Touched by Darkness (35 page)

similar to most of the old homes along River Road.

Several gnarled live oak trees were situated around

the house, which had the original tin roof and a

small front porch with brick foundations for the

wood support beams. The house and porch railings

had been painted a sunny yellow, while the porch's

cement floor, the steps, and the door were a forest

green. Large clay pots and a wood-slatted, hanging

bench seat with brightly-colored patio cushions

filled the small porch space; wind chimes and light

catchers festooned the upper beams.

Two cars parked in the gravel driveway behind

Luz's white Ford pick-up indicated Luz had visitors

and already knew about Matt. Kara parked partly in

the yard and went up the green steps. A dog's

distant barking and the melodic tones of the wind

chimes drifted on the brisk breeze.

Luz's sister, Serafina, met Kara at the door. The

smell of burning candles, incense, and fresh coffee

drifted out around her. She looked tired and

strained.
"Hola,"
she said softly.

"Buenos dias,"
Kara replied, knowing she preferred

Spanish over English. "Is Luz here?"

Serafina stepped back, opened the door wider.

"Entrar."

Luz's living room was small, but the light coming

through spotless windows made it look more open.

Instead of curtains, Luz had put up natural-wood

brackets and dowels, and draped them with white

sheers that fluttered down each side. Tied bunches

of drying herbs hung from the dowels.

Against the interior wall, there was a lace-covered

table with a statue of the Madonna. White, blue,

and green candle pillars surrounding the Holy

Mother were lit. A heavy-set, older Hispanic

woman whom Kara did not know backed away

from the table and crossed herself. She shot Kara a

glance and disappeared into the kitchen.

Luz sat on a beige contemporary sofa flanked by

sleek oak end tables. Her eyes were bloodshot in

her color-leached face, and she was dressed in a

gray sweat suit. Without her usual makeup and

vivid clothing, she looked young and vulnerable.

Kara went to her and sank down beside her to give

her a big hug. "Oh, Luz, I'm so sorry. So very

sorry."

With a sob, Luz returned the hug. "I cannot believe

it.
Mi novio es ido.
Who could have done such a

thing?"

"I don't know." Kara sat back, well aware no words

could ease Luz's pain. "Is there anything I can do

for you?"

"No... there is nothing." Luz's voice broke.

Serafina, who was hovering nearby, offered her a

tissue. Luz blew her nose, then said, "Unless you

want to call off that police chief, Greer. He's

already been by to ask me where I was last night."

"Did he say anything else?" Kara asked, feeling

guilty because she knew Damien had pointed Tom

in that direction.

"Only that people had seen me fighting with

Matthew, and that I should not leave town. As if I

would run away." Luz sent Kara a startling,

malevolent glare. "I know
that man
told him, that

Damien.
He hit Matt at the tavern on Sunday night.

I told the chief he should be talking to him instead

of me."

"Damien hit Matt?" Kara wondered why Damien

had withheld this information. She couldn't see any

point in asking Luz about Matt hitting her.

"Sí. And he threatened him. Now my Matthew is

dead!" Luz's dark eyes glittered, and she started

chanting in Spanish, her voice low and harsh. "I

call
unamaldición—a
curse—upon this Damien!"

"Luz! You don't mean that."

"Oh,
sí,
I do."

Serfina stepped beside the couch, her expression

fierce. "I put my own
maldición.
May this Damien

die in
gran agonía
and rot with
el Diablo."

Shocked by the venom in her voice, Kara stared at

the young woman, who was usually quiet and soft

spoken. But her attention was drawn back to Luz,

who wrapped her arms around herself and rocked

back and forth, muttering in Spanish.
"¡Cabrón!"

she shrilled suddenly.

"Who, Damien?" Kara asked, totally nonplussed by

her behavior.

"Matthew." Luz's expression grew hard, all traces

of grief vanishing. "
¡Pinche pendejo!
How dare he

go and get himself killed!"

"Luz," Kara said gently. "You don't mean that.

You're not yourself right now."

Instantly, Luz's expression shifted back to one of

sadness, and she sighed. "Forgive me,
comadre.

You are right, I am not myself."

"It's understandable." But Kara wasn't sure she

believed that. "You're in shock, and you're

grieving."

"You know me so well." Luz took Kara's hand and

squeezed it. "I am glad you are here."

But the ugly head of suspicion reared inside Kara,

and a disconcerting fear—of Luz—made her end

the visit as quickly as she could.

#

"That was a great supper, Mrs. Cantrell. Spaghetti

is one of my favorites, and yours was delicious."

Alex's new friend picked up his empty plate and

placed his silverware on it. "Let me help with the

dishes."

"Thank you on the compliment, and please call me

Jenny. I'd like to retain at least the illusion of

middle age for awhile longer." Alex's grandmother

smiled and started stacking dirty plates. She waved

Luke back to his seat when he tried to help. "No, sit

down. I'll do the dishes later. It's time for dessert.

Homemade pecan pie and ice cream."

Luke's eyes lit up, just like Mr. Morgan's did when

dessert was served. It was Alex's favorite part of the

meal, too. It just was totally weird that Luke was

here.

Over at Luke's earlier, Alex had told him about the

ghost appearing in Zorro and then again at his

grandparents' house. Luke asked him a bunch of

questions, then put his motorcycle in the garage.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go meet your

grandparents and see if we can sweet talk them into

letting me check out your room."

