"Excuse me," Balon said. "No will except that which we we give it." give it."
The thunder ceased.
Miles said a very quick and fervent prayer, while Anita clutched at a small Bible.
Wade seemed amused. Doris looked at him and said, "You find this amusing?"
"He"s still a reporter at heart," Sam said.
"I have personally witnessed one of the greatest stories a reporter could possibly witness, back in 1958," Wade replied. "And am about to witness another. And I am unable to write about either. Pity."
"The whole town-all our friends-have turned against us," Anita said bitterly. "And all you can think about is reporting a story."
"Our friends are dead," Wade replied. "Just like before. They have rejected the teaching of the Almighty and of His Son, Jesus Christ. They have made their choice. So be it."
"I"ll go along with the Almighty part," Miles said. "The bit about His Son ...?" He waggled his hand. "I got to see it to believe it."
Sam Balon seemed amused by the exchange.
"Him, now," Doris said, looking at the misty form. "He could clear it all up . . . if he would."
"He can"t even clear himself up so we can get a look at him." Miles grinned.
"STOP IT!" Anita screamed. "It isn"t a joke, my G.o.d! I can"t take this joking about ... our deaths!"
Wade put an arm around her, pulling her to him. "I think it"s the best way to hide our fears, honey. But you"re right; it is no joking matter."
"Everything mortals question will be explained," Balon projected. "In time."
Anita pushed her husband from her, took a deep breath, and glared at the mist form that was once her minister. "I believed in you with all my heart and faith twenty years ago, Brother Balon. I"ll do the same now."
"Good," Balon said.
"Someone"s walking up the sidewalk," Miles said.
"Jane Ann," Balon projected. "I asked her to come over for a time."
"She is going to stay with us, isn"t she?" Doris asked.
"No. The Clay Man will protect you. I will stay with Jane Ann. You will all know why that must be at a later time.
Miles laughed. "See, momma-who says there ain"t s.e.x after life?"
"Miles!" she whirled around, glaring at him. "You shut your mouth with talk like that." Her face suddenly split into a wide grin. "Besides, for the past five years that"s all you"ve been able to do: talk!"
Miles reddened, then grinned. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his thin chest. He had a retort, but thought it best to keep it to himself.
"I agree," Balon said to him.
Miles looked startled for a few seconds, then smiled. "No bad jokes up ... there, huh?" He pointed upward.
"You"ll see," Balon said.
A cup of Doris"s good tea beside her, Jane Ann looked at the small gathering. "Out of the entire town, all this part of Fork, this is it, Sam?"
"Yes. There were those who felt they were Christians. But as they are soon to learn, they were only fooling themselves. And they knew it all along."
"How sad," Anita said.
"It will be the end of Whitfield and this part of Fork County. There will be no more Beasts, no more black ma.s.ses-there will be nothing."
"Do you mean," Wade asked, "this time we"ll really beat the Devil?"
"No!" Balon"s reply was emphatic. "No mortal can ever beat the Devil. Only G.o.d. And only when He is ready. The Prince of Darkness will just be through here, that"s all. And hopefully in a certain part of Canada, as well. And do not ask me questions about that."
"When does G.o.d plan on beating the Devil, Sam?" Wade asked.
Balon said nothing.
"Strong silent type," Miles said.
"Shut up," his wife told him.
Miles sighed.
"I don"t know if I"ll be able to lie to Roma," Sam said. "She"ll see I"m lying."
"About what we ... saw, and heard?"
"Yes."
"Then ... ?"
"I don"t know. I don"t know what to do, how to start, or even where to start, really. This is all so mind-boggling. Dad said the cross would protect us ... but how much protection will it offer? So much of what he said was . . . unclear. How about the way I feel about you? Will ... G.o.d," he stumbled over the word, "condone my lying? My feelings? I just don"t know."
She moved her gaze from Sam"s face to the road ahead. Falcon House reared up. "We"re about to find out," she said tensely.
"A joke?" Roma said. "What a very bad joke to play." She could not read his thoughts, and that told her Sam was lying. It also told her that someone . . . probably Balon, was interfering; that he had been in some sort of communication with his son. That was nothing new to her: people could and did move quite freely from either side of the death line ... providing one had the right connections with the Master of whatever world.
She peered hard at Sam. But she could not read his thoughts. She looked at her daughter, and for the first time since Nydia"s birth, her mother could not read her.
And Nydia realized she had blocked her mother out. "Don"t look so upset, Mother," she said innocently, the double meaning not lost on Roma.
Roma"s returning gaze was tight. She managed a small smile. "A joke? Who would play such a crude joke on you? Bring you all the way to Montreal for a joke?"
"Kids back at Nelson, I suppose," Sam said.
"Well," Roma said, "it"s over. You have both returned. And we have more guests. We"ll have such a gala time this week. Both the east and the west wings are alive with young people."
And the Devil, Sam thought. He looked hard at Roma, thinking: f.u.c.k you, b.i.t.c.h!
She merely smiled.
Ugly, Sam fired his thoughts. Ugly and old and vain and stupid.
