LAMENT OF PURGATORY (ASHWOOD CHRONICLES #1) Read online

  Lament Of Purgatory

  Ashwood Chronicles, Volume 1

  Brandon Chandler

  Published by Brandon Chandler, 2020.

  While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

  LAMENT OF PURGATORY

  First edition. February 23, 2020.

  Copyright © 2020 Brandon Chandler.

  Written by Brandon Chandler.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Lament Of Purgatory (Ashwood Chronicles, #1)

  Chapter-One

  Chapter-Two

  Chapter-Three

  Chapter-Four

  Chapter-Five

  Chapter-Six

  Chapter-Seven

  Chapter-Eight

  Chapter-Nine

  Chapter-Ten

  Chapter-Eleven

  Chapter-Twelve

  Chapter-Thirteen

  Chapter-Fourteen

  Chapter-fifteen

  Chapter-sixteen

  Chapter-Seventeen

  Chapter-Eighteen

  Chapter-Nineteen

  Chapter-Twenty

  Chapter-Twenty-One

  Chapter-Twenty-Two

  Chapter-Twenty-Three

  Chapter-Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter-Twenty-Six

  Chapter-Twenty-Seven

  Chapter-Twenty-Eight

  Chapter-Twenty-Nine

  Chapter-Thirty

  Chapter-Thirty-One

  Chapter-Thirty-Two

  Chapter-Thirty-Three

  Chapter -Thirty-Four

  Chapter-Thirty-Five

  Chapter-Thirty-six

  Chapter-Thirty-Seven

  Chapter-Thirty-Eight

  Chapter-Thirty-Nine

  Chapter-Forty

  Chapter-Forty-One

  Chapter-Forty-Two

  About the Author

  This book is dedicated to my family and friends, for their endless support and motivation. Their selflessness and encouragement will always be the reason this book was created.

  The Immortal Priest

  LONG AGO, IN A FORGOTTEN city, lived a priest. He feared nothing but death and longed for immortality. He would often pray to the heavens for the gift of eternal life, knowing when his life ended on earth, an eternity of happiness awaits him in the afterlife. Even with this knowledge the priest wasn’t content, so he turned to a realm plagued with perpetual fire and filled with the souls of the wicked. An entity banned from heaven and feared by hell, heard his request.

  His name was Raiziel.

  Offering to grant the priest immortality, he gave him a special orb known as a carcerem orbis.

  “Make your entire city sacrifice themselves in my name and use this orb to send their souls to a realm I called Purgatory.”

  The priest knew the task was immoral, but unwilling to give up Raiziel’s offer, he began to preach sermons turning the citizens away from the faith, instead promising them a world of paradise if they sacrifice their own lives to Raiziel. Using his silver tongue the priest was able to convince the city to do just that. With Purgatory brimming with souls he was granted immortality. But when he tried to return the carcerem orbis, Raiziel proceeded to tell the immortal priest, for him to keep his new gift, he must sacrifice six-hundred souls every six years on the sixth month. Accepting the terms, he set ablaze to the city he once called home and never looked back.

  Chapter-One

  Rain spilled from the night sky drenching those it touched, turning the earth into slippery mud.

  Her clothing wet clear to her skin, Natalie Morrison’s eyes widened at the horrors around her. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself to keep warm, trying to trick her mind into thinking all of this was a nightmare. However, the event at this hour was like the rain: impossible to avoid.

  One of her hideous abductors pushed her along the path as other grotesque creatures scattered about the cemetery.

  She tried not to focus on their ghoulish features, hanging decayed flesh and torn clothing. Instead, she looked off into the distance and saw a man dressed in black slacks, a white button-up shirt and a lab coat.

  “Professor Reinhard? Please help me!” Natalie screamed.

  A burst of crazed laughter escaped his lips. “That’s not possible my dear.”

  Her hands trembled while her eyes watered. “Why are you doing this?”

  Her breaths quickened as she tried to break free. However, the creatures were a lot stronger.

  The man went in to caress her cheeks. “I’ve been watching you for quite some time.”

  Before his hands could touch her face, a shuriken slammed into the middle of his forehead. Blood splattered everywhere triggering Natalie to scream. Her shock continued to flow when Reinhard reached up and pulled the weapon free. Unaffected by the open wound, he snarled, staring off into the distance, where he saw a blurred figure rushing towards him.

  He tossed the knife aside. “Protect your master.”

  Natalie captors released their hold as more of the undead gathered, creating a barricade around her and Reinhard.

  The newcomer came to a halt several feet away from the blockade revealing himself to be a teenage African American boy.

  With a devilish smile, the boy clenched a katana with both hands.

  “So, you’re the creepy old man who’s been going around abducting young girls.”

  “And you must be the little bastard who’s been causing me trouble,” Reinhard retorted.

  “Bastard, yeah, maybe...but bruh I’m definitely not little.”

  The professor rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Kill him.”

  Before any of the creatures could make a move, the boy dashed towards the barricade. He swung his sword diagonally twice from left to right in an X formation allowing the blade to slice through a few creatures, forging a path through the blockade.

