The Moros Murders

Medea

I cautiously stepped into my home, the acrid smell of death clinging to the air like a second skin. I looked over the floorboards which still had dark stains from where my family's bodies had lain; I could practically feel the horror and grief that had filled this room before I'd arrived, as if it were an ever-present ghostly existence in the home. Taking a deep breath, I pushed away all of the images that threatened to fill my mind with despair as I walked towards my parents' bedroom. As I entered the room I quickly averted my eyes from the blood stain on the carpet where my father had taken his last breath. I headed towards the wardrobe and opened it, sliding away the back panel to reveal a locked door.

Quickly I picked the lock, when it clicked open I entered into a small storage room. The walls were lined with well organised files. In this little room was all the information my mother had ever gathered. If you wanted something on someone, there was a pretty good chance it was in this room. A treasure trove to any guild that deals in information. I moved towards the boxes that were labelled 'SYNDICATE'. In them contained everything my mother had gathered from her days in the Syndicate.

Before she had become a warrior and later, head of security for the Torans, she had been a top assassin for the Syndicate. In fact, she was second in command when she was only a teenager. The guy that I killed, Mory, was too young to have been in the Syndicate when my mother was still active. But the woman in the chair, I had a pretty good suspicion of who she might be. My mum would always tell me stories of her Syndicate days.

I found the file I was looking for, Liza Black, head of the Syndicate in those days. Unless she died, I didn't see any reason that she wouldn't still be running things. It was an old picture, but my mum had also been certain that Liza was still in charge. There was no mention of a Cassius in any of the files, so he must have been after her time. The Syndicate was hired to kill my family, and I'm going to find out why.

The criminal underworld has run in the Dregs forever so if there was anywhere, I'd find any information on Cassius, it was in the Lower Dregs, where there is no Guards Alliance - they serve the rich, and everyone in the Dregs are skint. That's why Polar city has some of the biggest crime rings and gangs in the whole of The System. Unless it involves uppers, you'll get away with anything if you do it in the Dregs.

At the same time, if something happens outside the Dregs, like murders or robberies, they'll pick some poor sod from the Dregs after dragging anyone and everyone out of their homes and showing unnecessary force in the streets; wrecking homes, violating things that shouldn't be violated. They'll pin it on someone who hasn't the credits to fight it, and have them thrown to the damned. Oh yeah, did I mention that Polaris has a prison island just off the coast of Polar city? If you get sent there, there isn't much of a chance that you'll come home.

I asked around for a while and no one seemed to know him. Cassius is an uncommon name, it means hollow. Not many people would call their child that. So there mustn't be many Cassius' in the city, let alone the Dregs. He shouldn't have been too hard to find. Just as I thought that my search had been for nothing, I was approached by an old man.

"I've heard you're looking for Cassius?" he asked in a gravelly voice, that sounded like he'd been smoking from just a baby.

"You know him?" I replied, hoping my search had finally handed me a lead.

"For a price." He was the kind of man that made your skin crawl, the way he leered at me. Gross.

"I don't have any credits," I explained.

"That's not what I want," he said with a reptilian smirk.

"What then?" A chill ran down my spine.

"You have a reputation, Miss Moros, a reputation for getting things done. Daniel O'Reilly." I was a little confused by his change in attitude.

"Yeah, I know him, rich kid, has far too high of an opinion of himself?" This wasn't exactly a lie. I did know Danny, pretty well actually. He was one of my only friends at the Shelves, and although he could be a little cheeky, he didn't think so highly of himself.

He nodded knowingly, "Mr O'Reilly has been an associate of mine for quite some time, but he stopped paying his debts. I can't touch him, but you can. Get him to pay up and I'll give you Cassius."

"How much does he owe you?" I queried, with minimal curiosity. He was a little annoying but I really did like Danny, I wasn't looking to hurt him.

"More than you'll ever see."

"I'm not some enforcer." What I meant was, and I'm sure that he understood, I'm not a thug that he can just send to intimidate people. This meant that I would only do this once, and he would give me Cassius or else he'd be the next person I intimidate.

"If you want Cassius, you'll get me that money." I blinked and the slimy old man was gone. I looked around but he was nowhere. Freaky.

I knew Danny because he went to the same school as me and Katia. Danny is a bit of a flirt, but he's also very sweet and very clumsy. Despite the fact that he is academically quite clever, he often gets himself into trouble by making stupid decisions - hence how he got so much debt with some creepy guy in the first place. I've been dreading going back to school but, the mission calls for it. I had to go back to Toran Manor to change into my uniform before I made my way to school.

I arrived late, after break. The teachers all knew about my situation, so none of them asked. I walked into class and took my seat at the back of the room next to Katia.

"I thought you weren't coming back yet?" she said smiling.

"I wasn't," I responded grimly.

"Why are you in then?" she asked, a little concerned.

"I'm here for the case, nothing more," I stated

"You and your bloody case. You need to start looking forward Dea, it's too dangerous. I can't help but worry," Katia nagged.

