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"I thought you did not speak Latin ?"

I stared wordlessly at Alexandru's mouth as it moved perfectly in sync with what he was saying. The surreal moment of talking to Death's past self and actually understanding him had completely stunted my train of thought.

"Why are you looking at me with your mouth hanging open?" Alexandru asked, becoming frustrated again. "I know you understand me now, so you better not play any more games of witches."

"Witches?" I echoed, finally speaking up. "Wait a minute, you think I'm a witch?"

Well, that explained a lot. Especially him showing me this witchy room.

"You conjured magic from your bag," Alexandru accused. "I felt it paralyze my entire body. And then a daemon spoke to me–yelled at me ­­­­­­­­­in thundering riddles."

I pressed my hands into my eyes and smeared them down my face. Romeo's backpack had been both a blessing and a curse so far. At least I could talk to Alexandru with what appeared to be some sort of language gum. That was the only thing that explained this bizarreness right after I had that reaction to the "gum" in my backpack.

"I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot here," I said finally.

We both looked down at my bandaged foot.

"What I mean is," I clarified, "I'm not playing any games with you."

Alexandru frowned, analyzing my clothing, before settling his gaze on my mouth. "Your Latin is strange, and so is your scent."

"I hit my head hard, and it's called body odor."

He walked a circle around me. "No, your scent is deeper to me. You smell like cake with honey."

My heart pounded in my ears. Oh, really? "Huh. I've never been told that before. Thanks?"

"What kind of witch wastes her magic on her own aroma?" he questioned, standing to my left. He was so close that I could feel the heat coming off his bare chest in the wide opening of his tunic. "And what were you doing in that river? Everyone in our village knows how dangerous the waters are at the rapids."

Even if his words did sometimes come out like a horrible Google Translate, this was a very, very convenient accident. And I had to make sure I played this right.

"I'm not from your village." I'm not from this era, either. But only by like, two-thousand years. "I...was fishing––"

"Fishing."

"Yes, fishing," I repeated in a sassier tone. "You know, for fish. Because I was hungry?"

Damnit. He was doing not-blinking thing that Death did when he knew I was lying.

"You do this often?" Alexandru asked. "Fish in dangerous waters, alone?"

"Yes, actually, I do!" I also jump into unstable portals into unstable worlds to save you, you ungrateful bitch. "You don't think I know how to fish?"

"I know you do not know how to fish."

Oh, my God. I wanted to step up into a stool, wrap my hands around his neck, and strangle him. Could Alexandru not be Death for like, five seconds?

"Listen, Blondie," I said, propping my hands on my hips in an attempt at authority. The giant bulldozer of a man in front of me didn't seem intimidated, though. "I know how to fish..."

"Show me."

"Right now?"

"Yes." He gestured with his hand for me to go on with it. "Act it out"

I made a motion with my hands of casting a line and reeled it back. Then it dawned on me that Romans might not have fished like that, so I quickly moved my hands around as if I were using a net. By the time I was done with my reenactment, I was a bit out of breath, and wished he hadn't given me approximately fifty layers of clothes.

Alexandru stared down at me like I just sealed the deal for him that I was coo-coo.

He sighed heavily. "Why are you going to such strange lengths to lie? You are making yourself look guilty. Embrace what you are, it does not matter to me."

"Wait, guilty? Guilty of what?"

"I do not know any honest women who wear..." He gestured to my now-tunic, unable to find the words. "Barbaric garments along their legs."

"You mean, pants?"

"Yes," he said, rather disgusted. "You wore trousers. A barbarous garment."

I glance down at his practically bare leg, restraining any insults in his direction with every ounce of strength within me. "You're calling me a savage?"

"No, I have never seen a lady wearing trousers, is what I meant."

My mouth hung upon. Oh, you are kidding me.

He thought I was a prostitute.

"And then there were those armored plates beneath your odd compression tunic," he continued, mentally rewinding the whole situation by the river. "I thought they might be compressing your breast and preventing you from breathing, so I slid my hand between the armor and your––"

"Pause there, big fella. You were feeling up my breasts?"

"What?" He looked so repulsed that he actually took a step away from me. "What kind of man do you think I am? No, I did not touch your breasts while you were in need of help. When I pulled you out of that river, you began coughing up water, and I could tell you had armor underneath your clothes. It was sewn into a thin tunic beneath your overcoat, so creating some space between the garment and your skin helped you catch your breath."

As I reeled over Alexandru's words, I realized just how close I had come to dying in the Unknown. Caito wasn't joking about how real these memories were in the sense of effecting me. Death's past memory had saved my life. I would have died, had he not heard me screaming.

"Thank you, for saving me and explaining what you meant. Just to be clear, I'm not a prostitute."

