Post by DarkestofDays on Jun 15, 2005 16:56:16 GMT -5
The sun was only beginning to rise and the sands shimmered faintly, growing warm under the amassing heat. A few fleeting gusts of wind provided some relief from the coming warmth and the river water lapped up against the shoreline just outside the encampment.
“Okay Elijah, you pretend to be the Ishbalans and I’m gonna be the alchemists…” Chael said, chasing his younger brother around while Elijah screamed as though truly in danger. Finally he hid behind one of the emerald curtains, poking his head and looking at his brother fearfully.
“But I don’t want to be the Ishbalans again, I always die…” he whined, and Chael was right about to laugh at him when suddenly he was lightly struck upside the head. He turned around angrily but froze when he saw his father standing there.
“You shouldn’t play at being alchemists,” Scar said quietly, his expression stern. “It’s wrong…”
“But I heard that the Alchemists were the ones who killed a lot of the Ishbalans. Why did they do that daddy? Did we do something wrong?” Chael asked curiously, fiddling with a piece of string he had found lying around.
“No, son... alchemists are bad people who have turned away from Ishbalah to practice the Devil's Art, nothing good can come from it. We did nothing wrong,” he explained, taking the filthy piece of thread from Chael’s hands and gently patting his head. But Chael wasn’t satisfied with his answer as questions continued sprouting up in his head. Elijah crept out from behind the curtain and tugged playfully on his father’s pant leg, sucking his thumb and clinging protectively to his weathered angel doll.
“They aren't gonna come back are they daddy? I don't want them to kill me...” Elijah asked fearfully, disliking the serious tone Scar’s voice carried.
“I don't know if they will come back...but if they do...I would do anything to protect you and your brother and your mother,” Scar assured them, and Elijah seemed less afraid though he still clung tightly to his father. Scar ruffled Elijah’s long dark hair to try and calm him.
“Well I heard the alchemists had a stone thingy that gave them a lot of power,” Chael continued, attempting to demonstrate how he could do a somersault unsuccessfully. “And that that was what they used to kill the Ishbalans. But how did they get it daddy? Ishbalah didn’t give it to them…did He…?”
“Now now...” Scar said gently, attempting to halt his son’s suspicions and fears. “That's enough questions, why don't you go play with your brother?” he suggested, and Chael sighed and nodded, taking his brother’s hand and pulling him away from their father.
“Okay daddy…I just hope they don't have those stones anymore though, or else there might not be any of us left...” Chael said quietly as he led his little brother out the front door to play.
“So do I…” Scar murmured a bit worriedly as he watched they scamper to the outside. “So do I…”
“I think daddy's lying to us…” Chael said knowingly as they chased one another down the street, stumbling in the sand several times. In between laughter their serious conversation continued.
“I don't wanna know more bout the alchemists, they're scary,” Elijah said quietly, holding tightly to his angel doll and swinging it back and forth nervously, but Chael didn’t seem worried as he was.
“But we need to know so if they do come back we won't get killed like mommy and daddy's brothers did…” Chael replied, tossing some stones into the distance.
“But how do you know we won’t Chael?” Elijah asked fearfully, and Chael halted and then looked cautiously back and forth, up and down the street as though the walls indeed had ears.
“You have to promise not to tell daddy or mommy about this Elijah, but I think I found one of the stone thingies…” Chael whispered secretly, and Elijah looked both in awe and terrified.
“You mean the Phil-phi-the one that the alchemists had?” Elijah whispered back, even quieter than his brother.
“ Uh huh, I found it when I went to get water for mommy yesterday. It was buried in the sand and I kicked it up. It was all red and glowy and everything like those other kids said it was,” Chael said with a tinge of excitement in his voice, and Elijah looked more scared than mystified by this time.
“You have to give it to daddy or tell him!” Elijah shouted, but Chael slapped a hand over his mouth before he could continue.
“But I want to use it Elijah! Maybe I could kill the alchemists so they won't come back, or at least be able to protect you if they do…” Chael said softly, and Elijah only looked more and more afraid the more he spoke. Elijah reached up and pulled Chael’s hands off his face, still pouting angrily at his brother for doing something so disobedient.
Chael reached up and pulled the small, shimmering stone from out of the folds of his tunic. “See? It glows like magic is supposed to.”
Elijah yelped and backed away from it. “It’s scary! I don't want to use that!”
