Darkness upon the Land

“I’m sorry to say there may be official sanction behind what happened here,” Father Nick stated before he took a sip from the cup of water Alexia had given him.

She stared at him. Ever since his announcement in Mѐre’s bedroom her sensation of ill-boding returned in full force. They were seated around the dining room table with Reuben at her right and the priest and deacon across from her. They had offered the two men some food as well, but both replied only water would be fine.

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“Because your mother was becoming a threat to the city council’s plans.” Father Nick leaned back in his chair. “But maybe I should start from the beginning. I saw her first on Friday, the day after the power outage. She came into town riding that old gray horse of hers and had a shotgun hanging over her shoulder.” He smiled slightly. “She’d brought some meat and some vegetables that were thawing out on her and said she wouldn’t be able to dry it all, and offered that the church could pass it out to people.”

“You’d better tell them about the food pantry,” Deacon Bernard stated.

Father glanced toward him. “Trust me, I was getting to that.” His attention returned to her and Reuben. “We were very happy she’d brought that food, because the Church pantry for the poor had been raided the day before.”

“On the first day?” She asked.

“That very afternoon. Five men came to the church and helped themselves. I knew it would be better to just to let them take it, although I don’t think they listened to a word of the little homily I pitched at them. Well, Liana showed up at the time we had several people sort of trickling through the church seeking assistance, so we started passing out food. Later that day, after she left, one of our police showed up asking about our food stores. Bernard told him how we got the supplies we did have. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.

“The officer also told us to forgo Vigil Mass Saturday night because a curfew was being issued due to the looting that had started. Liana had already mentioned how she was going to change to Sunday morning Mass, and so that was the next time I saw her. She brought some more food, canned and dried items this time, which she said she could spare because the garden would be producing more than she would need to preserve, anyway.”

“We always have more than enough,” Alexia murmured.

“Liana and I discussed the changes that were taking place. Certain businesses were being shut down or put under guard, and the council was confiscating the very goods people feared running out of the most. I warned her to keep her shotgun under wraps, that the growing police force took weapons from anyone who was carrying them. We agreed that things were going to get worse before they got better, and she said she would do what she could to insure the parish would be able to keep assisting those in need.”

Father Nick took another sip from his cup before he continued. “That was the last time I saw her until today. You see, Monday I had an interesting visit from one of the council members. She informed me that our church was relieved of the responsibility of helping to provide food and toiletries for the needy. The council was going to take care of those matters, and besides, it made us a target for looters if we had any goods. I thanked her for their concern, but I said the Church could no more cease to give charity than she could cease breathing. Apparently that offended her, and she let me know that we wouldn’t receive any assistance or cooperation from the local authorities if we were targeted and anybody got hurt or killed because of our foolishness.”

“Was that a promise or a threat?” Reuben asked.

The deacon frowned while looking at him. “We wondered the same thing ourselves.”

“So tell us about this run-in you had today,” Father Nick requested.

Alexia only half listened to what he said since she’d heard the story before. It was the priest’s information that commanded her focus. First he’d said it was good that Reuben didn’t tell anybody about the men he’d had to shoot. Then he mentioned he didn’t think anything at the time about Deacon Bernard telling a police officer the church had received some food from her mother. And then someone from the council told him the church needed to get out of the charity business. After that, Mѐre got targeted and the local authorities weren’t going to do anything about it.

She drew a line from one incident to the next, and the realization that struck her almost robbed her of breath.

No, it couldn’t be. Surely Father Nick’s veiled accusation was a jump to conclusions, a conspiracy theory that was blown out of proportion. There was no way Jake and Hooter could be associated with the council. It made more sense they would have acted independently.

“I see.” The priest nodded thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair after Reuben finished. “You know, you’re very fortunate. If the council is behind what happened to Liana, they’re going to discover second hand that there’s a young man at her home who might have been instrumental in causing a couple of their hit men to vanish. It’s a good thing you didn’t tell your goons in Esperanza about them, because now the council won’t be able to run you in, or rather out of town, without exposing themselves.”

The veil had dropped from Father’s accusation, and she had to catch her breath.

He leaned forward again. “And by the way, what did you do with the bodies?”

A hint of that ashen tone slipped into Reuben’s face again. “I had to haul them out one at a time in the pirogue and dump them as far, far back in the swamp as I could go and still have time to get back and split some wood before chores.”

Father Nick seemed to study him for a few seconds before responding. “Liana told me about you, how you were bringing Alexia home, and how much faith she had that you would succeed. She spoke very highly of you, and I can see why. I’m sorry you were placed in this position, that in all likelihood your troubles aren’t over yet. But she’s in no condition to be moved, and I’m afraid supporting forces won’t be easy to come by.”

