By Jay Nystrom
The cold November wind bit harshly into the skin of Doctor Occultus and he drew his heavy wool coat closer, it had been nearly three years since he had walked these streets last. He remembered the sights then, the streets were dirty with rubble and the flags and propaganda posters of the Nazi occupiers were ablaze on the ground. Desecrated in more ways then most could imagine. Occultus had been part of the Allied forces that marched in to free the famed City of Lights, but it was the resistance that had done the leg work to free themselves. He had made many friends in the following months, most had worked in one way or another with the French underground. Many cut phone lines and sabotaged food stores, others still ran the tiny hand presses to spread newspapers written beneath the noses of Hitler’s own Waffen-SS. Occultus counted those men and women as the bravest of the war and found kinship among them more then he often found in his own army, among the Parisian he was judged more on his actions as a man then the color of his birth.
As Occultus wandered down the street he noticed the shadows of war all around him, houses unoccupied and others burnt husks were people once ate, drank, loved and lived. Despite all that she had been through the city pushed on, vibrant and full of life but with the undercurrent of a city shattered swirling beneath the veneer of energy. A few of the abandoned buildings still bore the mark of the Croix de Lorraine, a mark to distinguish itself as part of those brave enough to stand against tyranny. One of the buildings caught the eye of Occultus, a fresh coat of paint on its exterior almost led to it being overlooked but the hanging wooden sign was the same one that hung in 1944. It read “Un petit Oiseau” and a peeling painting of a small black bird adorned the sign, it meant ’A little bird’ and the humor was never lost to the good Doctor. When Occultus entered he saw his good friends Margot and Savon seated at a corner table. When Savon saw Occultus he quickly rose and embraced him.
“Bienvenue ami!” Savon kissed Occultus affectionately on the cheek.
“Savon, Margot good to see you both, although I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“It seems fate would conspire to join us in distress only chéri.”
Margot’s voice wavered slightly as she beckoned Occultus to the empty chair and slid over a glass of wine. The years since had been kind to Margot and Occultus thought to himself that she was even prettier with age, Savon however looked no less world weary then the first time they had met. Savon shifted uncomfortably in his chair and tried to hold the eyes of his old friend.
“There is no need for that Savon, we are friends and you can always speak freely.”
“Sorry, it’s just that this has been a difficult time for Margot and myself. Vivienne is our everything.”
Margot reached her hand to enclose Savon’s but Occultus could see the tears form on her cheeks, both were having a hard time keeping it all together let alone tell of what had happened but he needed information and time was always of the essence in a case like this.
“Tell me what happened Savon, take all the time you need but spare no details. Even that which seems unimportant may hold clues to finding her.”
Savon told Occultus all he could remember about the events that surrounded that terrifying day. It had been a warm fall day when Margot and Savon had taken Vivienne out to shop for a new winter coat. It had all been so sudden, two masked men had stumbled out of the boutique, cash fluttering from hastily stuffed bags. One of the men crashed into Margot and Vivienne sending them sprawling to the ground. Savon tried to intervene but the second man fired three rounds towards him and two found their way to his side puncturing a lung and nearly rupturing his spleen. There was little he could do as the first man grabbed Vivienne by the hair and started to run, the very last time Savon saw her was as his blood soaked outstretched hand grasped the air as his vision faded to black.
Margot then lost all of her composure and break down, Savon hugged her close as he too couldn’t hold on any more. Doctor Occultus reached over and did his best to console them both, he knew that this was going to be very hard on them but he would do all in his power to help them. Savon steadied himself and took a sip of wine.
“I understand that this is a lot to ask of you, and it is a great thing for you to fly here for the sake of friends you haven’t seen in years. When I tried to think of who could help you were the first person in my mind, I know you took up detective work in the States. I just…”
Savon nearly broke down again but Occultus squeezed his hand.
“I will do all that I can Savon, you and Margot are very dear to me and I will not stop until this is resolved.”
All three rose from the table and Occultus hugged both as he took his leave. The story ran through his mind as he walked back in the stiff icy breeze, the air helped clear his mind of attachment and the soft fog of the wine. He knew that there was very little hope of finding the girl alive, it had been nearly a week since the kidnapping and the local police force had very little to go on. For Doctor Occultus this was personal and the men who were responsible would pay. His search wove in and out of the Paris underworld, angry men stuck in the past plotted against Germany and Britain. Petty men took advantage of weak and downtrodden patriots, all of them sickened Occultus but their information slowly led him towards the kidnappers.
