by Matthew Fish
“It’s just been too much,” Maddie said as she kept her eyes away from William. She knew that this announcement would disappoint him. She did not wish to do so. She just could not see any other way to continue. “We’ve seen too much death and pain.”
“Your sisters,” William said as he turned his attention to Emily.
“They’re still onboard,” Emily said as she shrugged. She did not like the idea of Amelia being in trouble—but she understood that Amelia still found the idea of working for the force exciting. “You’ll take care of Amelia, right? I mean she can handle herself, but I’ll kick you in the nuts if anything bad happens to her.”
“I’ll take care of both of them,” William said with a strained, short laugh. “Well, this is not what I expected. I suppose I should have though. You are not leaving for good, are you?”
“We’ll be gone for the winter,” Mark spoke as he felt a huge sense of guilt for letting William down. He remembered the first time William sent him to train with Maddie—it seemed like forever ago. “We will be back when it’s warmer. We still consider Red Manor our home.”
“Well, as a friend, I do hope that you will all visit when you return.”
“Of course,” Maddie said as she smiled.
“This will be alright. With the two new Conductors we will manage just fine. If anyone has earned a super early retirement…I feel it would be you three. I do have one request, one I would ask you to accomplish before you set off.”
“And…that would be what, exactly?” Emily said as she let out a heavy sigh and looked down to the table.
“The axe,” William said as he rubbed his chin with his knuckles. “I want you three to find a way to destroy it. There must be something in Caesar’s old books—or something that can be done. I ask that you accomplish that one final mission before you leave. I just do not want it to fall into anyone’s hands.”
“That’s more than reasonable,” Maddie whispered as she nodded. She had almost forgotten that it now rested in the basement of Red Manor.
“You mean you want us to read?” Emily said in an annoyed tone. “Fiiiinne….”
“Just be very careful,” William added. “Let me know when it is done, I will sleep a bit more soundly when that cursed thing is gone.”
“I will call you with the news,” Mark said as he got up from his chair. “Thank you for…well, I guess—taking this so well.”
“Mr. Argent, It has been a pleasure working with you. Perhaps, in the future you will all reconsider.” William said as he stood up and extended a hand to Mark.
“Maybe a few months more vacation will be just what we need,” Mark said as he shook William’s hand.
“Ms. Willbell, all the best—it has been an honor,” William said as he took Maddie’s hand. “Ms. Stapleton…it’s definitely been interesting, but I do mean that in the best possible way.”
“Yeah yeah…” Emily muttered as she shook William’s hand. “As far as authority figures go, you’re not completely terrible.”
“Fuck the police,” William muttered as he let out a laugh. He pulled his long-coat over his shoulders and retrieved his gloves from the glass table. Amelia stood by the doorway. She placed her white hoodie on and rushed over to Emily to give her a hug.
“Take care of William, you little shit,” Emily spoke as she embraced her sister. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Enjoy being lazy and useless again,” Amelia said as she poked Emily in the stomach. “I’ll miss you—when you get back, we’re totally going to have to spend some time catching up, ya bitch.”
“If I spoke like that at your age I would have found my mouth full of soap,” Grandma Fran spoke as she shook her head. “Goodbye Amelia, Captain Dickson. Please do come and visit if you have a chance. It does get lonely here.”
“I’ll come by,” Amelia said as she nodded. “Goodbye, everyone…”
“Fuck…” Mark muttered as he collapsed against a chair near a large bookshelf as William and Amelia disappeared into the white world beyond the door.
“Language, boy,” Grandma Fran said as she let out an exhaustive sigh and grabbed him by the ear. “I may not be able to punish your friends, but remember—I’m still your grandmother. The one you never visited, and now you plan on abandoning again.”
“We’re not leaving yet,” Mark said as he rubbed his ear and began thumbing through the collection of books that reached from the floor to ceiling. “We have to destroy that axe first—Abelio’s or whatever…”
“Abelio’s axe…?” Grandma Fran spoke as she looked taken aback for a moment. “That’s what is in that case in the basement?”
