DARKNESS DWINDLES Chapter Five
Aunt Vivana's convent was two hours south of the city on the interstate, then another hour on state 45. Daniel took the van. He turned off the state highway onto a smaller road and after a couple of miles they came to a narrow paved driveway. Beside it was a weathered sign that read "Order of OLPS."
"This is it," announced Daniel. "Order of Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrows. Christ, what a name."
He turned onto the driveway. They drove for several hundred yards to a parking lot in front of a small brick church. On either side of the church were several nondescript two-story structures, also brick. Daniel parked the car and they got out.
A middle-aged woman in dark pants and a grey turtleneck came out of a door in one of the buildings. A sign beside the door said ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE. Around her neck was a small cross like the one Vivana had sent to Joey.
"You gentlemen get lost?" she asked.
"I hope not," Daniel gave her one of his best movie star smiles. "I'm Daniel Miltzer and this is my brother, Joey. We're looking for Vivana Estrella. She's our aunt. We'd really like to talk with her."
The woman looked puzzled. "You're Sister Vivana's nephews? Have you told her you were coming?"
"No. She wrote to us recently and we both wanted to see her, so we just drove out. It was a pretty long drive, so hopefully that's okay?" Daniel tossed out another smile. "She hasn't taken a vow of silence or anything like that, has she?"
The woman laughed. Daniel's smiles often had that effect. "No, she hasn't. I'll go check on her availability. It may take a little while. You can stay out here, or wait inside the church if you like."
She went back into the building and closed the door. They waited beside the car. Twenty minutes later the woman returned.
"Sister Vivana can see you," she said. "I'll take you to the visitor's room and she'll be there in about an hour. You're lucky that her schedule today is so flexible. We don't usually do drop-ins."
"Thank you, sister," Daniel said. "We really appreciate it."
She smiled back. "I'm just a lay-sister, not a nun. But you're welcome."
The visitor's room looked like a turn-of-the-last-century sitting room. The sofa and armchairs had floral print upholstery and the windows had lace curtains. There was a pendulum wall clock that ticked softly.
It was closer to an hour and fifteen minutes before the door opened and Vivana Estrella walked in. Joey's aunt was in her mid-fifties and looked it. She was dressed like she had been working outdoors, in dark baggy pants and a long-sleeve grey flannel shirt with sweat stains on it. Her salt-and-pepper hair was short and her skin was deeply tanned.
Vivana settled in an armchair and regarded them warily. "Joseph," she husked in a soft voice, "it is good to see you. You are doing well?"
"Hi, Aunt Vivana. Yeah."
"And Daniel. How are you?"
"Not so great. I'm sorry, but I have to correct my little brother and say that I don't think he's doing so well himself."
Vivana fingered the rosary in her hands. "Is that why you came?"
"Yes."
"I missed you," Joey offered.
Vivana stared at him through shadowy hazel eyes. After a moment she looked away. "I've missed you too, child."
"We both missed you, at Mercedes' funeral," Daniel said.
She looked down at her rosary. After a moment she looked up again. "What do you want?"
Daniel worked his jaw for a moment before he said, simply, "Help."
Vivana nodded. "I will do what I can, God willing."
"Then I hope God's in a helping mood. We need to know some things, first off, about Mercedes."
Vivana nodded again.
Daniel licked his lips. "She ... wasn't like other people, was she?"
Joey's aunt cocked her head and regarded Daniel for a long moment. "No," she finally answered, "she wasn't."
"She was a -- a sorceress or something, right?"
"She was a witch. A witch of the Estrella first line."
"Estrella first line. Wow." Daniel exhaled. "And you're a witch, too?"
The rosary twitched. "I am a nun."
"Yeah, yeah. But you were a witch, right? There's some magic ... stuff going on and we need to know what we can do about it."
"Darkness," said Vivana quietly. "It is called Darkness."
"What?"
"Magic is a word used by the Children of Light, those who are blind to it. The Children of Shadow call it Darkness."
"Darkness. Got it."
