Cute boys and Serial Killers

She woke up to a boy’s face staring down at her. He looked around ten, with wide eyes and a cheerful face. Most people would melt, seeing that smile. She, of course, was immune to that. She definitely didn’t think it was cute. Not at all.

“Hello!” The boy chirped. “You must be Anne! I’m Cosmo! We’re gonna be working together!” Oh. So this was Cosmo! She had almost forgotten about him! Her surprise was quickly overtaken by irritation at Cosmo’s greeting, his loud voice grating against her skull. Or maybe that was just the relentless throbbing pain she had woken up to.

“Whoa, are you okay?” He asked, his voice full of concern. He held out his hand. “Here, let me help.” Anne snorted, and hauled herself up. “Thanks, but no thanks. Just tell me what we’re doing here.” They were in a hotel room, with two twin beds. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept on a bed. Though, if where she had gotten up from was any indication, she just had.

Cosmo pouted, legitimately pouted for a second, before deciding to answer her question. “We’re investigating!”

“Investigating what?” Cosmo’s face darkened for a split second, before lightening up like nothing had happened. She had a feeling that she wasn’t supposed to see that. His voice dropped to a whisper, even with no one in sight. “Have you ever heard of the Black Mamba?” She gasped. Years ago, everyone and their dog had heard of the Black Mamba. He was a notorious criminal, who operated behind the shadows. He would come out of nowhere. Any noble could be targeted. No one had ever survived an encounter with him. His signature blade would be used to slash the victim's door. He had faded to obscurity in the past few years. Some said he had died. Others said he was still out there, biding his time. He had been reported in the area she used to live in, she remembered. But, what did he have to do with anything?

“ The Black Mamba has returned. And we are in charge of finding him, and taking him down.” Anne nearly choked on her own spit.

“But we’re kids!” She managed to choke out. “How are we supposed to take him down?”

“The Kings have full confidence in us. All we have to do is study the crime scenes, find him, and defeat him!” She felt a burst of rage flare up with the mention of the Kings, before reminding herself where she was. She was stuck here. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to go back to anyways, she thought glumily.

“That easy, huh?”

“Yep! Should be a piece of cake. Mmm, cake.” There is no way that anyone could be this cheerful. He’s gotta be faking it at this point.

“So,” she said loudly. “What’s your bent?”

“Oh!” he responded, surprised. “Animals do my bidding. Honestly, I just like to talk with them.” Suddenly, Cosmo’s role made sense. No one thinks about the animals. He could find clues from them! Such a skill is very rare, which would probably be the reason for using a young boy instead of an adult. This meant that she was most likely here because of their minimal age gap. They would want him to be comfortable with the people he works with. They really had planned for everything. She gritted her teeth.

“Where do we start?”

“Come with me.” They walked down the block, stopping at one of the larger houses. “Last week, the Black Mamba made his most recent attack here.” They walked inside. “The victim was Mrs. Amanda Dules, age 54.” He droned, sounding like he had memorized this long ago, and found it tremendously boring. “She lived alone after her husband broke a sacred law, resulting in his execution. She was found in her bedroom, her body still warm. Chest wounds show that she most likely bled out, after being stabbed in a major artery.” Seeing Cosmo’s face as he listed out brutal facts was the most disturbing thing she had ever witnessed. And that was saying a lot.

When they reached the room, Anne’s breath hitched. No. It couldn’t be. She recognized that mark. She had seen it every day, at Hart Manor. Not only did the Black Mamba kill Mr. Long, but someone else too. She frantically scanned her brain for clues. Wait. What if- It was Cosmo’s mom?

As soon as she thought of it, it seemed to click into place, the last part of a sinister puzzle. The Black Mamba had killed both of Cosmo’s parents. Cosmo’s confidence made a strange sort of sense, now. He wouldn’t even consider the possibility of failure. Of not managing to avenge his parents murder. After the shocking revelation with the door, she found little else of interest in the house.

She didn’t speak again until they had returned to the hotel. “Is there any noticeable pattern to his movements?”

“None that I’ve found.Why don’t you take a look at it?” Cosmo said cheerfully, shoving a map in her arms. Unraveling it, she scanned the points, looking for some way to group them. They seemed random, bouncing from house to house, or even city to city. The Black Mamba seemed to attack around 5 or six people at any given city before moving on. The victims themselves had little in common, other than their noble status. The youngest was in their early twenties, while the oldest was 83. Female, male, powerful bents, weak bents, one of the King’s friends,a  orphan- it didn’t matter. All fell prey to the Mamba. He would sometimes wait months to strike again, and sometimes just weeks. She pondered into the night, to little results.

The next morning, the Mamba struck again. Brandon Romano, advisor to the second king. Before now, the highest ranking person targeted had been a friend of the third king. He was moving up in the ranks. Not only that, but the body was gone. The only sign that he was there, other than his mark, was a note. It was written with a red substance that Anne refused to think of as blood, drawn shakely upon the floor. It read:

“I have idled by too long. It is time for drastic measures. You Kings are nothing but fakes. Run, if you wish. It will not save you. BM.”