The Devil's Touch

Noah smiled, and for a moment, Sam thought the man was going to shoot the boy. Noah said, 'Here's something to remember me by, punks.' He lowered the muzzle of his pistol slightly and pulled the trigger, emptying the weapon at the feet of the young Satan worshippers. The booming of the .357 was enormous in the quiet night. The slugs sent the young people scattering in all directions, yelling and running. Noah laughed and got in the truck. Sam dropped the truck in gear and roared off.

'That was fun!' Noah said, as he reloaded the .357.

Sam smiled. Any doubts he might have had concerning Noah had disappeared. The man would stand firm. 'I think you got your point across, Noah.'

'I considered shooting that Sullivan punk in the belly. But I think it would be best if they initiated the first violent move.'

'That will come soon enough, Noah,' Sam said. 'And when it does it will come suddenly.'

'I believe it.'

They came to the Fox Estate. Both men could feel the evil emanating from the grounds of the Giddon House. Noah commented on it.

'It's all right there,' Sam said. And for a moment his mind went back to Falcon House and the siege. (The Devil's Heart)

'You think you—or one of us—will have to enter the Giddon House?' Noah asked.

'No doubt in my mind, Noah. And I am not looking forward to it.'

He pulled into the curving driveway of the Fox Estate and abruptly stopped. He looked at Noah. 'Noah? Something just popped into my mind. Tell me, if you can, who founded Nelson College?'

'Why—Norman Giddon's great-grandfather. He—' Noah paused, deep in thought. 'Yes. That's it, isn't it? The college is a training ground for Satan's converts.' He slapped the palm of his hand on his forehead. 'My God! Why didn't I see that before!'

'You were probably blocked from it. No telling how many covens have been established around the nation by graduates of Nelson. Satan's turned his movement into a big business.'

Before Noah could reply, hard screaming cut the night. Both men searched the surrounding gloom. 'There!' Noah pointed to Sam's left.

It was Desiree. She was naked. Sam spun the pickup and kicked on his high beams. The lights flashed on the young woman's nakedness. She had been beaten, the cruel marks of the whip crisscrossed her skin. Small silver chains dangled from the nipples of her breasts.

'Oh, my Lord!' Noah cried. 'What has been done to that poor girl?'

'Desiree!' Sam shouted, opening the door. 'Over here. It's Sam!'

The panicked and frightened young woman turned and almost slipped on the damp grass. She raced toward the sound of a friendly voice. 'Behind me!' she managed to gasp out the warning.

A dozen or more men and boys were chasing Desiree, some of them clad only in their underwear. They had been taking turns raping and beating the young woman. Some of them were armed.

Desiree fell exhausted into Sam's arms and he picked her up and literally tossed her into the cab of the truck. He spun around. Using a two-handed grip on the .41 mag, Sam lined up a near naked man and gently squeezed the trigger. The pistol roared in the night, fire lancing from the muzzle. The man stopped abruptly and was slung backward, the big hollow-point slug ripping into his belly and tearing out his back, taking a fist-sized chunk of meat as it exited.

Noah's .357 roared twice. Two men dropped to the grass, one of them gut shot, the other howling in pain, part of his hip torn away.

'In the truck!' Sam yelled. He jumped behind the wheel. He gunned the engine just as Noah slammed the door, the back tires biting into the concrete drive.

The truck fishtailed as Sam slid onto the road in front of the mansion and headed for the Draper home. Noah removed his jacket and placed it around Desiree's shoulders. He felt slightly sick to his stomach as his eyes picked up the whip marks, the silver chains dangling from her nipples, and the studded dog collar around her slender neck.

'Filthy perverted sons of bitches!' Noah said. He worked at the clasp of the collar and removed it, tossing the studded leather out the window.

Desiree almost screamed in relief as she removed the silver alligator clips from her swollen nipples. Small silver chains dangled from the clips.

'They used these to force me into submission,' she sobbed. 'They were going to pierce my nipples and insert permanent rings. They forced me to my knees and took me like a dog!' she wailed. 'Then two of them raped me at once. Oh, God!' she cried. 'What kind of place is this? Sam—those things we did this afternoon. We did do them, didn't we? It's—all kind of a blur in my mind. When I woke up, I thought it had been a dream. Then Perkins brought those men and—'

'Perkins?' Sam asked. 'Did you say Perkins? Jimmy Perkins?'

'Yes. Jimmy Perkins. He's a caretaker, a grounds-keeper at the estate.' She glanced at him. 'Why do you ask? Do you know that—horrible man?'

'Yeah, I know him,' Sam said, conscious of Noah's eyes on him. 'Tall lean fellow. Walks with a shuffle.'

'Yes, that's him. He's—a terrible person.' Desiree shivered from fright and shock and the cold against her bare skin. 'He's a terrible man.'

'He isn't a man,' Sam said. 'He's one of the undead.' Very briefly, he told them what he knew of Jimmy Perkins.

'Good Lord!' Noah said. 'You first encountered this—creature up in Canada?'