The nightmare lingered like a rotten aftertaste looming in the breath of Zun’s subconsciousness. When she had regained her touch of reality, her vision, still lagging from the sleep, slowly registered the faces of the Angel officers surrounding her.

  “W-what happened?” Zun responded anxiously, her hand rushing to rub the last bit of drowsiness out of her eyes.

  “Are you okay? We have been trying to wake you up, but you seem to be in a deep sleep.” Hue raced to ask.

  “Huh? No, not really, I was dreaming…”

  “Anyway, I need to tell you that Captain Koi has run away—”

  “Hold on, Hue, we are still not sure if that’s called ‘running away’!” Another Angel interjected his thoughts, deliberately stressing the last part as if weighing on the level of accountability that comes with such a bold claim.

  “What do you mean 'not sure'? The evidence is right in front of us! He destroyed the wall and fled! Why would he do that if he is not running away!”

  “Then what is he running away from, seriously?”

  “I don’t know, maybe his responsibility?!”

  “What do you mean by that?” Zun questioned innocently.

  “Captain disappeared after he talked with Director Kaw! He hasn’t even told us what they had discussed and just-” Hue clicked his tongue, “I don’t want to repeat anymore!”

  The other Angel filled in hurriedly, reflecting Hue’s unease. “We are here to see you in case Captain comes to find you. We don’t know what he is planning. This is giving us anxiety!”

  Zun felt a push to come up with a solution; the air of restlessness gave her stomach a bad knot. “Have you asked my mom?”

  “We did call Lily, but she said she didn't know. He didn’t pick up her call and has not gone back home since the mission.”

  “Mom must be worried.”

  “We have sent a few exorcists to her place, hoping we can get some more clues.”

  Hue turned around to face the other Angels. “Let’s go, guys. Time to do some more extensive search.”

  As if hit by a bolt of lightning, Zun quickly shouted. “House of Glory! Could he be there? That’s one of his favourite places in town. He always goes there to clear his mind and energy from negative energy.”

  A look of surprise quickly rippled across the group of Angels. Hue stopped midway, eyes blinking with a held-back curiosity. “Really? Captain Koi goes to the House of Glory?!”

  Zun returned them a perplexed look. “Yeah…none of you know? The House is like his sanctuary. He always goes there when he’s stressed.”

  “What?!”

  “Maybe you are right! Maybe he’s just stressed out or something. Should we just wait for him?” The other Angel took the chance to rationalise his suggestion, but it was met with another rejection.

  “Absolutely not!” Hue spread out his arms in a waving motion, palm wide open as if tense. “We need to go to the House of Glory right now to see for ourselves. If it’s not a big problem, it won’t hurt us anyway.”

  “But if we go there in a big group for something that’s not an issue, Captain Koi gonna roast us. We’ve already sent a few Angels around the town. Sooner or later, people are going to suspect something’s wrong.”

  “I mean…we could go there in a group of four? How’s that sound? Some of us could stay here and wait for the news.”

  The Angels nodded in union; it’s now time for action.

  As the group was preparing to leave, Zun spoke again. “Wait! Are you also a survival from the mission against King Cobra?”

  Hue felt a quick sting; Zun had been with him during the fight. Though he couldn’t understand how she survived her brutal injuries and remained physically intact, he was left scarred for life. Yet, this didn’t make him feel any less grateful. Afterall, they were the only survivors alongside Captain Koi.

  “Y-yeah, I was lucky even though I took a fatal hit. The medical Angels and hospital nurses were incredible. My recovery was smooth and fast, thanks to all. It was a miracle.”

  “I see…maybe you are protected.”

  The words seemed to have brought a rare moment of comfort for him. Hue cleared his throat in pretence to shake off his emotions. “Zun, listen. I know the captain keeps you here because you were found to be engaged with a demon, who is now potentially dead. I am sorry you have to stay here for the time being, but if you need anything, please do let the guard know.”

  “I want to call mom.”

  “...”

  “I want to know how she’s doing…”

  “Zun, she’s doing fine.”

  “I miss her…please. She must be so lonely right now.”

  Hue noticed a discreet shiver lacing her intentionally pressed voice. Everything about her felt diminished, as though her presence had retreated into her own shelf. For some reason, he had a tingling sense that she didn’t want them to leave.

  “Sorry, Zun, but the captain said to limit your outside contact as much as possible. As we’re still not sure what’s happening, we can’t defy his order. Please do use this time to relax and recover. I can assure you that you will be safe here.”

  Hue couldn’t tell if these words were effective in making her any less anxious, but he decided to take her silence as a yes and left with the group of Angels in a hurry.

  As the cell door closed, Zun found herself stuck in the shadow of her own thoughts. Silence thickened, and almost immediately the nightmare rewound in her mind like the playback of a broken episode.

