oaks, huge living creatures themselves, an primeval part of the very earth.
And then, quite suddenly, he felt something else. He snapped his eyes open and flinched.
“You found it,” Dovecrest said.”
“What….”
“You found it. You sense it. I could tell.”
“It was…it is…unnatural. Not of this place. It doesn’t belong.”
“No. It does not belong. Now, take me to it.”
“Can’t you…just draw a map or something? Put up signs?”
Dovecrest laughed softly. “No. You do not understand. The stone is of this world, but
“You mean it…moves?”
“Yes. It moves. But if you use your senses, your instinct, it cannot hide. You will find it.”
Erik did sense it and began moving forward. It wasn’t very far away now, and he would find it.
4
Erik had taken just two steps forward when a huge spotlight burned into his eyes. He held his arms up over his face and instinctively dropped to one knee.
“F.B.I.! Put your hands up!”
Erik could feel rather than see Dovecrest launch into a run, and then a gunshot cracked in the air.
“Stop and put your hands up!” the voice shouted.
Erik squinted through his fingers and saw that Dovecrest had complied. The shot had been a warning. Then he saw that a half-dozen camouflaged men were surrounding them, with M-16 rifles trained on him and the Indian. He very carefully put his hands up over his head and wondered what he had gotten himself into.
He felt his hands lowered behind his back and a pair of handcuffs being placed on his wrists. The leader of the men turned him around and looked at him by the light of the flashlight.
“Am I under arrest?” Erik asked.
“You are being taken in for questioning.”
“Then why do we need these,” he said motioning to the cuffs.
“Those are for your own protection,” the agent said.
“Don’t forget what you learned tonight,” Dovecrest said. “You are going to need it.”
“Right now, I think I’m going to need my lawyer,” he replied.
“You can call him as soon as we reach town,” the agent replied.
— 5-
The Demon had been fairly content once it has gotten over the shock of the first botched sacrifice. Being a parasite on this other one wasn’t as bad as it had thought. It was like having a foothold into this other world, at least, and once the foot was in the door the rest could squeeze through rather easily.
The man himself, this Seti, had quickly become an annoyance, though. Unlike the first body it had used so long ago, this one didn’t understand the big picture, and was not able to control his own urges and emotions. All this creature thought about was pleasure-food, sex, drugs, alcohol, and punishing others. Not that there was intrinsically anything wrong with these things, but they must be used and controlled in order to achieve the large objective. Pleasure had to be measured with patience, or else it lost all meaning.
And now that it was so close to the influence of this new one, this unrefined creature who didn’t know how to act, it found itself losing patience. It felt its own cravings taking over. It began lusting for another victim now, and just about any victim would do. It needed to climb through that gate and closer into this world. It wanted to free itself from the world of fire and live in the world of air. It wanted to feast on pain, punishment, and suffering, and it sensed that there was plenty of that to go around in this world. There were victims everywhere, just waiting to be taken-wanting to be taken, even.
He would give them what they wanted, and much, much more. This world fed on violence and suffering, just like he did. He was their reflection. He would be their mirror and show them what they were really like.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1
It was almost ten o’clock by the time they arrived at the State Police barracks, which had become a makeshift headquarters for the F.B.I. investigation.
“Can I call my wife?” Erik asked. “She’ll be worried sick.”
The agent motioned him to a phone and then left.
Erik tried to remain calm as he explained the situation to Vickie, and told her that they were just asking questions and that he’d be home soon. He wasn’t sure if she bought the story or not, but he told her that since he was the one who found the missing girl’s sneaker, they were trying to get as many details out of him as possible in their search for the killer. He also told her that Dovecrest had been arrested.
“Should I call the attorney?” she asked.
“I think you should alert him, just in case,” Erik replied. “If I’m not out of here in an hour I’d like him to come by.”
“Erik, are you going to be ok? They don’t think you’re involved in this, do they?”
“No. I think they’re looking at Dovecrest. They probably want to know what I know about him.”
“I’ll call the lawyer anyway and tell him what’s happening,” she said. “Just in case.”
“Ok,” Erik said. “Thanks, Vic. Love ya.”
He hung up the phone and waited. Although he wasn’t technically under arrest, the whole situation had been designed to put him ill at ease. He sat on a hard chair at a table. The room was small and rectangular, with three drab white walls and a mirror on the third. Erik had watched enough crime drama to know the mirror was a window on the other side and that people were probably watching him. He fidgeted in his chair and tried to look inconspicuous. He wondered how long they would make him wait.
After about five minutes, the door opened and a man wearing a blue suit entered. Erik stood up as the man extended his hand.
“I’m so sorry to inconvenience you, Mr. Hunter. I’m special agent Thralls. I’ve been put in charge of this case.”
Erik nodded and took a good look at the man. He seemed vaguely familiar. He had short, close-cropped hair, a light complexion reddened by the sun, and piercing blue eyes.
“Would you like some coffee?” he offered.
“Ah, no. Thanks.”
Erik sat down and Thralls took a seat across from him.
“Could I speak to Sheriff Collins?” Erik asked.
“Sheriff Collins isn’t available tonight,” the agent said. “This case has involved a kidnapping and crosses state lines, so the F.B.I. is handling the investigation now.”
“I see. So how do I fit into this investigation?”
Thralls laughed. “Well I can tell you that you are not a suspect. However, your friend Johnny Dovecrest is. That means that if you are withholding any information, you could be charged as an accessory.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, Mr. Hunter. It is simply a legal fact.”
Erik looked at the agent for a long moment. “Ok. What is it you want to know?”
Thralls sat back in his chair and folded his hands on the table. “Good. I’m glad that you’re willing to cooperate. As you know, this has been a very serious case. The stakes are always much higher whenever children
