LAMENT OF PURGATORY (ASHWOOD CHRONICLES #1)

by Brandon Chandler

  It didn’t take long for everyone’s eyesight to readjust. In front of them, a crackling sound was heard as the ground blazed alight with a fire circle, it appeared in the area where lightning had struck. Standing in the middle of the circle was Gaspard, Malek, and a young handsome man.

  “What happened here?” Malek said with excitement. Though his clothing was still scorched he appeared to have made a full recovery since his battle against Brianna.

  Gaspard folded his arms with a scoff. “What a mess. Everything is on fire.” He glared directly at Atticus. “And I bet you’re to blame.”

  He reached for his sword, but Malek was grabbing him tightly by the neck before his hand could touch the hilt. Malek lifted Atticus several inches off the ground. “Not this time.”

  He furthered the pressure to his clutch, causing Atticus to jerk and gasp.

  Dominic and Hayden summoned their respective firearms and Brianna held her wand at the ready. The three siblings bunched together with Kori and Ethan standing behind them.

  Brianna placed her free hand on Dominic’s shoulder. “Stay calm.”

  “Trying,” Dominic hissed. His eyes fell upon Giovanni. “Who’s this chode monger?”

  Gaspard’s face shifted into a look of anger. “How dare you address the God of Purgatory in such a manner.”

  “God of Purgatory,” Brianna said with raised eyebrows. “Is that Giovanni?”

  Dominic snorted, “no way that’s him. Giovanni is an old man.”

  Gaspard looked as enraged as the still blazing fire behind the captives. As it glimmered and scorched the surroundings, its immersive heat threatening to char their bodies.

  Then with a simple wave of his hands, Giovanni produced a wind as loud as a powerful jet engine. The relentless wind tore around the estate like an out of control locomotive. It battered against the flames swirling them heavenward like fiery confetti, before being blown out like candles. Nearby trees swayed, their trunks like twigs in the wind and everyone apart from Giovanni and his two henchmen, felt their entire body rattle. The others tried to heave their legs against the gale, but the pressure became stronger as if they would soon be carried away. But before that could happen the winds faded like the fire.

  Giovanni motioned for Malek to release Atticus.

  “But boss, I like it when they jerk like fish out of water right before they pass out,” he pleaded.

  “Malek release him,” Giovanni said forcefully.

  The demon groaned with disdain, “geez, okay old man.”

  He let go and Atticus fell to the ground wheezing. “You could have at least kissed me first,” Atticus said massaging his neck. He got to his feet gesturing for the teens to stay close to him.

  When neither Dominic nor Hayden moved, Atticus saw that their focus was on Giovanni.

  Gaspard and Malek stayed put as Giovanni began to walk circles around his captives.

  “Please tell me why there are a bunch of breathing teenagers running around in my domain?” he asked. His tone wasn’t threatening, but his voice made sweat drench their skin.

  “My guardian is Alexander Ashwood...Your business partner. If you harm us, he will know.” Brianna abruptly shouted. “So, you should just send us home.”

  Malek quivered mockingly. “Alexander is nothing compare to us,” he looked over to Gaspard to share his agreement.

  Gaspard rolled his eyes. “We are well aware of who you are,” he said looking from brother to brother, then to Brianna. “But he never mentioned his adopted children weren’t human.”

  “It doesn’t really matter now,” Giovanni said coming to a standstill near Ethan.

  “Who are you two?”

  As Ethan squirmed for an answer, Atticus nudged Brianna. “They don’t know that Raiziel is Hayden’s and Dominic’s father?” he whispered.

  Brianna shook her head, “and it’s best that we keep it that way,” she whispered back.

  “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed...the one thing Giovanni hates more than witches is anything pertaining to Raiziel.”

  The sound of Ethan’s nervous voice ended their conversation.

  “M-my dad works for your company....and Kori and I don’t belong here-we were brought into this unwillingly.” Ethan frantically said in one breath.

  Giovanni burst into boisterous laughter, “well my dear boy, your friends have put you in a situation you will not survive.” He laughed some more slapping Ethan hard on the shoulder. “Welcome to Purgatory,” he smiled broadly, walking over to Malek and Gaspard

  “You can’t kill us,” Kori shouted angrily.

