Hades

pulled up into a high ponytail on top of her head and a hot pink duffel bag had been shoved under the seat in front of her. I couldn’t suppress a smile, knowing that Molly would claim she’d dressed sensibly for the occasion. Nobody responded to her comment. I supposed there wasn’t much to say about Junior Mints when your mind was preoccupied with demonic kidnappings and apocalyptic signs. The Chevy coasted along the highway and Xavier laid his forehead against the window. He looked edgy, like he needed to be doing something more than lounging in the back of a car.

I peered through the window and watched the Georgia countryside fly by. I was struck by how scenic it was. The earth seemed to have a life of its own and lush forestland spread out before us like a cloak. Vivid red maples grew thick and fast, forming shady canopies where their branches interlocked. I caught sight of butterfly weed and delicate purple prairie clover among the velvet greenery. As we traveled I watched as the earth became carpeted with sycamore twigs. The sky above us looked vast and open, only a handful of clouds scudded lazily across it, like lilies drifting across a clear blue pool. Things seemed simpler out on the open road and I felt close to the natural world. I was reminded of my old home in the Kingdom. Something about this place made me feel more connected to it than I had in a long time. I let out a heavy sigh and Xavier, who’d been resting against the window, sat up straight and glared at Molly.

“What?” she demanded when she noticed him staring at her.

“Please don’t do that,” Xavier said.

“Do what?”

“Breathe in my ear like that.”

Molly looked insulted. “What kind of freak do you think I am? Why would I want to blow in your ear?”

“I said breathe.”

“Oh, I see, so I’m not allowed to breathe now?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You do realize, I’ll suffocate if I’m not allowed to breathe.”

Xavier leaned forward. “Seriously, guys, let me drive,” he implored. “Someone else can sit back here and be tortured.”

“I’m not even talking!” Molly protested angrily.

“You’re talking now,” Xavier groaned.

“We’d be there already if we’d gone by plane.”

“The pilot would have crashed after five minutes of listening to you talk.”

“It’d still be safer than driving around in this old bomb.”

“Hey!” Xavier could not have looked more offended had someone insulted his manhood. He always got worked up when people took shots at his car. “It’s vintage.”

“It’s a vintage pile of crap. I don’t know why we couldn’t take the Jeep.”

I’d been wondering that myself. I got the feeling that taking the Chevy had been Xavier’s idea. Maybe it made him feel more connected to me. We’d shared plenty of memories in that car, and maybe he’d wanted to take those with him when he left his old town and his old life completely behind. But Xavier wasn’t about to share that information with Molly. Instead he said, “You wouldn’t know a classic car if you fell over one.”

“Jerk,” she muttered.

“Airhead.”

Ivy whipped around and glared at them both. “Were you two born in a barn? Knock it off.”

Molly looked sheepish while Xavier sighed loudly and sank down in his seat once again. A few minutes of blissful silence followed until Gabriel pulled into a gas station. Xavier couldn’t get out of the car fast enough and vanished inside, almost before my brother cut the engine. I considered following him, but I knew he was only going to fill in the time sulkily inspecting packs of gum and dated magazines until it was time to pile back into the car. Molly threw him a dirty look as she trotted off to find the restrooms.

I followed as my siblings made their way over to a man in oil-stained overalls, 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 Williams tune crackled from a portable radio nearby.

“Hello,” 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 all 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 small 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 tell 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 tell us what you know,” my brother said in a voice suddenly full 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 tell us. We haven’t been able to find out much ourselves.”

“That’s ’cuz everythin’s been locked up there for a spell,” 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 all 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 fell 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 physically 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 tell you, ain’t nothing natural ’bout what I saw.”

“Can you tell us what you saw?” Gabriel had stiffened and his expression told me he already knew the answer and he didn’t like it.

“Well.” 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 call the sheriff and I saw all 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 fall on Molly, 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