Darkness Dwindles Chapter Nine
After their meeting with Uncle Walter, Daniel dropped Joey off at home and went over to Duessa's. He stayed at her place that night and spent the next morning helping officiate ranking exams at his dojang. Mid-afternoon he came home. Joey was laying on the couch in the living room, watching a rerun of Law & Order. Daniel didn't say anything. He settled down in the loveseat next to the couch and together they watched the show.
A commercial break came and Joey glanced over at Daniel. His brother was staring intently at him. Daniel broke their gaze and stood up. He went into the kitchen, pulled a beer out of the refrigerator and headed downstairs.
Joey finished watching the show. He turned off the TV and went down to the studio. Daniel was there. He'd pulled the sheet off of his latest painting and was staring at it.
Joey got his first good look at the new piece since before Daniel's bear-wolf transformation. It was a night scene. A star-filled sky silhouetted trees looming over a shadowy clearing. Along the right edge of the painting was a side view of Daniel's van. The van's weathered paneling glowed under the dim light like algae on an old rock. The left side of the painting showed the profile of a male figure. The man was turned away from the viewer, his head up and thrust-jawed. Clutched in his lowered right hand, hanging down against the man's leg, was a hatchet. The edge of the ax-blade gleamed like a crescent moon, reflecting back the light from the full moon overhead.
"Shit," Daniel dropped his face into his hands. He was shaking.
"Daniel," Joey came forward. "Don't cry. It's okay."
"No, bro," Daniel shook his head, "it isn't. It's so fucked up. I don't know how long I can keep going like this."
Daniel looked up at Joey. His face was drawn, desperate. "I'm so fucking confused. I've always been a pussy man. When I was younger I was never even the tiniest bit interested in fooling around with my friends, the way some kids are. There were other boys who I knew wanted to try stuff with me, but I didn't care. I was into girls. Shit, the only erection I've ever seen is my own. I am not into men!"
He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.
"God, Joey, I'm so ashamed. Suddenly I'm totally obsessed with you. It probably makes you sick to hear this, but my dick gets hard whenever I think about you. When I'm near you I find myself looking for excuses to touch you. Your skin is incredible. It's such an even caramel color, like café au lait. And it's so smooth. Smooth as a girl's, but the way the muscle lies beneath it makes it feel almost slick. It's like ... God, I don't know. It's not like anything else.
"And the way you smell, fuuuck. It's kinda musky and kinda sweet and kinda spicy. When you sweat there's this tang to it." Daniel took a deep shuddering breath. "And it's not just about sex. The way the hair falls in front of your face all the time, it makes my heart melt. I want to wrap myself around you and protect you from the whole fucking world. I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you. I know I would.
"So I've fallen totally head over heels over someone, and it's a guy. But it's not just any guy, it's my brother. It's my fucking baby brother. That's not just weird, Joey, it's sick. It's totally twisted. I don't care what doctor bloodsucker said -- it's fucking wrong!"
"Please don't cry, Daniel." Joey reached out to awkwardly pat his arm. "It's okay."
"Don't touch me!" Daniel recoiled. "Haven't you heard anything I've just said?" He looked up to glare at his brother. His gaze slipped over Joey's shoulder and his eyes widened.
"Duessa! What are you doing here?"
Duessa stood at the base of the stairs, just outside the doorway to the studio.
"Hi, Dan." She smiled hesitantly. "I made some meatloaf and I thought you and your brother might like some. It's on the kitchen counter."
"How did you get in?"
"You gave me a key, remember? I rang the doorbell but no one answered, so I let myself in."
"How long have you been standing there?"
"I just got here. Sorry if I interrupted something. You okay?"
Daniel wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing. Bro, why don't you go try the meatloaf? Duessa and I are gonna have some time together."
Joey looked at Duessa. "Why does your driver's license say Opal Estrella?" he asked.
"What?" said Duessa.
"What!" said Daniel.
"It says Opal Estrella, but it's your picture." Joey turned to his brother. "Don't we have a cousin who's named Opal?"
"How did you see my driver's license?" Duessa demanded.
"Opal Estrella," Daniel said slowly. "That's Aunt Vivana's daughter."
"Who's Aunt Vivana?" asked Duessa.
