The Village of Pittston, Ohio was quiet beneath an overcast sky. The moon’s luminescence pushed through the cloud cover, creating an otherworldly scene around the old farmhouse. White curtains, undulating with the soft orange glow of candles in an upstairs bedroom, suggested a warmth stereotypical of traditional country life.

Hidden behind that facade of comfort and normalcy, three young adults were cloaked in a deep unnatural power as they called on unseen forces to exact their evil intentions. The unsuspecting innocents of the local community would one day wish they had foreknowledge of this night’s conjurings, for a powerful, ancient evil was now biding its time, watching attentively at the doorstep of their picturesque village.

FRIDAY,

MAY 29 – 1:43 P.M.

MARTA SAW BRENT sitting with Tara in the Student Union eating lunch. She hesitated before continuing to the table. Why? Was she becoming jealous of Tara’s encroachment into her friendship with Brent? She couldn’t say, yet. She just knew she didn’t much care for Tara. A twinge of guilt stabbed at her.

“God,” she whispered, “please help me to have a better attitude toward her. She only wants help.” Marta took a deep breath, quickly exhaled, put on a smile, and walked quickly to the table.

“Hey, you two!” she said with as much buoyancy as she could exude.

Tara and Brent looked up. Brent’s already-present smile lit up.

“Hey, Marta!” he said.

Did she just see a glint of irritation in Tara’s eyes? Whatever she thought she might have seen was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

“Marta, it’s good to see you,” said Tara, a big smile spreading across her face.

What is it about her that’s got me thinking so negatively?

“Hi, Tara. Good to see you, too.” She sat down.

Brent asked, “Well? How’d it go? Last exam of the last day!”

Marta smiled. “Hopefully it’s not the first bad grade of the last day.”

“I’m sure you did fine. Tara and I were talking about how to stay in touch over the summer.”

“Yeah, stay in touch,” Marta said, forcing her smile to remain in place. “Good idea.”

“Turns out that Tara is an outdoorsy type. Hiking, backpacking, and camping and the like. Maybe we could get a couple of other people together and spend a few days in the hills in Southern Ohio this summer. What do you two think?”

“Well, you know me,” Marta responded, “anything to break a nail.”

She was slightly taken aback as Tara began to laugh with an easiness that hadn’t been apparent since they’d met.

“Sounds like it’s time to clip mine then,” Tara said with a smile. “Better I do it now, than sound like the typical girl from the movies.” She put the back of her right hand up to her forehead. “Oh, woe is me! I’ve broken a nail.”

Marta sat down at the table with a smile coming to her lips. Am I actually going to start liking this girl? Hmm… Don’t know. The jury is still deliberating.

“So,” interjected Brent, “what do you think? Sound like a good idea?”

“I have to admit,” responded Marta, “I’d like to have a group outing like that. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been camping, though, and I don’t have much to contribute when it comes to gear.”

“Most of what we’ll need I’m sure I can get,” said Brent. “My family has been camping for years. We’ve got a new tent and a couple of older ones. Camping stove, backpacks, first-aid kits, sleeping bags, you name it. There will be some things that’ll have to be bought, of course, but the cost should be pretty low.”

Tara chimed in. “I’ve got some gear, too.” Turning to face Marta, she said, “One of the most important things to get, if you don’t already have them, would be a good pair of hiking boots and pairs of both nylon and wool socks.”

“Nylon and wool?” asked Marta.

“Yeah,” Tara began to explain, “the two types work well together to prevent chafing and to allow your feet to breathe better. They’ll help prevent moisture building up. Trust me, you don’t want the alternative.”

“I’m starting to get stoked by the whole idea,” said Brent. “Let’s limit the number to another three to five people, though. Tara, do you know anyone who’d like to go with us?”

“I’ll think about it, but most of my camping friends live out of state. So it’ll probably be just me.”

“No matter,” said Brent. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy being around some of our other friends. In fact, it’ll be pretty cool taking a trip where we’ll all be Christians.”

Marta thought she saw a twinge of fear flash in Tara’s eyes, but Tara responded with, “Sounds like a great time! I’m looking forward to it!”

Marta looked to Brent. He turned from Tara with a cheesy grin on his face and said, “Great! I’m loving this idea! I’ll start researching some dates and a location.”

It was then that Marta saw it in Brent’s eyes—puppy-dog eyes. Uh-oh, Marta thought, Brent’s starting to fall for this girl. It had been less than two weeks since they’d initially met her. She could certainly understand Brent’s attraction, at least physically; Tara was runway-model gorgeous with her long strawberry-blonde hair, large green eyes, and cute figure. But behind the skin lurked something he wasn’t seeing … something that even she couldn’t see clearly, yet. God, protect this puppy dog with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging excitedly.

Brent looked back at Tara and grinned.

FRIDAY,

MAY 29 – 3:03 P.M.

TARA SAID GOODBYE to Brent and Marta and began walking back to her dormitory. She had a lot of things to do: pack up her dorm room and get it loaded into her car and contact her spiritual mentor, Stephanie O’Leary, to let her know that she would, in fact, take her up on the offer to stay with her for the two and a half months between semesters. After all, an hour and a half away was a whole lot better than driving all the way back to Branson, Missouri; not that she had a good reason for going back there, anyway.

Also on her mental to-do list was to seek wisdom and guidance from Shalinar. Her spirit guide would inform her how to disarm Brent. She would soon discover his weaknesses and use them to her advantage.

She already knew one of his weaknesses, of course: strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes. She grinned to herself. Sex. “Testosterone poisoning,” she said out loud with a giggle. Testosterone was, of itself, a powerful potion. She had what Brent wanted, and she would probably even give it to him. After all, she had a body for a reason … to be used in service.

She was no slut, to be sure. And she didn’t give herself away in the hope of finding love. Access to her body was very restrictive. Private, in fact. While some in the craft were very liberal in the giving of their bodies, she kept this area of her life more off limits. She would always control the how and when. She had never been easily led to a bed and never would be. But she did make exceptions, and right now it looked like Brent Lawton would be one of them. Who knows? She might even allow herself to enjoy it.

As she walked into her dorm room, she stopped and sighed. A quick scan of the room reminded her that she was a pack rat. She had a lot of packing to do before her drive up to Pittston.