Nameless Ghoul

Screw Your Courage to the Sticking Place

The message came just before midnight. Phenex had passed down the sentence to Santos and Earth came to let Itzal know. He and Sunshine were in his room, and he sat down on the sofa when they were told the news.

“He didn’t even react when they told him he’d be put to death. He’s been pretty vocal until now, so who knows? That piece of shit just stared at the floor and didn’t even flinch,” Earth told them.

That surprised Itzal because Santos had never been one to rein in his emotions. He didn’t think that the torture he’d endured over the last couple of weeks would have broken him though, his ego was far too big for that.

Earth told Itzal to let him know when he was ready to go to the cells, and he left them to digest the news. Sunshine sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulders.

Quinn was right. It was too soon. He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t strong enough to get through the next twenty-four hours. His courage would fail him, he was certain of it.

“Hey! Stop that!” Sunshine said sternly as she put her hand on his cheek and turned his face towards her. She must have felt where he was going in his head, and he hadn’t even bothered to hide it from her. “This is it. This time tomorrow you'll be free of him forever and he will be having his little welcoming ceremony before he becomes Eisheth’s little bitch for all eternity.”

He could feel himself shaking and he felt the panic rising; panic at having to face the man who had forged him into this.

For the last twenty years, he had dreamed of this moment, time alone in a locked room with Santos completely at his mercy, a complete role reversal. He had wanted Santos to feel the helplessness and the fear and the humiliation that had become the norm for him. But now that it faced him? The temptation to tell Secondo to just be done with it and finish it for him was too much. Itzal was exhausted, and he didn't think he could do it.

The wild voice inside his head screamed at him for it. It wanted vengeance and it wanted blood, not to just roll over and let someone else deal with it.

He looked at Sunshine, and she smiled. She pulled him to her and put her forehead to his.

“Itzal, you can do this. I’ll be there with you. You told me we would do this together and we will. You are the bravest ghoul I know; much stronger than you realise. Every day since you’ve been here, you’ve fought and you’ve won. This is just one more day. Just one.”

He whimpered and he breathed in Sunshine’s scent, trying to ground himself. She kissed the tip of his nose and stood, holding out her hand to him to pull him up. He took a deep breath and took it.

“I’ll let Earth know we will be there soon,” he said as he sent off a quick text.

Sunshine pulled him into a hug, and they stood there for a few minutes in silence. When they emerged from his room, Papa’s ghouls and ghulehs were waiting in the hallway for them. They offered words of encouragement. Rain pulled him into a hug and Aether sent him some mojo to steady his nerves. It was akin to having a shot of Dutch courage and he gave a wan smile to the quintessence ghoul as thanks.

The walk through the Abbey was over far too quickly. Everyone from the lair accompanied them to the foyer before wishing them well and returning upstairs.

Sunshine squeezed his hand as they opened the door to descend the steps to the basement. When they opened the door to the corridors where the bathrooms were, he faltered. His feet stopped moving and Sunshine looked up and gave him a questioning look. She sent him a soothing caress through their bond, and he shivered. He could feel that she was nervous too, but as he now realised was her way, she did not give in to it.

Itzal felt his heart rate pick up as a faint scent of blood wafted its way to his nose, and he lurched towards one of the bathroom doors. He flung it open and staggered inside, hunching over the sink as he retched. Nothing much came up as he had been too nervous to eat, but his stomach hurt as it tried to expel his fears and he vomited.

Itzal wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and looked up at his reflection in the mirror, taking shaky breaths and trying to calm himself. He glared at the face that stared back at him with a frown and he bared his teeth at his reflection. He needed to get a grip; he'd tortured and killed before. It was nothing new. He could do this.

He drank some cool water and splashed some onto his face, before re-emerging into the corridor. Sunshine was waiting patiently for him and she held out her hand to him.

“You good?” she asked, and he nodded.

He felt the same eerie calm descending upon him as he'd felt the night they got Sunshine back from Santos’ warehouse. She grinned at him and her eyes flashed purple. He felt his own eyes glowing in response and felt that wild ghoul prowling underneath his skin.

As they approached the hallway, he saw that all Secondo’s ghouls had lined up, waiting. Omega and Alpha were guarding the doors, and Secondo and Phenex stood in the middle of the corridor. As he walked past his fellow ghouls, they all offered him nods and bared their teeth in feral grins.

He stopped in front of Secondo, who wore his full paint and papal robes. In a rare show of affection, he closed the distance between them and enveloped Itzal in a brief embrace. He whispered in his ear.

“Do not fear. You do this how you want to do it. Don’t doubt yourself.”

He patted him on the back and stepped back. Itzal looked at him with a small smile, and he nodded. Phenex offered him a nod of support, and they turned to enter the hallway.

Alpha opened the door and caught Itzal’s gaze. His eyes glowed with orange flames and he smiled, showing his fangs.

“Make that fucker suffer,” he said, and Itzal smiled back.

Secondo had left Santos where he was instead of using the room where they’d beheaded the witch. He didn’t think that Itzal would have wanted to use the blade, but he left it outside the cell bars within reach, just in case.

They entered the cell and Santos looked up. His eyes swung straight over to Itzal. He looked a lot better than he had the last time he’d seen him, but he was still covered in cuts, bruises and burns. The cuffs that held up his bodyweight had chafed his wrists badly, leaving painful-looking open wounds behind.

Santos looked exhausted, and Itzal was glad.

Phenex and Secondo stood before him, flanked by Earth and Quinn. Sunshine and Itzal stood to the side.

Phenex spoke.

“You have been sentenced under Ghoul Law for crimes against Ghoul Kind. The sentence is death. The method of death in this case is to be chosen by the wronged. May the Dark Lord torment your blackened soul for all eternity.”

Santos didn’t acknowledge any of the words that had just been spoken. He kept his black gaze trained on Itzal.

Secondo and Phenex turned to leave. Secondo spoke quietly to him on the way past, putting his hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“We will wait outside for you for however long it takes. Just call if you need me,” Itzal nodded and they left, closing the cell door behind them.

Itzal took a deep breath to steady himself, and then turned around and met the gaze of his tormentor. He felt his eyes flash silver and he smiled.