  He made a beeline towards the man in the lab-coat. However, the creatures quickly jumped at him like savage wolves. He slashed his sword through two of the ghoul’s shoulders. Before another could attack him, he jammed the blade into a monster’s leg flipping it onto his back, pulled the sword free and then impaled its chest.

  The undead creatures began to retreat away from the boy, hissing warnings.

  “Cowards!” Reinhard screamed. “Fine, I’ll deal with him myself.”

  He glared at the boy as he pulled his sword free from his last victim.

  And they locked eyes as the rain gradually stopped flowing.

  “Do you know who I am, boy?”

  “Dead!”

  Reinhard watched as the young teen charged him. Once in striking range, he swiped his sword at Reinhard who easily dodged, he retaliated by thrusting his fist forward landing a powerful blow to the kids face. The force of the hit sent the teenager stumbling backward.

  “In the depths of hell, I’m known as-” he was briskly interrupted.

  “No-one gives a damn bruh,” the boy shouted. “So shut the hell up.”

  Reinhard released a primitive roar.

  “Are you going to show your true face?” the boy taunted.

  With that, Reinhard trembled as the sound of his bones snapping and relocating echoed. His lean physique melted and morphed into an eight feet tall, gray skin ghoulish creature. His black eyes leered towards Natalie.

  She screamed.

  “We shall continue our fun momentarily,” he said through rolls of sharp teeth. �
�As for the rest of you, make sure she doesn’t escape.”

  His undead minions moaned their acknowledgment as they surrounded the girl.

  The boy dashed towards the man with his sword in a slashing position. Once in proximity, he released a barrage of swings, but like before, the demon was able to evade every strike. Nonetheless, the boy kept on him giving him no time to retaliate.

  The Demon waited till he had a clear opening and dealt a backhand punch. The strength flung the boy through the air until his somersaulting body slammed against the earth.

  Reinhard laughed as the boy rose to his feet. But his amusement dropped when a platinum necklace around the boy’s neck came into view. Attached to the necklace was a small ebony sphere.

  “That’s a carcerem orbis.” He eyed the jewelry’s faint lavender glow. “...But to which world?”

  The boy thrust his sword, blade first into the earth and held out his hand as if awaiting a handshake.

  Puzzled Reinhard watched a platinum pistol resembling a desert eagle with side-by-side barrels materialize from black smoke into the boy’s grasp. The inward and outward-facing slides of the weapon along with the grip were engraved in black runic artwork and symbols.

  “Your mortal tools can’t kill me,” Reinhard screamed as he stretched out his arms.

  “I guess you’ve never heard of Jezebel?” the boy said as he opened fire. “Like karma... she’s a bitch.”

  The rounds ripped through the demon’s flesh until the magazine was empty. He wasted little time to reload and take aim again. “You should have dodged.”

  Blood seeping through his bullet lesions, the demon stumbled forward. “What kind of weapon is that?”

  “Jezebel has the ability to kill anyone...or anything.” He smiled triumphantly. “Do you remember a woman by the name of Anastasia Ramsey?”

  “Do you mean...?” Reinhard choked out.

  Before he could finish, a barrage of projectiles slammed into his skull until brain fragments and other debris mixed with bodily fluids exploded everywhere. The defunct body fell backward to the earth with a heavy thud. One by one the undead creatures released a shrivel cry as if to mourn their master’s death, and then burst into clouds of black smoke filling the surrounding area with the smell of sulfur before fading out of existence. The teenager put away his weapon and turned his attention towards Natalie. For a moment he stared at her trembling body. Then removing his hoodie, he said, “you’re safe now.”

  He handed her the piece of clothing. Shivering, the girl accepted the jacket.

  “I’m guessing you’re a college student,” he said.

  The girl nodded timidly before slipping on the hoodie.

  “Those things kidnapped me on my way home from club Nocte.”

  “I know...” he paused fora moment, an apologetic expression on his face. “I followed you guys here...but I couldn’t intervene until I could figure out who their master was.”

  She eyed the boy, as he walked over to the dead body.

  “This freak is a demon who likes to steal the souls from girls like you.”

  Still shivering she gave him a blank stare. “He’s one of my college professors.”

  The boy laughed. “You were probably on his radar from day one.” He paused to see if he had the girl’s full attention. “Then he sent his brainless spawn to snatch you up.” The boy took off his necklace and hovered it over his latest victim. “This is a carcerem orbis. It captures the essence of a dying demon before it escapes, acting as a holding cell of sorts.”

  He mumbled a few words in a language Natalie didn’t know the origin of. The color of the ebony orb shifted from black to crimson in a mixture of swirls. Next, the body desiccated, right as a stream of dark gray light shot from the decaying demon and into the orb. The entire necklace glowed red emitting a whirring sound. The anomaly soon ended, and the necklace returned to its original state while the body crumbled to a pile of dust.

  “You should probably forget everything you’ve seen tonight.” He stood while hanging the necklace around his neck once again.

  “If you want, I can walk you home,” the boy turned to face Natalie.

  “You can’t be any older than fourteen,” she said quizzically.

  “Yeah, but this fourteen-year-old just saved your ass,” he retorted.

