The Forgotten Sin (Purifiers Book 1)

by Mika B. Coit

  "That was what I thought too."

  "That is because... we found another Miracle!" Lord Baddesley informed, his voice sounding in pained. "The Miracle of Healing."

  Everyone quickly turned to Lord Baddesley as if they had misheard him, but the serious look on his face soon told them they heard correctly.

  "Doctors come to the County Hall regularly to check Samael’s condition. This morning a different doctor with two trainees and a nurse visited. One of those four was the Miracle and somehow healed Samael’s deformity without him knowing until later."

  "Which one?" Jung questioned.

  "I do not know... and I do not think Samael knows either. He only told me over the phone that he had been cured by the Miracle this afternoon and ordered me to gather the army."

  Lord Baddesley groaned in pain, he let go of Iliana’s hand and touched the bleeding wound in his stomach. When Iliana looked down, she saw blood seeping from underneath him.

  "Lord Baddesley!" She gasped in shock. "We must find this Miracle and get him to heal you."

  "No... There is no time." Lord Baddesley’s breathing sounded laboured yet he continued to speak. "Samael’s original plan was to find all the Miracles and Taint their souls, just how he Tainted mine. Once all the Miracles are Tainted, this world will become so fragile and even more unstable than it is now."

  "But he said, his plans has changed." Iliana said.

  "Yes... but he desperately wants to ruin this Earth and smother it in darkness, but he still needs to find the other Miracles to fulfil that. You must save the others from Samael. Save them from turning into what I had become."

  Pain and discomfort twisted Lord Baddesley’s face. Iliana held his hand again.

  "What about your son... Lucas? Does he work for Samael too?"

  Lord Baddesley eyes levelled with Iliana’s.

  "Lucas knows nothing about the Unknown World. I do feel guilty for not being the Father that I should have been. I wish I had the time to amend things with him. But to be honest with you, he too had changed dramatically since the loss of Lucy. We rarely spoke since that day, not even when he returned from London. I still do not know why he adamantly wanted to transfer to London Academy two years ago. He must have really hated being in my presence or maybe blamed me for her death."

  Stunned and confused, Iliana stared at Lord Baddesley who then encouraged her to lean closer to him and whispered in her ear....

  "I do not believe you are in love with Lucas."

  Iliana lowered her eyes as she drew back, ashamed of having said such an untruthful accusation, but her eyes soon gazed back to Lord Baddesley when he turned to Kazuki.

  "You have probably heard this a thousand times... but... you really are a split image of your Father."

  "Yes... I do get told that a lot." Kazuki responded, quietly with a twitch of a smile.

  "Your Father and I were once good friends... and I-I said some very harsh words to him and Eleanor. I hope you can tell him how very sorry I am... sorry for all the pain I have caused, and that I am glad he married for love and not for money. I wish I had time to repay what I have done in the past."

  Kazuki nodded just before Iliana added....

  "I talked to Mr. Williams earlier and I asked him if he regretted anything from the past. He said... he wished he had never turned his back on his friend."

  A peaceful smile stretched across Lord Baddesley’s face but he then sniffed the air.

  "Roses?" He said, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply.

  Iliana could smell nothing.

  "You can smell roses?"

  "It is beautiful... It is like walking in a rose garden."

  Iliana instantly remembered the time when she experienced the same thing, in Lord Baddesley’s mansion.

  "I think it is time..." Lord Baddesley stated.

  He let go of Iliana’s hand and released the bird brooch from his cloak, he handed it to Iliana who took it from him. It was made out of solid gold and a little heavier than Iliana had in mind. The engravings were well detailed especially the folded wings.

  "It was Lucy’s... it was her favourite bird, that was why she was nicknamed...Wagtail." Lord Baddesley said softly, laying a hand on Iliana’s. "Look after her for me... I will search for her in the next world in the hope that she will forgive me for what I had done."

  Iliana looked at him, she still had so many questions to ask him.

  "Wait... w-who is it that walks this Earth whom Samael is afraid of?"

  "S-Sa..."

  Lord Baddesley’s eyes slowly closed, his hand slipped from hers and fell onto his chest just as he breathed his last breath. Iliana held onto the gold brooch tightly in one hand and the other she placed on top of Lord Baddesley’s now lifeless and pale hand.

  "I believe your Lucy has forgiven you a long time ago." She whispered, dipping her head down low.

  ‘Good Morning everyone...I am standing just outside the City County Hall where nearly a hundred people were found inside earlier this morning by the police. Reports have come through to say that there was one unfortunate and tragic death of a man that had made this City... the bustling, vibrant City it is today. Lord Baddesley was found and announced dead at the scene. No-one else was injured... but the strange thing is... none of them could remember what had happened or even how they got here.

  Now before I go... I will just show you the scenes behind me. So this was the entrance to the Hall. As you can see... it has been completely battered. Rubbles of marble stone and broken glass litters the whole area. And even the large water fountain that has stood in front of the Hall for many years, has been severely damaged... Even the water pipes underneath is shattered. No-one can explain how any of this happened... and some say it could have been a mini earthquake. But we will not know for sure until a full investigation on this peculiar incident has been made.’

