A Pinch of Murder

Chapter 19- A New Perspective

Henry stood outside the recent Kill for Law winner's room. He had heard that she was probably part of Group Dagger or Quartz although she wasn't sorted. He knocked on the door.

"Get ready in five minutes," he said.

He waited a few moments and soon the girl emerged from her room. Her hair was in a bun and her lilac dress was breathtaking. Her brown eyes were like chocolate and her hair like the black ocean.

Wait, why was he doing this? Why was he comparing the girl's features with things you would find in nature? But she was so pretty. He held out his arm and the girl took it.

"What's your name?" The girl asked as they walked.
"Henry," he replied.
" That's nice, how old are you?"
"Thirteen actually."
"You are that young! How did you survive the game?"
" I got out by working for the government, I was one of the lucky ones. The government chooses their workers very carefully."
"How long have you worked here?"
"Just this year actually. Oh, we are near the room."

The girl looked at him confused. Henry opened the door and his employer, Dilanous Dish, said to the girl,

"Welcome Jade. Please have a seat."
So the girl's name is Jade. What a wonderful name, Henry thought.
Henry paced back and forth.
She looks so beautiful. Wait, why am I thinking about her? Oh yeah, anxiety. I hope she doesn't die...

• • •

Henry stood in front of the door. A screech erupted from inside the room. Henry barged inside and found that a girl with brown hair and black eyes had splashed tea onto Dilanous.

"You, you monster! You killed my younger sister! How dare you!" The girl screeched.
Dilanous smiled and said:
"Henry, escort Lilith to the Tradition Library."
Henry nodded and took her to the library.
"I am sorry," apologized Lilith.
"It is fine," acknowledged Henry.
"Too bad both Liam and Helena died," reminisced Lilith.

Henry dived into the pit of memories he wanted to forget. Last year, his younger brother, Liam, was killed last in the game last year when Henry was hired by the government. Henry always felt guilty for not protecting Liam, if only he wasn't hired just yet.

But Helena. Helena should've survived. She was too kind and generous. But she died just this year because she saved someone from dying. Who could have thought that it was staged by the government. To make matters worse, Helena and Lilith were twins so Helena's death was like ripping out a part of Lilith's heart. Two funerals in a time period of two years, very unlucky it was.

"Henry? Henry!" Lilith called.
Henry snapped back into reality, seeing that Lilith was indeed worried for him. He wiped his tears away and opened the door to the Library.

"You will be locked in this room for a week.It is the place where you will learn about The Groups, other people's groups and why it is important. You will be locked in there for a week, which should be enough time for you to research some stuff, with food of course," Henry dictated, like he was reading from a book.

"So you are locking me in a library for a week to let me read?" Lilith summarized.
"What group are you part of?" Henry asked, dodging the previous question entirely.
"Group Quartz," Lilith replied as she walked inside.
"Good luck, my sister," encouraged Henry.

Lilith smiled and waved Henry goodbye. Henry closed the door and locked it. He would see her later, maybe he should sneak her a candy bar.

A few hours later, Henry walked to the kitchen and got Lilith's dinner. He had a Twiz bar in his pocket and he would give it to his sister later.

Henry entered the library and his sister greeted him.
"Here, some pomegranate- jalapeño glazed ham. You will enjoy it, I promise."
"Thank you for the meal!" Lilith exclaimed.
Henry smiled. Lilith ate the food happily and suddenly she stopped.

She started coughing and blood started to drip out. Henry stood in shock. His only sister got poisoned by the food. Suddenly, Lilith went completely still. Henry held Lilith's limp body in his hands, crying. This was his last sister. His mom got them food, money and warmth, but she died last year. His father abandoned them. Now he was truly alone.

Henry snapped back into reality. He thought he had put all that behind him last year. Jade was still inside the room with Dilanous.
"Henry, come here to escort Jade to the Tradition Library," Dilanous instructed.
Dilanous probably just finished explaining to Jade what Group she was in and now he had to escort her to the library.

"So, what is the Tradition Library?" Jade asked Henry.
"It is the place where you will learn about The Groups, other people's groups and why it is important. You will be locked in there for a week, which should be enough time for you to research some stuff, with food of course," replied Henry.

She spinned to face Henry in the face.
"So you are locking me in a library for a week to let me read?" Jade said to Henry.

This reminded Henry of what Lilith said last year. This conversation was too familiar. He nodded and opened the door. The girl took in the sight of the many books that are in the room. She must have thought it was mesmerizing. She was mesmerizing. Henry walked towards the door and locked the door to the library.

Later that night, Henry had to bring food to Jade. He had sampled it, so there was no poison to be found. When he entered the room, books were in three piles and Jade was still reading.

"Please don't mind the mess. I will reorganize the shelves on Friday," Jade reassured.

"You are finished with ⅙ of the books? Already? McKinley was an avid reader, I heard, and she finished only 1/10 when they delivered her food," admired Henry.
"I mean, Clara didn't read at all when she was locked," Jade remarked.

And they left it at that. The days went by slowly until it was finally the day that Henry would let Jade out of the library.

"Can we go to Narnes & Bibles?" Jade pleaded to Henry.
"Of course. Let me tell my boss first," Henry agreed.

Jade twirled around in the sun with her yellow dress. Henry had guessed that Jade must have enjoyed the rays of sunlight on her at last. They walked to the bookstore and Jade had sprinted to a book section of books.

Fine by her,  Henry thought. He walked to the section where his sisters' books were at.
The First Sun, The Golden Star, and  The Last Night. The Last Night was the book that was published on the last night the entire family was together. Last year everyone finally read his sisters' books. There was a note inside The Last Night for the readers so that they would read the next book.

Dear Readers,
We have made it so far! We can't believe that the end is near. The last book will be titled "The Final Dawn." It will be published on the twenty eighth of September of the year two thousand twenty four. We hope that you guys will enjoy it!
From,
Lilith and Helena Trovi.

Their books were nominated for an award and they got it. Henry grabbed the trilogy set and bought it. He  walked over to the section he saw Jade walking over to. Upon not finding her there, he walked around the bookstore to look for her. He didn't find her, so he sat down and waited. Jade walked to him.

"Why look so worried?" Jade teased.
"Phew! You didn't get kidnapped. I had thought that I would have to avenge your murder," Henry complained.

They both laughed and walked together back to the Black House.

That night, Henry wore a three-piece suit and escorted Jade to the Great Hall. She was breathtaking in her dark violet dress. Henry escorted her to the Great Hall. He opened the door and she sat down at the table. He stood at the door and started reading the books that the twins wrote. It was delightful and nostalgic.

Suddenly, Jade walked out of the room.
"Shush, don't speak,"  Jade said to Henry, shutting him up.

"That child is a little naive,"  an official said.
"Yep, she is. How could she not know that we ordered to kill her, through poison of course," a different official cackled.

Everyone burst into laughter. Henry's eyes widened, he thought that the winners would live in peace. Henry turned to Jade to speak,  but he chose to reassure her instead. Jade was silently sobbing as she heard that.
Jade needed revenge. No, Jade deserved revenge. Revenge for all of his siblings as well.

✨Longest Chapter✨