I said nothing and huffed. I was glaring at the air type SoulBird that was perched on her desk. I was surprised that Hannah owned an air type. There were barely any traces of other types of SoulBirds besides fire types.
Hannah sighed. It had been awkwardly silent since I had entered the room, for I had nothing to share with the nurse. My mind was so focused on Lucien. It was as if he had injected me with a potion that had my mind addicted to his spirit.
“You’re awfully quiet, Zach,” Hannah broke the silence.
I blinked out of my thoughts and looked at her clear blue eyes.
“Is everything okay?” She had been using a damp cloth to wipe a nasty gash under my forearm.
I frowned. Well, I had no memory of my past, and I had no idea why I was here in this world to suffer for mistakes that I didn’t even know that I had made. No, everything was not okay. I really wanted to see Lucien, especially since he reminded me so much of my father.
Hannah sighed when I said nothing. “You’re very lucky that Lucien let you off so nicely. But Zach, I must warn you that the Higher One isn’t as nice as he seems.” She was gazing at me carefully.
I huffed. “How would you know?” I muttered under my breath.
Hannah blinked slowly. “Zach, you stole the golden egg. It hatched without the Higher One’s presence, and it disappeared with Damien. You know that the Higher One will do something about it.”
I glared at the nurse. “How did you know about—”
“Zach, I saw you,” she murmured. “So did Chelsey,” she turned and nodded to her SoulBird.
I glared at the air type SoulBird as it hovered over to land on Hannah’s shoulder. Suddenly, the SoulBird started to brighten. Its white feathers shone, and the SoulBird gave out a soothing coo as a shiny halo appeared above its small head.
I widened my eyes. It was an angel SoulBird. “Y-you have a…”
“Yes,” Hannah whispered. “The academy doesn’t know it, but I am one of the last angels in this land. Luckily, the Higher One did not manage to find me and expel me with the other angels.”
I blinked. “You’re ‘one’ of the last spirits?”
Hannah sighed. “Did you get to meet Cain’s SoulBird yet?”
“Pete?”
“Yes. That SoulBird is an angel. Just like Chelsey, he’s set himself in disguise so that the Higher One and the rest of the spirits that serve him may not recognize him.”
My mind was suddenly spinning. Now, there were more questions that I had.
“Argh!” I threw my hands up in the air. “This world is so jacked up! What’s its purpose?! I thought Purgatory was supposed to cleanse us from making the mistakes we made during our mortal lives, so that we could be taken up to Heaven! But then there’s that story about the Higher One coming in, kicking out all the High Ones from Heaven, and replacing them with spirits that don’t seem to give a crap about our purification!” It was true. The High Ones cared less about the behavior of the Mediums in the academies. All across the land of Bhad, there were ruthless, unchaste spirits filling each academy. “What is the meaning of this? What is the goal of this world?!”
“Zach, the land of Bhad is the only land that’s suffering from careless, dishonest spirits,” said Hannah. “This is because Lucien the Higher only rules the stage of Bhad. He has extended his power across the academies so that the teachers—the High Ones—can keep the students of the land under Lucien’s control as well. The rest of Purgatory is still in shape—the High Ones are teachers from Heaven, and they are working hard to help the student spirits pass their academies and make it to Heaven. But it won’t be for long. Lucien wants to extend his power across the entire world…and this is why he wanted that golden egg.”
I widened my eyes and stared into the nurse’s eyes. Hannah was giving me a ton of valuable information, and it was all coming to me so fast.
“Zach,” Hannah sounded urgent. “You are in grave danger. You’re responsible for the loss of that egg, and Lucien is going to make you pay for it.”
I clenched my fists. “What should I do now?” I felt so humiliated. It wasn’t like me to rely on another spirit to help me solve my problems. But right now, I was in more trouble than I had ever been. The Higher One had the power to do anything to me. He could fail me and make sure I dropped to Hell.
Hannah huffed. “Come here. While you were sleeping, Chelsey and I were trying to contact someone.”
I raised my eyes with hope.
