The Red Candle

Chapter Ten

It was already dark around the Lang Vrahn Museum. No people left, aside from the sleepy security guards guarding the entrance of the museum.
"How will we get in?" I turned to grandma.
"Just follow me." Grandma and I stepped out of the car. We walked under the moonlight, quietly as we could. Light posts scattered around. When we reached the backdoor of the museum, the door was apparently locked. Grandma pulled out a flashlight and opened it. She swayed its light across the dark road until she spotted a manhole. We went towards it and she asked me to hold the flashlight for her. She bent her knees and pulled the manhole's cover open. The usual unpleasant smell wafted through us then grandma went ahead, down across the shadows below. I tried to manage my breath, trying my best not to puke. "What's this place? I thought we're going to my uncle's hidden chamber." I asked her.
"Yes we are, dear. This is the alternative route which Henrick uses whenever he sneaks his way to the chamber, usually when the museum is closed." Grandma said while climbing down the rusty ladders. The inside was darker more than lady Simoune's house. Grandma only uses her flashlight as our guide. We left the manhole open, so that the moonlight from above could make our path ahead a little more visible. Soon, we reached a surface beside a pool of all wastes you could ever imagine in a sewer. We walked together. The smell reeked stronger, yet I had no other choice but to endure it. I sensed some scattering rats lurking in the shadows of this acrid place. Later on, Grandma stopped. "Here we are." She pointed her flashlight at a door before us. She looked at me sternly and spoke. "Prepare yourself, Sandra." Then she opened the door. A ray of light blinded us, then we entered inside. The acrid smell of the sewers no longer drifts in the air. My eyes widened, my heart pounding. Inside was ample enough. Several torches hung on the surface of the brick walls. From then, my eyes witnessed the horrors of Henrick's atrocity. Inside the room were several beds of corpses. The smell of body preservatives wafted through our face. All of them were covered by white blankets. Stood beside each bed was a table and a lighted red candles. My hands started to shake lightly. My mind cannot bear how Henry can take many lives as these, and now he was thinking that there might be a way to revive them?
I followed grandma as she walked towards another corridor, directly before us. Soon, it led us to another chamber of corpses. "How many deaths are here? Does uncle manage to keep all his victim's bodies here?"
Grandma shook her head. "No. That is why they are lurking around in the world of the living, and are able to follow us. Most of them are the old souls from the New Mandriom. Henry was not able to find and chain the bodies of all the souls that Henry killed from the battles."
"I thought red candles stand for long life, fortune, and prosperity. But why does he put those here?"
"Your great-grandfather is really foolish. He thought that those candles may help in calming their souls." We walked across the beds until we reached a door.
"Now, all we have to do is to talk with him." She told me. "You are his youngest blood. He might have a soft spot for you, dear."
"And if he doesn't listen?"
"Then we'll do whatever it takes to burn the ring." She knocked on the door. After a few moments, we heard footsteps rushing towards the door. Soon, it opened and a man stood before us. His face, big nose, bald head, and black mustache. Henry's eyes were widened to see me standing before him, as he was in a red mantle like what the royalties of New Mandriom were wearing. "Sandra, what are you doing here?" I can see the bafflement brimming in his eyes. His glance shifted to grandma. "Lourna, does she already know?"
"Don't worry about it, father.''Grandma replied to him, holding his hands. Hearing her calling uncle Henry his father sounds strange. "I think it's time for her to know about it."
"And how could you say that?" He gave a skeptic look at her.
"You must understand that she must know these things or yours, just as I understand your situation and all your acts up to these days. And up to this very moment."
Henry blew a deep breath. "Fine. Come in." He gave a kind smile at me. We entered inside and it was another room, wide as the chambers of the dead. Countless red candles stood at the foot of the brick-surface walls with torches hung on it. I tried to suppress my fear, even though it crippled in my lungs as I saw a corpse lying on a table, which stood in the middle of the room. A chair settled beside the table. I suspected that my uncle had just recently killed him, for blood had tainted the floor. I cannot fix my eyes on his pale body, and wounded arms and legs. I looked around and saw there were only bookshelves and a closet, which was as tall as two people. We walked past the table of the corpse, and a few feet before us was a huge bonfire with its raging flames tall as Henry.