Daniel was staring at Duessa. "I am a fucking idiot. You said your parents never married, and that you'd never met your dad." His gunmetal gaze was locked on her. "And you said your mom lived in a group home. I thought you meant she was institutionalized, like Joey's mom. Is she? Or is she in a different kind of group home -- like a convent?"
Duessa looked confused and alarmed. "Dan, I don't know what you're talking about. Aren't you upset about your brother going through my things?"
Daniel shook his head. "I knew Duessa wasn't your real name. Duessa's a witch from Spencer's Faerie Queene. I Googled it. `I that do seem not I, Duessa am.' Who the hell would name a daughter that? And that myrrh you wear -- I smelled the same thing in Momma Lolotta's house. What's your game, witch?"
"You went down to the Valley?" The look of innocent confusion slipped from Duessa's face. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway. "Oh, well, no point in pretending." She smiled. "Hi, cuz."
"So you really are one of Aunt Vivana's girls? Shit, we're cousins. We've been having sex and you're my cousin!"
"Yeah, well, he's your brother. It doesn't sound like you're the type to let that sort of thing get in your way. I don't care. A three-way might be fun."
"This is impossible," Daniel shook his head. "It was a totally random thing that I went to that bar that night. How could you have known I would be there? We'd never even met!"
"Daniel," Duessa gave him an exaggerated pout. "I am crushed. We have too met before. Don't you remember? I came with my mother once for a visit."
"No we -- oh, that's right. It was like a year after Joey was born. I was ten or something. But ... weren't you older than me?"
"That's Amber, you ninny. I was the younger one."
"Right." Daniel nodded slowly. "Amber and Opal. That's right. Now I remember. How did you find me that night?"
"Come on, Dan, don't be a dimwit. I'm a witch. Darkness calls to Darkness. It took a little time and effort, but not that much."
Daniel took a few gliding steps toward Duessa. It was his karate walk. "Why?" he asked. "Why'd you do it?"
She blinked. "Can't a girl just want to spend time with her relatives?"
"Cut the crap. What do you want?"
"Really, Dan. I'm all alone in the big city. I know that sounds kinda corny, but it's true. I remembered you from when I was a kid. You were so cute, a real golden boy. I just wanted to see you again. And then when we met there was this instant connection. Don't tell me you didn't feel it, too. There's no reason to be a prude about it. We aren't blood relatives. Even if we were, it wouldn't matter. It's not a taboo in my family. We don't have babies with birth defects."
"Right. If you can choose your baby's sex, you can choose for it to be healthy." He took another gliding step forward. "But I don't believe you. That isn't why you came looking for me. Or if it is, it's not the only reason. What is it, Opal Estrella? You may as well go ahead and say it, `cause it's over between us. We're through."
"Right." Opal's expression shifted. "Because you'd rather screw your brother. Mister Child of Light," she sneered, "so pure and perfect! Or should I call you the Big Bad Wolf? Tell me, Dan, do you want to do it doggy-style? Think you can get your brother to take it up the ass, like the good little bitch he is?"
"God," Daniel stared at her, "you sound like you hate me."
"I hate you both," Opal spat. "All I ever heard about growing up was Mercedes this and Mercedes that. Mother talked about her like she was the damn Virgin Mary. And Momma Lolotta would just sigh and look sad whenever anyone mentioned her."
She glared at Daniel, her eyes poisonous. "When your father the math guy died everybody got all quiet around the house -- as if they really gave a shit that Mercedes' sperm donor had kicked the bucket. Then Charolotta died and Mercedes went cuckoo and Mother started moaning and crying like the world was about to come to an end. It just went on and on. And when Mercedes finally died it got even worse. My own mother cared more about what was happening here than what was going on at home. She was off to the nun-house two days after my eighteenth birthday. Couldn't wait to get away from us.
"So yeah, cousin Dan, I hate you. What are you going to do about it? Break my neck? Rip out my throat? Be careful: you'd have to face my death curse if you do."
Daniel glided to a stop in front of her. He held out his hand. "Key."
"What?"
"Give me the key to my house. Then leave."
Duessa pulled the key off her key chain and dropped it onto the floor. "Good-bye, love birds. Hope you two have fun together." She spun on her heel and stomped up the stairs.
Daniel followed her to the front door and locked it behind her. Joey trailed behind him. He watched as Daniel went into the kitchen, picked up the meatloaf, and dumped it into the trash.
