Purgatory: The Devil's Game

by M. A. Carlson

  When the little flame spoke, the voice was deeper and gravellier than I expected from such a small thing. It asked, “Who in the inferno are you?”

  “I’m Victor Goodspeed,” I answered.

  The ball of flames rolled its eyes. “And I’m supposed to know who that is?”

  “I did summon you,” I said.

  Suddenly, the ball of flame was looking around as if trying to figure out where it was. “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no,” it repeated. “No! I did not get called to Purgatory. Please, tell me this is a mistake.”

  “Sorry?” I replied, feeling confused by his statement. Shouldn’t he have been expecting this?

  The ball returned his glare to me, “And you should be. Do you have any idea who I am?”

  “No,” I confessed.

  “I am a Flame of Enoch, a weapon of Metatron. I am he, who is the voice of God,” the fireball said. “I cannot have been called by . . . you!”

  “But you were,” I replied.

  “Nope,” the flame replied, turning to the little girl. “You, Cherub, what’s the meaning of this?”

  The little girl sprouted tiny wings on her back and fluttered up to meet the flame eye to eye. She bowed formally and said, “Greetings, Flame of Enoch, weapon of Metatron. He, who is the voice of God. This soul has obtained your call through the grace of God, our Lord and Father. Serve him well.”

  “I do not serve-” he paused to glance back at me, “Uh . . . the less than . . . uh, you know . . . the uh . . . parolees.”

  The little Angel just smiled. “It is the will of God.”

  That seemed to have soured the little flames mood. “Oh, inferno no! Don’t pull that nonsense with me. I am only a call for the Heavenly Host. Not . . . this . . . this . . . person. He doesn’t qualify.”

  “It is . . . the will . . . of God,” the little girl said calmly, sweetly . . . and terrifyingly. The ball of flame jerked back until it hovered near my head.

  “Right, of course, you’re right,” the ball of flame said. “Will of God. Got it.”

  The little girl smiled brightly. “I’m so glad you agree. I know the two of you are going to be the best of friends in time. Be sure to advise him well. You are now tied together forever more.”

  The little ball of flames jaw dropped and gaped like a fish.

  “Now, he will still need a Body Proficiency before he enters Purgatory. Guide him well,” the little girl ordered, then fluttered back down to her stool. She sat, then laid her head down on the counter and quickly fell asleep.

  “Cherubim,” the flame groused only to flinch when the little girl mumbled in her sleep. Clearing his throat, he said, “We should go. Don’t want to wake the little Angel.”

  Chapter 4 – The Flame of Enoch

  “Sheesh,” the little flame complained as soon as we were out the door. “That was one terrifying little Cherub. What was her problem anyway? Doesn’t she know who I am?”

  “I’m pretty sure she knew exactly who you were,” I replied. “And you did tell her you were a Flame of Enoch.”

  The flame hummed in thought. “Ah well, nothing I can do about her now . . . or you for that matter. What was your name again?”

  “Victor Goodspeed,” I answered. “And you?”

  “Asher,” the flame answered.

  “Pleased to meet you, Asher,” I said, trying to win the little flame over. If he was going to be my guide, I felt it would be better if we were on good terms.

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Asher replied dismissively. “So, what’s your story? You get stuck on the last floor of Purgatory or something? Is that why you sought out a guide?”

  “I haven’t even entered Purgatory yet,” I replied.

  “Wait, then she was serious about you needing a Body Proficiency? Are you kidding me? Is this a joke?” Asher demanded.

  “Yes, she was serious. Not kidding, and no, this isn’t a joke. I’m brand new to Purgatory,” I said, trying to be calm despite wanting to lash out at the little ball of flames. “Someone already managed to trick me and put me in debt a hundred tiny crystals.”

  Asher whistled, though I wasn’t sure if it was appreciatively or sarcastically until he spoke. “You don’t need a guide, you need a miracle, and God doesn’t really give those out anymore.”