"Genuinely?" Alexandru's gaze brushed over my tunic, but he quickly everted his eyes back up to my face. "Are you an enchantress, then?"

"Enchantress?" For a second, I thought he was insulting me, but then I put two and two together. He thought I was a witch, and he thought I was hot. Feeling a little flattered, I fluffed up my hair with a little laugh. "I mean, no, but I'll take it..."

He arched a brow at me. I wondered if he was getting a horrible Google Translate version of what I was saying, too.

Before I dug myself an even deeper hole here, I tried to backtrack to our earlier conversation. He wanted to know what I was ,and he clearly didn't trust me. "I'm looking for someone," I said. "It's been a long journey from my home. Although, I think I might be on the right track."

Alexandru crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at me from over his nose. "Where is your home?"

Ah, crap. He's standing in the Death the Investigator stance.

"I...I don't remember?" I touched my head, as though I had a sudden pain in my skull, and winced. "Although, I did remember that I spoke Latin. Which is why I'm talking to you right now. In Latin. My second language..."

I peeked up at him mid-fake wincing, still clutching the back of my head.

We frowned at each other for a long moment.

"You're not buying a single word of this, are you?" I asked.

"Not one word," Alexandru said with conviction in his eyes. "I can hear your heart racing and you pin your tongue between your teeth before each time you lie." Then he turned and withdrew from the room like the conversation was over.

"Pull it together, Faith," I muttered, ungluing my feet as I limped after him. "Wait, wait! Where are you going?"

He stopped to turn his head halfway over his shoulder. "To clear my head."

"What about me?"

He kept walking down the hallway. "I will make my decision."

I hobbled as fast as I could to get in front of him, the small burst of exertion making me a little size as I braced my hands on his stomach. "Geez, God bless." I pushed a strand of my hair away from my face. "Um, could you clarify what you mean by decision?"

He ticked off each thing he listed off his fingers. "You will not tell me who you are, you will not tell me where you live, you have a backpack that I suspect is made of black magic. Not to mention, you lie more than you tell the truth."

"You want to know who I am? My name is Faith."

I thought maybe, just maybe, he would recognize me in that moment.

But he laughed.

"Do you think I am stupid?" Alexandru asked. "Faith is not a name."

I almost burst with laughter. "Oh, you have no idea how ironically hilarious that is coming from you."

The joke missed him by a land shot, as he remained aggravated. "Either you are a witch, or you are not. And if you are not, you will tell me what you are instead. Your mute performance on the ride to my home and this back and forth is not funny to me. If you keep playing games, you will leave me with no other choice than to expose you." He stepped up to me, and I backed up into the stone wall behind me. "As for my decision, Faith, it is whether I throw you from my home now or bring you to the city for the city folk to determine what you are."

"I know you won't do that––"

"I will." He leaned his hand on the frame of the window behind me, caging me in. "And I have."

Okay, so he was intimidating all right. But he was bluffing. Of course, he was bluffing.

"And what about you?" I stood up straighter, bringing our faces closer. He didn't shift back as I'd expected him too, and his mismatched eyes swept over my lips in a way that momentarily distracted me. "You took me into a room with herbs and bones that probably had a bubbling cauldron somewhere and moved down those steps to grab me in a blur. No human moves as fast as you did or has a room like the one you just showed me. And you have the nerve threaten me? I threaten you!"

Unlike Death, who had mastered the art of hiding his emotions, Alexandru wore his thoughts on his face much more clearly. And his expression had darkened in a way that kept my on edge. Like he was one second away from making a decision that would cost me my life.

"I don't want any trouble," I rushed out, before I found out if I was correct. "You brought me here because you have a good heart. I know you can see that I have a good heart, too. The truth is, I'm not a witch. I'm not a thief, either, and I'm not a threat."
"Then what are you?"

"Lost," I whispered, exhaling it with honest ease. "I'm lost, and I'm looking for someone else who's lost, too. If you could help me in any way, I would be grateful."

He considered my words with a solemn expression. I hoped he would say yes. I needed him to say yes. The only way I could somehow figure out where to find Death's unconscious corpse was through these memories.

"Alexandru?" The male voice boomed through the house, startling us apart before he could answer me. Alexandru jumped into action and pushed me down to the floor, squatting down with me. His rough hand had cupped firmly over my mouth, while his other hand held a finger to his lips. My breath came out stiffly from my nostrils.

"Alexandru?"

This time, the male voice echoing the Cruscellio voice was unmistakably Malphas.

"If you want to live, stay here and do not speak," Alexandru whispered, and then he popped back up and leapt through the window into the courtyard.

"Father," I heard Alexandru say, and my heart lurched in my chest. "I thought you might be staying at our city home this evening?"

"I am here briefly and will be returning to the city before dusk." Malphas' voice sounded closer, but I imagined he was on the other side of the courtyard.