"And today is her nineteenth birthday." Grandma continued. "The spirits are at their fullest to harm her."
Henry gave me a concerned look. "How are you, Sandra? Is everything alright."
I nodded.
"She and her friend was attacked by Simoune." Grandma told him when Lucy and I have been in lady Simoune's place, earlier that night.
"That wretches," Henry said as he went to examine the corpse. "I do not know when they will stop. That is why you must have your rosary with you, Sandra."
"But I have no idea what's going on with these ghosts-"
He glared at me, and I could see anger starting to glint in his eyes. "I said that you must always have it with you. As Catholics, these things aren't only used for protection. These are the sacred instruments of our faith. Don't you remember anything about any of my teachings in the church?" He doffed the clothes of the corpse and threw it at the bonfire.
"Yes, uncle. I promise that it won't ever happen again." I said. "May I ask why do you burn their clothes?"
"It is a right that I must do, an old ritual which we used to practice back when I was a chieftain in New Mandriom." He turned to me, then to grandma. "And where is Simoune now?"
She shrugged. "I'm not certain. I splashed her with the holy waters. That should keep her away from us for a little longer."
"Good." Henry gazed at me. "So, Sandra. Tell me, how are you feeling?"
"Feeling about what?" I wasn't sure what he was talking about.
"About knowing everything about me." He walked towards the closet.
"Is it true that you're a killer? A murderer and a monster?"
Henry glanced at me before he opened the closet. What I saw inside was nothing but the horrors of his act. Inside were hanging corpses. My eyes cannot gaze at it. I wanted to scream as my heart can't bear seeing more dead people, especially corpses. "Indeed, Sandra." He closed it and walked towards the bonfire. "I may be a ruthless man who takes lives just for me to live long enough. Live long enough to see the beauty of the world. The world for me in the old days of New Mandriom hasn't been kind to me. My parents were killed by the malevolent older dynasties of this land, a few decades before the rise of the New Mandriom.
Then there I was, all alone. I started from the bottom, serving the armies of the Windisters. My loyalty bent before them, for their family was the one who turned down the Old Mandriom. I respected their name, and I devoted my life to protect them. I remained resilient as I fought against all the misfortune that this life threw at me. Until one day, a lady came to help me. A lady gave me hope to live this life. A lady who became my one and only friend. The only person to whom my soul was deeply attached with. The only one who caught my heart, and was the only one who broke it." He sighed. "After all these years, I regret what I did to her."
Grandma and I were surprised by his words, so we kept listening to him.
"I regret that I let my hatred grow and devour my thoughts. I wish I could turn back the days when I could see the beauty of her face, even if her heart was fulfilled and blissful with someone else." He fixed his gaze at the Ring of Immortality. "This ring is the beginning of all... but I believe that this ring could also fix everything."
"In what way, father?" Grandma asked. "Do you think that killing more lives will bring Queen Dolora back from the dead?"
Henry glared at her. "How did you know about that, Lourna?"
"Do you think that I know nothing about your theories of resurrection?"     
"You went through my things." Henry took a deep breath to calm himself. "But yes, you're right. As of now, I've been seeking theories about the resurrection of human life. I traveled through ancient museums, looking for an ancient artifact that bears the blessings of magics from the old times. I am searching for the relics that will help me bring the dead back to life. And I will do everything to correct all my wrong doings-"
"Then destroy that ring right now!" My grandma hissed at him.
This time, Henry was enraged. "There's no way I am doing that, Lourna! You don't understand it. As I grew older, I can't stand seeing my family being hunted by the vengeful souls of my felony. But I cannot risk myself, especially when hundreds of dire souls await me in the afterlife. That's why I am doing everything I can to look for any resurrecting rituals as I believe that these could mend all the things that I've done."
"And how many years it might take for you to find what you're looking for?" Granda placed her hand on her pocket, preparing herself to draw her gun. "If it will take many more decades, or even a century, just think of how many lives you could kill and how many of us, your family, will suffer with the curse of the vengeful ghosts." Grandma's eyes turned soft. "Father, it's not too late to prevent yourself from killing more lives. It's not too late for your soul to cleanse itself. Just burn the ring and let them rest in the afterlife."
