Dark Rider -- Part 16
by Martin H Slusser

A black, softly chilling rain was falling, topping pot holes and dampening all sound. The night was still and quiet, even for the nearly abandoned Valley.

The old Night Sun dodged the worse places on the unkempt roads, passing small clearings where houses once stood before old man Grey’s coven had tried to buy up or burn-out the Valley.

Benny slowed. He should have been in bed hours ago, but he clung stubbornly to Carl, relishing every moment he had with his stepfather. Leda’s plane being late had been an excuse for him, nothing more. Carl needed him to stay. Though the big man said nothing, Benny knew it. Over the last ten years they had been through too much together.

He ached for sleep. But that was the last thing he wanted. The dreams were so bad now he woke up more weary than when he lay down.

He glanced around, heart thudding, his skin crawling. The Valley was getting more and more into the weirding ways. Half drunk and nose-loaded with anything illegal, Leda’s crew of chuckle heads prowled the forests, howling like dogs and hunting anything that moved.

Some, a few like Leda, managed to attain his grandfather Grey’s power of the shon:gili and shape-shift to become were-beasts that stalked under the glow of a full night sun.

And sometimes, once in a great while, a body would be found in the strip mines around Freeland, mangled and mutilated beyond anyone’s nightmare belief.

Benny forced the fear out of his mind. He stretched and groaned. His muscles had been battered and pounded to mush by Carl and Bob. Pappy Bob liked how Benny was so quick to pick up on every subtlety of the moves, and planned to train Benny in conjunction with Papa-Bear, Carl.

He rumbled past the Wya drive way a couple of times.

On the third pass he spotted a flash of light in the brush. For one heart-stopping moment he had a sickening feeling it was some pervert of Leda’s out hunting.

To his relief, it was Todd who stepped out of the shadowy tangle of lilacs and cedars growing in the fence row bordering the road and not some misshapen horror.

Letting the Night Sun run down, Benny tapped her into neutral. Reddish tan mud splashed up around the tires as the old motorcycle wound down. She came to a stop by Todd, and he grinned a silent welcome to his cousin.

Bulges in his shirt clicking, Todd mounted behind his cousin. He grabbed the black leather belt Benny wore and leaned into his cousin’s back while they rolled down the foot of the mountain.

When they neared Leda’s shack, Benny gave a narrow glance at the green cottage. With a toothy grin he cut into the drive, killing the engine.

The momentum bounced the old motorcycle over the rough drive and into a glen overshadowed by black, towering hemlocks. They followed the well defined trail down behind the house. Benny felt Todd shivering on his back and swallowed hard. He was nuts for doing this, but the place was like a sore tooth, he had to come here once in a while to exorcise the demons of his past.

His jaws worked tightly. This is what he dreamed of.

Muttering a self-depreciating cuss word or two, Benny squatted on the saddle.

Todd poked him in the ribs. Benny grunted and nodded. Todd was heading for the sacred-way and hated bad language. They dragged the bike up on her stand. When she saw the tracks Leda would be raging. She had this idea that the old gods were the gods of pure air and pristine forests. She was right about that. But that didn’t stop her from using a gas-guzzling limousine every chance she got. Or defiling the air with burnt sacrifices and defiling her body.

Benny grinned at Todd, a short flash of teeth, and dragged his leg over the saddle.

“Yo, got a powerful thirst, cuz.” Benny scrubbed his hands on his jeans. He took the bottle Todd held out and flipped off the ceramic stopper.

Rich and dark, Uncle Charlie’s home-brew spurted out of the bottle. Benny shoved the opening in his mouth and bent over. He wanted to get it in him, not smell like a brewery the next morning.

A loud belch rumbled up and he gave the blood-blackened ‘Stone a mocking salute.

“Too bad you didn’t do me when you had the chance.” Benny gave a sardonic nod to the alter. “Would o’ saved us both a lot of hassle, ist.” Throwing a wink at Todd, Benny tipped the bottle up and chugged the brew. Man, but Uncle Charlie could make beer. Dude grew all his own fixing’s, hops and you name it.

“Brrr,” Benny gasp through chattering teeth and aching throat. “You must o’ swiped these from the spring house, bro.” He grinned at Todd’s chuckle.