  “Don’t leave me alone…please…” She found herself whispering.

  The kid with the barbed wire ring around his neck flashed in front of her eyes before dissolving into the image of the silver-haired demon. Both of them were too familiar to be strangers to her.

  This lucid nightmare had planted a seed of suspicion in her. Something that hinted at the coincidence of past events and forgotten words spoken. Fear claimed her mind, and the chain of realisation came with a sinking feeling.

  No…no…why does it have to be this way…

  Subtly, their images circled her, like vultures eyeing their dying prey.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  At the House of Glory

  The House of Glory lay shrouded in an atypical silence today; there was no sign of visitors or teachers along the open-air corridor and the exterior compound. Even the afternoon prayer session that normally filled this hour was strangely muted, as though everything was drawn under the orchestration of a uniform imposed stillness.

  Hue and the group of Angels made their way around the water lily pond; their hurried movement stirred a slight breeze in the air, bringing the wind chimes to life. Yet, the tingling sound that was meant to instil peace left an eerie echo, most noticeable to the weary hearts.

  “Something feels wrong here.” The Angels exchanged curious glances and barged into the temple without much hesitation.

  For a moment, their minds were eased. The main hall bustled with teachers scattered about like the preparation for a busy ceremony. Yet when the teachers turned and met the Angels’ gazes, they were with a look of dismay.

  “Dear Angels, you arrive just in time.”

  “Is everything ok, Teacher? What happened?” Hue asked eagerly.

  “Our Head Teacher was abducted.”

  “WHAT?! You mean the Oracle?!”

  “Yes”

  The news bore down on the Angels like a cascading wave. “When- how did that happen?!”

  “Please come with us to the main prayer room upstairs, where our Head Teacher was last seen.”

  The minutes that followed were almost torturous to Hue. Every footstep taken was like a race against his heartbeat.

  Facing the staircase was a large double-wing door, guarded by a small group of teachers, all wearing a look of unease.

  “This is the prayer room. Please, Angels…” The teacher urged them forward with a shivery motion of his hand.

  As soon as the door opened, a scene akin to a post-battle ruin lay bare before their eyes. There was a gaping hole in the wall behind the meditation cushion, where the Oracle was supposedly sitting. Signs of struggles ravaged every corner, with long splashes of ink tainting the wall, scrolls of paper spreading randomly about like torn pieces of carpet layered upon one another, and chunks of what seemed like a broken rosewood prayer table.

  “This—” An angel gasped at the scene and turned to look at Hue, who was frozen in his spot, unable to blink.

  “When we were preparing for the start of the afternoon prayer, we heard a loud noise coming from the main prayer room. I went to check what happened and noticed the Head Teacher had disappeared.” One of the teachers walked in from the door. He had a long white beard that gathered at the tips like a paint brush; his voice - a low humming note.

  Hue took a closer inspection of the damage on the wall before turning to face the teacher. “I think I know who did this. The reason we are here is that our captain has disappeared. No…, more precisely, he has run away. We thought he might be at the House of Glory, but it seems like we are late.”

  “You are saying that your captain is the one who did this and took our Head Teacher away?”

  “B-but we are still not sure why he did that. This doesn’t mean he is acting out of bad intentions.” Another Angel jumped in.

  “He most definitely IS!” Hue stressed. “Look at this mess! He has a personal motive that’s above everyone’s safety. That’s why he is always so cruel and self-righteous!”

  Everyone looked at Hue as if he had said something forbidden, but he pressed on in a voice matured with clarity.

  “Mrs Yang said her husband hated the exorcist. He said the Captain has issues. Teacher, please, let’s do a soul ritual. We need to connect with Mr Yang! He might know something!”

  “Wait, Hue! What does this have to do with the captain’s situation right now?! We should be prioritising finding the captain and ensuring the safety of the Oracle!! I don’t understand what you are trying to say!” The same exorcist voiced his concern.

  “Yes, this is very much relevant! Look, we don’t know the history of the organisation, but one thing for sure is that our captain is suspicious! Think about it! Why did Director Kaw talk to Captain Koi without any officers in the room? Why did Captain Koi disappear after that?! Mr Yang might know something about the Exorcist’s secret! There must be a deeper reason why he would avoid us, even at the cost of risking his own life. We need to talk to him!”

  “Talk to someone who is already dead, or rather, just find the captain ourselves and ask him directly?! Who knows what the captain is up to!! Do you have that little trust in your own captain? Where is your dignity as an Angel?”

  “My dignity doesn’t come from serving my captain! It comes from protecting the people —”

  “ENOUGH! I am sick of your senseless attitude, your useless order. Stop acting like a leader trying to order us around when you have no experience. You should know you survived only because you weren’t experienced enough to fight the demon head-on with Captain Koi or Lieutenant Chan. So stop acting like you are a hero of some sort. You are a mere survivor who just gets lucky!”

