“Is the tree really that tall?” I asked. If we could get to the next higher stage by climbing to the top of the tree, it would be like taking an elevator instead of the stairs. I really didn’t want to spend too much time hiking up those steep border cliffs.
“Yes,” spoke the Shadow Man. “I’ve arranged plans with the angel, Gabriel, to help guide you there and accompany you at the tree. It is true that the tree is dangerous, since it is filled with unholy spirits who have lived in Purgatory before the arrival of all the Earth spirits. Those spirits in the tree have isolated themselves from the rest of the Purgatory world, so they will not be trustworthy.”
“Must we leave right now?” Asked Enoch.
“Tomorrow morning,” said the Shadow Man. “Let the spirits rest for one night. They will need their strength to hike up the border cliffs at the northernmost border of Nawt.”
Inside the cave, he Shadow Man had mossy nests prepared for us. Feathers outlined the sides, and a bundle of fresh leaves were used as pillows. I was surprised where this Shadow Man would have found such leaves. Obviously, he was not from these lower lands.
The beds were comfortable, but it made me feel like a nomadic outcast.
And the atmosphere of the caves made me feel very nostalgic. There were stain glass windows everywhere. Their patterns made me dizzy as if I were looking into another world.
The Shadow Man had incense prepared at the front of all the windows, and their strong scent wafted through the air. I felt myself transfixed by the smell. Even Jenna was calmed.
The Shadow Man proved to be very hospitable to us. But at the same time, he proved to be a very strange spirit. He seemed to be praying all the time. He even made us light candles in the cave and say a prayer together to thank the Lord for providing us a second chance in Purgatory. The Shadow Man informed us that this was what we were supposed to be doing at the academies, instead of those silly fire rituals.
Fortunately, I felt much better in this small cave. I forgot all about my problems back at the academy, and all my worries about Lucien the Higher were pushed out of my mind.
It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized I had been staring at the candle lit in front of me for the entire night.
“Zach?” The Shadow Man’s hand touched my shoulder. “Are you ready to go? We are leaving now.”
I blinked and slowly snapped out of it. I shook my head on got up, for I had been kneeling in front of the table for hours.
“Did you recite any prayers, boy?” Bernardo approached me.
I sighed. “I…I don’t know.” I had been staring at that candle for the entire night, and had been so deep in thought.
The morning was dreary and the sun was hidden behind the thick clouds. Enoch stood with Jenna and Cain at his right and his SoulBird at his shoulder. They awaited us at the front of the cave. Dewey, Pete, and Grace stood with them and faced me as I exited the cave.
The Shadow Man turned to Gabriel. “We will head northwards,” he said solemnly. “We will do our best to avoid the Tribe of Egbala.”
I winced. “Tribe of Egbala? Are they another family of hell spirits?”
“Haven’t you heard?” Jenna fixed me with a piercing gaze. “The Tribe of Egbala is from the outlands of Hell. They treat the hellfire as if it were some live, supernatural force.”
I blinked. “Hellfire is a supernatural force, but it’s only controlled by Satan.”
“Exactly, hun!” Hoshinda huffed. “So it’s no better than worshiping Satan himself! They are totally despicable!”
“We don’t want to get anywhere near the Tribe of Egbala,” said Gabriel. “The worst part about them is that they are very cunning and deceiving. They will coax any passerby to fall in love with the hellfire, just like they did. Once you fall in love with the fire, you will be invincible to it, and it cannot harm you. And you know what that means.”
Dewey nodded. “It means you’re ready for a life in the world of Hell.”
I shuddered at the thought of how quickly Purgatory was becoming like the underworld.
I found myself unwilling to leave, for I had enjoyed my time in that cave. Somehow, the Shadow Man had made me feel much better and much more relieved.
Dewey was stomping with his head down.
“Ugh! I don’t wanna leave!” He complained. “Can’t we just give up and live as refugees in that cave?”
For once, I agreed with Dewey.
“Well, I think it’s more worth it to pass our academies,” said Jenna. “It would be much better to work hard for Heaven than to live an easy life in Purgatory for the rest of this one-thousand year period.”
