by Anthology
"Love you."
"Love you too."
It seemed that every car Gram passed, the driver was looking at him. Everything about the evening was strange, right down to the lack of birds singing in the trees. There was a group of women getting in their cars when Gram pulled into his driveway. None of them looked his way, they just hurried getting in and drove away. He stood beside the passenger door, scratching the top of his head, thinking he was supposed to meet his wife's family. Gram shrugged and took it as a blessing. A blessing that he wouldn't have to be sitting in a room filled with chatty women.
The door opened as he was walking up the sidewalk and Lilith stepped out, smiling as she always did when he came home. Had he been letting things that meant nothing, get to him when he should have been putting his thoughts on what his eyes now devoured, he thought as he switched his bag to his left hand. She looked back and closed the door as he took the first step. "Gram," she whispered.
"Just one," he whispered back, as his hand slide around her small waist.
Their bodies pressed tight as they kissed their 'hellos', then Lilith stepped back, lowered down from her toes and avoided his eyes. "My Gran's even a bit different then I remember. She and my aunt are putting stuff all over the house and I wanted to tell you out here before you see it and say something."
"How bad can it be?"
"Gram, there's red and black scarves covering my new tables, and candles that stink so bad I feel like I'm going to get sick every time I turn around," she complained, walking him back down the steps. "My Gran gave me these, hippie looking head things made out of baby's breath and wild flowers, for us to wear at the gathering."
"It's okay, Lil. As long as it's not like it use to be, and we don't have to get naked, it will be fun. Didn't you say that you were looking forward to this sunrise feast thing?"
"Yeah, but I didn't think our home was going to be taken over," she smiled.
"Now look who's being the pain. I'll meet your family, be polite, and even offer to help with the dishes. Let's just eat and go to bed. I'm tired so if I have to stay up all night tomorrow night, then at least I have an excuse to go to my room early.
They kissed one more time then walked in to find Lilith's aunt standing behind her grandmother's chair, both staring at the door. Lilith lowered her head then brought it back up, taking Gram's medical bag. "Gran, Aunt Martha, this is my husband, Gram Simms. Supper is ready if everyone wants to go to the dining room." Her grandmother held up her hand.
"You came to this land of your own free will?" the elderly grandmother asked, crossing her hands into her lap.
"Yes ma'am. I came to start a new and exciting life with Lil. I mean Lilith," he quickly added when her brows came together.
"And you have embraced our Lilith's way of life, in whole?"
"If by that you mean her religion then no. Not completely. I have to be honest and say that I don't understand too much about it, but, I'm willing to learn for her," he reached out to take Lilith's hand, but she pulled away, clasping her hands like a small child.
"Then you will celebrate Saint Walpurga with us, as the old did in the days when things were done in accordance with the moon. Those things have changed, some of us remain the same," the elderly woman spoke, as she reached for a glass of iced tea. "Make your man stand no more, child. Martha will ready the table while you help him relax."
Lilith looked at her aunt, who in turn nodded her head once, then turned for the kitchen. Gram told Lilith's Gran how nice it was to meet her, and then excused himself, with Lilith on his heels, to change out of his work clothes. No sooner than he closed the door, he began talking. "We're going to celebrate what? I thought you called this gathering the Beltane, or the Maypole. And what the hell is that smell?"
"It's the incenses they brought," she walked over to the door, "and keep your voice down. I don't want them to here you."
"Your aunt didn't look to happy to see me," he spoke as he took his shirt off. "I don't know if I want to sit at the same table with them or not."
"Please, Gram. It's just for a few days. We head out tomorrow when the sun goes down, we have the morning feast, and then they leave two days later."
"Why do I get the feeling that, that's not all, Lil."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, I just had something strange happen at the office today," he said as he slid off his work shoes. "A little old man came in. He looked fine, then when he started talking he collapsed. He told me to stay out of the field."
"Oh my goodness Gram is he alright?" she asked as she handed him his jeans.
