The morning was fairly odd. Walking downstairs for breakfast, getting a table set for Dima by the barkeep. And then, like a spring breeze - there's Pietro who comes to sit with Dima.
"Uhum." - Dima looked at his comrade in arms.
"You were asleep when I got here. So I decided to get a room as well." - Pietro said, as he waved at the barkeep to get him breakfast as well.
"I wonder how they let you go." - Dima said, as he got the food from the plate into mouth.
Pietro looked at Dima, pause and silence hanging in the air. The clatter of things behind the bar was audible, like the whole lot of stirring in the kitchen.
"After we eat - my room." - Pietro was serious.
The chat stopped at that. The food was out and they had their breakfast in silence. Just the sounds of the kitchen, the barkeep chatting in the background with his fellows. And that was that.
Once the food was over the two walked up to Pietro's room.
Dima sat at the table, whilst Pietro took out the fat pile of folders from his suitcase.
"What's all that?" - Dima got a little confused.
"You asked to check things out. I did. And…" - Pietro placed the pile on the table. - "Things do not look well at all."
Dima took the top folder, opened it to see the missing persons report and the ongoing case still. Another was the same. And another… like all the piles in here.
"They all say that these individuals have either travelled here to study, some were tourists, some others came to family. For some reason the missing persons file was on, but the weird thing was when I called the families of the missing persons. Some of them are still located in Rene, others are all over the other places. The family and relatives outside were all still eager to find their family, but when the calls were done for those living in Rene - that's when it went weird. They all claimed that no such person who went missing is or has ever been. Like they were erased. Like these missing persons got erased from the memories of their families and relatives in Rene. Although, as you can see," - Pietro points out some files and the names in them. - "The reports were filed by the family and relatives. Who no longer remembers the people who went missing. And I checked multiple times - only the ones still in Rene seem to have this trait."
Dima looked at the files, then at Pietro, eyes back and forth, until he let out a heavy sigh, got up and walked to look out the window.
"That's fucked up." - Dima let out finally.
Afterwards Dima explained to Pietro his encounter with Bozhana, with Luka and Milica. How they have their way of explaining it. But that is all far too away from the logic.
Pietro listened, as he sat on his bed. Pondering on it. The room was silent for a while.
"Dima, do you remember my mother?" - Pietro fired all of a sudden out of nowhere.
"Aha, why?" - Dima looked at Pietro, eyebrows knit, not sure where Pietro is going with this.
"Ehhh… Do you remember that she is hella superstitious? With her requesting you to do that thing with an egg, then spoke some prayers over you, as you sat in my mothers kitchen in our countryside house." - Pietro looked at Dima, his hands together, as he was gathering strength.
"I mean, if that is what she believes in and makes her happy, why not do it? Although it was weird as heck." - Dima let out, reminiscing the banters and home-made wine they had in there.
"Mother had told me that there are evil beings, spirits that feast on people. Not the kind that's evil-eye thing or some jinxes or spells. Nah. She once told me about the story her mother passed to her and mother of the grandmother and so on, like a long lineage of things." - Pietro was pretty serious with what he was saying. - "Mother said that there was an evil being. So evil it took people away. Kidnapped them not only in body, but in hearts and minds of others. She said that some great-great-grandmother encountered it. A relative of ours. Gone missing during travels. So she went there to find them. Only to get close to the place and feel such immense fear and sickness, that she had to get away as far as possible from it. Making her powerless against it. Though she was quite the healing witch of a sort in the village. A strong one. But even she was afraid. Had nightmares of the evil who ate souls for weeks after that. Then had to go to another village with other witches for a ritual to make it stop. Well, with a dozen of them and a weeks long ritual they managed to ward it off. But since then she was telling her kids about that one thing they all should be far away from."
"Do you think that this might be somehow related?" - Dima watched Pietro. Pietro raised his eyes to look directly at Dima.
"Brother, I think we might have found that evil and it is not a scary bedtime story now. It seems pretty real." - Pietro said.
"From all the superstitions to…" - Dima rolled eyes.
"Yet those superstitions work. You've seen it yourself, had it done to you. Which is why this is not so alien to you. We all grew up with elderly women witches and old man shamans in our region. What makes this different then?" - Pietro really wanted to know if Dima believes.
"Fuck…" - Dima replied, as he knew from own experience, that sure as heck there are things that exist without explanation. And fairies, house spirits and more were a cultural thing. Maybe even too real of a thing at times.
"We should go see that priest, then go see that witch." - Pietro said, getting up. - "It is no longer just a pile of missing people's reports. It can be sinister in ways even I can't imagine yet."
Once they got to the church, there was some level of emptiness. No people inside, pretty lonely. Dima and Pietro were looking around.
"You came back." - The voice of Milica sounded like a warm welcome. - "Father Luka is waiting for you. Come on."