Chael looked at it without any fear however and tossed it up and down. “It isn't scary, it's full of that alchemy stuff I think.”
“Daddy told us alchemy is the work of the Devil,” Elijah whimpered.
“But if we use it against the Devil then it isn't evil,” Chael reasoned in reply. “You have to promise you won't tell Elijah…”
“But I don't like it and I don't wanna use it!” Elijah insisted profusely, stomping his small foot into the sand stubbornly.
Back at their home Scar suddenly sensed something was amiss, feeling an irritating sensation seizing at his tattooed arm as he paced around the house, the words of his sons still echoing in his head.
“Chael? Elijah?” Scar called out as he looked outside where he expected the boys to be playing. But the patch of desert blooms and glistening sand outside their home was empty and devoid of their presence. He stepped outside the room and looked both ways, thinking he would see them playing tag with one another.
But they were nowhere in sight.
“Let's just try it, I mean if it is powerful then maybe we should see if it could help,” Chael suggested, but Elijah shook his head back and forth.
“I don’t want to, it could hurt someone!” he half-shouted back, and Chael once again hushed his brother.
“The alchemists hurt us, so why shouldn't be able to do the same to them? I'll use their own bad powers against them and Ishbal can be rebuilt,” Chael proclaimed, the stone clenched tightly in his fist.
“But...what is the stone makes you evil too Chael, like the alchemists...?” Elijah barely got this out, his eyes welling up with tears of concern.
“You're just being a fraidy cat is all. This stone might not even be real, it hasn't done anything since I found it...” Chael said stubbornly, and just after he had mumbled this the stone suddenly began to act strange. It suddenly started to shine and grow darker, as though it were undergoing some sort of change. Both of the boys stared transfixed on it for a moment before the horror rushed in.
“Oh no…what's happening?” Elijah whimpered, backing away a bit further.
“I...I don't know!” Chael shouted frantically back, feeling an unfamiliar energy suddenly channeling up his arm and coursing into his body.
“Put it down Chael! It might hurt you!” Elijah shouted, looking terrified the stone would attempt to draw him to it as well.
“I...I can't! The weird energy stuff won't let me let go...!” Chael cried, his arm shaking and stiffening as the energy continued to surge into him in waves of excruciating pain.
Scar walked down the street with a brisk pace, his eyes looking back and forth so he wouldn’t overlook them. “Chael? Elijah? You both know you’re not to stray so far from home…” he called out, but there was no response from them.
He felt his worry suddenly climbing as he walked up and down the street without finding them, and finally halted in front of the house, hoping at any moment they would return home.
‘When they get back, they’re going to be in deep trouble for wandering off…’ he thought a bit angrily.
The sensation in his arm hadn’t stopped, and only continued to get stronger as he waited.
“Elijah...it hurts...I can't make it stop!” Chael shouted frantically, realizing he could no longer control his hand as it remained holding the stone tightly.
“I'll get daddy and he'll make it stop!” Elijah said, running down the street towards their home once again.
“Hurry...before it does something else!” Chael shouted, falling onto his knees and shaking fearfully.
Scar saw Elijah running towards the home. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried about…wait, where is Ch-?
“Daddy! Daddy!” Elijah shouted, interrupting his father as he finally reached him. “Daddy, Chael found one of those evil stones and it's hurting him!” he cried out frantically.
Scar looked horrified for a second and then managed to keep a clear head. “Let me to him!” he shouted, and the little boy scampered off down the street and onto the small pathway he and Chael and wandered earlier. They turned onto it and there was Chael, watching in both pain and wonder as objects around him became distorted and transformed by the energy surging from his hand and the stone clasped by it.
“Chael!” Scar shouted as he ran over to him, his older son looking up at him with renewed hope.
“Daddy!” Chael shouted as Scar reached him, prying open his hand and indeed finding a stone pressed against his tanned flesh. He reached down and snatched the stone away, absorbing it into his hand as his tattoo glimmered slightly with the crimson energy. He cringed in pain and backed away slowly from Chael.
“ Oh no, now it's hurting daddy!” Chael shouted frantically, and both he and Elijah ran over to their father. Scar pushed his sons away as he continued to reel in pain for a moment, his skin greedily absorbing the stone into itself.
“Daddy…?” Chael asked weakly as he slowly approached his father again.
