Miss Beacon was sitting on the side of the bed. She was holding Kelley’s left wrist.
“Everything’s fine now,” said Miss Beacon.
Kelley looked at her through tear filled eyes and said, “I was there, Miss Beacon. My father and Samuel, they were, offering me to Moloch. I was going to be his bride.”
Kelley started to cry. Miss Beacon handed her a tissue from the nearby nightstand.
“There, there, child.”
“Miss Beacon. I saw something else,” she said sniffling as she did.
“There were two crosses with two burnt bodies on them. What does this all mean?”
***
Korie found Aaron sitting in the wing backed chair in their room. He had been leafing through the Powell family diary. When she came into the room, he closed the dairy and put it down on the floor.
Korie sat down on the bed and folded her legs underneath her.
“Aaron, when are you going to contact this Samuel character?”
“In a little while, I guess.”
“Have you been able to think of something we can do to stop this madness?”
“No, but you know what?”
Korie slipped off the bed and came over and sat on his lap.
“What?” she said.
“I have been thinking, perhaps the best thing is to just have faith.”
She looked down into his eyes. She ran her fingers through his hair, and then, leaned over and kissed him on top of his head.
“He’s right,” said Miss Beacon from the doorway.
Miss Beacon and Kelley were standing there together. Kelley looked pale. Her eyes were swollen and red as if she had just been crying.
“I want you both to hear this,” said Miss Beacon as she ushered Kelley into the room.
Kelley and Miss Beacon sat on the foot of the bed.
“Go on, Kelley, tell them about your dream.”
Kelley’s lower lip was quivering slightly as she began.
30
Throughout the town of Sutton, among the members of the Church of Everlasting Faith, there was a buzz of excitement that was reaching a feverish pitch. Men and women received calls at work from family members still at home. Their faces lit up with joy when they heard the news. The message had been announced on the local radio station and word was spreading. They made up excuses and left work to hurry back home. Some members closed their businesses and sent their employees home, with the rest of the day off.
Soon families were together discussing their plans for tonight’s calling ceremony.
Other people in town generally took little notice of the scurrying about by the excited Church members.
Bob Senecal closed his garage, and sent one of his employees home for the rest of the day. The other fellow was a Church member, who had also left, to get ready with the rest of his family.
Ed Foley hung a closed sign up on his front office door. He wouldn’t be treating anymore animals today. He and his daughter danced in their living room with joy.
“I can’t wait,” she shouted.
“Me, either,” said Ed.
Phyllis Atkins closed her real estate office.
Josephine Lawless called into the Governor’s Office. She left a message with the Governor’s Chief of Staff saying she had to take care of some unexpected business today.
Judy Perrillo put out a closed sign on the front door of her motel office. She went to her house and into her bedroom. She spent the next hour giving pleasure to herself. Then she began primping for the evening’s calling ceremony.
By now it was getting late in the afternoon.
The Reverend drove his car around back, behind the town library. He slowly pulled behind the building looking around to see who might be there. He was alone. He got out of the car and walked across the back parking lot. He walked a short distance across the adjoining field, and entered the town cemetery.
He spotted two men standing together, at the back edge of the cemetery, near the woods alongside the railroad tracks. It was Ed Townsend and Judge Fairchild. The Reverend walked quickly in their direction.
“Anybody follow you?” asked Ed.
“I don’t think so,” said the Reverend.
“You don’t think so?” said Ed.
“No, no, I’m sure I wasn’t followed,” said a very nervous Reverend.
“He said he wasn’t followed, now let’s finish this. We can’t be wasting time here,” said the Judge. “Now Ed, let’s hear your plan.”
“All right. Tonight, when we’re all standing next to the altar and Samuel is reading from the Covenant, I’m going to shoot him. I need another one of you to also have a gun and be ready to fire in case something goes wrong. Think of it as insurance. I figure that would be you, Judge. I brought this forty-five with an ankle holster. Reverend, we’ll need you to start a diversion, just before I whack him. I need to have his concentration broken for just a split second.”
“What kind of diversion?”
“I don’t know, fake a heart attack or something, shit!”
“A heart attack?” stammered the Reverend who was still nervous.
“I like this plan,” said the Judge. “If we each do our part, then it should work. The key is going to be the Reverend. His heart attack has to be convincing.” Turning to the Reverend he asked, “Do you think you can do this?”
“Sure, I uh, yeah, I can do it.”
“All right, then I’ll give you two guys a signal when we start this thing. I’ll fold my arms like this,” which he demonstrated.
“One more thing. We must be very careful from here on. We can’t do anything out of the ordinary which will draw attention to ourselves. We don’t want to arouse any suspicion on Samuel’s part,” said the Judge.
“Then it’s done,” said Ed as he extended his hand to the Judge.
Each man exchanged handshakes and parted in different directions.
The Reverend returned to his car and drove home.
As Ed left the cemetery he mumbled, “If those fuckers loose their cool I’ll just have to whack them, too.”