“Yeah, you’ve heard of it?” Maddie asked as she grew a bit excited. Perhaps this final task would not take as long as she worried it might.
“Spill the beans lady,” Emily said as she noticed the odd look on Grandma Fran’s face. “We’ve got a trip to go on—quick, while we’re still young, sags.”
“The axe of the god Abelio cannot be destroyed. It only appears when it is needed and then is returned to Abelio’s resting place when that time has passed,” Grandma Fran spoke as she reached for a dusty old book near the very bottom of a shelf on the far side of the room. “I got bored since I got here—this place is a wealth of information. Since I figured my grandson was a Perpetual, I’d read up on what was written about them. The axe has been used many times throughout history—in ancient times it ended wars, saved civilizations. Abelio chooses a Perpetual to wield it, though they bear great suffering in order to earn the right to do so.”
“Well, Cain really did fuck us,” Emily spoke as she collapsed upon Caesar’s blood stained sofa and sulked. “That fucker…”
“Do you remember anything about what makes a Perpetual worthy of it?” Maddie asked, attempting to find some kind of silver lining to this cloud of depressing news.
“He sends them visions of the axe, and visions of what they must face,” Grandma Fran said as she thumbed through the old book. “All others who attempt to wield Abelio’s axe are driven permanently mad.”
“That makes no sense at all,” Mark said as he rested his head against the bookshelf. “We all…took care of that threat that he was seeing visions of.”
“What if that chosen Perpetual is murdered by some asswipe, does the book say anything about that?” Emily asked as she closed her eyes and kicked the back of her feet against the edge of the sofa.
“It does not,” Grandma Fran spoke as she thumbed through a few more pages. “It just speaks of the great deeds of Perpetuals who had wielded it.”
“The threat is gone though,” Maddie said as she began to pace. “If the threat is gone, then the axe should have disappeared this past summer…”
“The threat isn’t gone,” Mark said as he buried his face in his hands. “I had this dream—Caesar was there and he spoke about this possible future that we faced. Red Manor was surrounded by an army.”
“All the more reason to get the fuck out,” Emily spoke as she raised her head.
“I need to talk to Caesar,” Mark said as he got to his feet. He walked to the kitchen and began pouring himself a large drink. He began chugging the foul smelling brown liquid as he coughed loudly as he downed the glass.
“What the hell?” Emily spoke as she stopped Mark from refilling the large glass. “Here, take some sleeping pills with it.” Emily added as she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pills. She handed Mark a generous handful. “If you’re going to make yourself pass out, might as well do it right.”
“Are we…exactly sure this is a good idea?” Maddie asked. “Pills and alcohol seem like a pretty bad combination.”
“Calm down, titties,” Emily said as she poured a large drink as Mark downed the handful of pills with a full cup of whiskey. “He’s a Perpetual…he’s going to hate waking up, hangovers are the one thing our kind can’t escape—but maybe he’ll have answers.”
“I’m going to go clean,” Grandma Fran said as she sh
ook her head. “I was young once, and even I wasn’t this damned stupid.”
“Thank you for the help, Fran, you saved us lots of searching,” Maddie said as she watched Mark down another glass.
“Good to know I am still good for something,” Fran replied as she continued to mutter something about the stupidity of youth.
“Here’s to life,” Emily said as she poured two glasses.
“Here’s to…yeah, umm…life,” Mark said druggedly as he tipped his glass against Emily’s as they both downed their large drinks.
“What the…Em?” Maddie spoke as she approached the table and attempted to take away Emily’s glass. “What are you doing?”
“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” Emily said as she poured herself another drink. “Join us?”
“I will not,” Maddie said as she grew frustrated. “I do not want to babysit two incredibly intoxicated people today. I won’t be of any use to you if I’m drunk as well.”
“Calm down, we’re retired now,” Emily said as she tilted her head back and downed the whiskey. She tossed the empty bottle into the trash and then went into the fridge and pulled out a large bottle of vodka.
