Stroud opened his eyes - and quickly shut them. Daylight? What the hell -? Did someone knock me out again?
Memories came flooding back. Omigod!
He'd glimpsed a gun in the midget's hand. Then he'd felt a horrific impact, been thrown backward...
He sat up and took stock of his condition. No pain, seemingly no injuries. Yet there was blood everywhere - on his jacket, shirt, and pants. Blood, and bullet holes.
I should be dead. Maybe I am dead, a ghost.
But his body seemed as solid as ever. And he was getting hungry! Nothing he couldn't tolerate, but he knew many hours had passed since his last meal. Ruling out the "ghost" theory, he heaved himself to his feet and looked around.
And wished he hadn't.
The carnival was gone. On all sides, he saw devastation. Dead grass and shrubs, dead people.
Whatever kind o' fight there was, I know Brother Justin won it. Maybe he destroyed the carnival so completely there's nothin' left of it. An' some of his followers got killed too, but at least their bodies an' tents an' vehicles are still here.
He wasn't particularly comfortable with that explanation.
I musta been dead myself. But Brother Justin brought me back to life, 'cuz I'm his Archangel!
That made him feel better.
First thing to do now is find Brother Justin.
He didn't have the faintest idea where to look. But as he started walking, he heard a familiar voice cry out, "Do you understand?"
No, he thought, even as he determined the sound had come from beyond a cluster of tents and cars.
Justin was still shouting. "If Ben is still out there and wants to kill me -"
What followed was so confusing that Stroud didn't even try to figure it out. He was still grappling with the idea of Ben being "out there."
All this death an' destruction, an' he thinks he may not have killed the kid?
Suddenly, he saw a car speeding along the nearby road, toward the camp exit. His car, with the girl Sofie at the wheel!
Hopeless as it was, he turned and gave chase on foot. "Stop! Come back here, you bitch!" Then he realized he could have his choice of a half-dozen nearby vehicles. He picked one whose door was standing open, hurled himself into it, and began fumbling for the keys.
From behind him, Justin's voice called, "Let her go, Brother Varlyn! You come back."
Sighing, Stroud got out of the car and hastened to join his leader - who was just emerging from a completely dead, flattened cornfield. Justin still wore his soiled cassock. He managed to rebutton it, but not before Stroud had gotten a good look at the stains marring his chest.
Looks like dried blood, except that it's blue...
Then Stroud remembered that he'd seen Scudder's blood when he stuck needles in him, and that had been blue. He hadn't dared ask Justin for an explanation.
I'd like to think all that blood on him came from Scudder's kid. But somethin' tells me it didn't.
Justin was studying the blood on Stroud with equal interest. "I think we both had bad experiences last night, Brother Varlyn. In your case, that was very lucky."
Stroud dropped to his knees. "About the girl, Brother Justin - I'm sorry I wasn't able to kill her -"
Justin gave a mirthless laugh. "And that, my friend, was a blessing in disguise." But as he gazed down the road - where Sofie's car was already out of sight - Stroud noted that his expression was troubled.
Gesturing to Stroud to get to his feet, he continued grimly, "I'll explain what happened last night. That cowardly boy ran into the cornfield, trying to elude me. I overtook him, fought and defeated him! He was badly wounded, and I was about to give him a swift, merciful death. But I made the mistake of pausing to look up to the heavens. And he had more strength left than I thought. He lunged at me." Looking steadily at Stroud, he concluded, "And he killed me."
Stroud gulped.
After a long hesitation, he said, "B-but you were able to come back to life, right? To, uh, resurrect yourself?"
"Unfortunately, no." Justin pursed his lips in distaste. "Once dead, I could do nothing.
"But that's where the girl comes in. She is in fact my daughter. And no, I hadn't been aware of it.
"As my daughter, she possesses certain powers of her own. Under normal circumstances, they'd be far inferior to mine. But these were not normal circumstances." He shook his head, as if he could scarcely believe his luck. "She brought me back to life - so she could have the honor of killing me herself. But she doesn't have the power to do that. So I now have one very unhappy daughter!"