“The bad stone…it’s gone…” Elijah immediately noticed.
Scar suddenly turned back towards Chael, his tone of voice both angry and afraid. “Where did you get that!?” he shouted.
“I found it, it was buried in the sand...by the river…” Chael said, attempting to look as innocent as possible. Scar took his son’s by both their wrists and began leading them home once again.
Elijah by this time was crying incessantly, having seen both his brother and father in pain. “You should have just given it to daddy Chael...!”
“You should listen to your brother, Chael. That was a stupid thing to do! Why didn't you tell me!?” Scar demanded of him, and Chael just shrugged as though it were a casual mistake, tracing one of his feet in the sand and hanging his head slightly.
“I...I didn't know it would do that! Suddenly it was glowing and it hurt so badly...” Chael said, looking at his arm once more but finding not a trace of injury on his skin anywhere.
“You…you said you were going to use it against the alchemists Chael, that you'd turn their evil powers against them...” Elijah said, and Chael stared daggers at him for a moment before he realized what big trouble he was suddenly in.
“Is this true, Chael?” Scar said, his tone deadly serious as he glared down at him.
“Well...I just...I just wanted to make sure they didn't come back daddy! And thought the stone could help...” he explained desperately, but Scar’s anger didn’t lessen with his explanation.
“Didn't I tell you alchemy was the work of the Devil!? Didn't I!?” Scar shouted, shaking Chael by the shoulders slightly as he began to cry gently. Nothing good can come of alchemy, you could have been killed! And worse, you would have forsaken the words of Ishbalah. Go to your room and pray for forgiveness. Now,” Scar said, roughly pushing Chael into the house and guiding a still shivering Elijah in as well.
“But...what happened to the stone daddy? It disappeared after you took it from me...” Chael asked with a confused tone.
“Chael…” Scar said warningly. “Room. Now.”
“But I saw your tattoo glow too when you grabbed it, and it was the same color as the stone...do…do you have a stone daddy…?” Chael asked quietly as Elijah shook and cried still.
“Chael, if you're not in your room by the count of ten...” Scar said impatiently. “One…”
“But that isn't fair!” Chael shouted in retaliation.
“Two…” Scar continued counting, getting angrier each second.
“I just wanted to help, won't Ishbalah understand if I used it to keep the alchemists away?” Chael asked.
“Alchemy is the Devil's Art. It turns people into monsters, even if they have good intentions. Ishbalah cannot hear monsters…” Scar said warningly still, and Chael suddenly looked more afraid than ever.
“But...but where was Ishbalah when the alchemists were here, why didn't He protect our people? If it is the Devil behind all this then why didn't He stop it? We're we monsters then and He couldn't hear us?” The questions that had plagued Chael’s mind earlier were suddenly resurfacing at this inopportune time.
“Ishbalah was testing our faith…” Scar replied, but again his answer did not help ease any of Chael’s relentless curiosity or confusion.
“But...but why? Hadn't we always been faithful to him? And you still haven't told me where the stone went! And why your tattoo was glowing!” His bafflement suddenly surged out of him, and Scar looked at a loss for a few seconds to answer him, finally sighing, a bit overwhelmed by all that had just happened, and answering him with a quiet tone.
“Ishbalah gave me the power to help stop the Devil with this tattoo,” he replied, and Chael and Elijah both stared now mesmerized at the markings for a moment before Chael kept talking.
“But...if it destroyed the stone...then isn't it evil too? It absorbed it into the red light that came out…” Chael said, remembering how the stone had literally disappeared into his father’s fist. There could be no other explanation.
“But daddy wouldn't...” Elijah sniffled, his cheeks now puffy and red from all his crying.
“Chael, I don't want to talk about this now. You have to promise me that if you find anything like that again you will tell me immediately,” Scar’s anger finally began to subside into calm want for his sons to be safe, “Don't touch it. Don't even go near it. Just run and tell me right away.”
Chael sniffled as the tears returned once more. “I will daddy, I'm sorry. I didn't...know it was evil…” he sobbed weakly and looked genuinely hurt he had disobeyed his father’s wishes.
“I know, son. Come here...” Scar kneeled down and opened his arms, beckoning for a hug. “Ishbalah has blessed me with two beautiful children... You two are more important to me than anything else in the world.”
Chael and Elijah immediately ran into his arms, both wrapping their arms around him and he held them protectively against himself.
