, they need three days for praying and another three for confessing. At the end of the entire process, the Archangels will sort them - Heaven or Hell; their sins extracted and archived in the Book of Sins,” he explained.