Soul Shredder: Broken
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Soul Shredder: Broken

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Cult Division 2
Part of the Exhumed series.
I am pleased to present the new chapter of Exhumed, in accordance with the poll. :D
Enjoy!
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"Uh," said Danny, having already decided that this was his least favorite cult. "So. You summoned me. Congrats."
âLord Phantom,â intoned one of the cultists, voice artificially deep. Â
Danny pegged him as the leader. He was also, incidentally, the tallest one there. Did this cult pick their leadership based on height? Not important. Â
Ancestral 11
The elaborate tableaux and plays that would generally be planned for the Moon Masque⌠hadnât been. For obvious reasons. Â
Obvious reasons being that said planning was what the family had been about to do when most of their older members were killed. Moon Masque continuing in any capacity was nothing more than an attempt to ensure that all requirements for the trials were fulfilled. Â
Opinions on whether or not that was necessary varied. Â
"Mom," said Danny, leaning backwards over the arm of the chair he was sprawled in, "if you're really that worried about it, and hate the idea of it that much, we could just⌠not go."
Gwensyvyr, standing just behind Maddie, made the near universal hand gesture for are you crazy?
Danny scowled at her. As far as he'd been able to determine, there wasn't anything actually vital or fundamental about the Moon Masque. Â
Now, Danny did plan to sneak out to it, regardless. So much of the family together would be a tempting target for the murderer (or murderers).
Maddie sighed. "I might not see eye-to-eye with my cousins, but I'm not going to abandon them to some murderous ghost."
Right. Sometimes it was easy to forget, but he had learned his morals from his parents. Â
"That's right! Especially with us being the ghost wrangling experts! No one better to protect everyone and show that ghost what-for!"Â
⌠ghost-related biases notwithstanding.Â
"Why are you so sure it's a ghost in the first place?" asked Jazz, resting her elbows on the back of the couch. "Humans commit murder, too."
"Of that many people all at once, with no method immediately apparent? Don't be ridiculousâ"
"Of course it isn't a ghost," said Iris, entering the sitting room with a pronounced frown on her face. George followed in her wake, holding an open book in front of him.
"Why, because ghosts are so well known for their benevolence? Nearly all cultures agreeâ"
"No," interrupted Iris. âBecause ghosts donât exist.â
âPardon,â said Maddie, âwhat?â
âI mean,â said Iris, sitting down on the couch. âThere have been so many studies, so many tests and experiments, and how many ghosts have people found? None. Itâs a scam,â she finished, staring directly at Maddie. Â
âHaha,â said George. âYeah, evidence of absence isnât absence ofâ No, wait, Iâm saying that backwards. Absence of evidence isnât evidence of absence.â He nodded and sat down next to iris. Â
âHuh,â said Jack, emerging from the little side room whose original intent had been to serve as a butlerâs nook but which currently contained a large amount of coffee-making paraphernalia. âI thought all you people believed in ghosts! Got an awful wrong idea about them, though.â
Jazz bit down on her lower lip. âDad,â she said, finally.
âWhat? Itâs true! Now, who wants some FUDGE espresso? Itâs a Fenton family specialty!â
Danny had never heard of FUDGE espresso before. Then again, both his parents had seemed rather sleep deprived lately. Not that Danny was doing much better in that department, what with being constantly haunted. Â
Your ancestors (hopefully your ancestors - itâd be even weirder for unrelated ghosts to be doing this) silently staring at you while you lie in bed is not conducive to peaceful sleep.Â
Oh, well. Danny was used to it. Â
âI donât drink coffee,â said Iris. âCaffeine is a drug.â
âA delicious and legal one! If you guys donât drink coffee, then whyâs all this back here?â He hooked a thumb towards the nook. Â
âMartin,â said George, shortly. Â
There was a moment of silence, broken only by Jack sipping his espresso. Â
âHave you heard from Cousin Alicia?â asked Iris. Â
âNot yet,â said Maddie. âBut Alicia has always been⌠very independent. Sheâsâ Sheâs probably fine. Running would-be bodyguards all around Spitoon and all that.â
âSpitoon?â asked George. Â
âThe name of the town,â said Maddie. Â
More silence. Â
âSo, what have you two been doing?â asked Maddie. âHow have you been⌠holding up?â
âFine,â said Iris, hands clasped tightly in her lap, back entirely straight. Â
âWeâve been working on finishing our premed requirements,â offered George. âWeâre taking online courses to fill in the gap, since weâll probably be out for the rest of the semester.â
âOh,â said Maddie, âthatâs nice. Are you planning to become surgeons, general practitionersâŚ?â
âPharmacologists,â said Iris. âMedicine is Avlynysâs biggest export, and we want to contribute.â
Not said, but heavily implied: the Fentons werenât contributing. Â
âWhat about you, Danny, Jazz?â asked George. âYou two must be thinking about what youâre going to study in college.â
âI was also thinking about going into the medical field, but I hadnât decided which part,â said Jazz, picking at one of the couchâs seams. Â
âWe could make it a thing- a family thing, then,â said George, attempting a smile. It didnât quite fit on his face. It dropped quickly into something more contemplative as his gaze shifted to Danny. Â
Danny fidgeted. âI havenât decided yet,â he said. Â
âMaybe you could go into security,â said Iris. Â
âWhat?âÂ
âYou noticed the poison.â
âI was just lucky to be paranoid and right,â said Danny. Â
âHm,â said Iris. âLucky.â
Danny turned his flinch into forward momentum and stood up. âSpeaking of schoolwork, Iâve got some things to take care of.â
He fled. Â
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The costumes for the Masque were simple, and the same for both sexes. A white domino mask and layered white robes over black clothing. Â