"Is something wrong?" Alexandru asked.

Malphas gave a mirthless laugh. "Might you tell me why Senator Cornelius was so adamant on you having a physical exam before your next match? In front of all the chairmen?"

"I do not understand."

"Senator Cornelius sat in on your fight one week ago, against that enslaved soldier from India. He was curious as to how your leg had recovered so well. Since he heard rumor of a drunken fight that broke out between you and another champion the night before, ending in you getting your leg pinned underneath a chariot wagon."

I was straining to hear their conversation. Slowly, I crawled against the tiled ground where I remembered a canopy of vines hanging from one of the windows into the courtyard. Careful as to not make a single noise, I rose to peer over the ledge into the courtyard.

My eyes locked onto Malphas, who stood across the square shaped pool in front of Alexandru. His obsidian hair, normally twisted in warrior braids, was cropped short to his skull, the wavy strands slightly angled forward in a crest shape. He wore a purple toga with gold embroidery, two colors I had never seen on him. Strange, but seeing Death blonde with no tattoos and wearing white still took the winning trophy of bizarre in my mind.

Alexandru was staring at his father in blank shock. I realized the tension was high between them.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" Malphas demanded, his temper turning over fast. "Is this what you do now behind my back? Get drunk with mortals and compromise everything we have worked for?"

"Father." Alexandru lifted his hand, as though to calm him. "Listen to me, I was going to tell you. There were only two witnesses. I thought nothing of it but a faded memory for all of us, a night of foolish, heavy drinking––"

Malphas reared back and whacked Alexandru across the face. The force of his hand had been so powerful, it took Alexandru down to the ground, and I nearly lurched forward with an instinct to step in. Malphas reared back and kicked Alexandru hard in the stomach. My fingers ignited at my sides, light dancing between my fingertips. Malphas lifted his head as though he heard something, and I ducked back down behind the window.

"I am sorry, father," Alexandru rushed out, as though to bring Malphas' attention back to him. "I know I have made a mistake now. Please, forgive me."

I sat on the ground with my hand clamped over my mouth, feeling so helpless. Malphas was a soulless, coldblooded creature in this memory, maybe more than ever, and I couldn't risk getting involved in something that had already happened already. That I couldn't take back from the past.

"How could you be so careless?" Malphas asked and I mentally braced for what could have been an even more brutal beatdown on Alexandru. But it never came. "It could have taken me weeks to clear this from the senator and the witnesses minds had there been dozens of eyes on you!"

I raged quietly over how such a horrible father he was. Given, this was over two-thousand years ago, and Malphas was a newly born soulless monster, but even then, seeing him hit Death like that had changed my opinion of him.

I slowly peered back into the courtyard.

Alexandru had his hands braced on the ground, keeping his head down as though still preparing for another strike. "Did you...settle the situation?"

"No, I did not kill those mortal witnesses." Malphas inhaled slowly, and I watched his clenched fingers slowly flex open. He ran his hand over his hair and started pacing the length of the pool. "Although, I would have, had Kalace not been in the room with us. He vouched for you, you know. He even accused those three men of common jealousy of your unique athleticism."

"Cornelius believed him?" Alexandru asked.

Malphas stopped pacing, his gaze sliding around his surroundings. I froze, thinking he might have heard me breathe or something. With narrowed eyes, he returned his attention back to Alexandru.

"I do not know for sure," Malphas said. "Kalace saved Cornelius' wife during her second childbirth. The man owed him a favor. His pardon of the accusations against you could have been strictly because of that bargain." Malphas crossed his arms over his chest. "Therefore, Senator Cornelius remains an issue. You should have seen the spittle flying from his mouth as he accused you of witchcraft. He was held in a complete state of paranoia."

"There have been rumors Cornelius is unhinged," Alexandru said.

"Well, we must appease him nontheless," Malphas said. "You know how this could look if he speaks to the rest of the senate. Falsely accused daemons and witches are executed week after week. You planted a seed of uncertainty into a powerful politician, when we are on the brink of gaining the senate and the new providence's vote. General Aulus Plautius is against me in his campaign and I am narrowly behind his support. He cannot lead Rome across the British channel. This is my fate. I am three times the war leader that he will ever be. I do not think you understand how this mistake you made could cost us everything."
Alexandru took this all in with guilt deep in his eyes. "How I fix this, father?"

Malphas already had his answer primed. "You must lose," he said. "You will lose tomorrow to Remous Roscio in the gladiator games to tarnish your perfect record. I have already arranged your fight."

"Remus Roscio?" Alexandru shook his head with a laugh. "He is the last man on earth I will lose against––"

Malphas stepped up to Alexandru, making him take a step back. "Put your fucking pride away, my son. If we sell it to Cornelius and the commonfolk that you are were defeated by Remus, these rumors of your healing will look less credible."