Vivana looked at the rosary in her hands. She leaned forward to place it on the coffee table in front of her and straightened in her chair.
"Very well," she said in a louder voice, "I think you are right. It is time for some things to be said." She turned to Joey. "Your mother, Joseph, had an inheritance of deep Darkness. She came from a great lineage of witches."
"And warlocks?" interrupted Daniel.
She frowned at him. "No. Joseph was the first boy child born of the Estrella Lineage in five generations. Mercedes violated family ... rules by having a son."
"Most people think a baby's sex isn't something the mommy gets to chose."
"Most people are not witches. It was a serious thing Mercedes did, breaking from the family's way. She compounded it by marrying your father. That is also not the way."
"Is that why none of you ever came to visit her?" Daniel's voice grew harsh. "She was in the institution for two years and not one of you ever called or even sent a letter. Not you or your sister, not your mother. Her own mother never reached out to her and it's just because she violated the family rules?"
Aunt Vivana winced. "You don't understand. Charolotta was dead and Momma Lolotta forbade any of the family to have contact with Mercedes."
"Wait a minute," Daniel frowned. "Charolotta was yours and Mercedes' older sister, right? She died, too? I never knew that. When did that happen?"
Vivana pursed her lips and looked away. "Shortly before Mercedes was hospitalized."
"That's weird. Mercedes' eldest sister died right after Dad's accident? Do you think that's what pushed her over the edge?"
Joey's aunt turned back to Daniel. She studied him, her hazel gaze dark as a forest glen. "Did you ever hear Mercedes talk about Charolotta?"
"What?" Daniel thought. "Oh, yeah, I remember. You, she liked. The rest of her family she was pretty neutral about, except for Charolotta. She hated Charolotta." He shook his head. "I guess her dying wouldn't have driven Mercedes to crack up like she did."
Vivana nodded. "What is this `magic stuff' you need guidance with?"
Daniel and Joey exchanged looks. "Daniel's a bear-wolf," offered Joey.
Daniel snorted.
"I beg your pardon?"
"About a month ago I was attacked under the full moon by a wild animal. A few days ago under another full moon I suddenly developed a bad case of the hairies and a craving for fresh venison. I mean really fresh venison."
"The moon gift?" Vivana looked surprised. "You have the moon gift?"
"Gift?" Daniel barked a laugh. "Is that what you call it? A gift?"
"It is a gift of the Darkness. Such are not always easy to accept."
"No shit. How can I take it off?"
Vivana shook her head. "You cannot. Darkness's gifts are permanent."
"Shit." Daniel sighed. "So what should I do?"
"It was a full transformation to beast form? And you returned to your human form completely?"
"I know I turned back into myself. No fur down my back, if that's what you mean. The rest I'm more iffy about. Was I in full beast form, little bro?"
"I ... think so. You were a bear-wolf."
Vivana nodded. "That is a good sign."
"Really. A good sign?"
"Yes. It will be the same each time. You should isolate yourself during the change. You must accept this as your life from now on. It is a burden God has given you."
"What about others? What about Joey? Could I infect him?"
"The gift is given directly through blood, and only when one is in full beast form. Did you wound your attacker?"
"Yeah. Got in a couple of whacks with a hatchet."
"Its blood must have mingled with your own. That is the only way."
"You mean like AIDS?"
"No. AIDS comes from a virus. This is of the Darkness. Blood to blood is the only way. Not everyone survives the change to become a true werewolf. You were fortunate."
"Yeah, I'm a lucky guy. And there's nothing I can do about it?"
"You can pray."
"Right. I think we've come to the end of this topic. Let's move on to the next issue. There's something wrong with Joey."
"What do you mean?"
"I know it's been a while, but do you remember what he was like?"
Aunt Vivana looked at her hands as if she were searching for the rosary. "I remember," she said softly.
"Well," Daniel gestured. "Look at him now."
Vivana raised her gaze toward Joey. His own gaze fell to the floor; hair slid like a curtain down over his eyes. She looked at him for a long moment.