Wearing this in the woods in the middle of the night was going to make them look like cultists. Â
Still, it was better than past costumes. Danny looked at the album Jazz had unearthed from somewhere, and the elaborate, almost Venetian, and completely anonymous masks that had been popular at previous events. Â
No, that wouldnât be good to wear now, when recognizing each other, and keeping out others, was so important. Â
There was also, of course, the ritual knife. Six inches of steel forged with traditional - and traditionally secret - techniques. Members of the royal family, unlike everyone else who would be attending, were expected to be armed and dangerous. Danny rather expected that Matthew would also be bringing a gun, and that his parents would have ecto-weaponry, even beyond Spector Deflectors (that Danny absolutely wasnât wearing, even if it would âbe invisible under the robesâ). Â
Danny put away the album, and started to figure out how much of his first aid kit he could carry under his robes. Â
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Part of the original idea of the Moon Masque - overgrown as it was by decades and sometimes centuries of cross-cultural exchange and superstition - was that it gave citizens the opportunity to speak directly to the nobility without fear of being recognized, censored, or punished. Â
That, of course, wasnât happening this time. Not physically, in any case. What was being done instead was a sort of anonymous social media mailbox that would be randomly drawn from at different points during the Masque for the royal family to read and respond to. Â
The elder generation seemed positive it would be a hit. Â
The younger generation was equally sure it would simultaneously be a hit and a disaster. Â
Danny, for his part, eyed the cameras dubiously. Matthew had made the members of the press who were attending undergo even more rigorous checks than at the aborted coronation, but they made Danny feel uncomfortable anyway. He knew that the papers, in absence of other information, even their English names, were calling him and Jazz âthe mysterious young Lord Dannyl Ymazâ and âthe mysterious young Lady Yazmyn Roz,â and, well, speculating a lot. Â
The woes of being a public figure. He probably had another wikipedia page at this point, to match his Phantom one. Heâd been too shy to check. Â
Beyond the camerasâŚÂ The Masque was sparsely populated by Assembly members, members of the College of Heroes, Avlynysâs few non-royal nobles, and security personnel. Â
They really did have to be pulling people from the police force to staff these things. That was the only explanation. Â
Simple decorations - lengths of white cloth, mirrors, and lights - hung from the trees. There were small tables and chairs, also white, set up wherever there was enough room. The largest clearing was set up for dancing. Music played over high-quality speakers. There was no food, due to concerns about another poisoning attempt. Â
It was all sort of surreal. The sort of environment that made everyone look like ghosts. Except the ghosts, who, for the most part, were wearing regular clothes. Â
Matthew and Irene were making a good show of dancing, although they were the only ones. Joanna and Eugene were also dancing together, but⌠it honestly couldnât be called good. Jack was bouncing on the sidelines, looking like nothing so much as a giant, jiggly marshmallow, while Maddie stood watch, arms crossed. Â
Everyone else was⌠around, Danny supposed. The identical costumes actually made everyone much harder to recognize from a distance than expected. Â
Danny skirted the fringes of the party, trying to keep an eye on everyone while staying out of the camerasâ line of sight. Nothing seemed out of place, despite the eerie atmosphere, butâŚÂ Danny couldnât help but be on guard. Â
Rather, he had to be on guard. He wasnât going to let any more of his family be hurt. No matter how ridiculous they were being about ghosts, traditions, language, or loyalty. Â
A not quite natural flutter of white caught Dannyâs eye, and he spun to see Gwensyvyr, and, behind her, Vivian, with a long-suffering expression on her face. Gwensyvyr had used herâŚÂ Could Danny call it shapeshifting when she only used it to change her clothing? Anyway, she was dressed in the same clothing as the living, which would probably do wonders for public perception of his sanity if he mistook her for someone else. Â
She smiled and made finger guns at him. Because of course thatâs what sheâd picked up over the centuries. Finger guns. Â
Other than that, though, she looked as uneasy as he felt. Â
A bell tone rang through the woods, making Danny jolt. He was going to destroy his neck at this rate. Â
Reluctantly, he walked back to the central clearing, where the news crew had set up. The interviewer, a black woman with red-dyed hair, beamed at the family, then at the cameras. âHello,â she said, âand welcome, everyone, to the first round of questions with sy Hys Dyryse! With us, we have Regent Matthew and Lady Irene, their children, Iris and George, Lady Sophia and her children, Lewis and Leo, Princess Joanna and her son, Eugene, and Princess Madeline, her husband Jack, and their children Jasmine and Daniel. Say hi, everyone!â
Danny waved desultorily. Â
âThank you,â said the interviewer. âNow, every half hour of the Masque, we are going to have a question and answer session! If you have a question for the members of sy Hys Dyryse, please send it to our website, listed at the bottom of the screen.â She raised a finger and pointed down. âAnd onto our first questions!â Â
The interviewer accepted a tablet from one of the producers, and her face instantly froze into something that couldnât more clearly indicate âthis has swearing in itâ if sheâd written it on her face in sharpie. Â
âAhem,â she said, after a too-long pause. âThe first question is, what is yourâŚâ a pause to edit out a word, âstance on gay marriage?â
âOn- Iâm sorry, what?â asked Matthew. âIs that- Is that a joke?â
The producer who had handed off the tablet made a slightly dismayed face. Danny couldnât help but wince as well. This was⌠not off to a good start.