  "Hey!"

  Iliana tore her gaze from the television as Jung approached her, looking as if he had not slept for days. The blood that stained his forehead was now clean and the deep scratches on his face was stitched up.

  "I just saw your Father... he told me you would be here." He said taking off his jacket. "Hey Yuki!..."

  Yuki perked up from the floor besides Iliana and licked Jung’s hand before lying back down.

  "I thought dogs are not allowed in hospitals."

  "They are not... my friend Chloe however told everyone Yuki was a special guide dog." Iliana replied, smiling as she said it.

  "How are you?" Jung asked, slumping on the chair next to Iliana.

  "I am okay... I think, how about you?"

  "Once I get a good sleep... I think I will be fine."

  "And Caitlyn?"

  "She woke up earlier... apart from her whole body aching like mad and her head pounding with pain, she is fine. I also checked on Kazuki... he is asleep. I am not surprised though... you should have seen the amount of drugs those doctors gave him. I think he will be asleep for weeks!" Jung sighed as he looked up at the ceiling of the large waiting room they were sitting in. "What a night we had."

  Iliana stared down at the bird brooch which she had held in her hands since Lord Baddesley gave it to her.

  "Tell me about it."

  "Where is Father Benjamin?" Jung asked, looking around the almost deserted waiting room.

  "He is still in the chapel room. He has been there for quite some time now. He has barely said a word since we got here and there are so many questions I want to ask him."

  "I think we all have questions to ask him, but it might be best if we give him some time to answer his own questions, before we bombard him with ours. Anyway... I will tell him and the others later what I am going to tell you now."

  Iliana looked up at Jung with intrigue and anticipation written on her face.

  "Tell me what?"

  "I asked some nurses who visited Samael yesterday. They said it was the new doctor... Doctor Elpidio Pavoni with nurse Rayford and two other trainees. I believe he was the sam
e doctor that Caitlyn and I bumped into before we went to the County Hall yesterday evening. I don’t know why, but I think he might be the Miracle. I always go with my own instincts and my instincts point to him."

  "Why did you not say sooner?... Is he still here?"

  "No... no-one has seen him since last night. I called my office to find out his home address, but he has none on record."

  "But we have to find him before Samael does first." Iliana said standing up quickly and making Yuki jolt up to her feet too.

  Jung grabbed her arm.

  "Hey!... Wait... you need to rest first."

  "Mother and Father has been telling me to rest all morning... and I have been sitting here for hours while Samael is out there looking for him and the others." Iliana retaliated.

  "We do not even know where this Elpidio Pavoni is or even if he is the Miracle... His colleagues don’t even know where he lives... We cannot go around the City aimlessly trying to find a man who seems to be under the radar. And besides... Lord Baddesley even said that Samael does not even know which one could be the Miracle."

  "We need to be out there searching for him so we could be one step ahead of Samael." Iliana cried out, sounding impatient. "We are wasting time just standing here."

  She pulled her arm back from Jung’s grip and began to storm out of the waiting room.

  "Hey!" Jung said firmly running after her.

  He stood in front of her and gripped her shoulders, he looked sincere as he gazed at Iliana. She looked back at him knowing he was right, but she hated just standing around doing nothing. Iliana lowered her eyes as she sighed heavily.

  "I... I do not want a repeat of what happened to Lord Baddesley."

  "I know... neither of us do... we will find him but we cannot be rash and we cannot protect him if we are all mentally and physically worn as we are now. I will keep digging for information of this guy the moment I get back to work, and you will be the first to know if I find anything. But for now... go home and sleep... you look as dreadful as I am."

  Iliana narrowed her eyes then smiled before retaliating in mockery.

  "Thanks... but no-one can look as dreadful as you."

  "Did someone say ‘home’?"

  Mother stood at the entrance of the waiting room with crutches either side of her. She wore an over the knee plain green dress revealing her well bandaged leg. Iliana’s smile stretched bigger across her face.

  "Iliana!..."

  "Iliana!..."

  "Help us!..."

  Iliana looked around her, she was engulfed in wisps of black smoke. She walked blindly forwards, the sounds of her name ringing in her ear. Cold shivers ran up and down her spine. When Iliana looked down she noticed she was walking bare footed on water. The water was calm and cool. She ran her fingers down the simple long white dress she was clothed in which only had a blue thin string tied loosely round her waist. The wisps of black smoke began to clear but Iliana’s vision was sickeningly blurred. An image of a tall female figure appeared with long fiery hair. When Iliana moved closer to the figure, a high pitched laugh echoed making her wince at the shrill sound of it. Then a tall male figure stood next to the female and they both embraced.

  Iliana’s heart suddenly went stone cold as the wisps of black smoke gathered again. Iliana quickly spun round but to only find more tall silhouetted figures in the distant, holding something that was on fire. A cold grip wrapped round Iliana’s ankles. When she looked down Iliana gasped in shock. Dark shrieking creatures with deformed faces appeared from below the water. Their icy, cold hands entwined round her ankles and were trying to pull her down with them. Iliana closed her eyes shut and screamed at the top of her voice.