***
Samuel sat in his bedroom waiting. It was getting late in the day and he still hadn’t heard back from Powell. He was almost ready to set his backup plan into motion when the phone rang. He heard it ring for a second time and then he heard his mother’s voice as she answered the phone.
In a moment she yelled upstairs, “Samuel, it’s for you.”
He quickly ran out of his room and hurried down the stairs. He took the phone from his mother and waived her away. He put the receiver to his ear.
“Yes.”
“It’s me, Aaron Powell. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve thought about it, and I’ve decided to join in.”
“Good. And what do you wish to get out of this?”
“Not much. I want to be able to live forever like the rest of you, including my girlfriend. And I want to be a great bass and harp blues player.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
“Then consider it done. Let me come over and take you to the calling ceremony. I’ll introduce you around. After all, we need to initiate you into our little group first.”
“I don’t need initiation. My mother told me in her diary that our family bloodline still contains the vestiges of our ancestors. You and the others have known that the Powell family has always been a part of the coven. I’ll meet you there. I presume the ceremony will be held at the stone altar on the mountain top.”
“So, you know where it is?”
“Yes, it’s next to the cemetery, where the original coven members buried my family.”
This comment caught Samuel by surprise.
“What time is the ceremony?” asked Aaron.
There was no answer.
“I said...,”
“I heard you. The ceremony begins at nine o’clock and Aaron, don’t be late.”
“I won’t be. Oh, and by the way, I’ll be bringing your
sister along. I hope you aren’t uncomfortable with that.”
Trying to sound confident he answered “Of course not. Why should I? We are all looking forward to seeing her again.”
“Click,” was the sound Samuel heard as Aaron hung up the phone.
His parents watched him from the hallway. His father had come home early when his mother called to say the radio had announced that the calling ceremony was to take place tonight. They watched as he hung up the phone and went back upstairs.
“I’m so proud of Samuel. I just knew that if anyone could bring forth Moloch and then Lucifer to complete our covenant, it would be our son,” said Samuel’s mother.
Samuel’s father wasn’t quite as excited as his wife. He still feared Samuel.
Meanwhile Samuel went into his room, closed the door and called forth Moloch. They had some business to discuss.
***
Aaron hung up the phone. He looked relieved that the call was over.
Everyone waited to hear what he had to say. He looked at Korie, then Kelley, and finally at Miss Beacon.
“You heard what I said to him. I guess we’re all in this to the end.”
“We’re with you,” said Korie.
“Aaron, you have got to stop Samuel and Moloch. I can’t be Moloch’s bride or whatever he wants of me. I’d rather be dead. I wish you people would shoot me right now,” said Kelley. She was filled with despair.
Aaron reached over and took her hand and said, “All of my ancestors, going back to the family that’s buried up on that mountain, have lived and died in their struggle against the Devil. I won’t let them down. Look at me, Kelley!” he said lifting her chin. “I won’t let any of you down. I will fight this thing with every ounce of strength I have. My ancestors will be with me. Each of you will be with me and together we will win. We will find a way. I just know it.”
“Kelley, he’s right,” said Korie. “It’s his destiny to face this challenge. None of us can predict the future, but we know what is in our hearts and there is no room for this evilness.”
Miss Beacon watched this exchange and smiled. However, deep inside, she knew what sort of trouble they were going to face. It certainly was going to get much worse before it got any better.
***
As it had been a picture perfect day, the evening promised to be just as beautiful. The air was dry and cool. The sky was cloudless. As twilight began to descend on the valley that held the town of Sutton, certain people began to take to the streets and back roads as they headed out to the mountain site for the calling ceremony. Many members of the Church of Everlasting Faith wanted to be there early. No one wanted to miss a thing.
One by one the cars pulled to a stop and parked along side the narrow, rutted, dirt road next to Walter Yandow’s Game Warden and Fire Marshall Lodge. The nearly mile long trail leading up to the altar was soon filled with people streaming up to the site. Conversation along the trail was buzzing with excitement.
As everyone reached the clearing leading up to the altar, they immediately noticed the two large crosses that were set in place to either side of the altar. Next to the crosses were large piles of seasoned, split, dry wood. Several torches were set in place around the perimeter of the clearing. A couple of them were already burning. The night sky was getting darker as the first stars began to twinkle.
Several of the coven members were already there. They mingled about accepting congratulations from the faithful.
Ed Townsend arrived. He had walked most of the path alone. He now crossed the clearing, taking long purposeful strides as he headed straight for the altar. He quickly looked things over. He noticed that off to the edge of the clearing, next to the changing tent, were several red cans clearly marked “gasoline.”
“Hello, Ed,” was spoken in an intimate tone. A hand gently caressed his left arm.
He turned to his left. It was Judy Perrillo. She seemed so aroused by the moment that she practically purred with sexuality.
“Isn’t this so wonderful?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I almost can’t wait. Soon, I’m going to be able to have as many men as I want, anytime I want.”