“Calm down, we’re all…retarded now,” Mark said as he stumbled forward and started laughing uncontrollably. “Fuck, I don’t feel so well.”
“I’m getting him to bed,” Maddie said steadied Mark and pushed him towards the spiral staircase. He stumbled backwards putting all of his weight against Maddie as she attempted to keep him steady and stable. “I could use a hand.”
“Sure,” Emily said as she finished off a short glass of straight vodka. “Be right there.”
“Here, hold onto the rail,” Maddie said as she placed Mark’s hand on the staircase.
Mark laughed as he stumbled up the stairs. He hit his head against the railing as a resounding thud filled the air. Emily pressed her back against the rail and grabbed Mark’s free hand and pulled up.
“Ouchies,” Mark muttered as an odd grin passed over his face as he rubbed his forehead. Everything seemed off and completely strange. His mind could not make sense of a single thing that was going on. He was halfway up the stairs, but felt as though he was floating and falling at the same time. “I’m gonna…pass out.”
“No, not yet,” Maddie said as she pushed on Mark’s back while attempting to keep her own balance. “Just have to make it up the stairs.”
“Come on, lightweight,” Emily said with a laugh as she pulled up on Mark’s arm. She brought him up to the hallway. He stumbled around and fell against the wall with his hand out. He missed and fell down to the floor. He did not look very happy anymore…instead he appeared to be rather sick.
“Lightweight…” Maddie muttered angrily as she shook her head. “There was no reason to drink that much. I can’t believe you started in as well.”
“I’m easily influenced by the actions of others,” Emily said as she had a bit of trouble steadying her walk. “Besides, I want to get out of here…just as much as you do.”
“Staying sober and being more helpful would have been nice,” Maddie said as Mark collapsed headfirst against the wooden floor. “Well…he is completely out.”
“That was quick,” Emily said as she grabbed Mark’s shoulders and propped him up. With Maddie’s help, they managed to get him into bed. His breathing was odd and labored.
“Will he still dream if he’s technically dead?” Maddie as she rubbed her arms. Carrying Mark had left her a bit winded.
“You know, yeah…really didn’t think about that,” Emily said as she climbed into bed. “I might have had a bit too much.”
“Do you think so?” Maddie said sarcastically.
“Yes,” Emily answered back simply.
“Well, I hope this works. Guess I’ll go for a swim or something while you two geniuses sleep this train wreck off.
“Hey…hey, Maddie…hey, Madhatty,” Emily said as she rolled around in bed. “I think you’re really pretty.”
“Thanks, Em,” Maddie said as she rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, or...good after noon, rather...”
“Come and…sleep with us, we’re all retired now,” Emily muttered as she curled up into a ball and pulled the blanket away from Mark and brought it to her chin. “You’re like…the best person, like in the whole world, other than Mark.”
“I appreciate it,” Maddie said as she placed her hand upon Emily’s shoulder. Emily brought her head over and kissed Maddie’s hand. “Go to sleep, you drunk.”
Mark found himself in his room, awake. He rubbed his arms as he was freezing cold. The air around him was like ice—as though someone had let the winter weather into Red Manor. He placed his hand against the worn and weathered wall as he attempted to steady himself. It was night time. He tried to look outside the window only to find it completely frozen over. He could make out nothing through the frosted blackness.
“Where the hell am I?” Mark asked, not to anyone in particular. Red Manor was in a very ill state. The walls were peeling and the cold water dripped down from small cracked holes in the ceiling.
“Caesar…?” Mark spoke loudly as he entered the hallway. He had a faint memory of why he was here. He knew he had to find Caesar—however, he recalled very little beyond that. He shivered as his breath was visible in the darkened hallway. He placed his hand upon the cold and rough surface of the hallway as he clenched his teeth as he took each step forward in the freezing water that ran down to the spiral staircase like a small waterfall. Mark froze in place as he spotted a strange faint shadow. The shadow turned to him and stared him down with bright, glowing red eyes.