Henry's expression remained hard. "No. There's nothing you can do to stop me."
Without hesitation, grandma pulled out her gun and swiftly attempted to shoot Henry's ring. Loud bangs echoed through the room. At her first shot, she nearly hit the ring and bullets landed on his fingers and palms, instead. Henry stepped away and quickly covered his hand by his mantle and his body. His body remained curled up until grandma was out of bullets. Uncle faced grandma, his face was traced with fury. All the wounds on his hand and on his body healed on itself. "You've tried to oppose me, daughter. You quickly dragged my patience from its peak and farther beyond." Slowly, he pulled out a dagger from his pocket. "And now is your time to join these lost souls." He yelled and dashed towards her, his hand waving the dagger. Grandma remained standing, and when uncle was a few feet away from her, I gathered up my courage and kicked him with all my strength. Henry stumbled a few feet farther away from us. "Sandra, stay out of this."
"Not until you destroy the ring." I spoke to him. "You're a priest. You stand with the kindness of God and yet, you're nothing but a living hypocrisy of your beliefs. Stop this right now, uncle Henry.  Cheating death won't always be the way. Please, listen to us."
He grunted as he got on his foot. "I hate that I am already losing both my daughter and great-granddaughter at the same time. Is a death wish really the kind of wish you are looking for this special day of yours, Sandra?"
Before he was able to run towards us again, Grandma pulled out a grenade from her pocket. "You're such a vile human, Henrick." She uncapped it and threw it at him. In an instant, the grenade emitted hazy smoke, its air drifted and covered his body. Its gas could slow him down, for it,  even if he tried to catch us. It was a smoke grenade that can make anyone nauseous, so he could catch us easily and could buy us some more time. Henry lost his balance once more and was baffled as he cannot see us clearly. "Lourna! Sandra! Where are you going?"
Grandma and I ran away towards the door. Unfortunately, it was locked. "Grandma, what are we gonna do?"
Grandma was searching for something in her pocket when a flying dagger hit her right arm. Grandma Howled in pain, and stumbled on the floor.
"GRANDMA!" I cried and knelt down with her. The area of smoke did not reach us, yet I can saw Henry sluggishly walking out of the smoke. His eyes fixed on us. "You cannot run away from me! I am immune to death, and none among you are!" He stood and pulled out another dagger and charged towards me. I did not know what I must do so I ran away from him. Henry almost hit himself against the wall and stabbed the dagger on its brick surface. "Where are you going, child?" I ran around the room, looking for something else that could help me to get rid of him. My eyes glanced everywhere, until I saw a huge hammer, resting beside the closet. I ran towards it but then I did not notice how fast Henry was when his dagger almost slashed my back. "You cannot outduel a former chieftain, Sandra." He yelled and ran towards me. My hand almost reached the hammer as I was running a few feet to it, yet I felt a painful thump in one of my legs. I lost my feet and beloved in pain.
Henry laughed as he was walking towards me. "And why can't I cheat death? You think death itself will embrace me? I'm still immortal, child." I tried to crawl, but my body could not. The dagger was unbearable for my leg to move. I tried to reach my hand, but it was still a few feet away. I can hear Henry's laughter and footsteps approaching behind me. In a blink of my eye, I was astounded when I found the apparition of Lady Simoune standing before me. Dread flushed through my veins. Perhaps this was my end. It was on my nineteenth birthday, the same age when prince Bardon has died. Simoune smiled and threw the hammer to my hand. I was confused but I was more desperate to save my own life. As soon as I held the hammer, I swayed it behind and I smashed Henry's legs. He groaned and fell on his knees. He tried to grab my foot, yet I gathered enough strength to crawl away. I stood up and glared at him. I wasted no time and whacked the hammer straight to his head before he could even speak or anticipate my movement. With that, he collapsed to the ground. I dropped the hammer, and walked towards Henry. My body's energy was drained.
I felt the pain of the dagger even more. Its blade wasn't very deep through my skin, although I did not want to try to pluck it out. I managed to bend down my arms and took the ring of immortality away from my uncle's fingers. It was beautiful, an emerald ring that can tempt any mortal to cheat mortality and to change the everlasting concept of  life and death. I walked towards the bonfire, my skin feeling the heat of its raging blaze. Without any words, I casted the ring to the flames and my eyes witnessed it burn into ashes. From then, a soft wind brushed from behind us. We turned behind and saw the ghosts of Dolora, Bardon, and Simoune.