“That’s nice.”
“I don’t know where to begin,” she said as she looked around at the growing crowd.
“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
“How about you and I, Ed?” she said as she licked her lips with the end of her long and slender tongue.
“Don’t you think it would be nice to, uh, celebrate a little?”
“I don’t think so,” he said as he tried to pull away.
“Ed, it would be incredible!”
“No thanks, Judy,” he said as he pulled himself away.
Judy seemed momentarily disappointed. She turned to her right and spotted Chucky Trainor just arriving.
“Chucky, Chucky, I need to speak to you,” she said as she half jogged towards him. She made sure her enhanced figure got full notice, long before her arrival.
Chucky was smiling at her as she arrived.
Ed moved off to stand next to the changing tent. No one else was there and that suited him just fine.
The Reverend arrived next. There was a small crowd of people with him. They all seemed to enjoy listening to the Reverend, whose conversation appeared to be punctuated with several animated gestures. He clearly appeared to be in good spirits.
Next to arrive, came the tall gangly figure of the Judge. He walked with his head held high. Two older women from the Church accompanied him. One was doing all the talking and the other woman and he were doing all the listening.
The Judge looked around and spotted the Reverend. He then looked for Ed Townsend. After a moment, he located him at the far edge of the clearing next to the changing tent. Once the Judge and Ed’s eyes locked into each other, they both looked away.
There suddenly, was a rise in volume from the assembled as several of them spotted Samuel and his parents arriving. Many rushed forward to greet the coven leader. Samuel smiled at them and raised his arms in recognition. Ed Townsend watched him from his distant vantage point.
Samuel moved through the crowd. As he did so, he reached out for some people and touched them on their arm, then he would touch the top of their heads. Ed watched this curious behavior for a moment, focusing upon the people Samuel was choosing to touch in this special way.
Ed noticed these people had been changed after Samuel’s touch. These people seemed suddenly more subdued. Their faces were almost expressionless. They still moved and spoke but with far less spontaneity than before.
“The little bastard is changing them,” he said in a hushed whisper. “He’s invited a devil to share their bodies and they don’t even know it. Clever son of a bitch.”
Ed’s cell phone buzzed inside his sport coat. He removed it, flipped it open, and spoke.
“Yeah.”
“They’re leaving. Miss Beacon, Samuel’s sister, and a man and woman got into an old Land Rover and appeared to be heading your way.”
“Thanks.”
Ed closed his phone and returned it to his pocket. He continued to watch Samuel.
Samuel stopped briefly and turned around and said something to his father. His father and mother had planned to move away to be with some friends. They wanted to let Samuel be free to do what he needed to do.
His father broke away from Samuel’s mother and the others. He stopped in front of his son, Samuel.
Samuel spoke briefly to him, then he placed his hand on his father’s arm, after which he put his hand on his father’s head.
Samuel spoke again to his father who nodded twice. Now his father turned around and returned to Samuel’s mother.
Ed whispered, “Fuckin-A, he’s slick.”
Samuel continued to mingle with folks.
Ed’s phone buzzed again.
“Yeah.”
“The Land Rover, it just moved past me. They turned onto
Old River Road. They’re co
ming, shit, they’re really coming.” “That’s good.”
Ed put the phone back into his pocket.
He decided to tell Samuel the good news.
Ed drifted past the altar which now had a black silk cover draped over it. He slowly headed towards Samuel.
Samuel saw him coming and smiled. His smile was friendly.
Ed smiled back. He arrived next to Samuel and said, “My people have called to say they’re on their way. It looks good, Samuel. It looks real good,” he said for emphasis.
“That’s great. Well, we should get ready then. I’ll get the others together. Ed, we’ll meet at the changing tent. Let me know as soon as you hear they’re on the trail heading up here.”
“I will.”
Samuel moved away. He began to gather the coven members together.
Ed headed back to the changing tent. It was getting dark now. He directed a couple of the men to light more of the torches that were around the perimeter. Soon there were at least a dozen large torches lighting the area. A few people lit their own lanterns. The clearing was now illuminated and glowed from the yellowish low level light. The faces of the assembled took on a ghostly pallor.
The coven members were now gathered together at the changing tent. Their ceremonial robes were already laid out and waiting inside of the tent. The women went in first.
Ed, the Reverend, and the Judge had not spoken once this evening.
After a few moments the women exited the tent. They were wearing the long black robes that the first coven members had made over a hundred and sixty years ago.
Several of the men and Samuel went inside next.
Ed and the Judge waited outside.
“Come on, you two!” said Samuel.
“It’s okay, I’m waiting for a call that Powell is on the trail heading up here, remember,” said Ed.
“Go ahead, Samuel, it won’t take me much time to change. I’ll be right along,” said the Judge.
“All right,” said Samuel as he ducked inside of the tent.
“Is it a go?” asked the Judge.
Evil Agreement Page 35
