by Alexie Aaron
“R A B B I T?” Jake questioned.
“R A B I D,” Mia corrected. “As in…”
The cartoon dog’s mouth started to foam.
Ted looked over at his wife open-mouthed. “How do you know about the Dark Web? You’re not even computer savvy.”
“Says who?” Mia asked. “Didn’t you ever wonder why I didn’t have a computer in my sanctuary?”
“We will talk on this further. I’m sensing you may have traveled paths best not spoken about in front of Brian.”
“You sense right.”
Jake brought up the map. Mia leaned in and traced the line until she came to the spur. “It’s not a spur at all,” she said aloud. “Excuse me, Brian,” she said, setting him in his playpen. “Private com please,” she said to Ted, hopping out of the trailer.
“Go ahead, Mia,” Ted said.
“It’s not a line at all, Ted. It’s a segment between here and Big Bear Lake.”
“You’re thinking…”
“Wyatt is an active demon or possessed by one.”
“He’s dead, according to Sam.”
“If you are possessed by a demon and you die, you become a positive elemental. You don’t cease to be.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to make sure that we close that line before Wyatt senses that the William Waynes are entertaining.”
“I understand. How can I help?”
“Contact Orion, tell him I’m going to be airborne in five minutes.”
“Be safe, Mia.”
“I promise,” she said.
Mia walked over to where Mark and Audrey were examining the bundle.
“It’s a journal and some drawings,” Mark told Mia as she approached.
“Cool beans. Um, Mark, can I see you a moment in private?” Mia asked.
“Go ahead, Mark. I’m just going to take a few photos of these. I’ll wait before we start reading,” Audrey promised.
Mia walked quickly into the woods. She passed through the ley line and waited for Mark to catch up.
“Mia, what’s the hurry?”
“I wanted to explain something to you before you find out in any other way.”
Mark nodded, still puzzled by the secrecy.
Mia pulled off her overshirt. “You see, Mark, you have an incredible gift, but it does have its flaws. Watch,” Mia instructed and brought her wings forward. “I’m not an angel, Mark. I’m a woman with a husband and child. I was given these wings so I could help humanity through some rough patches.”
Mark was mesmerized.
“Come and touch them.”
“Wow.” He ran his hand along the wings. “I saw these. How did I see these?”
“You have the sight. You will be able to help the angels to find their kin when the time comes. They will depend on you to not only keep their secret, but to guide the lost to their brethren.”
“When?”
“I hope you don’t need to do anything until you’re grown. In the meantime, you need to prepare yourself by getting as much education as you can. Only a man with his eyes opened by knowledge can truly see the truth.”
“Why are you telling me all this now?”
“Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop.”
“Tacitus?”
Mia nodded. “I have to leave you now to stop a demon from coming to the house, if I can.”
“Good luck, Mia.”
Mia nodded and took flight. She circled until Orion joined her.
Mark watched the two disappear. He picked up Mia’s shirt and ran back to Audrey who was waiting patiently for them to continue their part of the investigation.
Marilee Wayne wiped her hands on the tea towel. She nodded to the older woman. “Welcome. I wish I could offer you a seat but…” she moved her hand outwards to show the barren room.
“That’s alright, I sit too much. It’s not good for my old bones,” Glenda said graciously.
“William!” Marilee called. “We have guests.”
Another entity moved out of the room that was once the family’s kitchen. It took some time, but William managed to manifest the upper part of his body.
“I can smell the pipe,” Burt whispered to Ted.
William looked at Glenda and the men and puffed on his pipe before nodding a welcome. “What can we do for you?” he asked.
“It’s we that would like to offer our services to help you,” Mike said.
“How?”
“Mark is worried about the state of your home.”
“Ah, it has sheltered us without complaint,” William said. “You don’t find homes like this anymore.”
“I was admiring the woodwork,” Glenda said.
“My father put a lot of sweat into it. I remember, even after a long day of plowing, he would return here and work on the finishing touches for my mother Mary. It was his way of saying that he loved her.”
“That is so beautiful. I’m surprised they chose to move away,” Glenda said.
“Me too. I guess he wanted her to have the finer things. She left us all too soon.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Glenda said.
“Thank you, ma’am. It is appreciated.” William started to fade. “I find myself in need of a rest, so if you will excuse me,” he said and disappeared.
Marilee said, “Make yourselves at home,” before she too faded from sight.
~
Mia moved higher, and Orion pulled up near her. They moved with speed in the security of airspace that was rarely traveled. Mia pointed out the lake, and the two dropped rapidly downward, and landed on the lakeside of an old house. It wasn’t as well-kept as the large mansions that abutted the property lines, but it wasn’t abandoned. Mia moved carefully towards the back patio where an old, weathered man with dark glasses sat at a table, staring out into the lake, enjoying a cool drink.
The man looked at the two petite people approaching him, lowered his glasses and squinted. His yellow eyes evaluated the birdman and a woman, whom he could not classify but looked familiar.
“Wyatt, I’m sorry to just barge in on you. I’m Mia Martin, and this is Orion.”
