"You just don't understand," Erik said. "You don't have a family...."

"That's where you're wrong. I did have a family." The Indian dropped his head and looked at the ground. "But that was a long time ago."

"I...I didn't realize...."

"Well what did you think? Of course I don't have a family now. I'm over 200 years old, for God sakes."

"Don't you have...grandchildren? Some connection to them?"

Dovecrest sat down on the ground and was silent for awhile.

"I had a wife and a daughter," he said. My wife was beautiful. Running Moon. Long, dark hair. Big eyes. Slender and trim. A wonderful cook. We loved each other like no one else. And my daughter, Little Dove. So small and timid. And very smart."

Dovecrest was silent again. Erik thought the story was over, and then he spoke again.

"My daughter was just six years old when she and her mother were killed."

"What happened?" Erik asked, sitting beside him.

"I haven't told this story in over a hundred years. No one would believe it. Although maybe now they would.

"It happened when the devil worshippers tried to call to the demon the first time, and tried to bring it here. They didn't really know what they were doing, thank God. But they had learned some rituals that would attract spirits in the underworld.

"It was the beginning of August. My wife and daughter were out gathering blueberries. The blueberries here used to be as big as cherries, and Running Moon would mix them up with white corn flour to make journey cakes. They were out in the forest when they were taken.

"The tribe formed a search party, but we could not find them. There were no traces. That night I went out againa"many of the men did. That's when I first saw the altar. The devil worshippers were around it. They had my wife and my daughter. I tried to save them, but I was caught. They forced me to watch while they were sacrificed. They planned to kill me, too, but I later escaped. That's when I spoke to the chief and he spoke to Roger Williams and his men. The colonists had lost women and children too.

"So we joined forces and put a stop to it. The colonists had laws that they could use. And we had our own set of laws. We killed them and the colonists burned the leader at the stake. When he cursed the land, my people made me the watcher. It was my job to wait and watch in case the demon should try to reappear."

"And you've been waiting for over 300 years."

"That's right. I did not know I would live so long. I thought I would pass the job on to someone else, but it seems I outlived all of my apprentices. And so here I am."

"So that thing got your family."

"Yes. That's why it's personal. That's why I have to get rid of it for good. I cannot move on as long as this thing can come back. I'm trapped here in this old body, and I can't join my family."

Erik nodded. For the first time, this was beginning to make sense, in a weird sort of way.

"Thanks," Erik said. "Then I need to wait with you and help you destroy it."

-3-.

Todd thought he was going to die. In fact, he wished he would just die. The smell alone was enough to kill him. Let alone the fear. The demon was crushing him under its arm, holding him tightly on one side, and his mother on the other. It seemed to know just how much to squeeze to create unbearable agony without actually cutting off his breath. He couldn't see his mother's face, but he could hear her breathing. She was having those labor pains again.

When Pastor Mark had arrived, Todd thought he was out of his mind. He couldn't believe how the pastor had walked right up to the demon and had driven it away. He didn't think the pastor expected it to take him and his mother with it, though. Judging from the look on the pastor's face, Todd didn't think he'd expected anything to happen, except maybe that the monster would kill him. The pastor had been as surprised as Todd had been. The demon, too, had been surprised.

Todd knew where it was taking them. It was going to the altar where it would sacrifice them and kill them as part of some demonic thing. He knew where they were going even before the monster had taken flight. And, sure enough, the street lights below were gone and they were flying over the woods. He couldn't actually see anything in the darkness, but he knew. He could sense the altar's presence, even from here.

Sure enough, the demon turned around and began to circle. Todd could imagine the open field below them, with the altar in the center. He'd been there before and it had tried to get him. Now it looked like it was going to get hima"and his mother, too.

For some reason the demon seemed cautious now as it circled lower. The pastor had frightened it, all right, with his cross and his demand in God's name. Todd wondered if he could banish the demon like the pastor did. Then he decided that even if he could, it would just make the monster drop him and he'd just crash to the earth. He remembered what the soldier had looked like after he had been dropped, and he decided he didn't want any of that. He'd take his chances right where he was for now.

He tried to call for his mother, but she didn't seem to hear. He wanted to ask her if she'd seen what the pastor did. Maybe if they both did the same thing after they landed, then the demon would let them go. But his mother didn't respond. She either couldn't hear him, or was in too much pain of her own to reply. Besides, he dared not give away his plans until the thing was back on solid ground.

The demon slowed its descent and came down towards the ground. Todd could vaguely see the clearing in the woods by the moonlight. His guess had been right. Once they landed he was determined to begin the fight on his own. His geologist hammer hadn't worked this time. But he'd seen what the pastor could do and he wasn't about to give up. He just wished he could get his mother's attention. Otherwise, he didn't know how he'd get her out of the thing's grip.

