Wrathful Inheritance

A God's thunderous roar vibrated through the tiny village. Dark black and grey clouds began to form over the mountain, and extreme blue and electric white flashes tore through the clouds. Before the villagers knew it, the storm was over their heads. The God was furious. His madness had taken over, and nothing appeased him anymore.

Donatus, the village seer, grabbed his young protégé and grandson by the arm, dragging him into the village bathroom.

"Quick, Lucius! You must hide. Go into the bathtub!"

Lucius did all he could to fight back and hold off his grandfather. He may have been young, but he was strong, and he did not plan on letting the old man leave on his own.

"I must go with you! I am just as strong. I can help, please, Grandpa!"

Lucius did all he could, kicking, biting, and shaking. He knew what his grandfather had to do, and he did not want him to leave. He did not want to lose the only person left in his life who truly loved him and should be there to raise him into a man.

"No, Lucius, do as I say, please! Stop fighting!"

Donatus raised his hand and struck Lucius across the face. The boy stopped, stunned by what had happened. Donatus had never slapped Lucius before. He had always behaved, and Donatus had never laid a hand on him. Lucius stood still, taking in the stinging pain in his cheek.

A sudden electric burst ripped through the top of the roof, and the windows began to bang violently. There was fear all over his face. Donatus knelt down in front of the boy, placing his hands on his cheeks and staring into his puffy, red, olive-green eyes.

"Lucius, please relax and understand that right now it is my duty to protect these people." Lucius could hear the fear in his grandfather’s voice. "I cannot afford to lose you too, boy. Do you understand? I need you to live. I need you to stay alive."

His grandfather reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a very old notebook.

"Take this, Lucius, and protect it with your life. Hold it close to you. As long as you have this, I will always find you. I will always be close to you."

Lucius grabbed the book from his hands and held it tight to his body. Donatus grabbed the young man's head, leaned forward, kissed him, and embraced the boy in his arms. Donatus stood and led Lucius into the bathtub. The young seer watched his grandfather disappear through the door.

The storm grew larger and louder. The God's wrath became stronger, growing more out of control by the minute. Hail the size of golf balls burst through the windows. Lucius took cover within the bathtub, covering his head from the shards of broken glass that flew everywhere. The roof began falling apart. Plaster and wood fell from above, and the house was barely holding itself together against the storm. It began to fall apart, unable to handle the immense pressure and energy the God released. It fed the nightmare over him.

All Lucius could do was hold his mentor's book tight to his chest and pray he would not be buried alive. He prayed to all: all the gods, his ancestors, and his grandfather. He could only hope his grandfather could stop the Storm God's wrath from destroying their home.

The wind's assault grew more violent. The force pushed against the home, and the roof began to collapse from the pressure. Lucius felt the floor beneath the tub beginning to give way. In an instant, one half of the tub burst through the floor. Lucius's heart skipped a beat, and he began screaming and wailing in fear. His prayers grew louder. Lucius gripped the corners of the tub tightly, preparing for the inevitable.

The bottom completely caved in, and the tub fell through the floor. For that moment, Lucius believed there was no escape. He gripped as hard as he could. For a moment, he felt as if he were levitating over the tub, a brief separation between him and the ceramic floor, before it crashed into the bedroom below. His body reconnected with the tub, and he cried loudly as his hips, ribs, and head took the full brunt of the fall. In that one moment, the sharp pain in his head left the boy confused and dazed.

As Lucius snapped out of it and peered up, he saw that the roof had almost completely collapsed. The sky was visible, filled with dark grey and black clouds. A sudden loud explosion and blinding electric light appeared from above before striking the ground beside him. The intense wave of electric energy rocked through his body. All he could do was continue praying louder and harder. With tears streaming down his face, he thanked his ancestors and gods for all he had in life, apologising for the wrongs he had done.

He closed his eyes tight and squeezed himself into a tiny ball in the tub, his grandfather's book lying beneath his feet. He felt pieces of his family’s home collapse all around him. The lightning and hail continued to pour down on him. A loud snap from above caught his attention. He turned and watched as a large wooden beam, held almost by nothing, rocked back and forth in the wind. He stared up and watched as a single bolt broke out from the clouds in a sudden flash of blue light, striking the beam.

The beam came hurtling straight through the home. He watched as it fell in his direction. He watched it happen in slow motion. He believed, in that moment, that he had no time left. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate. He was the last line of his family’s succession of medicine men, prophets, and seers.

As he lay there, imagining everything he was grateful for in his life, he felt hands grip him from all directions. His body was thrown out of the tub, and he landed hard on the floor. He turned. The wooden beam had struck the tub, crushing it into multiple pieces. He looked around to see what, or who, had saved his life.

His jaw almost fell open.

His grandfather stood in front of him.

He was stunned and confused as to how his grandfather had appeared just in time from his journey. The old man reached out his hand. Lucius stared for a moment, stunned by how this was even possible. He grabbed his grandfather’s wrinkled, thin arms and came to his feet.

As he stood and faced his grandfather, he realized that the violent wind, dark storm clouds, and hail had stopped. Turning to his grandfather with a wide smile, he attempted to grip him by the waist and hold tight. However, he could not.

His grandfather did not speak. Instead, he smiled at the young Lucius.

It dawned on Lucius what was happening. Just behind his grandfather, he saw a group of people standing there. Some he recognised, and others he had never seen before. It was then that he realized what had happened and what was about to happen. His eyes began to fill with tears, his face and cheeks losing all colour as he stared at his grandfather’s soul.

"I am not ready to do this without you!"

The words barely came out of his mouth. An overwhelming sense of fear and confusion began to take over. The tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Who is going to help me navigate all this? Please don't go!"

He had no idea how he was going to take on his grandfather’s role in the village. He watched as his grandfather headed toward the rubble that lay all over the bedroom. Donatus leaned down over the smashed bathtub and pulled out the book Lucius was meant to protect. He looked at the book for a moment and made his way to the young man, the book in hand.

It was filled with centuries of powerful spells, potions, and incantations for all manners of illnesses, problems, and curses. Donatus placed the book onto the boy’s chest. As Lucius grabbed it, a sudden jolt of energy passed through his body and knocked him to the ground, landing him on his back and knocking him out.

When Lucius came to, he woke up in an empty home. His grandfather’s spirit was nowhere to be found. He began to wail, begging that his grandfather would return and that all of this was just some kind of mystical test. But deep down, he knew this was real. It felt too real.

His fears grew, but a slow-burning contempt and anger began to stir within him. He would avenge his grandfather. He would one day show the gods what he was truly capable of.