“I promise I won't do that again...but why couldn't I let go of it? And why did it hurt so much?” Chael asked between sobs and sniffles as Elijah trembled slightly, remembering how much pain he had seemed to have been in.
“I don't know... perhaps the Devil was trying to get a hold of you…” Scar said, and Chael let out a terrified yelp.
“I don't want him to daddy!” he shouted, clinging tighter to Scar.
“I don't want him to either. And neither does Ishbalah. That's why I want you to go to your room and pray. I'm not angry. It's not a punishment. It's for yourself and Ishbalah. Please, Chael?” he asked, and Chael coughed slightly and nodded, his fear beginning to subside.
“Will you pray with me daddy?” Chael asked quietly, tugging pleadingly on the collar of his tunic.
“I wanna pray too,” Elijah immediately mimicked his brother’s actions as he usually did, clinging now to both of them as his angel peering out from where he had wrapped it in his sash.
“Of course I will…” Scar said with faint smile, gently picking both his boys up.
“Will Ishbalah forgive me daddy? If it was the work of the Devil then I'm in big trouble...” Chael worried, remembering the segment of Scripture he had read about the punishment of Hell.
“Our lord is merciful, and you are still a child. If you truly feel sorry for what you have done, and will do your best not to do it again, then yes, of course He will forgive you,” Scar assured him, and he felt a bit better. But Chael still looked worried, and stared his father straight in the eyes.
“...do you forgive me daddy?” Chael weakly asked, a few tears still clinging to his eyes.
“Of course I forgive you Chael,” Scar said with another faint smile. “Who am I to be above Ishbalah's judgment? And I can see you’re genuinely sorry for what you have done.”
“I thought you'd be angry cause you got hurt too...” Chael said sadly.
“I'm not angry, I was just worried and afraid you were hurt. I'm sorry I yelled at you. Can you forgive me?” he asked, and Chael finally managed to smile a bit himself.
“Of course I forgive you, I love you daddy. I shouldn't have touched it, and Elijah warned me it was bad....” Chael said, laying his head down on Scar’s shoulder.
“I didn't like it, there was evil around it…” Elijah said weakly, mimicking his brother once again.
“It's gone now, and you two are safe, and that's what’s important. I love you too, both of you…” Scar said, lightly kissing both their foreheads and carrying them to their bedroom to pray.
“Okay Elijah, you pretend to be the Ishbalans and I’m gonna be the alchemists…” Chael said, chasing his younger brother around while Elijah screamed as though truly in danger. Finally he hid behind one of the emerald curtains, poking his head and looking at his brother fearfully.
“But I don’t want to be the Ishbalans again, I always die…” he whined, and Chael was right about to laugh at him when suddenly he was lightly struck upside the head. He turned around angrily but froze when he saw his father standing there.
“You shouldn’t play at being alchemists,” Scar said quietly, his expression stern. “It’s wrong…”
“But I heard that the Alchemists were the ones who killed a lot of the Ishbalans. Why did they do that daddy? Did we do something wrong?” Chael asked curiously, fiddling with a piece of string he had found lying around.
“No, son... alchemists are bad people who have turned away from Ishbalah to practice the Devil's Art, nothing good can come from it. We did nothing wrong,” he explained, taking the filthy piece of thread from Chael’s hands and gently patting his head. But Chael wasn’t satisfied with his answer as questions continued sprouting up in his head. Elijah crept out from behind the curtain and tugged playfully on his father’s pant leg, sucking his thumb and clinging protectively to his weathered angel doll.
“They aren't gonna come back are they daddy? I don't want them to kill me...” Elijah asked fearfully, disliking the serious tone Scar’s voice carried.
“I don't know if they will come back...but if they do...I would do anything to protect you and your brother and your mother,” Scar assured them, and Elijah seemed less afraid though he still clung tightly to his father. Scar ruffled Elijah’s long dark hair to try and calm him.
“Well I heard the alchemists had a stone thingy that gave them a lot of power,” Chael continued, attempting to demonstrate how he could do a somersault unsuccessfully. “And that that was what they used to kill the Ishbalans. But how did they get it daddy? Ishbalah didn’t give it to them…did He…?”
“Now now...” Scar said gently, attempting to halt his son’s suspicions and fears. “That's enough questions, why don't you go play with your brother?” he suggested, and Chael sighed and nodded, taking his brother’s hand and pulling him away from their father.
