The Moros Murders

Medea

I woke, bathed in sun rays pouring from a window above the bed. I didn’t recognise the room I was in. It was nice but not rich, Upper Dregs probably. I glanced around, taking in my unfamiliar surroundings. I recalled what had happened, I passed out whilst using my powers. Panic ran through my body as I remembered who I was with when I blacked out.Why wasn’t I in some sort of cell?I thought to myself as I headed towards the door. It opened without the use of force.

I exited the bedroom into an apartment, I was confused. Why had he left me alone and unguarded in an open apartment? Why hadn’t he killed me? I would’ve killed me. My stomach growled and I realised how hungry I was. Cautiously I walked towards the kitchen. There was some bread, butter and jam in the fridge so I made myself a sandwich. Cassius left me with all of my weapons. Why?

“Miss Medea?” A clean voice blared through some sort of speaker, nearly scaring me half to death.

“Hello?” I asked nervously.

“My name’s Diedre, I’m an A.I. I help Cassius with his work sometimes but I also have many other functions,” The A.I responded promptly. I visibly mouthed ‘what the fuck.’ It was a weird day.

“Where am I?” I asked, not knowing how to act around a robot lady.

“Somewhere safe, don’t worry, you can leave at any time.”

“Where is Cassius?” I wondered aloud.

“I fear that he’s gotten himself into some trouble. He left five days ago and was on his way back but he never arrived,” Diedre spoke straight to the point.

“Wait, I’ve been out for five days?!” I exclaimed, shocked at this revelation.

“Yes. I’m ever so worried about Cassius,” she said sadly.

“He’ll show up,” I said after recovering from my shock. Wherever he was, it wasn’t my problem. I’d run into him again, for now, I needed to find his mother. The memories I got from him were coming to me in pieces. I didn’t yet know where she was, just that she was an abusive bitch.

“Of course he was on his way to tell you the name of the client who hired the syndicate to kill your family,” the robot said, cunningly. I didn’t have a choice but to track him down now.

“What!?”

“Yes, well I believe that he figured it out. But of course, you’ll have to find him to know.” If she had a face I swear she would be smirking.

“Do you have any idea of where he might be?” I asked angrily.

“I found a notice in the city newspaper of a noble ladies marriage. There was a picture of them dancing.” The A.I put the picture up on the screen in the kitchen. There was an even worse looking Cassius than when I’d seen him, dancing with none other than Cerys Byun. I was about to laugh at the notion before I remembered how much of a psycho bitch she is.

You see, for the past two years, I’ve gone to school with Cerys Byun. And although she can be very sweet and nice. If you say even the slightest thing against her, she’ll go apeshit. I have often wondered whether it isn’t just anger issues, and she has something else wrong with her, but she was never one of my mates, so I never took the liberty of finding out. All I did know was, by the looks of Cassius in that photo, he didn’t want to be there. I could only assume that he wasn’t safe with Cerys. Luckily, I knew where she lived and had been there before. Katia had been invited to her house for a soiree and had ended up changing in her room after someone spilt wine on her. I imagined that Cass would be sharing a room with his new bride so that was most likely where I was going to find him.

The second I entered Katia’s room, I was tackled in a hug. She buried her face in my shoulder before shoving me away angrily. “Where the hell have you been!” She looked a little teary, “I was worried sick Dea, you can’t just vanish like that! I thought you were dead.” I felt quite guilty for making her worry.

“I’m sorry Kat,” I said, “I ran into a couple... problems.”

“What kind of problems? Are you okay?” she asked, closing the distance between us.

“I am actually.” I gave her a small smile, somehow, I was okay. I was unharmed and I felt better for some reason. I think that I was too focused on getting Cassius back, to even process anything. Through every waking moment since my family died, revenge has clouded my mind. But at that moment, I had something else to consider. For some reason, I hadn’t been able to harm him, I even wanted to help him. Every one of his memories of his mother that filled my mind only fuelled my desire to save him.

She smiled and hugged me again, knowing that I really did mean it. “I actually came to ask you for a favour.”

“Anything,” she said, resting her hands on my shoulders.

“Cerys Byun, the wedding was today but nobles like to drag things out.”

“Yes, and?”

“Are you going?”

“Yes, I couldn’t make the ceremony so I’m going to the ball tomorrow. Why?”

“Can I come?”

“Not dressed like that you can’t.”

“I’m your bodyguard, why do I need to dress up?”

“Why do you want to go? You hate upper parties.”

“I have some business to take care of.”

“What kind of business?”

“Information exchange.”

“That’s a pretty high profile place for an information exchange, don’t you prefer dark alleys or something?”

“Sometimes Kat, plain sight is better, especially when your contact is the groom.”

“Your contact’s the groom? Who is he? I’d never even heard of him before a couple of days ago, the whole thing happened really fast. It’s a bit weird if you ask me,” Katia said, sitting on her bed, frowning.

“His name is Cassius, he’s an assassin,” I informed her, knowing that I could trust Katia with the information.

“No way, really?” I nodded and she continued, “What information does he have for you?”

“He knows who ordered the hit on my family,” I explained, taking a seat next to her on the cloud-like, four-poster bed.

“How?” she asked, knowing how much finding out meant to me.

“It doesn’t matter how, all that matters is that he knows.” She nodded.