"Joseph," she said cautiously, "you are ... eighteen?"
"Yes Aunt Vivana."
"Have you graduated from high school?"
"Yes, Aunt Vivana."
"How did you do?"
"Uh, fine."
"His GPA was only two point one," interjected Daniel, "even though he scored in the ninety-eighth percentile on the SAT. He's smart, and he plays the clarinet like an angel, but he comes across as dumb as a post because he never takes initiative in anything, including conversations. He's nothing like he was when he was a kid."
Vivana continued to study Joey. "How long has he been like this?"
"Since Mercedes died."
"Six years. He should be larger and more developed."
"I know. He looks like a kid. You could mistake him for a twelve-year-old girl until you hear his voice. Some people have. But the doc says his hormones and blood work are all normal."
"I'm right here," Joey protested.
Vivana smiled slightly. "There's some initiative." The smile slid away. She crossed herself and closed her eyes for several heartbeats.
"Oh, child," she sagged, "I fear you've been cursed."
"That's an -- oh, wait, do you mean that literally? He's really been cursed?"
"I believe so." Her eyes when she opened them were bright with unshed tears.
"But that's ridiculous. He's just a kid. Who would ..." Daniel's face hardened. "Did one of Mercedes' relatives do this to him? Was he cursed just because she violated the family rules and gave birth to a boy?"
"I don't know." Vivana leaned forward to pick up her rosary.
"We have to get them to lift this."
"No." She clutched the rosary. "It's over and done. Be happy that this is the worst of it."
"It's not over and done. He lives with this every day. They have to take this off of him. I want my brother back!"
"I no longer speak with Momma Lolotta or the rest of the family. Only my daughters come to visit, and that is rarely. I will not ask this of them."
"Then I'll ask."
"That would not be wise. There is no love among the Estrellas for either of you."
"Where do they live?"
"Why should I tell you? Let it be. Do as I have done and pray to God for courage and strength to live with what is. Good things do not come of the Darkness, especially when one meddles in anger. I have learned this through great sorrows."
Daniel stood up. "Thank you, Sister Vivana. I'd like to say you've been helpful, but really you've just been informative. Joey, do you want to say anything else to your aunt before we go?"
"It was good to see you, Aunt Vivana. Thank you for the cross."
"Dear child, it was good to see you. I will pray for you both."
"Great," said Daniel. "You just do that." He grabbed Joey by the hand and they left.
Daniel's grip on the steering wheel was tight as he drove back to the state highway. "Didn't we come the other direction?" Joey asked after the van had turned onto the highway.
"Yeah. We're not going home."
"Where are we going?"
"To see the Estrellas."
"Oh. But Daniel, Aunt Vivana wouldn't tell us where they live. How do you know?"
Daniel's lips pulled back in a savage smile. "At the back of their wedding album, I found the list that Mercedes gave to the calligrapher for invitations to her and Dad's wedding. Vivana, Charolotta, Momma Lolotta and a couple other women all shared the same address. It was a P.O. box in a town on the coast, a couple hours from here. That's were we're going."
"Oh. Are we going to stop for lunch, Daniel?"
Daniel's grimace loosened into a simple grin of affection. "Sure, little bro. We'll stop wherever you want."
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Okay, things are definitely rolling. Like the ER lady said, that Daniel Miltzer is one capable man. He's also damn good looking.
But I hope you haven't gotten the impression that his younger brother is ugly. Sure, Joey's slender and underdeveloped, but the boy's still a looker. He has high, wide cheekbones and a tapering jaw. His hair is straight and glossy black and his skin is the color of coffee with loads of cream. Most striking are his eyes, which are a shade of brown that's pale as a glass of tawny port, although most people don't notice because he's always looking down at the ground. Finally, he reeks of that androgynous soulful-poet energy that adolescent girls and closeted pedophiles really swoon over.
Yep, my Joey is cute enough to eat. But he's not available for public consumption.
InvertedBeast@yahoo.com