Chapter 5 A Friend of the Devil is a Friend of Mine

Augustus looked at me and directed his next question to Lilly. "Is the Prophet actually dead?"

Lilly had me answer, "No, he was severely hurt and will be in a coma for a while until his body and soul can heal itself. At best we have six months before he wakes up from his coma. Potentially we have even less time."

"How long will it take for you to be back to your regular self?" Augustus asked? "Well it depends on how quick the process goes. 6 months if I am lucky, however from the little I have seen I fear it may be far longer. As I am attached to this body I may only be able to heal at the rate that the host of the body can keep up with. In order for me to get my full body back and to leave and continue healing, I need the host you are talking to here to get his magic at least to the fifth circle. Granted this is the worst case scenario, but I fear from the little time I've been in this body it may be the case. My soul when I was forced body and mind into Evan here, was originally at a level 2 circle of magic. However, it appears it has shrunk down to what Evan's capabilities are."

Augustus stared at me and through me at the same time. He didn't care who I was or what I wanted. He was only thinking about Lilly on the inside. Not only that but I felt betrayed. All my life I had strived to be the best person I could be. To be like the Prophet in every way.

His head judge was meant to give out punishments in the name of the Almighty. He was second in power only to the Apostles themselves and yet he believed and followed a different god. What was the point of me suffering all these years when this hypocritical bastard knew it didn't even matter. Why did I have to suffer for nothing? A silent rage started to build up in me to the point I had to let it out.

Before I could say anything Lilly was in my head talking. She could feel the build up. "Evan your soul is growing and evolving from the anger you feel. How you act on this will affect your soul to come for a long time. When a soul evolves it can always be changed through effort and intense work, but the experiences that lead a soul to evolve are often intense and will define the soul for a while. Think before you act."

I was tired of being told what to do. I was tired of being treated like crap. Why did I have to keep quiet now. What was the point. I know there was nothing I could do about my situation. Augustus was one of the most powerful soul users in the world. Even if it killed me I didn't care anymore, I was not going to let people have their way with me and treat me like I was nothing.

I looked Augustus in the eye and said, "When you look at me you will direct your questions to me and I will talk to Lilly for you. You are nothing but a hypocrite and a traitor to all the people who follow your beliefs. How many innocent died because of you?"

Lilly whispered to me, "what did you do? You know he can kill us right!?!"

Augustus conjured a black blade from the air and swung it down slicing my arm nearly off. I screamed in agony as blood started pulling around the cut right above my elbow. "you will not speak with me this way again. You are nothing but a worthless Wretch. While I don't follow the god of the Prophet, I know you are nothing but worthless and the only reason you are not dead right now is because you have one of my most skilled soul users trapped in your worthless body."

"Wait this is Lilly speaking now," Lilly had taken control of my toungue, "I understand your frustration with him. However, if I am to get my soul back into proper shape I will need his body to be as strong as possible. Please fix him so he may get stronger. Once I am out of this body do as you wish."

I could barely think with the searing pain. Several black needles came out of the air again and began sowing my arm back together leaving a thin black line around where my arm was connected. The magic from the black threaded needles then disconnected from Augustus. While he wouldn't be able to undo his thread, it was now a permanent scar on my body because I was foolish enough to speak in anger.

The thing is I didn't care it felt good. I know that I will get stronger and when Lilly gets out of my body I would make those who wrong me pay. I will not be pushed down and bullied anymore. Not only that but I learned a second lesson. Sometimes you have to bide your time in order to get what you want. Just because I let someone treat me like shit doesn't mean that I don't plan on avenging the injustice. As long as I know I'm worth more than what they are saying, I can plan and get what I want.

I felt a strength in my soul. It felt stronger, bigger almost. It was a power I had never felt before. With it Lilly also felt a strength too. "Evan," Lilly whispered in my head, "you just evolved your soul to the second circle. Once we get out of here we have a lot to talk about. It seems as you evolve I do as well. If we can train you up fast enough, I may be able to get back to my form faster than I thought."