"No, he's not. He died right there, right after he said that."
"That's horrible."
"I've been having these weird dreams too, and thinking about them during the day. I'm excited to see the younger people run out into the woods, and I can't wait to see you dance around the bonfire..." he paused to put on his sweat shirt. "Even cooking all that food outdoors sounds great. I'm actually ready to see how well those pits I dug work, but I can't shake this uneasy feeling."
"I have something that might make that feeling go away," she smiled, leaning over and taking his hand and laying it on her lower abdomen.
"For sure, there's no doubt," he smiled back.
"Doctor Parker's office called yesterday. I wanted to tell you with us having a romantic dinner, but I just couldn't wait."
Gram yelled out, as he picked Lilith up off the ground and spun her around. "Shhh, they'll hear you."
"I want the whole world to hear me. I'm going to be a dad and I think that is amazing!" he yelled, as a light tap sounded at the door.
"Just a minute," Lilith called out, trying not to giggle as she shimmied her way out of Gram's arms. "Go to the bathroom and close the door, and then come out after we leave the bedroom." With a mouthed 'thank you' she walked to the door and waved him toward the bathroom.
Gram leaned into the door, hearing her tell her aunt that they were just playing and were almost ready for dinner. In a deep harsh voice he heard her aunt reply, 'your grandmother waits' then the door to the bedroom closed. He stepped out wishing he had asked more about what was going to be going on, other than getting half nude and dancing to the sounds of the like of Lilith's, Aunt Martha singing. He cringed. After sitting on the edge of the bed for five minutes, trying to block out the young man strapped down to the stone slab, he stood, straightened his sweat shirt and walked to the door.
He wanted to say how good the meal smelt, but the overpowering stench of the incense was just too overwhelming. So, he took his seat at the head of the dining room table and lied. "It all smells wonderful, ladies." Lilith shot him a glare then shook her head lightly as she walked back into the kitchen. He then remembered that these women were use to men being seen and not heard, of course, unless they were first spoken too. Gram had heard of families with strong, even overpowering women, but nothing to this extent.
"Drink your wine, it will help you rest this night," Lilith's grandmother, spoke as she took the seat across from Gram.
"Yes, I hear we have a long night ahead of us," he replied not knowing what to say.
"Tomorrow's eve will become clearer. You have done well with the family farm, but the ground is in need of tending. Do you plan on bringing in a good harvest next year?"
"I'm afraid I don't have time to plant. We were thinking of just making part of the farm my practice,"' he explained, almost causing Lilith to drop a bowl of green beans.
"What he means is, we have plenty of room for him to work from an office in the front barn, so he doesn't have to drive so far to tend animals at neighboring farms."
"The field craves life, Mr. Simms, it has been deprived far too long," the elderly lowered her head and glared.
"Yes, well, we both agree it's going to take time to get the place back into running order, and with my being able to work closer to home, the sooner things will be taken care of."
"Your husband has a strong will, Lilith. I think this land
will be well suited with his mending its needs."
Gram smiled at the aunt who was still staring at him.
"I told you he was wonderful, Gran!"
The dream hit swiftly, only this time he wasn't standing behind a tree watching a gathering. He was standing inside the oldest barn at the back of the property, with what looked like an elderly man standing with his back to him. The man was slumped over with his head hanging to the side. The barn was filled with old tools, that hadn't been used in over a hundred years. Though somehow, these tools held a shine of moments of just being sharpened. The man moaned as the tools began to slightly swing. Gram reached up and immediately felt the skeletal frame under the flannel shirt on the man's shoulder and stepped back. The old man turned and yelled out, "Stay out of the field!" Gram jumped back at the site of the elderly man's face. His eyes had rotted from their sockets and his skin hung on by sheer will alone. "Ready yourself to kill the wicked, for your blood will stain the ground...just as your forefathers."
