Wolfgang Artifex: The Devil's Musician

Chapter 9: The Devil joins the Radio

After awakening, Wolfgang found himself strapped to a table with people standing over him, all conversing with one another. He heard a cacophony of voices discussing what they should do with him, whether they should dump him in the streets. His vision still blurry, he tried wiggling himself free, catching the attention of the people. One forcibly opened his eye, as another held a candle close to him, as if they were checking his pupils. His vision becoming clearer, he saw the people could be the same age as him, if only a little bit older by a year or two.

When they finally unstrapped him, a young lady, seemingly their boss, approached him asking him what he was doing in the town square, if he was a spy for the king. Wolfgang was confused and nervous, as he found her to be a little close for his comfort, quickly realizing that he has no idea on how to talk to others. Unable to bring himself to speak, the young lady inspects his clothing, as he wore his families' emblem on his overcoat. When she noticed this, she immediately began asking him why he bears the Artifex families emblem, getting angry and aggressive towards Wolfgang.

Collecting himself, he replied, "My name is Wolfgang Amadeus Artifex, I am son of both Marilyn and Houdini Artifex"

Silence filled the air as they began surrounding him, murmurs is all he could hear from them. The young lady broke the silence in an angry tone.

"Impossible! The Artifex family has no child named Wolfgang, and Houdini only bore two children, Nicolai and Agatha, both are said to have perished! So that means you are lying, and you stole that coat from those who still grieve!

Wolfgang, thinking fast, replied, "I am not lying! Nicolai and Agatha are my siblings! My family hid me away from the rest of the world, in shame that I am not like my siblings!"

His response was met with a punch to his face, he lips busting as he started bleeding. With rage in her voice, she responds.

"Nicolai never mentioned you to me, and we shared everything together! The only other sibling he had died of stillbirth. So stop proclaiming you are his sibling, take off the stolen coat, and never show your devili-" Being quickly cut off by a young man, roughly older than her.

"I have heard rumors of a blue spirit wandering the halls of the Artifex Estate, some though it was a ghost of a child whose remains were buried beneath the house, others thought it was a monster pretending to be one of the children. So if this kid is saying he is a secret devil child of two of the wealthiest nobles this side of the realm, then I believe him."

Bickering in suede as they could not agree what to believe, as Wolfgang tried to sneak out, he saw on a table a small sketch he saw many years ago. He remembered it being the first drawing Nicolai made, saying it was for someone named Caterina, or as he nicknamed her, Caty. As he held the sketch, it was snatched from his hand by the young lady as she glared at him with embarrassment. Wolfgang looked at her as it begun to dawn on him how she knew her brother so well.

"You must be the famous Caty then" he said

Her eyes grew wide in shock as she knew only one person called her that, her best friend Nicolai. She asked Wolfgang how he knew, but in her heart she realized he was not lying. Wolfgang explained to them what happened after his brother died in the endless warfare, how his parents hid him, how they kept him a secret. He also explained his sister, Agatha, is not dead, rather stuck in a world unlike theirs. Many were skeptical about his story, some thought he was insane, but they could not deny his relations with the Artifex family.

When the air became more palpable, the group began sharing stories about how they too lost family in the ceaseless warfare. Caterina shared her history with Nicolai, and how she lost her whole family due to the battles, leaving her with nothing but ruins. They began telling Wolfgang that they all gathered together to rebel against the king, the one who keeps the wars going. Furthermore, they introduced themselves as "The Royalties Adversary to Defeat their Injustice and Oppressions" or R.A.D.I.O as they called themselves. Wolfgang was entranced by their display, and sympathized with their plights. Caterina approached him with an offer to join them. With a willingness to help in their cause, and the desire to get closer with Caterina, he accepted.