Unblinking, her brain desperately scrambled to make sense of what was happening. Hayden bounced to his feet, with the sword still in hand. His cooked body almost completely healed, he slow-walked towards Giovanni and the demon glared back angrily. “You’re a resilient one.”
Hayden didn’t respond. His slow walk turned into a full-on charge. Before Hayden could reach him, Giovanni waved his hand and Hayden’s body was flung to the side and twisted through the air as if he was rammed by a bull. He hit the ground, and upon the impact, it alternated and formed a coffin around his body, complete with a sealed lid.
“Now be a good boy and die,” Giovanni said in a low impatient tone. The stone floor opened swallowing the coffin and then closed.
“What did you do to him?” Kori screamed.
Giovanni smiled sinisterly, “I buried him six feet under, where he will suffocate slowly.”
Kori gasped. “He’ll die. Let him out now!”
Giovanni chuckled. “That’s the point...but fret not child, you’ll be joining him soon.”
He held out his good hand towards Kori. But instead of causing the same fate to be bestowed upon her, Giovanni’s body violently and painfully jerked forward as two energy projectiles blasted through his chest leaving behind quarter size holes.
He fell to one knee, gripping at his chest wound as blood poured from it unforgivingly. With a look of annoyance, Giovanni looked over his shoulders. Behind him Dominic stood a few feet away, aiming Jezebel at his head.
“Good velocity, you nearly hit my heart,” Giovanni said. His annoyed manner turned into one of amusement, “But the wrong trajectory.”
Dominic smiled which triggered Giovanni to frown.
He got to his feet and turned to face Dominic. “You’re confident for someone whose about to die.”
He pointed towards the floor and the ground below Dominic’s feet loosened like wet cement. Almost instantly he sunk knee-deep. Dominic struggled to get free, but whenever he writhed, the pressure would increase with enough strength, it threatened to shatter his legs.
“You bastard!” he cried out as he refocused Jezebel on Giovanni. The demon simply glared at Dominic and he lifted his handgun to his temple as if his arms had a mind of its own.
“Since I’m feeling generous you can either sink to your death or blast your head off.”
He chortled triumphantly, turning towards Kori. “How do you want to die?”
“Old and grey in my home that’s overflowing with cats?” Kori said with a nervous chuckle. Her heart pounding fiercely in her chest. Kori’s eyes darted from Giovanni to Dominic and then to the area where Hayden had been buried. “Please free them both.”
He took a step towards Kori, but his legs betrayed him, and he stumbled forward falling to his knees.
He felt a sudden tiredness inside him like a slithering parasite, draining his life. For a moment he pondered if it was caused by him using too much power or due to the wound he received from Dominic, after all, it still hadn’t healed.
Giovanni swore underneath his breath, his body begging for rest.
“Damn this curse,” he said releasing a bombardment of coughs.
Kori glanced at Giovanni as if his new behavior was the best thing she ever witnessed. However, spotting Dominic bent over and digging his fingers into the stone foundation stole her attention. Not far from him was the sound of something or someone hitting steel against stone. In the area where Hayden had been buried a spider-web crack had formed.
Her eyes darted from the cracks towards Dominic then back to Giovanni and it was as if a lightbulb had gone off.
What if his sudden weirdness caused him to lose control?
Kori glared at her hands, then back at Giovanni.
The demon was about to try to stand when Kori came at him as if she wanted a hug. Instead of embracing Giovanni she stopped inches away from him and cupped the sides of his face in her hands. Upon skin to skin contact, Giovanni’s head snapped back, and he released a long sigh as a wave of positive emotions washed over him and soaked right into his soul. For the first time in centuries, his body and mind truly felt at peace. He wasn’t cursed, all his sins had been forgiven, and no pain was upon him. Giovanni closed his eyes savoring the moment...but his grip on the seemingly consequential illusion faded when there was a terrible rumble from deep in the ground. The foundation began to move as if it were a wave on the sea. Hayden exploded through the ground like a psycho-killer causing rocks to rain on everyone. Her heart pounding faster than a hummingbird’s wing, Kori released Giovanni’s face. Her eyes glued to Hayden, she smiled brightly as he landed onto the ground with the Libitinari in hand. Wide-eyed, Giovanni ogled at Kori like a junkie wanting another fix. He launched at her and gripped her by the throat. He yanked her so close to his face, the tip of their noses were touching.