  “No, I need you to stop being obnoxious and start helping me,” I said, finally losing patience. “I have no intention of staying in Purgatory even a minute longer than necessary. That means I need you to leave the snark at the door. Otherwise, I’ll dismiss you and just muddle through on my own somehow.”

  Asher quirked an eyebrow then snickered. “You think you can dismiss me. That’s funny. You should have asked more questions. Maybe then you would have known, I’m permanent. I’m a part of your Soul now, Vicky. Better get used to having me around. And if you think I’m obnoxious now, just wait. I can be worse.”

  It was always something. Gritting my teeth, I said, “Fine, then what is it going to take for you to be helpful? I’m serious about getting out of this place as soon as possible.” I could negotiate with the best of them. That was what I did when I was alive.

  Asher narrowed his eyes then smirked. “Are you sure that’s what you want? Because I can get you there. I can make you into the most powerful Soul to ever fight his way through Purgatory. But it’s going to cost you.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the little ball of flame and frowned. “Name your price.”

  “You do what I say, when I say. You don’t question what I tell you to do, especially not inside Purgatory. You get the proficiencies I tell you to get. And you spend your experience however I tell you to spend it. Got it?” Asher said seriously.

  “Inside Purgatory, fine, but out here, you need to explain why you want me to do something. I don’t trust blindly. That has already cost me in this place,” I said. I didn’t need to mention what blind trust got me when I was alive.

  The little flame grunted then slowly bobbed up and down as if nodding his agreement. “I’ll answer until you annoy me, that’s the best you’ll get. Now, tell me about this debt.”

  I did.

  “Demonic influence,” Asher spat angrily. “Traitorous wannabe demon. We’re going to kill that guy. The only way he could have gotten to you to agree was if he had an ability that he shouldn’t.”

  “He nearly killed me with a small cut to my leg,” I replied. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to kill him.”

  “Right now, no, you’re not,” Asher replied. “Give me a year or two and you’ll tear that little demon stain to shreds.”

  “A year or two?” I questioned. “I need to pay him his crystals in a week.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to pay him. I’ll make sure of that,” Asher said with far more confidence than I thought was appropriate given my current standing. “And nothing says you need to kill him now. However, before you leave Purgatory, that is one tainted soul we’re going to cleanse from existence. Can’t let him join the other side.”

  “Is that actually an option? I mean, joining the other side?” I asked.

  Asher narrowed his eyes to glare at me again. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “I’m not, I’m just curious,” I said. I had no interest at all in becoming a demon. Though it did add a whole new dimension to my afterlife. Not only would I need to worry about the demons inside Purgatory, but I would also need to worry about them outside of it as well.

  Asher frowned. “Yeah, it’s possible. As hard as you and most of the souls here will fight to cleanse yourself and earn your way out of Purgatory, there are those who would rather take an easier path, like this Billy fellow. With enough time, your soul can be tainted. Faith turns into Entropy, Righteousness turns into Hate, Spirituality turns into Demonism. Until one day, you wake up and you’re one of them hiding inside a human skin suit.”

  I cringed at the thought. “So, Billy is actually a demon?”

  “Might be, might not be, at least, not yet. Though it sounds
like he’s well on his way,” Asher answered. With a slight rotation left then right, like he was shaking his head, Asher changed the subject. “Now, enough with the questions, you’re annoying me. Let’s get down to business. Let’s find your assigned bunk room and then I need to look at your Scroll of Body and Soul.”

  “You don’t know already?” I asked, returning some of the ball of fire’s earlier snark.

  “Keep annoying me and see where I take you. As to your stupid question, just because I’m your guide, doesn’t mean I know everything about you. I also need to know what happened to me. Last I checked, I was high-powered Divine Flame Spirit serving one of the Thrones. Somehow . . . I feel . . . a lot weaker,” Asher said, then started to glare at me again. “This is your fault, isn’t it?”

  “I just called the Divine Guide I was assigned. It’s not my fault you’re . . . you know . . . level one,” I defended.

