by Jared Stone
“I wish your grandparents were around to see you now…,” his mother continued gently with a sad smile. “They’d be so proud!” With this, she grew silent. Lucian had never actually met his mother’s parents. His grandmother had died of a heart attack when his mom was very young, and his grandfather had died just days after Lucian’s birth, when his car slipped off a bridge and into the river below. He knew that this event had been very traumatic for his mother, but he was too young to remember anything about it. The only way he knew anything about his grandparents was through the stories his mother would tell. He wished he had known them; they sounded like wonderful people.
His mother stood and began clearing plates away from the table. Lucian smiled up appreciatively as she took his plate and brought it over to the sink. Just as Mrs. Aarden turned on the faucet, there was a ringing of the doorbell. “Oooo! Our first trick-or-treaters!” shrieked his mom with joy as she turned off the faucet and wiped her hands on a dish towel. Grabbing a costume witch’s hat she had set beside the table in preparation, she pulled it onto her head and rushed out of the kitchen toward the front door.
Shaking his head, Mr. Aarden looked at Lucian and said, “She’s always been such a big fan of this night.” They both laughed, remembering back on years of costumes, crazy decorations, and antics. As Lucian grew older, the creativity gradually lessened, but Mrs. Aarden still showed the same level of enthusiasm she had always possessed.
Lucian sat at the table wiping his mouth with a napkin as he heard his mother open the front door. But, instead of the shrill squealing that normally accompanied his mother seeing children dressed in Halloween costumes, he heard a confused, “Hello?”
“Hi, Mrs. Aarden. I’m very sorry to bother you, but I’m one of Lucian’s friends. I was hoping to speak to him…,” said a familiar voice.
Lucian dropped his napkin from his mouth onto the table, and his eyes narrowed into a look of extreme frustration. “Oh, Hell no!” he exclaimed, pushing out his seat and standing up. Storming out of the kitchen door, leaving his father sitting alone and confused at the table, Lucian went tearing around the corner of the hallway and into the living room. There his mother stood in her silly hat in front of the open door. Standing in the entranceway opposite her was Gus, looking very solemn and apologetic as Lucian came up.
“Mom, I got this,” said Lucian, squeezing between her and the unwanted guest.
Smiling brightly, Mrs. Aarden said, “Now, Lucian, don’t be rude! Invite him in!”
With this, Mrs. Aarden gently pulled her son to the side and beckoned Gus to enter. Lucian suddenly realized that his mom had been similarly lulled into compliance by the Kílán’s amicable disposition. As Gus looked at Lucian hesitantly, he crossed over the threshold, into the house. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” said Mrs. Aarden inquisitively.
“I’m Gus,” he said, holding out his hand.
Reaching out as well and shaking it, Mrs. Aarden replied with a delighted, “Very nice to meet you, Gus.” She was all smiles as she stood there looking at him.
“Mom, can you give us a minute to talk in private?” Lucian said brusquely, glaring at the Kílán.
“Oh, of course!” said Mrs. Aarden, holding out her hands to the side with glee. “I’ll go get the dessert ready!”
With this, Mrs. Aarden twirled around and lightly pranced back into the kitchen, her excited, bouncing strides making the tip of the hat dance with every step. The minute she had turned the corner, Lucian stepped right up in front of Gus’ face and hissed, “You’d better have a good reason for this! You couldn’t give me one day with them!?”
“I’m really, really sorry, Lucian,” said Gus quietly, sounding ashamed and hanging his head like a reprimanded puppy who’s afraid of getting locked in his cage. Then, suddenly, he looked back up, as if he had just remembered important business. “But I need your help immediately. There’s something I won’t be able to do without you.”
He sounded so deeply regretful that Lucian’s anger melted away almost instantly. The boy paused for a minute, watching Gus’ face for any sign that he was being disingenuous, but Gus remained as seriously composed as Lucian had ever seen him. “What is it?” Lucian finally asked, concerned.
