'Bah! Only to me because you are afraid of me. You shit your pants each time we communicate. Do you really believe, young man, that you can best your mentor?'
'Sir, Falcon is not my mentor. Falcon is an idiot.'
'Perhaps he is that, to a point. But he has loyalty, and that is something you do not possess.'
'What can I do to prove my love for you?'
'Obey orders, for one thing.' The voice had a tinge of dryness to it. 'Have patience, young schemer, for you are but a child in the order of darkness. You have this life to live before anything of any significance is placed into your greedy hands.'
Black was pouty. 'I should have been born a true demon.'
'Yes, but you weren't, and there is nothing even I can do about that. Have patience, those are my orders, and I expect to have them obeyed.'
'I will obey you, Master. But now you hear me, …'
'Oh? Perhaps there is some hope for you after all. I detect—for the first time, I must add—a touch of courage in your usually whiny voice.'
'I will rule this Coven, Master. Perhaps not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And if Falcon gets in my way … I will kill him.'
The Prince of Darkness was silent for a moment. 'Very well, young man, you have made your desires known. Fine. I admire and respect courage. Perhaps there is more of Balon in your blood than even I suspected. We shall see. I will tell you this much: should Falcon fail, and should you have the opportunity and skill to destroy him … well, that would be points in your favor.'
Black wanted to ask more of the Prince, but with a rush of stinking winds, the Master of the Profane was gone, and Black knew better than to push the issue. But, the man smiled, the King of Terror had not rejected his words or chastized him for them. So there was a glimmer of hope.
Ruler of the Coven. Black rather liked the sound of that.
'He has spoken,' Falcon said. 'We will attempt to call out the forces this evening.'
Roma lay on her bed. She did not feel well, for the demon within her was growing as a cancer in her womb, and she was in pain much of the time. 'I wish you a great deal of luck, Falcon,' she whispered. 'But I must add this note of warning: watch Black, for his plottings now include you. The Master has warned him that I must be protected, but you have no such assurances from the Prince. Be careful.'
'Then Black is a fool. He underestimates me, Roma.'
'Grossly.'
'I may be forced to kill him, or have him killed.'
'He should have died at birth,' the mother said, turned her head away, and bit her lips as waves of pain struck her, cramping her.
Falcon watched her twist on the sheets. 'Is there nothing I can do?'
'Only tell me that Nydia is in the same agony.'
'I am afraid she is not.'
'That does not mean she is undergoing a normal gestation period. The sperm may be in combat within her. It could be days, even weeks—before the matter is decided. It is entirely possible it will not be decided until the moment of birth, or even weeks afterward. It depends upon who is present; if one of our kind is there, and has the power from the Prince, it could even take months … years. I know of such cases. In any event, I will not know the outcome for some time.'
'Why, Roma?'
'Because I will be gone.'
'Roma?' He walked to the bed of Devil-induced pain, 'What of the demon?'
'If it is a true demon—and believe me, I know that it is—it will need very little assistance after birthing. Only a week or so of suckling. Then the metamorphosis is so rapid it is not only unbelievable, it is also utterly terrifying in its majesty.'
'If …' Falcon struggled for words.
'Go, Falcon, you have much to do and I do not wish you to witness my suffering. Go.'
He moved away from the bed, walking to the door. He paused. 'I will tell you how things went this night, Roma.
She laughed, and her laughter chilled him. 'If you live through it, darling. Many of those called will be rabid from the pits.'
They had slept unusually late. Sam awakened the young ladies roughly, no gentleness to his touch. He spoke the same message to each young woman: 'Get up. Get dressed. Boots, jeans, heavy shirt. Keep a jacket close by. It's only a matter of hours before we have to run for our lives.'
'What's happened, Sam?' Nydia asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
