are involved.”
“I understand. I have a child of my own and I’m very worried.”
“Then let me ask you about Johnny Dovecrest. How well do you know him?”
Erik told the agent that he’d met Dovecrest just a few nights ago when he’d warned him about the woods and asked him to hang the amulet at his door.
“Do you believe he could be involved in supernatural rituals?”
“Frankly, I don’t know what the man believes in, or how he worships,” Erik replied. “But I know he isn’t involved in murdering children.”
“How do you know that?”
Erik told him about how Todd had become lost and how Dovecrest had found him.
“Mr. Thralls,” he said. “I’m going to tell you something that may be difficult to believe, but I don’t know who else to tell.”
“Go for it.”
“I think there’s a Satanic cult living in those woods and I think they have killed the missing girl.”
“That’s not so hard to believe, Mr. Hunter. We also believe a cult is behind the murders. We’ve been following them for some time now. And we think Johnny Dovecrest is part of that cult.”
2
When Erik got home, he explained what had happened to Vickie, then took a sleeping pill to try to relax. The next thing he knew, the sun was shining in on his face through the bedroom window.
“Hey, Sleepyhead,” Vickie said.
“What time is it?”
“It’s almost noon.”
“I guess those pills were more powerful than I thought.”
Vickie smiled. “You want something to eat?”
“No. Just coffee.”
“It’s already made,” she said. “Sheriff Collins called about a half hour ago. He said it was very important.”
“That’s one person I really have to talk to,” Erik said. “Let me call him back.”
Erik grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle and dialed as he made his way to the kitchen. Collins picked it up on the first ring.
“I need to see you,” Erik said. “Can you stop by the house?”
“I’ll be right there,” the sheriff replied.
Collins was ringing the doorbell before Erik had even finished his first cup of coffee. Erik poured the sheriff a cup and explained what had happened the night before.
“Dovecrest showed me how to find the thing,” he said. “I think I can take you there, if you’d come with me.”
The sheriff thought for a moment. “What the hell,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Erik told Vickie he was going out with Collins and two men went out.
“Let’s start at Dovecrest’s place,” Erik said. “That’s my landmark.”
3
Seti was having sex with Shanika when the thing on his neck sent a lightening bolt of fire through his body. He screamed and rolled off, holding onto his neck and writing in pain.
“Woah, where’d that come from? Don’t tell me you’ve come already! I’m not near ready yet.”
“Shut up, you bitch,” Seti gasped, and gave her a backhanded slap across the face.
“What’s the matter with you?” she said.
“Get out!” he screamed. “Get out and leave me alone.”
She scurried off the bed and ran naked from his trailer as he swatted at her again.
Seti lay back down and wailed. “What now! What the hell do you want now! Can’t you just leave me alone?”
The pain slowly fell away, and Seti relaxed. Then the thing made itself known.
“I had to get your attention,” it said, its very presence vibrating throughout his body.
“Couldn’t you have just called?” Seti asked.
The thing sent him another quick jolt of pain for his insolence.
“You do not question me,” it said. “You serve me.”
Another jolt of pain racked Seti, and he doubled up in agony.
“I am hungry,” the thing said. “And we have visitors in the woods. It is time for a snack.”
Seti rode out the wave of pain, then sat up.
“Whatever your wishes, Master.”
4
Tentatively, Erik led the sheriff into the woods behind Dovecrest’s cabin. It had been pitch dark when he’d been here last night, so he had nothing to go on but his instincts. He decided to just charge forward a ways into the woods, and then let his instinct take over.
“I’ve been out here dozens of times and haven’t found anything,” Collins said. “How do you know where to find this…this stone of yours?”
“I’m not even positive I can,” Erik said. “But it doesn’t involve looking. It involves feeling.”
Collins shrugged. “I don’t get it.”
“Neither do I,” Erik said. “Ok. I need to stop and get my bearings. Just be patient and let me…feel.”
Erik found a relatively clear spot and stopped. He closed his eyes, folded his arms across his chest, and began to breathe slowly and deeply. He felt the hot midday sun beating down on him from the breaks in the treetops. There was no breeze, and he heard the buzzing of mosquitoes and the chirping of birds. A crow cawed a warning from above, then flew away. Nothing but the mundane sounds of the forest. He waited and opened up his mind and his soul to whatever might come in. Still nothing but the ordinary sounds of the forest.
He was about to give up and go home when he felt it. It wasn’t a sound, or even a sensation, but a
“I have it,” he whispered, and slowly moved in the direction he was being pushed away from.
The feeling grew stronger, the force in his head more insistent. Now that he could recognize it, it was abundantly clear, as obvious as a street sign pointing the way.
“This way,” he said, and opened his eyes. Once he recognized the feeling, he found himself navigating easily through the dense forest, making his way around trees and bushes and still following the unspoken command.
Dovecrest had said that the thing could only be found if it wanted to be, and Erik had the sudden frightening thought that maybe this time it did want to be found. How else could the feeling have grown so strong so quickly?
But whether or not it wanted to be found didn’t really matter, because it must be found, and what better time