  Asher added a rumbling growl to his glare. “I would incinerate your soul if I could.”

  “But you can’t . . . right?” I asked, feeling a little nervous that he just might be able to do just that.

  Asher growled a little more, then with a small huff, he pouted. “No.”

  I smiled a little at him. He looked a little cute pouting like that. Rather than tease him, I prompted him to continue, “So, you were saying about my bunk?”

  “Yeah, it’s back toward the entrance to Purgatory,” Asher said, accepting my change of subject and starting to move.

  As I turned to follow him, I finally got a look at Purgatory. It was a tower reaching into the sky with no end in sight. “How am I supposed to clear that?” I asked, waving emphatically at the tower.

  “That? Oh, that’s an illusion. Purgatory is different for everyone. Some people have a hundred floors of demons to clear. Some people, it’s fighting all their inner demons until they no longer fear them. For some poor saps, it’s the seven deadly sins,” Asher stopped to shudder at that, the flames rippling over his surface. “I really hope that’s not your particular flavor or this adventure might be doomed before it ever really begins. Anyway, there are lots of ways for a soul to torture itself.”

  “Are the seven deadly sins really that bad?” I asked.

  Asher bobbed up and down. “Yes, and probably worse. Anyway, the odds of you getting that are slim. Not many humans believe in that nonsense, not for the last few thousand years anyway. I mean, it was never really part of the faith to begin with. It was more of an invention of you humans.”

  I laughed nervously. The seven deadly sins were a very real thing in my time. They made movies about it. TV series. Wrote books about it. I mean, I never believed it was real . . . of course, I also didn’t believe the whole God thing was real either. But I always thought those were . . . scary.

  Asher glared at me again. “I don’t like that nervous laugh.”

  “It’s nothing,” I said waving away his concern. Meanwhile, in my head, I was sending a small prayer to God, wondering if he even listened to those of us in Purgatory, or listened to anyone at all.

  Asher grunted, looking as though he didn’t quite believe me. He turned slowly and resumed his path.

  A little while later we were in front of a door to a small building. A one room hovel at best, the door similarly covered by a tattered cloth. And yet, there was a steady stream of people coming and going. I joined the line awaiting entrance.

  When I finally got up to the door, Asher verbally nudged me, “Well, go on in.”

  I couldn’t see anything from the outside side of the cloth door. I leaned back again to look at the dimensions of the building. I didn’t see how it could fit so many people inside. There were some impatient noises behind me from the other people waiting their turn to enter, so I stepped forward.

  It was slightly disorienting. Stepping through to the other side, I was in a bedroom. Alone. Almost alone.

  Asher commented, “See, easy. Welcome to your very . . . very humble abode.”

  Humble may have been an understatement. There was a cot with a threadbare blanket, no pillow, and last, but not least, a bucket in the corner.

  “Nothing says home sweet home like a bucket latrine in the corner,” Asher joked unhelpfully.

  “Is this even safe?” I asked, looking around.

  “It’s fine. This is your room and yours alone,” Asher promised. “And you can fix it up if you want. Buy a better bed, nicer latrine, maybe even a pillow or two. You’ll be living in the lap of luxury in no time.”

  “Great, good to hear,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Look, forget about the room for now,” Asher said. “It’s a safe place to lay your head at night. If you’re serious about getting through Purgatory as fast as you can, then I suggest you focus on the work.”

  I nodded, “Right, you’re right, Open Inventory.” The grid appeared and I extracted my Scroll of Body and Soul. I moved over to the bed and spread it out for him.

  “Okay, you’re a Body guy, definitely a Body guy,” Asher said, looking from the scroll to me and back again a few times. “But man, your Soul is weak. That’s going to take a lot of work to improve. A lot of experience.”

  I looked again at the parts he was referring to.

