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Talia
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Mom had told me to stay away from the crime scene, but I didn't want to. I wanted to know what was going on. I wanted to be a vital part of the investigation. I didn't want to just be here to free the souls from their bodies and send them off to their afterlife. I wanted to help my parents. I wanted to be there for them. And that was just what I was going to do.
After about a minute or so, I started to follow my parents. I needed to let them be far enough ahead of me that they wouldn't immediately know that I was right behind them. Not to mention, I could hide my presence with magic. It was something that I had been working on in my lessons with Hades. He liked to be secretive about things when he traveled and, therefore, knew how to hide his presence. People would not be able to see him, hear him, or smell him unless he wanted them to. That was just how powerful he was. Apparently, all of the rulers of the underworld could do that, but they didn't always utilize it. Some of them liked to be recognized more than the others.
“Where do you think that you are going?” I heard a very angry voice behind me the moment that I took a step toward the trees. I didn't need to turn to look at who it was, I would know Lex's voice anywhere. Also, he was taking large steps to hurriedly put himself in front of me.
“I am going to assist in the investigation.” I answered him very matter-of-factly. Rudy was basically frozen in place watching us as we spoke. As was Telyn, who I had almost forgotten was here. “It would be rude to bring someone along on the investigation and then not include them. My parents did that to not just me but all four of us.” I intentionally drew attention to Telyn so that Lex would look at her and remember that it was not just us. He couldn't be his usual self with an audience. He was going to be the silent and strong man that I knew all too well.
.....
Don't get me wrong, he was an amazing guard, and I loved that about him. He was always there for me and always would be. I knew that for a fact. But when there were people around, specifically people that he didn't know, he was always a little more shy. When there were people around, he was more likely to follow orders and do as he was told. It was only when he was more comfortable that he would go back to the imposing and outspoken demon that growled at Rudy and told me what to do.
I never let him tell me what to do all that much. I was going to be his Goddess and queen soon enough. It was only until I took over the underworld that he and Rudy were following the orders of my parents. Then, they would be mine.
“I know that you are upset about being left out, Talia, but you can't just go in there. You were told to wait.” Lex was still trying to tell me not to go.
“Well, Lex, I am going. And as your future ruler, who are you going to listen to? My mother? Or me?” He was looking at me very torn. He didn't want to defy either of us.
“Please, Princess Talia, don't do this.” He was using my title as he implored me not to go. I knew that I should listen to him. I knew that I shouldn't go into the woods, but I couldn't help it. I needed to see. I needed to know what was happening.
“I am going, Lex. I don't want to be kept in the dark.” I started to turn away but then addressed them all. “Whoever wants to come with me can. Telyn, you can come with me. And you as well Rudy.”
“I..I think I will stay here. I am here to attend to you and the queen, Princess Talia. I do not want to overstep.” The girl's words were perfectly polite and exactly what I expected.
“I shall stay here with Telyn. I do not believe we should leave her alone. That would not be polite of us.” Rudy respectfully refused to go with me.
“Alright. That is fine.” I nodded at the two of them in response. “I guess I am going alone.”
“Like hell you are.” Lex snapped at me. “If you must go, then I am coming with you.” He stomped toward the trees and mumbled under his breath. “Silly little brat. Doing things that she isn't supposed to. She needs to grow up some more.”
“I will grow up in time, Lex. Let me be a kid for now.” I ran up to him and grabbed his left hand as I went into the woods with him. This reminded me of when I was little. He would hold my hand like this when he escorted me to my friends' houses. Back then, he used to have to hunch over so far that I felt sorry for him.
“You're a teenager already. When will you be grown up?” He grumbled as we passed the line of the trees. The moment that we were hidden by the trees, I threw up the spell to hide us from the others. I didn't want them to be able to see me or hear me. And let's forget about the fact that Lex had a very noticeable scent. My parents wouldn't miss that.
The moment that we made it to the clearing that my parents were in, or better yet just before the clearing, I heard them talking about searching the clearing.
“I think the killer wanted to preserve this crime scene. We will need to search it thoroughly. We can't miss a single thing. I don't want to let any of the clues go to waste.” My mom was talking, and she sounded so fucking cool right now.
“We need to be thorough, but quick. I want to be moving to the next location before the night is over.” Even my dad was cooler than usual. Was this what they were like when they were working? Like how mom had been when we came through the door and she took charge of everything.
“Agreed. There are bound to be more murders if we don't stop these people. And seeing what they have been doing with my own eyes, I can't let this go on for much longer. I need to save my people. I need to protect them. And most of all, I need to catch the assholes that have been doing this to my people.” Mom was so determined and serious as she started to walk around the clearing. Uncle Dietrich, Uncle Shawn and Uncle Vincent were searching as well. Dad went to follow Mom, searching together with her.
I saw them looking over everything that was in the clearing. This was where a man was killed. This was where the body was found. And the scene was still fresh. Well, mostly. The blood was still there for us to see, and smell. And knowing that, it made sense that there might be something else here as well.
I knew that there were a lot of different spells that I could use to help them, though looking at my mom and the way that she was glowing, I could tell that she was using them too. Her eyes were glowing with a bluish light. That was awesome. I wanted to see that too. I wanted to be like her.
I called my power and tried to emulate what she was doing. I wanted to look for clues too, especially if they were out of the clearing. Though it looked to me like my uncles were searching the area around the trees and not just the clearing. That was good. They were definitely doing their jobs.
The moment that the power was called to my eyes, I saw something start to glow on the tree in front of me. I didn't know what it was at first, it was hard to see with this power. But when I managed to control it a little more, I saw that it was something written. I hadn't even noticed it before the magic, and I was looking right at it the moment before.
'Monsters hide in the dark,
but that will never stop the light from shining through.
We will hunt the monsters to extinction
and we will free the world from their evil ways.
We will slay the beasts and
we will stop the spread of their
infernal diseases to the good people of this world.
We are the saviors of humankind.
We are the heroes of the light.
And we will not be stopped.'
“What in the hell?” I was appalled by what I just read. It made me feel sick. What was going on?
“What is wrong?” Lex asked me as he had heard my whispered outburst. I knew that he would worry about me if he had so much as heard me, he was always like that.
“I..I see something that I am guessing the others are looking for. These words here, they were definitely left by the killer.” The words were glowing in pink right in front of my face. In my opinion, there should be light reflecting on my face, but I didn't think that Lex knew it was there. Just as I was about to explain to him some more, I heard the sound of someone calling out to me.
“Talia!?”
