Nameless Ghoul

Comfort Blanket

“Please leave us. I think he's had enough scrutiny for one morning,” Shay said to the other members of the Clergy. “But Papa, if you can please stay with the quintessence ghouls.” 

The humans and their ghouls left quietly, leaving Itzal, Papa, Shay, Alpha, Omega and Aether in the room.

Shay looked at Alpha, questioning why he was still there.

“I was assigned to guard him, so I’m not leaving him unattended, especially if he's about to lose his shit,” he said as he shrugged.

Shay nodded as he rose from his seat and slowly walked around the table. Itzal was shaking so much that his teeth were chattering and his breathing was erratic.

He couldn’t think straight. The blind rage was making rational thought impossible. He was so close to losing control and flying into a fit of anger until he felt the tingle across his skin, which momentarily confused him. But then some distant memory bubbled to the surface, his childhood friend who was a quintessence ghoul. The telltale pleasant tingle was gradually bringing him down from the edge of snapping. It calmed his mind and lifted the red haze until he could think again. The other ghouls had somehow moved him to one of the oxblood red leather sofas and had sat him down. He was still shaking, but at least he didn’t feel like tearing the world apart any more.

Papa sat in an adjacent armchair, and Shay was at the other end of the sofa to him. Omega crouched in front of him and he looked up at the large ghoul, who gave him a half smile.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“A little. Thanks," Itzal answered. He took a shaky breath and dragged his hand down his face. “I... I just don’t understand. How could they? How is this possible?”

“That’s what we need to find out, child. Rest assured, we will investigate this. We will find out what happened and those responsible will face the consequences. The Clergy and the Council will ensure this cannot happen again. I only regret that we were not aware of you, otherwise we would have moved heaven and earth to free you. I am so very sorry that we failed you, Buer. Or do you prefer Itzal?” the old ghoul said as he offered him a reassuring smile. 

Itzal nodded to him and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering away the last of the anger that he'd felt. He looked over at Papa, took a deep breath, and told him what he wanted to know.

“My master’s name is Santos. He calls himself Papa Santos. I think he summoned me twenty years ago. I was twenty seasons old.” He chuckled to himself. “I was so determined to make it into the top tier at the Academy so that they would put me forward to be summoned when I was old enough. I was such a fucking idiot.”

“No, you weren’t. Every ghoul wants that. What happened to you is extremely unfortunate.”

Itzal barked out a laugh at that.

“Unfortunate. Yes," he said, as he shook his head. Unfortunate indeed. “So what happens now? I know you can't let me go, and I’m relieved, really. I’m so ready to get off this ride. Santos is hell-bent on taking over the clergy. He says his family was cheated of it and that they’re the Dark Lord’s true chosen representatives. He is making plans to topple the Emeritus dynasty. If you kill me, then he can’t cause you any trouble.”

Papa IV spoke up then.

“So eager to die then, ghoul?” he said with a smirk. “Santos will get what is coming to him, don't you worry. I have not heard that name for a long, long time. His family was excommunicated for extremism two centuries ago and it explains much now that I have his name. The Santos family was a plague on our existence, bringing unwanted attention to our church. Whenever you see Satanic cults in the movies? That family is usually the inspiration behind it.” Papa stood, followed by Shay, who went to stand beside him. “We will find a way to make this right. Secondo is buried in his scrolls as we speak, looking for a way to remove that necklace you have.”

Itzal’s hand went unconsciously to the metal around his neck. He couldn’t even imagine life without it now. He'd forgotten how it felt to ghost away on a whim.

Papa and Shay excused themselves and left, and Omega and Alpha escorted Itzal back to his cell. This time they left the door open, though, which he was silently grateful for. He was still contained within the corridor, but at least he had a bit more space. He went and sat on his bed with his back against the wall and ran the day’s events through his mind.

Before long, Sunshine appeared in the doorway carrying an olive green blanket, a cup holder with two Starbucks coffees and a bag over her shoulder. He raised an eyebrow in question as she dumped the bag on the bedside table and held out the coffee to him.

“I brought coffee and snacks,” she said with a smile, “and I know how freaking cold it gets down here, so I brought you this.”

She tossed the blanket at him. He picked it up and, without thinking, he immediately brought it to his face, closed his eyes and inhaled. It had the same Sunshine smell that his shirt now carried and it brought him a little comfort. He heard a giggle and looked up; the blanket was still held to his nose.

Busted!

He felt his cheeks grow warm as he slowly lowered it. Sunshine had a huge grin on her face as she watched him.

“You’re welcome,” she chuckled as she went to the bag and started pulling out packets of crisps and sweets. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I brought junk food, as I figured everybody likes junk food,” she said with a shrug.

Itzal found himself smiling and wondered when the last time that had happened was.

She handed him a chocolate bar, grabbed one for herself, and clambered onto the bed. She sat not quite close enough to touch and mirrored his pose with her back against the wall, then unfolded the blanket and draped it across both of their laps.

“So freaking cold here,” she said.