“I just got word that Zagan’s discovered the hiding place of that special item I told you about,” Gus whispered intensely. “Knowing him as well as I do, he’ll be going after it immediately. We’ve gotta get there before he does so we can move it to a more secure location.”
Pondering over this for a second, Lucian suddenly realized something. “Wait, why do you need me to come with you!? Wouldn’t it be easier to just go by yourself?”
“It would be, if Zagan doesn’t manage to make it there first,” Gus nervously countered. “If he does, I’m afraid I won’t be strong enough to face him alone. I’ll need help, and many of the other Kílánór are too far away right now.”
With a shocked look on his face, Lucian practically yelled, “WHAT!?” Realizing that it came out a bit louder than he intended, he came in close to Gus again and whispered, “Are you mad!? I can’t fight Zagan! I haven’t had nearly enough training, and I haven’t actually mastered much of anything yet!” He added this last part a little bitterly.
“Yes, but the power IS inside you already,” stated Gus with certainty. “I wouldn’t be coming to you if the situation weren’t dire.” Looking Lucian straight in the eye, Gus pleaded, “Please, Lucian….”
Lucian glared at Gus. He couldn’t believe he was about to agree to this.
“Okay, fine,” said Lucian, throwing up his hands in exasperation. “I need to go explain to my parents.”
As he turned and solemnly trudged into the kitchen to break the news to his parents, Gus followed along behind him. Lucian didn’t care enough to tell him to stay at the door, so the two of them walked into the kitchen together, where his mother and father were sitting eating pie. Both of his parents stood up when they entered.
“Hello there, I’m Lucian’s dad!” said Mr. Aarden, reaching out his hand to greet Gus.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” said Gus as he returned the handshake.
Mr. Aarden furrowed his brow in thought. “Hmmm, have we met somewhere before?” he then asked the Kílán.
“Oh, no. I don’t think so, sir,” Gus stated assuredly with a polite smile.
They continued smiling at each other for a moment while shaking. Eventually, his father withdrew his hand and went back to stand in front of his seat at the table, awkwardly clearing his throat.
“Mom…. Dad…,” Lucian began hesitantly. “I’m afraid I have to go for tonight. Gus and I have a group project to work on, and it’s due Monday, and it’s really important. I forgot all about it til now!” Even as he said it, Lucian realized how absolutely ridiculous it sounded, especially considering Gus’ clearly superior age. He had never been the best at making up convincing excuses on the spot.
“Oh, sure, honey,” said Mrs. Aarden, smiling in a strange way that Lucian hadn’t been expecting. She walked up and hugged her son. “Have a good night, okay?”
“Thanks, mom,” said Lucian, smiling back but feel-ing terribly guilty. Mrs. Aarden released her hold on her son and stood back to look at Gus. “Gus, would you like some pie before you go??”
Gus stood motionless and dumbfounded. One could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he grappled with the grueling task of choosing between saving the world and eating pie. Lucian grabbed Gus by the arm and squeezed. “Sorry mom, no time for pie tonight!”
“Oh, alright then,” replied Mrs. Aarden. “You boys be safe now!”
Lucian nodded toward his father and smiled as he yanked Gus, eyes still fixated on the pie, out of the kitchen. “Nice to meet you!” Gus eventually called out as Lucian slipped into his shoes and pushed Gus out the door.
In the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Aarden both sat back down at the table. Mrs. Aarden cut off a piece of pie with her fork and held it up to her mouth. Before ta
king a bite, she said contemplatively, “Well, he seemed very nice, at least! And so handsome!”
“Yeah…,” replied Mr. Aarden. “But a little too old for him, I think,” he concluded, taking a bite of pie himself and staring thoughtfully across the table at the wall.
* * *
The sleek, black sports car sped down the road with Gus at the wheel and Lucian sitting angrily in the passenger’s seat. He fixed his gaze out the window, leaning his chin down on his hand with his arm up on the door’s armrest. He understood the gravity of the situation, but he also felt that it was completely acceptable to be upset at how unfair it was. And what was up with my parents tonight? he thought to himself. They acted so weirdly….
