CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Sometimes people make horrible, horrible mistakes.

Take for example Dillon Harris, a small-time loser with ambition. Dillon heard almost as soon as it happened that Pete Blankenship was out of the trafficking business. That little tidbit did not make the local news – the arrests at the lodge where many under-aged girls were being forced to work made it to the news, but Blankenship’s retirement did not – but that sort of information tends to get around all by itself.

Dillon heard it from a man he supplied with cocaine, who happened to be fond of girls who were too young and liked to struggle. Dillon did not consider himself a pervert, but he most decidedly considered himself an entrepreneur. To that end, he listened when the man went on and on about how miserable his life was going to be if he had to go all the way to Atlanta to satisfy his needs, and Dillon got an idea.

For the right money, he could probably supply what his client wanted. He was a dealer, after all. Why not simply expand what he offered?

Of course, Dillon liked to think he was shrewd, so he got himself a partner in his endeavors. That partner was a big guy – not very smart but hellishly good in a fight – by the name of Rico Alvarez. Rico’s family was from New York. They’d moved down to Wellman when Rico was fifteen and by then he’d developed something of a reputation as a bad ass. He made sure to keep up with his reputation by joining the Marines for two stints and then coming back home and working as a bouncer at a club frequented by bikers. Some of the bikers were the sort that lawmen feared and others just dressed that way on the weekends, but most of them came to respect Rico’s abilities as an amateur pugilist and a shit-kicker.

That in place, Dillon decided the best way to start his new business as a pimp was to procure girls for his clients that would suit their particular needs. His first client liked young girls. Not too young, but young. He liked them to be the sort who could put up a fight, but not exactly the sort that could get too violent. In his words, he liked “a good screamer, but no biters”.

Far be it from Dillon to argue with what his clients wanted. Happy clients paid well and Dillon was pretty sure he could accommodate. He even knew where to look for girls that wouldn’t be missed too easily. Not in Wellman, because there were too many cops. Gatesville was the same way. But, hey, he thought he knew just the right girl. Looked to be around thirteen, liked to walk by herself, came from an area that even the cops seldom seemed to notice.

Sometimes people aren’t nearly as sharp as they think they are.

Adina was a very pretty girl indeed. She took after her mother that way, and even though she was barely beginning to develop she had flawless skin, a gorgeous stream of flaxen hair, blue eyes and the sort of mouth that promised a perfect kiss without even trying. She was so damned pretty, in fact, that Dillon, who had never once in his life been the sort who couldn’t woo a girl, considered sampling the wares before handing her over to his first client. Ultimately he decided he could wait, but mostly because he knew if he did anything with her, Rico would want to as well and if half the stories about Rico were true, he might leave the girl in such a damaged state that they’d have to discount her.

Also, he’d heard that virgins were worth more and he intended to bank on that.

Adina put up a fight, but after he hit her the third time in the stomach she stopped fighting so much, and putting her in the trunk was easy enough once they got her tied up.

All of which made Dillon reprehensible, but failed to prove his stupidity. No, his mistake came in thinking Adina’s family didn’t know she was pretty, and in assuming they weren’t watching.

Dillon’s Uncle Lucas was doing time in the state penitentiary for dealing. As Dillon had taken over the family business, and as he needed a good place, he also took advantage of Luke’s residence – put in Dillon’s name to avoid any unfortunate seizures by the authorities – and got the place prettied up before he even got there. Clean sheets, a new mattress, even a few decent curtains to hide the bars on the windows. Just to be on the safe side, he even installed a pair of bondage cuffs – complete with pink furry interiors to prevent broken skin – which he used to make sure Adina did not go anywhere until her new paramour arrived. Now and then a man has to invest in order to make a good profit; Dillon was no fool. He understood economics.

One phone call and he had a very happy client on the way to meet a cute little girl who was going to earn Dillon and Rico a lot of money. Because he understood economics so well, he did, indeed, tell his client that Adina was a virgin. If it turned out he was wrong, they could worry about a partial refund. Otherwise, he was guaranteed to make a lot of money off of the girl’s cherry.

Unfortunately for Dillon, Adina’s sister understood human nature even better than he understood economics. She and four of her brothers were waiting in the bedroom when Dillon opened the door to allow his client access.