He walked back to Joey. Gently he reached out to brush the hair back from his brother's face. "Where did that come from, little bro?" he asked. "How did you know to check her driver's license?"
Joey shrugged.
"Well, you saved me from a really bad mistake." There was wonder in Daniel's voice. "Wow. My little brother came to my rescue."
He started to reach toward Joey again, then abruptly checked himself. He took a step backwards. "Shit." He wrapped his arms tight around himself. "I'm going over to Steve's. You gonna be okay?"
"Sure, Daniel."
"Call me if she comes back. Right?"
"Right."
Daniel was out the rest of the day. He was still gone when Joey went to bed that night.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
Joey woke to the sound of Daniel yelling as he came down the hallway. It was five in the morning and the slam of the door to the garage was still reverberating through the house.
"Get up, Joey!" Daniel stood in his bedroom doorway. He was dressed in the same grey t-shirt and khakis he'd been wearing the day before.
"What is it, Daniel?"
"Get up! We've got to talk to that bitch. I've been tossing and turning on Steve's lumpy couch all night and suddenly everything clicked. We've got to go talk to her. Take your shower and get dressed. Come on bro, move it!"
Joey showered and dressed. He found Daniel in the living room, pacing.
"All right," he said as soon as he saw Joey. "Let's go."
They took the Porsche and Daniel drove like a bat out of Hell. It wasn't until he turned onto the southbound freeway and they headed out of town that Joey realized that the bitch Daniel was talking about wasn't Duessa. They were driving to Aunt Vivana's convent.
Daniel roared into the parking lot in front of the brick church and screeched to a stop. He was out of the car and pounding on the door to the administrative office before Joey had gotten out of the car.
The door remained closed. It didn't look like the lights were on inside. Daniel checked his watch. It was seven twenty. He took a couple steps back and surveyed the buildings, then cupped his hands.
"Sister Vivana!" he bellowed. "You have visitors! Come and talk to us!" He cocked his head and listened for a minute. Then he cupped his hands again. "Vivana! We're lost in darkness! Auntie, come and give us some illumination!"
The door to the chapel cracked open and Aunt Vivana slipped out.
"Stop it!" she hissed. "Show some respect, if not for me than for the others and for this place. What do you want?"
"Illumination, Auntie, like I said."
"Vivana glowered at them. "We could call the police."
"Fine. I'll call Opal to come bail us out."
Vivana's eyes narrowed. "You just want to talk?"
"Yeah. Real talk, with real answers. No bullshit this time."
"And then you'll leave?"
"Yeah."
"Wait there and I'll be right back. No more shouting."
Vivana slipped back inside the chapel. Two minutes later she was back and facing Daniel. Her face was tight-lipped with anger and her hand shook as it clenched the rosary.
"Come with me," she ordered, and set off on a brick walkway leading away from the chapel. Daniel and Joey followed her. The path took them across a field of wild grasses and through a thicket of shrubs into a small meditation garden. It was just after dawn and the sun angled across the garden.
Vivana rounded on them. "This is totally uncalled for. We'll have our conversation, Daniel, but then I want you to leave. If I'm not back by the end of the service they will call the police and you will go to jail. I don't believe that you've had any contact with Opal, so don't play those kind of games with me."
"I don't play the kind of games your family plays, Vivana. I just want the truth."
"I've told you the truth."
"Bullshit! You intentionally misled me -- if not with your words, then with your silence!"
Vivana sighed. She looked down at the rosary. "What is it you want to know, Daniel?"
"When exactly did Charolotta die? When?"
Vivana was silent for a long moment. "She died the night before Mercedes was hospitalized."
"That night? She died that night? The same night Mercedes had her breakdown?"
"Yes."
"Witches can choose what sex their baby will be. You said that. And your own daughter was waiting for me in a bar that I picked at random. Coincidences don't just happen when witches are around. It wasn't coincidence that Charolotta died the night Mercedes lost her mind. It wasn't."
"But child –"
"Don't! Don't fuck with me! I'm a goddamn werewolf and I'm pissed! She killed her, didn't she? Mercedes cast a spell or something that killed Charolotta. Tell me I'm wrong. Look me in the eye, Sister Vivana, and tell me I'm wrong!"
Vivana shook her head slowly. She did not look up. "No. You are not wrong."