"I promised you didn't I? I promised that mine wouldn't be the next funeral that you attend, I keep my promises luv," I stated, I always hated when I worried Katia but it did happen quite often, she was prone to worrying.

After sitting in classrooms for two painstakingly long hours, finally, the lunch bell rang. Me and Katia stood from our seats and walked outside to the front lawn, where lots of secondary school kids were sitting on benches and across the lawn.

"You eating with me?" Katia asked.

"Can't. Sorry," I said with a small smile.

"Right, the case." She nodded.

"Hey Katia? Have you seen Danny around?"

"Why? You finally interested in someone?" she giggled, as she turned to join a few of her friends on one of the benches.

"Don't be ridiculous Katia," I said before leaving to find Danny.

I thought that he was most likely on the field playing football with his mates. I walked down the empty alley between the sports hall and the workshop, towards the sports fields. I frantically scanned them, desperate to find Danny. Suddenly, he appeared at the mouth of the alley - alone. In a split second, I pounced on him, wrapping my arms around his torso and clamping my hand over his lips. I roughly spun him around, pushing him up hard against the wall as he tried to struggle out of my grip. When he saw who it was, all the fight drained away from him and I reluctantly released my hold.

"Medea? It's just you, Gods, you scared me half to death!" he exclaimed, relieved that I wasn't some kidnapper.

"I'm sorry about this Danny," I said, a tinge of guilt in my voice.

"Sorry about what? Medea?" he said, a little nervous, the stark white waves of his platinum hair falling into his blue topaz orbs.

"You see, the person you owe money to, has something I need. So you're going to pay up," I explained, feeling a little guilty that I was extorting one of my only friends.

"I don't have it, Medea," He pleaded apologetically.

In one swift movement I pinned him tight against the wall, raising my knife to his throat. "Well, find it."

"I'm sorry, okay. But whatever you do to me won't change the fact that I don't have the cash." He was a little scared, but he knew that I could always tell when he was lying. He also knew that I wouldn't hurt him unless I needed to.

He couldn't pay what he didn't have. There was no use torturing him, I clenched my fists and shook with rage, but I knew I couldn't hurt Danny. He was my friend, not my enemy. I lashed out at the wall with a thunderous roar, sending my knuckles into agony as the drywall crumbled beneath me. But I held back my screams, determined not to show any sign of weakness.

"I'm sorry Medea, he must have something pretty important to you? Maybe I can help, I ran with Teck for a while, I know his people." I didn't know the really personal elements of Danny's life, I couldn't guess his reasons for running with criminals like Teck. Danny was a genuinely nice guy, I felt bad for just considering torturing him. Especially as, even though I'd just held a knife to his throat and threatened him, he still offered to help me.

"Unless you know where I can find Cassius, then no," I solemnly said.

"Cassius? You mean Sicarius? Our age, black hair, bright green eyes, broody. You'll find him at the Royale. I'm pretty sure I heard someone mention that he's in another of his drunken moods."

"Ha, Danny I could kiss you," I said, giving him a hug.

"You can if you want," he said cheekily.

"See you later Danny." He waved a hand in farewell as I walked away.

As I shuffled past the bushes and towards the wrought iron gates of the school, my nerves tingled as I sensed a presence following me. My entire body tensed as my feet cautiously pounded the pavement, the heavy weight of someone's stare propelling me forward. I could feel the presence close behind me, and before I could turn to see who it was, a firm hand grasped my shoulder. I instinctively reached out and felt their uniform clad wrist in my grip, my fingers digging in hard as I whipped around.

"Medea? What a surprise to see you here, how are you?" Tarin squirmed as he fell under my painful grip. Tarin Xavier was the young lord whose proposal I'd recently turned down. It was a little awkward.

"Tarin, did I not tell you about sneaking up on girls?" I smirked.

"I wasn't sneaking." He squirmed.

"I'm fine, thanks." I said releasing his arm from my strong grasp.

"Where are you going?" he asked, rubbing his forearm.

"Home, I felt overwhelmed, coming to school again," I said, putting on a little bit of a sad face.

"Liar," he frowned.

"Is what I told the nurse," I recovered, "I'm not really feeling up to school right now, so I'm going home."

"I can take you home," He offered kindly, but I imagined that he wanted something.

"Thanks for the offer Tarin but my ride is waiting for me." I claimed, trying to seem in a rush.

I turned to leave and he grabbed my arm, "Why are you always in such a rush Medea?" Something had changed in his voice, it made me feel a little uncomfortable. It was different from when I'd grabbed his arm to teach him a lesson about sneaking up on girls.

"Tarin let go of me," I ordered.

"I just wanted to say, anything I can do to help you find that assassin, just let me know." He let go and I walked away, bewildered by the whole thing.

