Bull Mass

I usually enjoy Saturday evening mass with my mother, but today it seemed impossible to concentrate. My mind was racing over Nate and the possibility of him hanging from a noose. The vision was all too real. My mother grabbed my hand to stand up. I hadn’t realized it was time to take holy communion. Where had I been during the service? I shuffled my way behind the others with my head bowed, not paying attention to the priest standing before me. I felt his hot breath on my forehead. “He will hang again.” rang the voice. I jerked my hands, falling backward into the front kneeler barrier.

Worried parishioners gathered around me to make sure I was ok. One of the concerned altar boys grabbed the smelling salts. “I assure you I am fine. I’m just having a hard day.” I felt the same disturbing heat cross my skin; “Who will hang?” the edges of my vision were blurry. A migraine was setting in, and I noticed I was no longer in the church but a parliament meeting room.

A door to the left of the middle chair opened as a large, hooded, muscular man walked through. As he sat, unknown figures pulled me to my feet. I caught the familiar scent of bovine. “The Tarocchi seeks a new master,” he said simply.

“Excuse me?” vertigo was taking over.

“It is an easy question. The Tarocchi seeks a new master. Do you accept the terms?”

“What terms? You’ve said nothing. What is a Tarocchi anyways?” I became more flustered by the second. I saw a piercing protruding through the hood, a bull ring.

“Do. you. Accept. The. Terms.?” each syllable annunciated more guttural than the last. Dom and Ransom dragged Nick to the front of the chamber, blood dripping from his face.

“Please, Kali. I need your help.” Nate begged. Dom slapped Nate across the face splattering blood on me. I stood frozen at the brokenness of his whisper.

I choked. “Nate! What is he saying? What terms do I accept?” tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Make yourself known. Kaliope needs to see.” Nate demanded. The hood fell; gloves removed. A bull, proud in stature, crushed the judgment bench. Steam flowed from his nose. Hooves scraped the wooden floor. “Am I agreeing to become a bull? No! That is not going to happen!”

The bull laughed deep from within; even his flank rippled with it.

“No, Kaliope. You must agree to become the master, the keeper, of the Tarocchi. You must guard us and keep us safe. You must protect us at all cost.” I was still unsure of what I was supposed to do, but how do you tell someone that you consider a dear friend, ”No, I will not protect or help you.”? That is low, even for me.

“How do I keep you safe, Nate? I can’t even manage to do that for myself.”

“We will help you,” Ransom spoke up. I looked into his eyes and knew he would. Dom did not say a word.

“I agree,” I stammered. The court disappeared. I smelled sage.

I looked up to the priest standing over me. His black biretta, now embroidered with a black bull, sparkled in the candlelit room. A prism of green light waved through the stained glass above the golden crucifix at the marble altar. I knew everything would once again be right with the world.

My mother and I grabbed take-out before going home to put on our pajamas and watch a movie. I drifted off to sleep that night in my mother’s arms.