Murder at the Council

An imaginative composed by Teesha Year 10 (St Peter's Catholic College)

-Teesha is a former student in The Writer's Collective Course (A 100 hour elective creative writing course available via the Cross Campus Centre CSBB)

Proud footsteps echoed down the hall, and every head in the room turned. Doctor Castillo was a looming figure and exuded authority without having to try, especially when he wasn’t in a good mood. His suit was always perfect, never a speck of dust in sight. The jacket and pants were always black, and the tie red—to match his eyes. 

A feast sat uneaten on the table, and in front of Castillo’s seat there was a single glass of blood. The only person brave enough to break the silence was Lady Selene, who sighed airily and swished her wine around the glass. “Good evening, doctor.” 

The tension left Castillo’s eyebrows, and his face relaxed. He reached forward, taking a long sip of blood and savouring the taste. From the seat opposite, Azrael eyed the glass, his tail swishing back and forth beside him. 

“AB Negative.” Castillo smiled, his cheek resting on his hand. “It’s very rare and tastes exquisite. Would you like a glass?” Azrael swallowed and shook his head tentatively. The doctor sighed, a predator’s smirk gracing his lips. “Suit yourself.” 

Demons didn’t typically drink blood, but some had a taste for it. It was considered taboo in the demon realm, like drugs in the human world. Azrael refused to admit it, but he once snuck into Castillo’s chambers just to sniff the blood in his fridge. He would crack one of these days. 

Serafine growled, a deep guttural rumble in the back of her throat. “What was this urgent matter you spoke about? I don’t suppose you dragged us all here to watch you drink, vampire.” 

“I am a doctor and the head of this Council. You will address me like a superior or not at all.” 

“My apologies sir.” She drawled, scowling. “I shall address you by your name then, Magnus?” 

“Don’t be disrespectful, you ridiculous wolf.” Azrael chimed in. “You’re only wasting everyone’s time by bickering.” 

“I’m ridiculous!? What’s ridiculous is a vampire doctor. Did nobody think to question if a vampire operating on vulnerable flesh is really a good idea? Does nobody ever wonder when fangs here was elected as the council minister? None of you have a backbone!” 

“Stop yelling. Your breath reeks.” Azrael said, blocking his nose. 

“You didn’t seem to mind when you kissed me! You pretentious little—” 

“ENOUGH.” Castillo rose from his seat. “We’re here to talk about serious matters, not to bear witness to your personal affairs.” The room went silent. “My wife was murdered last night. For those of you with a functioning brain…” He gave a certain look to the zombie in the room. “State your alibi.” 

Despite the declaration, nobody looked surprised except the human. Death doesn’t really phase you anymore after living for centuries, and murders are so frequent between non-human species that they feel more like a scandal than a crime. Or maybe it was the fact that nobody in the room liked the victim. 

Claire, the human, rose her hand first. “I’m very sorry to hear that, sir. I was at home watching the football so I can’t have done it. I have security footage to prove it.” She accessed an app on her cellular device and turned it around so everyone could see. Sure enough, she was right. Doctor Castillo didn’t understand human technology—nor what football is—but he waved her away regardless. 

“I was taking a nap.” Freddy said. “Life gets tiring when your Cera… something doesn’t work.” 

“Cerebellum.” Castillo completed. “Considering your stagger and lack of movement control, I doubt you would have managed to stab a woman so neatly.” 

“Right on! And I totally would’ve eaten her brain before killing her. What a waste of a smart, beautiful woman…” He nearly drooled. “At least I’m assuming the killer didn’t eat her brain, since I’m the only zombie here and it sure as hell ain’t me.” 

Castillo turned to the next seat in line. 

Phoenix’s small form sat in his fire-proof chair, batting his wings adorably. “I was a pile of ash last night.” He smiled, and his chubby baby cheeks made Lady Selene melt. 

