burning coals from his Master's kingdom in the netherworld.
'Fuck God!' she screamed, as Falcon's meat of the Devil, a gift from the Dark One plummeted home. 'All praise the Lord of Flies.'
'I am his,' Falcon urged.
'I am his!' she screamed.
And Falcon gently sank his teeth into her neck, painlessly sipping a few drops of her. And she was his. Not of this world. An event that Falcon had discreetly failed to mention would occur.
'We'll have a full twenty-four hours to gather strength for the ordeal facing us,' Sam said, the words seeming to leap from his mouth, as if a separate brain had taken full control.
'Why?' Nydia asked. 'How do you know that?'
'Someone is telling me these things. And I don't feel inclined to question the source. Sunday is the one day the forces of Black Magic, Od, Satanists, whatever you choose to call them, can't move. Supposedly,' he put a disclaimer on that. 'That is God's day, and we'll probably be left alone.' He fell moodily silent for a few moments.
'What are you thinking, Sam? I can't quite read you.'
'Probably the same as you: how we're going to get out of this mess; how we're going to win it.'
'You mean, if we're going to win it.'
His eyes became alive with a fever she had never before witnessed. 'No. Nydia, not if. We can't have doubts— ever. The instant we start doubting, and really dwell on those doubts, we're finished. If we start doing that, we may as well hang it up.'
'I'm … not as strong as you, Sam. I'm a newcomer to all this.'
'What do you think I am?' His words were spoken much more harshly than intended.
Tears touched her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. 'Don't be angry with me, Sam—please? I'll do whatever you tell me to do, but you've got to help me.'
He sighed, taking her hands in his. 'I'm sorry I snapped, honey. I'll die for you if I have to.' And she knew he meant it. 'I love you, Nydia. Even though I know it's wrong, and I'll—we'll—pay for it someday. I can't deny my love for you any more than I could deny my love and faith for the Lord God.'
'Roma was right, you know. Our love is wrong, and God won't have it; He won't allow it to go unpunished.'
'Let's get out of this … mess first,' he said grimly. 'Then we'll worry about that.'
'Worry about that tomorrow?' She forced a smile. 'But where is Tara, Sam?'
'Wherever we choose to make it, honey. And we will make it—together.'
'Promise me?'
'Yes.' He spoke with renewed faith, renewed hope. 'Yes, I promise.'
They wanted very badly to kiss, but both held their emotions in check. She pulled her hands from his and stood up, walking across the carpet to her room, picking up the Bible along the way. 'I'm going to study this for a while, Sam.'
He could but nod his approval.
The crowds of Devil worshipers in Whitfield paraded up and down in front of Miles' home, shouting filthy words and making obscene gestures. But no one dared to violate the space guarded by the huge Clay Man, and the golem would not venture past the front yard. It was a stand-off.
'Around back,'' Jean Zagone suggested to her foreman. 'We'll keep that fuckin' monster occupied here; you take some people around to the back of the house. Quietly now. Try to take them alive for some fun.''
The foreman, Jake, nodded his approval. 'I'll get in my pickup, pretend like I'm leavin'. That ought to throw 'em off some. Then I'll circle 'round back, pickin' up some guys I know along the way.'
'Go. Get some men you can depend on, Jake.'
'You can depend on me, baby.'
Jean watched his slender ass as he walked away. Jake was one of the heaviest-hung cowboys she had ever known, and she reckoned she had fucked about half the men in the county. But Jake was pure randy, and wasn't nothing he wouldn't do; nothing too kinky for ol' Jake. And he was mean and about half crazy, to boot. And he sure liked to fuck.
Jake had told her any number of times over the years, way back when they was just gettin' this Coven started, that he sure would like to shove the meat to Jane Ann; either end, didn't make no difference to him.
Jean had promised him he could have Jane Ann. That had got him so turned on she had to suck him off right then and there. Damn cock so big she couldn't hardly get it in her mouth. Cummed all over her.
Jake located several of the Coven's good old boys and together they eased around to the back of Miles' house, as furtively as possible. The golem was standing impassively in the front yard, making no move toward the street. Jake knew that to attempt to shoot the goddamned thing was useless: he had personally pumped a full clip of .308s into the fuckin' thing and hadn't even staggered it; the slugs just bounced off, one of them hitting one of his own people on the ricochet. Jake didn't know where the Clay Man had come from, but he damn sure didn't want any truck with it, not after seeing it rip off both arms of man with no more effort than if he'd been lifting a soft titty to squeeze.
Jake shook his head; have to quit thinkin' 'bout pussy, he cautioned himself. Ain't had none in two days, and