Wyatt nodded his greeting. “Sit.” He indicated the chairs. “You live, or used to live, across the lake, didn’t you?”
Mia smiled. “Yes, on the peninsula.”
“What can I do for you today?”
“It’s about the old house,” Mia started.
“There is no treasure. Leave the place alone.”
“We are not treasure seekers,” Orion said. “You were once.”
“That folly almost cost me my earthly body.”
“I’m looking for permission to enter the home,” Mia said, flashing her yellow eyes.
Wyatt turned his head oddly, trying to get a read on this crossbreed. “Why?”
“The house is calling to a child. I fear for him,” she said.
“The house protects itself,” Wyatt said. “As long as the child doesn’t deface it, he should be alright.”
“When did the house become sentient?”
“After my father sacrificed my brother and his family.”
“I don’t understand. I was under the misconception that you killed them.”
“No, he killed them when he gave them the house.”
Mia took off her glove, laid her hand on the table, and opened it in supplication.
Orion was fearful of what she was doing.
The demon within Wyatt studied the situation before him. He closed his eyes and laid his hand on top of hers.
They read each other with such speed that Orion barely had time to breathe before Wyatt withdrew his hand.
“Sticks,” he laughed.
Mia blushed. She turned to Orion. “Wyatt speaks the truth. The house killed the Waynes. It poisoned them. The truth of it all is in the manuscript William wrote.”
“Mia, please take this in the spirit in which it is given,” Wyatt said. “
You can’t save everyone. You’ll be defeated before you even get started.”
“How far are you into the Cynosura?” Orion asked Wyatt.
“I have no need of their power. I’m an independent demon; I need no issue to make me whole.”
“If there is war…”
“I will weigh the pros and cons at that time.”
“I pray there is no need for either of us to make those choices,” Mia said.
“Am I going to be on a watchlist?” Wyatt asked Orion.
“No, as far as I’m concerned, Mia and I came here to ask you about the house, and you were very cooperative.”
“What are you going to do?” Wyatt asked.
“Try to save your family before I rip that house off the face of this earth,” Mia said through clenched teeth.
“Do you need help?” he asked, smiling.
“Why would you help me?”
“They were my family too.”
“There is a ley line that connects this house with the other. You need to sever the line or the house will escape.”
Wyatt nodded. “It will be done. Mia, Two Face Tony was a thug.”
“Was?”
“He’s gone. Disappeared a few days ago. Someone’s cleaning house,” he said and got up to go in.
Mia reached out once more, and the two shook hands. She turned and left. Orion was amazed at the ease with which his granddaughter had dealt with the strongest demon he had seen in his career.
On the flight back, Mia asked him, “Angelo?”
“I don’t know. It could be Sariel or even Roumain. All are that powerful, but, Mia, there is a wild card.”
“I have a feeling I’m going to need to have terra firma under my feet for this,” she said and landed.
Orion evaluated the forest glade and the privacy it offered before speaking. “You have a half-blood uncle out there. He would be older than Charles. His father was someone so powerful that he took your uncle away from your grandmother and shielded him from all her seeking spells. She never saw him again in her lifetime.”
“Why would my uncle help me?”
“You heard the demon. You’re family.”
Chapter Thirty-one
Burt backed out of the kitchen with the camera. He slowly panned it around, focusing it on the crumbling plaster which wasn’t really that bad. Actually, it was covered in a faded but rich wallpaper that matched the curtains. The lacey sheers rippled from the warm breeze that moved through the room. Burt stepped carefully so he wouldn’t knock off any of the mementos that adorned the highly polished tables.
Two boys sat playing with cars on the braided rug. Burt knelt down and focused in on the eldest child.
“What are you doing?” Timmy asked.
“Filming you.”
Timmy smiled and mugged for the camera. Jimmy put his hand up behind his brother and gave him rabbit ears.
“Burt, would you like to play with us?” Timmy asked.
In the kitchen, Glenda ran her hand along the long enamel sink. She remembered seeing sinks like this when she was a girl. This one was free of chips. Pots and pans rested there upside down, air drying. She smelled something and turned to see a pot bubbling over on the stove. She lifted the lid and reduced the fire. There was a teapot covered by a crochet cosy. She took a cup from the cupboard and poured herself a cup of tea. The aroma of the tea reminded her of the day she met Mike’s father.
He was a handsome man. Mike got his looks from him. There wasn’t a day that she didn’t see more and more of his dad in Mike. She looked around, puzzled. Wasn’t Mike here a moment ago?
Mike and Murphy moved stealthily along the airing porch. They were going to investigate the cellar. Burt wanted to do it live, but Mike remembered, all too well, his own insistence on investigating Murphy’s cellar live had resulted in him falling into an icy well. The house gave Mike a queasy stomach, or was it the copious amounts of whiskey he had drunk last night? Ted’s revelation and Burt’s drunken remembrances were weighing on the investigator’s mind. Mia whom he’d initially thought was a selfish little bitch was anything but. The more time he spent with her, the more he admired the courage she had. Here she was, changing at an alarming rate, but still, she was insecure and fought for a marriage that he felt was doomed from the start. Mia moved too quickly into the arms of a man-child, a man who lost his virginity to her. Ted must wonder what other women were like. No wonder he was swayed by Beth’s attention. He too must have pondered the what ifs in his life.