After the old man spoke, a thick gray worm slithered from his mouth and dropped to the floor, where around his feet were thousands more. They squirmed as he moved forward and Gram stumbled back. "They come to sate the earth's hunger, for it calls for a thirst from a curse laid down by the ways of the old. It is sour here, Gram Simms." The elderly man shuffled, snapping his head back and forth with his effort as one bony hand came up. "Ready yourself, or consecrate the earth for the wicked. Call upon the souls that fed this land before you. Bring forth the wrath and lay this wicked way to rest."
"Who are you?"
"There," the old man pointed.
Gram turned around and saw a stack of hay in the corner, then turned back to look at the horror of his nightmare. The man was gone and he now stood alone with the sharp tools swinging more rapidly. He reached up to block one coming right at him and sliced his forearm open from elbow to wrist. He screamed and woke with Lilith shaking his shoulders.
"Gram? Wake up, honey, you're having a bad dream," she cried out, frantically trying to wake him.
He threw his arms up, seeing nothing but the walking dead of so many young men, that he couldn't see past the crowd of bloody hands that were coming down on him. He doubled his fist and swung out, hitting Lilith right across the jaw. She flew off the side of the bed as Gram sat up swinging at what only he could see. Lilith cried from the floor, begging him to wake, when her grandmother walked into their bedroom. She simply walked over and touched his foot, and he laid back down as if in a deep sleep.
"He didn't mean it, Gran," Lilith got up holding her left cheek. "He was having a horrid nightmare and I was trying to wake him up."
"The others try to speak to him. You must have him drink the tea, and do so often, if you wish him well for the evening's events."
"He doesn't like it," Lilith disagreed.
"Then place the herbs in his food, just make sure that he holds them here," the elderly woman grabbed her own stomach.
"I don't remember anything like this, Gran. Why is he so important to you? The gathering is for us believers."
"Do not question me," she turned and walked back to the door. "You do as you are told!" Then she walked out and closed the door.
Lilith paced the room waiting for her gran's touch to wear off and allow Gram to wake up. She knew about her grandmother's touch from past years. She had witnessed others coming to her grandmother's house for help, when she would spend her childhood summers with her. A light tap sounded at the door and she went to see who it was. Her aunt crooked her finger, telling her to come out into the hall.
"We have flowers to gather. The others will be here soon and things must be ready," her aunt scolded.
"I know, and it will. I have all the fresh flowers that are growing in pops already on the back porch. The tables can be set up before the sun sets, so we have time."
"You should hold that temper, young Lilith. You are still but a child and have much to learn."
"I know, Auntie, and I am sorry. I'm just worried about Gram. This is all so new for him."
"Have your breakfast with him, make sure he drinks his tea," Martha said and turned to walk away.
"Why is this drink so important? We're already pregnant."
"They are simply for good health," her aunt turned to look at her. "The drink is good for the blood." Then she walked away.
Gram was getting dressed when Lilith walked back into the bedroom. He immediately told her that he was going to be working in the back barn, while she did whatever it was that she had planned with her family. After a few minutes of pleading, he agreed to have breakfast with her before he left the farm house for the morning. Even Lilith was shocked to see her aunt and grandmother standing by the smaller kitchen table when they came out. Two plates were set and both filled with eggs, bacon, and pancakes.
"This looks amazing," Gram said as he pulled Lilith's chair out.
"Wait until you taste Lilith's grandmother's tea. It has been in our family for years, and drunk for good health," Martha spoke as she set the two cups on the table.
"I'm not much of a tea drinker," Gram glanced over at Lilith. "But, I'll give it a try."
Lilith's face lit up. "So, what are you going to be doing in the back barn?"
"Just doing some cleaning right now. I need to make room to pull that plow in if we're going to get it to work."
"You have a fine new barn. Why not just work on your equipment in there?" the grandmother asked as she dried her hands.
"It's big enough alright, but we have other plans for the barn," Gram shoved a huge bite of pancakes in his mouth to keep from further explaining himself.
