The Devil's Woods

by Brian Moreland

  Hoping Wynona was home alone, Kyle walked a path to the front of the house. A weed-infested garden centered around a moss-covered statue of a woman with a cracked face. Kyle rang the doorbell. To his disappointment, Hugo answered, holding a bag of pretzels.

  Christ, thirty years old and still living with his mother.

  Hugo’s heavy-lidded eyes widened with recognition. “Kyle? Hey, what’s up?”

  “I’m here to see your mother. Is she home?”

  “Sorry, man, she left.”

  “Any idea when she’ll be back?”

  “Soon, I’m sure. Probably just stepped out for some cigarettes.” Hugo opened the door wider. “Want to come in and wait for her? I got beer and snacks. We could shoot some pool.”

  The smell of formaldehyde wafted from the doorway. Opera music played from the depths of funeral home.

  “No, thanks.” Kyle pulled out a business card. “Please tell Wynona to call me.”

  “What do you want with her?”

  “It’s a personal matter.”

  Hugo nodded and stuffed the card in the chest pocket of his lab coat. “Sure, you don’t want a beer? A cold one’s just the thing for a day like this.”

  “Maybe another time. If you’ll just pass along the message to your mother, I’d appreciate it.” Kyle started down the porch steps, then stopped and turned around. He tipped his head toward the cemetery next to the funeral home. “Those tombstones are all blank. No names engraved on them. Why?”

  “What were you doing in there?” Hugo asked, his brow furrowing. He was the groundskeeper.

  “Just taking a stroll and seeing the sites.” Kyle tried to sound offhand. “I found it peculiar though—grave markers without names—and every tombstone had the same round symbol.”

  “We bury our dead in the old way.” Hugo said, his face suddenly unreadable.

  “Like they did back in Denmark?”

  Hugo nodded, his mouth a tight line.

  Kyle nodded. “The symbol looks pre-Christian. What does it mean?”

  Hugo was getting more annoyed with each question. He shrugged. “Hell if I know. I don’t make the headstones. I just put ’em in the ground.” Then he smiled. “Good seeing you again, Kyle. I’ll let Mother know you called.”

  Hugo remained at the door, watching as Kyle walked back to the Jeep and drove away. Chaser didn’t stop barking until the funeral home was out of sight.

  * * *

  As Eric watched the redhead teasing him at the pool table, he tried his best to resist her temptations. But as he drank his beer, he kept thinking of Jessica in the kitchen giggling with Kyle and rejecting Eric’s invitation to come with him into town. Had she accepted his offer, he wouldn’t be in this predicament.

  This is her fault.

  The image of her flirting with Kyle pissed him off.

  Fuck it. Grabbing his long-neck beer, Eric walked up beside the redhead. Up close, she radiated high-voltage electricity. “Excuse me, mind if I bum a smoke?”

  “You can’t afford your own?” she said with a teasing eyebrow.

  “Sure, I just thought one of yours might be more satisfying.”

  “Well, then.” She lit a cigarette against the one clamped between her lips, handed it to Eric.

  He took a drag, released a stream of smoke. He gazed into her jade-green eyes. “That was quite a show you put on over there.”

  “You liked it?” She blew out a long puff.

  “I did.”

  She leaned closer and whispered in his ear. “Well, there’s plenty more where that came from.”

  Eric’s crotch swelled so much it hurt. He wanted to pin this woman right here against the pool table. Forget Jessica. This firecracker knew how to push his buttons.

  “Wait right here.” She ran a finger across his chest then walked over to the jukebox. She chose another slow country song. “Shameless”, an old Garth Brooks tune.

  “Care to dance?” She put her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.

  Eric swayed with her to the music, feeling her grinding against his erection. “So what’s your name?” he asked.

  “Celeste.” Then she whispered in his ear, “It’s a great name for poetry.”

  “Oh?” As a general rule, Eric liked his women doing anything with their mouths but talking.

  “Rhymes with all my favorite things.” Her voice was teasing, seductive.

  “I’m listening.” And he was.

  “Let’s see, there’s ‘obsessed’, ‘caressed’.” Her voice was driving him crazy. “And ‘acquiesced’, one of my personal favorites. ‘Pressed.’ That one doesn’t sound like much but…” Her hand slipped over his erection and squeezed him gently until his knees started to buckle. “See? I can tell you like it too. There’s ‘quest’, which sounds like a challenge. I always like a challenge. How bout you?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Undressed.” She was playing with his zipper now, running a fingernail over the metal teeth until he thought he might come right there. And finally ‘guest’ as in won’t you be my…” She guided his hand underneath her skirt. He moaned softly at the feel of her.

  “Damn, girl, you are something.”

  Next thing Eric knew they were kissing, locked in an embrace that was all business when the front door banged open, filling the room with sunlight.

  An older man in a cowboy hat, flanked by a pair of loggers, entered the tavern.

