As it left the church it decided to remain in solid form rather than revert back to the flames. The cross had hurt it more than it cared to admit, and its pain was easier to bear in solid form. The flames wouldn't burn where it was embeddeda"it knew thata"and this would cause more pain and expose its weakness. Instead, it grew a set of leathery bat-like wings on its back, gargoyle style. It knew that humans feared demons with horns and wings, so why not look the part. The remnants of Seti were also getting tiresome. He'd handle that as well, very soon.

With a single flap of the wings it propelled itself into the air, like a medieval dragon, of sorts, only this one made of stone. The effect completely defied physics, but that made it all the more interesting for the monster.

The ground shrunk beneath it as it flapped again and drifted higher. It could see the church in the distancea"it was not finished with that yeta"and in the other direction a small shopping plaza. It recalled it from earlier when it had been part of the human, instead of the other way around. The shopping centera"the woman with the unborn child had been there. And that was where its previous coven had been interred. It had a special curse for this place.

It swooped down closer and buzzed by the place. About two dozen soldiers were lined up in the parking lot, herding people into a yellow bus. They thought they were going to safety. This was perfect. The soldiers pointed up at the monster and shouldered their weapons, while people hurried into the bus. This was even better than it had hoped for.

It felt the telltale "pling" of bullets flying past it. A couple hit it on the chest and ricocheted off. Another went through its wing, which immediately patched itself, as if nothing had happened. The soldiers were tenacious; apparently they felt that if they peppered it with enough bullets it would have to die. They obviously didn't know what they were in for. But they would find out.

The demon swooped down and landed just in front of the soldiers. It stood tall for a moment, letting them shoot it at point blank range. It watched in amused fascination as their eyes widened in surprise and terror as they saw that their attack had no effect. One man threw down his rifle and ran in terror. Another stood frozen, as if turned to stone. Another charged forward and tried to stick a bayonet into the demon.

The winged monster watched in amusement as the bayonet snapped in half. Then it grabbed the soldier by the arm, ripping the appendage from its socket and twisting it off at the shoulder. The man stepped back and stared at the bleeding stump as if it belonged to someone else, than passed out on the pavement.

As if on cue, the skirmish line scattered and ran for their lives. The demon was in no hurry to pursue them. There were plenty to go around. It lowered its head and skewered a pair of retreating soldiers, one on each of its obsidian horns. It ripped out another man's throat with its onyx teeth and spit the windpipe on the ground. Blood splattered into Seti's eyes, blinding what was left of the cult leader. Seti wailed in pain and the demon sent a jolt of agony into the remnants of the human's brain. This burden would be removed very soon.

The soldiers had given up trying to fight. One called desperately for help on his radio until the demon crushed the man's hand and the walkie-talkie, turning them both into pulp. As the soldier tried desperately to pull away, the mangled hand snapped off at the wrist. Blood shot out as if from a faucet. Then the demon raked its stone claws down the man's back splitting him open from shoulder to rump.

The monster heard the bus gunning its engine. But there was no hurry. With its new wings, it could outrun the bus. It flapped its wings and took off after another soldier who was running back inside the shopping center. It caught him just outside the door of the convenience store and they both crashed through the thick glass. The soldier's face was a bloody messa"the demon raked his eyes out of the sockets and left him there, where he dropped to his knees and sobbed like a baby.

Then it crashed through the adjacent wall and into the antique shop. The air from its wings spread antiques and merchandise everywhere. It spotted the old lady who ran the place huddling in a corner; apparently, she hadn't had a chance to get on the bus. It leaped across the store and grabbed her by the hair. A huge clump of gray hair and scalp ripped off in the demon's claw as the woman pulled away. She crawfished away, holding her hands out in front of her to ward off the monster.

"I banish you in the name of God!" the woman sneered, holding her hands out to make the sign of the cross.

The demon felt a moment of fear, but just a moment. This cross held no power. The woman lacked strength and faith. She didn't believe in what she was doing.

"Your God can't help you," the demon roared in a voice that was only barely comprehensible. Then he smashed his claws into her chest and pulled out her still pulsating heart.

-2-.

After they were safely inside the house, Erik grabbed the remote and motioned to put on the television.

"No," Dovecrest said. "That won't help. Where it is now and what it's doing doesn't matter. We've got to think ahead."

Erik nodded and put the remote down. Vickie sat back on the couch with Todd next to her. Her contractions, for the moment, had stopped.

"I need to get my family out of here," Erik said. "This thing could be here any minute."

Dovecrest nodded. "I know," he said. "But we need you here. We need the three. Six would be better, or twelve even better still. But three is enough."

"Let me take them to the city and then come back...."

"There isn't time."

"I'd rather stay here," Vickie said.

"No. You can't. It isn't safe here anymore. Think about Todd. And the baby."

Vickie looked at him for a long moment.

"Ok," she said finally. "But I can drive myself."

"Hon, you're about to go into labora"if you aren't already there.... You can't drive."

"I'm going to have to. Either that or I'm staying here."

"Listen," Erik said. "The National Guard was at the plaza. Suppose I take you and Todd there and have them drive you out?"

