7 Mortis Machina

The Captain ordered his men to escort us into a carriage. We obediently accepted the free ride back to Eriden.

"The captain is someone you know?" I asked suddenly in a whisper during our long ride back to Eriden.

"Why yes. We knew each other for quite a long time," replied Adrian in a low voice, although our conversation was clearly audible to the two guards flanking both of us.

"Will they ever let us out?"

"They are only taking us in for questioning. Worry not, Aliciel. They should release us after gathering information from us. Perhaps the captain might know of a high-rank mechanic who can help us. The military often employs the help of mechanics."

"You are very optimistic, Detective," I remarked.

"Ah, Iris often tells me that I am too optimistic for my own good."

"I think that is a good thing. Not many people are optimistic these days."

A few more silent hours passed before we arrived at the headquarters of the King's Royal Military, popularly called the Castell. The five-storey structure was built with the sturdiest white stone quarried from the nearby mountains half a century ago. Its front was embellished with intricate carvings and golden paint, which were carefully polished to perfection by the best artists the kingdom could offer. The awe and inspiration provided by its beauty distracted viewers from the fact that taxpayers' money shouldered much of the grandiose expenses. Such an old building bore witness to years of historical events including the thievery of a spy from the neighboring kingdom, the scandalous affair of the general and a kitchen maid, and other undocumented occurrences that only these silent walls could attest to.

"Do you miss this place, Latrell?" asked the Captain when we were dropped off at the Castell's wide gardens. He eyed a battalion of soldiers from afar doing their daily training before his gaze landed back on us.

"I certainly miss the cafeteria's honey cakes," replied Adrian.

The Captain was unamused by the detective's thoughts of sweets. "The others will be surprised when they find you here."

"Indeed they will, although it has only been a year."

"A year is a long time, Latrell. Especially when you're faced with discouraging circumstances. Time can run exceptionally slow. Men are dying daily and there seems to be no end in sight for this war. By the time we eradicate the insurgents, we will be left vulnerable to foreign invaders. We can only helplessly wait for the inevitable unless the King makes diplomatic efforts."

"It sounds like the front lines are suffering a considerable loss."

"It has grown increasingly worse since you left."

Detective Latrell grew silent, reflecting on the captain's words.

Captain Dietrich led us inside the Castell, where the main lobby was just as lavishly decorated as the exterior. The previous king was indeed fond of pompous displays of the kingdom's wealth.

"Someone escaped!" A loud voice sent heads turning towards the tall windows where people flocked to observe the escapee sprint through the gardens as guard chased after him. In a matter of seconds, gunshots fired and the escapee was down on the ground with a wounded leg. His face became distorted by pain. Everyone looked on unmoved, except for a few servants and of course, Adrian, who was extremely disconcerted.

"Why was he shot?" I asked.

"A few dangerous criminals are being kept here as they await trial. It is part of our standard operating procedures to shoot those who try to escape," Captain Dietrich said with no traces of pity for the fallen criminal. "They know very well what we would do in the event of an attempted escape. It was their choice to risk having their legs shot."

"Does it happen often?"

"A rare occurrence. Only fools would attempt it."

A ruthless consequence that people are willing to risk in exchange for a chance of freedom.

The crowd gradually dispersed as the unfortunate criminal was successfully captured and brought back into the jail.

Captain Dietrich cleared his throat. "Now, back to business. We need to have the girl examined."

"For damages? Iris already performed an examination. Her core seemed to have been partially destroyed," said Adrian.

The captain shook his head. "There is something I have to make certain. I will explain everything to you in detail once we have the results."

The captain called his men to escort me to the medical wing at the far eastern side of the building. I was separated from the detective and taken into a room with an operating table. A towel with some sort of chemical was placed over my nose and mouth which immediately made me lose consciousness.

When I finally woke up, it was already dark and I was in some sort of patient ward. The beds surrounding me were empty. Only a single nurse accompanied me in the room. Thankfully, she was asleep on the desk, so I managed to slip out of the room unnoticed.

