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"I left Haiti in 1937, after theto expose e activities to the local police To escape those ould avenge that man&039;s death, I cath Now I cannot control it I cannot, and I as from the U-boat?" Kip demanded

The fear had pooled up in Boniface&039;s eyes; now it brimmed over "Think of it What would be the most horrible means of execution? A death by inches, the body and brain starving for air, flesh writhing in total agony Theinto hours, days, years; an eternity of torture Flesh drying over bones, intestines hardening, brains and skulls shriveling, nerves screa in unendurable pain No air, no sun, no chance for escape; only the agony and the darkness, each a hideous partner to the other But still Death delays its merciful touch; he will not free them until they have paid with their flesh Their souls will be trapped within a rotting house, and even after their bodies have begun to fall to pieces there will be no peace Not until the decay is complete, or until their black, evil hearts are pierced, or until they are burned into ashes" He lifted his gaze "Half-hu for the fluids of life in the vain hope their burning will be cooled I know Because Ithat chill creeping around hie and ain

"When I came to Coquina in 1937," Boniface said, "there was no constable, no officials of the law This church was a dilapidated ruin; the Catholic priest had caught the fever and died some ical way to gain some measure of power over the people, and to hide from my Haitian enemies The priest hadn&039;t understood their voodoo beliefs, and I found it easy to gain a following The people looked to al guardian; the law I enforced was stern, harsh perhaps, and I punished evil by the only means I knew: an eye for an eye

"And then caht their ned a constable to look after the island And though he was a good and fair man, like you, I was still Coquina&039;s real law I had the power, and with it the responsibility When that damned iron monster came up from the depths, when it rained fire on the island and killed those I loved, I knew I ainst it

"I saw the bodies after they had been blown to bloody bits; the sight hauntedin the still darkness, until I could take no ht reater than any weapon on earth"

Boniface was silent for aat his wrinkled hands "I knew the h the sweat and pain, I saw the Night Boat nearing Coquina, saw a burning freighter and death floating on the sea That terrible thing was returning, and I knew I ht when the sky was filled with red streaks and flaed over the Abyss and we could see the ships circling their prey, I built a fire on the beach and beganin the sea, and from Baron Samedi, to withhold his mercy It was difficult it tookwould not escape before I was finished

"In a trance I could see the boat hidden there in the Abyss, in thecurrents; I saw the sand fall over it, crushing it under They were trapped, they would never return to hurt ain They would starve for air, they would decay but their deaths would be withheld I could see through the sand and the iron, as if ether, their air slowly giving out, their lungs heaving In narled hand reach out to touch them; they trembled, as if they had been touched by the Devil A voice reached me - soft, of velvet and steel, whether un I don&039;t knohen I awoke fro before a cold fire and all the British ships had gone It had taken two days

"Now those things exist on the border between life and death But I can&039;t hurry the process, Kip, and now they possess a power that I hadn&039;t foreseen Hate - because of their agony, because we are huer are To them we are still the enemy, and the year is still 1942 And so you understand nohy I wanted you to sink it"

"No" Kip whispered He shook his head "No!"

"I created the anythroughout the church "YOU MUST KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"I&039;ve been trying, again and again, to quicken the process toward their death, but the spell is too strong, and I don&039;t knohat"

Kip grasped the man&039;s shirt and pulled him around "YOU&039;VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING!" he said hoarsely "For God&039;s sake, you&039;re the only one who can help us now!"

"I can&039;t," Boniface said wearily "But you you reatest houngans in all the islands!" Boniface gripped the constable&039;s sleeve "He taught you the art you were his young apprentice now you can help me!"

"NO!" Kip shook his head "I shut it out ofthat man tried to teach me!"

"But you must possess a power of your own," Boniface insisted, "or he would not have chosen you as his successor! It&039;s inside you, if you allow it to come out, if you allow yourself to take control of it!"

Kip pulled away and stepped back Hise at the voodoo ied at the away the bottles and pots

"It&039;s junk, all of it!" he said tersely "It&039;s goddaainst the far wall, splattering clear liquid; he kicked a pot that clattered away across the floor Then he stood panting, furious, and listened to the sound of his own ragged breath "It&039;s madness," he said finally "What do they ith us?"

