Nameless Ghoul

Stick to the Plan

Secondo called Alpha into his study to question him about the Sister. Omega had insisted on coming with his friend in case things turned messy. The big fire ghoul was pacing up and down in front of the fireplace. Itzal could tell he was agonising over what had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“She was asking me all kinds of things. I thought it was weird, but as soon as I tried to question it, my brain told me it was fine. It was okay to tell her about it, no big deal. Fuck! I’m so fucking stupid! I can’t believe the fucking bitch drugged me!” Alpha said as he paced back and forth.

“What did she ask you specifically?” asked Secondo.

“She asked all kinds of stuff about Itzal and Sunny at first. But then she started wanting to know about Sunny and Papa. Oh, fuck...” Alpha said. His eyes widened and he looked over at Itzal. He heard himself growl and he could feel his eyes glowing as he glared back at Alpha. “I told her about the problems she was having with her bond with Papa. She swore me to secrecy when she told me and I just blabbed it to a complete fucking stranger.”

Itzal felt confused at first. Why would that matter to Santos? What would he gain from knowing about that? He felt Secondo’s gaze on him and he felt him send some calming energy through their bond at the same moment he realised what Santos might have had planned for Sunshine.

Secondo’s efforts were futile. He felt his blood erupting with fiery anger and he launched himself across the room at Alpha. The fire ghoul barely had time to react before Itzal was on top of him on the ground, doling out punch after punch to his face.

“I should have fucking killed you that day in the woods when I had the chance!” he screamed.

He grabbed Alpha’s shoulders and shook him. The other ghoul was floppy as a rag doll.

Itzal's anger turned to despair as he thought about the possibility that Santos could exploit the weakness in Sunshine’s Clergy bond and use it to his advantage to bond her to himself. Alpha just lay there, not even trying to defend himself, but Omega came and grabbed the back of Itzal’s shirt, dragging him away as he sobbed.

Secondo shouted for Earth to take Alpha to the infirmary and Omega pulled Itzal over to one of the nearby sofas. Alpha could stand so he wasn’t that bad, thankfully.

Itzal could feel Secondo trying to soothe him while Omega pulled him into an embrace. He grabbed hold of his arms and buried his face into the quintessence ghoul’s chest.

He cried. His soul was screaming and he needed the comfort. He wanted to tear the world apart to get to her. He would never forgive himself for putting her in this position. If he’d never met her that night, she would be safe here, living her life. She wouldn't even know he existed. She might have even grown to love Alpha and as much as it pained him to admit it, he knew that the fire ghoul would have been good to her. He knew Alpha wasn’t to blame, but he had lashed out because it was all he could do at that moment.

The combined efforts of Omega and Secondo calmed Itzal enough so he could think straight again.

He felt numb now, and they were wasting time. They needed to make a plan. He would get her back before Santos completed the binding spell.

Santos conducted all of his rituals at midnight when the links to Hell were strongest and he could tap into the power more easily. He looked at the clock and it was almost three p.m., so they had nine hours to figure this out and get to her. There was no room for error.

He tried not to think about what might be happening to her as they made their plans. He just hoped that Santos would be too preoccupied with his own plans to distract himself from hurting her.

Secondo called his whole team in, plus the witches. Omega stayed with Itzal. He knew the toll this was taking on him and he tried to help where he could. By seven p.m. they had put together something that could work. They needed another hour to get their equipment together, and then they’d be on their way.

Omega made Itzal eat a sandwich and drink some juice, as he knew he hadn’t eaten at all that day and it made sense to make sure he had his strength for later. The food was like ash in his mouth, but he ate it because he knew he had to.

Itzal went to his room to get changed and ready for the operation. When he was alone, he sat down on his bed and stared at the wall for a few minutes to compose himself. He went through the plan again in his head and tried to focus.

He could smell Sunshine on his sheets and when he went into the bathroom, her toothbrush was sitting innocently in the holder on the sink. Her shampoo was on the shelf in the shower and the towel she’d used just the day before was hanging on the rail.

Itzal quickly got changed and on his way back out, he spotted his sketchbook on the desk. He stopped and flipped it to the page where the sketch of Sunshine was. He ran his finger across the paper and made a promise to her he would fix this, one way or another.

Aether and the others were waiting for him in the kitchen, dressed in black and ready to leave. They were going along with Secondo’s ghouls to the site and they walked in silence to meet the others in Secondo’s study. Papa was there waiting for them and he offered them all a hug.

Itzal’s phone rang and when he looked at the screen, he almost dropped it when he saw the caller ID.

Sunshine.

Secondo motioned for him to answer. He placed it on the desk and answered it on speaker.

There was a moment of silence before he heard a shaky voice on the other end, barely louder than a whisper.

“Itzal?”

His heart felt like it was breaking in half as he heard Sunshine’s voice. She sounded terrible and she sounded scared.

“Sunshine, I’m here. Are you okay?” he whispered back, his voice wavering.

He heard a shaky breath and a pained gasp as the phone was picked up by someone else.

“Itzal, so lovely to hear your voice,” Santos said. “Sunshine isn’t really in any shape to have a full conversation at the moment, I’m afraid. I think I may have tired her out. She is feisty. I like her.” 

Itzal could hear the smile in the preacher’s voice. Secondo walked quickly over to him and placed his fingers over his lips.

“He is bluffing,” he whispered next to Itzal’s ear, and Itzal felt Secondo send him a soothing wave through the bond to steady him.

He could feel the other ghouls and ghoulettes in the room’s anger as they waited to hear what Santos would say.

“I think you know why I am calling. You need to come home now, Itzal. It has been long enough and our family needs you back. Come to us at midnight. I presume you know where we are already. I will leave the window open for you.”

With that, he hung up.

Itzal released the breath he didn’t even realise he’d been holding. He looked at Secondo, who cursed under his breath as he realised what Itzal was about to do.

“Stick to the plan!” he heard Secondo shout after him.

Itzal turned himself into black smoke and flowed out of the Abbey and into the night.