  Body

  Experience to Next Point: 100

  Unused Points: 0

  Strength:

  8

  Reflex:

  6

  Constitution:

  7

  Recovery:

  4

  Soul

  Experience to Next Point: 100

  Unused Points: 0

  Faith:

  1

  Spirituality:

  2

  Righteousness:

  2

  Fortune:

  8

  “Is it even worth spending the experience on my Soul?” I asked, worried that the low point totals would be a greater detriment than I originally thought.

  Asher answered, “Of course it is. Your total SE available is terrible as is your Divine Power. If you want to be effective in any way with Soul Proficiencies, you’re going to need to upgrade. That said, I think for the time being, we should focus on improving your Body.”

  I nodded. I didn’t really know enough to argue with him. This was exactly why I wanted a guide to start with.

  “We need to think about arming you with a Body Proficiency,” Asher explained, then looked up from the scroll to me. “When you were alive, did you do any kind of martial art? Or anything that would be considered weapons training?”

  “I went to a firing range a few times,” I answered, then thinking about what Billy said about a mace or club, I added, “Played baseball growing up.”

  “It’s something. I think we can make a blunt weapon work for you,” Asher said, nodding. “You at least have some familiarity with that.”

  Not that I wanted to trust anything Billy said, I couldn’t help but ask, “What about a shield?”

  Asher snorted. “A shield is for blocking, not killing demons. If you don’t learn a weapon proficiency first, you’ll be in real trouble. We can discuss a shield later. It won’t matter until we get you your first ten Body points so you can learn a second Body Proficiency.”

  “Is that how that works? After ten improvements, can I learn another proficiency? Is it the same for the Soul?” I asked.

  “Body is ten, Soul is twenty. And there’s a reason for that. You’re talking about touching upon the divine. You risk damaging your Soul if you don’t sufficiently improve it before trying to imprint another proficiency on to it,” Asher explained.

  That made sense. It also meant that depending on how I improved, my Body would always be in advance of my Soul.

  Asher yawned, suddenly seeming very tired. “Alright, get some rest. First thing tomorrow I’ll guide you to the blunt weapon school.”

  I put away my Scroll of Body and Soul and laid down on my cot. I was surprised by how quickly I fell asleep. It was almost like I hadn’t slept in years
. Waking up was unpleasant thanks to the hard cot and the crick in my neck it left behind. I could live with the discomfort and pain, but I couldn’t say how much longer I would last if my dreams remained the same. I dreamed about my son. I saw him erased from photos and memories of things we did together. It was . . . horrid.

  Asher thankfully didn’t say anything about my appearance, which I was sure looked rough after not sleeping well.

  The little orb of fire led me through the Sinner’s City with an ease that made me wonder if I would ever be able to match his knowledge. I clamped down on that notion quickly. I couldn’t afford any doubts, not if I wanted to get through this. I would learn my way around. It was just a matter of time. And in Purgatory, I had all the time in . . . well, until the end of time.

  We ended up back in the main thoroughfare. I finally had a chance to listen to the barkers and see what they were peddling. Not being distracted by a dagger poking me in the back made a big difference.

  I heard a child’s voice yell, “Fresh fish!” It was a small boy manning a stall with fish for sale.

  Another child shouted, “Demon talons, demon teeth, demon tails, you won’t find better anywhere!”

  Then I heard a girl barking, “Light forged steel blades and armor!”

  And yet another hawking, “Meat on a stick, get your fresh, hot, meat on a stick!”

  I wanted to stop at some of the stalls just to browse but Asher wasn’t having it, saying simply, “You can’t afford any of it right now anyway. Let’s go.”

  “Do I need to eat?” I asked, trying to keep up with the orb.

  “Yes and no. You won’t die if you don’t eat, but you’ll still feel hunger, which can distract you. And distractions in Purgatory will kill you,” Asher explained.

  “Right, so where can I eat . . . for free?” I asked.

  Asher didn’t look back at me, but answered all the same, “For today, the blunt weapon proficiency school will feed you. It won’t be much, and I’ve heard it tastes horrid, but it will sustain you until you can get some crystals to buy your own food.”