'We have no virgin for the ceremony,' Roma said as she prepared to dress for the mass.
'Lana,' Falcon corrected. 'She has never been penetrated.'
'I … am hesitant to use her,' Roma said, slipping out of her gown, standing naked in the room. 'There is … something about her that disturbs me.'
'Yes,' Falcon agreed. 'I picked up on the same troublesome vibes. Pity. She is very pretty.' Falcon thought no more of it as he became aware of a heating in his groin and a slight stirring of the massive organ that hung between his legs. Like Roma, he, too, was naked, very carefully choosing his robes for the ceremony.
'We can't use Judy,' Roma mused, as much to herself as to Falcon. 'She is now one of us. And I will need more blood from her.'
'The pretty little Linda, then?'
'I … think not,' Roma replied, glancing at the clock on the dresser. Their eyes met in reflection from the mirror. The mouths smiled. 'She thinks she is fooling us, you know?'
'Yes,' Falcon agreed with a smile. 'But we know what she is.'
'We'll let her play her little game.'
Falcon looked at the witch, thinking how beautiful she still was … and how desirable. He stroked his penis, feeling it fill with hot blood under his touch.
Roma laughed at him. 'Contain yourself, Falcon. Sometimes I believe your brains are located in your cock.'
'I believe Wilder once said your brains were situated between your legs, Roma—did he not?'
She sat down naked at her dresser and began to brush her raven hair. Falcon walked up behind her to cup her full breasts, gently pinching the nipples, feeling them grow beneath his touch. She turned, kissing his penis.
'Wilder made a mistake,' she said.
'Yes. Yes, I believe he did.'
'We will defile one of the boys.' Roma made her decision. 'They have all had dinner and should be drugged by now.'
Falcon frowned his distaste. 'How droll, Roma. You know how I dislike pederastic sacrifices.'
'Black rather enjoys them,' she reminded him. 'As you noted earlier.'
'Yes, and I say again: Black is weak, and even for our standards, not quite normal.'
Her face expressed her concern. 'So the Master reminded me. Failure, failure,' she shook her head. 'I will not fail this time.'
Falcon bent his head to kiss her, recoiling only slightly as he observed that her teeth were suddenly fanged. Their tongues touched gingerly, Falcon saying, 'So that is how it will be?'
'Yes.' Her smile was grotesque. 'Howard will know the pain of our world at the point of my son's climax.'
'Sometimes, Roma,' Falcon said, pulling away from her, 'your humor is hideous.'
She shrugged. 'I have never professed any desire toward becoming a comedienne, darling.' She snapped at him playfully, laughing as he jerked away from her flashing fangs.
Nydia emerged from the bathroom looking pale. 'That's the very first time in my life I ever forced myself to vomit,' she said. 'How do you feel, Sam?'
'A little weak.' He opened a napkin and took out several rolls, handing one to her. 'Eat this, it'll give you strength. You'll need it. I don't think they could drug the bread.'
They sat on the edge of the bed, sharing their meager dinner, their stomachs accepting the bread after the self-induced vomiting.
Sam glanced at his watch. 'What did you tell your mother?'
'That we were tired and were going to rest for a while.'
'Her reaction?'
'She smiled and said that was probably a good idea. Sam? You seem to know a lot about what is going to happen—when will the mass take place?'
'Tonight. Full dark. That's what popped into my head. And we're going to be there, watching.'
Her voice was filled with fear as she asked, 'Do we have to?'
'Yes. I want to know just who is involved. Who I have to destroy.'
She trembled beside him. 'Why did I suddenly get this feeling we have passed the point of no return?'
And just as Sam took her hand into his, some small thing touched him, touched him inwardly, striking with a hard but invisible force. 'Because we have.'
They had gathered.
Among the circle of dark stones, the worshipers of the Dark One had silently grouped. The servants, including Jimmy Perkins; the ten young men and women who wished to serve a new Master; Roma and Falcon and Black. Howard stood naked inside the inner circle, his eyes glazed from the drugs in his system. The torchlight reflected dully from the scarcely comprehending eyes of the young man. Outside the circle of people, the Beasts had gathered quietly, more than a dozen of them. They stood patiently, slobber leaking from massive jaws, their eyes glowing red with evil anticipation. For they knew should someone die at a high mass, they would feast well on that night.
Roma went among the new members, cutting off a small piece of hair from each head, then she walked to a