I turned to meet her gaze with a sideways smile. “I’m surprised spirits like you haven’t ditched their academies yet.”
She frowned. “Hey! Not to brag, but I’ll have you know I’m number one in my academy! Ranked one out of thirteen-hundred Mediums!”
I turned away. “Teacher’s pet,” I muttered.
“Like you’d ever become one,” she snapped back.
I narrowed my eyes forward as we walked on. The Shadow Man, who was apparently coming with us, was at the front, several feet ahead. I slowly came up to his side and peered up at him.
“What made you come and rescue us?” I asked. “Why did you even bother?”
The Shadow Man kept his gaze facing forward as he spoke, “I didn’t bring myself to rescue you. The Lord called me.”
I winced. “How? Did one of my guardians put up some kind of ritual to summon the Lord?”
“It doesn’t take an intense ritual to speak to the Lord,” the Shadow Man’s voice was solemn. “All it takes is your faith.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, you‘ve got to sound general when you‘re talking to a spirit like me. I‘m failing my classes in the lowest academy of Purgatory, so you should go easy on me. Why are you with us, and why are you following us? Who exactly are you, anyway?”
“Why would I be following you?” The Shadow Man spoke simply. “You have no interest in me, so there‘s no reason why I am following you. I am here to guide you, not follow you.”
I frowned at the shadowy figure. Of course I was interested! I’m itching to know who the heck he is and what he wants from us! What if he was a hell spirit in disguise?
Suddenly, a howl pierced through the air. We all stopped walking and looked around. We were walking across a flat land with brown grass stretching across the rolling meadows.
The howling sounded again and Cain stepped closer to the Shadow Man.
“What is that?” He muttered. “Hell creatures?”
The Shadow Man turned to the right. “The Tribe of Egbala.”
I turned to the right. There were five men across the brown meadow. They wore long purple robes, and were making their way up to us. Unlike the hell spirits we had consistently encountered, these spirits seemed to have a peculiar glow around them. They were gathering around a bare tree that jutted up in the middle of the land. They had their heads bowed down, and they were all holding hands as they formed a circle around the tree.
Suddenly, the tree caught on fire. The fire was red-orange, just like the regular Purgatory fire, but we watched as it turned red after a few seconds.
“I thought we were trying to avoid the Tribe of Egg Balls?” I spoke in an irritated tone. I turned to the Shadow Man, but he was gone. Cain stood alone as he faced the spirits in the distance.
“Hey!” Saint Hoshinda hovered at my side. “Where’d mister Shadow Dude go?”
“I dunno,” I muttered, feeling a pang of annoyance.
“No! Grace! Dewey! Pete! Get back here!” Hissed Jenna, glaring at the SoulBirds as they curiously stepped forward to watch the spirits.
The five men suddenly turned and faced the SoulBirds. Their faces lit up with surprised expressions. They gathered around the three SoulBirds, and started singing a strange song. Then four of the five men picked up the SoulBirds. Dewey, Grace, and Pete didn’t even struggle. Their eyes were white and clo
udy.
“No! You thieves!” Wailed Bernardo. “What they doin’ to our soul-mates?”
Hearing his loud voice, the empty-handed spirit turned to face us. He started walking our way. The other four turned to watch him as they held the still SoulBirds in their hands.
I stepped back as the spirit stood three feet in front of me.
“Greetings, fellow brothers,” he said. He had a smooth, friendly voice.
“Ahem!” Saint Hoshinda gave a haughty cough and gave them an upraised look with her arms crossed.
The spirit smiled and bowed down again. “And sisters,” he added.
“Come…you spirits look lost. Do you not belong here in the outlands of Nawt?” One of the men held out a hand toward me and Jenna.
Jenna huffed. “Um, no. We are not from this stage,” she gave me a nudge on the shoulder to move on, but the man suddenly laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Dear spirit,” he spoke with a strange calm look in his eyes. The spirit had a dazed look in his eyes. “You must come with us. What we will show you will make the biggest difference in your life. We are the Tribe of Egbala. And it is our duty to keep the hellfire alive in this world, as the source of all spirit life.”