“Faery,” he whispered harshly.
His mouth opened wide as if he was a snake about to consume a large prey. A strong suction wind escaped his agape mouth forcing Kori to open hers as the resilient tempest dragged the breath out of her. There was a tingling sensation in each of her nerves as if small critters were slithering through her body and gathering in the center of her stomach. The sensation formed into one creature before ascending to her throat and out her mouth. She gagged right as a bluish ball of light emerged, hovering in between their faces. Kori released a final breath as her pale body went limp. Giovanni tossed her aside staring at the soul. He reached for it but rapid footfall from behind him caught his attention. Looking over his shoulder he was met with the blade of Libitinari slamming through the middle of his face. It sliced off over half his head, before being plunged into his back, allowing the blade to ram through his chest and pierce the stone floor. Hayden let go of the sword as his victim slouched forward like a chunk of meat on a skewer. He prowled around Giovanni’s deceased body only stopping to watch Kori’s soul skyrocketing towards the heavens. Next, the Libitinari sparked before vanishing in a puff of black smoke. Free from the blade, white mist escaped from Giovanni’s wounds, hissing like a tire with an air leak. His body crumbled into a pillar of ember colored ashes and heaps of armor.
Behind him, Hayden heard Dominic grunting as he pulled his legs free from the sinkhole.
“Whelp brother, I can’t believe the sword chose you over me,” he said dusting himself off. “Too bad about the girl though. She was annoying but she didn’t deserve to go out like that.”
Hayden swirled around. For a moment he observed his brother with a fight or flight expression before rushing over to Dominic’s side like a curious dog. He walked circles around his brother getting familiar with his presence.
“I will for real kill you if you sniff my butt,” Dominic said mockingly.
Hayden jumped back staring at Dominic as if the scornfulness in his voice surprised him.
“And luckily you only went ten percent berserker or otherwise you would be feasting on my dead body,” Dominic added sourly.
His eyes spotted something shiny and round half-buried in the pile of ashes. Walking over to the cinders, Dominic heard his brother following close behind. Dominic squatted digging through the ash and pile of armor. A smile crept across his face as he grabbed hold of a carcerem orbis.
Standing upright his smile faded feeling Hayden’s hands running through his coarse hair, and then sniffed his neck.
Dominic sighed stuffing the carcerem orbis into his pocket, “Bruh are you really going to make me do it...”
Hayden didn’t respond but instead continued to investigate Dominic.
He groaned, cleared his throat and began to sing harshly,
[Your love is too perfect for this dark world.
But you must never be shy about it.
For if you did, it will turn your soul into obscurity.]
Hayden eyed his brother weirdly, as his thoughts spun throughout his mind in a typhoon.
[When you feel your love fading
Take my hand
Together we
can brave this dark world.]
Hayden’s face became serious and his conscious mind asserted control once more. He closed his eyes and blinked several times. But his vision remained blurry until he rubbed his knuckles into his eyes. Slowly and reluctantly a subtle awareness of who he was snapped Hayden out of his trance. In silence, he analyzed his surroundings for several moments. Spotting Giovanni’s remains first, Hayden heard Dominic’s voice.
“Kudos, you actually killed the bastard.”
Hayden opened his mouth to respond but closed it when his eyes fell upon Kori. “D-did...I do that to her?” Hayden stammered as he took a step forward. A sudden weakness in his legs caused him to collapse into his brother’s arms. Tears streaming, Hayden looked into Dominic’s eyes, “You’re right. I was a coward.”
“RELAX WHILE I CAN AT least temporarily heal your wounds!” Brianna cried hysterically.
