Taina and Olivier walked through the long curving hallway that led off the plane. They had landed in Toulouse twenty minutes ago, but due to first class taking their sweet time departing they had to wait to wait longer than expected.
"We have a driver here that will take us where we need to go. Just look for- oh, never mind." A man wearing a black uniform and driver's cap held a sign that read 'Flament'. "Bonsoir," Olivier said as they headed towards him.
"Monsieur Flament, et Mademoiselle Pereira?" the man asked extending a hand.
"Oui," Olivier responded shaking his head.
"Par ici," the man said motioning for them to follow. He led them to a blacked out car just outside the entrance to the airport and held the back door open for them. "Je vais prendre ceux," their escort said holding out a hand. Olivier handed the man his luggage and motioned with his head for Taina to do the same. Olivier stepped to the side for Taina to step inside the car, and he took his place beside her. The driver closed the door and made his way to the trunk to put everything away. The slam of the trunk caused Taina to flinch as she looked around.
"Relax, everything will be fine," Olivier assured her as the driver started the car. They began to slowly roll out of the parking lot, then onto the highway. Taina watched the buildings passing by as they rode along. Once she decided she was bored of what seemed like repetitive scenery, she turned to talk with Olivier.
"Where are we going?" she asked looking in the rear view mirror at the very top of the driver's hat.
"We're going to see a good friend of mine. His name is Father Durand, and he's one of the highest priests in Toulouse. I had considered studying theology under him after I left the service, so he's very dependable in matters such as yours." Taina snickered shaking her head and turning back towards the window. The basic aspect of religion sounded silly, but all the fancy talk of high priests and "God's right hand man" sounded flat out redundant. "I'm serious, Taina. If I didn't think this would work and that you'd just laugh it off without taking it seriously- I never would have offered."
That made her feel bad. He really was being genuine so far. The fact that he still chose to make this trip with her, despite not knowing when the next time she could go in a trance and hurt someone, was very telling of his character.
"I'm sorry. I'm new to this again, so please just... I just hope you can understand where I'm coming from," she responded with a quivering voice. She hadn't expected any acknowledgment from Olivier. If it were her, she would have said 'to hell with it' for the rest of the trip.
"I do understand. In fact, I've been there myself. I just expected you to be open to it already since you agreed to come. Just try to keep the tell-tale signs of being a skeptic down when you meet with Father Durand, agreed?" Taina turned to look at him. She gave him a wide and promising smile.
"Agreed."
Olivier returned the smile before turning his attention to the driver. They talked amongst themselves for a short while before Olivier looked at his watch. "Damn," he whispered pulling his hoodie sleeve back down.
"What's the matter?" Taina asked.
"We wasted too much time waiting on first class. We're going to have to go to his house instead of the church, I hope that's alright with you?"
Taina shrugged, "It doesn't make a difference to me. Whether I'm in the house of God or the house of a priest, I won't feel welcome either way."
It was Olivier's turn to snicker and shake his head, "Taina, everyone is always welcome as long as their heart is open. But enough of that from me, I'd rather you hear it from an expert."
Taina gave him a short laugh as she turned to look back outside of the window. The driver had brung them through a small area full of old shops and outdoor cafes.
"We're getting close. After we make our way through Petit Marsailles, we'll be there." Taina watched as the scenery changed to a more rugged, albeit run down part of Toulouse.
"It looks sketchy here," she noted out loud.
"Toulouse does have its bad areas, but this isn't one of them. It's just an older part of the city. Here," Oliver said pointing towards the front of the car. "This is his house."
The driver pulled into a stone driveway of an old, two story, gray brick house. The windows were exceptionally dark for it to be nearly 3:30 in the afternoon. The driver parked the car, and moved to open the back door on the driver's side.
Taina stepped out followed by Olivier. The driver retrieved their things and promptly handed them back to their owners.
"Bon séjour!" the driver said as he sat back in the car to leave.
Olivier gave him a single wave calling out a thanks before walking up to the door of the house. He knocked on the door and stepped back beside Taina. It seemed like an eternity as they waited for the door to open. An old man around his early sixties opened the door to greet them.
"Ah, Olivier! Comment avez-vous été!?" Father Durand greeted as he opened his arms out for a hug.
"Je vais bien, et toi?" Olivier said stepping forward to hug him.
"Tout va bien, tout va bien," Father Durand responded patting Olivier on his shoulders. He looked over at Taina and gave her a warm smile. "Qui est cette beauté? Votre femme?" Father Durand asked holding his hand out to her.