  Giovanni chuckled, “the life you are living now is merely a fantasy, but here you all will have infinity of blissfulness.”

  He turned to Malek, “go and regain order of this estate.”

  Malek gave an overdramatic bow and walked off. Now staring at Gaspard, Giovanni spoke, “summon that idiot, Christos.”

  “Yes, my lord.” Gaspard snapped his fingers and in a black cloud of sulfur smelling smoke, Christos appeared. For a moment he looked around puzzled, staring at his hand and hyperventilating. Wide-eyed he stumbled forward and dropped to one knee bowing.

  “My lord I can explain...”

  Giovanni cleared his throat. “Apparently it cost you the manor and half the property.” Giovanni retorted as if he was talking to a toddler. “Where is the redhead?”

  Christos laughed nervously, “about that...Sire I have been nothing but loyal to you and have carried out every command you tasked to me...so now I come before you as a humble servant.” He lifted his head smiling nervously. “Please my lord I beg of you. Bring back, my dear Lucia.”

  He observed Christos with curiosity, while laughing at the sight of Christos’s pleading face.

  “So, the woman you love is dead,” he said exuberantly. “Even if I wanted to bring her back, her soul now belongs to the void.”

  Christos kept his head to the ground sobbing.

  “Pathetic,” Gaspard murmured. “Why is this weak incompetent fool even high priest?”

  “That’s enough Gaspard,” Giovanni intervened. “After all, he did deliver us the outsiders...something you and Malek failed to do.”

  Gaspard looked away, his face flushed red. “My apologies my lord.”

  Christos stepped forward. “Lord Giovanni you must be tired from your journey.” His voice trailed as his master’s pigment gradually shifted to an ashen gray color.

  “You should retreat for now,” Gaspard said pleadingly. “Leave this matter to me.”

  Giovanni shivered violently, releasing a bombardment of wet coughs and Gaspard was at his master’s aid in seconds guiding him to a safe distance.

  Christos’s eyes traveled from Atticus to the confused teens.

  “Sorry,” he said under his breath. “I’m sorry I’ve been a terrible brother. But we can settle our differences after you and Tira get those kids home.”

  He held out a hand towards his brother as if wanting a handshake. “Now go!”

  The world around Atticus and his companions began to gyrate and distort as if they were a spinning carousel. Everyone screamed and yelled at the top of their lungs, their stomach giving out, and innards being replaced by a black hole. Then nausea crept from their abdomen to their heads and the world went dark...

  ...DOMINIC WAS THE FIRST to open his eyes. He stumbled with wobbly legs as nausea clawed at his stomach. He tried to force down the bile but to his right he heard Ethan spewing chunks, which triggered his stomach to contract violently, forcing everything up and out. And like a chain reaction soon all the others too were vomiting, except for Atticus.

  “What was that?” Dominic demanded.

  “Christos teleported us to Elisium City,” Atticus answered solemnly.

  Ethan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he stood up. “Why Elisium city and not your friend Tira’s place.”

  “Because the sanctuary is too far away,” Atticus said observing the new environment.

  Th
e alleyway was poorly lit by a small lamppost, casting his shadow like black charcoal. Atticus’s eyes scanned the teens one by one. Seeing that they had regained their composure he gestured for them to follow him. As the group strode, they kicked through pungent relics of unwanted compost and trash littering the grounds.

  Atticus felt Kori tapping his shoulders and he looked in her direction.

  She smiled nervously at him, “is it true that Lucia is dead?”

  Atticus gave her a look as to state he wasn’t ready to face reality yet. “She will live on through me,” he said softly.

  The alleyway twisted and turned back on itself, so much so that Kori felt as if she was following Atticus through a labyrinth. Whenever she looked in front or behind her there were only stone walls. But soon the lane opened, and Atticus slowed his stride before coming to a halt at the passage exit.

  “This is Elisium City,” Ethan said with a disappointed tone.

