DARKNESS DWINDLES Chapter Eleven
Joey woke to Daniel's hand on his bare shoulder.
"Wake up, Joey," Daniel said. He sounded worried. "Time to get up."
"Yeah?" Joey stirred groggily.
"It's almost noon, bro." It was the day after their meeting with Uncle Walt. "Are you feeling okay?"
Slowly Joey sat up. "Umm ... yeah. I'm just tired, Daniel. Is something wrong?"
You tell me." Daniel was standing beside the bed, looking down at him intently. "How was your night?"
"Umm ... okay." Joey swept the hair out of his face.
"Any visitations by you-know-who?"
"Oh." Joey touched his crotch and felt the familiar crusty residue. "Yeah."
"Shit." Daniel sighed. "I was hoping it would just leave. You sure as hell don't seem any better." He pulled out his cell phone. "I'm calling doctor bloodsucker."
Dr. Fellers had an afternoon opening. The receptionist, John, greeted them in the waiting room. He was again wearing a long-sleeved oxford and chinos. Maybe it was an office uniform.
"Welcome back," he nodded. "He'll be out shortly. Can I get you anything to drink while you're waiting?"
"I'll have a scotch, neat," said Daniel.
"Sorry, no alcohol."
"Fine. Want a Coke, little bro? Maybe it will help you wake up."
"Okay, Daniel."
"We'll both have Cokes."
John brought them the drinks in glasses with ice. He placed them carefully on coasters in front of them on the coffee table. Joey slumped in his chair and stared vacantly at the glass.
Daniel nudged him. "Take a drink."
Joey took a sip of the Coke. He yawned.
After a few minutes the door to Dr. Fellers' office opened. He stood in the doorway, beaming.
"Daniel, Joseph! Good to see you both. Come in."
They went into his office, carrying their drinks, and settled into their chairs. Joey placed his Coke on the table beside him. He missed the edge of the coaster and the slick glass slipped out of his hand. It tipped over, spilling its contents.
"Oh, dear," Fellers exclaimed.
Daniel reached across and deftly swept ice and as much of the liquid as he could cup in one hand back into the glass. The rest was dripping over the edge of the table.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I can't seem to get him going today. That's part of why were here." He glanced at Fellers. "I thought vampires had super-fast reflexes."
"Hollywood version," Fellers said ruefully.
The door from the waiting room popped open and John hustled in with a stack of hand towels. Daniel looked from him to Fellers, eyebrows arched in question. Fellers returned a twinkling grin and tapped an index finger against the side of his nose.
John wiped up the mess and left. "On the other hand," Fellers continued after he had departed, "a fully integrated werewolf would have reflexes that are, well, cat-like, you might say."
He tilted his head down to peer over his glasses at Daniel. "You missed your last session."
"Yeah," Daniel shrugged. "You know how it goes. Busy week."
"I wasn't asking why. I know why you didn't come, as well or better than you do."
"I bet. Saves a lot of time when your shrink knows everything that's going on in your head. Do you really have all those credentials?"
"Of course. You're just a week out from the next full moon. The beast is growing within you. Transformation consumes an enormous number of calories and your beast will not be satisfied with Kibbles & Bits. It is a predator that is free to hunt only once a month. You will kill every full moon. The only question is what."
"Okay, okay. I get it. I don't need a lecture from Santa about being a good little patient."
"My dear boy, that was no Santa lecture." Fellers bared his fangs. "This is."
Daniel's eyes widened as they focused on something not in the room. The blood drained from his face.
"God!" he sobbed, throwing an arm across his face. Fellers watched impassively.
After a few shuddering breaths Daniel lowered his arm and looked up. "Could I really?"
"Indeed you could," the doctor nodded grimly. "I'm afraid we don't have time to nurse your delicate sensibilities, my boy. As the moon waxes your inhibitions against human taboos will wane. All human taboos."
"But," Daniel shook his head and swallowed, "I'd really eat her?"
"Once she's dead she's just meat. And you'll not want to let it to get cold."
