The Rise of The Powers vol. 1

Chapter 2: Essence's Wrath

Chapter 2: Essence's Wrath

The next morning while I was digging around The House of Edinite I was at the vent that travels sound from anywhere in the house. This morning I heard the whole Power family arguing, which was strange. The Power's rarely argued.

"He called on his soul! I thought that wasn't possible I thought you said this plan was full proof Ethel!" That was of course, Essence. She was the one who was always screaming, always angry, always the one who started all the fights. "Besides isn't that Ahilian Partial's son, Duke, who got adopted by the Whiting's. Uhghghghg! I just can't believe you Ethel you failed me twice! Twice! First you let me believe that Ahilian is here in The Empire when really he's off skipping around in the forest with a group of neglected loser's! Then you tell me that it is not possible for anyone to call on their soul, that The Voice will prevent them from even thinking about it and then what happens? May I ask you Ethel? May I ask you!

For a brief second there was silence, but then Essence broke it with an eerie calm voice that frightened me even more that her "loud very pissed off" one. "The very own Duke Partial called on his soul. His soul. Do you know what this means for us? Do you know what this means? We are doomed, we are-"

"Actually mother it's not all father's fault." That was Lilith, the girl that I had had a crush on since the first day I ever went to worship. "Soren is the one who failed to kill Ahilian. He's the one who let him escape. He's the reason we're in this mess to begin with."

Even though I couldn't see I could tell that Essence's icy calm glare then switched from Ethel to Soren. I gulped. This was a lot of information that I was taking in. Information that I wasn't even supposed to know.

"You're right Lilith, this isn't all Ethel's fault for once. Soren deserve an equal, if not more part of the blame too. What's the deal with us girls? Why do we always end up with the dumb idiotic brothers who always mess everything up?"

Then Essence rose her voice to a roar. A roar so loud that I could hear it as well as if she were screaming it in my very own ear. A roar so loud that it probably reverberated across the whole Empire.

"You, Soren! You! Lilith is right, this is all your fault! You are such a disgrace to this family, to The Empire itself! You, you can't even kill a single weasel who can't even pick up a knife! You, you give up as soon as the weasel runs out the door figuring nothing will happen! That it doesn't matter that you didn't kill the former Prince because, oh! Who really cares about immortality or magical power's? Who even cares if you're not really Prince! You're not a Power, Soren. You will never be a true Power. Though you truly are your father's son Soren-" Essence broke off and then laughed a cold, fire freezing laugh. "And because you are I'm going to kill both you and your father right here in front of the city."

"No mother please!" Soren wailed. "Just give us one more chance. Please let me prove myself to you one last time. I'll hunt Duke and Ahilian down and kill them without a second of doubt. I'll give them the most gruesome death in the history of The Empire. I'll . . . I'll tear off each of their limbs and pluck out each of their organs one by one, so when they die they die empty and hollow, just like they deserve to be. Please just don't kill me. Don't kill me."

I gasped. Soren was right out bawling. I had never heard a Power sound so vulnerable. So exposed, defenseless. So weak.

"Alright, Soren." Essence said in her eerie calm voice. "You can get your way, but on one condition. Each time you shall fail me I will cut off one of your body parts and seeing as you have already failed me once, you shall see that I am not joking. Now, what shall you loose first. An eye perhaps, maybe a hand. Ooh! Or maybe I'll personally take out one of your organs, like your appendix or maybe one of your kidneys. Hmm. I just can't decide which would be the most painful. Do you have any opinions Lilith?"

I gasped for the umpteenth time that day. I had just then realized something. The Power's weren't evil . No, they were just very bad people. Essence was evil. She was a vile, twisted, ruthless, wicked, monster.

"You know what I'll just go with all the above!" Essence laughed, a cold hollow, reverberating laugh. "Though I'll spare you of taking out your kidney and appendix. I plan to take those out of someone else. Someone else who also failed me."

"Mother please, I-" Soren was cut off by is own blood curling scream. "My eye! Oh my God, my eye! My eye!"

I covered my ears. I couldn't bear to hear any more. So I ran, but Soren's screams only increased when Essence cut his hand off and then they were only doubled by Ethel's scream because only God know's what Essence was doing to him. I had to do something. Had to leave this place. Leave forever and never, ever come back.

"Duke.'" Mrs.Whiting said when I got home. "You need to leave." I stared at her opened mouth. It wasn't that I was shocked about the leaving part, I had already kind of figured that out. It was the fact that my very own foster mother was saying that to me.

"I'm not quite sure what happened at worship today," My foster mother continued. "But I do know that whatever it is it's not good and I personally know that the Power's will come and kill you. And Duke, I can't have another one of my family members die, I couldn't bear it. I also want you to know that even though that even though you're not my biological son I do love you and I only want want's best for you. So, that's why I'm kicking you out."

"You're kicking me out?" I said not fully registering what was happening.

"Yes, Duke, now you can go pack your things."

I gulped and ran up the stairs. Fighting back my tears.

While I was packing my things to leave, something occurred to me. Essence had mentioned that this Ahilian Partial guy was my father. Wait, could that be the Anilian Portial guy from the diary and when he said, "And then they took their souls, all their souls, including my sons" did that mean me? Essence also mentioned that my father was alive and "Skipping around the forest with a group of neglected losers." I thought that there wasn't anything alive in the forest. That's what the Power's always said anyway, though if it was true, it wouldn't be the first time the Power's lied to us. They also confirmed that I had called on my soul, whatever that was. It was all way too much to take in.

I sighed and headed down the stairs with my bag. I waved goodbye to Mrs.Whitings, it was the last time I would probably see here. I crossed the barrier between The Empire and the woods beyond. A barrier that I had never been able to cross before, not without my soul at least. Before I stepped into the woods a I looked back at the place of my childhood. A place that had seemed so perfect, but yet was so utterly evil. I tour my eyes away and stepped into the woods.