Alex didn't know what 'sweet talk' entailed, but he

didn't think his grandmother would let a stranger—

and a big, scary-looking dude at that—into the

house. But Luke had smiled and introduced himself

to both Grandma and Grandpa, and they'd let him

in.

Alex thought he felt a flare of power during the

introductions, and wondered if Luke was using

something like 'the force' to put his grandparents

into some sort of trance. But they kept acting

normal, except they invited Luke to stay for dinner.

The invitation to dinner convinced Alex that Luke

had done
something
with his powers to assure

Grandma and Grandpa that he was an okay guy, but

it had been ultra fast, like a stealth bomber under

the radar.
Sweet.
Alex hoped he could use his

powers like that some day, without worrying about

a Belian or other bad guy being able to figure it out.

Grandma brought the pie to the table, and Luke ate

two big pieces with ice cream, along with a large

glass of milk. "Best pecan pie I ever had," he said

finally, patting his belly. "You sure I can't help in

here, Mrs.—I mean, Jenny?"

"I'm positive," she said firmly. "That's what the

dishwasher is for."

"Great dinner and great pie, Jen." Grandpa rose and

gave Grandma a quick kiss on the cheek. He looked

at Luke. "NBA game just started— Dallas

Mavericks versus the Miami Heat. Care to join

me?"

"It's supposed to be a good game." Luke pushed

back his chair and stood. "But I think Alex wants to

show me his room." He smiled at Grandma, and

Alex felt a brief flare of power. "If that's all right

with you."

"Of course it is. I think it's wonderful that you're

willing to spend time with him." Grandma stepped

close and whispered, "He doesn't have a father.

Some attention from a male adult would be good

for him."

She thought Alex couldn't hear her, but he'd

recently figured out he had much better hearing

than other 'regular' people did. He guesses it went

with his special powers.

"Thank you for telling me that," Luke said. "I like

kids, and I'll enjoy Alex's company during his visit

here." He looked at Alex and gestured toward the

hallway. "Come on, bro, let's check out your room."

They left Grandma in the kitchen, humming a tune.

Alex had never heard her hum before. Grandpa was

settling down in front of the big-screen TV, his

attention focused on a bunch of women dressed in

what looked like bathing suits, and dancing all

around.

Luke's attention also fixed on the TV. "Very nice."

Rolling his eyes, Alex tugged on his arm. "Come

on. Let's go to my room." He led the way down the

hall. "What does 'bro' mean?" he asked.

With another glance back at the TV, Luke followed.

"It's short for brother. You're one of the brothers

now, part of the White Brotherhood. Is this your

room?"

"Yeah. What's the White Brotherhood?"

"It's what the priesthood on Atlantis was originally

called." Luke looked around the room. "Sometimes

it's still used when referring to Sentinels as a whole,

although the term is misleading."

"Atlantis? What's that? Why is the White

Brotherhood misleading?"

"Lot of questions there, bro." Luke sat on the edge

of the bed. "Altantis was a continent that existed

many,
many
years ago, but it sank into the Atlantic

Ocean. Most people believe it's just a myth, but

that's actually where Sentinels originated."

Alex stared at him in amazement. "It sank, the

whole country? The Sentinels didn't drown?"

Luke shook his head. "It's extremely complicated,

and not my place to explain it to you. But when

you're on the Internet, do a little research on

Atlantis. I think you'll find some amazing stuff. Just

remember a lot of it is wrong.

"As for the White Brotherhood, the term is

misleading because it's not about ethnic race, like

white or black or Asian. 'White' is referring to

good, to the light of God. 'Brotherhood' is a loose

translation from the ancient language, but it doesn't

really fit since there are also female Sentinels."

"Girl Sentinels?" Alex didn't know what he thought

about that.

Luke smiled. "Yeah. And some of them are pretty

hot. Now, let's check out this ghost."

"I think it's the same ghost that came to my house

in Zorro," Alex said. "But is that possible? Aren't

ghosts trapped in one place?"

"No, that's a myth. Ghosts don't have physical

bodies, so they're not tied to the physical realm like

we are," Luke explained. "If this so-called ghost

wants to talk to you, it can follow you anywhere.

Give me a minute, okay?"

He glanced around the room again, closed his eyes.

His hand went to his chest, rested there. Alex could

really feel the power surge then. "Hey! Have you

got a necklace like Mr. Morgan?"

Luke cracked one eye open. "If it's a quartz crystal

framed in silver, then yeah, I do. I need you to be

quiet now, and let me work."

"Cool," Alex said, already plotting to bug Mr.

Morgan or Luke until he got his own necklace. But

he remained quiet, watching Luke, who sat

completely still, his eyes closed and his hand over

his crystal.

Then the most amazing thing happened. Alex saw

Luke start to glow, like he had a bright light

outlining him. It was white right around his body,

but it had other layers of color on the outer edges,

dark blue and a kinda of purple. "Wow," Alex

breathed.

"See something?" Luke asked without opening his

eyes.

"You've got light and colors around you!"

"That's just my aura. Stay quiet a while longer, then

I'll explain it to you."

This was so totally iced, Alex could hardly sit still.

But he did, and while he waited, he concentrated on

the energies Luke was using. They were becoming

familiar to him now.

After a few minutes, Luke took a deep breath and

opened his eyes. He smiled at Alex. "Okay, bro,

this doesn't appear to be a bad ghost. It won't hurt

you." He held out his hand. "Hold on to me and I'll