“Oh it’s okay, cutie pie.” She ruffled his curly brown hair and had to shake off the sparks on her palm. “We know you didn’t do it.” 

“Fair enough.” Castillo sighed and rubbed his temples. “Lady Selene?” 

Her motherly attitude dropped at the sound of Castillo’s voice. “How dare you accuse me of such things, Magnus. I was attending to my duties as usual. Feel free to stop by my kingdom and verify that with my people.” 

“Hm. What about you, Grayson?” 

The Grayson in question was asleep, his face in his spaghetti. It’s not like he could eat it anyway, being a ghost and all. Azrael put his hand inside Grayson’s translucent head, and he woke up with a pout. “Ow…Headache.” 

“Where were you last night?” 

“Huh? Last night? I was in Lady Nuit’s chambers.” And then his head went back into his spaghetti. Everyone at the table looked at each other, then to Grayson. If he was in Castillo’s deceased wife’s chambers, that could only mean one thing, right? How a ghost was to brandish a weapon would be another question though. 

“Surely he—” Lady Selene whispered. 

“No…” Seraphine said. 

“Definitely not.” Said Freddy 

“Nahhhhh.” Said Azrael, leaning back into his chair. 

Castillo grabbed a fork and threw it at Grayson’s head. It phased through him and clattered on the plate. 

“STOP DOING THAT.” He rubbed at his head angrily and everyone watched in anticipation. You’d be able to hear a pin drop in the room. “I already told you; I was in Lady Nuit’s chambers. I was messing with her perfume.” 

Lady Selene gasped. “Don’t tell me you put Nightingale essence in her perfumes…” 

“No, no. God no, everyone knows she’s allergic. I like pranks, not murder. I was just mixing them.” He looked down at his plate, sad he’d even been accused of such a crime. Lady Selene looked at Castillo and he nodded. 

“That checks out, unfortunately. I was going to withhold details until the last minute in case someone was to slip up and spill more than they were told… but my wife died of a dagger to the throat, not anaphylaxis.” 

“Well everyone seems to have airtight alibis, so who do you suppose did it?” Serafina said. 

“There’s still two people who haven’t contributed.” Castillo hunched forward and clasped his hands. “Mind telling us where you were last night, Serafina?” 

She smiled and took a sip of her wine. “Attending to my duties.” 

“And you, Azrael?” He looked to the demon this time. 

“I was in purgatory; punishing the sinners as usual.” The only betrayal of Azrael’s composure was the unusually energetic swish and flick of his tail, and the avoidance of eye contact. The dining hall wallpaper wasn’t that interesting. 

“Don’t lie to me, demon. I’ll drag you back to Hades by the tail if I have to.” 

He flinched, tail frozen still for a split second. “I’m his favourite prince, he’ll kill you if you hurt me.” And then he went back to sipping his wine. 

“Not if you break the treaty. Unauthorised murder between realms is high treason, he’ll throw you into the pit.” The threat hung heavy in the air. All demons feared the pit, it was a massive 200 metre hole with a pool of holy water at the bottom. A fall so long that the surface tension would feel like a whip, and then the holy water to burn through impure skin like acid. 

Azrael tried to play it cool, but his long tongue flicked across his canines anxiously. “It’s not like I actually did it. I’m innocent.” 

“If you fail to tell me the truth then I will assume your guilt. You will be convicted for high treason—breaking the very treaty between realms that this council upholds—and will face a death sentence. Sounds good, no?” 

“That’s not how the law works! You can’t just convict me of a felony because you don’t have anyone else to punish. Sorry about your girl, but I didn’t kill her, and I won’t let you accuse me of something I didn’t do.” 

“The people sitting in this room are the only people powerful enough to travel between realms and are therefore, the only suspects. I know when people are telling the truth, and you are the only one that has sat here and lied to my face tonight.” 

Azrael went silent and looked down at his plate. “I’m innocent, I just can’t tell you why.” He whispered in a quiet, pleading tone. A demon claiming innocence may have been hilarious in a less serious context. 