He felt the demon put on the brakesa"they were about to land. Todd prepared himself for the showdown that would follow.

-4-.

Erik felt it coming before he actually saw it. Dovecrest must have felt it too, because he heard the man stiffen up and get into a position of readiness. Then, after the feeling, he saw it cross in front of the moon.

Silhouetted against the moon, the thing looked like a medieval gargoyle, with thick, leathery wings. It seemed to be carrying something under either arm. It was carrying somethinga"no, someone. Erik suddenly knew who it was. The thing had Todd and Vickie.

He would have leaped out of his hiding place and into the field if Dovecrest hadn't grabbed his shoulder and held him back. He stopped himself. The Indian was right. Taking off half cocked would only get him and his family killed. At least now there was a chance. The demon was doing him a favor. It was bringing his loved ones to him. Now he was glad he hadn't gone off looking for them.

Still, he had no idea how to get the demon to drop them. Perhaps it was planning to kill them on the altar, like it had Dovecrest's family. He couldn't let that happen. There had to be something he could do.

He knelt down beside Dovecrest as the demon landed, just to the right of the altar. He wasn't sure if Pastor Mark had driven it off, or if it had come here of its own accord. Either way, they needed to drive the thing through the portal and into the other world. But not until he'd made it set his wife and son free. That would have to come first. Then Dovecrest would go in after it. If his family were free, he'd have to stay behind and be with them. He knew he couldn't leave his wife behind again "You take care of your family," Dovecrest whispered. "I can handle the other side."

It was as if the Indian had read his mind. Erik wondered how confident Dovecrest really felt about going in alone. But his family came first. Leaving them now was no longer an option. But he'd have to free them from the demon first.

The monster crouched low and looked around as if looking for something. It seemed wary, as if it knew they were out there waiting for it. As if it feared them.

It placed Vickie down on the altar. She wasn't moving. Erik thought she might be tied up or restrained somehow. Todd was a different matter. As soon as the monster landed, Todd had begun to squirm. The demon didn't seem to pay any attention to him, though.

Erik didn't know what to do. He was torn by the need to run across the field and rescue his wife, and fear that his presence would cause the thing to act, killing them all. For some reason, it had kept Vickie and Todd alive.

He was still torn by indecision when his son made the decision for him. Todd suddenly began to shout at the demon. His words echoed across the field.

"I drive you out in the name of Jesus!" the boy screamed. "I command you to put me down and leave this place. Go back to where you belong!"

As soon as Todd began screaming, Erik jumped out and ran towards his son, no longer caring what happened. Dovecrest followed closely at his heels.

Amazingly, the monster dropped the boy to the ground as if he had just turned into poison. The thing turned and faced Erik. He noticed an upside down cross had been burned into the monster's chest. It glowed hot-white now against the obsidian stone of the demon and illuminated the field like a lantern. Apparently, Todd's words had set the thing off.

The boy staggered to his feet and looked at his mother, who was still lying motionless on the altar. With sudden terror, Erik wondered if she were still alive.

"Come on, Mom, say the words!" Todd screamed. "Tell it to go away!"

The monster backed away towards the altar, putting itself between Erik and his wife. Realizing he couldn't help his mother, Todd turned and ran. That's when he saw Erik heading straight towards him.

"Dad!" he screamed. "Tell it to go away!"

Erik reached his son in the middle of the open field and grabbed him, picking him up off the ground. Dovecrest ran past and towards the demon, which really seemed to be in pain now.

"It hurts it, Dad. When you tell it to go away it hurts it. I saw Pastor Mark do it and it worked."

Erik put his son down, then stepped forward towards the demon. If he could grab Vickie while the demon was still preoccupied....

Dovecrest began to chant in his native language and the demon backed up right to the altar. Erik charged forward but before he'd covered half the distance the thing had picked Vickie up in its arms again and stood on top of the altar stone.

"No!" he screamed. "Let her go!"

But the demon only looked up and grinned at him. Defiantly, it tucked Vickie under its left arm. It looked at Dovecrest with rage; it was obvious that the Indian's chants were doing something to the monster. The upside down cross was burning and smoking now, lighting up the entire field like an incandescent light.

"Let her go!" Erik screamed again.

He heard a helicopter overhead. Apparently the authorities had tracked the monster here as well. If they started shooting, though, they'd hit Vickie.

He rushed forward, no longer caring about his own life or his own situation. He ran right up to the demon, grabbed Vickie by the arm, and pulled. She wouldn't budge. His move was so quick that the demon didn't react; it just stood there looking down at him as if it couldn't believe what it was seeing. Dovecrest moved closer and continued his chants, louder now and with authority. Erik couldn't understand the words, but he knew the meaning just the same. Dovecrest, in his own way, was banishing the demon, driving it out from the world of men.

