SCIAS OF THE UNDERWORLD

FIFTEEN

Scias couldn't believe what just happened. Kanina lang habang nasa park sila ay gumana naman ang kapangyarihan niya. Hindi niya maintindihan kung anong nangyari kanina at hindi niya nailawan ang kandila. Ang resulta ay napahiya tuloy siya sa harap ng babae at ng pinsan nito. Pati na rin kay Azul. Perhaps it was because he was in his human form. Maybe being in his human form somehow diminished his power that lighting a candle using his finger is impossible to do now.

"So tinutukan ka niya ng punyal sa loob mismo ng pamamahay mo?" tanong ng lalakeng nakauniporme habang nakatiningin sa kanila. The man was looking at him with a judging look at tinaasan lang niya ito ng kilay. Asking what the hell is his problem. Ngunit binalewala lang siya nito, at ibinalik ang tingin sa babaeng katabi niya.

"Oo. They saved me from monsters and I was thankful—"

"What my cousin means is that, these two men came when she was about to be harassed and because of gratitude, she invited these two into our apartment without knowing their true intentions." The guy called Juno butted in.

Scias scoffed and let out a low laugh. "This woman is a liar and a thief. I believe she's the one who stole my heart and I want it back. But she sold it! To a goddamn pawnshop! And now it's gone! I might die any minute. And why on earth am I here anyway? I am the god of the underworld—"

"Yes, yes. Baka LQ lang ito? Bakit niyo pa pinaabot sa presinto?"

"Officer, that silent man has a dagger in his pocket. Tinutukan niya ako kanina," sumbong naman ng babae sa lalakeng nakauniporme. He doesn’t understand why he was there in the first place. Ngunit kalaunan ay napagtanto niyang isa itong kulungan. He took his time to look around—mainly for torture tools but he was deeply disappointed when he found none.

"And what are you going to say about your cousin who has a spear?" sumbat ni Juno sa babae.

When the officer cleared his throat, Azul and the woman stopped giving each other death glares. He smiled at the officer.

Napabuntong-hininga naman ang pulis. "Pakiusap, ayusin niyo muna ang problema niyo bago kayo magpunta dito. And please stop telling nonsense things." He slammed his hand on the table dahilan para mapatalon siya sa inuupuan. "Kung away bata lang ito I swear I will handcuff you all at matutulog kayong lahat dito sa kulungan. You are dismissed," saad ng pulis at napahilot sa sentido. And then he pointed towards him and Azul. "Kayong dalawa, dito kayo matutulog ngayong gabi."

He blinked and his smile was gone.

He and Az both stood in protest but the officer also stood in front of them at tinitigan silang dalawa.

"You can't do this to me," saad niya. And he heard the woman beside her let out a laugh. Scias looked at her and she was about to spat something nang hawakan nng lalakeng nagngangalang Juno ang pulsohan ng babae saka niya ito hinila palabas. And he was left there with Azul and the police officer.

***

"I can't believe this is happening," saad ni Juno habang hawak-hawak ang ulo. Hindi makapaniwalang nakatingin ito sa kanya. Kumunot naman ang noo niya.

"Anong problema mo?"

Juno faced her and held both her shoulders. "Ally, listen to me,” he said, looking around as if what he’s about to say next is very important.  “That is Scias and Azul," he said, almost a whisper. He swallowed hard before he went on, "They knew about the heart. They know about the curse. They aren't just fanatics. They're the real deal. It's Scias of the Underworld and Azul the Gatekeeper."

Bigla naman siyang nanlamig sa sinabi ng pinsan. Hindi niya alam kung matatakot ba siya o hindi. Sa nakikita niya kanina, Scias didn't look monstrous like how her grandma described him to be. He doesn't look scary. But she must admit he does look dangerous. He might be all smiles and grins but she knows she shouldn't be messing with him. And that guy Azul too. Ngunit hindi niya maintindihan ang sinasabi ng pinsan niya. She knows about the heart and the curse. She heard it from her grandma and from what Juno told her before and she just fit the puzzle pieces. And Juno told her she is the key to breaking the curse. Sa kanya nito hinahanap ang puso nito. Ang hindi niya lang maintindihan ay kung bakit nasa loob ng kwintas ng lola niya ang hinahanap ni Scias. Maliban sa lola nila, maaaring alam din ni Juno kung bakit naroon ang hinahanap ni Scias sa kwintas niya.

Tiningnan niya si Juno. "May hindi ka ba sinasabi sa akin, Juno?"

Juno shook his head continuously and she instantly knew the answer is yes. She walked towards him at umaatras naman ito.

"Ally—"

"Tell me while I'm still asking nicely," pagbabanta niya rito. Juno swallowed hard and it did not escape her eyes. She crossed her arms and Juno sighed.

"Fine, fine. I will tell you but we need to get home first."

