The trio made their way in silence, a few grumbles about the weather here and there, but other than that, total silence. They knew what Maria was thinking, and what she had experienced. They had not raised a dumb girl, but they always disliked the closeness Maria and Dana appeared to have. If they told Maria to be home early, if she wasn’t, out the belt would come.
Maria had given up caring about that. She had the best times with Dana – the girl was four feet tall and full of fun. Dana had family to go home to as well, but she was always reluctant to do so. Maria never questioned it, though Dana had said just one thing about her parents.
“They’ve a special way of loving me,” she would say, but the light extinguished from her eyes when she would say it. Maria didn’t understand, but thought it sounded nice. She was just too innocent for the world.
“Well I love you too, Dana,” she would say, “and we will always be friends, won’t we?”
“We will,” she replied. “No matter what happens, we will always be friends. Forever.”
***
Finally, the parents opened their mouths. A woman with a strange pendant around her neck had turned into the road in front of them. Maria could not take her gaze off it, to the point that her mother covered her eyes with her hand.
“Beautiful child,” said the woman.
When Maria’s parents bowed their heads and did not answer, the woman spoke up again.
“God-fearing folk, I shouldn’t wonder. Well, whatever faith keeps you safe.”
There was no malice in her voice, no hidden agenda that Maria could discern. Maria’s mother lit on her.
“We’re off to the church! Not that the like of you would be allowed in there.”
The woman smiled. It was a genuine smile, not a sneer. “The parish priest and I have often sat down for a cup of tea and discussed matters of faith.”
“What would your kind know about faith?”
Maria ducked out from underneath the cover on her eyes. “That’s a Wiccan pentacle! I saw it in a book once!”
“Behold, a daughter of true enlightenment. Yes child, there is more than one faith.”
“But only one true God!” came the frosty reply.
The woman looked at Maria. “You’ll be okay, little one.” Then she looked up towards her parents, and did not take her eyes off them, even for a second. “Go and practise your faith. When you have had your chat with the Father, please, come and see me.”
Maria’s parents were already walking in the direction of the church, but she slid out of their grasp. Before they could catch up with her, Maria had shouted in the woman’s direction.
“But how will we know where to find you?”
The response was cryptic.
“I’ll answer your question, with a question. What’s the next in this sequence? Square. Triangle. Rectangle.”
Without hesitating for even a moment, Maria whispered the word, which was barely audible to those present.
“Circle.”
***
Maria turned around and shouted towards her parents. “We’ll get answers there, Mum – not at the church! We have to go to a place called the Circle. The lady said-”
Maria looked the other way, but that woman had simply disappeared from view. She was in no doubt that she had been in the presence of a great and powerful witch; or at the very least, someone who had an understanding of witchcraft.
The mass was said in an efficient manner, with the priest being pulled one way, then another, by parishioners who wanted him to lend his ears to them. When the throng of people had dispersed, Maria’s parents walked up to him and wasted no time with what they had to say.
“Our house has been attacked by the Devil,” offered Maria’s mother, in a simple and direct manner. “Our daughter has been the subject of his attacks, but the Lord is good.”
“Indeed He is,” affirmed the priest. “But an attack by Satan is rarely a one off. I will give you all a blessing.”
That’s exactly what he did, in fact, that’s all he did. Maria’s parents looked rather aghast that there was no offer to come to the house, so they made the offer to him, and he agreed to give the house a blessing, though it would be three hours before he would arrive.
“That gives us time to go to the Circle,” said Maria excitedly.
“We will not be going there,” came the icy response. Maria knew that’s what they would say too.
“Then that gives me time to go to the Circle.”
Maria’s parents never washed their dirty linen in public, but right there in the night sky, they argued the merits of Maria’s wishes whilst comparing them against their own beliefs.
“We can go with Maria, see this lady, it will be fine. But look at her – if you deny her this, she won’t ever forgive us,” said her father. “We can’t see the priest now, but he said he would visit us later, so what harm will be done? Please, this is our daughter we’re talking about.”
“That woman is evil, and if you had any brain cells to rub together, you would see it too. Well, away with you! Take these bloody pennies with you while you’re at it. I certainly don’t wish them a good home. I will await the priest, but you had better look after Maria.”
She stormed off in the direction of the family home, leaving Maria and her father pondering their next move. He heard what Maria had replied in answer to the woman’s question, which sounded more like a riddle, the more he thought about it.