“Okay daddy…I just hope they don't have those stones anymore though, or else there might not be any of us left...” Chael said quietly as he led his little brother out the front door to play.
“So do I…” Scar murmured a bit worriedly as he watched they scamper to the outside. “So do I…”
“I think daddy's lying to us…” Chael said knowingly as they chased one another down the street, stumbling in the sand several times. In between laughter their serious conversation continued.
“I don't wanna know more bout the alchemists, they're scary,” Elijah said quietly, holding tightly to his angel doll and swinging it back and forth nervously, but Chael didn’t seem worried as he was.
“But we need to know so if they do come back we won't get killed like mommy and daddy's brothers did…” Chael replied, tossing some stones into the distance.
“But how do you know we won’t Chael?” Elijah asked fearfully, and Chael halted and then looked cautiously back and forth, up and down the street as though the walls indeed had ears.
“You have to promise not to tell daddy or mommy about this Elijah, but I think I found one of the stone thingies…” Chael whispered secretly, and Elijah looked both in awe and terrified.
“You mean the Phil-phi-the one that the alchemists had?” Elijah whispered back, even quieter than his brother.
“ Uh huh, I found it when I went to get water for mommy yesterday. It was buried in the sand and I kicked it up. It was all red and glowy and everything like those other kids said it was,” Chael said with a tinge of excitement in his voice, and Elijah looked more scared than mystified by this time.
“You have to give it to daddy or tell him!” Elijah shouted, but Chael slapped a hand over his mouth before he could continue.
“But I want to use it Elijah! Maybe I could kill the alchemists so they won't come back, or at least be able to protect you if they do…” Chael said softly, and Elijah only looked more and more afraid the more he spoke. Elijah reached up and pulled Chael’s hands off his face, still pouting angrily at his brother for doing something so disobedient.
Chael reached up and pulled the small, shimmering stone from out of the folds of his tunic. “See? It glows like magic is supposed to.”
Elijah yelped and backed away from it. “It’s scary! I don't want to use that!”
Chael looked at it without any fear however and tossed it up and down. “It isn't scary, it's full of that alchemy stuff I think.”
“Daddy told us alchemy is the work of the Devil,” Elijah whimpered.
“But if we use it against the Devil then it isn't evil,” Chael reasoned in reply. “You have to promise you won't tell Elijah…”
“But I don't like it and I don't wanna use it!” Elijah insisted profusely, stomping his small foot into the sand stubbornly.
Back at their home Scar suddenly sensed something was amiss, feeling an irritating sensation seizing at his tattooed arm as he paced around the house, the words of his sons still echoing in his head.
“Chael? Elijah?” Scar called out as he looked outside where he expected the boys to be playing. But the patch of desert blooms and glistening sand outside their home was empty and devoid of their presence. He stepped outside the room and looked both ways, thinking he would see them playing tag with one another.
But they were nowhere in sight.
“Let's just try it, I mean if it is powerful then maybe we should see if it could help,” Chael suggested, but Elijah shook his head back and forth.
“I don’t want to, it could hurt someone!” he half-shouted back, and Chael once again hushed his brother.
“The alchemists hurt us, so why shouldn't be able to do the same to them? I'll use their own bad powers against them and Ishbal can be rebuilt,” Chael proclaimed, the stone clenched tightly in his fist.
“But...what is the stone makes you evil too Chael, like the alchemists...?” Elijah barely got this out, his eyes welling up with tears of concern.
“You're just being a fraidy cat is all. This stone might not even be real, it hasn't done anything since I found it...” Chael said stubbornly, and just after he had mumbled this the stone suddenly began to act strange. It suddenly started to shine and grow darker, as though it were undergoing some sort of change. Both of the boys stared transfixed on it for a moment before the horror rushed in.
“Oh no…what's happening?” Elijah whimpered, backing away a bit further.
“I...I don't know!” Chael shouted frantically back, feeling an unfamiliar energy suddenly channeling up his arm and coursing into his body.
“Put it down Chael! It might hurt you!” Elijah shouted, looking terrified the stone would attempt to draw him to it as well.
“I...I can't! The weird energy stuff won't let me let go...!” Chael cried, his arm shaking and stiffening as the energy continued to surge into him in waves of excruciating pain.
