Season of Sunlight

Fifth Month

Undisclosed Location

The City of Trylla, The Cronia Region

2325

Life choked Henri awake.

He coughed, his vision blurred and head thick and heavy.

He looked around, his environment dark, cluttered with shapes he couldn't differentiate as living or dead.

Henri slumped forward, a rope chafing the skin below his chest. He groaned, unable to move his hands. Barbwire wrapped around his wrists, pulling off layers of skin with each movement he made. There was no blood, not yet.

Screech!

Henri turned his head and discovered an object squirming against the wall. The longer he stared, the clearer his line of sight became. It was an object jittering in a chair similar to his. Two arms and two legs appeared.

It was another person.

Henri attempted to twist towards them, but his bondage held him firm.

"Who's there?" he called.

A hindered moan answered. It was high-pitched and afraid.

"Elza?"

The reply was a weary groan.

Miss Parks sat beside him, bound by the same barbwire but with her arms tied behind the backrest of the chair and a rope secured around her throat, forcing her head back into a metal sink. Its copper pipes were exposed, running up the walls, with two silver taps and a rusted faucet looming over her eyes.

Her mouth was stuffed with a red cloth.

"Hold on," Henri said, sliding his chair to close the gap between them.

Three large silver pails sat on the right side of the sink, too far for him to see what was inside.

"Sir?"

The voice called to him through the darkness.

Henri gasped. "James?"

"Where are we?"

Abbott's voice sounded anxious, his words trembling. He remained obscured from view.

Henri looked around, trying to get a sense of their prison.

It was a small room with a metal staircase leading up to a single door. As his eyes adjusted, Henri noticed crates stacked around him, and the strong scent of dead fish overwhelmed his senses. He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"We must be somewhere near the docks," he said.

"How can you be sure?" Abbott questioned.

Henri snorted. "I can smell it."

Finally, he located Abbott's figure in front of him. He, too, was bound by his wrists with barbwire but stripped of almost all his clothing except his underwear. His dark muscles quivered.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"You mean, why am I almost naked?" Abbott said, sounding irritated. "I don't know. Abaddon ambushed us without warning. The last thing I remember is patrolling the gardens of Monarch Hall. I am just glad to see you alive, sir."

"Likewise, Abbott," Henri said.

Elza moaned, struggling in her chair.

"What have they done to her!" Abbott exclaimed, gazing over her body, horrified. "She is chained up like an animal."

"We all are," Henri said grimly.

"We need to help her." Abbott pulled his body from side to side, shuffling an inch towards Miss Parks before the barbwire sliced through his left wrist, stopping him from advancing. Blood cascaded onto the floor.

"At ease, Constable!" Henri advised. "We aren't dealing with amateurs. Abaddon knows how to hold prisoners. It is a cruel game."

Abbott stopped. "A game?"

He exchanged a worried look with Fraser.

"The legs of the chairs are not bound, giving us two options. If we try to free one another, we will risk bleeding out. The wire will cut grooves right into the bone. It is suicide."

"And the second?"

Henri lowered his head. "We wait for our captors to confront us." He looked around for a fourth chair, but there was nothing. "Where is Lilith?"

"I don't know," Abbott said, breathing heavily. "The last time I saw her was in the gardens."

A scream pulled Henri's attention to the door at the top of the stairs.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Loud footsteps trampled over the rotting floorboards.

Sweat stained Henri's forehead and his eyes struggled to stay awake. Fatigue spread through his body, depriving him of strength as he struggled to keep his head upright.

Suddenly the door opened, and a tall figure emerged, their body framed in bright light that caused the room's darkness to flee.

Henri watched them silently descend the stairs towards him, one step at a time.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

They walked with a cocky sway of their hips.

The tail ends of their red dress dragged behind them, and their small hands gripped the metal railing, guiding them to level ground.

Their dark hair was tied back, hidden beneath a blood-red hood. A golden mask concealed the face, the anticipation of the evil approaching causing Henri to stiffen.

The figure held authority, their chest puffed out, and shoulders squared. Smooth pale legs escaped through the slits in the red gown, their feet strapped into a pair of golden thigh-high boots.

Henri examined the shoes more in-depth as the figure stepped onto the floor. The heels were constructed not of metal or rubber but small bones, yellowed at the tips.

Human bones.

"At last," the metallic voice spoke. "I come face to face with the renowned Henri Fraser. I am honoured to have you in my presence, being a strong admirer of your work. You have handled this case with much delicacy. Many have failed to overcome my obstacles, so I am impressed you've made it this far."

Henri glared at them.

Another scream echoed from upstairs.

Bang!

Silence.

"All I had to do was follow the breadcrumbs," he replied. "Your obstacles served as your downfall."

"My downfall? Do you know who I am?"

Henri knew the answer the second they opened the door. "The Red Lady," he said. "I have heard a lot about you."

"So I see," she hissed.

The Red Lady walked over to Abbott and stroked a hand through his black hair. She caressed his jawline. "It won't be long now. Soon you will be at peace."

Abbott recoiled and inched away from her hand. The Red Lady walked behind him and ran her long fingers across his exposed shoulders.

