Ace easily avoided the SoulBird, but Pete was clumsily dodging the SoulBird’s annoying splashes. Dewey fought back and tried to peck at the bird, but the water type SoulBird was fast and managed to avoid his long, sharp beak.
“Hmph!” Jenna eyed the water type as it quacked at Grace and beat its wings at her. “What kind of angelic spirit entered that water type?”
I watched as Mother Karusa scolded the birds and tried to hold back the water type. “Truman! Quiet down or you will be the first one in the hellfire!”
Suddenly, light flashed behind me. Saint Grenada and Saint Annabelle appeared out of nowhere. Both of them were bedraggled and covered in smoke, as if they had fallen into a fireplace.
“Ugh! My word!” Choked Grenada. “What kinda place is this? I can smell the stench of hellfire!”
Annabelle gasped. “Oh! This is the house of the Egbala nomads!”
Jenna stepped up and faced them. “Grenada! Annabelle!” She looked happy to see them. “Where have you been? Have you been with Hannah?”
Grenada huffed. “Yes…Hannah and Michael are already hiking up the border cliffs of Nawt! This land is tainted with so much hellfire, so it’s difficult for the angels to teleport around this world. I tell you, that just means this place is becoming more hellish by the minute.”
“We’re here to wonder why it’s been taking so long for you guys to catch up with us!” Said Annabelle worriedly.
I crossed my arms and frowned at them. “Well, you picked the right time to finally show up. Saint Bernardo and Saint Hoshinda weren’t being very useful guardians yet.”
“Oh please!” Grenada rolled her eyes. “Saint Bernardo and Saint Hoshinda are among the most obnoxious angels I’ve ever met! Don’t rely on them when it comes to situations like these!”
“Ooh, I love Saint Bernardo!” Breathed Annabelle happily. “He’s so dreamy! Have you seen his abs?” She looked at me. “They’re amazing.”
I winced.
“Oh, now you just gotta meet Saint Tyler!” Annabelle added. “He’ll be the last one, and then you’ll finally have met all your guardians!”
I laughed and muttered, “How bad is Saint Tyler?” So far, my guardians have proved to be a real disappointment. The last guardian I wanted to meet was a guardian who was some sort of gangster, or some mentally handicapped spirit.
“Oh, goodness no,” Grenada said with a huff. “Tyler is…a very reasonable spirit. I like him.” She was nodding with a narrowed look in her eyes. “He’s always been my favorite angel. I believe you’d like him too, Zach.”
I stifled a snicker.
Jenna turned to the two angels with a hopeful look. “We just got to get our SoulBirds out of this hellhole before we move on.”
“Oh yes, of course!” Said Annabelle. “Grenada and I will keep watch over you all. We’ll take care of the SoulBirds down here.”
Grenada nodded. “You should keep the Egbala nomads busy so that no one gets suspicious. We’ll stay down here in hiding, and take care of the SoulBirds.”
So for the rest of that day, Jenna and I were assigned to a group of nomads that walked us through daily rituals around the hellfire. Cain was also assigned to our group since we were the only Purgatory spirits.
Bernardo, Hoshinda, Gabriel, and Enoch were assigned to a separate group of nomads, and they spent most of the day inside the upstairs rooms of the house.
I kept an eye out for the Shadow Man. He stood at the right corner of the house where the fireplace was, and to my surprise, the Egbala nomads were kneeling before him and uttering a strange prayer under their breaths. I almost came to admire the Shadow Man after that day. He actually got these ridiculous hell spirits to bow down to him. I hoped with all my heart that this Shadow Man was not a hell spirit. But it was hard to believe he was from Heaven since he was covered in shadows from head to toe.
The strangest part about that day, was that we were repeatedly going through an hour-long ritual. Every two hours, we would stop listening to the nomads’ stupid lectures, and then make our way to the outside of the house.