  She grew silent. “...What’s your name?”

  The boy flashed a mischievous smile. “Dominic Ashwood, the grandson of Lucifer Morningstar.”

  Chapter-Two

  Hayden Ashwood wiped the sweat from his eyes with the back of his hands, ignoring the sting from the briny droplets. The Carolina air still smelled of last night’s heavy rain.

  He continued to move with stealth, slipping between the tall trunks of trees using them for cover. The early morning sun cut through the canopy of the leaves in periodic fusillade reminding him of its scorching presence. The rays blinded him for a second and then disappeared behind the covering of tree’s leaves, but he felt a little relief when a cool breeze tousled his shoulder length tawny hair, as if to signal summer was ending. In fact, today marked the end of his summer vacation and the day he started his high school career as a freshman.

  He shook his head.

  I can’t afford any distractions right now. She’s far too dangerous for anything less than total concentration.

  As he traversed the sounds of the active forest, critters roamed around him.

  He frowned and whispered. “What are you planning?”

  As if on cue another breeze whistled by and seemed to carry away the forest spirited activity, leaving Hayden in complete silence. He halted; his breathing stilled to almost nothing. Something was wrong. It was too quiet. Overhead he could hear distant thunderclaps. It would be barely heard by the untrained ear; the rumbling was getting louder. He stared about the forest quizzically.

  No. I can’t panic now!

  This is exactly what she wants me to do!

  I refuse to give into her head games!

  She won’t win. Not this time!

  He pushed the anxiety and allowed his combat training instincts to take over.

  A single green streak of lightning bolted from the heaven, blasted through the forest canopy and struck the earth inches away from Hayden. The impact caused an explosion sending him flying into the air like a rag doll. Groggy at first, it didn’t take him long to regain his wits. While still airborne, Hayden somersaulted himself backward and grounded himself a few yards away from the explosion. Not long after, the wildlife within the woodlands sprung back to life in an angry uproar. Waiting on his hands and knees Hayden narrowed his eyes and listened to his surroundings. He tuned out the animal’s clatter, the showering gravel and muck, searching through the falling debris for his opponent’s next move.

  Green lightning? He thought to himself. His eyes widened

  T-That was summoning lightning...when did she learn...no! What did she summon?

  Before his mind could register his thoughts, the timberland became dead silent once again. There, he waited in stillness for what felt like an eternity.

  Then it came.

  A heavy low growl materialized from the abyss caused by the lightning. Massive aqua blue claw-like hands reached out and clutched either side, pulling through the beast beneath. The sawdust cleared and the debris stopped falling. The creature came into sight, first its head, then its shoulders rose from the forest floor until it stood towering over Hayden. It roared once, shaking off chunks of clay and grass, allowing the rubble to fall from its cumbersome body. Hayden took a few steps back in awe at his opponent’s size. It stood at least fifteen feet tall and had the body of a T-Rex forged with a fusion of water, rocks, roots and grass. Water ran through the nooks and cracks of the creature’s body and empty eyes sockets.

  “You summoned a freaking dragon!” Hayden shouted. He glared up at a female, roughly around the same age as him, standing on top of the beast’s head. “You really outdid yourself with this one...but maybe you overdid
it?” Hayden gestured towards the girl’s nose.

  She giggled wiping away a small stream of blood. “A small price I’m willing to pay,” she said sweetly.

  However, her happy-go-lucky demeanor thawed, and a devilish smile spread across her face. “Go get’em boy.”

  Her delightful laughter echoed as she launched herself backward from the dragon’s head. She landed several feet behind the open crater and opposite of Hayden. She blew him a kiss then ran off.

  Right as he was about to give chase; a massive tail encased in rock batted towards him.

  He tumbled to the left and came to a rolling stop. The tail slammed into the earth where he had been a split second ago, leaving behind a massive dent in the earth. With little time to recover, an additional onslaught came. Hayden threw himself upwards seeing the creature’s tail whistle by, inches below his feet.

  “Too easy!” he screamed.

  As if he was being punished for his smugness, the creature’s tail smashed into him. On impact, he was swatted into the forest trees. Demolishing them like clay dirt, his body didn’t halt until he ricocheted from a gigantic tree standing in the center of a clearing. Hayden face planted. Not wanting to move, he tried to ignore the world of hurt he was in.

  However, he couldn’t shake the sound of thunder, in fact the ground was quaking underneath him. The dragon rushed towards him, swiping trees aside with its tail, roaring and blowing steam from its nostrils.

  “Crap,” Hayden shouted as he sluggishly got to his feet.

  He reached behind his back and upholstered a ten-shot cylinder revolver with an over and under barrel. The stylized grips twisted into sharp points, and like the double barrels, they were engraved with runic symbols on either side.

  “I didn’t want to resort to using you, Delilah.”

  He took aim at the oncoming dragon.

  With both hands on the grip and his finger on the trigger, Hayden felt the wind around him beginning to pick up and sift through his hair in its passing. Energy coursed through his veins from numerous sources. Then he channeled the power to his hands and transferred it into his weapon. Delilah began to hum producing black mist.