The smile remained fixed, even softened just a bit.
And I"ll bet you"re a sorry screw!
Her expression did not change. "You both must be tired from the hurried drive," Roma said. "Why don"t you have a bit of a rest and get cleaned up; join your friends later?"
"They are not are not my friends," Nydia said. "A very few I get along with; the rest are creeps." my friends," Nydia said. "A very few I get along with; the rest are creeps."
"They are our guests!" Her mother"s tone was sharp. "And you will you will be civil to them." be civil to them."
"I will ignore them whenever possible." Nydia stood her ground, facing up to her mother for the first time in her life.
High color rose to Roma"s cheeks. "We shall discuss this later."
"No need for that, Mother." The reply was calmly stated. "I"ve said what I plan to do, and that is that."
Roma was inwardly fuming, but she managed a slight smile. Balon has worked his c.r.a.ppy Christian magic on my daughter, she thought. I wonder how many times over the years that sanctimonious stud has meddled in Nydia"s affairs-and mine? No matter, for this time I have him boxed; he cannot be in two places at once, no matter if he is as obstinate as that warrior Michael, and just as militant.
"As you wish, Nydia," Roma said. "I must admit, you do have a great deal of your ... father in you at times."
"Yes." Nydia smiled. "And I cannot tell you how proud that makes me."
I"ll break you. Roma stared hard at the young woman. She shifted her gaze to Sam. And I"ll break you as well. And when you are both mine, I"ll breed you and have a grandchild that will make the Master proud. And if I can"t do that, young people, then I"ll give Nydia to Falcon to do with as he pleases. And I a.s.sure you, daughter, that will be an experience you will not savor.
"We"ll see you at dinner, Roma," Sam said, taking Nydia"s hand. The gesture did not go unnoticed by the mother.
Roma nodded her head only slightly, her eyes unreadable. "Yes," she said. She turned and walked away.
"She is very angry," Nydia said.
"Not nearly as angry as she"ll be when she sees that cross around your neck."
"Or the burn on your chest."
"Probably be best if we don"t swim after this."
"That was to be my next suggestion." She squeezed his hand as they walked down the hall to their rooms. "Sam? I"m not afraid any longer."
"I don"t know whether that"s good or bad. But neither am I."
"Wonder why?"
"I don"t know. And I"ll tell you something else: I cannot think of you as my half sister."
"Then don"t."
"How come," Sam said, his grin identical to his father"s mischievous grin, "if I"m supposed to be so holy all of a sudden, my thoughts are so s.e.xy?"
"I don"t know about that." Her hips brushed his, the touch charged with wanton longing. "But mine aren"t exactly pristine."
"Are we both awful?" Sam"s question was spoken in all seriousness.
"No." The young woman"s reply held the same weighty tone. "I think we"re just being honest."
"What ... do we do about it?"
They walked slowly through the great house.
"Give it some time," she said. They were at her door. She lifted her eyes to his. "I"ll keep the door between our rooms unlocked."
"It"s to be my decision alone?"
She said, "My mind is already made up." She opened the door and stepped into her room. The door closed softly behind her.
Sam showered quickly and dried off, stepping into underwear shorts. He padded barefoot into his bedroom to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. The dark, thick mat of hair on his chest looked strange with the burned-on scar of the cross directly in the center. He wondered if the hair would ever grow back.
He gazed into his mirrored reflection. "I have a mission." He repeated his father"s words, speaking in a whisper. "And it may destroy me. I will be tempted, and fall to some of those temptations."
He wondered if his father had been writing of Nydia or Roma, or both? Then he decided his father had been referring to Roma.
He stepped away from the mirror and carefully hid the containers of holy water. He opened the manila envelope and sat on the edge of the bed, studying the 8 x 10 of his father. He was still gazing at the 8 x 10 when the knock sounded on the hall door.
Slipping into a robe, Sam opened the door. Adam Benning stood in the hall, smiling at him.
"Sam." Adam stuck out his hand. "Bet you"re surprised to see me?" It was spoken in a greasy manner.
The two young men did not get along well. Although the same age, Adam was a senior while Sam was a freshman. And Adam was a sly, sneaky type . . . the type Sam didn"t like.
Sam shook the offered hand. It was clammy and soft. Sam resisted the urge to wipe his hand on his robe. "Yes, I am. Black didn"t tell us he had invited others."
Adam grinned lewdly. "Thought you"d have Nydia all to yourself, huh?"
Sam stared at him just long enough for Adam to begin to feel uncomfortable under the unblinking gaze. "I think I"ll lie down for a time, Adam. So if you"ll excuse me ... ?"
Adam flushed hotly, clenching his hands into fists at his side. "Well, there"s always one, I guess; always one person that has to screw up a good thing."
"Meaning me, Adam?"
"You might learn a thing or two up here, Sam. It should be interesting."
"Maybe more than you realize," Sam replied.
Adam"s smile was ugly. He stalked away without shutting the door. Sam turned at a slight noise behind, tensing, then relaxing as the connecting door to Nydia"s room opened. She stepped into the room and Sam closed the hall door, locking it.