Now she lifted her head to return Daniel's gaze. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "She had such a deep inheritance of Darkness, Mercedes did. Such a deep Darkness. She overwhelmed all the bans, all the oaths that stop us from harming each other. She killed Charolotta that night. But it came at the cost of her sanity. Charolotta had her revenge."
"That's the reason Momma Lolotta forbade anyone to come see her, isn't it? Not because Mercedes had decided to marry and have a boy, but because she murdered her sister. Right?"
"Yes."
"I knew it! I fucking knew it!" Daniel spun away to punch the air. He rounded back on her. "Now tell me the rest!"
"But I don't – "
"You pious lying bitch! You do too! Why did Mercedes kill her own sister? What made her do it? Was it because of something Charolotta did? Something that made Mercedes so full of hatred and rage that she was willing to sacrifice her own sanity in order to get revenge?"
Vivana closed her eyes. "Yes," she whispered. "Charolotta killed your father."
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I knew it! Why? Why did she do it? Just because Mercedes married him? Just because she had Joey?"
"No," the answer was almost inaudible.
"Then why?"
Vivana wiped her eyes. She took a steadying breath and answered in a louder voice. "That had all happened years earlier. Charolotta had no reason to do it back then. Birthing a son and marrying your father had made Momma Lolotta furious with Mercedes. Charolotta loved that. Her ambition was to be the next matriarch of the Esterra Lineage. She believed Mercedes was her greatest rival."
Vivana shook her head. "Charolotta never understand that Mercedes didn't care about becoming matriarch. Her ambitions were so much greater. Mercedes wanted stop the Darkness from dwindling. She wanted to reverse the tide."
The tears spilled over and began streaming down Vivana's cheeks. "That was what got Jonathan killed."
"What do you mean?" Daniel demanded.
"They were working together, trying to understand why the Darkness dwindles. But in order for him to help, she had to teach him all she knew of the Dark Arts."
Vivana's face was a mask, expressionless, as tears dripped from her chin. "She shared secrets of the Estrella first line with a man. And not just any man -- a scientist. She betrayed her heritage by disclosing that which the Darkness conceals from the Children of Light. That's why Charolotta killed him."
Daniel's eyes narrowed to a predator's gaze. "How did Charolotta know?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did Mercedes announce it to the family? Did she tell them that she was violating the rules by sharing their precious secrets with her husband? Who did she tell, Vivana? Who knew she had done this?"
"We ... " Vivana's cheek twitched, "witches have ways of finding things out."
"Lately I've been remembering a lot about Mercedes." Daniel's words were soft and smooth as a stalking cat. "Witches also have ways of keeping things hidden, even from other witches. Mercedes could have done something to keep the rest of her family from learning what she was doing. If she knew how the others would feel about it, she definitely would have.
"But you, Vivana, you were her favorite. You were the only one in the family she really cared about. Whenever you called she was always so happy to hear from you. She told you, didn't she? She told you what she and my dad were doing. And you told Charolotta. And Charolotta killed my father. And Mercedes killed Charolotta and went insane and died. That's what happened, isn't it?"
"Yes," she whispered, her face ashen. "May God forgive me, yes."
"Fuuuuck," the word was half obscenity and half sob. "So you crawled into a convent and slammed the door shut as soon as you could, as soon as Opal turned eighteen."
"Daniel," Vivana fell to her knees. "Please." She brought the rosary to her bosom. "Daniel ... Joseph ... please kneel and pray with me. Pray that God's love and forgiveness will heal us all. Please pray with me. Please."
Daniel stared down at her. "You pray, bitch. We've done nothing that needs forgiveness."
He grabbed his brother's arm and led him out of the garden back to the Porsche.
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Oh my -- such drama! But then what family doesn't have its little ups and downs? This is what I mean. You're all just so tasty.
Of course, sometimes the plot needs a little help along the way. For example, it took a bit of elbow jabbing on my part to get Joey to push his interfering cousin out of the picture. But I wasn't about to let Opal distract Danny-boy from the hunt. It's been six long years and I'm sick of waiting. And that old werewolf is getting pretty long in the tooth and doesn't like to wander. Took quite a bit of Joey juice to get him out of his cabin in the national forest and down to his rendezvous with Danny-boy. I just had to do something to get that kid off of his ass and searching for his father's answer.
Like the little witch said, Darkness calls to Darkness. What she didn't say is that sometimes Darkness commands.
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