The men's eyes met. Justin chuckled. Stroud allowed himself to smile...
And then they both burst into raucous laughter.
When they calmed down, Justin said casually, "Sofie had to kill other people to restore me to life. And she probably killed more than necessary - I'd guess the numbers are in the thousands, maybe tens of thousands. But no one's come to investigate, so we'll be able to determine what the situation is before we have to explain it." He thought for a second, and rephrased that. "Before we find a way to exploit it."
Stroud said admiringly, "Yes, sir, Brother Justin!"
"And you, my friend? From the condition of your clothes, it appears you were dead, and so nearby that Sofie unwittingly restored you to life along with me."
As Stroud told his story, they chortled over the fate of Ferris Wheel Guy. But their pleasure at the unexpected result of Samson's killing Stroud was tempered by irritation at the carnival's having gotten away.
"I'm sure Sofie deliberately let them escape," Justin grumbled. "And the boy Ben may still be alive! He had to be carried out of the cornfield, but that doesn't prove anything." He scowled. "You said Iris was at the carnival site, talking with the dwarf, late at night?"
"Yeah. You think she was connivin' with them?"
"Had to be. We didn't pick the Knights of Jericho for their brains - with both you and me missing, they would have done whatever Iris told them. She must have ordered them to let the carnies be, and allow them to leave come morning. And she promised Samson he and his men would be given time, after daybreak, to find the boy." Justin looked up at the house, and Stroud thanked his lucky stars that malevolent gaze wasn't directed at him. "I think our first priority should be to learn what's happened to my dear sister!"
x
x
x
A half hour later they'd established that Iris was alive, but so traumatized by what she'd seen from the hilltop that she was incoherent. Whenever she looked at Justin, her eyes focused on his chest - covered though it was - and she began to scream.
"Traitor," he hissed. "I knew she and Norman were plotting against me, but I made allowances for them because they'd done so much to help me when I was young. I was a sentimental fool. It will serve her right if she remains in this condition for the rest of her life!" Ignoring her shrieks and her flailing fists, he picked her up, carried her to the cellar door, and tossed her down the stairs. Locking the door, he said brusquely, "That's one problem disposed of. Let's see what others we have."
x
x
x
It took them another two hours to determine that New Canaan had been completely depopulated. The bodies they'd seen were unmarked, providing nary a clue as to how the victims had died.
"Seventeen thousand people," Stroud muttered. That was a lot to swallow, even for him.
"All dead," Justin said thoughtfully. "Some must have been alarmed by what they'd seen or heard last night. But the only phone is in the main house...and Iris evidently told the guards not to let anyone leave. If they'd gotten out, police and reporters would have been here hours ago."
"So what do we do now?"
"I'll call the police, of course. After we've eaten! And I'll have to act as if I'm almost as distraught as Iris." Sounding not at all distraught, Justin continued thinking aloud. "The Dignity Ministry fire worked to my advantage, won sympathy for me. This can be made to do the same, on a larger scale. I wouldn't have chosen to lose this many followers. But their deaths will win me more followers - richer, more influential ones."
"Uh, how?" Stroud pressed him. "The way these folks died is creepy. What are you gonna say caused it?"
"Why, the Antichrist, of course!" Justin's lip curled in a sneer. "I almost hope our young friend Benjamin St. John is alive - his powers work in a way he'll find hard to explain. In any case, naming him may help me learn whether he survived. Not a sure thing, but if he's alive, he may surface to defend himself."
Stroud was in awe of Justin's ability to turn an apparent setback to his advantage. He lavished praise on him the whole time they were driving back to the house.
As they were getting out of the car, Justin said slyly, "Am I right, my friend, in thinking you had planned to...take certain sexual liberties with Sofie before you killed her?"
Stroud felt the heat rising in his face. "Um, yeah. But I didn't realize she was your daughter."
"No problem. It's a good thing you didn't try, though, considering what else she is." Justin favored his disciple with a beatific smile. "I just want you to know that if you're still feeling horny, you have my permission to do whatever you damn please to Iris."