The ‘Stone pulsed. Todd glared at it. It was as evil as Leda was heartless. It hungered for blood from the ages before the pre-flood-times, a time their Grampa Wya called the Third-World, or the Third Era of Humanity. During the ice ages that followed those days it had been buried, only to be unearthed by time and the chronic rains.

“Want another?”

Benny gave an eager nod and snatched the beer out of Todd’s hands. Todd drained his and snapped the ceramic cap firmly in place. He stowed it back in his shirt.

Benny belched and leaned back against a damp, mossy hemlock trunk. “Good stuff.” He smiled into the brown glass of the bottle. Man, but it was potent. He only had a couple of pints and his head was all cloudy. That was cool. It helped ease the ache of the pounding he had received tonight. It would help him sleep. Benny frowned and stared at the waist high, four foot long block of red rock.

Shifting to a more comfortable spot on the tree, Benny took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The night smelled clean. Real clean. No rotted blood, no charred bone hanging over the Valley.

He stretched and yawned. Man, but he felt like he could fly tonight. Like he was above the clouds and far away from the constant warring in this Valley.

Snapping his jaws shut with an audible click, he snorted and said, “Ol’ Bob, man, he’s pretty cool. Got a wolf living in the woods behind his place. Said we could get the hair after it sheds this spring.” He glanced at Todd.

No sign of emotion showed on his cousin’s face or the easy stance of his body. It’s dammed hard to not do that when most of your language was in hand-sign and body movements. Todd wasn’t signing in any which way.

Halfway annoyed, Benny squatted, setting the bottle between his legs. He frowned at the bare dirt.

“Yo, Toddy, why don’t you come with me next time?” He glanced up, a hopeful expression on his face.

A late cricket scratched out a monotonous tune somewhere behind them.

Todd listened for a little.

His smile became wistful. “Can’t, ‘mano.” He shook his head. Poking his glasses back up on his nose Todd frowned at Benny. “You know why.” He snatched up a pebble and tossed it at the rock.

Stiff in the cool air, a huge timber rattler buzzed a sluggish warning and crawled into the denning area beneath the ‘Stone.

“A wonder Leda and those jerks don’t all get nailed.” Todd made a rasping noise in the back of his throat. “I bet there’s a hundred of ‘em under there.”

Not really listening, Benny nodded. His mind whirled, trying to come up with a way he could get Toddy in on the fun.

“Why not just come with me tomorrow?” Benny’s teeth flashed a brilliant grin at Todd. “I owe you, bro. You do for me all the time, and I got not a way to pay you back.” He rolled the cool bottle in his hands. Benny swallowed at a lump in his throat.

“For the Manse, too. For the hell I put all of you guys through when I was there.” Eyes hopeful, he glanced at Todd.

Todd was silent, lost in thought. His parents would let him, he knew that. But not if it were charity. The days of taking handouts were gone. And Wy:O:Ming had never been blanket Indians.

Smoking the synapses of his brain for a good argument, Benny said, “We could be back in plenty of time for morning milking.” Benny paused in thought. “If that’s what you’re worrying about. If we do have to wait on Carl we can come back by way of Brigg’s Village.” He chuckled wryly. “I bet them olt biddies would faint if they saw me at the Longhouse.” And sneer at what he had been forced into.

“Come on, dude. Mat charge. That’s all you’ll have to pay. I pay it. Bob got me helping in the beginner’s class. He could use another dude, too.”

Todd closed his eyes. He had sisters, which was great in an era when so few women could have children, and it was fine for his mother, she had heirs to follow her teachings.

But he was lonely. The years Benny had been gone were nightmarish, with no friends his own age and gender in the Valley. Aunt Anna said Benny and he were thick as thieves and closer than brothers. Aunt Anna must be a mind reader.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Todd nodded.

“Yo,” Benny whispered. He gulped at his bottle and walked slowly to his cousin. Benny upended the bottle over Todd’s head. He whooped and shouted, “Do:hi:yi. Do:hi:yi, dn:V:tli Toddy!” He staggered his cousin with a punch on the shoulder.

Taking the last bottle from Todd, he popped it, tipped it into his mouth and shoved the last half at Todd.

“Do:hi:yi. Salud.”

From the heavy, wet brush, a pair of cold blue eyes peered out. The Hunter licked the fresh blood from his jaws and pondered in his half rotted mind if he should take the boys and feed now, or hunt them another night.