Milica guided the two into the same room which Dima visited before. Luka was sitting with paperwork surrounding him at the desk. Pages of all sorts of things, along with books.
"Ah, friends." - Luka looked up, as he took off his reading glasses. - "Welcome."
"Have a seat, gentleman. I'll bring tea." - Milica gently guided the two, then went off to the kitchen.
Pietro and Dima sat opposite Luka.
"I have heard from Dima all that you've discovered." - Pietro let out. - "But there's so much more to it."
Luka gave an understanding nod.
"Dima mentioned that you two work for a special kind of department." - Luka said.
"We have to stop whatever this is. It's absolute madness."
"An evil entity. Yes. Milica thought up to bring Bozhana here, to talk about it. So how about we have a spiritual practitioner give us their perspective on the events as well." - Luka pushed the book towards Pietro. - "You seem like a believer."
"My mothers side of the family is rather interesting. Have seen things." - Pietro laughs.
Luka smiles in return, nodding.
"I guess our Lord is sending the right people finally." - Luka smiled at Dima. - "Even in dire situations, there's still light that shows."
"Light?" - Dima rolled eyes. - "My wife is missing. No matter what's what, I'm furious."
"Loss is always accompanied by anger." - Luka let out a sigh. - "I know the feeling too well, having my own wife buried, my children too."
"My condolences." - Pietro adds.
"It's alright. They are in the light of greatness. The losses we go through are also the path that was chosen. As much as it hurts, there's acceptance eventually." - Luka looks aside.
The doors open and Milica walks in with a tray. Kettle, cups, sugar and sweets for all present in the room.
"I asked Bozhana to come over. Though I am not sure she'll have the time. There's been a few things she's working on. So it might be later on, or even tomorrow." - Milica said.
"There's the paperwork you have about all the disappearances. I'd like to see them all." - Pietro said.
Milica poured the tea in cups. Dima sat there annoyed at all the waiting. Luks got up, started to get all the paperwork with the missing people, then placed it all next to Pietro.
"Would it be alright if I made copies of this?" - Pietro asked.
"I could make copies for you." - Milica smiled. - "We have a fine copy machine here. I can do that for you."
"That would be much appreciated." - Pietro said.
"I still…" - Dima began.
"Ah! There you all are!" - Boznaha walked in, as she checked the people in the room.
"Oh! You sure?" - Milica asked her, as she held the papers in her hand, to go make copies.
"Bring that back, sister." - Boznaha let out, as she gestured to Milica. - "The darkness in that town is rather bold."
"Sinister would be a better word for it." - Luka says.
"That thing…" - Boznaha began, then walked over to the desk, checking the documents, then eyed Pietro and Dima. - "...that thing is a big dark entity. I am not even sure what to call it."
"That bad?" - Milica asked.
"You know that I have checked if that's a demon, an egregore, a dark being… No, even the spirits I work with are too scared to face that thing. So I called the heavy artillery through a ritual." - Boznaha sat down at the table.
"Archangels?" - Milica side-eyed Bozhana.
"The old gods." - Bozhana side-eyed Milica. - "These ones were sure to share a bit. Not much, but enough for me to know that it needs a really extensive cleaning, purging and healing ritual to it. And I can't go alone."
Bozhana eyed Dima and Pietro.
"You two," - then she eyes Luka and Milica. - "And you two. We all shall need to be there to find where and do the ritual. By the guidance I have received - it'll take a while."
"A while?" - Dima was puzzled at the whole set of woo-woo going on.
"Some rituals take time. Especially depending on complexity." - Boznaha adds. - "This one is very complex. Even by my standards."
"Would our relics and the holy power be enough?" - Luka asked.
"My dear, it'll take more than that. Really. More. Than. That." - Bozhana placed her hand over Luka's hand.
"So…" - Milica narrowed her eyes, as she looked at Bozhana. - "What do you need?"
"I shall need a day or two to prepare the ingredients, the items and the spell. You should get your holy relics, maybe some of the bits in that special safe. To keep US safe from what we'll find. The old gods said that that entity is rather tough. It can and will harm. So we have to go prepared." - Boznaha looks at Pietro and Dima. - "That means you two need the ritual of protection from the church here."
"What? Why?" - Dima cannot believe what he's really getting mixed up in. Even with all the crazy, with all the mess, it is still like getting into some fantasy setup he does not want to be a part of.
"How about we get things ready, then go to Rene to evaluate, hopefully find what we look for." - Luka added. - "Bozhana is rather a powerful witch. Even if it looks unexplainable, we do have a lengthy relationship and a belief that she is indeed right in these cases."
"She did help our parishioners a lot. Many were cured by her. Many were saved by her. Bozhana did a lot for us." - Milica added her two pennies to the conversation.
