75.

"Where is he?" Ginny asked, looking at her watch. "He's been in there over twenty minutes."

"Let us not worry needlessly," Father Ortiz said from the front seat. "Remember, Perry has a gun."

"Guns are hardly a defense against what we're facing," Ginny reminded him. "You know that, Father. And I saw it with my own eyes."

"They haven't summoned the demon yet," Bernadette said, looking up from her rosary beads. "But Perry is indeed in trouble. We're going to have to save him."

Ginny turned to look at her. "Are you sure?"

The girl nodded. "And it's going to have to be you, Dr. Marshall. That's what Our Lady is telling me."

Ginny felt a shudder of fear. "What is it that I have to do?"

"You have to go inside," Bernadette told her. "You have to get to Sue."

76.

They proceeded down the stairs in a procession, each of them having donned their red robes, each of them carrying a candle.

In the great ceremony room in the bas.e.m.e.nt, an orange glow permeated everything, changing the colors of their faces to the hues of h.e.l.l.

Folding chairs were arranged in rows, and in front, as if on stage, a huge black canvas covered a structure whose shape was difficult to determine. Sue was led up to the front, where she contemplated the canvas for a moment before turning back to look out over the crowd taking its seats.

Deputies and state policemen that she recognized. Her grandfather's colleagues. School trustees, faculty members, even a couple of students she'd seen in the cafeteria. And...Billy's mother.

"Billy," Sue whispered to herself, and immediately pushed the thought away.

"Have a seat, Sue," Joyce told her, slipping her cowl down from around her face. They sat next to each other on the dais in front. "May I make a request? Would you see about changing the fashions of these gatherings? These robes are so medieval. Why not something new and hip? There are lots of New York designers who would just die die to come up with a new look for us." to come up with a new look for us."

"Joyce," Dean Gregory said quietly, holding up a finger. "We're about to begin."

She shrugged and pulled her hood back around her head.

Sue felt nothing. No fear. No anxiety. No excitement for what was to happen.

The irony of her indifference was not lost on her, however.

All my life I've wanted to meet my father. And now here I am, about to come face to face with him.

And I feel...nothing.

"My friends," Dean Gregory intoned, standing before the group, "tonight is the result of all of our plans, all of our hard work. Tonight is the beginning of a new, more glorious phase in our religion. Tonight we begin to reap the benefits of all those who came before us. Many have worked their entire lives for this day to come to fruition, and as our founder, the great Sarah Wilbourne, planned, it has now come to pa.s.s. The day we have all longed for, the day when the world becomes ours!"

Sue looked over at Joyce, who winked at her from inside her cowl as Dean Gregory continued.

"Tonight we sacrifice once more to our great master, to bring him forth amongst us."

Sacrifice? Sue turned her face back to the canvas behind the dean. Gregory nodded, and two of his security men yanked on a couple of cords. The canvas fell, exposing a huge cross made out of black wood. Sue turned her face back to the canvas behind the dean. Gregory nodded, and two of his security men yanked on a couple of cords. The canvas fell, exposing a huge cross made out of black wood.

And bound to the cross was Malika.

A flicker of emotion sparked in Sue's chest. She studied the unconscious form of her roommate. She was naked, and her head was dropped down on her chest.

Then the emotion left Sue, and she turned back to look at the crowd.

The chanting began. Sue didn't quite know what they were saying. She supposed she would learn eventually. But she understood they were summoning her father-who would rape and kill Malika.

Sue smiled. Maybe it will be exciting. Certainly, growing up, I never thought I'd witness a demon devour a human being. And Malika-serves her right, that goody-goody limousine liberal... Maybe it will be exciting. Certainly, growing up, I never thought I'd witness a demon devour a human being. And Malika-serves her right, that goody-goody limousine liberal...

Sue began to laugh.

"You see?" Joyce whispered. "I told you all this could be a lot of fun!"

The chanting intensified. Everyone was so caught up in their ritual, most with eyes closed, that no one but Sue noticed two security men walking down the center aisle, forcing along a hooded man in between them. When they reached the cross where Malika was strapped, they forced the man down on his knees, pulling off his hood.

It was the deputy. Perry Holland.

He pulled me over for speeding on my first day here, Sue thought. Sue thought.

Except that wasn't me.

That was a pitiful, scared little girl named Sue.

I am someone much greater than she.

Perry Holland's hands were handcuffed behind his back. He seemed to have been drugged. He swayed on his knees.

Dean Gregory stepped forward and pulled a switch at the side of the dais. The great black cross began to move. Wood and gears creaking, it turned, taking Malika with it, until it came to rest completely inverted. An upside-down cross. Malika's head now nearly touched the floor.

The chanting stopped. The air in the room was very close.

"For you, master! We bring you two tonight! They are yours!"

Perry Holland continued to sway on his knees.

And Malika was beginning to wake up.

77.

Father Ortiz picked up Bernadette's cell phone, which was buzzing furiously.

"Yes?"

"They've got-they've got a girl tied to a cross!" Billy's voice, although a low whisper, was terrified. "And now they've got Deputy Holland."

Bernadette was lost in prayer in the backseat. Father Ortiz worried they wouldn't be able to stop what was happening.

I mustn't lose my faith, he told himself. he told himself.

To Billy, he said: "Be careful, son. Don't let yourself be seen."

"I've got to stop this," Billy said.

"Dr. Marshall has gone inside. Bernadette says she is the key. She will be able to get to Sue."

"Give me the phone."

The priest looked over the backseat. Bernadette had stopped praying. Her hand was held out. Father Ortiz pa.s.sed the phone over to her.

"Dr. Marshall is indeed the key," Bernadette told Billy, "but you have a part to play, too. You'll know when it's time to act."

She switched off the phone.

"Now, Father," she said, "it's time we do our part as well."

"What's that?" he asked.

She opened her car door and motioned for him to do the same with his. He followed her as she trudged through the snow to a spot right in front of the house. She dropped to her knees, nearly hip deep in snow, and began to pray.

Father Ortiz did the same.

78.

One by one, the candles were snuffed out, and the room fell into darkness.

Only the two torches on either side of the dais remained illuminated. The cross on which Malika was strapped turned again, clicking back into its upright position. Malika was now fully awake, and she began to scream.

The pressure in the room grew fierce. It reminded Sue of those calm, close moments just before a thunderstorm.

And then she heard the rumble that seemed to come up from beneath the floor.

"He's coming," Joyce whispered, and grabbed Sue's hand.

My father...

79.

The front door, to Ginny's great surprise, had been open.

Or maybe, simply by placing my hand on it, I unlocked it, Ginny told herself. Ginny told herself.

She understood now she was not alone. All of her years studying Virgin sightings had left her coldly rational, steadfastly cerebral.

Now the part of her that wanted to believe came rushing back full force.

Holy Mother-you of the sacred feminine-walk with me.

Ginny hurried through the dean's foyer. From below, the chanting had suddenly ceased, replaced by a low, steady, rumbling sound.

She located the door to the bas.e.m.e.nt. It was dark down there, and a terrible coldness blew from the stairway, almost like air-conditioning at full blast.

But she knew that coldness was not man-made.

Ginny took a deep breath and headed toward the door.

As she did, she pa.s.sed a large gilt-framed mirror. She caught her reflection, and behind her-a woman in blue, carrying a sword.

She spun around. There was no one there.

But she knew she was not alone.

She started down the stairs.

80.