The elderly woman's face contorted into a harsh frown, becoming so upset that she left the room with Martha on her heels. Lilith waited until they were out of the room, and then scolded Gram for not going along with her Gran, rather than doing what he wanted anyway. He ate part of his breakfast, sipped the tea once, then shoved it away and got up. He walked over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.
"I know you ladies will be busy all day so don't worry about my lunch. I have to run into the clinic to pick up a few things."
"You'll be back to get ready by five, right?" Lilith got up and grabbed his hand.
"Of course, I just don't think you need me around right now," he winked and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be out back well before lunch."
He stretched his back as he stepped off the back porch. He heard the aunt cough and walked around the side of the house in time to hear her say that she would kill the goat if Lilith refused. His stomach clinched into a knot as he hurried back towards the back yard and out past the garden area that led to the old barn. As soon as his hand hit the base of the Pecan tree he threw up. No one, not even his wife had mentioned anything about slaughtering an animal. He wasn't ignorant to the fact that humans were considered goats in some ritualistic religions. They had been mentioned in the books he had read, that Lilith had around the house.
The barn leaned to the left, supported by the trees that had grown at its base through the years. Weeds reached waist high and every other step was filled with broken bits of wood and odd parts of rusted, used farm equipment of long ago. Gram pulled back on the offset double door, cracking the left side open just enough to step through. It was lit by the slashes of daylight that came through the gaps in the walls. Dust filled the air as his boots hit the sawdust covered earth. Ropes hung down from the rafters in different lengths, all swinging as his body passed by.
The very spot that the elderly mans corpse stood in his dream came into view. That's when he turned and looked back to where he had been pointing. The stacks of hay had turned into one large mound of debris and several things had been piled on top. Gram began moving them, noticing most were one type of cutting tool or another. He lifted a sickle with half the handle rotted off and smiled at the thought of someone actually using it to cut wheat. It was almost unbearable to breathe by the time he found the bottom of the solid earth floo
r. He sat back, still puzzled at what he was hoping to find. He was thinking he would find some sort of treasure chest, but there was nothing on the floor but good ole mother earth.
He laughed, looking up, seeing a small bright glint in the corner. He stood, looking back once at the spot where the man would have been standing and realized he was pointing at the corner, not the stack of hay. He leaned down and began moving the loose hay and other debris. It was a handle, a round brass loop handle, attached to the only wood that he could see on the floor. He yanked and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. He walked back over and grabbed the sickle, placing the tip in the crease of the opening. He grabbed the handle and pulled as he stomped down on the curve of the blade and the small hidden hatch flew open.
Down on his knees he reached in and pulled out a dark leather book, which was wrapped in a knapsack type cloth. Gram was fixing to take out the other wrappings when he looked down at the name on the binding of the book. Gilbert Simms, eighteen hundred and sixteen. "What the hell?" he said as he sat back and lifted the book. He untied the small leather string and opened the front of the book. Harvest of the Blue Moon, was inscribed on the first page, with the same date right below. Turning back the first page, he read something that put chills up his spine.
She comes with long gray curls on the eve of Beltane to take another of our line to feed the earth of her coven. In age she stays but death never comes. Her glory to the dark side of her faith feeds her black soul as the Simms's blood feeds the earth of her line. Gram, flipping the pages, saw four golden symbols. Below them it read, 'Take to the four corners and breach the soiled earth. Call upon the work of her hand to reverse in the ground that holds the blood of the keepers.' After flipping through a few more pages, he looked down into the opening that held other wrapped objects.
Gram took out the first, which was about two feet in length and removed the knapsack cloth. Its golden shine filled the rustic glow of the old barn and visions began dancing in his mind. He saw an old man placing the items in the small opening. The old man swung his head around as if waiting for someone to appear. He took out a silver dagger from the flap of his shirt and shoved it deep into the whole. He then closed the lid and covered the top with hay. The old man stood, taking a blade through the chest. He dropped to his knees and died right there where Gram now knelt. The figure moved to fast in Gram's mind for him to see who or what had killed the old man, but he felt that the old man was his kin from long ago.