  The metropolitan was a vast intricate labyrinth of streets, more alleys and tall buildings in an exact grid pattern. The omnipresent skyscrapers were smudged by smog-filled skies. No moonlight or shining stars could be seen through the thick fog. There were multiple airships facing the puzzling challenge of navigating through the crowded heavens. Even at this hour the streets were noisy and crowded with impatient city dwellers trying to get to wherever they were traveling to.

  “This place sorta has a depressing vibe to it,” Ethan said.

  “And it smells unhealthy,” Brianna added.

  The chaotic fragrance flowed throughout the air like an ever-moving stream. There was no tinge of earthy loam to the air, but instead fumes belching from factories industrial exhausts or arbitrary trash reigned supreme. Atticus, who had been retorting to everything with an unchanged icy demeanor, chuckled lightly, “the city used to be beautiful, before my brother decided Elisium needed an industrial revolution.” His face then hardened with dismalness, “we don’t have much time for sight-seeing. Once Giovanni is back on his feet, he’ll be gunning for us.”

  Kori perked up. “Where are we heading?” she gave Atticus a warming smile in hopes to brighten his mood.

  “We’re going to Hager’s hangar. He will fly us to the sanctuary...” he paused as if to rethink his words. “Well at least get us close enough so that we can walk the rest of the way.”

  Once out of the alley they navigated through the thick crowd. The flow of the traffic was filled with an assortment of city dwellers of all description, many of which the teens had seen at least once in a textbook or movie. All of them were frequently jostled by the inhabitants, encouraging Atticus to keep a watchful eye on Dominic. Surprisingly, he kept his cool, he even saw him sparking casual conversations with a few of the locals then playing catch up. He saw Brianna and Kori had partnered up beside him, while Hayden and Ethan were to his left striding in silence. He looked over his shoulder once more to check on Dominic and... he was gone.

  “Dammit,” Atticus said underneath his breath. He stretched out both of his arms blocking the path of his companions. Other pedestrians griped about the sudden halt of movement and moved around them. Atticus pulled his group into a nearby alleyway. Unlike the one they were in previously, this passage was straight and narrow. The roars of the streets on either side ricocheted from one side to the other.

  “Why did we duck into this alley?” Hayden asked.

  “Because your brother ran off to find the cathedral,” Atticus said coldly.

  Hayden turned and punched the nearby wall, leaving a vein crack in the stones, “that Idiot.”

  “We have to go after him,” Brianna said, panic in her voice. She looked towards Hayden for his support.

  “No, we don’t,” Ethan said tersely. “He made his decision, so let’s leave without him.”

  Brianna shot Ethan a look of daggers. “I’m not leaving my brother to die.”

  Ethan retorted with the same snapping tone, “but he wouldn’t do the same for us.”

  Kori watched the argument between Brianna and Ethan steadily grow. She wished she knew the right words to defuse the situation, but her mind was drawing a blank. Neither Hayden nor Atticus were any help. One was sulking against the wall while Atticus’s eyes darted around the alley in paranoia.

  She truly felt helpless.

  Hayden pushed away from the wall. “Take us to your friend’s place, and then tell me how to get to the cathedral.”

  Atticus looked back at Hayden, “what are you planning?”

  “I’m going after my brother and bringing him back,” Hayden answered irritably.

  Brianna felt provoked to contend the idea, but Atticus interceded, “sounds good. Hager’s place is well warded against the Divinity Order. He’ll be able to keep us hidden until you return. As for the Cathedral, its north of here, and it’s the largest structure in Elisium. You can’t miss it.”

  They made their way to the alley exit and saw many of the pedestrians had stopped to look up at the sky. Through the fog were attacks of lightning bursting steadily making its way from one end of the city to the other. Sometimes sporadic bolts of unadulterated energy stood for long moments around certain buildings before dispersing. Thunder rattled so intensely, nearby windows trembled.

  “They already found us?” Brianna said over the howling winds.

  Atticus nodded.

  Three streaks of lightning battered the ground with enough force to hurl multiple civilians into the air. Fear transformed their unintelligible words into screams as they fell.

