by K. C. Hughes
“She also said that the organ played horrible music.” Plus, she said it was the city’s only church.”
“Wait, are you telling me that Passau has only one church?”
He pointed to the female cab driver. “She knew.”
“A small town with six hospitals has only one church? That’s too odd.”
“Totally.”
They rode in silence, both immersed in their own thoughts. Deakon kept thinking about what Karri said. How can a town with thousands of people have one church and six hospitals? And why did the city silence itself when the organ played? More questions and not enough answers.
Neither Deakon nor Karri had to guess where the cab driver would stop. Situated fifty yards ahead of them a looming church came into view, sprawled on acres of landscaped greens. Domed towers rose above the main building, reminding him of an Arabian castle like he'd seen in Aladdin.
They were so taken in with it, that when the cab stopped, Deakon reached in his wallet without looking, pulled out some bills, and tossed them in the front seat. After they exited the cab, the driver sped off quickly. They were so engrossed with the church that they missed the stand-alone house directly across the street.
It was nestled between two rivers. From one angle it appeared to be on its own island. Centered on the grounds was a massive statue made of stone of a fat guy. He stood on his tip toes to get close enough to read the nameplate which stated that it was St. Stephens Cathedral. They walked around the grounds, gawking at the structure until they came across an entrance.
“Should we go in?” Karri asked.
“If it's open, I don’t see why not. Anyway, what can they do, arrest us?”
She rolled her eyes at him in fun. She hesitantly squeezed the door latch and it was unlocked. She opened the door and heard the creaking from the hinges of the dark wood door. Neither wanted to take the first step like it was booby trapped or something. They looked at each other with wide eyes and walked in. Once they stepped in, their jaws dropped.
“Holy xBox 360!” he said.
“You can’t say that in a church,” Karri said.
A couple feet from the entrance they saw a majestic hallway of baroque styled columns. They were massive, reaching at least five stories tall. Every column had a twin that arched across the walkway to its sibling. Between the fancy carved columns were fresco paintings that covered the ceilings. The paintings were works of art by themselves. The entire corridor of columns and frescoes were magnificent and stretched for hundreds of feet.
They walked with tilted heads and clumsy footwork as they gazed at the beauty. It was so much to take in that Deakon wished he brought his camera. He was too awed to realize he had one built in his cell phone. The natural light at the end of the corridor guided them to the sanctuary.
Deakon and Karri thought the artistic hallway was the highlight of the cathedral. But they were wrong. The first thing that caught their attention was the pulpit. It rose two stories over the pews and was nothing less than spectacular. From the height of it, the preacher, or whoever gave the sermon, had a bird’s eye view of everyone in the enormous sanctuary. He would've been able to see who gave tithes and offerings that clinked and who gave the silent kind.
The pulpit was solid gold with a matching canopy that had fourteen life-sized angels surrounding it. There was no doubt in Deakon’s mind that it was nothing less than 14 karat. The carvings could not be explained in words. They were very detailed and regal looking. One angel, though, had been crying.
Karri stopped and turned around. "You notice something strange?"
"Other than how awesome this place is?"
"Well that too, but think about it, Deak. Today is Sunday, right?"
"Yes, and?"
"What led us to here today?"
He pressed his lips together in concentration. "Oh yeah, the creepy organ music."
"Right, so where are the people?” she asked, pointing to the empty pews. “It took us five, maybe ten minutes to get here. Church people usually stay after service to eat fried chicken and peach cobbler, right?"
"I think you are talking about southern church people," he said. "But I know what you mean. It is odd that this place is as empty as a crypt."
He returned his gaze at the pulpit. A rising stairway that looked like an escalator lead up to it. The gold structure was adorned with carvings of grapes and inlaid stars. He was stoked by the beauty. Then something caught his eye. The stars resembled the one on his bracelet. He stopped in his tracks and stammered back.
"Oh my God."
“What’s the matter?” she asked, coming closer to him.