Hannah frowned impatiently. “Apparently, the spirit will be late. He will arrive tonight at sundown, but at least he will keep you safe if anything terrible happens to you.”
“Who is this spirit?”
Hannah sighed. “You’ll see. He’s a noble spirit from Heaven, and he’s been keeping his eye on you.”
“Oh! That’s nice to hear!” I rolled my eyes and cursed. Hannah looked at me with a raised expression. I gave her a sideways look. “You don’t understand! It just feels like all kinds of spirits have been anonymously watching me!” First, there was Grenada. Then Uncle E claimed to know me. Now Hannah said that she had also kept an eye on me. “And yet, I bet none of those spirits can tell me anything about my past, or who I am?!”
Hannah blinked. “Zach, if you’ve met Saint Grenada, she could tell you a lot about your past.”
“Oh, screw Saint Grenada!” I huffed. “Can’t you tell me anything? You’re from Heaven!”
“Zach, it’s not my business to tell you what I want to tell you,” Hannah said carefully. “It’s complicated to explain. But if I am not given the permission to tell you anything, then I better not say anything.”
I rolled my eyes and fell on my back. The bed was soft. “Oh, damn!”
“Zach…you’ll like your visitor tonight. He’ll come to you sometime before morning, and by the time you wake up, he’ll be sleeping at your side.”
I sat up and gave Hannah a disgusted frown. “That’s just creepy.”
Hannah gave me a sideways look. “Trust me. You’ll like him.”
“Is he one of my five guardian angels that Uncle E mentioned to me?”
“You’ll see,” Hannah winked. “He’ll be a great help for you.”
I gave her a scornful look. That wasn’t much help. Hannah was being so confusing. I didn’t know whether or not if I should thank her for spilling out so many secrets. Now I knew something: Lucien the Higher, supposedly, wanted to take over the world of Purgatory, which was why the land of Bhad was in such a mess. And Lucien would need the special golden egg to help him reach his goal.
I lied on my back again, letting my mind drift away from all the confusion. I found myself thinking about Lucien again, thinking about how much he was bringing back small memories of my father.
Chapter Six-
Rain poured over the lands of Bhad. By the time it was nighttime, I was able to detect the sounds of thunder.
I was sent back to my dorm room at 8:00. But before I left, Hannah reassured me that everything was going to be alright, as long as I listened to the spirit that was going to visit me tonight. I scoffed. Hannah wouldn’t even tell me exactly who the spirit was! How was I supposed to trust her? How was I supposed to trust the spirit?
Hannah must have noticed my frustration. She exchanged glances with Chelsey, and then handed me a brown, beaded necklace.
“What the heck is that?” I frowned at the accessory as she handed it to me.
“Zach, please take this,” her face was serious. “This is a rosary. The spirit will visit you tonight, and he will be able to trace you through this rosary. Also, with the rosary, you will have stronger connections with the spirits of Heaven—including Saint Grenada.”
I huffed. “Why would I want to have anything to do with Saint Grenada?”
“She’s your guardian, Zach,” said Hannah softly. “She’s very firm, but she cares about you. I understand that she may be a little difficult to deal with. Besides your guardians, there’s always Someone you can talk to.”
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I raised an eyebrow.
“Zach, have you ever prayed?” Hannah started to sound uplifted.
I frowned. Then I stifled a snicker at the thought. I couldn’t imagine myself taking as little as five seconds to pray.
Hannah sighed as she read my expression. “Well, please try it sometime. Take this as well.” She handed me a thick book. Holy Bible was engraved in golden letters at the front.
“Oh great,” I mumbled. “You’re giving me homework as well?”
“Oh, no. Zach, you may use this whenever you like. But I do recommend that you start working on your prayers, Zach. Because the Lord is Someone who will always listen to your problems.”
I rolled my eyes. I really didn’t want to get into a religious conversation right now. I had too much on my mind, and my head was still recovering from that burning headband I was forced to wear.
“Whatever,” I muttered. I took the rosary and the Bible, and turned to walk back to my dorm room. I didn’t look back. Hannah watched me leave until I disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.