“I don’t know whether it’s your mother or your antics that cause me to have headaches. Where the hell are we supposed to go, Maria?”
Maria fastened every button on her coat and tucked her favourite purple scarf inside. She didn’t want her father to see her confusion, much less have to return home early and wait for the priest. Now what a treat that would be.
Then, it came to her. In the summer months, the Midlands area, especially around North-West Birmingham, there appeared what her father would call a ‘low Sun’. Even if chill winds had been there just moments before, the temperature would rise, often without warning, and the searing heat was enough to ‘burn the Devil in Hades itself.’ According to her mother, of course, who rarely failed to work a Biblical sounding reference into everything she said. That might sound harsh, but if anything, it made me understand my Nan a lot more. She didn’t just believe in the supernatural, nor took everything preached at church as the gospel truth.
“There’s a lot we know, and even more that we don’t know,” she told me one time. “It’s up to us to figure out the rest.”
Just like the low Sun in the daytime, the Moon’s height was considerably low also. Of course, the Moon also loomed over several buildings, but the circular shape of the planet appeared to be close to a rather decrepit building. Maria squealed with excitement when she saw it.
“There, Father. We have to go there. That’s the location of the Circle.”
***
Though every part of his being told him that this was not a good idea, Maria’s father went along with his daughter all the same. He had to spoil her a little, and give into her demands. After all, these demands were extremely rare, and her mother would only resist.
Daddy’s little girl indeed.
The building looked like others in the street. If this was a location of a witch, shouldn’t it look more witchy, if there was such a word? As they stood outside, wondering whether they should knock on the door or not, it opened slowly. The man looked up, and no lights were on in the house.
“Dad, it’s definitely this place,” said Maria. “Please, let’s go in. I can’t explain it, but I have to go inside. I just have to.”
She took a step forward, but felt the commanding arm of her father on her shoulder.
“Wait, Maria. Just wait.”
He had such a masterful way about him, but it was tempered with gentleness. He had a calm way about him that Maria could not help but respond to. Of course she would wait.
“Why is it so important, Mari? Why?”
Her eyes never betrayed her thoughts. She answered as honestly as she could.
“That woman can help me deal with all the…..Dana stuff. Please Daddy, please.”
Maria’s mannerisms, how she would speak, how she would stand, even when she did nothing, simply served to mesmerise her father.
He could not deny her anything, even when the warning tugged at his heart.
“For a moment, we can go in. If something seems off, we’re going, is that understood?”
Maria gave him a look that hoped there would be plenty of things that would be off, but retained an innocence that meant she had him where she wanted him. She beamed her best smile at him, and held out her hand for him to hold. It didn’t mean she needed his support – she wasn’t frightened to go inside; but by letting him doing these fatherly things, it gave him what he needed most.
To be her protector.
It was dark inside. Claustrophobic. Oil lamps on either side of the bare walls dimly lit the way ahead. He never said anything, but Maria’s father wanted to let out a nervous laugh, if only to break the tension.
“Maria, maybe we should go. There’s nobody here.”
“Shh,” she replied. “There is somebody here.”
Her father looked around, tut-tutting to himself as he did so. Looking around in pitch-black darkness was unlikely to improve matters. He kept a firm grip on Maria’s hand.
“There!” exclaimed Maria. “Look at the light ahead!”
The woman they had met earlier emerged from the shadows.
“You are something quite special, child. It’s not easy to find me. Either you are a bringer of death, or you behold something which you wish to discuss.”
“Maybe I’m a bit of both, I don’t know,” said Maria. Her father remained amazed at his daughter’s calm way of talking. She was sounding more like an adult with each passing day.
“Come in and sit down, it’s much more inviting here.”
The woman ushered them into a room. The theme was heavy on dark red and light gold. The carpet was thick and muffled their steps. A table was in front of them. The woman reached for a decanter on the side table, and offered the man a drink.
He shook his head.
“As you wish,” she said, “though your wife is not with you now. I don’t think the child is the kind to go telling on her father.”
“The scent on my breath will be enough,” he sighed. “My wife has a way of telling whether I have had a drink long before she comes up close to me.”
“How so?”
“Because I’m happy,” he smiled.
“And Mrs Hurley wouldn’t approve of that now, would she?”
“How do you know my wife’s name?” he asked, but it almost came out as if he was shrieking. Maria dug an elbow into him.
“She’s a witch, Daddy. Witches know everything.”