Deakon unzipped his backpack and pulled out the bracelet. When he touched it, a mini-jolt of electricity shocked him. Because he was afraid of the thing's power, he hadn't worn it since Karri vanished. The brightness of the cathedral illuminated the bracelet. He could see the detailing of the symbol like it was in Hi Def. His eyes went from the bracelet to the stairway.
"Karri, look at this," he said, bumping into her when he turned too quickly. "Oh, sorry."
"No problem. What's that?" she asked.
"Look at the star symbol on the bracelet and look at the stairwell."
She studied both objects. "I don’t see any resemblance.”
"You're right,” he said. “I guess I’m grasping for straws.
Deakon was excited when he thought he had another lead. But he was soon deflated. They walked around the sanctuary trying to find more clues. Maybe they’d find a register of church members. He was willing to talk to anybody in the congregation who could lead him to his real mother. He would walk door to door, if he had too, asking questions. He knew it was wishful thinking, but he had to keep hopeful.
He weaved up and down of the rows of wooden pews, looking for anything that might lead to something. Karri joined him in the pew search. At one time, they extended their arms and rocked their torsos back and forth like kids playing airplane. The game turned into a track meet. They started at the same spot but in different rows and raced to the end. Deakon won every time with his longer gait and speed. But the last time, when Karri took off in full sprint, he let her win. When she made it to the end of the pew before him, she raised her hands and jumped in victory.
“You know I let you win,” he smirked.
“Shut up,” she said followed by a hard smack to the shoulder.
“Ow,” he yelled, echoing in the sanctuary. He smiled, though, remembering what she said about it being a love tap.
She hugged him apologetically.
Just then, a wrinkly janitor appeared before them.
“We're closed,” the old man said. “Come back tomorrow for the tour.”
He held an industrial push broom that looked as big as him. He was a wispy old man with red hair that thinned so bad, Deakon saw the freckles on his scalp.
“Sorry sir,” Deakon said, looking guilty as sin. When he grabbed Karri’s hand to leave, the sun’s beam made contact with the flat surface of the bracelet. A prism of light bounced off it and shot directly into the janitor’s eye. He blocked it with his hand, but after a Deakon moved, the beam was broken. The janitor glanced at the bracelet in pure horror.
“Deakon?” the janitor asked, dropping the broom. It made a loud whacking noise that resounded through the empty sanctuary. He grabbed the nearest pew and sat down.
“How do you know my name?” Deakon asked, astounded. He rushed over to the man who looked like he just had a stroke.
The man’s breathing was hard and raspy.
Karri walked around to the other side of him and placed her hand on his back. “Are you okay? Can we get you something?”
The old janitor didn’t say a word.
“How do you know my name?”
The man looked up at Deakon and then at the bracelet in dread. He shook his head mumbling, “This can’t be, this can’t be,” he said in German.
“What can’t be?” Deakon asked, panicked.
The janitor held his head
down with templed hands and prayed. After the short plea, he remained silent with closed eyes for a disturbing period of time. Deakon felt scared that a stranger in another country knew his name. He could understand if he had a common one like, John or Joe, but with a name like Deakon, the man had to know him.
The janitor finally looked up at Deakon. “Sie können nicht er hier, Sie können nicht.”
Deakon didn’t understand what he was saying because he didn’t know all the language. “Do you speak English?” he asked in German.
The man nodded, “You can’t be here, young Deakon.”
“How do you know me?” he asked with searching eyes.
“I handed you over to your parents sixteen years ago.”
CHAPTER 17
Deakon plopped down so hard on the cushionless wooden pew that he thought he heard his butt bone crack. For such a little man, he packed a hard punch with his last sentence. Karri was just as stunned, covering her mouth with her hand. Neither said a word as they processed the comment.
“I’m Loro,” he said in broken English.
“I’m Deakon, but you already know that. And this is Karri,” he nodded to her.
Loro looked at both of them and then peered down at the bracelet. "You can't be in here with that thing,” he said. The nostrils in his nose flared. “You must leave now!"