  The bartender pointed to Eric. “That’s him, Mayor Thorpe.”

  “What do you think you’re doing?” The mayor started for Eric. “Get your fucking hands off my wife!”

  * * *

  Kyle walked into the tavern to find two giant loggers beating the crap out of Eric. They were taking turns slugging him.

  “Stop it!” Kyle rushed to the billiard area, grabbed a pool cue and struck one man in the back of the neck. The big man wobbled for a moment and then hit the floor. Kyle stepped between Eric and the second bully. He held the pool cue like a bat. “Back off, you son of a bitch!”

  The bear-sized lumberjack raised his fist. “Out of my way or I’ll knock your fucking teeth in.”

  “That’s enough, Brody,” ordered Mayor Thorpe. He was seated against a pool table with his arms crossed. “Boys, go help yourselves to a pitcher of beer on me.”

  The two ruffians walked to the bar, chuckling.

  Kyle helped Eric to his feet. His face was bruised and bleeding. Kyle glared at Jensen Thorpe. “Mayor, what the hell’s going on here?”

  Thorpe stood, straightening his tweed jacket. “You know this piece of shit?”

  “He’s my brother.”

  “Well, your brother needs to learn some fucking manners. He had his hands up my wife’s skirt just now. Came in and caught him myself.”

  Kyle noticed the young Mrs. Thorpe sitting at the bar, smoking a cigarette. She looked half the mayor’s age. Kyle looked at his brother. “Is that true?”

  Eric spat blood onto the floor. “She came on to me. She never said she was married.”

  Thorpe said, “Didn’t her wedding ring give you a goddamned clue?”

  “She wasn’t wearing it. I swear.”

  “Bullshit.” The mayor rubbed his knuckles as if he wanted to get in a few shots of his own. “I don’t like cheaters and I sure as hell don’t like being lied to.”

  The front door opened and a large group of loggers entered the tavern and headed for the bar, chattering about Happy Hour.

  Mayor Thorpe pointed at Eric. “Kyle, get this son of a bitch out of my sight. I better not see him in my town again. Have you got that?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Thorpe walked to the door and held it open. “Let’s go, Celeste.” As the redhead sauntered past, the mayor glared at Kyle and Eric. “He’d better be gone in two minutes or I’ll let my men get right back at him.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  At the reservation, Jessica and Shawna sat on lawn chairs behind the cabin and drank margaritas
, both still in their bikinis. Jessica rubbed sun block on her shoulders so she didn’t burn.

  Shawna, whose natural tan had already turned to a beautiful golden brown, shuffled her Tarot cards. “Let’s see what your future holds.”

  Jessica had never received a tarot reading and was more than a little curious. She noticed in the colorful vines and flowers that covered Shawna’s left arm was a tattoo of the High Priestess card.

  “What does the High Priestess mean?”

  Shawna’s brown eyes gleamed. “She represents the divine feminine, intuition and wisdom. She is always a mystery to be discovered.” She held up the deck. “Okay, focus on an area of your life you’d like to gain insight on and then touch the cards.”

  Jessica thought of Eric and Kyle and all the mixed feelings that they stirred up inside her. She placed her hand upon the deck. Who is my one true love?

  As soon as she asked the question, she regretted it. What if it wasn’t Eric? Could she truly leave him for his brother? Could she deal with the pain of breaking his heart? But then what if her true love was Eric? Would he ever fill her chest with butterflies?

  Will I ever truly feel safe?

  She wanted to tell Shawna to stop, but she flipped over the first card.

  “The Lovers.”

  “That’s good, right?”

  “Unfortunately it’s upside down. This means infidelity and deception.”

  Jessica thought of the flirting she had done with Kyle, her desire to hike with him in the woods, and felt a pang of guilt.

  The next card was the three of swords stabbing into a heart. “Uh-oh.” Shawna frowned. “Pain and sorrow. You’re about to go through a period of great conflict. It isn’t clear what the outcome will be, but your heart is torn.”

  * * *

  Around the side of the cabin, Zack chopped wood with an axe. A lit Camel hung between his lips as he split his log in two. He couldn't believe Eric had assigned him the chore of replenishing the woodpile. This was supposed to be a vacation.

  Working beside him, Ray Roamingbear slammed a second axe into a log, sending bark sky high. “Whew, I think this is the hottest day yet,” he said, wiping his sweaty brow. “What do you think?”

  “I’d rather be doing anything other than chopping wood.” Ray was really working on his last nerve. Not only did he talk too much and drive him crazy with endless questions, but he constantly gave advice, sounding like Eric. Zack caught Ray staring at him. “What?”

  “I was looking at all your tattoos. What made you choose so many skulls and demons?”

  Zack shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s what appealed to me when I got them.”

  “Don’t you know the symbols you ink on your skin call in those spirits?”

  “Yeah, whatever.” He split another log.

  Ray stood, hands resting on his axe. “You ever have nightmares?”