Right now, I didn't really care what she said. I felt stronger and it felt good. Lilly told me to translate for her again. I spoke, "this is from Lilly, she wishes to be granted a place to rest far from here. there was trouble with an Apostle following us and it is only a matter of time before this space is found out. Given time to recoup and heal up she says she can train me so she can more quickly get her own body back and then you may do with me what you wish."

Anger flared in me again as I repeated what Lilly told me to. She didn't care either and was willing to throw me to the wolves. I wouldn't let her know my anger now though. I learned sometimes you have to wait and get stronger first. If I played my cards right I would get stronger and make sure I was tough enough to take on Augustus and even Lilly herself.

"We have already moved you and teleported you through 3 different Sanctuary cities. You should have a safe amount of time to do some basic training and rest. Whether you can make use of this Wretch remains to be seen." Augustus said.

"Thank you sir for your hospitality, and for keeping us safe." I replied.

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for Lilly. This is the closest we have ever gotten to destroying the Prophet. If it weren't for her you would be dead."

I bit back my anger. "I understand sir."

***************

In the room where we would be staying there was a basic queen size bed with light blue sheets and a black comforter blanket. Two pillows, decently fluffy were both on the bed. The walls were cream colored and bare with a small desk off to the corner and a shower and bathroom in the back left corner of the room. Here is where I would be staying for the foreseeable future until we had to move on again.

I felt disgusting after being out cold for several days, drugged, having my arm chopped off, and being poisoned just after my last shower. I went ahead and got in the shower to clean up and get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be my first full day of training and I had a lot to learn.

Lilly spoke to me in the shower. "I know what Augustus did to you had to have angered you. I also know that me saying he could do as he please could not have made you happy. While I couldn't hear your thoughts, I still felt your anger. You need to know I understand."

"Whatever." I said.

Lilly continued, "Please understand that by the time we are done training and you are free of me, you will be at least one magic circle ahead of Augustus. He certainly can try to do what he wants, but you will have the power to forge your own destiny and protect yourself. All I ask is you do not use my name to justify your actions. I am only training you this far so I may live, not so I can have followers or worshippers. In fact, Augustus has his just due coming. He uses my name to hurt and kill. As of now he is a necessary evil to bring back balance."

"Wait," I said. "What do you mean I will be a higher magic circle than Augustus?" I know the Apostles are level five magic users and Augustus is a strong level four. How could I possibly get that strong?"

With my guidance I can give you a specific course designed to utilize your soul to its fullest and grow it as quick as possible. While you may have learned a little about the soul and how it works in your classes, it was me who designed the human soul I can tailor a system to best help you. It appears that as your soul grows in power, so to does mine. Earlier today you stood up for yourself. You decided you were worth more than what people were saying about you. I know that you will still have bad days, days where you still want to give up and die, but if you practice thinking of yourself more highly, eventually you will believe you are always worth of living. By doing that you an raise your level two circle magic as high as it can go."

She continued, "Your schools taught you about magic circles and their relation to the soul. What they didn't teach you was how everything was connected by three parts. We will discuss this more tomorrow once your body has had time to rest and heal from the trauma of the past several days. I need you to have a sharp mind. Know now that while we will be doing some minor training here, the goal is to still get you out of this Sanctuary City controlled by the Prophet and his Apostle's and into the academy that was designed for this to learn and practice their soul magic in a different way. Many people try to escape to the outer walls of the Sanctuary Cities and many are killed. However, Several managed to survive and eventually developed a hidden community where outcasts who were strong enough to survive until they could be guided to the secret Sanctuary City were able to live and train in peace. This is our next stop after this."

"You really mean for me to leave the safety of these walls? I have never been outside the city. I don't even know how to fight. Yes, I will be better trained than I am now, but no one survives out there. What level do I have to be in order to even survive out there?"

"As of now you are at the correct soul level or size, but you are still much to weak. Given time we can get you to a place where it is safe to leave. I recommend speaking none of this to anyone. I won't stop you as it is your body, but this will be the quickest way to get you stronger. My only question now is do you have what it takes to go through my system?"

Song Chapter Title: "A Friend of the Devil is a Friend of Mine" by the Grateful Dead