Chapter 101: Holy Light
A pact with a demon required a price. But if I could gain power without paying one, without selling a piece of my soul, why would I ever risk a deal with such a dangerous and fickle entity? When it came down to it, if one could become a righteous cleric of the light, who would choose to be a witch, forever living under the shadow of the pyre? And so, before I took that final, irrevocable step, I had to try the Bible.
I picked up the heavy, leather-bound book and immediately realized my foolishness. In my haste at the dumping ground, I had grabbed the English version, thinking it was the only one I could understand. But now, thanks to the strange infusion of Parula’s knowledge, I could speak Castilian fluently. English, the language I knew from my past life, now felt foreign and clumsy on my new lips. It wasn't an insurmountable problem. I still had the English dictionary. In a strange reversal of its intended purpose, I began to use it to translate my own native language, reading the holy words aloud while Jared listened with a quiet, curious intensity.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” I read, the words of Genesis strange and familiar all at once. “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was… ah!” A searing, splitting pain shot through my skull, as if my brain were about to burst.
“Parula! Are you alright?” Jared cried, rushing to my side as I swayed on my feet.
“Ugh, I’m fine,” I gasped, clutching my head. “Strange, it just came on so suddenly…” The pain receded as quickly as it had come. I looked back at the page, my eyes watering.
“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the dark… Aaaarrrgggghhh!” The pain returned, a hundred times worse, a blinding, white-hot agony that felt like a firecracker exploding inside my brain.
“Parula, stop! Stop reading!” Jared snatched the book from my hands. Even he could see that the holy text itself was the source of my torment.
“Hsss… I’m alright now,” I said, my breath ragged. “It seems… I cannot read it. Damn it, but why?” I said, my voice filled with a frustrated disbelief.
“Maybe… maybe you could teach me to read it?” Jared suggested, his voice hesitant. “I could try reading it aloud.”
“Alright,” I said, and began to teach him, one simple English word at a time. I found that if I broke it down, if I spoke the words individually, the pain did not return. Jared’s reading was clumsy at first, but he was a quick study. The language of the Bible, designed for proselytizing, was simple and direct. Soon, he was able to sound out the elegant prose on his own. And then, I saw it. After he had read for a few minutes, a faint, golden light began to glow in his emerald eyes. He was completely unaware of it. He finished the first chapter, and the light grew stronger, a soft, holy luminescence that seemed to emanate from his very skin, pushing back the oppressive shadows of our dismal hovel. He finally noticed it then, staring at his own glowing hands with a mixture of fear and profound wonder.
“Don’t stop,” I said, my voice a hushed, awestruck whisper. “Keep reading. Let’s see what you can do.” It was true. The Bible was the source of his power. This was… holy light?
I continued to guide him, and as he finished the book of Genesis, the light in our small alcove grew to a brilliant, blinding intensity. And in that light, feathers, made of pure, white luminescence, began to drift down from the ceiling, a silent, holy snow.
In that moment, I felt as if I were witnessing a true miracle. Before, it had just been a faint glow, nothing compared to the witch's raw, chaotic power. But this... this was different. The feathers of pure light were a true wonder, holy and beautiful, a sight that could not possibly exist in the natural world. I was bathed in the light as well. I had expected the searing pain to return, but it didn't. Instead, a profound, blissful warmth spread through me, as if I were sinking into a hot bath. My body relaxed completely. It was a sensation of pure, unadulterated pleasure, so intense it was almost overwhelming. The countless small aches and pains that had been a constant, unnoticed background noise in this frail body simply… vanished. I hadn't even realized how much discomfort I had been in until it was gone. In the old world's parlance, my back no longer ached, my legs no longer hurt. Even the scratches I had inflicted upon my own left arm healed over, the skin becoming smooth and unblemished once more. Parula's body, I realized, must have been a wreck of old ailments—from malnutrition, from filth, from MacDuff's beatings. I had grown used to the weakness, the constant feeling of running with a heavy weight on my back. Now, bathed in this holy light, I felt light, free. The contrast was so stark it sent a shiver of pure ecstasy through me.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Parula? Why did you stop teaching me?” Jared asked, his voice pulling me from my reverie. He couldn't read the next words on his own.
“Ah? Oh! You should… you should stop for now,” I said, my voice a little breathless. “Today’s lesson is over. The light… it will be seen from outside.” It was a flimsy excuse. The real reason I had him stop was that the sensation was becoming too intense. I was afraid I might lose control, that I might make some unseemly noise.
“Are you alright, Parula? Your face is all red,” Jared asked, peering at me with concern.
“I’m fine! Just… just give me a moment. And don’t look at me!” I snapped, a wave of unfamiliar embarrassment washing over me. This girl's body was so sensitive, so troublesome. It was a strange, hollow, and deeply unsettling feeling I had never experienced before.
“Oh,” he said, and seeing my strange anger, he wisely turned his attention back to the Bible, flipping through the pages he couldn't read. After a few moments, the golden light finally faded. I had calmed down by then, and surreptitiously dried the strange sheen of sweat from my skin.
“Well?” I asked, my voice now steady. “Do you know how you did that? How you summoned the holy light?”
“I… I don’t know,” Jared said, and tried several times to make his hands glow again, but nothing happened. It seemed the power only came to him when he was reading the holy text, or when he was in mortal danger. An unstable power was no power at all. We had to find a way for him to control it.
The path of the holy book was closed to me; it brought me nothing but pain. But Jared… he had already taken the first step. I suspected the Church must have some technique, some method for harnessing this power. After all, not everyone who read the Bible could summon holy light. Jared had simply stumbled upon it by accident.
“Brother Jared,” I asked, a new plan already forming in my mind. “Do you know if there’s a church in this city?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding. “There is. Though I’ve never been inside.”
“Good,” I said. “Tomorrow, we’re going to pay it a visit. If they can perform miracles too, then perhaps they can teach you. And if you have to join them to learn… well, you’ll never have to worry about going hungry again.”
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.