A Portrait of Tragedy (Chapter 4) Read online

of 6 horns, extended out along the creature’s collar bones. Each personal tone conveys a mental image, in the mind of Lace’s thoughts, of how the individual has suffered. The disturbance is aimed to diminish tenacity and insist retreat. But Lace’s angelic companions are trapped. They too were not intended to come here. If he departs now, they will be bound to this hellish plantation.

  Lace partitions his mind from the frightening influences, placing his wellbeing into the hands of his Lord. By releasing all cares, time halts, offering a personal moment to bond with his Savior. Rejuvenation is awarded, to encourage strong standing. Lace sees through eyes not of his own the weakness of his enemy, which further destroys the occupants as it maneuvers along the walls, anticipating another lunge at Lace. The eyeless head and body are fashioned to sway focus from the stem of the creature’s primary thought center. The beast recoils, and then sails with a flying strike. At the end of its serpent-like tail is a portion where its decisions process. There Lace swings the weapon’s sharp edge, after a calculated dodge, severing each demon’s ability to collectively function, thus defeating the creature. A spiritual veil over Lace’s eyes lifts and he deems the presence of his cohorts, gathered in ceremonial form. The Colonel’s demon hounds, leashed with collar and chain, are seated at the heels of Lace’s distinguished cohorts.

  Even with Lace’s fellow knights by his side, their travels to a neighboring estate in search of further clues are challenging. They ride on newly captured steeds (the demons acquired from the plantation, in new form, serving as transpiration, who suggested the search). The parties’ destination is but a waypoint, as details of the overall objective still need to be solved. Arriving at the property, Lace gathers resources to meet with the fancy scoundrel, said to have the sought-out locator. There is a sheet of music Lace finds that instructs further progress.

  Directed to an adjoining mansion, Lace hurries through a manor that is teeming with infected creatures, which Amadeus previously described. The challenge in navigating past these opponents is that there are no physical indicators to suggest these occupants are frenzied. They appear calm, well groomed, clothed in affluent wear, and astute to their focused task. But when they spot Lace, they become enraged, chasing down their prey in frantic pursuit.

  The blueprints and components for a “stickier” have been gathered from the previous mansion. A stickier is a device which emits an alluring agent, and captures the frenzied in a tarlike substance as they try to feast on and attack the expanding substance. In a secluded portion of the facilities (beyond the danger of those infected), Lace finds open kinship.

  He is invited to meet with a group of visitors gathered in a lavish greeting area, all of which sit on a set of couches arranged in a large square formation. The angelic guardians and pack of demons traveling with Lace occupy within the room’s portraits. Though the leisure hall is adequately lit, the ambiance is unwelcoming. Heavy curtains obstruct the dismal environment outside. During this private assembly a folded book page is passed to Lace.

  Our host, Lord Christian, warns of consequences if anyone present were to speak out of turn. One of the more rugged guests behaves in a timid manner, when he’s promptly corrected for his disobedience (shortly after the warning) and is the first to be sent away. “To the closet with you,” Christian firmly commands to Renegade, who’s spoken out of turn. The brute stands, flushed with scorned shame, and awkwardly enters the side closet.

  Witnessing the authority this lord directs compliments his character. But the brute prematurely emerges from solitary. Christian is flipping through an almanac, and tears a page.

  Expecting our host to be disappointed, curious guests find Christian’s calm demeanor intriguing, as Renegade returns with a grizzled approach. Lace slips away the given note.

  To the gathered audience Renegade explains the means for each device, within the large utility bag he’s toted out. Each instrument that the sinister man features has a twisted underlining purpose. Between explanations Lord Christian whispers to an insisting, strong male sitting alongside him, “Allow for 2 minutes” with the man anxious to confront Renegade.

  Barbaric plans fester within the brute’s perception. With instrument in hand he explains, “A rubber pulley, used to stop the flow of blood.” Renegade sets the part aside.