  Iliana quickly opened her eyes to find Mother kneeling before her with her hands gripped on her upper arms and shaking her. Fear and worry struck across Mother’s pale face. Iliana’s breathing was heavy, her heart was racing and cold sweat moistened her face.

  "Iliana... it is okay... I am here!" Mother cried out, reassuringly. "I am here."

  Iliana wrapped her arms round Mother’s warm body as tears of fear rolled down her face.

  "What is happening to you?" Mother asked Iliana the next morning after Father rushed early for work.

  Both of them were sitting by the table in the conservatory, picking the toast on the plate in front of her Iliana shrugged.

  "Iliana... you keep having these dreams. You are worrying your Father and me... for that matter. Is it the same dream every night?"

  "It is the same dream that I have dreamt for over two years, but recently it has become so much more detailed. Now I see a female figure with long red fiery hair embracing someone. There are other figures there too... and those dark creatures in the water below me..." Iliana sighed deeply unable to continue.

  She dropped the piece of toast she was playing with onto the plate. For the first time she did not have the appetite to eat.

  "I know there is not a lot I can do, but I am here for you." Mother said softly placing a hand on Iliana’s.

  Iliana smiled at Mother thinking how great it was to now be able to talk to her about matters such as these, it was most comforting.

  "Now... you had better get yourself to school otherwise you will be late. I still do not understand why you want to walk to school even though Andrew is back."

  "I like walking... it keeps me fit and it clears my mind." Iliana replied getting up from her chair and then stroked Yuki’s back who sat by her.

  Iliana swung her school bag over her shoulder and was just about to head out of conservatory when Mother called out.

  "You know... I bumped into Lucas the other day and he asked me if I could arrange the funeral for his Father."

  Iliana forgot the step that stretched between the conservatory and the connecting lounge causing her to kick it hard and trip over it. Iliana managed to grab the open door to prevent herself from falling flat on her face.

  "Ow!... Ow!... Ow!" She moaned feeling her big toe burning in pain.

  "Are you alright?"

  "I am fine... anyway... what was your answer to his request?"

  "After what you told me about Lord Baddesley and what he went through... I said I would love to."

  It was a little over a week since the death of Lord Baddesley. It was still very much the talk of the town and still left a tender spot in Iliana’s heart. As she closed the house gates behind her Iliana took out the Wagtail brooch from her skirt pocket.

  ‘Look after her for me...’

  Always echoed in her mind every time Iliana held the brooch in her hand. Iliana turned and gazed down at the street a block away from her house. She could just see the grey rooftop of the Williams’s house whom Iliana had not seen for awhile. She had not even seen Kazuki. Iliana was sure he had been ignoring and avoiding her. When Caitlyn called Iliana the other evening, she told her he would be returning to school today.

  Iliana had not seen Father Benjamin either. He had given in his letter of resignation to the school a few days ago and when Iliana visited him at church, the priests told her they have not seen him. Jung and Caitlyn suggested to give him more time until he was ready to talk. Iliana felt they were both hiding something but neither of them would enlighten her with what they knew.

  Finally reaching the school gates Iliana was welcomed by Chloe, Victoria and Claire. All three of them looked so well. Chloe constantly teased Victoria and Claire about them kissing random people on the streets from that night. However, nothing serious came out from it and the topic was soon overridden by other gossip, just like how the rest of the City dealt with it.

  The girls headed down the path towards the school building when Iliana noticed Lucas standing alone by the path, his cold eyes penetrated into Iliana’s. A smirk lifted from the corner of his stiff lips just as a flurry of murmurs rippled in the air behind them. Iliana and the girls twisted round to see what the fuss was about, and all of them gasped in awe.

  A beautiful slim model like girl strode elegantly down the
path as if she was on a catwalk. Her long wavy vibrant hair flowed behind her like a stream of red lava running down her back and stopping just above her waist. Her skin was flawless and was as white as snow. As she strutted herself past the open mouthed students, her emerald eyes fleeted to Lucas’s direction. Iliana could not help but stare at her, not only because of her beauty but Iliana felt as if she had seen her from somewhere before.

  "Oh My God!" Victoria said in shock.

  "It cannot be?" Claire gasped, her eyes unable to stare anywhere else but the girl.

  "It is!..." Chloe mumbled. "Lilith Hale!"

  The girl stopped walking and her cat like eyes met Iliana’s. But Iliana’s gaze was soon distracted by the figure that appeared a few metres behind the girl. Iliana felt her heart skip a few beats when Kazuki’s blue sapphire eyes found hers.

  A smile curled up from the girl’s glossed lips, she turned round and walked towards Kazuki making him tear his gaze away from Iliana. The girl stood up close to Kazuki and did something that made every student that was watching gasp loudly with their eyes popping out in shock. It made Iliana’s heart fall like a ton of bricks inside her chest, her mind went blurred and her stomach sickened. The girl slid her hand behind Kazuki’s neck and planted her full lips on his.

  *** THE END ***