A blue light flashed around them. Only yards deeper into the forest, a pair of twins hissed and giggled. Under his feet, the very ground heated and began to smoke. Greenish teeth bared, old man Grey slunk away.

Carl tipped his head back and let his anger show. The air grew tense as moments passed in silence. He lowered his eye lids and stared down at Todd. The kid’s a punk. Carl’s eyes narrowed at the thought.

Kid looks like a fairy with those glasses on. A real brainy nerd.

Heart sinking, Benny’s muscles began to shake a little from a growing rage.

Staring back at Carl, Todd forced himself to remain calm, steady, like a rock. His neck began to ache, but his gaze never wavered. This was important to Benny, and he wanted to spend more time with his cousin. Some day Benny would be their priest, the first k:t:ana the ani:Wy:O:Ming would have in over two centuries. Todd took a deep breath and almost told Carl to shove it. But for Benny he would have.

He:wa, Listen to the Wolf.

Todd cocked his head and listened to the still, small voice in the back of his head.

Be a Wolf, bro-Toddy, it whispered. Be loyal to family, charitable to those in need. And never, never back down from evil.

He’s soft. Carl grunted in contempt. He glanced at Benny. The kid was shifting from foot to foot. Benny’s gaze moved in rapid jerks to Todd and back Carl several times.

Against his better judgement, Carl grimaced and nodded.

“Yo,” Benny crowed, “Ah'rite. You’re in like Flynn, bro-Toddy.” He staggered Todd with a whack between the shoulder blades.

“For now.” Carl rumbled something under his breath. Blood-shot eyes moved in a cool glance over Todd. The kid wouldn’t make it a day in the pen before some bubba was using him for a woman, maybe making the kid sell his tail to any con with a pack of smokes and an itch.

Embarrassed at the tone of Carl’s voice, Todd shoved the cheap plastic frames of his glasses up his short, pug nose.

Before he could answer, Benny yanked Carl off balance and dragged the man away by his arm.

“Yo.”

Hard and bright eyes wolfed over Carl.

“You be cool with Toddy, man. If not for me, then because . . . because Mom would want you to. Ok? Aunt Mara got no brothers to teach him the basics. So that means you’re his adu:tsi, his Sacred-Uncle.” Seeing little compassion in Carl’s face, Benny shifted his feet to a fighting stance and declared in a low and bitter voice, “Dude took care of Mom when we,” his eyes narrowed in a pointed reference, “were up in Fern Ridge at the cat house. You do remember the cat house, don’t you, Carl?” His lips twisted in shame.

Flushed with guilt, Carl said, “Look, man -” He muttered something under his breath and grimaced, unable to say the words. Sullen, he nodded.

“I’ll handle him with kid gloves.” Carl looked away from Benny and his glowering eyes.

Jerking his arm free of Benny’s grasp, he snapped in a low rumble, “Just so he stays OK. He starts any punk whining -”

“When the freek did you ever hear Toddy whine? He’s a good kid. Not some pansy. He works real hard because Uncle Charlie is stove up, and don’t take no gelt because he knows they can’t afford it. Same as me, bro. And he won’t take nada from nobody, but he helps everybody. Dude’s a tsi:lo:ki, a saint. Some day him and that Donna-babe are gonna get hitched and make me a pack of wolf cubs to help raise.” Benny took a deep breath and shook his head in disgust.

“Some kind a sacred-uncle you turned out to be.”

Jerking his head at the motorcycles, Benny snapped his fingers and pointed. “Come on, Toddy. Carl don’t want us, he can get bent.”

Benny stalked away.

“Hey.”

Carl pounded after Benny. Benny spun in a relaxed fighting stance, his eyes cool, staring at his stepfather.

Glaring down at Benny, Carl rasp deep in his throat and matched Benny’s cold look.

“Who said they don’t want you two? Both of ya,” he snapped. Carl’s neck stained a fiery red. “Get on your bike and ride, you punks. I got too much that needs friggin doin’ to be playing kiddy games. Got it?”

Turning to his cousin, Benny gave Toddy a sly wink, signing, ‘I told you it would work out.’

Benny raised a puzzled eye brow at Todd’s frown of censure and threw a leg over the saddle of his Uohali.

©2002 StoriesByEmail.com

Virginia Host