Sumang-ayon naman siya at naglakad sila pauwi. Malapit lang kasi ang police station mula sa apartment niya. Habang naglalakad, naalala naman niya ang panaginip niya noong mga nakaraang araw. Some dreams you forget right after you wake up. Some dreams you forget after a dew hours. Some you forget after a few days. But the dream she had was so vivid that it felt so real that she couldn't forget it until now. Naalala pa niya ang pakiramdam nang masugatan siya sa mga sanga ng kahoy sa panaginip niya. It felt too real that she felt nauseated afterward.

And the things she heard in her dream: It's her.

Naririnig niya pa rin iyo hanggang ngayon. The voices seemed to have found the way inside her head at hindi niya makalimutan iyon. And the guy names Scias also said it to her earlier. Nanindig ang balahibo niya habang iniisip iyon.

They reached the apartment and save for the few mess on the table, hindi kaaya-ayang nangyari kanina. The police came at pinosasan agad ang dalawang lalake. They attempted to fight but they were nothing against the cuffs.

"Talk," she commanded and Juno went to get some glass of water.

"Okay." He heaved a sigh and then pointed to the necklace. "That necklace was owned by our ancestors ever since the curse was place upon Scias. It's an heirloom—something that's supposedly be passed on from every eldest in every generations of Meriden."

"So this necklace has been owned by our great-great-great-great grandmothers?"

"And a lot more than that. When Scias was cursed, he was considered a sin. He was sent to rule the Underworld. But our ancestors continued to seek out to him. Kaya naman idinamay tayo sa sumpa. Every generation of our family has been the owner of the necklace, thinking they might be the one to break the curse. That necklace is supposed to be the god of the underworld's sign that the one wearing it is a Meriden and that she might be able to break the curse.

"But years have passed and Scias stayed in the underworld to guard his heart. His heart was in the Underworld kaya naman doon siya nananatili. He was guarding it. Hindi ko alam anong nangyari at napunta iyon sa kwintas ni lola. Iyon lang ang alam ko, I swear!"

Bigla naman siyang napaisip and then she remembered what Scias told her before.

"He told me my smell was in the chamber." Napahawak siya sa kwintas. "I don't exactly get what it was about but hearing the story makes sense now," saad niya bago tumingin kay Juno.

"Did Grandma go to the Underworld and steal the heart?" she asked and Juno covered his mouth as if considering the possibility.

"But that is impossible. The underworld has seven gates. It can't be infiltrated with just a mere mortal. Nobody could enter there!"

"What if Grandma isn't mortal? Paano kung tropa pala sila ng demonyo? Baka maniwala pa ako dito. Kita mo naman ang ugali ni lola 'di ba?"

Juno sighed exasperatedly at itinikom naman niya ang bibig.

"I don't know what happened. I don't know how Scias' heart—that's supposed to be in the underworld—got into that necklace. Saka ko lang nalaman nang ipakita iyon ni lola sa akin bago niya ibigay sa iyo. I instantly knew what it was. I lied about it earlier because I couldn’t afford to disclose that very important information to them. But now I am very sure na siya nga si Scias. And now his heart is gone. Scias will have to find it. And he might be sticking to you like glue so brace yourself. "

"So naniniwala ka talagang si Scias ang lalakeng iyon? Nakita mo ba ang ginawa niya kanina? He said he would light a fire to the candle over there pero wala namang nangayari. As a god of the underworld, it should be easy, right?"

"Hindi ko alam kung anong nangyayari sa kanya but there must be a reason why he couldn't use his own power."

Hindi na niya pinansin ang sinabi ng pinsan. She couldn't care less whether the man could use her powers or not. She might have believed her cousin about the god of the underworld ngunit hindi pa rin siya lubos na naniniwala na ito nga ang diyos na sinasamba ng lola niya noon. And she just finds it hard to believe that someone like Scias—the most feared god—is someone like that dimwit she met earlier.

When she was young, her grandma used to tell her stories before bed. But it was more of a way to scare her rather than put her to sleep. They were stories about Scias. Her grandma would describe Scias' appearance in vivid detail as if her grandmother had seen him before and her imagination as a child was not a good combination for it. As a result, she feared every shadow. She feared the small sounds the branches make against her window. Scias is someone used to scare children. Who would expect that Scias is someone who has very high regard for himself? Some dimwit who doesn't look like a monster at all. Kaya hirap siyang paniwalaan ang sinasabi ng pinsan.

But then if she's going to consider the fact of how Scias knew about the heart, he might be the real deal. After all, how on earth would he even know about the missing heart?

Napabuntong-hininga nalang siya at napaupo sa couch na naroon. She has been through a lot tonight and it is a surprise that she didn't even lose the nerve. She was chased by Glenrils and if Scias and Azul didn't come to save her, baka ay patay na siya ngayon. And then she realized those two men might have been more dangerous than the Glenrils. Hindi niya maipagkakaila na kahit hindi niya nakita kung anong kayang gawin ng dalawang iyon, she felt an incredible amount of presence coming from them. They look normal but there's just something in them she couldn't quite put her finger into. But then again, she has already decided to believe what she sees. Unless the two guys can't prove they really are what they claim they are, hindi niya ito papaniwalaan.

But she knows deep in her heart na unti-unti na siyang naniniwala. And this particular truth scares the s**t out of her.

* * *