A small time hood by the name of Sebastien knew of a few crooks who stole high end clothes to sell in the smaller towns around France. After some rough persuasion Sebastien told Occultus of a townhouse near a burned out church that housed two men named Remy and Allard. The stench of death wafted to the nose of Doctor Occultus as he entered the house and he knew his suspicions to be true, the living room was empty and his footfalls rang in the hollow house. Nobody was here, his search continued slowly and from the corner of his eye he caught a fleeting figure run down the hall. As he drew nearer the figure ran the other direction, always on the fringe of his vision the ghost darted to and fro. Any other person wouldn’t be sure they saw anything at all but Occultus was experienced in such things so he followed the ghost skillfully, as he cracked open the door to a basement he heard a muffled cry from within. The stairwell was dark and no light was to be found so Occultus traced small runes as he descended, each one slowly flickered to life and began to illuminate the area. At the bottom of the stairs the room widened and in the corner lay the small shriveled corpse of Vivienne, his balanced wavered and tears poured to his cheeks. Occultus had seen horrors before but this was personal, two of his dear friends would learn from his tongue that their daughter no longer lived. The burden of knowledge quickly gave way to rage at the monsters responsible and his mind flooded with horrid and villainous things as he plotted vengeance.
Occultus left the house with Vivienne wrapped in the cleanest blanket he could find and as he walked the lonely dirt road he could see the little girl keep pace slightly behind him, her spirit restless and lost. Occultus didn’t reach the house of Margot and Savon until dusk and fog had begun to wrap about the fields and houses nearby. As the door opened Margot fell to her knees, Savon took the cold and tiny Vivienne from Occultus and walked inside. Occultus picked Margot up from the floor and helped her to the bed, little was said between the three of them, no words would do anyway. Occultus took his leave and made his way towards his rented room, the space was small inside, little more then a rough cot and a single uncovered bulb hanging from the ceiling casting stark and sharp shadows on the walls. Occultus opened his travel rucksack and carefully laid out its contents, a piece of black charcoal, small bones from a pouch, a folded sheet of papyrus and a small sharp dagger. He took the papyrus and unfolded it out onto the dusty wood planks of the floor, he slowly cut a shallow groove into his palm with the dagger and squeezed the bones with the bloody fist. While the blood soaked the tiny bones he drew a complicated sigil into the papyrus with the charcoal and when he was finished dropped the bones onto it. The sigil lit a blood red on the paper which was quickly folded and placed in a small leather pouch and shoved in a pocket.
On the outskirts of town Remy and Allard snuck under the cover of darkness and fog into the husk of the church next door to the house. Under a trap door a secret room held the stolen loot of their misdeeds, stacks of cash sat on tables and high end clothes hung on crudely built racks in droves. Both took a small wad of cash and laughed together as they left, full of whiskey and covered by the potent perfume of cheap whores they sung and danced into the front room. Stopped in their tracks and nearly shocked sober the duo found Occultus standing in the center of the floor. He was covered in feathers and beadwork looking like some vengeful god of hawks and stood inside a glowing green circle, next to him stood the ethereal form of Vivienne. Before Remy could react Allard darted towards the door but fell in his haste, his liquor soaked brain misfiring his muscles and slowing his escape. Occultus tossed the folded papyrus to the floor and the blood covered bones danced like dice across the floor as they exited the now burning papyrus. As the bones continued to bounce each one lit on fire and quickly morphed to take the shape of a fiery bird that swooped and cawed towards Remy and Allard who shrieked loudly in fear. The birds circled and pecked as Remy fell joining Allard on the floor, both were covered in fire and burned as if drenched in fuel. In the commotion and scrambling the entire room had caught fire except the circle surrounding Doctor Occultus, the fire moved with unnatural speed and the bodies burned to ashes in mere minutes. In only a short amount of time the entire house had become nothing more then black ashes swept in the gentle breeze and lost in the thick fog that now shrouded the town.
Only after all traces of retribution had dispersed did Occultus leave the safety of the circle, his hand gently held by the smiling apparition of Vivienne. Nothing more could be done now, justice had been carried out in her name. As they walked the form of Vivienne slowly dissipated into the fog forever leaving this Earthly plane. Occultus boarded his plane home two days later without talking to Savon and Margot, he was physically and mentally exhausted and longed for his own bed.
Fin