"We have their boat," the other man said "And they want it back"

Kip looked over at hi from the yard - the oil, diesel fuel, cables, and rope My God, is it possible? The ti used to shore up bulkheads below He shuddered; he could i within the U-boat, hour after hour, never resting nor stopping No, no; their batteries would be long dead and corroded with salt But then he restree said had been stolen If enough power could be coaxed froht up even to a fraction of power The ies ate at him If the U-boat ever reached the sea lanes between Coquina and Jamaica

"First they&039;ve tried to quench their thirsts for the fluids of life," Boniface said "But they have failed, and now their fury will be uncontrollable They will try to kill as many as they can"

"I saw one today - dead - in a house a e"

Boniface nodded "The air is taking its toll on them, but very slowly Too slowly to save us" He stared at the constable, his expression clouded and distant

"I will not last this night," he whispered "I close my eyes - like this - and I see the rasping for h the shutter slats Then he garnered his strength again "The fire is dying They fear the flaot to build it back" He took a few pieces of shattered wood, opened the door, and went outside The fire had burned down dangerously low

Kip was transfixed, unable to think clearly There were Myra and Mindy He had to get theet them to safety But what about all the others, the people who looked to him for protection? How to save their lives? How to shield the evil?

Outside, Boniface bent down and threw the wood into the se ashes Build it back, he told hiht! The fla at the new tiing on his neck flared blood scarlet, cooled to a violet, darker, darker, to a deep gray, and finally to ebony

And he felt the coarse, ancient hand of Death on hih to send an electric chill of warning through hile, and as the shadows fell upon hih he saw his fate clearly he would not give hi He turned toward the open church door

Before he had taken more than a step he tripped over an exposed root and fell to the ground, the glass eye shattering to bits beneath hi the shadows reach hilasses had fallen off; al, but unable now, tointo sand and earth And then one of them placed a booted foot on the old ht back, but his strength was rapidly fading; he was choking on his own blood The living corpses hissed all around hi fire, and their claws flashed down to rend him apart

When Kip reached the door, he stood paralyzed with shock at what he saw The things turned their heads toward hi fresh blood

Kip saw the faces of Hell&039;s warriors, things that had crewed a boat through the dark currents of the underworld There were five, and le The one that had crushed the reverend&039;s throat had a face half covered with a yellowish fungus; white tufts of hair clung to the head, and the sunken re hatred When the thing&039;s tight gray lips parted in a death&039;s-head grin, Kip heard it hiss A ring eht

And then they ca for his throat, teeth bared

Kip steeled himself When they were almost upon him he raised the ax he&039;d taken fro down onto a grisly skull of a head

The thing shrieked, a high rattle of reed-dry cords, and fell backward The others were co so fast he had no tiain a few extratheir dead reek, and swung back and forth with the ax, wading into theirat his clothing and then his skin The ones he struck down dragged theering and alus hissed at hiht at his knees and he almost fell forward into their ht for balance, swinging wildly, listening to their evil rattles and high, eeriefor his eyes; he ducked his head, began to fight with fists, feet, elbows, and knees, kicking thelea hian to chew at his exposed shoulder, ht at the ax, trying to wrench it away fro theh his throat with teeth and nails A wrench glittered in the light, coht the shock of the bloith the ax handle and then slammed the blade into an arm socket

Panic choked him; there were too many TOO MANY! he shrieked The ones with crushed faces and broken bones would not give up, they still struggled to devour hi on his back, and another took its place, sucking at the blood that trickled froash THE JEEP! he heard hiht on to the side of his vehicle for support, holding his ar with the blade left and right He fought away, dragging hi at his legs to pull hi his legs free, Kip watched the the jeep to prevent his escape, saw the terrible fury in theirwith a remnant of a red beard started to cliht the ax doith all his strength The head was almost torn fro in the gaping wound More claws reached for hi and desperate

Kip backed away, hisfroertips

And then his foot bu

He sla it open; he lifted it, splattering gasoline over the things and throwing the rest of it into the fire just behind theainst the windshield The fla in a ind Several of the things burst into flaht away froreen wall of the jungle, flaking into ashes with each step They crawled across the ground likeunder the fire&039;s blazing touch A few of thee; the others lay where they had fallen, ures

Kip threw himself behind the wheel and roared away froo totally mad; his entire body shook, his heart pounded, and cold sweat dripped froe lay ahead, dark and quiet, peaceful and unaware in the night

And a long ti