"Erik, we really don't have time," Dovecrest said.

"I can at least drive myself a half mile up the road," Vickie said.

Erik shook his head. "I don't like it. I hate it. I need to be with my family."

"The best way you can protect your family is by hitting this thing where it lives," Dovecrest said. "And we need you here for that."

Erik looked at Mark. "Pastor, what do you think?"

"I think that no matter what we do, it's in God's hands," he said. "But I think Goda"and wea"could work better knowing that your family was safe. I'll bet they'd send in a chopper for a woman in labor."

Erik thought for a moment. He hated the idea of separating from Vickie and Todd. The idea frightened him. But he couldn't bring them with him to do what had to be done. He'd be too worried about them to play his role.

This just wasn't right, he thought. He wasn't supposed to be a hero. He was a teacher and a writer. He wrote about characters that did heroic things. He didn't actually do them. More than anything he just wanted to get in the car with his family and drive to safety, where he could let the people who were supposed to protect them take care of this thing. This was a job for the police and the armya"and maybe even the pastor, he thought. But it wasn't a job for a schoolteacher who wrote science fiction stories. He didn't want any part of this hero stuff.

Yet what choice did he have? If he didn't do it, who would? Maybe Mark could call some clergy together, but how long would it take? And Dovecrest was the only one who really knew what to do. What if the demon killed him?

"All right," he said finally. "I don't like it, but I don't have a better idea."

Vickie nodded. "Then I'd better get moving while things are still quiet."

Erik was silent. He didn't know what he'd do if anything happened to her. In the background, he heard Dovecrest asking the Pastor to come help him bring in something from outside. He knew they were giving him some time alone with his wife and son.

He knelt down and looked into Todd's eyes.

"You're going to go with your Mom and help her, ok, Sport?"

"Why can't you come, Dad?"

"Because I've got to help kill this thing that's gotten loose. Before it hurts anyone else."

"I could help kill it, too. It tried to get me but I wouldn't let it."

"I know. That's why I need you to go with your Mom. You need to take care of her."

He hugged his son hard. Then Todd broke away from the embrace.

"Ok, Dad. But I've got to get my geologist's hammer. Just in case I need it again."

"Ok, Todd. You do that. Then come right back down, you hear."

The boy nodded and ran off to his room.

Erik took his wife in his arms and hugged her tight, then kissed her deeply. "Vic, I don't want to be away from you," he said.

"I don't want to be away from you either," she said. Tears streaked down her face. "I'd rather stay here with you. Or go together."

"I know. But we can't."

She nodded. "Do me a favor," she said.

"Anything."

"You kill this thing that's been causing us so much pain. You kill it. And then you come back to me."

"You've got it," he replied.

-3-.

The demon let the bus get about fifty feet down the road, just to make things interesting. Then it pounced on it like a cat on a toy mouse. It flew above the bus, then landed on the roof with a thud that jolted the vehicle, almost sending it off the road. It knelt down on the bus, then stuck a jagged, rock-like claw through the metal roof, peeling it back as easily as if it were opening a sardine can. The people inside began to scream, which was music to its ears.

The bus swerved back and fortha"apparently the driver was trying to shake the demon off. It reached inside and grabbed a teenage boy by the shoulders, pulling him through the opening in the roof. It held him up and looked into his eyes for a moment, savoring his terror. Then it took his face into its mouth and clamped its solid jaws shut, literally ripping the boy's face off with its indestructible teeth. The boy gagged on his own blood, then slumped back. The monster tossed him off the bus and onto the road.

The bus driver, having realized the futility of trying to throw the demon off the bus by swerving, hit the brakes. The monster merely lowered itself through the hole in the roof and into the bus as the vehicle screeched to a stop. The passengers were flung forward by the momentum. Those in the front seats were flung through the windshield, while those further backwards were tossed around like numbered balls in a lottery machine. The demon reached out and grabbed a little boy as he flew passed; it crushed the boy's chest in a terrible bear hug, then threw the boy down, where his corpse crashed into an old man, knocking him senseless. The demon mashed the boy's mother against the side, smashing her head through the small window, where she hung like clothes put outside to dry.

The bus skidded to a stop and the passengers stampeded towards the exit, trampling those who had fallen or who were injured. The demon watched the carnage with satisfaction as its victims did its own dirty work for it. The exit doors became hopelessly jammed with bodies, both living and dead, and the windows were too small to fit through. The demon slowly walked to the front of the bus, crushing, ripping, and mutilating as it went. It killed most, but left a few maimed for life, blind or disfigured or crippled beyond repair.

After the carnage was over, it flew back to the shopping center. Now it was time to get rid of this piece of flesh that had once been Seti, the cult leader.

-4-.

After Vickie had left, Erik walked out to the patio, where Dovecrest and Mark waited.

"That was the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life," he said.

Dovecrest nodded. "I'm afraid we have something even more difficult ahead. But first we must prepare. We must renew our strength and our faith. Pastor, we must rely on you to help with this."

"What do you want me to do?"