As I sat on my bed in my dorm room, I was staring at the rosary in my hand. I focused on the cross. Our academies were filled with these crosses. There was usually at least one or two in each room in the academy. Even the hallways had a small cross hanging on the wall.
But this small cross on the rosary was different. The figure of Jesus Christ was nailed to it. I narrowed my eyes. None of our crosses showed any sign of Jesus Christ. They were just symbols to make our stupid academy look good.
I guess the main reason why I had never prayed, was because I saw no point for it. Whenever I looked out of my window every morning, I never felt any urge to pray. This land was hot, ugly, and full of terrible, merciless spirits. All of us were forsaken spirits in this land, and we were probably all going to go to Hell next year when the term was over. And the Headmasters and High Ones didn’t even seem to care.
Where was the Lord? I had never heard from Him. And I doubt that I had heard anything from Him when I had been mortal.
And apparently, even Hannah told me that the Higher One had expelled all of the Lord’s angels from this land, which explained the godlessness of the remaining spirits. I didn’t understand. Why would the Lord’s angels let the Higher One walk over them like that? As a matter of fact…Higher Ones were supposed to have been appointed by the Lord Himself, and the Higher One was supposed to have an even higher position in Heaven, than did all the High Ones.
If Lucien were from Heaven, why would he treat his fellow angels like he did?
I rolled my eyes and clutched the rosary. “Puh,” I muttered. “Lord, if You hear me, or even care about me, make me remember who I was, and why You made me come to this stupid world.”
I waited silently. I was staring out the window, into the dark night. When nothing unusual happened, I placed the rosary on top of the Bible on my desk.
I muttered angrily to myself and went to sleep.
I had the most vivid dream that night.
I was running across a beautiful meadow as a young child again. I was mortal, living a mortal life as a human being on Earth. I was holding hands with my sister, Angeline, who was probably no more than two or three years old.
The both of us started to chase each other. My heart felt light as a feather in my chest, for I could not remember a time when I had ever felt this happy. I loved my sister, and my sister loved me. Her laughter echoed through the warm, earthly air and I felt like I could be happy forever.
Then my dream faded away. I was an eighteen year old spirit in the afterlife, who was failing my classes in Purgatory.
Well, I was close. I guess God did answer me somehow, by briefly revealing that short, wonderful memory. But it wasn’t enough. I still didn’t remember anything about my old life. I fell back asleep with disappointment.
I woke up two hours later when I heard an irritating tap against the window. I rolled to my side and ignored it.
“Tweeee!” I heard a scream from the window. I flinched and sat up. I jerked my head to face my window at my right. It was an earth type SoulBird! And it had…a halo!
Oh no, I thought. Was the angelic SoulBird coming back to haunt me?
But I calmed down with relief. This bird wasn’t the same one I had killed. This one seemed a little smaller. It was like a little hatchling, no bigger than my own hand. But what did surprise me, was that it was angelic and glowing with an angel’s soul.
I winced with disgust. The little creature was pecking rapidly at my window with its long sharp beak. All the earth types had beaks three times the size of their heads, and this tiny thing looked just as strong as a full grown bird. It darted left and right from the windowsill, tweeting in its meek, high pitched cry. The little bird flapped its tiny wings rapidly. The bird was squeaking toward me. It met my scornful gaze with its excited little button eyes.
Where did this stupid creature come from? It looked to my left, where I had set the rosary and the Bible on my desk. Of course. This must have been that “reliable partner” who would keep me safe from anything the Higher One would do to punish me.
“No!” I got up and glared at the bird with hatred. “I hate SoulBirds!” The little hatchling gazed at me curiously and tweeted even louder. It pecked at the window to get in.
I clenched my teeth and took my crowbar. This was the weapon I had used to kill the angel SoulBird before, so I was ready to do it again.
The hatchling flinched and hovered back, and then tweeted excitedly and noisily, seeming blissfully happy as I made my way toward the window.
