that’s all.’
‘You’re frightened,’ he said. ‘I can tell that you’re
frightened. Now, why?’
‘It’s okay,’ I told him. ‘I guess I just didn’t get enough
sleep. I’ll go right back upstairs now, and I’ll...’
‘You needn’t go. Don’t you want to talk? It’s very lonesome
at this time of night, don’t you agree?’
Father Anton’s face was rigidly white, and his jaw seemed to
move up and down when he spoke with the same mechanical movements of a
ventriloquist’s dummy.
Talking to him right then was like listening to a badly
dubbed movie.
‘Well, yes,’ I said. ‘But I’d really rather go. Thanks all
the same.’
Father Anton raised a hand. ‘You mustn’t go.’ He turned his
head stiffly and looked towards the door. It swung on its hinges, and silently
closed, all by itself.
I lifted my candlestick.
‘Now then,’ admonished Father Anton. ‘There’s no need to be
belligerent. We can be friends, you know. We can help each other.’
I said, quietly: ‘You’re not Father Anton at all.’
Father Anton abruptly laughed, throwing his head back in a
way that terrified me. ‘Of course I’m Father Anton. Who do I look like?’
‘I don’t know. But you’re not Father Anton. Now just stay
there because I’m getting right out of here and you’re not going to stop me.’
Father Anton said: ‘Why should I want to stop you? You’re a
good man and true. You helped me out, so now I’m going to help you.’
I was shivering like a man with pneumonia. I kept the
candlestick raised over my head, and I stepped back towards the door. ‘Just
stay away,’ I warned him.
Father Anton gave an awkward, empty shrug. ‘You mustn’t
misunderstand me , monsieur .’
‘I understand you all right. I don’t know what you are, or
what you’re trying to do, but keep away.’
The old priest’s eyes glittered. ‘If we don’t find the other
twelve, you know, we could be in terrible trouble.’
‘The other twelve what?’
‘The other twelve brethren. There
are thirteen of us, you know. I told you that.
Thirteen of us. We have been
separated for such a long time, and now we must get together again.’
I kept on shuffling my way backwards. ‘You don’t know where
they are?’ I asked him.
Father Anton swayed. Then he looked up oddly and said,
‘They’ve been hidden.
They’ve been sewn up and sealed, just like before. I was the
only one who wasn’t taken with them. Now you must help me find them. You and the girl together. We need the girl.’
I shook my head tautly. ‘I’m not going to help you find or
do anything. I’m getting right out of here and I’m going to get some help.’
Father Anton lifted one jerky leg out from under the
bedclothes, then the other. He stood up unsteadily, his arms hanging by his
sides, and he grinned at me. For a split second, I thought I saw a thin dark
tongue flick from his mouth – a tongue as forked as a reptile’s – but then it
flicked back again and I wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion or not.
‘We will have to find the Reverend Taylor in England,’ said
Father Anton, in a soft, rustling voice. ‘Then we will have to discover where
the Americans hid the rest of us.
My lord Adramelech will be deeply
pleased, I can assure you. He will reward you, monsieur , in a way that no man on earth has ever been rewarded
before. You can be rich beyond any comprehension. You can be powerful as a
thousand men. You can spend years indulging your tastes for the finest foods
and the greatest wines.
And you can have sex with any woman, any man, any animal,
you choose, and your virility will be limitless.’
I didn’t know what to say or do. It seemed as though Father
Anton had been completely taken over. But was he really possessed, or was he
just suffering from nightmarish nerves? Maybe he’d taken too many heart pills,
or drunk too much before he went to bed. I just couldn’t look at this elderly
shambling priest in his long white
‘You’re frightened,’ he said. ‘I can tell that you’re
frightened. Now, why?’
‘It’s okay,’ I told him. ‘I guess I just didn’t get enough
sleep. I’ll go right back upstairs now, and I’ll...’
‘You needn’t go. Don’t you want to talk? It’s very lonesome
at this time of night, don’t you agree?’
Father Anton’s face was rigidly white, and his jaw seemed to
move up and down when he spoke with the same mechanical movements of a
ventriloquist’s dummy.
Talking to him right then was like listening to a badly
dubbed movie.
‘Well, yes,’ I said. ‘But I’d really rather go. Thanks all
the same.’
Father Anton raised a hand. ‘You mustn’t go.’ He turned his
head stiffly and looked towards the door. It swung on its hinges, and silently
closed, all by itself.
I lifted my candlestick.
‘Now then,’ admonished Father Anton. ‘There’s no need to be
belligerent. We can be friends, you know. We can help each other.’
I said, quietly: ‘You’re not Father Anton at all.’
Father Anton abruptly laughed, throwing his head back in a
way that terrified me. ‘Of course I’m Father Anton. Who do I look like?’
‘I don’t know. But you’re not Father Anton. Now just stay
there because I’m getting right out of here and you’re not going to stop me.’
Father Anton said: ‘Why should I want to stop you? You’re a
good man and true. You helped me out, so now I’m going to help you.’
I was shivering like a man with pneumonia. I kept the
candlestick raised over my head, and I stepped back towards the door. ‘Just
stay away,’ I warned him.
Father Anton gave an awkward, empty shrug. ‘You mustn’t
misunderstand me , monsieur .’
‘I understand you all right. I don’t know what you are, or
what you’re trying to do, but keep away.’
The old priest’s eyes glittered. ‘If we don’t find the other
twelve, you know, we could be in terrible trouble.’
‘The other twelve what?’
‘The other twelve brethren. There
are thirteen of us, you know. I told you that.
Thirteen of us. We have been
separated for such a long time, and now we must get together again.’
I kept on shuffling my way backwards. ‘You don’t know where
they are?’ I asked him.
Father Anton swayed. Then he looked up oddly and said,
‘They’ve been hidden.
They’ve been sewn up and sealed, just like before. I was the
only one who wasn’t taken with them. Now you must help me find them. You and the girl together. We need the girl.’
I shook my head tautly. ‘I’m not going to help you find or
do anything. I’m getting right out of here and I’m going to get some help.’
Father Anton lifted one jerky leg out from under the
bedclothes, then the other. He stood up unsteadily, his arms hanging by his
sides, and he grinned at me. For a split second, I thought I saw a thin dark
tongue flick from his mouth – a tongue as forked as a reptile’s – but then it
flicked back again and I wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion or not.
‘We will have to find the Reverend Taylor in England,’ said
Father Anton, in a soft, rustling voice. ‘Then we will have to discover where
the Americans hid the rest of us.
My lord Adramelech will be deeply
pleased, I can assure you. He will reward you, monsieur , in a way that no man on earth has ever been rewarded
before. You can be rich beyond any comprehension. You can be powerful as a
thousand men. You can spend years indulging your tastes for the finest foods
and the greatest wines.
And you can have sex with any woman, any man, any animal,
you choose, and your virility will be limitless.’
I didn’t know what to say or do. It seemed as though Father
Anton had been completely taken over. But was he really possessed, or was he
just suffering from nightmarish nerves? Maybe he’d taken too many heart pills,
or drunk too much before he went to bed. I just couldn’t look at this elderly
shambling priest in his long white
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