Coven

head right up to her face and shake it at her…

He crawled through brambles for fifteen minutes. No head.

Lydia was back in the Vette, smoking. When Wade got in, she asked, “Did you find the head?”

“Does it look like I found the fucking head?” he smirked.

“Forget the head, Wade. You said Tom held a gun on you?”

“Yeah. I suppose you don’t believe that either.”

Lydia held up a small .25 automatic.

“That’s it!” Wade exclaimed. “That’s the gun he had!”

“I found it on the shoulder. And look what else I found.” She raised a necklace with a black amulet on it.

“Tom was wearing that thing around his neck,” Wade said. “I asked him what it was but he wouldn’t say.”

Lydia looked at it. “Yeah? Well, Besser and Winnifred were wearing these things too.”

««—»»

—SOON WE WILL BE ON OUR WAY TO GLORY ETERNAL. TOGETHER, AS ONE. BUT MY BIDDINGS MUST NOT FAIL. I HAVE NEVER FAILED.

“I know, my lord.”

—MY POWERS ARE YOURS. DO WHAT YOU MUST AND SPARE NOTHING.

“It will be done, my lord. We have authorities here who are contrary to us. But through your grace we can avoid them.”

—OUR TIME PERIOD IS VITAL. IT MUST NOT BE VIOLATED.

“I swear on my life.”

—DO NOT COME BACK TO ME UNTIL YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED.

The Supremate’s face blended away. Besser and Winnifred retreated from the shrine and extromitted to the servicepass.

“He’s pissed,” Winnie said.

“Thanks to you, yes,” Besser acknowledged. “I can’t believe you masturbated in front of a police officer.”

“I couldn’t help it! You know what the psilight does to me. Anyway, I told you she was onto us. I was trying to distract her.”

You called me fat, was all Besser could think. “Don’t worry, White won’t believe her, and even if he does, the sisters can repulse any amount of adversity.”

“I hope you’re right, Dudley. I want to be a god too.”

Don’t count on it, Besser thought. There was only room for one god between them. He’d already discussed the matter with the Supremate, and it was settled. But not yet, he thought.

The gorgeous image of murdering her hardened his penis at once. Nevertheless, he lied: “We will be gods, my love. In some bright and future eon, we will rule this world together.”

Winnifred kissed his fat face, extruded her plump breasts from her dress, and rubbed them against his mammoth chest. “Oh, Dudley, I love you! I can’t wait to be a god!” Several sisters watched and giggled. “Not here, darling,” he whispered, though he was truly tempted in the furious psilight. It would be sweet, wouldn’t it, to just drag that dress off her skinny body and fuck her to death right there on the floorwall? So he was fat, was he? He would smother her with his fat. He would plug his cock into every orifice, and perhaps form some of his own. Yes, he would fuck her to death and crush every bone in her skinny body as he came. The sisters would love it.

“Not now,” he repeated in a whispered pant. “We need a new productionvassal, and we better get that tow truck back to the garage.”

—

CHAPTER 22

“I love you,” Wilhelm said. “Mein Liebchen.”

“Oh, Willy!” Sarah squealed. “I love you too! Forever!”

In the telescope’s eye, they embraced and kissed.

Jervis watched it all—again. He watched them do everything, like last time, right there on the couch. Their passion glowed in their eyes, on their skin, shimmered through every gesture in radiant waves.

Jervis could’ve puked.

He pushed away the telescope, dropped Czanek’s bug receiver. In the middle of the day, even. They must do it round the clock. He finished another Kirin, smoked more cigarettes, and stared at the wall.

Jervis cried in silence for a long time.

The rap on the door sounded like a dream. Lost now, and insane, he answered it. Professor Besser and Winnifred Saltenstall faced him in the doorway, smiling as brightly as messiahs.

“Jervis,” Besser’s dark voice fluttered.

“Jervis!” Winnifred greeted.

“We’ve come for you,” Besser whispered.

Jervis faltered back as they entered. “What do you want?”

Besser: “We want you, Jervis.”

Winnie: “We love you, Jervis!”

“Nobody loves me,” Jervis replied, thinking of Sarah.

“That’s not true,” Besser assured him. “There’s so much love waiting for you. But to have it, you must accept our gift.”

“What gift?”

Besser’s bulbous smile deepened. “Destiny,” he answered.

Jervis stepped back. Winnifred kissed him, licked the tears off his cheeks. “Trust us!” she whispered. “Come with us!”

“I want to be free!” Jervis cried.

“Then bow your head,” Besser said.

Jervis bowed his head.

Winnifred positioned the transceptionrod.

Besser raised the hammer.

««—»»

Nightfall.

“Tom said Besser wanted me for something,” Wade told her. They’d been driving for hours, off town through twisting backwoods roads. “He said something about bringing me in.”

“The agro site, you mean,” Lydia said.

“I guess so. Whatever’s going on, it seems to point there. Actually he said behind the agro site. In the woods.”

“The smart thing to do, then, is check it out.”

Wade nearly coughed up his Coke. “No, Lydia, that’s the dumb thing to do. The smart thing to do is tell the state cops.”

Lydia frowned. “You do the driving, Wade. I’ll do the thinking.”

“Fine. You want to get us both killed—fine.”