“You know about this?” he asked, pointing to the bracelet.
Loro sneered at the bracelet with such hatred that Deakon put it in his backpack.
“Please, tell me about it?” he pleaded,
Loro alternated his gaze from Deakon’s face to the backpack, unbelieving what his eyes had seen. He thought it was a myth, but there was no mistake about it, the bracelet actually existed. Loro had to decide whether to tell Deakon the truth or not. If they stayed inside the church any longer, he feared the worst. Something else bothered him. If he didn’t tell Deakon the truth, he may not be equipped for his future. Loro felt the strong aura coming from the boy. He took a deep breath and exhaled, “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
When Loro headed to the entrance of the sanctuary, Deakon turned to Karri, “Maybe he knows my mother.”
“I’m getting a funny feeling about this.”
“How so?”
She bit her lip, “Did you see the way he looked at me?”
“I thought that look was for me,” he said.
“I just don’t know if you should trust him.”
“But Karri, he knew my name.”
“I’m just saying.”
They heard the echo of a door slam. Loro emerged back into the sanctuary. “Follow me.”
They rose, but he stopped them. "She has to stay here," he said, looking at Karri.
"She already knows everything," Deakon said.
He looked at them and for a minute. “I doubt she knows everything.”
Loro exhaled with an attitude and walked across the sanctuary. They followed in silence as he turned a corner near the back wall. But the hallway came to a dead end.
He bent down and pulled a section of cinderblock from the bottom right hand corner of the wall. Once removed, he used the opening as a handle to heave the heavy door open. He was strong for a scrawny old man. On the other side of the door a staircase lead in one direction-down.
They went down the narrow staircase and Deakon felt like he was suffocating. The lower they descended, the more he panted. His urge to flee back up the stairs was overwhelming. The church was old and he was scared to go farther down into the bowels of it. He was sure it was a dark, medieval dungeon that once housed barbaric criminals. They finally reached the bottom. Because there was no room for the three of them to stand in the tiny foyer, Deakon had to stay on the lowest step and wait for Loro to unlock the iron door. He clenched his fists and held his breath until it was opened. He felt a huge relief the instant they walked through it. Instead of small cells and a torture chamber, like he envisioned, it was a pleasant, well-lit room with modern furnishings. An eight foot couch with a couple of chairs were situated in a corner. There was a small kitchen next to it. Expensive-looking art hung on the aluminum paneled walls. He was sure they weren’t decorated purposely with the shiny metal, but, it gave off a trendy look. Deakon had a feeling it was someone’s home. His claustrophobia eased.
They bypassed the living room going to the kitchen, where Loro opened a pantry door. It was the furthest thing from a pantry. When they entered into the dimly lit room, he was aroused at what he saw. He was even more shocked at what he smelled. The odor was so pungent it molested the membranes in his nose. It smelled like a mixture of musty old paper and burnt wood. Not the kind that came from a warm and cozy fireplace, but, rather, an actual fire. His nose twitched the farther they went into the room. He glanced at Karri and her nose was twitching too.
As he got used to the offensive smell, he inspected the room. It was a real library. A very old library. Deakon clutched his hands together to stop the urge to grab books and start reading. The shelves were taller than him and they contained hundreds of oversized books, maybe more. They were in different sizes and colors too. He could tell the books were old. They reminded him of those ancient Bibles he’d seen pictures of. The bookshelves surrounded all the walls. More shelves lined the room. He spun around in circles, taking it all in.
Directly in the middle of the room was a long, multi-purpose table like the ones at BBQ picnics. But it didn’t have hot dogs or hamburgers on it. Instead, several computers took up one side of the table. The monitors were the sleekest he’d ever seen. A bank of servers, humming with data, were stacked next to it.
Why would a church need servers?
“Please sit,” Loro said, nodding towards the chairs at one end of the table. Instead of sitting down, Loro walked to one of the shelves against the wall eyeing the books. He reached up and hauled a huge book from one of the shelves. It was massive. He placed it on the table, sat across from them, and opened it. As he fanned through the pages, a swoosh of dust and stale air escaped from it. Once he got to a page, he turned the book in their direction.
