Of Minds And Souls | ONC 2021

2| Of Death And Suicide

Mother arrives almost immediately after. She is dressed in fur and sunglasses and as she walks to us, many Agents glance in our direction.

"Astraea," she smiles, removing her sunglasses and tosses her rich hair back. I smile and am about to speak when I notice her cautious expression.

"Why don't we sit," I say instead.

She nods and takes a seat beside me. She smiles at me and gestures 'wait,' inclining her head towards the men about to walk past us. I nod.

Mother was my hero.

Mother was Psyedon's greatest assassin.

These two statements seemed contradictory a long time ago, but now it felt normal. From the day, she had assassinated my abusive father and adopted me, mother had trained me to become her. To take her place someday in the future. And then one day, to her great shock, I had told her that I wanted to work for the law. For justice, I didn't want to kill out of my own speculation of what was right.

I had shivered as I stood in front of her and told her, but she didn't react like I had expected; she had turned to me and smiled and said, 'my life was my own and I could do with it what I wished to do.'

I had stared at her, shocked at her quick acceptance not knowing that in a few days she would come to me and tell me that she had retired from her line of work. That she did not want to pressure her only child into going against her morals.

'I only owe one person in this world and that is you,' she had said.

"Astraea," mother says. Aiderall kicks me under the table, and I glare at him before realising the Agents had already walked past.

"I have a present," she says. I pause, squinting my eyes.

"Ooh, a present," Aiderall says, rubbing his hands. I kick him again, rolling my eyes.

"Mother," I groan, understanding her previous cautiousness as whatever present she had brought was highly unique and most likely illegal.

"Okay," she says grinning putting a box on the table, "But I didn't steal it, it was payment."

I sigh, fingering the lid, and then slowly open it. My heartbeat speeds up and I drop the lid, my neck snapping in mother's direction.

"How," I ask, "do you even have this."

"Well, you know the old myth," mother says leaning back like it was nothing. I chew my lip.

"Mother."

"Okay," she says putting her hands up, "but, I wanted to give it to you."

"Will any of you tell me what it is," Aiderall asks breaking my glare. I sigh and push the box to him. He opens the lid and takes out the object.

"Oh my god, this is wicked, a tiara," he squeals.

"Aiderall," I hiss, leaning over, and tugging the tiara out of his hands and back into the box.

"You're so sensitive," Aiderall groans.

"Do you know what that is," I ask, hugging the box.

"A tiara," he says, wrinkling his nose, "god, you'd think I killed someone."

"Nah, I've done that," mother laughs, "she ain't look at me like that."

"You have a point," Aiderall mutters, "She just likes you better than me."

I turn to mother and point at the box, waiting for an explanation. She rests her back and grins.

"If it's any consolation, darling, I dipped the rubies in your blood when you were a kid, so you're its ruler."

I close my eyes slowly and take a deep breath. Yeah, I was really consoled now.

"What do you mean, she's its ruler."

"The goddamn tiara is enchanted, she means it will kill whoever I want it to kill, provided the person is in a mile radius from me."

"Enchanted," Aiderall repeats staring at the box, a dumb expression on his face.

"Yes, enchanted, you idiot."

"Hey," he says, "not everyone is as clever as you."

"Well, she's my daughter, of course she's smart," mother says clasping my hand smugly.

"Yes, Iris," Aiderall salutes.

"Skintas Dante," I hiss at him, "How many times do I have to tell you, you're like a child, you do not use mother's alias, ever."

"Another thing he can't do," mother asks, wrinkling her nose.

I sigh, and rest my head on the table, "between the both of you," I mutter, "I'm stifled."

My phone vibrates in my jacket pocket. I sit up as I see Sergeant's name flashing on the screen.

"And now my boss," I hiss.

"I don't think the people in my profession have bosses," mother says. I glare at her as I answer the call.

"Special Agent Asgard," he says.

"Yes sir."

"Code red, in my office now."

My backbone stiffens and I stand, stuffing the phone back into my jacket.

"I have to go," I say quickly checking for my gun and pulling my badge out of my pocket.

"What's the matter," mother asks.

"Keep the tiara safe, do not give it to Aiderall," I say clipping the badge to the front of my jacket., "love you."

Before either mother or Aiderall could get another word in, I walk away. As I near the walls of the building, my head begins to throb. Agents gather all around the estate, each of them either yelling on the phone or shouting out orders. The security salutes as I enter the building and semi-run through the halls and into the sergeant's office.

I knock twice and open the door. The sergeant is refiling through papers whilst roughly speaking to a few other Agents. My face pales.

"Sir," I say saluting, I push the bad feeling away.

He drops the papers as he hears my voice and motions for the other Agents to leave. I shake my head as he watches me.

"You lost Yuxon," I say, knowing all this commotion could only have one reason.

The sergeant shakes his head and pushes some paper on his table away as he searches for something. A moment later, he hands me a document.

I understand even before I look at the paper. The sergeant sees the realisation on me, and an apologetic expression covers his face. He sighs and puts the document back on the table, seeing I wasn't going to read it.

"I'm sorry," he says, "Yuxon committed suicide ten minutes ago."

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