"I checked the whole thing. Brother, it is not looking good at all." - Pietro was speaking to Dima over the phone.
"I just told you about that student I met Ilya. That's even more mind-boggling. And what did you dig up?" - Dima was looking at the turned off TV in his room, as he was going back-and-forth with Pietro.
"Ehh, I have asked the boss to let me come over to you. He gave permission, after he saw what I dug up." - Pietro sounded partially tired, partially baffled himself.
"Wait, wait. We got a case out here? My wife is sure as hell the case here, but I don't get it." - Dima let out.
"I'm coming over. Shall get to you by tomorrow evening. Just… Ugh… Be discrete as you go about it. It smells like a hazard on more than one front line in this one. I'll explain once I see you." - Pietro was concerned, his tone and way of speaking reflected that all the time.
"Fine, I'll just… Do what I do. Go look for my wife, see if there's anything else that I can come up with." - Dima replied.
"Brother, please, for the love of god, just be really careful. If you sense anything, and I really mean anything out of place - get out of there running full speed not looking back. Just wait it out until I come. Just do that and we both can storm that shit together. Alright?" - Pietro really was shaken with whatever he discovered, it seems.
"Fine. I'll… fuck…" - Dima was thinking aloud. - "I'll wait until you get here."
"Good. Good." - Pietro let out a sigh of relief.
The evening, as dark as it was - could not get the whole mess out of Dima's head. Sitting in this room was not helping either. The brainstorming about where Aya could be was not letting it go. With all the might he had to go and shake down that damn Levin - Dima knew that it would pose problems, if in all honesty, a police officer would barge in and try shaking down the damn Magister of the Academy. Mhm. That would become the front page spread in newspapers the day after.
But sitting here was not doing anything. So Dima went out. Dark streets, the garden and the house opposite, with the same old lady sitting there, on her porch. Same old lady who stopped him in the morning.
Curious, Dima walked over to her.
"Good evening." - Dima called out.
She tilted her head, then had that look of "ah, I remember you", which prompted a smile and a nod.
"Come sit." - She gestured to the spot next to her. A spot on a long bench she had on this porch.
Dima came over to sit down. She was slowly nodding and letting out concerned sighs one after the other. Then she spoke.
"I saw it. Spirits told me." - She turned to Dima, who looked confused now. - "The one you're looking for - she's gone."
"What do you mean - gone?" - Dima looked at the old woman confusedly. How could she state something like that out of thin air?
"Let me explain, young man." - She began. - "My name is Bozhana, I am the local witch. My mother was a witch, my grandmother, the mothers and grandmothers before that too. I'm tenth in the generation following the call. I speak to the spirits, gods and nature. Dead come to me at times. Not all times. They speak to me, well, sometimes things are spoken in shared silence. A moment. When you came out in the morning, there was a spirit of old lady - she said that she mourns your loss. That you should be careful with who you pursue. They work with dark forces. A danger. Grave danger would befall you if you're not careful."
"And that's what she said?" - Dima looked skeptical, felt sceptical, thinking if talking to this crazy old lady was the answer at all.
"Mhm. There's many, locked in a place in there." - Bozhana looked towards Rene. - "The many who come to me, tell me of a place which keeps many souls. Though, the darkness that binds them is way stronger than me. So I can't even go there to check. They'd know if I did get close to them. It's really dark. That thing in there." - Bozhana looked worried. Helpless.
"Boy," - Bozhana placed her hand on top of Dima's hand, and looked him in the eyes, as he turned to her. - "Visit the Church that's in this town. It's the St. Lucius Church. You'll meet in there, those who'll help. They're strong enough." - She gave a few nods, before adding. - "Get some sleep today. God will protect you. Rest easy."
After such a chat, Dima went back to the tavern, the rooms above.
For some reason the tavern itself felt like a way too calm thing to be in. Typically taverns have this whole buzz about them - people drinking, playing, chatting, dancing, being loud… Here though - it felt like a bunch of calm, weared out from life locals and adventurers came over. A calm and serene chats, drinking, laughing that's not too loud, no fighting, no trouble.
Once he asked the barkeep - "Why is this place so calm?". Barkeep, an old man with a lush white beard, bold head, the build of a bear, with his bronze skin and a wise smiling mug answered simply - "We keep it simple. And those rowdy bastards - they just don't see us. We exist only for the calm folk."