“Urgh….you…” I was just about to open the window and immediately smash the soul out of this SoulBird, but I couldn’t do it. Last time it was merely an accident, and I was haunted by the image of the disfigured SoulBird after I had struck it.
While I was hesitating, the bird continued to peck at the window until it made a small crack. I gasped and held tightly to my crowbar. The little bird crashed through the cracks, spilling a handful of shattered glass on the floor, and was in my room.
“Ahh! Get away from me! You stupid bird!” I dropped my crowbar and tried to shoo the little creature away as it fluttered around me like a hummingbird.
“Move! I hate you—ahh!” I whacked my hands around, backing away until I bumped into the broken windowsill.
I turned and opened it. “Shoo! Get outta here! I don’t need a stupid SoulBird in my life!”
At those words, the little hatchling stopped flapping its wings, and slowly hovered to the ground. It whimpered and gave me a crestfallen look, tilting its head. Its halo started to flicker.
I showed no mercy. I glared back at it and turned red with anger. I felt like I was wearing the fiery headband again. “GET OUT!” I pointed toward the window.
Surprisingly, the little bird obediently hopped on its long but tiny legs, and bounced up to the windowsill. It turned and squeaked, facing me with a longing gaze, but I gave it a fierce look.
“Dweee…” The bird squeaked out a pitiful tweet.
I rolled my eyes and turned around. I blazed with anger and glared at the rosary. I had prayed for the first time. I had asked for something better to happen, and this was what happened.
“Forget it,” I muttered angrily, cursing at Hannah under my breath. I stomped over and grabbed the rosary. The little bird kept its eyes on me as I came back to the windowsill with the rosary in my hands.
“You want to make things better?” I growled at the SoulBird. “Get out and never bother me again.”
I tossed the rosary out my window and watched it fly into the forest behind the building. The little bird tweeted with horror and flapped its wings rapidly. It bounced off the window and fluttered after the rosary. It disappeared into the dark woods.
I seethed with anger. There was no way I was ever going to let a SoulBird interfere with my life.
Before I shut my window, I caught sight of two dark figures heading in the same direction that the SoulBird we
nt. Curiously, I leaned forward and peered out my window again. I widened my eyes. Lucien and Ebenezer were walking side by side, headed toward the academy’s back exit. They were speaking in low voices.
My vision started to blur. As soon as I gazed at Lucien, my mind was transfixed into a hypnotized state. The urge to see him was coming back to me. I really wanted to see him up close… I just wanted to see him again
Without thinking, I turned and grabbed a rope that I kept in my closet. I tied it to the corner of my bed, and then held on the rope as I carefully climbed down the dorm building. Then I hurried over to the fence and climbed over to the other side.
I ran into the forest but took a different path to meet up with Lucien, for I didn’t want to meet up with that little hatchling again.
I followed the Gehenna River, and ran against the dry wind. I was guessing that Lucien and Uncle E would meet at the Gehenna Volcano. I rushed through a crowd of trees and then suddenly collided with another spirit.
We both grunted and I clumsily fell down on my butt.
“Hey! Watch it, will you?!” Snapped the spirit’s irritated voice. From the sound of it, the spirit was a female. She was still standing, and was looking down at me with disgust.
I fumed and glared up at the anonymous spirit. Through the shadows, I saw that the spirit had her hair tied back in a ponytail that hung down her back. Her eyes were piercing and fierce as they glared back at me behind a pair of hot pink glasses that flashed in the darkness.
In her arms, she carried a limp body of a wounded earth SoulBird. The back half of the SoulBird’s body was flattened and above its head was a dim halo. It was the SoulBird I had abused.
My eyes immediately changed from a blazing look of hatred to a surprised wide-eyed expression.
But before I could say anything, the girl huffed. She straightened her glasses that had bumped out of place when we collided. She kicked dust in my eyes. “You could’ve hurt my poor SoulBird! Ugh, people in these lands…I hate it here….” And she hurried around me and cursed violently before she disappeared into the shadows.
The Purgatory Saga #1: People of the Fire Page 5