  One guest, sitting on the couch to Lace’s right, bears signs of trauma to the head. Leaning in to the veteran, Renegade convinces the man to remove his glass eye, and the false layer of skin masking his battered skull. The guests are petrified from piecing together the proposed potential each item threatens, surmounting feelings of helplessness. Their stomachs sink, seeing that the singled out man adheres candidly to Renegade’s blatant directions.

  Live coverage broadcasts the aftermath, involving Renegade’s epiphany. The hostages all celebrating, declaring their sense of liberation, dancing unclothed with broad circumferences of their flesh removed from around their chest and back portion, and also their hip to thigh area. As though freed from bodily censorship, they beam with joy in this mutilation, rejoicing under a manipulated sense of artistic independence.

  The folded paper is torn from a map, and directs Lace to a land of rural hillsides.

  There’s not much out here to see among the desolate countryside, in this newly arrived location of Kidron. The soil is black and muddy, the backdrop dismal. Lace and his band of angelic [desperados] have since relocated to a lone frontier cabin, hoping this is their last assignment. The angels resemble rough-edged ranch hands with unkempt features, clothed in early gold-rush-era outfits. Lace steps away from an involved discussion, as the roughnecks argue about who gets to tackle the next task. Unaware of the surmounting dangers involved, they can’t possibly comprehend what awaits those who will disembark.

  One of the desperados appears to be dimwitted, by his pronunciation of words, yet all listeners maintain respect. The dispute is settled with a throwing knife flung amongst the posse. Fixing into the wall, the two it lands closest to are the ones to ride out with the mediator.

  Hours pass with no sign of the departed few. A herd of nervous black cattle trot along the muddy roadside, coming from the direction where the cowboys made off in. One steer drags a cattle herder by his feet. The herder’s life wanes. Taken into the lodge and placed on the hardwood flooring, his fight for survival exhausts. Pulled from behind by another bull is a large, clear-coated package. The contents: flayed meat, butchered from those that have gone missing.

  A Border Collie runs into the rural lodge where Lace and his band of angels are posted, their horse demons tied up outside. With hazel eyes Collie stares, piercing into Lace’s soul. The angel, having adopted this canine form, needs not speak. Its thoughts broadcast, like silent sound waves, to those with whom the established connection is made. With this Lace learns…

  “The purveyor of angels, who has snatched the chosen three, is named Bell Tower. Your direction brings you here, to eyewitness the land where hundreds of our brethren have been harvested. Here their blood contaminates the soil. Those three who ventured out will forever weigh on your conscience, should you retreat. But there are others whose sacrifice stains not your mind. Free the captured hosts being used as Bell Tower’s core strength. There is a madman tinkerer, Dr. Haman Loucal, which assists this massive creation (built of earth) that rivals the force you faced when arriving in this era. Dr. Loucal is a gatherer of inventions, believing he can take a device and, by toying with it, make that creation better. The doctor holds your travel device, seeking to return it.”

  Collie, the canine angel, stares, awaiting response. Lace’s thoughts transfer, sharing his decision to survey this area further. The location is the worst Lace has ever seen. He stands, studying the sacrificial sight, atop the hill where the three desperados (along with many others) disappeared. A weight of evil bears down, threatening to press Lace into the muddy soil. Everything about this situation feels wrong. The angelic gangsters kee
p quiet (their attire has changed as each one has on a pinstriped suit, a dress hat, and polished dress shoes). They realize this path they are on has set them astray, and is the reason why their close brethren have lost their lives to this expedition.

  Lace wonders what his latest enemy’s weakness is. Collie answers “Be not worried on how you may defeat it. Focus your thoughts on things above, for this purveyor will use things of this world to gain the advantage. I will explain further as we progress.” Lace follows his guide’s lead, while the others remain at the secluded hideout.

  As the two make the lonely trek to the mountain of shadows, Collie shares further…

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