By noontime, the tiny town of Chepachet Rhode Island was on every news station in the country. From what Erik and Mark could tell, the demon had disappeared, at least for the moment. Or, at any rate, the authorities couldn’t find it.
“Maybe it’s gone back to where it came from,” Erik said.
“No. I don’t think so. It’s probably back at its altar stone gaining strength. As if it needs to.”
“Maybe it needs sleep, like we do.”
“Either that or it’s moving on to someplace bigger, where it can do more damage. It’s hard to say. All we can do is pray at this point.”
Erik nodded. But he didn’t think prayer alone would bring an end to this. After all, God helps those who help themselves.
“Dovecrest knew more about this thing than anyone. Do you think we could find anything at his place?”
The pastor shrugged. “It’s worth a try. Do you think the thing will go there?”
Erik thought for a moment. “Not if it already killed Dovecrest. What would it want at his cabin? We could make it over there in just a couple of minutes, check it out, and be back within the hour.”
“What about Vickie and Todd?” the pastor asked.
“I think they’ll be ok here. They’re as safe here as anywhere, I guess. And the church staff is around. They won’t be alone.”
The pastor nodded. “All right, then. Let’s make this quick.”
Todd was in the secretary’s office playing with her computer. Erik told Vickie where he was going and that he’d be right back.
“I’d rather you didn’t leave,” she said.
“I’m not doing any good here. I feel like I’ve got to do something.”
“You men are all alike,” she said. “Just hurry back. We need you here, too.”
He kissed her and then he and Mark got into the pastor’s car and headed down route 102. Dovecrest’s place was only a half a mile away and the roads were deserted. They pulled up at the Indian’s cabin minutes later.
Nothing had been disturbed since the last time he’d been here, Erik noted. It was obvious that Dovecrest hadn’t been back since his arrest, and even the police had left the place alone. It was as quiet, as if nothing had happened.
“All right, where do we start?” Mark said.
“I’d say with the file cabinet and the bookshelf. He mentioned something about old manuscripts.”
“Who’s to say they’re in English?” Mark replied.
“Good point. But we have to try. I’ll start with the files.”
Erik opened the large metal file cabinet while Mark started looking through the book shelves. The files were in completely random order, mostly things about tribal laws and legal documents. None of it made any sense to him. Then he found some things on the history of the tribe, with minutes from previous tribal councils. Maybe there would be a clue in one of these documents. He spilled the file folders out onto the floor and sat down, surrounding himself with the material.
“I’ve got a couple of old books on local history,” Mark said. “Maybe some of this will help.”
“There might be something here, but there’s just so much of it.”
“Maybe we should put it all together in a big trash bag and take it back to the church.”
Someone suddenly stepped out of the shadows and into the room. His approach was as silent as a cat walking on foam.
“You won’t find anything useful in there,” he said.
Erik and Mark both jumped back, startled. It was Dovecrest.
The Indian laughed, and after an embarrassed moment, the two men rushed to embrace him.
“We thought sure you’d been killed,” Erik said.
“I figured the same about you. So we’re even.”
“So,” Pastor Mark said. “What are we dealing with? And how do we stop it?”
“We’re dealing with a real live demon,” Dovecrest said. “Not something from the fairy tale books. Not something out of someone’s imagination. This thing’s real. And it’s going to make life around here very unpleasant.”
“How far will it go?” Erik asked.
“As far as we let it. As far as it can.”
“Then we need to go to the authorities and tell them what it is so they can stop it.”
Dovecrest shook his head. “It wouldn’t do any good, even if they did believe us. Conventional means just won’t work. Guns and explosives are just a joke.”
“The thing ate up the SWAT team for lunch,” Erik said.
“It was the same way at the police barracks. I don’t think even an atomic bomb would hurt this thing. It’s not from our world, remember?”
“So we need to go to its world, right?”
“That’s right,” Dovecrest said. “The portal’s in the altar stone.”
“You’ve done this before?” Mark asked.
“No. The first time we caught the leader before the demon emerged. So we trapped it behind in its own world. This time it’s already made it through.”
“And you know how to do this?”
“The information is hidden in a cave in the woods. I have to do some study and some translation.”
“Why don’t I come with you?” Mark said. “And Erik can go back to the church to be with his family.”
Dovecrest nodded. “Then let’s go.”