She placed the tip of her wand onto Atticus’s chest. He let out a strangled scream as he felt a surge of energy flowing from the wand and into his body like an electric current. But soon the pain majorly decreased, and his lacerations stitched themselves shut.
“That actually feels a lot better little witch.” He unsteadily got to his feet, rubbing the areas where he was once injured. But before he could truly admire her handiwork, the ground around them shook, as the dragon landed in front of them with an ear-shattering roar. Ethan, Brianna, and Atticus fell back, scrambling away from the excitable winged beast. In their heads, they heard a female voice speaking directly to them.
FOR DELIVERING ME SUCH A DELICIOUS AND POWERFUL MEAL I SHALL GRANT YOU ONE LAST FAVOR.
Brianna smiled widely. “Can you please take us to St. Elisium Cathedral?”
Without responding the dragon lowered itself into a flat squat to allow Brianna and the others to climb aboard its mountainous back. Once situated, the dragon screeched, its huge wings powering it through the air into a climb. Accelerating above the destruction below it, it soared over ruined streets and smoking husks of demolished buildings. Frantic locals and divinity soldiers scattered about looking up in surprise as they flew by overhead.
Atticus gasped and pointed. “There’s the cathedral!”
The dragon quickly landed in what appeared to be the city’s downtown district. Ethan was the first to dismount, sliding down the dragon’s scaly back and tail like a preschooler on a slide. With his feet planted on the ground, it wasn’t long before he was joined by Atticus and Brianna. The dragon bid the three farewell and then blasted off into the heavens. It vanished into a bright flash of green lightning followed by a deafening thunder roll. After several seconds of staring up at the sky, the party of three made their way onto the cathedral campus.
The streets were now paths covered in debris and smoky ashes. Nearby buildings still burned while others had already caved in. But it was the cathedral that had really caught Atticus’s attention. The Structure was once a place of elegance, but now resembled something that had barely survived a war.
Ethan traced his finger along a random hairline crack of a nearby pillar. “That dragon and demon did a number on the city.” His voice was gravely low. “Are you sure we’re at the right place?” His eyes went from the pillar to the main entrance of the cathedral.
The double doors hung off their hinges and a pile of debris blocked the threshold. Windows of the establishment were shattered, and half of the roof was caved in.
Behind him and Brianna, Atticus leaned on his sword, his face deathly pale. “This is St. Elisium Cathedral.”
By the time they reached the ruined entrance, he collapsed, dropping his sword next to him. Brianna knelt at his side assessing his injuries; blood seeped out damping the area around them.
“I can close your wounds again,” she said her voice teetering.
“Don’t worry about me,” Atticus protested in a hoarse, but stern voice. He waveringly sat up with a smothered winced. “I still have plenty of fight left in me...but for now let me-” he cut himself off as Ethan quickly threw himself to the ground before nearly being decapitated by the entrance’s doors. Atticus and Brianna also ducked low allowing the broken doors to pass over them and crash to the ground several feet behind them.
Next, Dominic crossed the cleared threshold with Hayden carrying Kori across his shoulders.
Ethan was the first to his feet. He rushed over to Hayden, eyes wide and heart pounding.
“What happened? Is she dead?” Ethan demanded.
Hayden remained silent with his head held low. Ethan jerked Hayden by the collar almost causing him to lose his hold on Kori. “Answer me!”
Hayden continued to stare at the ground.
Ethan shook him again. “Answer me!”
“She’s not dead, but her soul is gone.” Dominic’s words shredded through Ethan’s anger.
He released Hayden with a violent shove. “This is your fault.”
He swung at Dominic who blocked and retaliated with a simple push, jostling Ethan onto his butt.
“If it wasn’t for Kori, Hayden and I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Giovanni.”
Atticus’s eyes lit up as he and Ethan climbed to their feet, “Giovanni is dead?”
Dominic looked aghast at Atticus’s wounds. “You look like crap,” he said before continuing with, “but yeah, Hayden killed the bastard.”
Brianna was next to chime in, “why is he so pale?”
“You know how he gets when he’s coming down from going berserk,” Dominic said nonchalantly.