We would be circling the house with the nomads, and the fireplace would be lit with hellfire inside. We had to repeat a strange verse in a low whisper, or at least repeat it over and over again until the hour was over. The verse was in a strange language that only the hell spirits knew. It was tiring, and not only was my feet getting tired of continuously walking around the large house in circles, but my voice was getting dry under my breath as I kept the repeating these words. If we stopped repeating, a nomad next to me would give me a swat on the back of the head. I felt like I was back at St. Gretchen’s Academy. These rituals were very similar to the fire rituals we performed. And the lectures were also very similar to the lectures that the High Donner would give me. I still didn’t pay any attention, but I did understand that these nomads were teaching us about the lands of Hell and the significance of each spirit. It was a pity that I had spent the year at St. Gretchen’s Academy, learning about Hell more than Heaven. It totally made sense that the teachers in that academy were working for Lucien. They only wanted to teach the Mediums about Hell to prepare them. They had had no interest in helping the Mediums pass the correct tests.
And as my voice grew dull, my head was starting to grow dull as well. That wasn’t good. The next thing that would grow dull would be my spirit.
That night, we had to sleep in chambers under the house, since the spirits had told us we weren’t worthy of living in the “chosen rooms” of the upstairs house yet. The cells we slept in reminded me of the cells in the Punishment House. I felt like a jailbird.
Jenna had to share a cell with me. She lay quietly next to me, gazing up at the dark ceiling with strange lighted symbols etched along.
I huffed. “I bet they’re trying to transfix us with these symbols.”
“Probably,” replied Jenna lowly, still staring. “But I‘m not going to get transfixed.”
I snickered. “You think your spirit is that strong?”
“Of course!” She looked at me. “The Lord is stronger than Satan. He has power over anything and everything, so I‘m just relying on Him to take care of me while I‘m stuck in this hellhole.”
I laughed. “That‘s good for you. You almost sounded like an angel there.”
She turned away. “I must rely on the Lord if I am to ever pass the rest of my academies.” She sat up. “There’s a lot I regret doing….but that’s all in the past. Now I just got to work for the future. The afterlife will go on forever, if you don’t perish after the one thousand year reign.”
I looked at her carefully. “Yeah…which is something that I think I may not accomplish.”
Jenna flashed a glance at me but said nothing.
I sighed. “The stupid reason is obvious now. I didn’t get to Heaven because I am the son of Satan.” Even though I spoke simply, my heart ached when I thought about what I just said. It was a terrible feeling to know that you shared blood with the most terrible spirit in existence. I tried to push it away and change the subject. I turned to look at Jenna. “So what brought you to Purgatory?”
Jenna shrugged and spoke in a casual tone. “Oh, you know….my attitude was never very optimistic. As you can see, I was always rash and unmerciful against the people around me.” She managed to chuckle. “Trust me. If you think I‘m too much to handle right now, you should have seen me when I was still alive. I was surprised I didn’t end up in the lower stages of this world when I died.”
“Well, sometimes you should be forceful,” I muttered. “People are stupid and unreasonable, so sometimes you just have no choice.” I thought about those obnoxious Mediums at the academy who just didn’t seem to care about themselves or the spirits around them.
Jenna looked at me with a sideways smile. “You’re talking about yourself, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “I guess. I’m probably the last person in my academy who would ever make it to Heaven. It’s a real shock to know that the Son was actual
ly nice enough to let me leave the Bhad Chapel and make it straight to the next stage.”
I thought a little more about what Jenna just said about God and Satan. Apparently, Satan had been an angel from Heaven before. But he was “kicked out.” I wondered why. I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
Jenna continued to speak. “I think you deserved what happened at the chapel,” she looked at me with a frown. “And that’s the truth. I don’t waste my breath saying things that I totally don’t believe in.”
I looked up at the symbols and said nothing. It was strange for me to be having a real conversation with a spirit like Jenna. We were both so different from each other. She was strong-willed and determined, especially when it came to making the right choices.
I was the opposite. I wasn’t strong at all. I was neither physically nor spiritually strong. And I could care less whether I made the right choices or not.