Scar walked down the street with a brisk pace, his eyes looking back and forth so he wouldn’t overlook them. “Chael? Elijah? You both know you’re not to stray so far from home…” he called out, but there was no response from them.
He felt his worry suddenly climbing as he walked up and down the street without finding them, and finally halted in front of the house, hoping at any moment they would return home.
‘When they get back, they’re going to be in deep trouble for wandering off…’ he thought a bit angrily.
The sensation in his arm hadn’t stopped, and only continued to get stronger as he waited.
“Elijah...it hurts...I can't make it stop!” Chael shouted frantically, realizing he could no longer control his hand as it remained holding the stone tightly.
“I'll get daddy and he'll make it stop!” Elijah said, running down the street towards their home once again.
“Hurry...before it does something else!” Chael shouted, falling onto his knees and shaking fearfully.
Scar saw Elijah running towards the home. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried about…wait, where is Ch-?
“Daddy! Daddy!” Elijah shouted, interrupting his father as he finally reached him. “Daddy, Chael found one of those evil stones and it's hurting him!” he cried out frantically.
Scar looked horrified for a second and then managed to keep a clear head. “Let me to him!” he shouted, and the little boy scampered off down the street and onto the small pathway he and Chael and wandered earlier. They turned onto it and there was Chael, watching in both pain and wonder as objects around him became distorted and transformed by the energy surging from his hand and the stone clasped by it.
“Chael!” Scar shouted as he ran over to him, his older son looking up at him with renewed hope.
“Daddy!” Chael shouted as Scar reached him, prying open his hand and indeed finding a stone pressed against his tanned flesh. He reached down and snatched the stone away, absorbing it into his hand as his tattoo glimmered slightly with the crimson energy. He cringed in pain and backed away slowly from Chael.
“ Oh no, now it's hurting daddy!” Chael shouted frantically, and both he and Elijah ran over to their father. Scar pushed his sons away as he continued to reel in pain for a moment, his skin greedily absorbing the stone into itself.
“Daddy…?” Chael asked weakly as he slowly approached his father again.
“The bad stone…it’s gone…” Elijah immediately noticed.
Scar suddenly turned back towards Chael, his tone of voice both angry and afraid. “Where did you get that!?” he shouted.
“I found it, it was buried in the sand...by the river…” Chael said, attempting to look as innocent as possible. Scar took his son’s by both their wrists and began leading them home once again.
Elijah by this time was crying incessantly, having seen both his brother and father in pain. “You should have just given it to daddy Chael...!”
“You should listen to your brother, Chael. That was a stupid thing to do! Why didn't you tell me!?” Scar demanded of him, and Chael just shrugged as though it were a casual mistake, tracing one of his feet in the sand and hanging his head slightly.
“I...I didn't know it would do that! Suddenly it was glowing and it hurt so badly...” Chael said, looking at his arm once more but finding not a trace of injury on his skin anywhere.
“You…you said you were going to use it against the alchemists Chael, that you'd turn their evil powers against them...” Elijah said, and Chael stared daggers at him for a moment before he realized what big trouble he was suddenly in.
“Is this true, Chael?” Scar said, his tone deadly serious as he glared down at him.
“Well...I just...I just wanted to make sure they didn't come back daddy! And thought the stone could help...” he explained desperately, but Scar’s anger didn’t lessen with his explanation.
“Didn't I tell you alchemy was the work of the Devil!? Didn't I!?” Scar shouted, shaking Chael by the shoulders slightly as he began to cry gently. Nothing good can come of alchemy, you could have been killed! And worse, you would have forsaken the words of Ishbalah. Go to your room and pray for forgiveness. Now,” Scar said, roughly pushing Chael into the house and guiding a still shivering Elijah in as well.
“But...what happened to the stone daddy? It disappeared after you took it from me...” Chael asked with a confused tone.
“Chael…” Scar said warningly. “Room. Now.”
“But I saw your tattoo glow too when you grabbed it, and it was the same color as the stone...do…do you have a stone daddy…?” Chael asked quietly as Elijah shook and cried still.
“Chael, if you're not in your room by the count of ten...” Scar said impatiently. “One…”
“But that isn't fair!” Chael shouted in retaliation.
“Two…” Scar continued counting, getting angrier each second.
“I just wanted to help, won't Ishbalah understand if I used it to keep the alchemists away?” Chael asked.
