The Song Of The Phoenix...
Chapter XIII
As the ship was coming closer and closer, the tormented souls started crying and shouting, as if they were begging for forgiveness.
Charon, the ship’s ferryman with a long white beard, unforgiving big black eyes and with the voice of a thunder, walked on the shore and said, “I feel the presence of two undead souls. What do you want here? Are you two tired of living?”.
“No. We have come here to look for something”, quickly said the boy.
“Death. That’s all you’ll find here.”, said Charon as he slowly headed towards the ship.
“Wait. We can pay you.”, said the woman showing him a dozen of golden coins, to which Charon replied “If I am to take you to the other side you'd have to do better than that.”.
“Fine. Take it.”, said Angela as she gave Charon the golden coins.
As the ship was traversing, Alex kept looking behind.
Angela saw this and asked him what’s going on, to which he said “I have the feeling that somebody’s following us.”.
The woman looked at him for a moment and replied “I think you’re just nervous. Nothing can survive in the water.”.
“Unless it’s flying.”, said Alex, smiling at her.
On the ship, the souls stopped crying and shouting, but instead they were looking up, towards the cave’s ceiling.
“What are they doing?”, asked Alex curious, to which the woman replied “They look up, waiting for an angel to come and rescue them. They don’t look forward to see what awaits them, but they don’t look backwards either because then they would see what they’ve left behind.”.
“Interesting. Has a soul ever been rescued?”, asked the boy.
Looking up, the woman replied “Yes. When you were a child, one of my race entered your world and soon after she died. They don’t know why she was sent in Hell in the first place, but the important thing is that an angel rescued her. Now she’s in Heaven.”.
They reached the other side in a couple of minutes and there, Charon said “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but this is no place for lingering. If you stay here long enough, you’ll become one of us!”.
Upon hearing these words, Alex asked Angela how much time they had, to which she replied “We have 9 more days.”.
The boy nodded and started walking.
They kept on walking until they reached a wall.
There, on the left, was a bowl and a scribble saying “The hot liquid of life.”.
Angela quickly cast a spell on the bowl, filling it with water.
Seeing that nothing happened, Alex asked her to give him a knife.
He cut his hand and let a few drops of blood fall in the bowl.
In a few seconds, the wall started shaking, making an entrance for them to pass.
“How did you know?” asked Angela, a little scared.
“The liquid of life is indeed water, but the hot liquid of life is the blood.”, said Alex, as he was cleaning his hand of blood.
After a few minutes of walking, they reached an abyss.
“Now what?”, said Alex, clearly angered.
“We’ll have to find a way to the other side. Don’t worry, we’ll do it.”, said the woman, trying to calm down the boy.
They started looking for a way to reach the other side, until they saw a bridge not very far away from them.
Alex started running towards it, but when he almost got to the bridge, the ground started shaking.
As he stopped, a winged creature destroyed the bridge and headed towards them…
Charon, the ship’s ferryman with a long white beard, unforgiving big black eyes and with the voice of a thunder, walked on the shore and said, “I feel the presence of two undead souls. What do you want here? Are you two tired of living?”.
“No. We have come here to look for something”, quickly said the boy.
“Death. That’s all you’ll find here.”, said Charon as he slowly headed towards the ship.
“Wait. We can pay you.”, said the woman showing him a dozen of golden coins, to which Charon replied “If I am to take you to the other side you'd have to do better than that.”.
“Fine. Take it.”, said Angela as she gave Charon the golden coins.
As the ship was traversing, Alex kept looking behind.
Angela saw this and asked him what’s going on, to which he said “I have the feeling that somebody’s following us.”.
The woman looked at him for a moment and replied “I think you’re just nervous. Nothing can survive in the water.”.
“Unless it’s flying.”, said Alex, smiling at her.
On the ship, the souls stopped crying and shouting, but instead they were looking up, towards the cave’s ceiling.
“What are they doing?”, asked Alex curious, to which the woman replied “They look up, waiting for an angel to come and rescue them. They don’t look forward to see what awaits them, but they don’t look backwards either because then they would see what they’ve left behind.”.
“Interesting. Has a soul ever been rescued?”, asked the boy.
Looking up, the woman replied “Yes. When you were a child, one of my race entered your world and soon after she died. They don’t know why she was sent in Hell in the first place, but the important thing is that an angel rescued her. Now she’s in Heaven.”.
They reached the other side in a couple of minutes and there, Charon said “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but this is no place for lingering. If you stay here long enough, you’ll become one of us!”.
Upon hearing these words, Alex asked Angela how much time they had, to which she replied “We have 9 more days.”.
The boy nodded and started walking.
They kept on walking until they reached a wall.
There, on the left, was a bowl and a scribble saying “The hot liquid of life.”.
Angela quickly cast a spell on the bowl, filling it with water.
Seeing that nothing happened, Alex asked her to give him a knife.
He cut his hand and let a few drops of blood fall in the bowl.
In a few seconds, the wall started shaking, making an entrance for them to pass.
“How did you know?” asked Angela, a little scared.
“The liquid of life is indeed water, but the hot liquid of life is the blood.”, said Alex, as he was cleaning his hand of blood.
After a few minutes of walking, they reached an abyss.
“Now what?”, said Alex, clearly angered.
“We’ll have to find a way to the other side. Don’t worry, we’ll do it.”, said the woman, trying to calm down the boy.
They started looking for a way to reach the other side, until they saw a bridge not very far away from them.
Alex started running towards it, but when he almost got to the bridge, the ground started shaking.
As he stopped, a winged creature destroyed the bridge and headed towards them…