When they saw it, their jaws dropped. On the page was a hand drawn copy of the bracelet.
“Whoa, what the heck is going on?” Deakon asked.
“Young Deakon, you need to tell me everything you know about it. Where did you get it from?” Loro asked.
“All I know is what my mom told me,” he said, looking around nervously. “She said the mailman accidently put it in our neighbor’s mailbox. But it was addressed to me. And with a postmark from Germany. And that’s why I’m here. Now tell me what’s going on!” he said, glancing from Loro back to the picture in the book.
Loro thought for a moment. It made sense to him that it came from Germany. But who knew where the boy lived? “We think the bracelet is at least six hundred years old.”
“Six hundred years old?” Deakon asked, gulping hard. “But how did I end up with it?”
“It goes back to your mother, your real mother.”
Deakon stiffened, “Do you know her?” he asked in anticipation. “I think she sent it to me for my sixteenth birthday.” He felt excited and fearful at the same time. What if his mother refused to see him? What if she moved to Australia? No matter, he would search the ends of the planet to find her so he could uncover the truth. He needed to find out how he grew seven inches and how he was able to levitate people at will. And most importantly, he needed to know why she’d given him up.
“Your mother did not send you the bracelet,” Loro said, staring at him intensely. “This, I know for a fact.”
Deakon jerked his head back. He’d been so sure that she’d sent it to him. He glanced at Loro with questioning eyes. He had come all the way to Germany on that assumption.
“Son, your mother is dead,” Loro said empathetically. “I’m sorry.”
His body sagged and his heart dropped in his stomach. Tears formed in his eyes. He tried to hold them in to look strong in front of Karri. But his heart was broke
n. He would never see his mother, see how she looked, or gaze into her eyes. He felt agonized that he would never learn why she gave him up.
Karri wrapped her arm around his shoulders, embracing him gently.
Deakon found the energy to look at Loro, “Do I have any brothers or sisters?”
“I’m afraid not, son,” Loro said.
“You said you handed me over to my parents, so you must have known my mother, right?” he asked.
“Yes I knew her,” he said, lowering his eyes.
“Please, please tell me about her,” he begged. He paused and leaned forward. “If my mother is dead, who sent me the bracelet?”
“Your mother’s name was Agnes,” he said, speaking slowly.
Deakon’s stomach turned when he said was. Holding his head down, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the rest.
“She was the sweetest girl I ever met. So pure and innocent.”
“What about my father, did you know him?”
“I’ll get around to that here in a minute. Agnes worked in the sanctuary. She brought a sense of renewed spirituality to St. Stephens,” he paused. “Especially after the Catholic Church suffered the horrific lies about priests molesting young boys. Viel von den nicht ehrlich.”
Deakon couldn’t be 100% sure but he thought he said it’s bull crap.
Loro continued. “She was well loved by the congregation, the priest and Bishop of the Archdiocese.” He stopped, placing his hands on his knees and leaned closer to them. “What I’m about to tell you should never leave this room.” He glanced quickly at Karri then turned back to Deakon. “Some things you may choose not to believe but trust in what I tell you. Understood?”
They both nodded.
“Your mother was a virgin when you were conceived.” He stood up. “I need to go back further than that to draw a clear picture,” he said, waving his hand. “In the early 1500’s there was a huge witch hysteria and-”
Deakon stood up. He walked to where Loro stood and faced him, “Whoa whoa, what do witches have to do with my mother?”
“Let me finish. Sit down young Deakon.” He waited until the boy sat back down and he took a seat. “In 1412 a mammoth witch hunt occurred in Como, Italy. Witchcraft charges were brought on and one thousand witches were executed. Europe was in the middle of the largest division between Catholics and Protestants in history and it was an uproarious time. Shortly after that, many Oria moved to Germany. To Passau, Germany.”
