Nameless Ghoul

Betrayal

Itzal woke with a start. A cold sweat had broken out over his skin and a scream caught in his throat as he quickly sat upright. The images from his nightmare were already fading, but he didn’t need to remember how the dream played out. The memories of his past sins were permanently seared into his brain already. He had lived the nightmare every day of his existence since his summoning. He noticed someone had left a tray inside the cell with food and what looked like a coffee. The thought of eating turned his stomach, but the coffee appealed to him, so he picked it up and took a long sip. It was still warm and he savoured the bitter taste of the strong, dark liquid.

He noticed movement from the corner of his eye and saw Alpha approaching the cell door with Sunshine following behind him. She gave him a small wave and a tentative smile and she was clutching something black in her hands.

“So, are you ready to speak to Papa and get this mess sorted out?” Alpha said with a sneer as he opened the cell door. Itzal nodded as he stepped through the doorway and stood in the corridor next to them.

Sunshine held out the bundle to him.

“I brought this back for you. It’s your shirt. I washed it for you. It was messy where you'd bled on it.”

He raised his eyes to her face as he took the shirt from her. Yet again, Itzal was lost for words in her presence. It was a tiny gesture, but such a thoughtful one. He put the shirt on, smelling the subtle scent of laundry soap that was overlaid with something else. It held the scent of sunny days, the scent that he now associated with Sunshine.

“Thank you,” he said, at a loss for what else to say, because how could he say everything he was thinking without giving away just how completely neurotic he was?

They walked out of the cell block and through the Abbey. As they reached the main building, he was amazed at the place. It was huge and the marble floors and old wooden features gleamed. The smell of lemon scented wood polish and incense permeated the building, giving it a welcoming aroma and offering a semblance of peace that went a long way towards calming his nervousness.

Before too long, they were outside a grand-looking office. Alpha knocked on the door and walked in. Itzal followed and looked at Sunshine, who had stopped on the threshold. She looked at him and smiled sadly.

“I can’t come in as this isn’t my business, but I will come and find you later, okay?”

He nodded to her and followed Alpha into the room. The door closed behind him with an ominous thud.

It was more of a conference room than an office, with a large wooden table and ornate leather-bound chairs along one side of its length. Alpha led him to stand in the centre facing the chairs. A door further into the room opened and a stream of people walked serenely inside. The fabric of their garments rustled softly to break through the oppressive silence. As he watched them, he counted five ghouls and four men. They must have been the four Papa Emeritus’, as they all wore various styles of skull paint on their faces. He recognised Terzo, who sat to the right, Papa Emeritus IV was to his left, Secondo sat to the left of the centre and finally, who he presumed must be Primo, sat on the far left. Flanking them were their ghouls. He knew Omega who stood protectively behind Terzo, and the guitarist from the Ghost project... Aether, he thought? accompanied Papa IV. The others he didn’t know.

At the centre of the Papas sat the oldest of the ghouls. He wore ornate robes which were decorated with Ghoulish symbols. Itzal shifted nervously and glanced at him. He realised that the old ghoul was studying him with shrewd, silver eyes. Itzal dropped his gaze to focus on the floor, feeling wholly unprepared to face this particular firing squad. He had thought that his meeting would be just with the current Papa, but it seemed like the whole of the Clergy was present to interrogate him.

Papa IV spoke first, his mismatched eyes serious.

“I’m sure you mostly know who we are, so I will skip the formal introductions. We need to know where you came from and who summoned you. I truly hope that since you walked into our Abbey of your own accord that you are prepared to co-operate and tell us what we want to know, si?” He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. His leather clad fingers tapped his bottom lip. “I am sure you will be more comfortable talking to one of your own kind, so I will let Councillor Shay ask the questions.”

The old ghoul nodded to Papa in thanks.

“What is your name, ghoul?” he said in his accented voice.

“Itzal."

He looked over to Shay and saw him purse his lips.

“No child, you misunderstand. I mean your real name. Which line do you belong to?”

This caught Itzal off guard. It had been a lifetime since anyone had wanted to know his real name and for a second his brow furrowed in confusion as he struggled to recall it. As far as he was concerned, that name belonged to a different person.

“Buer of the Charon line,” he replied quietly.

“I am Shay, the Ghoul Council representative on Earth. I deal with the summonings and ghoul business on this side of the divide.”

The old ghoul raised an eyebrow and looked at Secondo, who stared at him intently.

“Well then, it looks as though we have some investigating to do. We will question your sire and see what information comes to light.”

Itzal’s ears started ringing. He hadn't thought this far ahead when he'd decided to try to escape Santos. The mention of his family threw him off balance yet again. He hadn’t even dreamed of seeing his sire and siblings again, but he extinguished the tiny flame of hope that ignited in his heart. Surely he would not have that honour?

He shouldn’t have asked, but the words slipped from his lips before he could stop them.

“My sire still lives?”

The second he said it he kicked himself. He hated the waver in his voice, but he cursed himself for being stupid. Of course, he would still be alive. What had felt like a century to him had passed, but it had only been twenty years or so. He wondered if his family still searched for him or if they had given up hope of seeing him again as he had them.

The next words from Shay’s mouth, however, had him weaving on his feet.

“There have been no reports of a missing ghoul from that line, my child. And I am not one to sugarcoat the truth, so I will be frank with you. You are here illegally. Your summoning was a bastardised version of the original ancient summoning spell. The collar around your neck tells me this. I’m not sure you understand fully how this works, but you weren't summoned at random. Somebody from your dimension offered you up to your master and arranged for your enslavement. That someone could only have been one of your kin.”

The room tilted as his brain caught up with what Shay had just said. Itzal looked to Omega, who was staring sadly back at him. He had always assumed that he was unlucky, that when Santos had summoned him, it was all random. Surely, he had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this? This made him see red as he clenched his fists and drew blood from his palms. He tried to contain the anger and the complete shock that was bubbling up, but it was no use.

This whole fucking time, a member of his own family had betrayed him and put him here on this miserable fucking Earth in this miserable fucking existence.

His blood pounded in his ears and he shook with rage as he tried not to lose his fucking mind.