“You bet your soul!” Then his expression faltered. “I came up with the most inhumane plan, though. Foolish me. I decided to seduce your mother first, and then turn both her and her husband in!”
I swallowed and took a step back from the old man.
“So on the third month of their reign, after holding my breath for so long, I crashed into the royal room and jumped on your mother. The prince was out in the virtual garden with his officers and computo-bots, assembling some new army for some rebellion. But your mother reacted fiercely. I didn’t get very far, and I ended up with a broken back and a bloody forehead.” Ebenezer winced as he stopped pacing around me and cracked his spine. “Sarah swore she was going to tell her husband about this, and that she would see to it for the both of them to tie me up to a chair and slay me,” Ebenezer’s voice was so low that I almost couldn’t understand him. “I couldn’t bear to have that happen. If I wanted to die, I would not want my own nasty brother to be responsible for it. So I made my way to the extermination room, where the King destroyed old, useless nanobots. I prayed to the Lord one last time, praying for the first time in ages. I was ready to leave this place. So I took a long, thick strand of metal rope, and I hung myself.”
I winced. Then I blinked with confusion. There was a question that I had never asked yet. “You keep calling my dad a ‘prince.’ What was his name?”
Ebenezer narrowed his eyes. “Huh! You don’t need to know the name of that dreaded man. I hate him. I don’t ever want to spit out his name, especially in front of you.”
“Well, when do I come in?” I narrowed my eyes. “Apparently, you killed yourself before I was born?”
Ebenezer grunted. “Well, I was dead when Sarah and the prince had their first child, but my spirit was alive in the World of Mists—the world where all spirits of the dead rested until the End Times. It was a cold, dark, and lonely world,” his eyes were dazed. “But I was one of the naughty inhabitants. I was very restless, so I peeked into the world of the living to see how my dear Sarah was doing with her new child. You were the next spirit I hated, right after your father. I sought to haunt you as soon as you were born, so I left the World of Mists and roamed your parents’ castle as an invisible entity. But before I could do anything, an angel named Gabriel snatched my spirit and dragged me out of the world of the living. He took me here, to Purgatory. He told me that, if I wanted to rest in Heaven when the End Times came, the Lord wanted me to fulfill a mission: I had to keep an eye on the children of Sarah Madonne and her rotten husband. They were going to have a second child, but the first one was the child I had to focus on, and it was my job to help him get to Heaven before I had a chance to enter the kingdom, myself.”
I widened my eyes. “Uh…you were supposed to help me get to Heaven?”
The janitor chuckled nervously. “Hehe…unfortunately, I wasn’t doing a very good job protecting you. I started to enjoy the sight of seeing your mother beat you and mistreat you. She was a real wild one, I tell you. I had never seen her abuse another human so badly. Not even I was treated the way you were! Meanwhile, your father was spoiling you and treating you like an angel. It reminded me of the way he was treated by our own father!
“Anyway, since I wasn’t doing a good job, the Lord sent five guardian angels to kick me out of the mortal world so that they could take over.”
I winced. “Five guardian angels?”
Ebenezer scoffed. “Puh. Such lunatics they were. I bet they didn’t do any better than I did. I mean, look at you now!”
I narrowed my eyes and the flames on my head started to fume.
Suddenly, the clock tower gave a low gong. I heard it clearly, even though I was in the sewer. It was a quarter to 11:00. The Higher Lucien would arrive
“You’ve got it, boy,” the janitor stepped forward and grabbed my bony shoulder. “Now this is where the golden egg comes in. You see…I had a job to fulfill, and if I fulfilled that job, I would earn my entrance…into Heaven. Yes, boy, you were supposed to get into Heaven before I did, and it was up to me to make it possible. Well, I may have failed that task, but now I have another chance—here in Purgatory.” His eyes bore into mine, and I felt my chest tighten. I was starting to feel nauseous again. “I’ve been keeping my eye on you for a long time. And it would have been a good idea for me to have introduced myself earlier so that when you enrolled into this academy, you would not have turned out to become the frustrated spirit that you are. It also would have bolstered your chances to passing those tests, and earning your way into Heaven.”