"You must lead us in meditation and prayer. I will prepare the ancient rituals and we will renew our strength."

"And if that thing comes here before we're ready?" Erik said.

"We must trust God to guide and protect us," Mark said.

Dovecrest opened the box containing the old manuscripts and instructed them to sit on the floor in a small circle. The Indian lit some incense and prepared a strong brew of herbal tea.

"This will help us to relax and open our minds," he explained. "I will begin with some ancient prayers of my people. You won't understand them, but that doesn't matter. Just listen to the rhythm and relax your mind."

Erik sipped the hot tea and immediately felt the sweat begin to bead up on his forehead. It tasted sweet, but pungent at the same time, as if it had a tint of mushroom, "What's in this stuff?" Mark said.

Dovecrest laughed. "Don't worry. It's nothing illegal. Just a mixture of herbs."

After they had finished their tea, Dovecrest instructed them to close their eyes.

"The brotherhood of the red and the white man can be strong in faith and understanding," he said. Then he began to chant in a deep, melodic voice. Erik felt his muscles relax for the first time in weeks as he listened to the sound, not understanding the words, yet understanding the meaning just the same. Dovecrest's voice was as smooth as honey, rich and resonant. It filled the room, and Erik felt all of the barriers of his mind being lifted, opening himself up to truth and meaning. The tension in his shoulders and neck evaporated. His worries and troubles melted away. Though he sat here on a hard wooden floor in the face of unspeakable danger, he felt peace and comfort take over his body and soul.

He had felt small and weaka"now he began to feel strong and powerful. He felt his isolation disappear. He felt an acute kinship with these men, a Baptist pastor and an ancient Indian medicine man. He felt the bond between them grow strong. The three of them were drawn together in faith and in goodness, in the need and desire to do the right thing. He felt himself as part of the larger world, felt the three of them as a strong force that drew from the power of heaven and earth. He was no longer just a man, but an instrument of God Himself....

Erik did not know how long the ritual lasted. It could have been minutes or hours. Then the Indian stopped, and the trance was momentarily broken. Silence hung in the air.

Pastor Mark's voice broke the spell.

"Lord, we feel your presence with us today and we thank you for your strength and comfort," he said.

Erik experienced the sensation of ultimate peace filling his soul with a determination and fortitude that he didn't know was possible as the pastor continued his prayer. He felt empowered to deal with anything that came his way. Confidence replaced his fear. Brotherhood replaced his isolation.

The pastor ended his prayer with a final appeal for protection and strength against the ancient enemy, and the three men sat in silence with their heads bowed. Finally, Dovecrest spoke.

"We're ready. We know what we have to do."

And even though they had not planned, had not thought this through, Erik was aware of the fact that he did know what had to be done. He and the Indian would travel the most difficult journey, into the very reaches of hell itself. Pastor Mark would banish the demon from this world, and they would battle it in the other. He could see the plan clearly in his mind. He did not know if they would survive. But he felt more sure that they would prevail.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.

-1-.

The demon left the bus smoldering and in ruins and headed back to the shopping plaza. It was time to get rid of its last vestige of humanity, the growth that had once been Seti, the cult leader.

It circled over the shopping plaza, now littered with dead, dying, and wounded, and saw what it had been looking fora"the cemetery where its predecessor had been buried. The demon's first effort to come to life on earth had been stopped before it had ever begun. This previous leader had started a colony out here in the woods, and though his worship and ritual sacrifice, had gained the demon's attention. A final sacrifice had been planned that would have brought the demon to life where the coven would serve it and it would prey on both the colonials and the Indians.

But the primitive people of that time had been more understanding than those of the modern world. They had learned of the plot, destroyed the coven, and burned the leader at the stake just as the demon had appeared to take over his body. The demon was granted the briefest glimpse through the doorway from hell, and then flung back into the flames just as quickly. This time, things had gone better. And it wasn't finished yet.

It landed beside the largest headstone. The ancient spells still held some powera"it could feel their force surrounding the gravesite in an attempt to contain the spirits within. Once this site had been disturbed again, the demon had been aroused, had been given the power to reach out from beyond once again. The curse had been set off and the demon had been able to kill. This had given it the power it needed to search for a human conduit. Seti had served that role. But the human had outlived his usefulness now. The demon had granted him immortality, of sorts. Then again, everyone in hell was immortal.

The demon grabbed the huge, extraterrestrial headstone and pulled it from the earth as if it were a mere popsicle stick used to mark a flowerbed. This was a place of death. There was the ancient death of the coven. And the modern death that had started it all over again. The demon pushed back the earth to reveal the shattered coffin and bones of the one who had originally given him life.

The demon merged his mind into what was left of Seti's. The man was completely insane now, with no conscious thoughts or desires. The proximity of the demon coupled with the eternal pain had rendered Seti's mind nothing more than random nerve impulses.

It felt no regret as it reached over and plucked the deformed head from its own shoulders, then tossed it like trash into the newly-opened grave. The lump of flesh died without a whimper as the soul of Seti went from one hell to another.

"May you rest in pieces," the demon said.