I pushed open the grimy door of the rowdy pub, a stale smell of mead and tobacco wafted through the air. Scanning the room, my gaze landed on a teenage boy with shaggy dark hair and piercing green eyes seated at the bar, his hands wrapped around a glass of rum that he seemed to be staring into solemnly. He was pale. That paired with the fact that he looked as though he hadn't slept in days made him look ghost-like. Without making much of a sound I walked over to him and took a seat on the battered stool next to him.

"Rough day?" I asked him.

"Rough week." he said miserably before looking up at me. I smiled at him calmly. Clearly he knew who I was because he looked panicked, only for a fraction of a second, he collected himself so quickly most people wouldn't have even noticed it. He stood up. "Excuse me, I have somewhere to -"

"Sit down," I commanded, cutting him off and pouring myself a glass from the bottle of spiced rum in front of him. He complied sitting back in his seat. I took a sip from the class, masking my rage. When I looked at him, I did not see a killer. I saw a child, a haunted child. He looked like he was ready to throw himself off of a bridge. "So, Cassius was it? I've had quite the week myself, but you already know that, don't you?"

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" He seemed oddly at peace with his closely impending doom. Something about him intrigued me. I found myself not wanting to kill him. What Mory had said in that memory rang in my ears, 'he didn't want that job.' Even so, he still killed my family, he would pay.

"Witnesses. Not to mention, neither of us have finished our drinks, I'm not a monster." I smiled at him, keeping my cool. The more I spoke, the more he seemed to relax. Weird.

"You're right, you're not a monster, but I am, so just get on with it," he said, trying to goad me. I was pretty sure that he wanted me too, kill him that is.

"Tell me about your week," I said like a friend might to someone they haven't seen in a while.

"Why?" He seemed confused.

"Because you said it's been rough."

"Well, I committed a horrible crime. A family, innocent people...I took their lives with my own hands. I'm sorry. I didn't want to do it, but she convinced me that I had no other option. But the truth is that I'm just a coward and a murderer. I know what kind of punishment awaits me and yet here I am talking about it," he said in a subdued voice. He looked at me with an expression that spoke of remorse and acceptance, as if he already knew his fate. It was interesting listening to him, he wasn't trying to convince me not to kill him, so why bother telling me this?

"You can't have been that much of a coward if you went against my mum. Is that why you're here, drinking yourself silly?" I questioned.

"Partly," He said with an air of misery.

"What else?"

"Someone killed my best friend, took his head off, never seen a wound like it." A grim expression crossed his face as he, I assume, recalled the scene.

"Yeah um, sorry about that." I felt a little guilty.

"You killed Mory?" For the first time, he looked directly into my eyes.

"I couldn't exactly leave him alive," I defended.

"He was like a brother to me," he stated.

"Well you killed both my brothers," I argued.

"Fair enough." We both laughed a little. "Why aren't you more angry? Why aren't you hurting me? We both know you can."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm livid. When I walked in here, I didn't know what I would do, but you already look so... broken. Death isn't the right punishment for you." When I saw him, so broken and sad before me, I knew that death was not the answer. He had been a pawn in someone else's game, and it wasn't his act that had made me come here — it was the one who had ordered it. The anger I'd felt towards him drained away as my intent shifted from vengeance to justice.

"I haven't slept in days, and whenever I close my eyes, I'm thrown back there, to the horrible memories of that mission. In my dreams, no matter how much I yell or beg, it's too late - they're already dead. My mother shouldn't have sent me on that mission; those people weren't just innocent, they were good. I had only beaten your mum because she was protecting your brothers. I blamed my mum for making me do the mission but, at the same time, I know deep down that it's my fault - I could've chosen to run away or just taken the punishment instead. But fear had taken over and now-" His voice cracked and he was unable to continue. He was wiping away the tears in his eyes. What he'd said made me realise something.

"Your mother is Liza Black?" he nodded solemnly and I continued, "Sometimes when it comes to our family, it's hard to say no. Especially when you're terrified of them."

"I'm not ter-" I cut him off.

"You are. I can tell, I see past your words Cassius."

"So what! That doesn't change anything." He was getting upset.

"Actually, that depends who you're asking. Some might blame your mother, some you, maybe both. And while I do blame you, and your mother, it wasn't personal. It was one of many jobs that the Syndicate has carried out this year. Your guilt is genuine, although your mother holds none. Show me your memories of her, let me see," I reasoned with him, although I wasn't sure why I cared.

"What? How?" He furrowed his brows, his eyes on me glazed over with confusion.

"Just think of her and open the door to let me in." I guided him.

I'm not exactly sure why I wanted to do this, but it was a mistake. It was nothing like my interaction with Mory; as I reached out to Cassius, ready to learn his hidden pain. The flood of emotions was like a tidal wave, crashing into me with the force of a thousand fears and griefs. My entire body went rigid, my vision blurred and spots quickly began to dance across my eyes. Blood trickled from my nose, each droplet feeling like a separate wound on its own. Blood streamed from my ears and eyes, drawing attention from the other patrons in the pub. Before I could hit the ground, I felt strong arms wrap around me and lift me up. A cool breeze blew through my hair as I drifted off into an unconscious state.