“Wait!” Mark shouted as he began to chase the shadow. It fled down the staircase. Mark managed to keep up as best he could as he held onto the railing and let his feet quickly guide him down. When he reached the bottom he looked around for any sight of the shaded figure. He spotted the creature headed towards the basement door. “The axe…” Mark whispered to himself as he hurried towards the door as the shadow disappeared down the staircase. There was a strange and welcomed warmth as Mark descended down into the damp basement. As he walked through the hallway which seemed to be somehow tilted—he felt rather dizzy. At the end of the hall the red door with the gold leaf Conductor symbol was open—a dull gold glow emanated from the room. Mark entered the room just as the shadow had its hands upon the case. The form seemed to be made out of smoke; he was in the shape of a man, but not one that was solid. His form was constantly swirling. The man shot Mark a look with his brilliant red eyes as he continued to work open the case.
“Don’t touch it,” Mark said as he reached for the creature’s shoulder. “It will…drive you mad, it is cursed.”
The creature looked to Abelio’s axe and then looked to Mark. It attempted to say something, at least Mark thought it did—but he could not make anything out but a strange low hum. The strange creature stood up and approached Mark and placed a hand upon Mark’s forehead.
“What are you…?” Mark started to speak before a searing flash of pain filled his head. His mind filled with memories and flashes of his life. He saw bits and pieces of his childhood, for a moment he caught a glimpse of his mother’s face. She had kind features and black hair, her kind deep blue eyes looked to him as he was pulled away from the memory and pushed into another one. He stood beside Justin Lily and Maddie—at the end of time. The Ankou tossed the blade just as Justin stepped forth and took the blow for Maddie. His body fell to the ground lifelessly. He watched the Ankou release his trapped spirits as they flew off into the sky, some remained. He saw a vision of himself walking off as his mind focused on Justin’s body. A small glow appeared from his chest, something tiny—nothing more the size of a pea it emerged and began to slowly grow. It waxed and waned as it floated in the air, bobbing up and down in a gentle motion like a light set upon the ocean’s surface. A brilliant flash of cold light filled Mark’s view as he was caught in the ambit of its expansion. As the light finally passed, the red eyed shadow stood i
n front of Mark. The creature nodded and disappeared—leaving the axe behind.
The light grew dim as Mark found himself in the familiar blue glow that he was used to seeing in the dream world. He staggered up the stairs as he made his way into the entry room. The walls of Red Manor were no longer peeled or damaged. The water that was flowing had disappeared and a warm air filled the manor. Mark sat down upon the chair near the glass table as he folded his hands up and placed them against his chin as he attempted to make sense of the strange events.
“You do seem rather troubled today, my dear Mr. Argent,” Caesar spoke.
“You’re here…” Mark spoke as he brought his head up. Caesar was relaxing against his fainting couch. “I…I’ve been looking for you—but I was somewhere else?”
“And where might that place be?” Caesar asked as he cocked his head to the side and looked to Mark curiously.
“It was…the Red Manor—but it was cold. The walls were damaged and the paint was peeling, I saw someone…a man made of black smoke with red glowing eyes. He didn’t seem to want to hurt me. He was interested in the axe…but he didn’t take it. He had the chance to do so, but he left it.”
“That does sound like a very curious vision indeed,” Caesar spoke as he shrugged. “You know the old saying that you can’t take it with you—I do rather miss this couch. I was always quite fond of it.”
“I need to talk to you about Abelio’s axe,” Mark said as he shook his head, his mind still felt rather muddled. “I need to know how to make it leave—or be rid of it, or anything at this point, really.”
“I know of it,” Caesar said as he let out a sigh. “If you had gone through my many tomes, you might know of it as well—but that is neither here nor there. So the axe has returned and Cain has killed the man that Abelio has chosen to wield it. I have seen many troubling things as of late. I even hear that you plan on quitting your duties as a Conductor and that you will leave Red Manor for a time when you find out how to be rid of this axe.”