Watching the reflective markers on the side of the road as they whizzed by, Lucian glanced over at the speedometer. Gus was driving well over 70 in some spots on this back country road through the woods, and Lucian was nervous.
“Hey Gus, you might wanna slow down,” suggested Lucian somewhat passive-aggressively. “After all, it is Halloween, and there are probably kids out.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Gus shot back, not taking his eyes from the road. “I’ll sense them before they see me.”
“Well, what about cops?” Lucian added, trying to convince him to slow it down slightly, if just for his own safety.
“Nope, none on this road right now,” Gus stated very assuredly. He was a man on a mission, and that seemed all he was prepared to say on the matter.
Lucian looked out through the windshield in front of them, watching the headlights cut through the darkness like blades. As he watched the abyssal black around them being cleaved in two, Lucian had a sudden realization.
“Gus…,” began Lucian thoughtfully, turning to face the driver. “When did you find out that Zagan was planning on stealing the item tonight?”
“About half an hour ago,” replied Gus.
“Ah, I see…,” said Lucian.
Pausing for a moment, he then added, “Gus…, how did you manage to get to my house that quickly?”
“I was parked outside,” Gus stated unapologetically.
“Oh, great!” exclaimed Lucian, lifting up his hands briefly and dropping them back down into his lap. “Well, that’s not creepy at all….”
Gus didn’t respond, and Lucian wasn’t even certain that he had heard him. The Kílán simply stared straight ahead, deeply lost in thought and wearing an uncharacteristically grim look on his face. The two remained in silence for the next five minutes or so, until the car came to a stop and Gus turned off the headlights.
Sitting in the darkness of the car, Gus took a breath in. “You ready?” he asked suddenly, looking over at Lucian.
“Yeah, I guess…,” replied Lucian with uncertainty.
With this, Gus opened his door, illuminating the car’s overhead lights. Lucian grabbed the handle of his door and pushed it open as well, climbing out and joining Gus by the trunk.
Shooting up from the ground before them stood a dark, gothic stone building. The base was square, but the top came together and pierced the night sky with a conical stone spire. The impressive, round stained glass window in front was darkened from the inside, and Lucian could only see this scene with the ambient light cast from the moon above them. It appeared that this structure had been built in the style of a traditional 14th century cathedral, though Lucian was certain it was really constructed much later than that. Sitting atop the peak of the building, a giant stone cross was silhouetted against the moonlit sky, like a temple guardian ready to ward off intruders.
“Gus…,” began Lucian, looking up at the towering architecture before him. “This is a church.”
“Ummm, yeah,” replied Gus bluntly as he pushed up on the button near the license plate and flipped open the trunk lid.
“I thought demons couldn’t enter churches,” Lucian continued as he glanced down into the trunk to see what Gus was doing. “Don’t they burst into flames or something?”
“Ha!” Gus responded as he turned his head from the trunk to look at Lucian. “You’ve been watching too many movies. Churches aren’t as good or pure as you might think.” He turned back toward the trunk and rummaged through a large duffle bag. “In fact, some of the greatest evil has been committed in churches….”
With this, Gus’ upper body emerged from the back of the car with a long, sheathed sword. The handle was wrapped with crossed straps of black leather that formed white diamond patterns in a line down the middle. The hand guard was a flat circular black disc, and the sheath curved ever so slightly. Lucian thought immediately of the katana he had seen in old martial arts movies as a kid. The boy stared, wide-eyed, as Gus casually swung it over his back and attached the leather strap diagonally across his chest.
“What the heck is that!?” Lucian asked in bewilder-ment.
Reaching up and patting the grip with his hand, Gus smiled and said, “This is my demon huntin’ sword!” Closing the trunk, he added, “We go way back.”
“Where’s mine?” queried Lucian expectantly.
“Sorry, only have this one,” Gus said dismissively. “Hopefully, neither of us will have to use anything. If we do…, you’d best rely on that qi of yours.”