Mike sympathized with Murphy, although he’d never tell him that. How could he be with Mia day and night and not touch her? Not want to pull her hair or kiss those full lips of hers? Mike shook the feelings away, lit a light disc, and concentrated on quietly exploring the cellar.
Murphy studied the rusted tins against the wall. It wasn’t unusual for people to have cookie and cracker tins, but so many? Maybe they were gifts, or mementos, or the lady of the house had a severe hoarding problem. He turned and looked deeper into the cellar, saw all the bits of broken furniture hung from the ceiling, and thought that the gentleman of the house, too, had a problem with throwing anything away.
He watched Mike move through the bits and bobs. Mike picked up a broken mop handle and tossed it in the corner.
“There is a lot of crap down here,” Mike said.
Murphy tapped his axe in commiseration.
Mike saw the raised wellhead. It and the cover were made of cast iron. “This, Murphy old man, is a very expensive installation.” He unlocked the lid, hefted it upwards and looked inside. “Water level is pretty high here. Must be that pond over yonder.”
There was a creak of floorboards overhead. Mike walked over to investigate.
Murphy felt an odd pull. It reminded him of something, but what, he couldn’t put his finger on. He followed the pull and turned the corner to see a vortex of some kind. This had to be the entrance or exit of the demon spur that he and Orion had theorized. To have a vortex in the cellar of a house was most extraordinary. What came first, the spur or the house?
“Help me!” a child’s voice screamed.
Murphy turned around to see what looked to be the eldest child being carried by an unseen force. He moved quickly to intercede but was slowed by the pull of the vortex. He broke free of the pull and rushed to see the child tossed into the well. Murphy knew the toll, just being near, the ironized water would take, but he could not stand by and watch the boy perish. He ran over and looked down. The boy was just out of reach, floundering in the water. Murphy bent over, but still, he couldn’t reach him. He gripped the base of the blade of his axe and extended the handle deep into the water.
He didn’t hear the feet of the other boy, nor realize that the boy wasn’t actually in the well at all until he felt himself being tipped into the deadly water and heard the well cap come crashing down.
Mike heard the well cap and walked over to investigate. “Murphy, is that you?”
Silence.
“Come on, Murphy, this is no time for games,” he complained. Still there was no response. He, however, did hear a rustling behind him. “If that’s you, I’m so going to salt you,” he threatened.
He followed the sound. He had to crawl under the low-hanging furniture. He lit an extra light disc to illuminate the corner he had found himself in. It seemed to be a hidey-hole of some kind or a fort built by the boys of the house. He’d had one in the attic. It was a great place to play with his friends on rainy afternoons. He looked at the accumulation of old shoes and leather belts and puzzled at how an apparently poor household had so much castoff junk?
Mike didn’t see the belt that was stretched across the floor until it had wound in and out of his legs and pulled him off his feet. He came crashing down, hitting his head on an old steamer trunk. He sat up and fought to release his ankles when another belt encircled his right hand and yanked it upwards. Mike felt a tear in his shoulder, and he fought the unseen force with his free hand.
“Murph
y, help me!” he called. A chair was pulled off its hook and hit him hard on the back of his head. He fought the blackness as long as he could, but a second hit from the chair stilled his protest. Mike felt his other wrist being pulled tight by the belt, and before he could call out again, a smelly rag was stuffed into his mouth. Mike had lost the fight and, with it, his ability to stay awake. He sunk quickly into oblivion.
~
Mia and Orion walked back towards the house. “When you look at it now, what do you see?” Orion asked.
“A parasite, which we’ve been feeding our energy to.”
“Do you believe Wyatt?” Orion asked.
“I saw the truth in his mind. At least, he believes this to be the truth.”
“What’s a demon’s mind like?”
“Like the inside of a castle. Cold, clammy and sad.”
“They used to be angels before they fell,” Orion told her. “But then they evolved. I imagine a few still have the true bloodline, but it would be rare.”
“As rare as birdmen?” Mia asked.
Orion raised an eyebrow. “There are no pureblood birdmen left.”
“It may be the way you choose to procreate?”
Orion roared with laughter. “If you were a tot, I’d turn you over my knee.”
Mia ran towards the command post. She tapped on the side and opened the door. The cool air was a treat, but the welcome-home kiss she received was far better.
“You weren’t gone long,” Ted said. “How’d it go?”
“Surprising. Wyatt Wayne isn’t dead, and he didn’t kill his brother and family.”
“No?”
“The house did. Let’s get anyone who’s inside investigating out of there,” Mia advised.
“Burt, come in, over,” Ted called.
Silence
“Mike, Glenda, come in, over.”
Silence.
“The camera is still moving.” Ted pointed to the video feed. “Maybe the audio is just out.”