“Fine. Bring Hades to me.” 

“What?” 

“Go back to purgatory and tell Hades to come and testify for your whereabouts last night. If you really are his favourite demon, that shouldn’t be a problem.” 

Everyone at the table watched as Azrael rolled his eyes and chugged the rest of his wine. “You know what, Magnus? Don’t even bother.” He set the glass down with a loud clink and threw his hands in the air. “Don’t waste your time. I wasn’t in purgatory last night.” 

“Great.” Magnus clapped and then signalled the guards stationed at the door. “I’ll open a portal to purgatory. You can tell Hades about your crimes and then my men will do the honours of throwing you in the pit.” 

The guards each grabbed one of Azrael’s arms and forced them behind his back while he struggled. “Get off me!” He kicked one of the men back, who just grabbed him by the tail in return. Azrael hissed and Lady Selene covered Phoenix’s eyes—who had grown an inch taller in the past hour. “What happened to a fair trial, huh? You gonna kill an innocent man over some hurt feelings?” 

“Hurt feelings? A woman is dead. My wife is dead!” 

“Spoiler alert—I didn’t kill her! I thought you could tell when people speak the truth.” The men fought against the demon’s strength and eventually wrestled a pair of handcuffs on his wrist. They were doused in holy water and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air as he cried out. 

Serafina growled, her werewolf canines on full, threatening display. “Get off of him! He’s innocent.” 

“Hate to break it to ya, wolfy, but your eye-candy is a criminal.” Freddy grinned, crossing green arms over his chest smugly. “I never liked him anyway.” 

By the time the guards managed to haul Azrael’s heavy, defeated body through a purple portal, Serafina’s pupils had lengthened into slits. “IDIOT.” She spat at Castillo’s designer shoes. “He couldn’t tell the truth because his whereabouts incriminate him. Demons can’t tell any truth that would make them guilty. Don’t you know this? Or perhaps you’re not as smart as you think you are.” 

Castillo stared at the seething woman before him and thought for a moment. “If you’re not going to say something useful—don’t waste my time.” 

“Azrael didn’t kill your wife because he was in my realm last night. My castle staff can attest to that.” 

Freddy’s smile dropped. Selene gave phoenix a look—who had, as of two minutes ago, rapidly grown into a teenager and had the capacity to understand what was happening and give her a wide-eyed look back. Claire giggled and elbowed Freddy, and Grayson was laughing so hard he was snorting. 

Castillo gave a nasty look down the table. Everybody shut up and straightened their posture. “And I suppose that incriminates him because demons are forbidden to mix species. If that is true, how was your alibi truthful?” 

“Because I technically didn’t lie. And in case you haven’t realised, you just sentenced him to death!” She was pleading at this point. Serafina’s knees gave our and she wept on the marble floor with everyone’s eyes on her. “The lady was killed in her chambers, where none of your staff are permitted to enter. We’re all innocent. Wake up, Magnus. She killed herself.” 

“And why would she do that?!” He bit back through gritted teeth. 

“I told her about your affair with Lady Selene a couple of days ago. I thought she deserved to know.” Serafina sobbed, her mascara running down her cheeks. “She was devastated. I never meant for this to happen—I just hoped she would finally realise how much of a scumbag you are.” 

Lady Selene stilled in her chair and phoenix’s mouth fell open. 

For the first time in his life, Doctor Magnus Castillo was wrong. Speechless too. Wrong and speechless. 

“You can save him, right?” She pleaded. Her previous confidence was gone, and now she sat on the floor in a puddle of tears with a cracking heart in her hands. 

The time difference between purgatory and the Vampire realm was 10-1. It’d already been 10 minutes here, so it had been an hour and 40 minutes in hell. Just as Magnus began to realise that fact, the two guards returned through a new portal with an empty pair of handcuffs.