"Gentlemen." Alfendi acknowledged the two guards infront of the church with a tip of his hat. His other arm was occupied with holding close his darling partner as they walked through the huge pass.
"Sir," Lucy whispered to catch her escort's attention, "Wot do ya think 'appened 'ere?" She sped her pace slightly as Alfendi did.
"Correction, love. What will happen here? And I'm positive this murder involves," He brought her to the last row in the back of the room. A few holy men were talking up at the front of the room. "Those men. Especially the demon they're holding onto."
The young lad was held tight by a rope one of the priests tied him in. He had no expression, but looked out to the empty seats and saw our intriguing duo. For a second, a smirk appeared, then vanished into the vacant look he commonly used.
The priest holding him close put a hand on his black hair. "Just stay where I can see you, lad. We have a surprise to prepare for you."
"Not much of a surprise if ya tell 'im. Sir, can I do t' interrogation this time, at least?" Lucy begged, anxiously awaiting for whatever Alfendi's alter ego had predicted.
The Layton cocked an eyebrow. "Lucy, we're at the scene of a soon-to-be murder. Why just let it happen, when we can stop it?" He released his lovely maiden, who crossed her arms over her chest.
"Damn it." She whispered.
"Hush, dear. Those are no words to be used in the holiest of places. Leave that for bed." Alfendi stood up, putting a hand out for his partner to take.
Her pout became a smile at the thought, and she complied eagerly.
Dress shoes and low heels clacked against the floor as the duo moved to the front.
"Wot a contradiction you men plan to make." Lucy started, bringing five sets of eyes onto them.
"What the- How did you two get in here so early? No one's supposed to get here until an hour from now!" One of the five priests exclaimed for all of them.
"Forgive our sins, poor man. We just decided that our demons were too strong to wait." Alfendi joked, taking off his hat and setting it on his chest. As he bowed, his assistant curtseyed. "We sure are in for a show tonight, aren't we?" He pointed to the lad sitting uninterestedly on the floor.
"The boy has sinned worse than any of us here." Another priest declared with a mournful expression.
"Come on now. T'lad couldn't 'ave sinned so bad." Lucy doubted.
"He killed his mother just the night before."
"Well, at least the boy has the audacity to admit his wrongdoing. Admirable, I'd give him that. But taking these matters into the church's hands doesn't feel as holy as you make it sound." Alfendi dug out a switchblade from his pants pocket and bent down to cut the ropes.
"Are you mad, man? The devil will use that lad's body to kill you too!"
Lucy took a second to analyze her surroundings then ran onto the stage. At the very back was a sturdy rope tied to a bar. Peering up to its path, Lucy knew now she had to untie the thing before anyone could blink. When she did so, a large, rocking chandelier fell from the ceiling, having no force to hold it up anymore. Doing so trapped the five holy men in a circle of dull flames as the fire on the lit candles on the chandelier suddenly sparked up higher.
"Looks like our Lord and the Devil have made a truce to kill you men off. I wonder what kind of sins you've been pulling off." Alfendi wondered, holding the small child away from the fire. "Lucy, why don't we bring this child back to his mother? She obviously must be worried about him. We'll let purgatory take care of these holy men. It shouldn't be that difficult for them." He held the boy's shoulders and lead him out of the church.
Lucy walked past the men as they begged for help, mercy even, as the flames began engulfing the inside of the circle. She noticed something before she left. A gun lying where the boy once sat on the floor. "Curious." She murmured as she picked it up.