“Don’t use such words, Maria. It’s impolite. Unless of course, you really are a witch.”
His voice tailed off towards the end, almost as if he was embarrassed to say the word.
“As I said to you and your wife, your daughter is truly enlightened. Why don’t you tell me why you are here tonight?”
He was about to speak, but Maria was ahead of him. She explained about the demon on the bed, about the death of Dana; about the figure hiding behind the curtain. The wailing of the….whatever it was.
Finally, he could get a word in once Maria took a pause. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“There were two black pennies on her eyes when we…that is to say, when my wife found her. By all that is good and pure, we thought we had lost her. Please understand, my daughter is my life. We are here because Maria believes you can help us. Can you?”
The woman sat back. Mrs Hurley kept her hair short, even though Maria liked her to wear it long, and especially wear her own hair long too. The reasoning was that the grey hairs her mother now had, needed to be kept in check.
“It’s only witches, and women who have lost care of themselves that have long grey hair. Don’t let the same be said of you, Maria.”
This woman had long hair, and sure enough, many of the strands were grey, but Maria observed someone who had a kind face. There did not appear to be a hidden agenda to her.
“I can help. Perhaps. I won’t be able to help, however, if you withhold information. That would be the same as lying. You need to be truthful here.”
Maria’s eyes were locked on the pendant around the woman’s neck.
“Is that a pentacle? Does it have magic powers? Can you show us?”
Her father smiled. His inquisitive little daughter was back again.
“All in good time. We haven’t been introduced, have we?” She extended a hand. Her arm was not much thicker than her hand, but her strength more than made up for it. “My name is Lunabelle. You can call me Luna for short.”
“Maria, but then you already know that” offered my Nan simply.
“Warren Hurley.”
“Well, now we’ve all been introduced, it’s cards on the table time. Demons, devils, banshees. We can talk about those. But first, give me those black pennies you have.”
“What?”
“Mr Hurley, the longer they are in your possession, the more danger you and your family will attract. I can remove their potency, but you need to trust me. The pennies. Now.”
“They are evil. How can we trust you?”
Maria looked up at her father and rolled her eyes. Now who’s being impolite, she thought. On the witch’s table, lay a teacup that was empty. Tea leaves clung to it. Maria did not know why, but she understood the layout.
“We can trust her, because this is her tea cup, Daddy.”
Her father shook his head in wonder. “What are you talking about, Maria?”
“I just know, Daddy. I just know.”
Luna smiled in her chair. “Not only enlightened, but talented. Tasseography in one so young, it’s a rare thing. You must be very proud, Mr Hurley.”
“Maybe I would be, if I had any clue about what you’re on about.”
“That pentacle you wear – it didn’t belong to you, did it? How did you get it follow your will?” asked Maria.
“With great difficulty,” replied Lunabelle.
“It’s given you young life, and I think I’d like one too,” said Maria. “You are older than you appear to be.”
Maria was about to chastised by her father when Lunabelle burst out laughing. “If that were true, don’t you think I would have ironed out the lines in my face, or the grey in my hair?”
“Authenticity gives you authority, doesn’t it Luna?” smiled Maria.
“Well now, it’s late in the evening for such big words, little one. Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here? Tell me about that object you have back home.”
“I will,” said Maria, who was unsure if she really could tell this woman about the mirror in her drawer, “but you have to give me some information too.”
“Fine. Why don’t you go first?”
Maria explained about the creature at the window. Its hair, darkened by dried blood, but also wet blood, coloured black, pussing from lacerations in its dry skin. Its teeth, not fully housed within set gums. Its abnormally long arms.
“It has no legs that I could see below the knee stumps. Are you still going to call it a banshee?”
“I will call it something. It has a name, though it is a kind of banshee, a true original, from the first batch of its kind.”
“A banshee, you say?” said Mr Hurley ominously. “In our family, when one hears the banshee…dear God…a death soon follows. They wail, and then disappear. But the resonance of that Godawful sound stays with you, long after the demon has gone.”
“You’ve seen one, haven’t you sir?”
“Three times. I pray to God I don’t see a fourth.”
“Do you know where they go, once they disappear from the human range of vision?”
“I don’t know,” he replied honestly.
“Your daughter knows.”
Maria turned to face her father. He could have sworn her brown eyes turned a luminous blue, just for a second, but it chilled him to his bones.
Dark Winter: Last Rites Page 3