Children of the Clergy

Season 2 | Episode 10 | Point of no return

Secondo glared at Seren as she paced back and forth, desperately trying to wrack her brain for the information she was searching for. "Would you just stop pacing and admit what you are doing to him?"

Seren clenched her jaw and stopped for a moment before swiftly resuming her movement. The motion seemed to better allow her to access the depths of her mind and retrieve anything she'd forgotten.

She grumbled to herself again. The information was on the tip of her tounge and she just needed something, a word or an image maybe, to just flip the switch and remind her.

Secondo sighed. "Fine. If you will not admit it, just follow me back to your room. Before you infect anyone else with your magics."

Infect?

It all suddenly came back to her and she stopped dead in her tracks. "It's a disease!"

Secondo narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

"Water ghouls are able to contract a self-made disease that infects their nervous system and then their minds. It kills and then corrupts them and it has five recognizable stages..." Seren paused. "How long has this been going on for?"

Secondo shuddered, glancing over at the hysteric ghoul that had now started to rub himself against a brocken screw in one of the cage's bars. A small spike of metal was sticking up out of it and he was repeatedly slicing into his skin with it to create thin tares and cuts in his flesh. He was currently working at his cheek with it, still screeching and writhing about. "Do you have a book on this disease?"

Seren nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, there's a page on it in a book in the library. But..."

"But what?" Secondo questioned.

Seren turned her gaze down for a moment. "But I don't remember if it mentions a cure."

Secondo frowned, getting noticeably more nervous. He seemed to ponder on something before meeting his gaze again. "What is this book called?"

Seren thought for a moment. "Ghoulish Diseases by Maskov Vail."

Secondo nodded, memorizing the title and author. "Okay. Follow me then." He turned to the door and Seren followed along behind him.

"Wait!" Secondo interrupted, holding out an arm to stop her. He turned back and glanced at Water before striding over to his desk and rustling through one of the draws. Seconds later, he pulled out a small hand gun and shot the screeching kit in the neck.

Seren screamed with the suddenness of it, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the small dart in Water's neck and realized that Secondo had only put the ghoul to sleep and not just killed him.

He shoved the gun back into the draw and strolled over again, opening the door and leading Seren out.

They walked together out of the Quarters and continued on down the maze of corridors. For once, the siblings weren't giving her dirty looks, although that was most likely due to who she was walking with. Seren noticed it and glanced up at Secondo a few times, wondering why.

"After the incident with the Ether and my rumored manic episodes because of its added power, the siblings and sometimes other higher Clergy members have been extra sure not to piss me off in fear that I will will a break in their necks into existence or some other ridiculous thing." Secondo explained.

Seren tilted her head, confused for a moment as to how he'd know what she was thinking before suddenly wanting to kick herself in the leg when she remembered and realized how stupid she was for forgetting.

Secondo chuckled to himself and she mentally kicked herself in the leg again when she realized that he'd just heard her call herself stupid. "Oh, get out of my head, would you?" She joked.