The Devil's Heart

'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 masses—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 God. 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 God 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 … God,' 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: Fuck you, bitch!

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 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 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 crappy 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 assure 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.