“I’ll get you a dress,” Katia said before disappearing into her walk-in wardrobe that was the size of an entire room.

I stood in front of the floor to ceiling mirror in Katia’s dressing room. It was obvious that Katia had been waiting for me to agree to attend one of these things because she had a dress already tailored to my size. I can’t say that she didn’t know me well, because it was perfect.

The skirt was voluminous and open at the front for manoeuvrability. The layers of fabric fell in luxurious waves that made a soft swishing noise, like the rustle of wind through grass or water flowing over pebbles. It touched the floor behind me. Well-made and expensively cut, each layer possessed a gorgeous and slightly sparkly jet black chiffon coating which covered equally well-cut layers in alternating shades of iridescent black, electric blue, and crimson. The bodice was tight but flexible, almost flexible enough to allow some freedom of movement if necessary but at the same time robust enough for bulletproof protection. A strip down each side prevents any chance of slippage or readjustment during combat. They meld into simple vest straps at the top, which are in turn attached at the collarbone with a silver locket set with three perfect square cut sapphires on either side - though they won’t do much to deflect bullets.

I pulled the heeled, lacy black ankle boots onto my feet and slid a selection of rings onto my fingers, which had all been gifts from Katia over the years. I added my usual necklace and a pair of silver earrings that glimmered in the light. I expertly created a reverse cat eye with a touch of dark green eyeshadow and painted on a deep red lipstick. I took a comb and wove my hair into intricate braids down my back, pinning a sharp three inch hair pin down the centre - a subtle yet effective weapon should I ever need it.

Katia’s pastel blue gown was a silky fabric that enveloped her frame, and trailed behind her as she glided across the room. Silver beading along the bodice shimmered in the light while her natural curls framed her face in gentle waves. She had an air of grace and poise, like an angelic being suddenly descended on earth — her beauty so striking it seemed almost otherworldly. Her soul shone through her big brown eyes; peaceful, inviting, and gilded with an inner radiance.

When we got to the party, I noticed how everyone’s attention shifted to Katia. I felt uncomfortable with everyone looking my way and Katia knew it. She took my hand in hers and gave it a little squeeze. I hated big crowds, there were too many people at this party and the thought of bumping into one of them set me on edge. If I was going to stay here, I needed alcohol, and a lot of it.

We were there for an hour before Cassius even arrived. I mean talk about showing up late to your own party. I’d just about had enough of communing with people I sort of knew from school. If I hadn’t been with Kat, I wouldn’t have had to talk to them but in a place like this, I was clinging to her for dear life. I even agreed to dance with her so I wouldn’t be left alone. It was a slow dance; I didn’t mind so much after seeing the smile on Katia’s face.

Katia eventually left me alone to fend for myself when Danny came over and asked me to dance. Begrudgingly, I agreed, seeing as my life vest had gone off to flirt with some lass, I needed someone to stop me from drowning. I liked Danny, he could be cheeky but he never went too far, and was never creepy. I knew that he was a good person, he was just a bit of an idiot, hence the debt he had incurred.

“You thought they were all looking at her didn’t you?” he whispered in my ear mid-step. The sounds of the violins and cellos were beautifully entwined.

I looked at him confused, “What do you mean?” I whispered back.

He lowered his lips to my ear once again, “You thought that they were all captivated by Katia’s beauty.” He smiled before twirling me, “You were wrong.”

“What are you talking about Danny?” I whispered again.

“Katia may be beautiful, but she doesn’t hold a patch to you. Look around you, who could ever miss you?” Danny pulled me a little closer, a certain hint of longing in his eyes. He almost looked sad.

“Danny...” I spoke but he cut me off.

“It’s okay, I had my chance. I messed up Dea. I just wanted you to know that you aren’t invisible, at least not to me anyway. Cass is dangerous, don’t get yourself killed. I saw him head to the gardens alone, hurry up if you want to speak to him.” Danny turned and began walking away, I wasn’t sure what to say. He was right though, he had had his chance, but Danny had only ever tried to help me from the moment we met, but maybe I should’ve trusted him more. Perhaps he wasn’t the idiot most people thought he was.

“Danny!” I yelled after him, grabbing his wrist in an effort to make him stop. He slowly turned around and looked into my eyes. Without any warning, I leaned forward and kissed him. His soft lips felt like silk as I pressed against them. Before he had time to react, I pulled away with a sincere “Thank you,” before quickly turning on my heel and walking swiftly towards the gardens. His expression was filled with shock and confusion as he stood still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

I was greeted by a cool breeze as I opened the doors to the garden and the night air tickled my bare neck. I strolled through the garden admiring the fire roses and dahlias that were decisively situated around the garden along with an abundance of other beautiful buds. After a minute or so, I spied Cassius seated on a stone bench at the edge of a vast lake that cast a captivating reflection of the frosted crest of the mountains south of the gorge.

Without a word, I took a seat next to him. He didn’t look up at me, he acted just as he had in the pub, I doubted he even realised who was sitting next to him, just that someone was interrupting his peace. “Good day for a party,” I said leaning forward to touch the water, he turned to me as he realised who I was. “Of course, this isn’t really my kind of party,” I said, a smirk forming on my face as I saw the shock on his. “Wanna get out of here?”