'A veritable paradise for collectors of junk,' Noah observed. He flicked a beam of light upward. 'There's the drop cord for the bulb.'
'Sure is spooky in there,' Nydia said from behind the men.
Neither had heard her footsteps and Noah jumped about a foot off the floor.
'My dear,' he said. 'You do have a quiet approach. I think I just aged about a decade.'
Sam changed the bulb, flipped on the switch, and the attic was filled with light. Dark pockets where the light did not touch crawled around the corners and edges of the big room.
'You search to your right, Noah. I'll take the left side,' Sam said.
'I'll explore the center,' Nydia said. 'What are we looking for?'
'I don't know,' Sam admitted. 'But I think we'll know it when we see it.'
Noah opened a creaking trunk lid and hauled out a pair of women's old-time bloomers. 'My word!' he said. 'Obviously the meetings conducted here were not all confined to matters of religion.'
'Maybe they belonged to a nun,' Nydia said.
'Possible,' Noah said. 'But not likely. These— undergarments were worn about eighty or ninety years ago. Not many women took part in any serious business of any type back then.'
'Bring back the good old days,' Sam said with a grin, knowing he would get a rise out of Nydia.
'Keep talking, turkey,' Nydia responded. She opened a trunk and removed a leather-covered book. She worked at the rusted clasp and finally opened the book. The pages were all handwritten in a beautiful flowing style.
All in Latin.
'Damn!' she said. 'I had to take Latin in high school, but this is too much for me.'
'Let me see it,' Noah said, walking to her. 'I read Latin.' He studied it for a few silent moments. 'Well, now. This is most interesting. Might be what we are seeking. Listen to this, you two.'
He carefully turned a page and said, 'This is a copy—not the original, of course, this is dated 1901 — of the Compendium Maleficarum. In short, a breakdown on how to become a witch or warlock. It was first written in Italy, in the early 1600s.'
Noah quickly and silently scanned more of the old pages, speed-reading.
'All right,' he said. 'This part concerns the Black Mass, the Sabbat. This next text is in French. It concerns the coldness of the Devil's penis. Excuse me, Nydia.' He closed the old book. 'Fascinating reading, but I don't believe it's what we're looking for. But I think we're on the right track. So let's continue our search.'
A knocking reached the ears of the searchers. The trio froze in place. The tapping seemed to be coming from a dark corner of the dusty attic. Coming from a large crate.
A crate large enough to contain a body, Sam thought.
'I picked up on that,' Nydia said. 'Thanks a lot, lover-boy.'
'Picked up on what?' Noah asked.
'Forget it, Noah,' Sam told him. He looked around the attic. His eyes found a rusty, dust-covered old crowbar. Sam picked it up, shook off the dirt, and walked to the large crate. The thumping became louder.
'Sam!' Nydia said.
'It has to be,' he told her. 'Whatever is in that crate is coming out. Maybe with or without our help.'
Noah pulled his .357 from leather and stepped up to the crate, standing beside Sam.
Three thick metal strips, secured by heavy old locks held the lid in place. Sam broke the first lock. The knocking and tapping ceased. Sam looked at Noah. The man's face was sweaty but his grip on the big pistol was firm and steady. Sam pried loose the second lock, then the final lock was broken, freeing not only the lid, but whatever was in the crate.
Sam wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and gripped the lid in his big hands. He flung it open.
Noah gasped.
Nydia turned loose the scream that had gathered in her throat.
Something dark and bloody flew at the trio.
The news had spread quickly throughout the coven: The Master was gone. The Dark One was no longer in the area. But his daughter, the Princess, was here, so everything had to be all right.
But the seeds of doubt had been sewn, and fertile minds were nurturing the seeds.
For the tenth time that day, Princess Xaviere tried to make communication with her Master Father. For the tenth time she failed.
She sat in her quarters in the Giddon House, in the flickering candlelight, and stared in the direction of the mansion on the other side of the stone wall. She thought she had heard a woman scream just a moment before, but she was not sure. So much screaming from the weak Christians left in the town. She did not know what to do. She could not understand why her Master Father had deserted her when victory seemed so near.
'Very well,' she muttered. 'Obviously he is testing me. So be it.' She made up her mind.
She rang for the coven leaders to come to her.
'Make plans to storm the house,' she told them. 'It seems the only way left us. But Sam Balon must be taken alive. 1 must have his seed. See to it.'
