Absence of Faith (10 page)

"I like it slow," she breathed into
his ear.

He listened and slowly entered her.
Every few minutes Chantress would shutter and gasp.

While they made love, Kyle glanced
up through a haze of wine and ecstasy and saw a man standing in the
alcove.

"How did you get in? What do you
want?" Kyle shouted.

Chantress moved and turned like a
coiled spring and knocked Kyle onto the floor. Kyle rolled over and
then jumped up. He grabbed the wine bottle off the coffee table and
threw it at the man. The bottle hit the shade of the table lamp and
crashed to the floor. They were smothered in darkness. Kyle moved
quickly toward the alcove and switched on the overhead ceiling
light. The room lit up. The bottle punched a small dent in the
wall.

The man was gone.

"Who was there?" Chantress said,
covering her naked body with bits of scattered clothing lying
about.

"It was the man I saw at the cafe -
the one sitting near us. He must have followed us home. But, I
don't understand how he got in and where he went. I'd better check
the bedroom. Stay here."

Kyle vanished and returned a few
moments later.

"Not there?"

"Did you see him,
Chantress?"

"No. I was trying to figure out
what was going on," she said. "Are you sure you saw him? I didn't
hear anything."

"I know I saw him. He was standing
right there with that same strange look. Scared the hell out of
me," he said.

"Maybe you were dreaming," she
said.

"Maybe, but it was awfully real,"
he said.

"Some dreams are like that. Maybe
he’s a ghost?"

"A ghost? Come on. I don't think
so," he said.

"Well, how do you explain what you
saw?"

"I don't know. Maybe, I was
hallucinating. I don't know."

"Did you have one of your psychic
experiences?" Chantress said.

Kyle stared at her
strangely.

"No," he said.

"I'll clean up the glass for you,"
Chantress said.

"I'll take you home now. I need to
be alone...to think this out," Kyle said.

"Whatever."

C
hantress
called Kyle the next morning.

"Don't forget. I'm picking you up
in about twenty minutes. We have that meeting with the
Magus."

"Sure. I'll be ready," Kyle
said.

Chantress arrived on time and had
to blow the horn several times before Kyle came out. They drove to
an upscale suburban development and entered a cul-de-sac with only
four homes.

"I thought you said this guy is
some kind of high priest. This doesn't look like a priest's house -
this could be any body's house. I thought we were going to a church
of some sort," Kyle said.

"Satanists are just normal people
with different beliefs," she replied.

They walked towards a chocolate
brown house with tan trim. Chantress pushed the lighted doorbell
button. The door opened. A large barrel-chested man stood in the
widening doorway.

"Methos, good to see you. This must
be the one you spoke of. Glad to meet you. Come in, come in," the
man said. "I’m making tea; would you like some?"

"None for me," Kyle said looking at
Chantress with questionable eyes.

"No thanks."

The trio walked through a narrow
hallway into a living room with red oak floors and a large ornate
Persian rug in the center of the room.

"So you would like to join us?" the
man said, adjusting his gold wire-rim glasses to get a better look
at Kyle.

"Maybe, I'm just curious," Kyle
said.

"Have you ever been to a Black Mass
before?"

"No."

"Well, there is really nothing to
fear. It's just like a mass you've attended in your church," the
man said. "I take it you were Roman Catholic?"

"I've never been to a church," Kyle
said.

A small smile formed on the Magus'
face. The whistle from the tea pot revved up.

"Excuse me while I attend to that,"
he said and left.

"What's with that name he called
you?"

"All of our identities are secret.
We are known only by the ancient names we choose," she
said.

"Why?"

"Because we are a secret group,"
she whispered. "Now stop asking questions. I'll tell you more on
the way home."

"He's pretty nerdy to be a maggot,"
Kyle said.

"Ha, ha, ha," Chantress laughed.
"Not a maggot, silly. A Magus."

"What's the difference? He seems to
fit both descriptions," Kyle said with a smirk.

The Magus returned with a cup of
tea on a wooden serving tray. Kyle thought it was strange that he
used a tray to bring out a single cup of tea. The Magus looked at
Kyle while taking several small sips from the white cup.

"Let me explain a little about the
Black Mass. It’s really a mass in opposition to the Church's. We do
everything to mock the Catholic Church."

"What do I have to do at this Black
Mass?" Kyle asked.

"Nothing at all. Just watch, learn,
breathe in the experience," the Magus said. "Do you think this is
something for you?"

"I guess."

The Magus motioned Chantress to
follow him into the kitchen.

"What?" Chantress asked.

"There is something about this boy,
something special. I've seen it in his eyes. His eyes burn with
desire, with discontent, with a hunger, a power. I've never seen
this in a person before, but I know what it is. It is a rare
quality, a quality only a few men have had in the history of all
mankind. Yes, indeed, bring him tonight. I will prepare something
special for him," the Magus explained.

Chantress returned to Kyle and the
two left.

"What was that all about?" Kyle
asked in the car.

"He wanted to meet you and see if
you fit in," Chantress said.

"I don't think so. He wanted to see
if I was a cop or someone who would make trouble for the group like
a nosy neighbor. That's what this was all about. Isn't
it?"

"What do you expect? Many people
are scared to death of Satanists, and there's more who would like
to see us all go away. Yes, he has to be suspicious of everyone
that comes into the coven," Chantress explained.

"Who is that guy,
anyway?"

"No one knows," Chantress replied.
"What did you sense from him?"

"Nothing, yet. I wasn't with him
long enough," Kyle said.

"How long does it take?"