"Thank you for freeing us." The queen said.
"We may now finally rest in eternal peace." The prince added.
Simoune just smiled at me and stepped closer. "If I could just kill or harm that man, I could've done it long ago. But at last, I found an opportunity earlier to help someone to stop him."
Dolora spoke. "The Al'Dors are now free from the curse of the immortality ring."
"From now on, all the souls of the ring's vanquished may depart from the world of the living." Simoune smiled for the last time. At once, all their figures dispersed in the air. Even the corpse on the table has also vanished, leaving only particles of dust. My body was too exhausted. Cautiously, I plucked the dagger from my legs. I groaned, my skin bleed but I endured it. I turned to grandma and walked to help her. "Grandma!" I cried. I knelt beside her and helped her get on her foot. The cut of the dagger was deeper than mine. "Can you hold it for a little longer?"
She nodded. "I could. We still have our bandages in the car. Go get them for me, I'll wait."
Slowly, I took the chair from the table and helped grandma to take her seat.
"Thanks, dear." She sighed in relief. "But before you go, you must do something..." She glanced at Henry, who was still out of consciousness.
"What will we do with him?"
"Take some of the chains outside. I'm pretty sure that all the bodies are gone now. Just hurry, he might be awake again."
I nodded and did what she bade. On the outside, I can see no traces of any corpse on the bed. There was nothing but only the empty white-blanketed beds, with the chains hidden underneath the blankets. I took some of the chains from the nearest beds to me and rushed towards grandma. Gladly, Henry was still unconscious.
"Good. Now, chain his body on the table." Grandma said.
I dropped the chains and went to uncle Henry. It was only then when I noticed that half of his head was bleeding as I hammered him earlier. With all my strength, I lifted his body and dropped it on the table with a loud thud. I panted and wasted no time to get the chains. Soon enough, his arms and legs were bound across the table. I fastened it hard enough, making sure that he could not escape. I turned back to Grandma, who seemed to be drowsy and exhausted. "Wait for me, Grandma. I'll come back." On my way out, I rushed as I could no longer feel the cut of the dagger on my leg. It was quite painful for me to climb up and down the ladder of the sewers, yet I managed. I took the bandage kit from the car and went back to grandma, who had fallen asleep on the chair. I woke her up. "I'll take care of it, grandma." I gestured to the knife. "Just hold a little longer. I'll pluck it out of your back, okay?"
She nodded. "I'm ready." I started to pull it out gently, seeing how grandma suppressed the pain with her mouth closed. At last, I already plucked the dagger and threw it away. I cleaned her wound and covered it with bandages. "There. It should help you stop the bleeding."
She grinned at me. "I'm glad that you still know how to do it, eh?" Over the silence of the room, we heard movements from the chains of Henry. His arms shook softly. He might be awake at any moment, although he could do nothing against us. I turned to grandma and helped her to get on her feet. "Let's go away, grandma."
For the last time, we glanced at Henrick Al'Dor, who laid on the table. We did nothing but to let him die, to let his skin be withered, and to let loneliness devour his soul for the rest of his life. We locked the door and went out of his underground chamber.
Finally, it was all over. We can now rest, just like all the souls that Henry has punished for decades. He can now rest as his soul was finally free from the curse of an ancient ring. We can now rest as our bloodline was finally free from the curse of a blasphemous act. We can now rest, as my mind is finally at peace, and where I can embrace the essence of the red candle itself. As Queen Dolora said, red candles are used in celebrations. Prayers are devoted by lighting the candles to bless a soul with eternal peace. Before we headed out of the chamber, I took one of the lighted red candles. When we reached the acrid atmosphere of the sewers, I closed the door and planted the red candle before it. Grandma and I stared blankly at its lone light. Henry was still our family and I believe that no souls must be neglected from the prayers of the living, no matter how vile they were on earth or in the afterlife. For the last moment, I gazed at the red candles of my great-grandfather, without any blood dripping on it. Finally, it was all over. Finally, we were free from the curse of the red candle.