She didn’t like how he had returned to insinuation. “You think more of them will come out here?”

His gaze shifted to Alexia. “Eventually. I think you do have a little time on your side.”

Deacon Bernard was more forthright. “The council has their hands full right now getting the town itself pacified. Now that they know your mom’s not alone anymore, that somebody’s here who can make their people disappear, they probably won’t try again until they can send large enough a contingent they know can overwhelm you.”

At least the tremor she felt pulse through her remained internal.

Father Nick continued to regard her. “Which begs the question why they sent gunmen in the first place. I suspect the council would have tried to strike some kind of bargain with your mom, but because she wouldn’t play their game they decided to take her resources by force. Still, it is extreme of them to actually threaten her life. I can’t help but wonder if something … went wrong.”

“What game?” Alexia focused on remaining calm. “She proved she’s willing to share with the people in town.”

The deacon shook his head. “And that’s exactly what would make her a target.”

Reuben nodded. “Martin and Jackie said the council wants everybody to surrender their goods so they can redistribute them fairly to the citizens. Liana would have seen through that ruse.”

Father Nick smirked ruefully. “You would hope a local government would be more generous to the populace, but, well, this is Louisiana.”

She drew in a deep breath to remain calm. “So what do we do?”

Reuben immediately replied. “Set up defenses but also prepare to make a run for it.”

“I wish I could help provide some more men down here to help with your defense.” The priest shook his head. “But everybody’s got their hands full with their own concerns. We can do this much, though. We can be your eyes and ears in Esperanza. If anything transpires you’ll need to know, I’ll send somebody or come myself to at least hopefully give you enough warning to take the best action.”

She noticed the water in her cup rippled slightly.

Reuben spoke up. “I was originally planning on going into town once a week, take care of matters for Liana and keep ourselves updated.”

“You’d better stay put until further notice.” Father Nick regarded him thoughtfully. “Which reminds me, Liana also mentioned your real original plan was to head for your own home after you brought Alexia here. She was concerned about your traveling alone and was going to do anything she could to persuade you to stay.”

“Well, this is overkill, but she succeeded.”

The deacon smirked. “We can make it a point to not leave you hanging.”

Father Nick nodded. “If nothing else occurs before Monday, I’ll come back then and give you a latest update on what’s happening in town. Hopefully Liana will be in better shape by then.”

The water in her cup rippled a little more. Reuben’s glance suddenly shot to Alexia and he placed one hand over the mug as he leaned toward her.

“I didn’t realize how late it’s getting,” he commented. “Think you should go get the strainer ready for milking Bliss?”

“No, not yet.” She drew a deep breath. “It’s not that late.”

“Late enough we should be heading back,” Father Nick remarked. “Unless there’s anything else you need us for?”

She glanced at Reuben before shaking her head. “You’ve done plenty for us already. Thank you again.”

As the two visitors rose to their feet, the priest picked up his cup and swung it toward the deacon as though offering him a toast. “One for the road, my brother?”

“I’d better.” He rolled his eyes as he also raised his cup and both men drained the mugs. As he lowered it he concluded, “But you still might have to push me back part of the way.”

“I’ll just let you ride on the handlebars.”

“Having trouble with your bike?” Reuben asked.

“Not the bike.” The deacon thumped himself in the chest with an index finger. “The rider. This old man doesn’t have the stamina he used to, while young Father here rides around like a school kid.”

“Just be grateful they didn’t come up with a way to connect bikes to satellites.” Father Nick offered a hand to Reuben. “I wish I had better news, but we’ll help as we can and our prayers will be with you all.”

“Thank you.” He shook hands firmly with the priest and then with the deacon. “And our prayers will also be with all of you.”

She managed to maintain her composure enough to also shake hands and not subject the two ministers to the faint vibrations they might have otherwise felt. As she accompanied Reuben into the yard to bid farewell to the riders before they pedaled away, she repeatedly told herself they were all jumping to the worst conclusion. The evidence had to be circumstantial. Jake and Hooter had never had any ties to the council. Why would they suddenly be involved now?

The denial helped her to remain calm.

“There goes two troopers,” Reuben commented after the men were gone from sight. “I never saw much of the deacon before, but both of them really do seem like shepherds.”

“We were going to lose Father Nick in another month,” Alexia murmured.

“What? How come?”

“He’d been reassigned to another parish. That’s what priests do. They never stay anywhere more than a few years.”

“This may sound weird, but I’m glad this all happened before he got transferred.”

That night, as the northern lights glistened as brightly as they ever had, she slept again on a sleeping bag thrown down on the floor beside her mother’s bed, and he slept on the couch again, his rifle within reach.