But it felt better to finally have a conversation with her. I felt rather smart when I talked to a spirit like her. There was no doubt that she was an excellent Medium at her academy. She knew a lot about the Lord, and she already seemed to know more about my own father, Satan, than I did.
Jenna and I continued to converse in low voices. She voluntarily explained to me a little more about Satan, and how he was kicked out of Heaven. I did learn some useful information from her. Gabriel became the high angel after my father was banished from Heaven.
Jenna told me the whole story. “Back then, Satan was known as Lucifer. The Lord created Lucifer before the beginning of time. Lucifer was rich, beautiful, and well-respected by all the other angels. He had the highest position over all the angels in Heaven, but that wasn’t enough for him. Pretty soon, Lucifer grew conceited and selfish, and he wanted more than what he already had. He wanted to become as powerful as the Lord, so he started the first war in Heaven. Of course, the Lord took care of that. The Lord banished Lucifer from Heaven, but a third of the angels followed him. Unfortunately, there were angels who respected Lucifer too much, so they followed him.”
“Did they follow him, or did Lucifer just force them to come with him?” I asked.
“Probably both,” said Jenna. “Lucifer’s banishment from Heaven was completed by the battle with Michael. God strengthened Michael and his band of angels, and together, they defeated Lucifer from the kingdom of Heaven for the first time. Lucifer’s spirit was within the same Satan Beast you encountered in Harg, and the Holy Spirit gave Michael the strength to defeat that Beast down to a world below Earth.”
“I know this part quite well,” I interrupted her. “This is the part when Lucifer establishes his kingdom in that underground world, and renames himself Satan, and the king of the new world of Hell. The Lord prevents them from escaping the confines of Hell, so the Satan Beast is asleep in the underworld.”
Jenna nodded. “Yep. I bet that’s all you learned from your academy?” She chuckled.
“Pretty much. They taught a lot about Hell. I never paid attention to the lectures as much, but that’s what I happened to hear.”
Jenna smiled. “Well you should also know that, although God blocked Lucifer from releasing the Satan Beast from Hell and terrorizing Earth, Lucifer was still clever enough to sneak into the world in the form of a snake—the snake that deceived Adam and Eve in Eden. Satan caused them to eat the forbidden fruit and disobey God. Because they disobeyed God and listened to Satan, it was much easier for Satan to affect the human world after that. Satan brought all kinds of evil to the world, and evil came in different forms. It came through jealousy, anger, covetousness, and other new psychological disorders. The world would never be the same again.”
I said nothing for a moment. I was learning more from Jenna than I ever had in my academies. They never even mentioned the Garden of Eden, nor the names of Adam and Eve.
Then I thought about the Son. Jenna just explained to me how the Lord still had mercy for the people on Earth, despite the fact that Satan would be unknowingly controlling their minds after the first sin in Eden. God still had mercy, and He still wanted to bring His people back to Him. Jesus Christ came into the world for that.
I slipped out my rosary and gazed at the figure of the Son. Images flashed through my head. I pictured this figure coming to life, walking upon Earth as a human being. He was a Man sent from God. He was God at the same time. And He came to Earth to help us.
The images in my head suddenly started to control themselves, and I was having another vision. The Son was curing the sick, feeding the poor and hungry, and performing all kinds of miracles. Many were astounded by Him, and many turned to follow Him. People’s spirits were uplifted and many developed much more pleasant and joyful attitudes.
But then my vision changed. I could see my father playing his role throughout this time. There were still people who rejected Him, because my father had hardened their hearts. My vision reddened and I could almost hear my father’s voice whispering in my ear.
I flinched and snapped out of it.
“Hey, are you okay there?” Jenna was blinking at me.
I realized I was panting. My heart was beating rapidly. I gazed down at the rosary and let myself calm down.
“Y-yeah. I’m fine.”
After three days, a spirit came to our cell and opened our door.
“Jenna?” It was one of the Egbala spirits named Keith. “Will you come with me to the fireplace? It is time for your examination.”