"Let me prepare the ritual of protection for you two." - Luka said. - "Bozhana, I suppose you can go and have a preparation started. We'll handle things on our side. Sister Milica, make the copies and ask Elena to have two more portions added to the dinner, so our guests can eat. I'll prepare the ritual. So you two stay here for now. We won't take long."
Bozhana left, Milica took the documents and went to make copies, Luka also went out. Dima and Pietro both sat in the room. Books on shelves, the religious regalia, the windows to the cold winter which is nearing by the day.
"Am I going insane?" - Dima asked out loud.
"I think not." - Pietro answered. - "The world works in ways we can't comprehend. Though, Dima, I think that with Boznaha we have a chance of finding Aya."
Dima turned to look at Pietro.
"I mean," - Pietro began, - "If the priest and the sister claim that this witch is that powerful, then surely we'll be able to find your wife with her powers. You know how my grandmother would find lost animals, even locate some people here and there, when a kid would go missing, or one of the village uncles would disappear."
"That is just… Ugh…" - Dima got up, pacing around the room.
Pietro got up, coming close to Dima.
"Do you trust me?" - Pietro placed his hands on Dima's shoulders. The latte gave a nod, after he rolled his eyes. - "Good. Then let us follow their lead. And then get all that paperwork, investigation and send all that to headquarters. I'm sure we'll do good here."
Luka came in after half an hour, then led the men to another room. Inside were five more people - both sisters and brothers of the church. They held the candles, as they recited prayers.
"Please, stand here." - Luka guided the two to the spot in the middle. - "It shall be alright."
After that Luka picked the incense censer and walked around Dima and Pietro, then the room, then around them again, reading prayers. The smell of frankincense was thickening.
The ritual consisted of prayers, of Luka with censer, then candles, then holy water… Where Dima and Pietro were smoked with frankincense, then had Luka walk around each one with candles around ten times, then spray the holy water on them, then wipe their faces with it, hands, then asked to even wipe their feet with it. After that was a whole thing with some cloth placed atop their heads, with chants and prayers as if filling the room, like it were some echo chamber, sounding somewhat deeper, further, then closer again. Sound of bells, then singing, then again the bells.
Then it felt like someone placed something else on their heads, for it became heavy for a moment. Luka kept on reading the prayers, walking around.
The whole thing took around an hour, by the feel of it… Though for Dima it felt like half a day.
Once the ritual was over - the cloth was removed from their heads. Dima stumbled from light headedness, but Pietro caught him, as Luka held them both by the shoulders.
"You should rest now." - Luka said, as he guided them to the shared rooms with single beds. One small room, two little beds to rest in. Dima and Pietro laid down.
"I'll come get you for dinner time. Rest for now." - Luka said.
The two were overcome with such a weary state that they passed out into sleep rather fast. Dreams were joyous. Light hearted and happy. Like something was shielding them from whatever troubles are out there in the world.
"Come on boys, time for dinner." - Milica said softly, as she gently shook each one by the shoulder. - "Dinner is ready. You have to eat."
At a large dinner table sat only the four of them. Dima, Pietro, Milica and Luka.
"How long?" - Pietro was sitting there, still a little lost from events and sleep.
"The ritual took five hours dear. Then you slept for another two. It's rather late in the day, so I offer you to stay the night." - Milica paused to reply, then went back to eating.
"Five hours?" - Dima looked shocked. - "But that felt like…"
"An hour at most." - Pietro added.
"I'm glad that it did." - Luka smiled. - "But I had to make sure that the lord and archangels have blessed you well with protection. That was lengthy. As well as using the sacred items, just to make sure it all worked out."
"So that was the weight on top of the head?" - Dima looked at Luka.
"Weight?" - Luka looked surprised. - "Our relics are the bones of the holy ones. None of those were touching your head though."
"It did feel like a crown was placed on the head or something of equivalent weight." - Pietro added.
Milica and Luka looked at each other, seeming confused or worried even. Then they looked at the two in front of them.
"That sure is odd." - Milica let out.
Dima and Pietro agreed to stay over for the night. Sleeping soundly in the same room as before.
In the room with candle light and documents sat Milica and Luka.
"That does not seem like a good sign. The heaviness of the crown." - Milica said.
"Might be like it was with Father Seniy. He too had that feeling during his rituals." - Luka added.
"That would mean the weight of the crown." - Milica mulled over. - "That, or the heavy burden of setting things right. Ehh… Poor boys."
"They were sent here by God to us, sister. Let us pray that it indeed shall be the answer to our prayers." - Luka said, as he rubbed his weary eyes.
"You should contact the churches in the area, just in case. Send out the word. I suppose we'll need all the help we can get." - Milica frowned. - "The heavy crown is only if there's really heavy burdens."