Olivier gave him a short laugh shaking his head, "Juste un collègue. Elle s'appelle Taina," he said as Taina placed her hand in Father Durand's.
"Taina. Bienvenue chez moi," Father Durand said placing his other hand on top of hers.
"What did he say?" Taina asked looking at Olivier.
"Oh, he just asked who you were and he says welcome. Now you say, 'merci beaucoup, père Durand' in return." Taina nodded and looked back at Father Durand. She repeated the phrase and gave him a warm smile of her own.
"Elle ne parle pas français?" Father Durand said letting go of Taina's hand and looking at Olivier.
"Non, mais je peux traduire," Olivier replied.
"That won't be necessary. With how many times I've been asked to bless the tourists I decided to learn English. Come in, come in," Father Durand said walking back inside. Taina and Olivier exchanged a look of surprise before stepping inside behind Father Durand. Taina looked around at all the antique furniture that looked like it hadn't been upgraded since the French Revolution. "Olivier, I haven't seen you since you were a little boy. How long has it been?" Father Durand asked from another room.
"Actually, you blessed me right before I joined the service after I turned 18. It's only been 13 years." Father Durand let out a hearty laugh. "Like I said, you were a little boy."
Taina followed Olivier into the kitchen where Father Durand had begun to make tea. "Would either of you like some tea?"
Olivier nodded his head, "Ouais, I'm parched. Taina?"
She shook her head as she continued to look over the inside of Father Durand's house. She sat down at the table beside Olivier, and cried out when something ran out from under her feet.
"What was that!?" she asked lifting her feet into the chair.
Father Durand gave her a short laugh, "Just a cat. I have three of them. They like to lurk in the darker parts of my house. It's the predator in them! Keep your guard up lest they hunt you as well."
Taina slowly put her feet back on the floor. She looked around for anymore animals she should know about before looking up to join in the conversation.
"So Olivier, you said on the phone that there was a spiritual emergency?" Olivier nodded as the kettle on the stove began to whistle.
"Ouais, the signs are all there. I don't suspect the chaplin at Hereford to be genuine enough, so I called you."
Father Durand nodded as he brung the kettle over to fill a teacup he had placed in front of Olivier. "List for me the specific events, would you?" Father Durand asked sitting down at the table. Olivier took a sip of tea before motioning towards Taina.
"She's the affected. I think she should tell you."
Father Durand motioned with a hand for Taina to speak. She swallowed hard before starting.
"I've been seeing and hearing things- inside of my mind, I guess. I blamed it on how often I got sick. I would have fevers a lot, and I would wake up sweating throughout the night. I thought that maybe since I couldn't sleep well I was hallucinating."
Father Durand nodded slowly taking a sip of tea, "What else?"
Taina clasped her hands together on top of the table. She looked down before continuing, "I would be awake, but everything would be dark. Pitch black. But then it was like I would wake up again able to see. There's also this- this thing that's been watching me."
Father Durand had begun to take a sip of tea, but instead placed his cup firmly on the table, "Describe it."
Taina took a deep breath and thought about the way it looked before putting it to a description.
"Long sharp fingers and an all black body, huh? Does it look like it wears a hood on its head?" Father Durand asked pouring himself another cup. Taina nodded fervently. "You've got a demon attached to you- it's obvious by the description and the hallucinations. Those weren't caused by any fever my dear girl, it's been using your mind to torment you by-"
Father Durand's words seemed to fade out into a whispering echo. Taina strained her hearing as hard as she could, but his words were too quiet to pick up. He's lying... She heard from the back of her mind. Taina shook her head trying hard once again to focus on Father Durand's words. He's a fraud... He'll hurt you...
"Taina, are you with me?" That was loud and clear.
"I'm sorry, I- I couldn't hear you."
Father Durand stared at her for a moment before smiling. "It was talking to you, wasn't it?" Taina frowned as she attempted to keep her emotions at bay. The tears growing heavy in the corners of her eyes betraying her.
"Yes, it was talking to me."
Father Durand nodded his head slowly as he serviced Olivier's cup. "I'm going to need you to tell me everything that happened immediately before everything began to happen. It's important that you tell me everything that happened. I'm not here to judge you, but the situation that has summoned this thing to you. Do you understand?"
Taina swallowed hard nodding her head. She glanced over at Olivier who motioned for her to begin speaking. "Well, it started when I was fifteen..."