“We’re already seeking the source of life,” said Cain, narrowing his eyes. “We seek the Lord. It’s been a huge part of our afterlives to do so.”
“Ah, so you must come from those filthy academies?” Said one of the men. “Come now, those academies are nonsense. They speak about the source of life in Heaven, but it is nothing compared to the force that hellfire provides. Trust me…once you experience the force of the hellfire, you will find it very comforting, inviting, and satisfying.”
“Oh, yeah?” I raised my expression sarcastically. “So why isn’t there hellfire in Heaven?”
Cain stepped up to my side. “And what are you planning to do with our SoulBirds?” Though he was the same age as I was, and a few inches shorter, he looked older than me since he already had a shaved beard under his chin, as well as a more mature-looking face. He was also much smarter than me. I felt rather intimidated to have him standing next to me.
“Come,” the man raised his arms and fixed us with a sharp stare. “If you’d like to see your forbidden pets, you must come with us.” He turned and headed away toward the direction to follow the four spirits with our SoulBirds.
“Oh!” Hoshinda frowned and stuck her tongue out. “Bleh! See what I tell you what a disgust they are?!”
Jenna huffed and looked up at Enoch and Gabriel, who gazed after the spirits with contempt. “Well, I’m not just going to let them turn Grace into roasted SoulBird!” She said. “I’m going after them.”
“Yes. We have no choice,” muttered Gabriel. “Just be careful. Don’t listen to anything they say.”
We followed the spirits up the hill until we reached a strange two-story house. The front doors were open and we could see the inside. It was empty on the first floor, except for the strange statues of angels and beastly hell creatures at the corners. There was a stairway to the right that led straight up to a hall of rooms.
We could see more spirits inside who wore the dark purple robes. Some wore bluish colored robes.
The four spirits entered the house with our SoulBirds in their hands, and disappeared behind the staircase. Before we could get a better look, a new angel stepped forward and faced Gabriel with an intriguing look. His eyeballs looked immobilized when he stared at the angel. It was rather distracting to look at him when he spoke. “Welcome to the Tribe of Egbala. We bring you the source of life through hellfire. I see that you are one of the mighty dwellers in Heaven. You are Gabriel, aren’t you?”
Gabriel nodded. “Yes. Do you mind? You have something the Mediums want. Their SoulBirds belong to them.”
“Ah, the SoulBirds,” an old short lady approached his side and eyed us all with a creepy smile. “You see, we don’t allow the presence of SoulBirds when it comes to summoning the source of life. Before we can hand such creatures back to you, we must make sure they are cleansed with the force of the hellfire, or else they will destroy the life source the hellfire provides.”
“So you’re going to turn them into devilish SoulBirds, aren’t you?” Cain spoke defiantly.
“Of course. If a spirit must receive the life force from the hellfire, they must be able to withstand the force. For your SoulBirds, it would require a distortion of the spirit,” the lady eyed us creepily. She turned to Bernardo, Hoshinda, Enoch, Gabriel, and Enoch’s air-type SoulBird, Ace, hovering above them. “You spirits, especially, will need serious conversion through the hellfire before we let you move on.”
“Bah!” Saint Hoshinda gave a scornful swat with her hand. “You‘re not gonna turn us to devils!”
“Yeh, I’d like to see ya try!” Bernardo scoffed. He snickered and whispered in Hoshinda’s ear, “Just watch us turn that hellfire to ashes!”
The old lady narrowed her eyes at the guardians. “You speak out of foolish manner, spirit.”
“Hah!” Hoshinda nearly cracked up laughing. “You’re speaking to an angel from Heaven, old lady!”
“Look,” I stepped forwards. “Just tell us where our SoulBirds are. We aren’t interested in the hellfire crap. We just want to move on, so please give us back our SoulBirds.” I just wanted to get this over with. I was so tired of encountering hell spirits.
“I’m afraid we can’t let you leave,” said the old lady. There were a few Egbala spirits gathering behind us. “I shall arrange an examination of the behalf of each of your spirits. Gabriel? I’ll have you come along with Dante’s elders here.” He faced the angel and then nodded to the spirits behind him.
Gabriel raised his eyebrows, but there was nothing he can do. The Egbala nomads were fixing us all with hungry intent looks. He nodded and obediently followed them.