That answer was as much of a riddle as anything else in these parts.
Sleeping was in a sense like falling in a fluffy hole, then dying for a bit and resurrecting back to life. No dreams, no nothing. The alarm clock buzzed and beeped, until Dima smacked it with his hand. Checking the time - 10am.
"Huh?" - Dima sat up confused. - "How come?"
Whilst trying to figure out why the alarm was set at 10, instead of 6 in the morning, he heard his phone buzz. Dima reached for it - a call from an unknown number. He pushed the answer button.
"Hello?" - Dima asked the phone. The other end seemed quiet. - "Hello?" - Dima repeated.
There was no answer. Just a buzz. Like a static in the setting.
"The hell?" - Dima looked at the phone, then put it back to his ear. - "Hello-o?"
There was static on the line, then sounds of voices came, like they were really far away. Couldn't make out what was said, then the whole thing was blowing harsh wind, then Dima heard it.
"Do you have 5 ro? Can you give me?" - the faint male voice sounded through the phone, like a very old radio was playing something. Then the buzz of static. Then the voice came closer, now talking into the speaker. - "She ate 5ro. She's free." -same male voice came back again, but faded once more, buzzing again. - "Over a thousand." - Same voice said, once more there was a buzz. - "Be careful." - Was said by a woman at the end and the call got cut.
Dima sat there, feeling like the call itself was from either some eerie thing, or even otherworld. Crazy as it was, creepy as it was, he listened to the whole thing for a good five minutes, unable to put his phone down, as if glued to it. Shivers down his spine, the chill and fear that shook him down to his core. It was a dark and eerie feeling. Something which felt like it would eat him up as well.
Once the phone was down on the table - Dima went to shower. Standing in the hot shower, yet feeling no heat.
"Maybe I should visit that church, which Bozhana mentioned. Sheesh." - Thought Dima to himself. The chill would not cease.
Getting out of the shower, checking a map that's opened up on the table, he found the Church. Maybe a half an hour walk from here.
That's where he set off.
As Dima went out - he checked to see the old Bozhana - she was not out yet. He then turned in the direction of the church and walked towards it.
Streets of beauty. Fine gardens near the houses, an area where people live in their cute houses. The whole area seemed like a cozy place. Kids playing about, some grannies and grandpas on the benches, some others in the park playing chess or checkers. Some slowly dance, as there's an old cassette player in there, with classical music. Peaceful.
The church was near the parks, with beautiful shrubbery near it, all nice and neat. Even though it was rather cold outside. It's hard to imagine that it was getting to winter time, with all the people out and about like that. Reminded of summer or spring, really.
Dima walked into the church. The sound of choir singing caught him off guard, sounding really ethereal. The choir was on the floor above, as the rows of pews stretched in front of him. A large artistic cut out from the wood was in the end, with angels and saints depicted.
A priest was standing in the middle, praying.
Dima walked to the front and sat in the front row. Listening, watching the priest.
The weary sense that was - seemed to dissipate into nothing. As if healing the darkness which crowded around Dima.
With eyes closed, listening, it felt like minutes passed by. Then came silence. Just the sound of candles crackling.
"Ah, your first time here?" - The voice of a man brought Dima back to reality. He looked up, the priest standing in front of him.
"Oh… Good afternoon." - Dima spoke, unsure of what and how. The priest smiled at him.
"My name is Luka. You're free to stay as long as you like." - The priest said, then walked off to the side, up the stairs, most likely towards the choir.
Dima sat there, wondering what to do. The whole lot of events, with what was going on - made no sense. The disappearance of Dima's wife… The whole academy not really owning up to it… It's a mess.
As Dima was deep in his thoughts, someone came over and sat next to him. He turned to check who it was - a nun. Fairly old, rosary in hands, looking at the great art of angels in front.
"I sense a lot on your shoulders." - She spoke to Dima. - "It's alright. If you want to share - I'm here to listen."
Dima looked at her, at the art in front.
"Does god help?" - Dima asked.
"Well, God helps those who seek his help, his guidance. God helps. Like a mother, that helps her children." - The nun replies.
"Isn't god a man?" - Dima looked at her in a puzzled way, she chuckled in reply.
