“What?”I asked.
“Consider a few things,” Brother Al said.“You thought me senile and febrile, but as we wandered I was remembering things.I had a sneaking suspicion, of course, when I smelled goat.It reminded me of something I learned of a long time ago.In The Old World, you know.I was staying in France at the time.There was an epidemic of Satanic Panic.Always had been a thing, always will be a thing, in backwoods and dales and such.Normally it’s harmless.Normally.Every now and again, though, the idiots praising the Darkness rub up against something truly evil.Let me ask you all here.Your Uncle David.How did he die?Was it a suicide?”
“That’s not talk fit for the company of children,” JJ said.
“Escort her out of here, then,” Brother Al said to Tyler.
“Don’t hurt them any!”Carol Anne said.“They’re all I got left!”
“If all goes well, we will all live through the night,” Brother Al said.“Please.Go rest and wash up.Take care of what you can.Rest assured, your family ought be well by night’s end.”
Carol Anne and Tyler nodded and left.
“Fuck you,” JJ said when the door shut.
“Yeah,” I said.“Kill these fucking cannibals already.”
“It’s not that simple,” Brother Al said.The far door swung open, and Tyler stood at the entryway.“Will she be alright on her own?”
“Should be,” Tyler said.“She’s a strong girl.”
“Fantastic,” Brother Al said.“Now where were we.Ah, yes.David.Did he die of his own hand?”
“Yes,” Tyler said.
“As I suspected,” Brother Al said.“I smelled goat, all through the house, of course.And I wondered what it could be.Of course, then I remembered my time at Maison Le’Tres, in Sudbury.A cult had arisen around the veneration of a goat, name of Black Philippe.Of course I thought it was ridiculous, but the more I dug, the more I found.Black Philippe was a misunderstanding—a word lost in translation.What my English-speaking associates assumed was Black Philippe was in fact called ‘Black Pillbug.’A parasitic demonic insect, whose constitution is so weak it cannot survive outside of Topside save in warm-blooded mammals or in carefully controlled vials.It, too, is a creature of darkness—feasting on flesh and blood.Preferably that of creatures with souls.Goats being ever-wise, the so-called black pillbug took roost in them.When the infections started in Sudbury, a rash of suicides broke out as the neural impulses of the parasite conflicted with the hosts’ morality.David killed himself to resist the murderous, cannibalistic desire granted him by his parasite.”
“He was weak,” JJ said.
“He was strong,” Brother Al said.“Strong enough to fight instead of giving in.We are all creatures of darkness in this room; and yet notice that some of us were spared an infestation of the Black Pillbug.I, myself, when Patti attempted to force one down my throat as I lie gutted in the kitchen.I was already a creature of darkness, yet I had the trace remnants of goodness flowing throughout my veins.The Black Pillbug could not survive.As, I reckon, it shall not when you three are given the same tonic I myself imbibed.”
“You’re kidding me,” I said.
“Stacey, I am not.Once again, you being the Moon-Kissed—you having that special power that lies hidden in your blood—hopefully it will save these poor souls from their gruesome natures.Tyler, the carving knife, if you would.And a goblet.”
Tyler dutifully came over with both things in tow.I rolled my eyes at it.
“I’m done after this, Al,” I said.My voice was bitter.“I promised Jesus.This is too fucking much.”
“Yes, well, you and Jesus can get acquainted when we get back to the city,” he said.
“No,” I said.“I mean it.This is it.I’m clocking out after this adventure is over.For good.”
A flicker of unease ran over his handsome, genteel face, and he closed his eyes, breathing in.
“Very well.I am grateful for your assistance during this last part,” he said.“After that.We’ll return you home and you’ll be free to do as you wish.”
“I don’t need that granted to me by you,” I said.
Brother Al breathed in deeply again.
“You’re correct,” he said.“Stacey.I’ll need enough for three hefty mouthfuls.”
He slid the knife over to me.I picked it up, sighing, and then slid it across my palm.I squeezed like I’ve never squeezed before, and the goblet was filled.I cursed as I tried to wrap my hand up again.
“I’m gonna throw up,” I said.“I need to eat something before I pass out again.”
Brother Al patted me on the shoulder, taking the goblet and passing it to each one of the Hardestys.He made them swallow and then stood back.