âDid an Englishman write that? Do we have the English writing in? No, you wouldnât know,â said Matthew, making a short, dismissive gesture. âMarriage is a religious affair. The institution isnât recognized by the government of Avlynys in any official capacity. People can do what they want with their free time. Why should I care who is married?â
Joanna, Danny noticed, sent Matthew a mildly affronted look at that. Â
The next three questions (âPrincess Yazmyn, are you single?â âWhat is your quest?â and âCan your country answer for the damages done by offshore oil drilling?â) didnât go much better. As the interviewer retreated, Danny heard her asking the producers if they could limit the website availability to people actually in the country and, possibly, put on a profanity filter. Â
Danny felt like he was retreating, too. But he needed a moment to gather himself. He leaned against a tree and closed his eyes. Â
His moment was interrupted first by a spectral hand on his arm, and then by the cold chill of his ghost sense. Gwensyvyr had her hand on his arm, and was staring back towards the central clearing. If his ghost sense was going off, that meant there was someone here who wasnât before. Someone stronger than the dozens of silent spirits that had haunted him since the plane landed. Â
He reached inside his robes, fingers finding the hilt of the ritual knife.
And then there was a scream. A shout. A âNo!â and the sharp zing! of an ectoblast and a grunt of pain.
Danny sprinted back to the clearing, and, oh, if anyone wanted a tableauâ
There was Maddie, there was Jack, blasters in hand. There was Matthew, standing in front of them, arms outstretched, a greenish, smoking singe on his shoulder. Behind him, Sophia, who was, in turn, shieldingâ
Vivian?
No, definitely not Vivian. Vivian was standing next to Danny, looking absolutely horrified, Gwensyvyr gripping her arm with teeth bared and sharp, eyes glowing fiercely. Â
The cameras were watching. Â
âMove, Matthew!â said Maddie. âI know what you think, but thatâs not Vivian!â
Matthew barred his teeth, looking, for a moment, remarkably like his ancestress. âCan you not accept the proof of your own eyââ
âSheâs right!â shouted Danny. âThatâs not Vivian!â
Matthewâs gaze snapped to Danny, widening in shock, and he started to twist, taking a step to the side and away, but the thing wearing Vivianâs face was moving, too. A long, narrow knife flicked first across Sophiaâs face, then dove for Matthewâs side. Â
Danny threw his knife, then wished he hadnât a split second later. Something physical like that would just pass throughâ
But it didnât. The thing was hit in the lower chest and wrenched sideways, its knife skittering across Matthewâs shoulder blade. Dark green dripped from its wound. Â
It looked up at Danny with sharp red eyes, face warped into something unrecognizable, then melted, ectoplasm sublimating in seconds. Dannyâs knife hit the ground with a ringing sound. Â
âAncestors!â hissed Matthew.
Sophia started to wail.Â
Ancestral 12
As a heads-up, this will probably be the last chapter of Ancestral for a while, as I will be attempting NaNoWriMo this year, and this ends on a cliffhanger.
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The sudden dissolution of 'Vivian' and Sophia's howl seemed to be enough to finally spur security into action. Danny could understand why they didn't act, and in some respects he was glad they didn't, because it would have been even odds what side they would have jumped in on, but still. Â
Maybe he would have been less exasperated if an angry-looking group of them hadn't started to box him in. What? Did they still think that had been Vivian after it attacked both Sophia and Matthew with a knife?
Ancestral 10
âSyvyrâ wasnât an easily translated word, for all that it was an important word. Viable translations included priest, seer, enchantress, fairy, sorcerer, spirit, ghost, scholar, doctor, and phantom. Avlynyse dictionaries often rendered it as âa person possessing magical powers, especially one capable of communicating with both the living and the dead, or with spirits.â

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Ectober Week Day 5: Amorpho really liked her face. So he took it.
(Hehe, it's my ghost conscript.)