The Marradith Ryder Series–The Art of Shadows: Part 8
“I’m getting us some wine,” Shannon said.
“No, I’ll get it,” Ryan left and came back with a bottle and two glasses. He put them down on the glass coffee table, and she watched as he poured.
“Granthem has a long history with the Vegas,” she began. “But to be honest, we weren’t sure that he was still alive. We have went years without hearing from him.”
“We?” Ryan said.
“Any of the Vegas. This goes back a long way. ”
“Okay. So far I’m following you.”
Shannon swirled the wine in her glass. “It hasn’t gotten complicated yet, but it’s about to. My Dad’s side of the family comes from Las Cruces. It’s a small country in Central America. The region was very difficult to manuever for outsiders. It’s hemmed in by mountains on all sides, except the West, which faces a treacherous strip of ocean. It was the last of the countries there to be settled by the Spanish -apparently they weren’t able to until the late 1700’s. There’s stories too, about just why Las Cruces was settled so late after their occupation of most of Central and South America, but we won’t get into that now.
“By the end of the 1800’s, the Spainards were entrenched. They brought with them the Catholic faith, and converted most of the native people to their religion.
“In Las Cruces, the people practiced their own religion, based on ancestor worship. They believed in the power of healers called curanderos. They tended to the sick, and were known for their ability to prophecy. While many did cast the old ways aside, there were some who continued to practice. My family was amongst those that followed the old traditions.
“The Vegas were known for being curanderos, men and women both, as far back as anyone could remember. Those that were converted looked down on them. They called my family brujas. Witches.
“In 1890, there was a surge of - I’m not even sure what to call it. Prosthelatizing? All I can tell you is that someone got an idea that the unconverted needed to be driven out of the land. What it really meant was that it was time to kill anyone who didn’t share the same beliefs. And they went about doing it.
“There had been tribal unrest in Las Cruces before. And of course, there was fighting when the Spanish first came. But this rage against the old faith became an all out war.”
Ryan shook his head. ” So, your family were some of the first they came for?”
“They were putting people to death. Hanging. Firing squad. I’m told that my great-great grandfather went out by himself into the wilderness, into the thickest part of the woods. There were already people on his trail. That night, he found a Wolf. Not an ordinary animal. A Wolf that had the ability to transfigure into a man.”
“You mean a were-?” Ryan muttered. He stared at her, and tried to form the words of a sensible question. Instead, he picked up the bottle and drank from it.
“If you want to leave,” Shannon said, “this is the time to do it, before you know more.”
“No,” he said. “Tell me the rest.”
She sighed. “According to the story, this Wolf transformed into a man in front of my ancestor. He said that he was there to protect the curanderos from those that were trying to kill them. He promised to protect the Vegas.”
“Did he?”
“Yes,” Shannon said. “By morning, all trace of the persecutors were gone. There was nothing found of them, except some torn bits of clothing left in the woods.
“There were many stories in my family about this particular Wolf. They called him Hustino. And he seems to show up whenever the Vegas have come into any danger. It matches with the local folklore, because Las Cruces was always said to be a haven for these creatures. Some believe our country was the place where Wolves originated.
“The last to know of him was my Father, Pablo,” she added. ” Papi knew him as Justin Granthem.”
“Wait a minute,” Ryan leaned forward. “You think it’s actually the same man?”
“My stepmother has this theory that there’s more than one Wolf named Granthem. I personally have never believed that. I think Justin and Hustino are the same man. It would make him around two hundred years old.”
“Okay. So this Granthem, or his brood, have protected your family for many years. I don’t understand where you come in.”
“My Father was a curandero,” she said. “And he was part of an organization called the Sojourners. He was attacked by a Wolf. He was turned, and when he went wild, he had to be killed.”
“He was turned by Granthem?”
“No, Honey. Justin wasn’t anywhere near New York when Papi died.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because back then, Justin was in Texas, shadowing Marradith Ryder,” she replied. “And I was watching him.”
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©2010 Lori Titus
Lori Titus is the author of Green Water Lullaby, a collection of horror fiction available through Sonar 4 Publications. Her novella, Lazarus, will be released this Fall through The Library of the Living Dead. For more information about the author and her love of all things scary, read her blog: http://loribeth215.wordpress.com/
Tags: Ryan Doherty, Shannon Vega, The Art of Shadows, The Marradith Ryder Series