  Zack had suffered night terrors for years, but he wasn’t about to talk to Ray like he was his shrink. “Everybody has bad dreams.”

  “I don’t. You know why?” Ray tapped his skull. “Because I keep my thoughts pure. If you want later, I’ll bring my medicine bag over and clear you of any demons.”

  “Uh, that’s okay, Ray. I’m good.”

  “I can help cure you of any addictions.”

  “Wait a minute.” Zack stopped chopping. “Did Eric put you up to this?”

  “He asked me to have a talk with you, yes, see if you might be open to my services.”

  “Thanks, Ray, but I don’t need an exorcism.” Biting down on his cigarette, Zack gripped his axe, imagined the log on the chopping block was Eric’s head and split it in two.

  * * *

  Wynona sped down the reservation dirt road like God’s fury on wheels. On her AM radio a preacher spoke the Lord’s Prayer, “…forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”

  “Amen.” She smiled at the ivory Jesus hanging from her rearview mirror. “This is a good thing I’m doing, right? Somebody’s got to warn those kids that Satan walks their woods.”

  Wynona sipped from her flask, trying to settle her nerves.

  I am a servant of light. I am God’s holy messenger. Deliver me from evil.

  As she approached the Cree village, the locusts seemed to buzz louder at her arrival. Jon Elkheart’s cabin appeared from behind the pines. Seeing the upstairs bedroom window, she remembered all the mornings waking up in Elkheart’s arms, feeling safe and protected. They used to sit out on the balcony, talking at sunrise and sunset, about love, life, his travels. Elkheart had opened her mind and spirit to so many things.

  Feeling a hole inside her chest, Wynona washed those memories away with another quick swig from her flask. Her Buick skidded in front of the house, nearly hitting one of the giant Ponderosa pines. Throwing open her door, she ran up the porch steps and knocked several times. No one answered. A black Hummer was parked out front. Someone had to be home. Wynona hurried around back where she found two women in bikinis lying out on the back lawn.

  * * *

  Jessica dropped the tarot book and gasped when a woman charged around the corner of the cabin. It was her. That crazy woman from the tavern. Wiry black hair with silver streaks hung past her shoulders. Deep crow’s feet marked the corners of her brown eyes. She looked so like a witch that Jessica half expected her to throw her head back and let out a cackle.

  “Thank God, you’re still alive,” the woman said.

  Shawna turned around. “Oh…can we help you?”

  “Where’s Kyle?” Wynona rasped. “I need to speak with him.”

  “He went into town,” Jessica said, standing, ready to run if necessary.

  Shana also stood. The woman was taller than both of them.

  “Damn it!” Wynona’s hand went to her mouth and for a moment it looked like she might cry.

  Jessica thought her eyes appeared glassy and wondered if she’d been drinking. Looking around for Ray and Zack, Jessica couldn’t see them anywhere.

  Shawna held up her palms. “Ma’am, please calm down. Is there some kind of emergency?”

  “You girls must listen to me. You can’t stay here. These woods are dangerous. There are demons out here that want to hurt you. You must leave this place at once.” Wynona’s trembling hands dug into her breast pocket.

  Jessica and Shawna remained frozen for an awkward moment, as the woman lit a cigarette and smoked. Her eyes teary, she glanced into the windows of the cabin. “You wouldn’t happen to have any brandy here, would you? I could use a drink.”

  Shawna slid a nervous glance to Jessica. “We have vodka.”

  “Okay…” The woman’s mouth froze and her eyes widened.

  Jessica turned to see Ray Roamingbear and Zack coming around the corner. Ray frowned at Wynona. “What are you doing on our land?”

  She bolted away, rounded the corner and was gone.

  Jessica said, “Ray, what’s wrong with her?”

  “She’s crazy as a loon. I’ll make sure she leaves.” He walked around to the front.

  Jessica released a breath when she heard Ray yelling and a car peeling away.

  “That was some crazy shit.” Shawna’s gaze remained locked on the corner of the house.

  Zack gave her his cigarette. “What the hell was that about?”

  “I don’t know.” Shawna took a drag and blew out smoke. “She just showed up talking like a freak.”

  Jessica pulled a T-shirt over her bathing suit. “That’s the same lady who grabbed me at the restaurant yesterday. She bloody scares me.”

  Ray returned. “Sorry, girls. Wynona has some demons. Fine on her meds but when she starts drinking, all bets are off. After Elkheart broke up with her, she stalked him until he had to file a restraining order against her. She’s not supposed to come anywhere near here. Are you two okay?”

  “We are now,” Shawna said.

  “What did she mean?” Jessica asked. “About demons a
nd the forest being dangerous?”

  “Like I said last night, some of the townspeople are superstitious about the reservation because it backs up to Macâya Forest. Wynona’s always popping up places and warning tourists that the woods are full of demon spirits. That’s why she has to be kept under watch. You can imagine what that does for the tourist business.”