Sigil | Ghost The Band

Morose

"He has to go. It is time for him to return whence he came." Sister Imperator murmured, ominously standing before her office window. Terzo shuddered but rolled his eyes, nonetheless.

"I agree, but I still need a lead."

"It's a tragedy that you don't know your ghouls at all, Emeritus."

"What are you talking about?" He grunted, crossing his arms whilst reclining, staring the woman down.

She sighed deeply. "You have another fire ghoul, he's been studying under Alpha for years now."

"Oh. Well, that's a relief." Terzo admitted, clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment over the fact that he didn't know.

"Indeed. I insist you make an effort with your Papal duties, Emeritus, your interests surround everything but the church."

"That's a lie and you know it. I do everything this hell-driven church wants me to do. I do the tours, I do the sermons, I do the fucking baptisms. I don't have any time for other interests, as far as I'm aware."

"Those are merely your duties. All of those things are obligatory. If you don't shape up-"

"You'll what?"

" You'll have to retire."

"And then what?" Terzo starts, narrowing his eyes at the woman challengingly. "My father has no other sons, the bloodline ends with me."

"That doesn't make you invincible, Emeritus."

"Oh, but it does." He grins falsely back at her, slamming her office door as he leaves. He wondered for a while if she would still terminate Alpha after this discussion, but it was her idea.

***

Calliope finally finished dinner, listening to the bickering of the ghouls behind her. Sometimes in English, sometimes in ghoulish. She only recognized words like 'dickhead', 'fucktart' and other similarly creative insults because apparently there wasn't a ghoulish word for them.

She plated dinner for the four of them, and stuck the forks into the pasta, placing it on the table for them to take. Cal received a shy 'thank you' from Earth and, after a sharp nudge from Omega, a forced one from Sodo, not that she was about to complain. Omega thanked her sincerely before he and Sodo disappeared into the cellar.

Taking a bite, she eyed Earth. "Aren't you going with them?"

"Uh, no, I just want to make sure the others don't think it was a free-for-all like last night, I'm paying for this."

Cal laughed, nodding. "Alright, well, don't let this thing become a problem, please."

"It won't!" Earth called after her as she ascended the stairs. Guilt gnawed at her stomach, all the way to her room. This was an okay thing to do, right? A fair trade? Jesus, of all the shit you've done, this is where you draw the line?

Shaking the feeling off, she continued to her bedroom. As always. She wondered what the greenhouse was like, what the music room was like... She didn't really care, it was something to do and that's all that mattered.

Plus, she'd help. She was pretty useful and quite resourceful... sometimes.

***

Splayed out on the bed, Cal found herself unable to sleep, despite the fact that she was so tired she couldn't think straight.

Giving up, she tossed her covers to the side and got up with a huff. She wasn't sure what she would do now. This restlessness was foreign to her, not the feeling itself, but rather the intensity of it.

Finally making up her mind, she ventured into the candlelit hall, wearing nothing but her knee-length nightgown. The isolation of the church left her wondering what time it was, or even what day it was. She obviously didn't know, and she wasn't certain whether she cared or not.

Too lazy to count back the days until her last interaction with Terzo, she continued down the corridor to the dark staircase. She paused at the foot of said stairs, before clenching her fists and continuing to the fourth floor.

Cal was embarrassed to admit that she practically sprinted to the library, in hopes that it wasn't locked. Who would be in there? Hell, if she knew. If it was Secondo, she would jump off the balcony. A chill spread up her exposed shoulders and back as she discovered the door was unlocked.

Peeking in, she didn't notice anyone. Tiptoeing onto the soft carpet and into the safety of the bookshelves.

She didn't know how long she scoured the shelves, skimming for something interesting or the book Omega was looking for.

Her hands lazily stroked the spines as she passed, until she felt a weird texture. She halted, glancing back at it.

A black, velvet-wrapped book immediately caught her attention, with gold embossing down the spine. Quietly untucking it, she looked at the cover. No fucking way. I found it.

Excited she opened it, reading through the symbols and Latin phrases on the first couple of pages. She obviously had no fucking idea what any of it meant.

Her heart sank as she stumbled upon an image. Nausea swallowed her whole as she shut the book, feeling dazed. Hurrying to the door, she dropped the book on the desk, leaving as fast as she could. Am I going to pass out? I feel like I'm going to pass out. No, I won't. I will not.

Calliope heard her blood rushing in her ears and her vision swam. She stumbled down the stairs, almost twisting her ankle in the process. Clearly, she wasn't paying attention, shrieking when someone grabbed her arm.

"Will you stop that?" Terzo hissed at her. "Every fucking time."

"Will you stop fucking scaring me?" She countered, unfortunately stuttering, placing a hand over her heart to make sure it was still beating.

"What happened?" He asked as if he had just now taken in her demeanour, already moving toward the stairs.

"Nothing, just this creepy fucking castle."

"It's a chapel..." He told her absent-mindedly, craning his neck to peer up the stairs,

"Don't correct me right now." She frowned, her breath was shaky and her attention wasn't on Terzo at the moment. "Did you want something?"

"No... I just felt like I needed to see if you're alright."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Have you seen the state of you?"

"The darkness scares me, alright?"

"Then what in the godforsaken fuck were you doing up there?" He hissed at her, gripping her upper arm firmly. His eyes were more crazed than usual, something within them concerning her.

"I was looking for Omega." She muttered, her eyes darting between his as her own worries were temporarily forgotten. "Are you okay?"

Terzo stared at her before casting his gaze downwards, sighing through his nose. "I will be."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Things... are getting complicated, Calliope."

He never used her name... something was very wrong.