I spoke in a dry tone without taking my unblinking eyes off of the old spirit’s menacing stare. “What stopped you?”
“You remind me too much of your father,” spoke the spirit with disgust. “But now I must overcome that. The golden egg is missing, and the Higher One is going to have both of us punished. We are both in grave danger now.”
My heart was beating. I didn’t know what to say. So many images were flashing through my head, and I was trying to envision the janitor’s story. But neither of my parents cleared up completely. They were still a vague blur. I needed that egg—it would have helped me clearly see who my parents were.
“Ebenezer…” I was about to ask the janitor about the guardians. Apparently, I had met one of them already, and she had forewarned me about a terrible punishment that would overcome me.
The janitor narrowed his eyes. “Please…call me Uncle E. Your mother called me by such a name, whenever she was telling you stories about me.”
I raised an eyebrow. It was going to take a while for me to get used to the fact that this creepy spirit was my uncle.
The clock tower struck 11:00. Ebenezer—or Uncle E—and I were frozen as we stared at each other with fear and anger.
“Well?!” I hissed, clenching my fists. The flames on my head burned intensely. “What are we going to do?”
Steam started to fill the sewer and Uncle E and I started coughing.
“Let’s get out! Go!” Uncle E pushed me toward the ladder. We climbed up and popped out of the manhole.
I could hear the distant voices of High Ones and Mediums gathering together inside the buildings. Gretchen must be preparing the classrooms.
A loud deafening trumpet came from behind, and I turned to the gates to our left. A tall man, dressed in bright red robe and a dark red cape, stepped through the gates of the academy with a huge crowd of people following him. He was clutching a long red trident in his right hand. A fierce devilish earth SoulBird perched on his right shoulder. It had sharp, nasty eyes, identical to the man’s.
“The Higher One,” I gasped. “Hey, maybe we should just let him take the fake egg that I gave to Gretchen.” There was no reply. I turned and frowned. “Uncle E?” There was no sign of the man. I looked around and then caught the jerk crawling away, heading toward the lecture halls.
“Halt!” A loud commanding voice sounded from the gates. Lucien the Higher had his arm stretched forward, and he was pointing at Uncle E. “Ebenezer?”
Uncle E paused, and hung his head. He muttered a low, despairing, “Ohhh….” And he got up to his feet.
“Get over here,” ordered Lucien. His face was pointy and his eyes were devilish.
Uncle E walked toward the Higher One, dragging his feet. I almost snickered. He looked like a child who was walking over to its parent, knowing that it was in big trouble.
But then my humored expression faded. I realized how frail Uncle E looked when he stood in front of the Higher One. Lucien was almost another foot taller than Uncle E—who was already over six feet tall.
My heart quickened and my flames burned immensely. I stared at Lucien. The spirit was extremely tall—probably up to seven feet. He was tan. He had dark eyes that I could notice all the way from here.
Not to mention……Lucien had hair almost exactly like mine, hanging slightly above the shoulders, but looked shinier and well taken care of. I held my breath. It was like looking at a rich, powerful adult version of me.
/>
Chapter Five-
I stared at the Higher One like I was a shocked little boy.
Lucien’s eyes were a dark color with three red thin lines drawing vertically down one inch underneath his eyelids. He looked like he was shedding blood tears. But the proud and glorious look on his face didn’t betray any expression of sadness. His robe was long and trailing down from the back of his feet. How could the guy stand it? It was super hot out here and his red robe was long longer than he was! It did look thin and silky, for it shone brightly in the light. His cape behind him hung down behind his heels and was glistening with a distinctive with its dark red color.
The Higher One was staring straight down at Uncle E. His devilish SoulBird had the same scary expression.
“Ebenezer? Do you mind? Since you’re out here, how ‘bout fetching Miss Gretchen for me, huh?” Lucien’s eyes glowered.
His pet bird gave a loud “Rawokk!”
Uncle E looked up. “Er….sure thing. I was just--”
“Well! St. Gretchen can’t wait, can’t she?” Said Lucien, stepping forward with a raised smile. “She’s got an egg waiting for me. Let’s hurry it up now, Ebenezer.”