But Alexandru did not look happy with this idea. "There has to be another way."

"All you have to do is take the beating without serious injury," Malphas said, completely ignoring his son's opinion, "and I'll handle the rest. There is enough distance between me and the ring to influence Remus' mind. He is the ideal fighter for this strategic move. The commonfolk are obsessed with his violent tendencies and the competition of athleticism between you two."

"Remus is a shameless, blockhead fighter," Alexandru said. "Not to mention, he is crazier than Senator Cornelius. The man is filthy trash, who takes advantage of women and murders, murders even in the gladiating games not intended to end with a pool of blood––"

"The people of Rome want violence on their champion," Malphas replied coldly. "So, Remus the gladiator gives them war. It is why he is close to you in popularity. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from him, as I would argue a majority of your popularity comes from young and desperate women wearing your blood in their jewelry."

Alexandru didn't feed into his father's criticism this time. I also was pretty sure Malphas wasn't joking about that blood in the jewelry thing.

"Why will you not listen to me?" Alexandru looked exhausted, like he'd had this conversation a thousand times with his father. "You are asking me to purposely humiliate myself in a game I am already the shamed in. Do even value how I feel at all?"

"You will do as I say."

Alexandru's jaw clenched, the softness in his face toughening as he lifted up his chin. "I do not look weak in the face of a monster. I am Rome's champion. He is Rome's fool­­––"

"You are Rome's fool, Alexandru!" Malphas seethed, storming toward his son. Alexandru face flinched, as though he thought Malphas would hit him again. "We are Rome's fools. Here we are, living in luxury, and yet, you, me, and your mother, are forced to hide who we are. I fight for our family to finally be able to come into the light. Your stubbornness has hindered this––"

Alexandru burst into laughter, daring to lean forward instead of cowering from Malphas' rage. "My stubbornness? I am your mirror, father. I am your creation. You have shaped me into a slave, who must smile in front of my admirers and act like I enjoy this hell. Not even mother can get through to your sickness. Why do you think she leaves for such lengthy journeys for supplies for her witchery? It is only to get away from you before she is your mirror, too!"

Something shuttered over Malphas' features, but he expertly hid it. "I will not be spoken in such a way in my own home."

Alexandru's chest heaved up and down fast, his next words tumbling out of him. "You did not earn this home! I did!"

Malphas clasped Alexandru on the shoulder, the rage in his pale features seeming to transform his face into something else. Something with features too razor sharp and a frightening black substance dripping from its fangs. Alexandru immediately tensed underneath the thing that had replaced the image of his father, his shoulders curling inward slightly, his jaw locking, and his eyes wide and panicked.

"Listen to me closely, my son," Malphas said, and sun reflecting off the pool at the center of the courtyard seemed to cloud over at that very moment. "Those mortals, cheering in the stands like screaming sheep––beaten and berated by their rulers––they do not need a hero, or a leader. They need control. Control over the suffering they cannot deny, so they grapple for violence and sin. They want death. And they want it gruesome and brutal and then they want their champion to smile and do it again for them. You will do as I say, Alexandru. You will please Rome and the senate, and you will follow my command for tomorrow. If you do not, there will be severe consequences." He let those words sink in for a moment. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, father," Alexandru gasped out.

Malphas released him. "I will return to the city tonight for further preparations, and you should leave on horseback early tomorrow."

He stormed out of the courtyard and through astone archway, disappearing from my line of vision.

The strangest sensation centered at the middle of my forehead from the inside, like a tight pressure. My whole body locked up in fear, as I realized I'd felt in my head had been Malphas' deadly power.

I turned, eye-level with black eyes. "Hello."

I hadn't even a chance to scream, Malphas grabbed me around the throat, the pinch of his fingers digging into my skin as he dragged me into the courtyard and tossed me into Alexandru, who caught me around the waist and steadied me. I gripped onto the fabric of his tunic as the Raven Demon released a hostile laugh

"Are you joking?" Malphas was grinning now. "A whore? In your mother's home? Have some restraint, Alexandru."

"She is not a whore," Alexandru said, and I could hear his heart pounding through the fabric of his tunic as he said it. "She is a trusted friend."

Malphas' mouth remained curled in a cruel smirk. When those cold, soulless eyes drifted to mine, I could feel his power scrape against my mind like a claw. A shiver rake through me, though I didn't show my fear. I stared definitely back at him, and his smirk widened.

"She is fearless in this moment. I am uninterested." Malphas turned sharply away from us and retreated from where he came. I knew I'd just escaped another very narrow ending. "Either get rid of it or wipe its memory of our conversation," he called out to his son. "I do not care, though I have cleaned up enough of your messes today."

A door slammed. He was gone. I released the breath I'd been holding, and so did Alexandru. 

***

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