  Hue felt a rush of shame running up his spine and steaming his face. A part of him, who was trying to evade the shadow of that massacre, felt suddenly trapped within the palm of doubts that spared him no light of sympathy. This was a deliberate comment; an intentional attempt to remind him of his own failure.

  They are looking down on me because I am a survivor, a survivor who got defeated without even engaging in the main battle. They are looking down on me now that I look like this terrible mess!!

  The Angels started talking among themselves, leaving Hue invisible within his own thought. The teachers, though silent, kept their heads low, as if offering their condolences.

  “We will station some Angels here to guard the House and will alert the patrol team to look out for Captain Koi and the Oracle around the whole town. Don’t worry, teachers, we will promise the safety and security of every person involved.”

  The teachers returned them a hesitating nod. “Thank you, dear Angels. We are ready to offer any support we can.”

  By the time Hue had seized enough courage to look around, everyone was gone except the teacher with the white beard.

  “Young man, are you feeling better? The teachers have left just now to give you some quiet time.” His humming voice gently tread on Hue’s mended composure. “Why don’t you come and take a rest here?” Patting the seat beside him, he smiled at Hue warmly.

  “Sorry, I got carried away by my emotion.”

  “You need not apologise, young Angel. You didn’t hurt anyone. You were the one who was hurt. Here, have a cup of water and take some deep breaths.”

  “Thank you, Teacher. Your name is?”

  “You can call me Teacher Lay.”

  Hue nodded. The small interaction restored a stillness in his mind, as if being fed on short doses of sweetened clarity. He gulped the water down his throat and forced in a deep breath rather heavily, prompting a cough that made him lean forward. Alerted, he started speaking hurriedly.

  “Teacher Lay, you need to hear me! I thought of doing the ritual because I am sure Mr Yang is living through a soul trauma that repeats his family’s tragedy. I am sure of it!!! B-but I don’t know how to put words to it. I am still a junior afterall. You must think I am crazy.”

  “Let’s take things one step at a time. Who is this Mr Yang you are talking about, and why do you think he is having a soul trauma too great that causes repeated tragedy?”

  “Mr Yang is the father of the two children who were targeted by King Cobra in our last mission. His wife said he always dreamed of his children being taken away by the demon, and that did happen! This means it must be a trauma carried over from his last life!”

  Teacher Lay let out a low sigh, setting Hue on edge.

  “Repeated tragedy is quite a serious term. Such phenomena are extremely difficult to tell because life is interactive and dynamic, often influenced by more than one factor. Say, if whenever a person makes a friend, almost always they end in bad terms, would you call that a repeated tragedy or look more deeply into other factors like the environment and social setting? Although in the Lord’s scripture, he mentioned the likelihood of such phenomena for a deeply traumatic soul, we are always cautious to label any life coincidence as repeated tragedy due to the possibility of overlooking other natures of life and simplifying the matter.”

  Though it wasn’t a direct challenge to his thinking, Hue couldn’t help feeling dumb. “Yeah, I…I don’t always jump to conclusions, but I couldn’t help feeling strange. Anyway, hope you don’t mind me asking, Teacher Lay, but do you mean you don’t believe in the Lord’s teaching?”

  A pleasant smile ran across Teacher Lay’s face. “You are an inquisitive child. We practice the teaching mindfully and explore it through the lens of our own experience to understand the real meaning behind the words the Lord said.”

  This was a very evocative way of interpreting the teaching, Hue thought to himself. Perhaps, there was still a lot for him to learn. Perhaps, he would eventually find a meaning to his own interpretation; a reason why his intuition was telling him a different story.

  Teacher Lay sensed a softening of Hue’s agitation, accompanied by darting glances that were still eager for more answers. “I can still do a ritual for you if it can give you more peace.” Teasingly, he added, “ Since you are ousted by your friend, you have some time now, no?”

  Hue pouted his lips. “You're saying this right to my face for real. But I guess you are right, teacher. Since I have nothing to do, might as well do a ritual for Mr Yang’s soul to relieve him from his pain. Is it possible to bypass the elite demon’s authority to reach for the enslaved soul and set it free?”

  “I don’t mean that, though. It would be nearly impossible to perform such a ritual for Mr Yang right now, unless we defeat the elite demon first.”

  “Sorry, I should have known it. I was thinking it too easy.”

  “Don’t be discouraged too easily. I am suggesting a restoration ritual for you. Your energetic frequency is quite low right now, which might be due to stress and a weak physical state. We can clear your aura a bit; it will protect you from negative energy.”

  Hue looked up at the teacher. A gentle smile slowly returned to his face. “Oh…yes, that would be nice. Thank you, Teacher Lay.”