Lucien told his crowd of guards to wait by the gate as he strolled away with the nervous looking Uncle E. The guards looked terribly fierce. They all were dressed in armor, each with spears of their own. Some carried SoulBirds on their shoulders as well.
As Lucien led Uncle E away, I heard his voice continue to speak smoothly to the scared and fragile janitor. I couldn’t help but wince. I always pictured the Higher One as someone with a massive deep voice and a powerfully built spirit body. He always sounded so intimidating whenever I heard anyone speak about him. But now that I saw him for myself, the only thing that intimidated me was that Lucien was so elegant, perfect looking, and handsome. It was almost like the way Uncle E described his brother.
“Hey! It’s one of the Mediums!” One of the guards jabbed his spear at my back.
I flinched and glared at the guy with hatred. Flames burst upon my head.
“Oh!” The guard widened his eyes. “I know this kid! It’s that Ezekreth kid that’s always causing trouble! Hey, you nearly burned down the Bard Academy last week!”
And the rest of the guards crowded around me with interest. I rolled my eyes and said, “What? Is the Higher One tired of me? Am I too much of a distraction to him?”
“Don’t speak about Lucien that way! Nothing’s too much for him!” Another guard jabbed at me with his spear.
That did it for me. With clenched teeth, I flung myself at the guard and pinned the heavyset spirit to the ground. I was suddenly lost in a state of crowded confusion as the guards toppled over each other to attack me.
“Ahem…..” Lucien’s voice startled all the guards.
Everyone freezed and stood up straight to meet his questioning gaze.
“Picking on the Mediums are we?” Lucien had his arms crossed and his eyes were narrowed with concern. To his left side was St. Gretchen, gazing sternly at us with her sharp glasses flashing. Uncle E stood at Lucien’s right, nervously playing with his fingers.
Gretchen huffed. “Zachariah! Of course!” She looked up at Lucien with worry. “Eh…Lucien your Higher, I am so sorry. Whatever he has done, I’ll punish him for it. Apparently wearing the punishment garments aren’t enough.”
I glared up at the headmaster and wiped a stream of blood that continued to run from my nose.
But Lucien was staring at me with a raised expression. “Still misbehaving, isn’t he?” His voice still sounded calm and cool.
I dared to look up at the Higher One with a straight gaze. But I couldn’t help it. He reminded me too much of my father. I had to know the truth. Uncle E didn’t even bother to mention my father’s name. Could that have been because he really was Lucien the Higher? Was the Higher One Uncle E’s brother, and my father?
“Now, don’t harm the boy,” Lucien was speaking calmly to his guards. His SoulBird was standing beside him with a scornful look on its face. I was waiting for the creature to pounce on me, but Lucien stepped in front of it. He chuckled and handed me a tissue. I stared at it suspiciously.
I felt a sharp nudge from one of the guards’ spears behind. “Take it, fool!”
My nose was starting to drip blood from the brief fight, and I took the tissue.
Lucien stared down passionately at me. He had red eyes that looked like they were about to bleed. The redness around his pupils was glistening with humor. “It hasn’t been too long since he first arrived to this academy with the rest of the new spirits. Already a terror to you, I see.”
Gretchen huffed and looked at him with disbelief. “Of course! You must have seen him for yourself! He even tried to jack the golden egg just last week!”
“Oh did he?” Lucien’s smooth tone didn’t change as he kept his red, unblinking gaze at me.
“Yes! Luckily, we got it back. We made sure he got the punishment that he deserved.” Gretchen was glaring sternly at me with hatred.
Lucien chuckled again. “Well, he’s only a Medium. He’s still new to the world of Purgatory.” Lucien narrowed his eyes and then reached out toward me. I stiffened with fear as the Higher One pressed his long slender finger under my chin, slightly tilting my head back as if to analyze something on my neck. This felt very awkward.
“Hmm…” Lucien’s gaze was unreadable. He finally let go of my chin, but continued to stare at me. “He’s got the mark.” He was murmuring to himself.
“Eh?” Gretchen looked at the Higher One with confusion.
“You have a nurse here, don’t you?” Lucien turned to the Headmaster with a serious expression.