  From the alleyway, Atticus’s group watched Malek, Gaspard and Christos emerge from the area where the bolts of lightning had struck. All around them mobs of civilian’s scattered in all directions, hysterically screaming.

  DURING THE CHAOS, MALEK’S wolfish grin broadened, Gaspard nudged him as if to say ‘stay focused’.

  Malek groaned, “but they are triggering my kill response.”

  “We have a mission to do...isn’t that right Christos?” Gaspard said.

  Christos spoke in a monotone voice while staring off into space, “Yes...we must obey our lord.”

  Gaspard patted him on the back, “I couldn’t have said it any better.”

  Christos pointed straight ahead at the alley housing their intended targets and they made their advance. Christos attacked first, swinging his Katana violently at Atticus.

  His brother swore and quickly drew his sword. “I guess we’re settling things now?”

  He brought the blade up for a parry and then countered with a swing of his own, but Christos effortlessly dodged.

  “You’ve gotten a lot faster,” Atticus retorted wide eyed.

  As Christos circled for another attack, Atticus momentarily glanced towards his comrades.

  “All of you head to the cathedral and wait for me there. I can hold my own against these three,” Atticus shouted, skirting more than a few rapid swings from his brother.

  “As if we are going to let that happen,” Malek shouted from the sidelines.

  He rushed to keep the teens blocked in the alley.

  Hayden summoned Delilah and opened fire, forcing Malek to dodge. With that window of opportunity, they managed to bypass the demon, but Gaspard was waiting for them on the outside. Brianna through herself into play, she pulled her wand free and called out a spell which provoked a white light to fire out and blind Gaspard.

  He cried out as if his eyes were set ablaze, he threw his arms in front of his face wailing. Malek went in for the save, only to be dealt the same fate. Like Gaspard, he screamed and covered his eyes. The burning sensation didn’t last long, as soon as it faded both demons opened their eyes and the teens were gone.

  Malek snarled angrily. He grabbed a random bystander by the neck as he walked over to Gaspard.

  “I really hate kids.” Malek squeezed his victim’s throat until he heard a snap and felt the body go limp.

  “They must have hidden amongst the crowd,” he said throwing the body aside.

  “Bravo Children,
” Gaspard said. He turned to check on the battle between Atticus and Christos. They had spilled out onto the middle of the street, fighting around fleeing locals.

  “I believe Christos will keep Atticus busy for a while,” Gaspard said calmly. “So, let’s go hunt those dastardly children.”

  Malek frowned. “Why are they going to the cathedral?”

  Gaspard shrugged. “Either way, the master has given us clear instructions...”

  Malek smiled devilishly. “...Kill the children.”

  Chapter-Thirty-Eight

  Atticus was quick to parry another attack from his brother as he whipped his sword around to clash steel with Christos.

  “Blades evenly apart, always leveled with the nose. And remember to look fearless,” Christos said in a dry humorous tone. “Like Raiziel taught us.”

  A plastic smile spilled across his lips as Atticus stalled another of his attacks. Their blades shivered under the brutality of each other’s strength.

  “What happened to you Maxi?” Atticus grunted. “Why are you acting so strange?”

  They locked eyes.

  “Giovanni took away my pain,” Christos said serenely. “He can do the same for you too...if you let him in.”

  “No thanks,” Atticus shouted.

  “Shame.” Christos’s blade flashed as he brought it over his head. “We could have ruled over purgatory together.”

  The high priest brought down his blade so swiftly it looked as if he was swinging an invisible sword.

  Atticus’s eyes widened realizing he had seconds to dodge. He jumped back, narrowly escaping the fatal swing, but before he could fully recover Atticus felt the cold sting of Christos’s sword whipping across his upper arm.

  Atticus shouted out in agonizing pain. On instinct he gripped his wound, blood seeped through the opening in between his fingers. Applying pressure, he waited for the laceration to close. But when the blood kept leaking, he eyed Christos’s weapon.

  “Your sword is like Merci?”

  “Correct,” Christos said. He stared at Atticus with a blank expression. “I loved her you know...Even more than you, I do believe...”