"What did you see, Daniel?" Joey asked.
"Duessa. I mean Opal." Daniel shuddered. "Alright, doc, I get it. I have to deal with this. But not right now. That's not why we're here today."
"Ah, yes." Fellers' face brightened. "You've retraced your father's footsteps." He beamed at them. "I truly regret that I never met Jonathan Miltzer and Mercedes Estrella. What they learned is astonishing. The Darkness will someday be renewed. Astonishing."
"Is it enough?"
"Enough to fulfill the bargain with the demon? It should be."
"So how come -- "
Daniel stopped as Joey abruptly stiffened in his chair. His eyes had rolled back into their sockets until only the whites were visible.
Daniel looked at Dr. Fellers.
"Yes," Fellers nodded. "Your brother's guest has just opened the front door. I do believe his luggage is packed."
A slow, sinister smile slithered across Joey's lips. "Terminus," he hissed gutturally, "ad quem -- "
"Oh, good grief," the doctor interrupted. "Would you stop that? I'll grant that your ancient Greek is probably even more impressive, but spare us the theatrics, please."
The face pouted. "Fine." Joey's voice was different. It sounded like someone was speaking in unison directly behind him. "I acknowledge that you've fulfilled the terms of our contract and I'm leaving." The second voice was an octave deeper and had a bored, petulant tone.
Joey's head tilted slightly towards Daniel. "Hey, Danny-boy, he's all yours now. Hope you like what I've done to the place."
A shadow unfolded into the room. The lights dimmed as a cloud passed before the sun. Daniel crinkled his nose in disgust at the sharp stench of sulfur.
"Enough!" Fellers' voice was a crack of thunder. "Vade!"
The lights brightened; the sun came out; the air cleared. Joey leaned over and threw up.
"Oh, dear," the doctor signed. "I should have thought of that."
As Daniel knelt to comfort his sobbing brother, John burst into the room with another stack of hand towels.
Daniel sat beside Joey as he drifted off to sleep. His little brother was stretched out under the covers of the king-sized bed, his hair damp from the rinsing Daniel had given him in the Jacuzzi tub. The sedative Dr. Fellers had instructed him to give Joey as soon as they got home was kicking in and the red-shot eyes had finally closed.
Abruptly they blinked opened. "Will you be back again tonight, Daniel?"
Daniel reached down to place his hand on Joey's forehead, cupping his brow. "That wasn't me," he said gently. "It was someone who looked like me, and he's gone. He won't be back. But I'll be here the whole night, right here in this chair. And tomorrow we'll meet with Dr. Fellers again and we're going to figure this all out. It'll be all right, little bro. I'll take care of you, I promise."
Joey didn't answer. He had fallen asleep.
Daniel removed his hand and settled back into his chair. Dusk and whatever the night would bring with it were still hours away. He would wait and watch.
THE END of Darkness Dwindles
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Hi again, folks.
What's that? You thought you'd seen the last of me? Not quite. I haven't vanished, you know, just relocated. Six years is a long time for me at one address and I'm taking a final walk-through before I move on. Bye-bye Joey. I'll miss you, my sweetness. Loved the views. But I guess we'll always have the memories, eh?
There's plenty of other places to live. In fact, I've found a new home already. Not as nice. A bit of a fixer-upper, really, but comes with some great bonus features. As long as there are horny humans around, I'll get by. You can't get rid of me. Nothing in this universe can.
Problem is, the universe is doing that all by itself.
I just need to hang on. I can do it, now that I know that someday the magic's going to come roaring back with a vengeance. When that happens you are all going to be very, very surprised. I promise.
Of course, the other possibility is that this is all a fantasy. Just some story the pigs on the farm dreamt up for their own entertainment. So, which is it? Write and tell me what you think. And while you're at it, let me know if you're still looking for your dream lover. If you are, I just might swing by tonight for a visit. Remember though, the man in your dreams isn't always the man of your dreams. The distance between the two is where I sit down to dine.
Sleep tight,
InvertedBeast@yahoo.com