Gretchen slowly nodded. “Yes, sir. She’s the new nurse we recruited.”
“Please…take the boy to her office,” Lucien cast me a tender gaze. “The spirit has suffered enough.”
Gretchen, Uncle E, and Lucien’s guards were all bewildered. I was the most shocked spirit of them all.
“Suffered enough?!” Gretchen rasped. “Sir…your Higher…this boy has been constantly under suspension and gruel punishment! He’s made uncountable trips to the Lava Pool, and he’s already destroyed half the academies in this region! He ought to undergo a good amount of suffering before he—”
“I said take the boy to the nurse’s, and have him healed.” Lucien’s gaze was sharp. “And have those garments removed. The poor spirit has been through enough trouble in the mortal life, and I would hate to see him this miserable in the afterlife.”
Lucien gave me another comforting gaze.
I started to feel my heart lift with hope. I must be hallucinating from all the anxiety. The Higher One was going easy on me! He didn’t assign any punishment whatsoever! In fact, he was removing my other punishments!
I felt like spitting in Gretchen’s shocked face. I wasn’t going to get into any trouble! So much for Grenada’s warning…
“Urgh…” Gretchen narrowed her eyes at me. She must be screaming curse words in her head. “Ebenezer, escort him to nurse Hannah…”
Uncle E blinked and then glanced at Lucien. The Higher One still didn’t take his eyes off me. I found myself meeting his gaze, unable to look away. He seemed to be staring at me with a promising look. And deep down inside, I was thanking the Higher One. He didn’t seem like such an intimidating jerk at all.
“Erm!” Uncle E grabbed my shoulder and shook me out of my daze. “Come along, boy…”
Uncle E led me away.
I cast one more glance over my shoulder to see that the Higher One was assembling his guards. Gretchen was heading toward the building to gather the rest of the academy.
I longed to stare at those transfixing eyes of Lucien again. They were reminding me so much of my father’s, and I wanted to get a closer look.
But the Higher One’s mangy Soulbird turned to glare at me. The devilish SoulBird’s small horns started to glow. I had to turn away from its threatening gaze.
Uncle E said no
thing along the way. I was also suspiciously quiet.
“Huh,” I finally muttered. We were at the door to the nurse’s office. “Hey, at least he didn’t damn either of us to Hell. You should be glad I’m safe. Doesn’t it also mean that you’ll be safe as well?”
Uncle E narrowed his eyes and then let go of my shoulder. He squeezed his fists and turned red. I was afraid he was about to explode.
“Not at all, boy,” Uncle E barely whispered. “The Higher One is not finished with you yet, and you’re a fool to think that you’ll be safe from this point. Trust me. He knows that the egg he’s holding is not the golden egg. He knows what happened with Damien and the golden SoulBird.”
I raised my eyebrows. My relief immediately turned into nervousness and I started to feel uneasy.
Uncle E huffed. “We’re finished, boy. We’re finished.”
And he knocked the door to the nurse’s office.
The door immediately opened and a young lady stood in front of us. “Ebenezer! Hello there. You’re bringing Zachariah to me again?” She cast me a tender smile.
Uncle E only grunted and then turned around. He started to walk away, mumbling to himself. He didn’t look back.
The lady narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Alright, then. Come on in, Zach!”
I spent the rest of the evening in her office, which wasn’t as bad as I had expected it to be. I slept most of the time, and I slept rather peacefully. It was comfortable on the soft bed that she had me lay on. It was not like the cruddy, creaky piece of crap that the dorm rooms used for beds.
Nurse Hannah was actually an attractive young spirit, and if I had any strength in my heart to admire any stupid spirit in this forsaken world, I would have had my first crush on her. But though she was young, she was older than me, probably in her late twenties.
I had the punishment garments removed, which was a huge relief. But the headband remained on my head since Gretchen believed that I deserved some kind of punishment to keep me suffering and under control.
“My word…you need to see me more often, Zach,” Hannah said softly, shaking her head with disbelief. “These wounds are terrible. Even though we’re immortal, we still need to take care of our bodies.”
The Purgatory Saga #1: People of the Fire Page 4