Enoch and Cain were both assigned to another group of servants, while Enoch’s SoulBird, Ace, was taken behind the stairway where the other SoulBirds disappeared. Jenna and I were the only ones standing at the door. Saint Bernardo and Hoshinda hovered above us with suspecting looks.
“Now, you two,” the old lady smiled at us. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ll show you your SoulBirds, and explain to you why such creatures are considered a threat to the hellfire.”
I narrowed my eyes and spit at their feet. The old lady gasped with surprise and nearly stumbled over. I was just about to run away and make a break for it. But just as I turned around, I was facing the Shadow Man, who was blocking my path.
“The Shadow Man!” Jenna cried.
All at once, the sky’s darkened and a loud thunder clasped through the air, startling all the spirits. The Tribe of Egbala panicked and rushed to gather around the front doors. All of them were gazing at the Shadow Man with awe on their faces.
“Sir…” a spirit stepped forward and faced the Shadow Man.
The Shadow Man said nothing.
“Oh, it’s you…you must come in,” breathed the spirit. His dazed eyes looked ready to pop out. “Please, do come in….” He reached out a hand to grab the Shadow Man’s hand and escort him inside, but before his hand could touch the Shadow Man, his fingers caught on fire and the spirit screamed. He whipped around and pushed passed all the shocked Egbala spirits. He disappeared inside the house.
The Shadow Man remained silent as he stepped up to my side and laid a hand on my shoulder. The Shadow Man’s hand felt very warm, but to my relief, I didn’t catch on fire like the Egbala spirit.
“This boy is not to be judged,” he said to the Egbala nomads. “Whatever you examine from him, and whatever you reveal, you must not condemn him, lest you stir up the Holy One.”
I raised my eyebrows and gazed up at the Shadow Man. I bet he was referring to the fact that I shared blood with Satan. I saw that the Egbala nomads were nodding.
The old lady stepped forward. “Whatever you say…your majesty.” Her eyes were round and ready to fall out of her old, wrinkly face. She turne
d to Jenna and the two remaining angels. “Come now, sweeties. There are plenty of things you’re going to find interesting here…trust me.”
She took Jenna’s hand and nodded to me to follow. Jenna and I quietly followed the lady down the room. I looked back and saw that the Shadow Man stayed at the front door, where the Egbala nomads were crowding around him with fear and curiosity.
Chapter Nineteen-
The old lady introduced herself as Mother Karusa. She led us behind the staircase, into a tunnel that led downwards into an underground chamber. There were fiery torches lit on the walls on both our sides. When we got to the end of the room to the next door, she showed us the SoulBird sanctuary where they kept our SoulBirds captive, before they were thrown in the hellfire. The sanctuary was filled with other SoulBird species that were all angelic.
Jenna looked extremely pissed. “You guys are sick,” she finally blurted out. She faced the old lady with her sharp glare. “You think you’re going to get away with this? I don’t think so. The angels of Heaven are much stronger than you, and pretty soon, they will have all you hell creatures destroyed.”
The old lady narrowed her beady eyes. “Is that so, my dear?”
I snickered. “Yeah, if you chase out the spirits from the SoulBirds, they‘re only going to come back in their original angelic forms to kick your ass.”
“Oh, shut up, you!” The old lady looked pissed now. “Shall I have your SoulBirds erased right now?!”
Mother Karusa unlocked the glass door and entered the sanctuary.
I peered into the sanctuary and tried to spot Dewey, Grace, Pete, or Ace. I caught them around the pond, where most of the water types were found. I had never seen a water type SoulBird before, since the lands of Bhad were so dry and were only appropriate to fire types.
They all looked interesting. The water types had a flat club-shaped crest behind their heads and the ends of their tails were like fish tails. They had webbed feet and flat bills.
Dewey, Pete, Grace, and Ace were playing around with a funny looking water SoulBird. The SoulBird was angelic like all the others, but it was a feisty one. It quacked and beat its wings at them, and chased them around. It splashed them all with water, especially at Pete since he was a fire type.
The Purgatory Saga #1: People of the Fire Page 20