"What are you going to do with him?" Henri asked.

"He will be my sacrifice," she answered. "You should be proud, Inspector. He will be highly regarded in my court. Tysceras shall bless him with riches in the afterlife."

"You fool," Henri spat. "The afterlife you speak of is nothing but eternal flames. Sheol is a realm of evil. There is no riches or honour within its pits, only suffering."

"You call me the fool? Ironic since you are helping the Prophet Society, the source of evil itself. They spread only lies and chaos."

"The words of a psychopath," Henri said. "You are murdering innocent men and women. For what purpose?"

"Salvation."

"Salvation? Your destiny is to rot. I know pure evil when I see it."

"I think otherwise," said The Red Lady. "I would be happy to educate you about our philosophy."

"Take that mask off, and then you can try."

Abbott stirred.

"Where is Lilith?" he demanded, interjecting himself into the conversation.

The Red Lady walked towards Henri. She raised a hand and grasped the bottom of the mask.

Henri studied the woman carefully, his face expressionless.

Abbott grew impatient. "Tell me where she is!"

The mask slipped off.

"Right here, Abbott," Henri said disdainfully. "She is right here."

Lilith's brown eyes penetrated his, her full lips frowning.

Abbott gasped.

"What gave it away?" Lilith asked.

Her eyelids were smeared in blood, dripping down her cheeks.

"You betrayed yourself," Henri said.

"That is hardly an accusation."

"When you ambushed me at the bureau, I began to suspect that you had a personal connection or history at the core of the investigation. It was unusual, but your obvious change in demeanour intrigued me. You weren't asking me to drop the case. You were warning me to let it go."

Lilith paced the room.

"I did not want you to get in the way. These people are dangerous," she said. "You are the only real family I have left."

She spoke sincerely.

Henri cleared his throat and continued. "The autopsies declared that the men had been strangled and the women poisoned. Two men killed our parents that night. You wanted to punish the women for their faith, but your conscience pleaded against your violent nature because they never committed any crime against you. The men, however, deserved to die. Still, Elza Parks remained my prime suspect."

"What changed?"

"The attack at 630 Bulberry Lane. I never told you where I was going. At Monarch Hall, you recited the exact address in full. When Elza was attacked, I needed to reevaluate my conclusions. Why would she try and kill herself? It didn't make sense."

He took a short breath. "Then came the gala at Monarch Hall. Besides your rather passionate remarks towards the Prophet Society, you decided to scout the gardens with Abbott. You knew he was inexperienced and vulnerable. A new constable always is. You snuggled up to him all night, dismissing yourself as a potential threat. It gave your disciples the perfect opportunity to take him out."

Lilith shrugged her shoulders.

"Your boiling hatred for the Prophet Society sealed the deal," Henri revealed. "You dug your own grave, Lilith. There was Mrs. Bellesprout's quick recollection of the new maid they hired on Mr. Copperfield's train. The description matched you perfectly. You thought you were safe, but from my experience, the best advice I ever received is never to rule out your family. They hold more secrets than you expect. Now seeing it, I am disappointed."

"Disappointed? I am avenging our parents' deaths!" Lilith said. "You should be proud!"

"You killed innocent people! Not even mother and father would crawl out of their graves to congratulate you. Your actions have disgraced their legacy."

Lilith slapped Henri hard across the face.

His skin turned red and tender.

"How dare you."

"Why Lilith?" Henri said, spitting onto the ground. "Why not talk to me? All of this could have been prevented!"

"What was I supposed to do? Forgive, and forget? I sat with our parents' blood on my hands for years! The harder I tried to wash it off, and the harder I tried to forget, all I felt was more guilt. Then I realized I was wasting my time. Why should I constantly punish myself for their deaths when it was not my fault? I knew who killed them. You found your therapy through solving crime. I became a vigilante."

Henri shook his head. "A murderer."

"It did not feel like murder to me," she said, squinting her eyes. "It was justice." Lilith craned her neck away from him and gazed at Elza's paralyzed body. "While I decide your fate, brother, let us start by eliminating the very thing that dragged you into this mess."

She grabbed a handful of Elza's hair, holding it firm.

"Lilith, enough!" Henri said. "Leave her alone."

"Oh, with pleasure," she replied, giving him a sly smile. "I will leave her to Brutus."

Creeeeaaakkk!

A large shadow momentarily blocked out the light pouring in from upstairs.

Henri's eyes grew as a tall, muscular man wearing a black cloak thumped down the stairs, each step shaking the ground like an earthquake tremor. He had a square jaw, a broad nose, and not a single strand of hair growing on the top of his head or the bottom of his chin.

Brutus growled like a wild animal. He stumbled past Henri towards Miss Parks.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Lilith stepped back.

Brutus bent down and grabbed the first silver pail, holding it over the sink as he poured a thick red liquid into the basin. Elza shrieked in protest.

"What is that?" Henri asked.

Lilith smirked. "It's blood, my dear Henri, and Brutus is going to drown her in it."

"Please!" Abbott said. "Stop this. I beg you!"

"It is too late to beg," Lilith said. "It will all be over soon."