Lucian’s face dropped. He stared at Gus, expecting a big smile to accompany this joke. Instead, Gus just patted Lucian on the shoulder supportively and began walking away through the tiny gravel which composed the parking lot.
“Unbelievable!” Lucian hissed under his breath. He turned around angrily and began following Gus to the church’s entrance.
The Kílán moved around to the side of the building to stand before a smaller door in the rear section of the church. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a key and inserted it into the lock. Twisting his hand and pushing, the door easily swung open. Glancing back toward Lucian quickly to ensure that he was still with him, Gus then stepped into the pitch black within, and Lucian followed closely behind.
Once inside, Gus skillfully maneuvered through the dark to find the circuit box. Opening up the box’s screeching front lid, Gus casually went down the line and flipped the switch for every light in the place. When light flooded into the room, it became apparent that they had entered the church through an access door which led to a back storage area. Tables and chairs and boxes were stacked on top of one another around them. As the room illuminated, Lucian rushed over to Gus’ side.
“Gus! What are you doing!?” whispered Lucian in panic. “Now he’ll definitely know we’re here!”
Gus looked back at him unflinchingly. “If Zagan is near, he already knows we’re here, lights or not…,” he said seriously, sliding past Lucian and walking through the door to his right. Lucian stood there for a moment fuming with indignation, but he reasoned he had no choice other than to follow Gus’ lead.
Walking through the same door, Lucian found that he was standing in the back corner of the main section of the church. To his right, a large marble altar sat atop a raised platform. Behind this altar, a wooden cross with an attached sculpture of Jesus hung as a morbid memorial to the savior’s sacrifice. Lucian always felt more unnerved by this scene than comforted, and even though he had been raised a Catholic, he had chosen a few years ago to no longer attend mass. It seemed that his beliefs and worldview differed drastically from those of the church, and it eventually didn’t seem appropriate to continue pretending.
To his left, the nave stretched out before him, filled with row after row of uncomfortable wooden pews. Lucian remembered back to the days of coming to church as a child, being told to kneel and pray while all he could concentrate on was the pain searing through his tender young knees. In retrospect, it was very much like an extreme version of the discomfort he now felt while meditating. Listening to a priest drone on and on and singing horrible, melancholy songs. There has to be some better way to worship than that, thought Lucian, then and now. As such, it was an easy choice for him to turn down the offer of Confirmation at sixteen.
Lucian
could see Gus standing at the opposite end of the hall from him, examining the baptismal font. Lucian let out a fleeting smile as he remembered back to days as a child when he would irreverently joke with his dad about it being like a birdbath for kids. Cautiously closing the distance between Gus and him, Lucian’s smirk quickly faded, and he began looking around vigilantly as he moved across the vast open space before the altar. Upon reaching Gus’s side, he looked down at the Kílán crouched beside the font’s thick marble base and saw him place his flat palm on a golden side panel. Closing his eyes, Gus whispered something, and Lucian swore he briefly saw Gus’ hand glow pale blue for a second before fading. At this, the panel popped open, and Gus reached his hand inside the space. Withdrawing it, Gus held something wrapped in red satin cloth.
“It’s still here,” Gus said, glancing up at Lucian and letting out a bright, beaming smile. Looking back down at the parcel and holding it out in front of him, Gus pulled back the flaps of satin to reveal an ornate dagger. The silver blade shone brightly in the dim light of the church, and the pure white handle was inscribed with numerous symbols Lucian could not identify. Lucian stared at it in wonder, feeling a strange sensation creeping over him. It was as if the dagger itself was emanating some kind of energy, and Lucian suddenly felt all of his hairs standing on end. Grinning up at Lucian again, Gus carefully covered the blade and gently worked on slipping it inside his inner jacket pocket.
Lucian immediately snapped out of his temporary daze and began looking around them again. He had an uneasy feeling and wanted to get out of the church as soon as possible.
“Alright, Gus, let’s go,” whispered Lucian to his companion.
“Just one minute,” responded Gus as he worked to position the gold plate back to its proper place.