"If god was a man, how would he give birth to so many children?" - She looked at him. - "God is a woman. With that which embodies a man working alongside her."
Confusing concept. It's really confusing.
"So what's the story, young man?" - Nun looked at Dima with sincere warmth.
Dima felt the tears come up, then down his cheeks they went. Crying, he told her all that happened. From how his beloved wife went to this Academy, how she disappeared, the meeting with Bozhana, the phone call, the student Ilya, how the whole thing is just not making any sense.
She listened attentively, then took his hand in hers, as he poured it all out.
Once the story was finished, Dima noticed the priest standing next to them, with a serious look on his face, like he already was putting the plan together. Then the priest looked at Dima.
"Come, son of god, there's something we should share with you." - The priest gestured to follow him.
The nun took Dima's hand and got up, pulling softly along with her.
They went to the hall through the side door, on and on, to the halls, rooms, eventually getting to a large library.
Books filling the space from ceiling to floor. Endless. The priest pulled out a few books, then set them on the table. Then went on and on with the same thing, to accumulate over 10 books on the table. Then walked over to the drawers, pulling out multiple books, which at a closer look - seemed like notebooks. Some really old, some newer by the looks of them.
Then all of that was set on the table.
The priest sat down, asking others to do the same. Dima and the nun followed suit.
"I'm Luka, as I have mentioned, this is mother Milica." - The priest gestured at the nun. - "Through the years we've come across many things which made no sense, you coming in here have given us a bit of insight." - Luka opened the notes, then pushed them towards Dima.
"As you can see, there's a list of people who went missing. Claims by all sorts of people from decades and even millennia back. Spreading for over a thousand years." - We've looked into this, but could not really make sense of why this would happen. Many came by, seeking the help of god, to find those who were lost. The lost ones would then be forgotten. Even by the ones who searched for them. Within years. Sometimes within months. I encountered this a few times myself. But I was not sure if this is a phenomena, or something related to god. Milica was kind enough to work with Bozhana."
"Some call it heresy, sure, but God works in many ways. Bozhana does the work which some of us can't, but it is all the gods will. A woman's power is more than childbirth. It's controlling life and death itself. Through many means that the gods allowed us. Knowledge, wisdom, nature and the wisdom of old. Pagans, heretics…" - Milica opened the books, many scriptures depicting all sorts of entities, - "Whatever is in line with nature - is god. That which is against nature and order of nature sure is not a good thing." - Milica poked the notes with many names in it. - "This here is not even against nature, this here is something evil, born of something old and greedy."
Dima took the notes in his hands. The names and dates of the missing people reported, the events that lead to the disappearance and the whole lot of how even the person reporting it - would forget the person they reported.
"Not even demonic. This is larger than that." - Luka said. - "It could be rituals. Though what for and why - I don't understand. Every year it's many people. From 20 to over a hundred at times - just gone."
"We have gone to Rene for a check. But it was like the whole thing was covered in a veil. Whatever was, that operated there - pushed us out pretty fast. Me and father Luka got sick within an hour of arrival. And that was over 10 years back. We've not gone there since." - Milica said.
"But we've prayed, with the help of Bozhana, even got closer to the divine. And I think that this time we should be able to go and do more. With your help." - Luka watched Dima sitting there, checking the details, the scriptures, the notes.
"You want to go with me?" - Dima raised his face from all the reading.
"Yes. We need to find the cause and get rid of it." - Luka seemed dedicated. - "You came here by the gods will, we won't miss this chance to finally get those who are lost - their truth and their peace."
Dima listened to them. Asked to think about their proposal and went back to the tavern.
Dinner was served. A really hearty dinner. Barkeep poured beer for the customers. A few moments later barkeep walked over to Dima.
"All good?" - Barkeep asked.
"I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything right now." - Dima shook his head.
"It's alright not to know!" - Barkeep placed his large hand on Dima's shoulder, making Dima feel like he got an uncle all of a sudden. - "Sometimes life throws us the most unexpected things that become the most unexpected journey of life. Full of discoveries! Even chaos has it's own pattern of things. Don't give up!" - A few gentle pats on the back from Barkeep made Dima feel supported somewhat.
Dinner felt like becoming a stuffed turkey during celebrations. With a full belly and overworked mind, Dima went to bed. It's better to just sleep it off to find answers.