Then the demon slowly knelt down on the altar as if in prayer. A sudden, vicious thought assaulted Erik like a fist to the pit of the stomach.

"She and the unborn are mine!" it said. "When I have finished with them, I will be back on this earth. You will not be able to stop me."

Then the demon erupted in a black cloud of pungent smoke that choked Erik all the way to his lungs. He felt Vickie's arm slipping away from him and he desperately tried to hold on. No, not slipping away, really. Melting away. Evaporating as if it were never there.

Then both she and the demon were gone, leaving Erik crouching next to the altar, looking totally bewildered.

"I've lost her," Erik said.

Just then Todd rushed out from behind him and leaped onto the altar.

"No!" Erik screamed, but it was too late. He could see the boy's form silhouetted against the spotlight of the helicopter, which was landing just on the other side of the altar. The boy was there. Then his shape shimmered and became translucent. Then, within an instant, he was gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

-1-.

Pastor Mark waited for the soldier to open the helicopter door, and then he jumped out and ran to his friends who were huddled near the altar. Spotlights flooded the area. The demon was gone. It'd taken Vickie with it and, as far as Mark could see, Todd had leaped in after his mother and was gone as well.

Erik was banging his fist against the stone; his hands were bleeding and raw almost to the bone. Dovecrest stood next to the altar with his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Mark asked. "Did the boy go in?"

"Yeah," Dovecrest said. "Only now we can't get in. He's locked us out."

"How?"

"It's complicated. But once someone follows the demon, the doorway closes. If we could have gone in at the same time...."

"So what do we do now?"

Dovecrest shook his head. "I need to look at the manuscripts. I'm sure there's a way to unlock the door. I just have to find it."

Mark nodded. "Then we'd better get working on it."

He walked over to Erik and put his arm around his shoulders. Even after all these years of being a preacher, of going to funerals and being with people during their most troubled times, even after all these years he still never knew what to say. He'd memorized all of the catch phrases, and may have even believed in them. But the words never seemed enough, could never offer the comfort that was needed.

"We'll get them back," he said. But in his heart, he didn't know how.

"I...I had her in my hands. I just...I just couldn't hold on. She just evaporated right there in front of me. And then Todd...."

"It's going to be ok," Mark said. "We'll figure out something. We'll get them back. We need to have faith. Now more than ever."

Dovecrest came over to stand by them.

"We've got work to do," the Indian said. "I think I can get us back into that portal to go after them. Are you coming?"

-2-.

Erik looked up at Dovecrest but couldn't even hear his words. His system had suffered such a shock that even listening had become a task. He just wanted to bury his face in his hands and die. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to remember. But all he was left with was the memory of holding onto his wife's arm with all of his strength and then feeling it just dissolve right there before him. It was as if she had just evaporated into thin air. No, he didn't want to think, didn't want to remember. He just wanted to go to sleep forever. But this voice was shouting at him, insistent.

"Erik, come on. We have to move fast or we'll be too late. Come on. I think we can do this thing."

"What...thing?" he asked.

"We can get them back. Come on. I think I have a way."

"What do you want me do to?"

"We're going to go through that portal and bring them back out. And we're going to destroy that thing once and for all while we're at it."

"Go to hell!" Erik said. He felt the tears running down his cheeks, tickling a little as they flowed over his cheeks and burning his eyes. "I don't want to do anything. I just want to die."

"We are going to go to hell. But no one's going to die to get there."

He felt the two men pulling him along by the arms, the pastor on one side and the Indian on the other. His legs moved by themselves, and slowly he became aware of his surroundings. There were soldiers here now, and a helicopter. He had no idea where they had come from. There were flashlights everywhere, and the spotlight from the helicopter burned his eyes. His friends brought him over to the edge of the clearing and sat him down in the grass. One of the soldiers came over, shined a flashlight into his eyes, and opened a medical kit. The man started wrapping some bandages around his hands.

That was when he realized that his hands were cut open and bleeding from where he had pounded on the altar stone. He also realized that they hurt quite badly. He looked into the eyes of his two friends and saw their concern, not only for his family, but for him.

"Mark and I can go in," Dovecrest said. "And you can stay here. We need someone on this side in case it comes back. But I thought you might want to come and find your wife and son."

Erik hadn't realized how dry his mouth felt until the soldier offered him a drink from his canteen. He took a long swallow, then another. The water was cold and helped to clear his brain.

"You think you can get me in there?"

Dovecrest nodded. "I think I know how to open the portal. But just for a moment."