The Chamber of Sins

The sumptuousness and richness of the place amazed Margo. The bespoke furniture was solid wood. Every piece harked back to the Victorian epoch, but not a single item in the room was more than a few months old. The fabrics were immaculate and coloured in muted natural shades. It seemed comfy and efficient but far too complicated for a young man. I am sure that his mom has arranged it, she thought. She glanced at the impertinent boy while thinking of teaching him a lesson.

She came closer and stared at his profile. He looked like a movie star, with a cynical smile on his tanned face and ruffled hair. He made her agitated, with his athletic body exposed, his upper body naked and sweaty.

“You dragged me here,” she said, annoyed by his confidence.

“I did not!” Robert replied.

“I didn’t come here by my will. Where am I?” Margo inquired as she was peering through the window.

“How did you pass by the gates?” the boy ignored her question.

“I flew,” she countered. Then she realised the boy could see her. “Wait, you can see me. How come?”

“What a lunatic,” Robert said out loud, rolling his eyes. “It means that you trespassed on this property. How did you do it? Did you jump over the fence?”

Margo came closer. “Can you touch me, please?”

“I won’t,” the boy said with a stiff and moody tone, avoiding her look and glaring at the carpet in disgust.

The girl pushed her chest towards him, and before Robert could take a few steps back, Margo was at his chest, glued to him. His heartbeats sped up, and his thorax became hot. He forced her away just before his entire body got on fire. Next, Robert was on the floor, burning flames erupting from his body. Margo stared at him, powerless and scared. Instinctively, she scrutinised the room for water. A half-full glass was lying on the nightstand by the bed. She took it and threw it over the burning boy. But her hand was empty, and the glass was still on the nightstand, and she sighed.

The flames kept burning under Margo’s terrified eyes. Finally, she left the room and started crying for help. She couldn’t find a soul and returned concerned about the boy’s well-being. After a while, only the peculiar pendant was igniting from time to time. The girl came closer and touched Robert’s feverish forehead. He was burning hot, and his body was drenched in sweat.

He muttered something repeatedly.

This isn’t English. Maybe Spanish, she thought.

Robert kept repeating, “Me dolet, me dolet. Auxilium!” (translated from Latin - It hurts, it hurts. Help!)

“I don’t understand what you are saying,” she cried. “Help! Somebody, please, help us.”

Margo let her body on the ground and put the boy’s sweaty head on her lap. Robert continued his feverish monologue for a while until he fainted. The girl kept holding him in her arms, checking his pulse repeatedly. She tried to grab a cloth from the bed, and again she got nothing. She could only touch Robert. Finally, she reached for his burnt chest and palpated the strange pendant. Cemented on his chest, it wouldn’t detach even if she tried her best. She even got a severe burn, which was odd, as she couldn’t feel or move anything. The pendant seemed to alter everything non-Earthly.

They stood on the floor for minutes while Margo had the time to study the boy’s bedroom and listen to the mansion's sounds. The bedroom communicated with a large terrace orientated to a vast inner garden. Tweets and barks got through the ajar door.

“Ruffus, come on, boy! Come here,” a boyish voice sounded. Warm laughs filled the air. Margo peeked from behind the bed through the window at the light-blue sky. Robert moaned and cracked his eyes open. Then, laying his eyes on her, the boy jumped to his feet, swearing.

“Look, I won’t bite,” she said defensively as she stepped away from him.

The bark was so close to her ears that it startled her. A furry dog appeared in the middle of the room, followed closely by a boy about her age.

“Shh, nice doggy,” Margo said.

The dog wiggled his tail and went in Robert’s direction. But he stopped somewhere close to the boy, sniffed his body, and started barking out loud. Robert kept his head down. He was in deep pain, and every bark deepened his misery.

“Get out! Get out now!” Robert yelled as he glared into the dog’s eyes. The dog retreated immediately, whining for a while before disappearing through the cracked door. Only the boy stayed behind and examined his brother from afar. Margo wondered if the newcomer could see Robert’s impressive dark wings and his bloody eyes burning. Scared, she hid behind the bed and held her breath.

What is he? He looks like the other one. What are they? Margo asked herself as she remembered the terrifying moment after her death.

Adrian came close to his brother.

“Are you alright?” He asked, visibly affected by Robert’s volcanic behaviour.

“I’m good,” Robert responded without looking at him.

“Okay then, catch you later,” Adrian said as he walked away. Then, somewhere by the door, he turned around and glared in Margo’s direction. He opened his mouth briefly but changed his mind and left the room.

Minutes later, Margo was glaring through the large balcony window. They said nothing to each other for a long time.

“What are you? What am I?” the boy broke the silence.

“I, I am a ghost. I know for sure because I can go through walls and other objects, like doors and-”

Robert cleared his throat, bored by the girl talking and wishing her to stop.

“Whatever,” he said. “What about me?”

The girl looked at her hands. They looked human, not blurry or missing parts. I wonder if others perceive me like that or as a fume.

“Hey, you? Are you listening?”

“An angel of death?” she answered, raising an eyebrow.

Robert sneered.

“You asked me,” she replied, her hands on her hips.

“Half-angel, hopefully not for long,” a voice interposed. The boy and the girl turned, and their breathing rate sped up. The entire scene paralysed Margo with fear.

In the middle of the room, Derek was glaring at the two of them.

“And it looks like I killed two birds with one stone,” he smirked.

Derek moved forward.

“You are coming with me,” he addressed Margo.

The girl hid behind Robert.

“This man, I know him. I think he is The Angel of Death,” she whispered in Robert’s ear.

The boy stepped aside, letting her be exposed. Margo was looking around for a place to hide when she felt the heaviness of Derek’s hand on her shoulder.

“Please, help me,” the girl begged Robert.

“And you give me my pendant back,” Derek said, facing Robert.