"I don’t know? Sometimes, it
happens right away, sometimes it doesn't."

* * *

Kyle arrived at Chantress' house at
eleven that evening for the Black Mass. When she opened the door,
she was wearing a long, black flowing robe.

"You're wearing that?" Kyle asked
as they walked down the narrow sidewalk to the street.

"Yeah, it's what we wear," she
said. "You'll get yours at the meeting."

"I hope so," he said rubbing his
hand on her smooth back.

"Nothing underneath. Cool," he
said.

Chantress smiled and kissed him
lightly on the cheek. When they arrived at the Magus' house, an
older woman with long black hair and wearing a robe similar to
Chantress' greeted them at the door. She led them through a hallway
and then into a doorway to the basement of the house. There were no
lights - only lit candles. The narrow steps led to a large open
room with stonewalls and oil lamps recessed into the walls every
eight to ten feet. The air was filled with an oily odor. Several
people - men and women of various ages sat on metal folding chairs
around a large white circle painted on the cement floor. The circle
had a large six-pointed star in the middle. Forward of the circle
was a long, tall table draped in a shiny, purple cloth. The table
was covered with red and black candles, except in the middle there
was a small clearing. A large, inverted cross hung on wall behind
the table. The Magus stood on a small wooden platform in front of
the altar. Chantress and Kyle took seats around the
pentagram.

"Welcome, Methos," the Magus
said.

"Welcome, Methos," the crowd
repeated.

"Methos brings us a friend, a
savior, which we will call Hermes. He will have great power, great
vision, and bring us what we want," the Magus said.

"We welcome our new savior,
Hermes," the crowd chanted.

The woman who led Chantress and
Kyle into the basement unfolded a red robe and walked over to Kyle.
Kyle looked at Chantress, and she nodded. He stood up and the woman
placed the robe around him, tying the cloth belt around his
waist.

"Welcome, Hermes, my savior.
Welcome to the Daimon Seclorum," the woman told Kyle in a raspy
whisper.

She placed her hand on his shoulder
and pressed. Kyle sat down. A man sitting next to Chantress rose
and left. He returned moments later with two barking German
Shepherds. The Magus took two plates off the altar and placed them
on the floor. The dogs ate the meat readily. Minutes passed. Beads
of sweat formed at Kyle's forehead and dripped down his face.
Chantress noticed and squeezed his hand. The dogs became
glassy-eyed and fell asleep. Another man tied the hind legs of the
animals together and hung the dogs from a wood beam in the ceiling.
A woman placed two large plastic buckets under the dogs. The Magus
approached the dogs, and then raised his hands.

"Oh, Beelzebub, Azazel, Abaddon,
Asmodeus, Astaroth, Belial and Leviathan...our princes of darkness,
accept these creatures into your domain and grant us the power we
seek," the Magus said.

"Grant us our power," the crowd
echoed back.

The Magus took out a large hunting
knife from his robe and slit the dogs' throats. The blood gushed
out like an open fire hydrant spilling into the buckets below.
Chantress squeezed Kyle's hand. Several muted sighs escaped from
the small audience. Two women rose, lifted the bloodied buckets,
and poured the blood into large, gold chalices. One woman handed
the chalices to the Magus. He lifted the first cup and drank from
it, then the other. He handed them back to the women. They did the
same, and passed the chalices around. Everyone drank. When it came
to Chantress, she lifted the chalice and only let the blood touch
her closed lips. She handed Kyle the chalice. He put it up to his
lips and readily drank the blood. Chantress pulled her hand away.
The warm blood excited him as it ran down his throat like liquid
fire.

"Oh great Satan, welcome Hermes
into our house. Show him the way of darkness, show him the power of
your majestic domain," the Magus said.

The Magus recited several long
passages in what Kyle thought sounded like Latin. The group
remained silent and still during the monologue. Several minutes
passed.

"This concludes our mass. For those
who would like to stay, we are having tea upstairs."

The people rose and filed up the
stairs. Chantress grabbed Kyle's hand and rushed up the
stairway.

"Aren't we staying for tea?" Kyle
asked. "I'd like to get to know some of these people."

"No, we are not," she
said.

When they arrived at Chantress'
house, she rushed into the bathroom and washed her face
vigorously.

"They've taken it too far. I'm
quitting! I think after tonight, I'll get a lot of them to follow
me. Wasn't that the most disgusting thing you ever
witnessed...killing those poor dogs, and drinking their blood!
Ugh!" she screamed. "I almost puked when he did it. Next, they will
be eating the entrails and the heart! I knew this was going to
happen. This all started when there was talk that some of the
members wanted to compete with a cult in New York City. I'm not
putting up with this anymore!"

"I thought you said the others
wouldn't quit because of the bond with the Magus," Kyle
recalled.

"I can quit. It's only a few of the
members who have the bond. I'm sure I can get others to join me
now. We can do it together," she said.

Kyle stared absently down at the
rug.

"Okay. Sure. You and me head of
whatever," Kyle said.

"You think so, Kyle? You would
really help me?"

"Yeah, let's start tomorrow. I
can't wait!" he said with a wild-eyed look. "This is perfect. It's
just what I've been looking for. We're going to be great
together!"

Chantress saw the wild darkness in
his eyes. For a second, she was frightened, but in her excitement,
she ignored her inner voice and hugged Kyle.

"This is wonderful! I'm glad we
met," she said and kissed him.

"I'm glad we met, too," he
said.

"Did you sense anything from the
Magus tonight? Did you have one of your trances or whatever you
call it?"