The dim corridors were lit by bright torches. It was surprisingly easy to conceal oneself in the dark corners and remain undetected. I continued down the long hallway until I heard a familiar voice.

"This may sound a bit inhuman, but it might be best to leave her unfixed."

It was Captain Dietrich.

"Are you telling me that we're just going to leave her to die?"

And Adrian.

I peeked inside through the small opening at the door. They were both inside a library, standing around a long rectangular table covered with books and documents.

"Precisely," replied the Captain. "Adrian, during that year you left the military, we fought those things again. There were about twenty of them. We have no clue where they came from. They caused a lot of casualties. Civilians and soldiers. I want to prevent that from happening again."

"Aliciel risked her own life and saved several people on that train. She is not like them, Dietrich."

"She has the exact same design as them. Although she is part human, there is still a chance that she could suddenly awaken her inner bloodlust. That is what mortis machina are designed for. To kill and destroy humanity."

Adrian was silent for a moment. "What are you going to do if I disagree with you?"

He sighed. "Stubborn as always, Latrell. You never change. It's less likely that you'd be able to find someone who can fix her. All the candidates have gone into hiding with that serial killer running about. Even the royal military is having a rough time thanks to that."

"She saved my life and I'm going to save hers." Adrian's face was full of conviction.

"You shall not. She is to remain here under surveillance. It is my duty to take precautions. Don't take it personally."

"Dietrich, she is but a young girl searching for her dear master."

"Searching for Adonias?" Captain Dietrich shook his head. "Everyone is looking for Adonias, Latrell. He is an elusive one. Anyone attempting to locate him is either a person authorized to arrest him or an ally of his evil organization."

"We're not certain yet that Adonias is really her master."

"Her design is the only evidence we have of her ties, but I'm not taking any chances. Worry not. She will be treated as a guest as long as she causes no incident." Refusing to continue the discussion, Captain Dietrich left the room through an exit opposite the door that kept me hidden from view.

After drawing a deep sigh, Adrian approached my door. I stayed still and allowed him to discover me.

"Aliciel! How did you get here?" Adrian was shocked.

"I slipped out of the patient ward."

Adrian looked around and lowered his voice into a whisper. "Let's continue this in my room before Dietrich notices that you're here."

I nodded and followed him quietly up a flight of stairs and into a small and simple room.

Adrian sat on his bed and planted his palms on his forehead in defeat. "I'm very sorry, Aliciel. They want to keep you in their custody. I failed to convince the Captain to let you go. He believes you're a threat to civilians."

"Am I really a mortis machina?" I asked.

Adrian took a deep breath. "We don't really know for sure, but your design is very similar to one."

"And Adonias. Is he my master?"

"It is possible. Your master was someone who was capable of making a perfect copy of the design. It's either he was trained by Adonias or he is Adonias himself." Adrian began to realize something. "If your master really is Adonias, that would explain why no one could find him. He was hiding away in Ebernhard, a place no one bothered to look."

"Are other people looking for him too?"

"Yes. Very many people are looking for him. Even the Royal Military."

"Why would the military want to find him?" I continued asking questions. I needed to know about Master.

Adrian swallowed hard. "Adonias is a wanted criminal. He invents machines that cause destruction and kills people."

I couldn't imagine Master being capable of doing such villainous things, but he certainly looked like an antagonist.

Adrian continued, "If Adonias is really your master, I doubt Captain Dietrich will ever let you out of here. I'm very sorry that you ended up in this predicament, Aliciel. This is my fault. I was so insistent on going to Byrd." Guilt was prominent in his expression.

I met his eyes. "Don't worry. I can learn more clues about Master here."

"Are you not frightened by the mere thought of losing your freedom?"

"I told you before. I'm unable to hold any emotion. That includes fear. Goodnight, Adrian."

I left the detective alone in his room. Evading the line of sight of any person in the hallway, I quietly slipped back to the patient ward where the nurse was still deep in her slumber.