Hades (39 page)

oil-stained overal s, squinting beneath the hood of a rusted

pickup truck. I noticed that beneath the smudges of grease

on his face he had a twinkle in his eye and a cheerful

demeanor. He was chewing tobacco and an old Hank

Wil iams tune crackled from a portable radio nearby.

“Hel o,” Ivy introduced herself. “It’s beautiful weather

you’re having.”

“Hi there,” the man replied, dropping his tools to give Ivy

his undivided attention. “Sure is.” He thought about shaking

her hand, but reconsidered when he glanced down at his

grime-caked fingernails. Up close, he had gentle blue eyes

and a crooked smile. “How do you do?” His husky voice

was made melodic by his flowing Southern accent. It was

beautiful to listen to and of al the voices in the world I

thought none sounded quite so musical.

“What’s your name?” Gabriel asked and Ivy shot him a

look. His way of skipping over smal talk sometimes made

his style of conversation sound like a flat-out interrogation.

“Earl,” the man replied, wiping a hand across his brow.

“How can I help you?”

“We’re looking for the Abbey of Mary Immaculate in

Fairhope County,” Ivy told him. “Do you know it?”

“I sure do, ma’am. It’s near on seventy miles from here.”

Xavier, who had sauntered out of the shop to join the

discussion, did a quick mental calculation and sighed.

“Great,” he muttered. “That’s another hour on the road.”

Ivy gave him a dismissive glance. “Is there a place to stay

near the abbey?”

“There’s a motel on the highway,” said Earl. He looked

Ivy up and down from her fawn trench coat and riding boots

to her immaculately groomed blond hair. “It’s none too

flashy though.”

“That’s not a problem,” my sister said demurely. “Can you

tel us anything about the abbey itself?

Earl cleared his throat softly and averted his gaze, which

immediately drew Gabriel’s attention.

“We would be very much obliged if you could tel us what

you know,” my brother said in a voice suddenly ful of

charm. It had the usual hypnotic effect.

“Yeah, I know a thing or two ‘bout that place,” Earl said

hesitantly. “But I ain’t sure you wanna know.”

My brother and sister leaned forward eagerly.

“Trust us,” Ivy encouraged, flashing the man a smile that

made him wobble on his feet. “We’d appreciate anything

you can tel us. We haven’t been able to find out much

ourselves.”

“That’s ‘cuz everythin’s been locked up there for a spel ,”

Earl said, mopping his brow again.

“What do you mean?” Ivy frowned.

“When you work at a gas station for a livin’ you hear

things,” Earl continued in a conspiratorial voice. “A lot of

folk come through here and they talk. I don’t mean to

eavesdrop, but I sometimes hear things without meanin’ to.

That abbey you’re talkin’ about—I got a bad feeling about it.

Something ain’t right there.”

“What makes you say that?” Gabriel pressed, his voice

low and intense.

“It used to be a real nice place,” Earl continued. “We

used to see the sisters ‘round town al the time, visitin’ folk

and teachin’ Sunday school. But ‘bout two months ago we

had a nasty lightnin’ storm, worse than we ever seen. After

that, the sisters didn’t come out no more. They said one of

them fel sick from the storm and couldn’t be disturbed so

they shut themselves up inside the abbey. Not a soul’s

been in or out since.”

“How could a lightning storm make anyone sick?” Xavier

asked. “That’s not possible, unless the woman was

physical y struck by lightning.”

“Sure, it don’t make a lick of sense,” Earl replied,

shaking his head sadly. “But I drove past the abbey one

night when I was a makin’ a delivery out that way. I tel you,

ain’t nothing natural ‘bout what I saw.”

“Can you tel us what you saw?” Gabriel had stiffened

and his expression told me he already knew the answer

and he didn’t like it.

“Wel .” Earl frowned and looked embarrassed as if the

others might be on the verge of questioning his sanity. “I

was headin’ back into town when I passed by the place and

I thought I heard someone screamin’, only it didn’t sound

like no noise a human could make. It was a howlin’ like

some kind of wild animal. So, I got out of my car, wonderin’

if I should cal the sheriff and I saw al the top floor windows

had been boarded up and there was scratches on the front

porch like somethin’ was tryin’ to get in … or out.”

Ivy twisted her head to look at Gabriel. “He could have

warned us,” she said in a low voice and I knew she was

talking about Michael. “We are underprepared for this.” I

saw her gaze fal on Mol y, who was applying a coat of lip

gloss, using the car window as a mirror.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean to alarm you,” Earl

added as an afterthought. “I might just been an old coot

losin’ his mind.”

“No, I’m glad you told us,” Ivy said. “At least we know

what to expect.”

“Perhaps you can help us with one more thing,” Gabriel

said gravely. “The sister who fel il on the night of the storm

… what was her name?”

“I believe it was Sister Mary Clare,” Earl said solemnly.

“Shame—she was a real nice one too.”

THE rest of the trip was more subdued as Gabriel made

his way to the motel. Even I knew they couldn’t barge into

the abbey guns blazing until they’d thought of a strategic

plan of action. To Ivy and Gabriel the source of disruption at

the abbey was painful y clear, but Mol y’s and Xavier’s

confusion showed on their faces.