Brianna gasped as she hastened over to Hayden. “Could your friend Tira help Kori.”
Atticus grunted in pain as he scooped up his sword. “I’m sure she might have a trick up her sleeve.”
THE AIRCRAFT HANGAR was vast like an endless desert of concrete and metal. Its silver domed roof was a great curve of corrugated iron. There were various pieces of machinery aligned against the walls and a few oil drums were scattered around, but the prize of the hangar was Hager’s ship. It was huge, a towering winged monstrosity of blackened iron, oil of pipes and pistons. Rising above them it brooded in its own blackness like a sleeping behemoth waiting to be roused. If it could have been said to have a shape, it would have been vaguely cylindrical.
The shaft of streetlight penetrated through the tall thin windows, dust swirled around there as they moved about the wide space.
The sounds of everyone’s footfalls were only faint in the fast echoing dimness of the hangar. But they could hear hurrying feet and the clink of armor on the other side of the walls. Like phantom voices, frantic screams and incoherent commands swept past them. Outside, the Divinity Order was trying to regain control within the city.
“I should have known you were the one behind all of this,” Hager said with a hardy laugh. He was a short, stout man with a mixture of fat and muscles underneath the appearance of a pirate captain, minus a hook for a hand or peg leg. “Luckily, I was already about to make a hasty exit. So, you owe me big time.”
“Yeah,” Atticus replied weakly. The agony from his wounds was white-hot but Atticus did everything he could to ignore it and not scream. Favoring his injuries, he hobbled aside allowing a Kori-carrying Hayden to board the airship first with the others following him.
Hager eyed Atticus suspiciously. “Once I get us up in the air, you have a lot of explaining to do. But till then get to the med-bay; you’re spewing blood all over the place.”
ONCE ABOARD, HAGER parted from the group with a nod. Already familiar with the aircraft, Atticus led the group to a room devoid of any elegance. Its walls were a simple cream and spotless. Faded blue line curtains separating four padded tables from one another and a few visitor chairs were placed near the beds.
Hayden placed Kori onto one of the padded beds near the exit and Ethan sat in the chair next to her. Atticus unfastened his sword and placed it on the floor. He drew back the curtains to the tables directly next to Kori’s and collapsed on it, back first, breathing heavily. His pain at this point had gone dow
n to an annoying dull throb. However, he didn’t care, he was happy the teens were one step closer to getting back to their home.
Brianna fidgeted for a moment, and then abruptly said, “why won’t you let me help?”
She and Dominic crowded around Atticus, while Hayden hung back near the exit.
“I’m fine little witch,” Atticus replied.
Brianna frowned. “Do you want to die?”
Atticus faintly smiled to himself, but there wasn’t any humor behind the smirk. “The day I met you three in the forest; I was there to die.” He closed his eyes. “I felt alone in this world and didn’t really have a place to call home. The love of my life had left me, my best friend had become a pet to my estranged brother who wanted me dead. Then there was Tira, she sacrificed everything to save me.”
Atticus opened his eyes, staring up at the low ceiling.
“After hearing about a pack of remnants lurking within the forest, I decided I would go there and wait for them to find me. I figured they could have put me out of my misery by devouring me.” Sighing, Atticus fought back tears, “but then you guys came along and call it cliché, but I felt as if it was a sign. I couldn’t die yet. And I’ll admit spending these last few days with you all, was the most alive I’ve felt in years.”
The room fell still as Atticus’s words weighed heavily upon the atmosphere. Within seconds the tell-tale indication of the airship starting roared around them. Hayden swore and made a hasty exit. Ethan looked over to Brianna for an explanation.
She chuckled and answered before chasing after Hayden. “He doesn’t like flying.”
Vibrations and the sound of mechanical whirring overtook the ship, allowing it’s suppressed powers to build up. Ethan hopped from his chair after spotting a metal frame window at the far end of the room and rushed over to it.
LAMENT OF PURGATORY (ASHWOOD CHRONICLES #1) Page 30