“Alchemy is the Devil's Art. It turns people into monsters, even if they have good intentions. Ishbalah cannot hear monsters…” Scar said warningly still, and Chael suddenly looked more afraid than ever.
“But...but where was Ishbalah when the alchemists were here, why didn't He protect our people? If it is the Devil behind all this then why didn't He stop it? We're we monsters then and He couldn't hear us?” The questions that had plagued Chael’s mind earlier were suddenly resurfacing at this inopportune time.
“Ishbalah was testing our faith…” Scar replied, but again his answer did not help ease any of Chael’s relentless curiosity or confusion.
“But...but why? Hadn't we always been faithful to him? And you still haven't told me where the stone went! And why your tattoo was glowing!” His bafflement suddenly surged out of him, and Scar looked at a loss for a few seconds to answer him, finally sighing, a bit overwhelmed by all that had just happened, and answering him with a quiet tone.
“Ishbalah gave me the power to help stop the Devil with this tattoo,” he replied, and Chael and Elijah both stared now mesmerized at the markings for a moment before Chael kept talking.
“But...if it destroyed the stone...then isn't it evil too? It absorbed it into the red light that came out…” Chael said, remembering how the stone had literally disappeared into his father’s fist. There could be no other explanation.
“But daddy wouldn't...” Elijah sniffled, his cheeks now puffy and red from all his crying.
“Chael, I don't want to talk about this now. You have to promise me that if you find anything like that again you will tell me immediately,” Scar’s anger finally began to subside into calm want for his sons to be safe, “Don't touch it. Don't even go near it. Just run and tell me right away.”
Chael sniffled as the tears returned once more. “I will daddy, I'm sorry. I didn't...know it was evil…” he sobbed weakly and looked genuinely hurt he had disobeyed his father’s wishes.
“I know, son. Come here...” Scar kneeled down and opened his arms, beckoning for a hug. “Ishbalah has blessed me with two beautiful children... You two are more important to me than anything else in the world.”
Chael and Elijah immediately ran into his arms, both wrapping their arms around him and he held them protectively against himself.
“I promise I won't do that again...but why couldn't I let go of it? And why did it hurt so much?” Chael asked between sobs and sniffles as Elijah trembled slightly, remembering how much pain he had seemed to have been in.
“I don't know... perhaps the Devil was trying to get a hold of you…” Scar said, and Chael let out a terrified yelp.
“I don't want him to daddy!” he shouted, clinging tighter to Scar.
“I don't want him to either. And neither does Ishbalah. That's why I want you to go to your room and pray. I'm not angry. It's not a punishment. It's for yourself and Ishbalah. Please, Chael?” he asked, and Chael coughed slightly and nodded, his fear beginning to subside.
“Will you pray with me daddy?” Chael asked quietly, tugging pleadingly on the collar of his tunic.
“I wanna pray too,” Elijah immediately mimicked his brother’s actions as he usually did, clinging now to both of them as his angel peering out from where he had wrapped it in his sash.
“Of course I will…” Scar said with faint smile, gently picking both his boys up.
“Will Ishbalah forgive me daddy? If it was the work of the Devil then I'm in big trouble...” Chael worried, remembering the segment of Scripture he had read about the punishment of Hell.
“Our lord is merciful, and you are still a child. If you truly feel sorry for what you have done, and will do your best not to do it again, then yes, of course He will forgive you,” Scar assured him, and he felt a bit better. But Chael still looked worried, and stared his father straight in the eyes.
“...do you forgive me daddy?” Chael weakly asked, a few tears still clinging to his eyes.
“Of course I forgive you Chael,” Scar said with another faint smile. “Who am I to be above Ishbalah's judgment? And I can see you’re genuinely sorry for what you have done.”
“I thought you'd be angry cause you got hurt too...” Chael said sadly.
“I'm not angry, I was just worried and afraid you were hurt. I'm sorry I yelled at you. Can you forgive me?” he asked, and Chael finally managed to smile a bit himself.
“Of course I forgive you, I love you daddy. I shouldn't have touched it, and Elijah warned me it was bad....” Chael said, laying his head down on Scar’s shoulder.
“I didn't like it, there was evil around it…” Elijah said weakly, mimicking his brother once again.
“It's gone now, and you two are safe, and that's what’s important. I love you too, both of you…” Scar said, lightly kissing both their foreheads and carrying them to their bedroom to pray.