The motel was cal ed the Easy Stay Inn and was situated

just off the main highway, too far from the township to attract

many tourists. As a result it was fairly shabby and badly in

need of some maintenance. The parking lot was empty and

the neon sign only flashed every few minutes, the rest of the

time emitting a whining, static hum. The brown bricks had

been painted white, but exposure to the elements had left

them peeling and weathered. Inside the motel was only a

smal improvement, with dark paneled wal s and brown

carpet. A TV was blaring in one corner and a woman sat

behind the reception desk, painting her nails and

snickering at a
Jerry Springer
rerun. She was so stunned

by the group’s arrival she spil ed her nail polish, but

recovered quickly and stood up to greet the visitors. She

wore tight stonewashed-denim jeans and a tank top. Her

red hair was curly and scraped away from her face with a

floral headband. Up close, I saw that she was older than

she first appeared. A crookedly pinned name tag told us

her name was Denise.

“Can I help you?” she asked uncertainly, clearly thinking

they had lost their way and were looking for directions. My

brother and sister stepped forward to deal with the

formalities. I realized how they must look; like a golden

couple, too perfect to be real. I had to admit the four of them

looked strangely out of place in this setting. They stood

close together, forming a secure unit, like a barricade

against the rest of the world. It struck me that Xavier was

starting to act more and more like one of us. He used to be

more relaxed in the company of people, interacting with

them easily, charming them as if it were second nature.

Now he looked detached and reserved; every so often a

frown creased his brow as though he were agitated by

something unseen. My family had al made an effort to

dress like average travelers, Gabriel and Xavier in dark

jeans and black T-shirts and Ivy in her fawn trench coat.

They al wore dark sunglasses to keep from drawing

attention. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. The

woman behind the desk stared at them as though she had

suddenly found herself in the company of some rather

gloomy film stars.

“We require two twin share rooms for the night,” Gabriel

said stiffly, handing the woman a shiny gold credit card.

“Here?” Denise asked in disbelief before realizing she

wasn’t helping business much. She gave a nervous laugh.

“It’s just that we don’t get many folks through this time of

year. Are y’al here on business?”

“We’re on a road trip,” Gabriel explained hastily.

“We’re hoping to visit the Abbey of Mary Immaculate,” Ivy

said. “Is it walking distance from here?”

Denise wrinkled her nose. “That old place?” she said

disdainful y. “It gives me the creeps; no one’s been out

there in a long time. It ain’t far though, other side of the

highway, just down a dirt road. You won’t see it straight off

on account of al them trees.”

As she spoke, she inspected Ivy with an envious gaze

and I tried to imagine how things must look from her

perspective. Ivy’s tumble of golden hair reached halfway

down her back and her face was glowing and radiant

despite the gravity of her expression. Her skin was

translucent and her perfect, sculpted features barely moved

when she spoke. She was like a stunning il usion you felt

might fade away if you got too close. Denise turned to

Gabriel, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “So, are you

wantin’ a honeymoon suite for you and your wife?”

I heard Mol y snort from the green vinyl sofa and knew

she was wondering what the motel classed as a

“honeymoon suite,” seeing as it resembled a highway

shack with as much atmosphere as a toolshed.

“Actual y, we’re not … ,” Gabriel began, but stopped

himself just in time when he saw the sudden gleam of hope

in Denise’s eye. The last thing he needed was to waste

time fending off the clumsy advances of another infatuated

female. “We’re not fussy,” he finished careful y. “A simple

room wil be fine.”

“And for you two?” Denise asked, inclining her head

toward Xavier and Mol y.

“Ew!” Mol y burst out. “No way am I sharing a room with

him.”

Denise looked sympathetical y at Xavier. “Lovers’ tiff?”

she asked. “Don’t worry, honey, it’s the hormones. They’l

pass.”

“He’s the hormonal one,” Mol y replied. “Moody as al

hel .”

“Do you need any extras?” Denise asked. “Towels,

shampoo, Internet access?”

“How about a gag?” Xavier muttered, casting a dark look

at Mol y.

“Oh, that’s real mature,” she said tartly.

“I’m not going to talk about maturity with a girl who thinks

Africa
is a
country
,” Xavier countered.

“It so is,” Mol y insisted. “Like Australia.”

“The word you’re looking for is
continent
.”

“If I hear one more word out of you two … ,” Ivy warned.

Denise shook her head, mildly amused. “I wouldn’t be a

teenager again for al the money in the world.” Her attempt

at lightening the mood was met with blank stares from both

parties. She waited for the tension in the room to ease or at

least for someone to express some kind of normal

sentiment like exasperation, exhaustion, irritation. But they

al just stared vacantly at her; too caught up in their own

private worries to pay her much attention. “Wel , enjoy your

stay,” she said falteringly.

Gabriel leaned forward to take the keys and credit card

Denise was holding out to him. I saw his fingers

accidental y brush her hand and watched her body react to

his touch. She seemed to lean involuntarily toward him and

her hand flew to her mouth. Then she sagged against the

desk as though that one bolt of intoxicating energy had left

her thoroughly exhausted. She looked up into his eyes like

molten silver and shivered. Gabriel brushed away the white

blond hair that had fal en into his eyes and took a step

back. “Thank you,” he said politely and strode from the

lobby, Ivy floating alongside him like a fairy. Xavier and

Mol y fol owed wordlessly.

A diner adjoined the motel and seeing as it was nearly

evening, they al found themselves gravitating in its

direction. The diner was empty save for a lone trucker

sitting in the back corner and a surly waitress chewing gum

and lazily wiping down the countertops. Both looked up in

surprise when the door jangled and Gabriel and the others

entered. The trucker looked disinterested, too worn-out to