GRAVICTA

CHAPTER 43.

Zed falls to the ground and Mrs Purplestorm uses her magic to bring him closer to us, taking him inside the barrier and starts healing him.

"Do you know how long it took me to bring out those demons?" Decklan shouts and Zed laughs weakly.

"No, I don't. I'm just too strong to know that dear brother," Zed says, smirking.

"Filn come here with those two and cover us with a barrier too. I need time to be able to control this thing," Decklan says.

"We need to stop him before he regains full control." Zed tries to sit up but Mrs Purplestorm holds him down.

"You need to calm down. You should know that you can't win like this. Even if he's not able to bring hundreds of demons like before, he still can bring plenty," she says and Zed lays back down.

"Since I have some time to spare, why don't I tell you all some stories," Decklan says, smiling and holding the Trident with both hands.

"Just shut up already." Zed groans.

"You see Filn over here? Let me tell you how she got the ability to use magic even without being a Priestess and how I upgraded her," Decklan says, ignoring Zed.

"Upgraded her? What do you mean by that?" I ask and Filn laughs crazily.

"Someone's interested. Well from the beginning then. The woman over there healing Zed was the one who gave Filn the ability to use magic. Yes, I mean Mrs Purplestorm," Decklan says and closes his eyes, trying to concentrate.

"Yes, I used a spell to give her power. I trusted her," Mrs Purplestorm admits.

"But you see, I upgraded that power. It was really easy and I'm sure you're quite familiar with the process Mrs Purplestorm. All I had to do was scratch out a little particle from the Trident and she swallowed it," Decklan says.

Mrs Purplestorm's eyes widen and her jaw drops. "How did you know about that?"

"Oh, come on now, I know a lot of things." Decklan smirks even with his eyes still closed.

She remains quiet as she just continues to heal Zed. Something feels off. She's slow healing him. I don't know if she's already out of strength or if the barrier is taking too much energy. As for me, I'm getting drained from the huge barrier I'm using to protect the City.

"What I did for Filn is exactly what Mrs Purplestorm used to tap her magic from hell. That's what made her the first Forgotten," Decklan says.

"You ate a bit of the Trident?" Zed asks her and she nods.

"It doesn't matter now. I did what I did out of anger and sadness but that's in the past now," she says, closing her eyes.

"Yes yes. Since she was the Priestess, her body was able to handle it but Filn is a different story. Her body couldn't handle it," Decklan says and Filn laughs again, this time louder than before.

"What's wrong with her?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"She ran mad. The only good thing about it is that she's loyal to me. She's like my puppet, my tool, my Priestess." Decklan grins.

"Priestesses are not tools," Zed says and sits up, finally healed.

"Well mine is," Decklan replies. "Now another story?"

"Nah, I'm good. Let me out of here so I can end this nonsense," Zed says but Mrs Purplestorm still refuses.

"You're going to love this story Zed. It's about your mother." Decklan smiles wickedly.

Mrs Purplestorm inhales sharply but remains calm. I offer a smile, telling her that it's okay. Zed has a right to know the truth about his real mom and if Decklan wants to spill, let him.

"Do not talk trash about my mom. You don't know anything Decklan," Zed says angrily, hitting the barrier in an attempt to break it. "Let me out."

"I told you before Zed, it's you who knows nothing. You're too naive to figure it out. How can you not see that your mother is alive and well?" Decklan says and Zed's angry hits against the barrier stops.

"Huh?" Zed cocks his head sideways.

"I messed with the letters you read at the late King's library. I am not your brother Zed but truly Mrs Purplestorm and King Lucifer had a son. In fact, that boy was and still is the late King's only child," Decklan explains and laughs.

"Are you going mad too?" Zed simply asks, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'll leave you to answer that question after you've acknowledged your real mom, Mrs Purplestorm." Decklan stops smiling, eyes shut tightly.

"What the hell is he saying?" Zed looks at Mrs Purplestorm.

"Zed calm down," I say and his eyes widen as reality hits him.

"You're telling me that this is true? And you knew about it all along?" Zed laughs, throwing his head backwards.

"I only just found out a couple of minutes before Decklan came here. You need to calm down and listen to her," I say but he doesn't stop laughing until tears start coming out of his eyes.

Then, he starts crying. "How could you? How could you keep this away from me?"

I am about to reply but Mrs Purplestorm stops me. Only then did I understand that he was talking to her and not me.

"I'm so sorry. I only did so because I was scared you wouldn't accept me. Your father loved Annie, my best friend but I still did such a horrible thing and when I saw his reaction, I didn't know what to do. And then you came along and I had to surrender you to him and even make your hair white. Your father forgave me but he couldn't accept me any longer so I became scared that I'll lose you too Zed."

Mrs Purplestorm's eyes are already red by the time she finishes. Zed stares long at her, watching her cry helplessly before slowly taking her into his arms and hugging her.

"I haven't forgiven you yet but let's talk about this after we're done with beating Decklan," Zed says calmly and Mrs Purplestorm nods, tears still falling from her eyes.

"That's good but can someone explain how he's able to control the Trident since he's not related to the late King by blood?" I say.

"It happened on the night of the zero moon. Decklan was the first person to hold the Trident and shout and that doesn't end it. He also held the Trident together with Zed and stopped the demons. That gave him some authority," Mrs Purplestorm explains.

"Oh shit," Zed says and shakes his head. "So, I caused this."

"What do we do now?" I ask and she smiles.

"Okay enough of the family reunion. Let's get the show started," Decklan says, opening his eyes.

"He's ready," I say, fear gripping me.

"And so are we," Mrs Purplestorm says and lifts her left hand up. "Eva get that Trident once I release this barrier."

I nod and lift my right hand. Zed balls his fists, waiting for the moment.

"Filn release this barrier," Decklan says and Filn obeys.

Immediately the barrier is out, Mrs Purplestorm says something and I see Puffer and Buttertooth behind Filn. They knock her out and grab the two hostages then Mrs Purplestorm switches over to her right hand and immediately places a barrier on the four.

"You made them invisible! How long have you been planning this you witch?" Decklan shouts and Mrs Purplestorm laughs.

"Yes!" I shout and Zed smiles.