Rico was there, too. A large albino was playing with his entrails when they opened the door. Rico would have screamed about the situation, but one of the silk pillowcases had been rammed into his mouth and he couldn’t get a noise out past it. “Who the fuck are you?” It took Dillon a second to realize he’d spoken to the five pale strangers. It took him another second to realize that Adina was currently standing behind a woman who made it clear that he’d been right: she’d grow up to be an amazing beauty. That they were related was impossible to miss.

The woman did not speak. Instead she simply looked at the red-haired bruiser next to her and pointed.

Gideon Blackbourne delivered a blow that could have been called legendary. His single punch into Dillon’s stomach left the entrepreneur on all fours and vomiting all over the floor. The second blow was aimed at his client. The client screamed as his collarbone was shattered.

Uncle Lucas’s house was in the woods, well away from prying neighbors. Both men had a lot of reasons to scream before Lament Blackbourne and her brothers were done discussing why it would never be prudent to touch their sister Adina again.

Dillon Harris lived through the lesson. Why?

Because sometimes you want someone out there to help spread the word that there’s a new player in town. It stops the wannabes from getting too grabby.

* * *

The Deacons gathered with Lazarus Cotton in the mine shaft he’d commandeered as his new church for the next few days. They did not question him, though surely they had earned the right as his disciples. They listened, and for that he was grateful. Say Amen.

“I have no doubt they will be waiting for us when we arrive at the chosen location.”

The Deacons nodded.

“When we get there we must, of course, expect cowardice and duplicity. We shall be prepared, children. We must be. We are the chosen of God. We will not fail Him in His mission. We shall go forth and we shall multiply. We shall punish the wicked. We shall be His light in the darkness.”

“Amen,” they agreed.

“They have a witch with them. A charlatan who knows some of the old ways. Enough that he hurt the faithful who are already suffering.” Lazarus shook his head and frowned. He was hurt that it could come to this. He clenched his beefy hands into fists and held them before his face. “‘Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live.’ I do not believe they are capable of facing us as righteous men. They are not righteous. They consort with the devil himself.”

The Deacons’ faces were grim. They understood all too well that the devil was constantly around them, constantly ready to strike against them.

“To that end, we must attack in waves. We must be prepared to make sacrifices.” He sighed and looked toward the burnt-out shell of his church. He could not see it, not where he was currently standing, but he could almost feel its presence. A sad reminder of what the wicked could do.

“My brethren here have been tainted. The damnable witch has done something to them and they rot. The very soil where they were made to live forever has been taken from them, and in the process they have lost their way. I have spoken with them at length, and they know what is happening, they know these… heathens… have taken from them the most sacred blessing of the Lord. They also know their sacrifices shall not go in vain. They are willing to die for the Lord. They understand they have been resurrected once and could well be raised a second time if Jesus sees fit to allow it.”

“Amen.” The solemn voice of his children filled Lazarus with hope. And with his children beside him, little could stand in his way. The Lord’s will would be done.

“I have made a demonstration to the unfaithful. I have let them see what happens to those who defy the Lord. I am prepared to make an example of every person in this county if I must. We will have our justice. The Lord will be appeased. We shall overcome.”

He did not need to speak loudly. His children listened to his words as they always had.

“I can no longer hear Sister Hope in my heart. Whatever sort of demons took her, they have either killed her or hidden her so well that even I cannot find her.” He felt his lip tremble. Sister Hope was so special to him, the very first of his children, one of the most faithful women he had ever known. Her work in Mexico was not finished, but she had children as well, and they would surely continue to spread the gospel. “But even if we cannot find her, we must remember that she is a servant of the Lord and will be taken by Him if her time on this mortal planet is done.”

Oh, how his children seethed at the thought that she had been destroyed. Sister Hope was well loved and respected.

“When the sun sets tomorrow, my children, we shall go forth and do the Lord’s work. We shall overcome if it is His will.”

“Amen!”

Lazarus nodded. Amen indeed. And Hallelujah.

All around him his Deacons listened as he laid out his plans.

And at their feet the rats moved, cleaning themselves and waiting for the words that would release them.

Those words would not come just yet.

There were a few heathens and witches that had to be taught a lesson first.

Amen.