I stiffened. They had been preparing us for this day so that we can be “examined” by the Egbala spirits, right before they threw us into the hellfire. This was the day we were planning to break free. I was extremely nervous and I wondered how it would work out. I hadn’t been able to speak with any of the angels lately.
But Jenna obediently sat up and she made her way toward the spirit. He led her away and closed our door.
I realized Keith had left the door unlocked. I decided that this was the best time to creep out of my room and unlock the other doors in the chambers. Then we could all leave and meet the angels to escape.
I crept through the chamber and unlocked each of the cell doors.
“Zach!” Cain was calling me from his cell.
“Where’s Enoch?” I hissed. “I didn’t see him at all today.”
“He went to speak with the angels by sneaking back to Heaven,” said Cain. “Don’t worry. He’ll be back.”
I told him to meet me at the front door. I set him free and then I turned back to head for the room of the SoulBird sanctuary. I had to free the SoulBirds, if Grenada and Annabelle hadn’t already done so.
I made my way to the exit door, and then realized I had no key for this one. Cursing under my breath, I stomped my foot and looked around for something to break the door with.
There was a mirror lying against the corners of the walls behind me. It was about my height. I was staring at my reflection and realized how pale and flushed I looked. The wounds over my body didn’t look as bad as they used to, since the angels must have taken good care of me when I had spent that night with Hannah at the Assembly Building. But now I looked rather sickly.
Suddenly, the mirror was reflecting an image of burning hellfire. I jumped back with horror. At the center of the fire, there was the face of Damien. He was staring at me with a malicious smirking smile. He looked even worse than before. He had ugly wounds parting his chin and his right cheek. His eyes were still bright red.
And finally, I saw the golden SoulBird. It was fluttering around him, trying to bring light around his face. But the fire was too strong. The golden SoulBird was sucked into the fire, and it appeared in Damien’s hands. It was still and unmoving, and its golden glow had dimmed down.
I gasped and then narrowed my eyes at Damien. “You cannot do that. You cannot defeat one of the golden SoulBirds.”
Damien chuckled and let the bird go. It spread its wings and disappeared into the fire.
Suddenly, the fires grew and consumed Damien. His bod
y disappeared. Another reflection was forming in the flames. I was staring straight at the face of Lucien the Higher.
“Lucifer…..” I felt my knees shake. The energy drained from my spirit.
My father was staring at me with a devilish glare. He was holding something red in his hands.
He clenched his teeth and hurled a red rock at me. It smashed against the mirror that was concealing his reflection. But as soon as he threw that rock, the mirror crashed and fell to pieces. It caught on fire and the red rock was right there, burning in front of the mirror.
Stepping away from the fire, I looked straight ahead to see the shocked face of Mother Karusa. She was standing right there at the opening where I had came from.
She pointed a scrawny finger at me. “Y-you!” The flames crept at her side, and she let out a scream. “There is a devil in the house! This is the son of the devil! We have been sheltering the son of Satan! This is a miracle!”
Mother Karusa was charging at me with both her arms in front of her. She was ready to grab hold of me.
I dodged over the short lady and ran around to escape through the door.
“Get back here! You devil! You Satan child! You belong with us! You must be thrown into the hellfire at once!”
She managed to crawl around the flames and swat at my legs as I ran passed her.
I ran into the sanctuary. As soon as I opened the door, the SoulBirds were all cawing and gathering around me. Some escaped the sanctuary and exited through the ceiling as soon as the flames reached the ceilings and burned an opening.
Mother Karusa screamed with terror as some of the SoulBirds flew passed her and gave her angry pecks and kicks.
The last SoulBirds to leave were Dewey, with Grace at his side. Pete and Ace were flying above them.
“Come on!” Yelled Dewey. “This fire’s gonna burn the hole house down! It’s hellfire, and it’s gotten too strong for the nomads to control!”
The Purgatory Saga #1: People of the Fire Page 21