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he said it.
 Down!
Reluctantly, Brine, Robert, and Howard lay facedown on the
ground. Gian Hen Gian remained standing, cursing in Arabic.
Rivera s eyes widened as blue swirls appeared in the air over the
Djinn s head.
 Stop that, Rivera said.
The Djinn ignored him and continued cursing.
 On your belly, you little fucker.
Robert pushed himself up on his arms and looked around.  What s
this about, Rivera? We were just out here taking some pictures.
230 / Christopher Moore
 Yeah, and that s why you have a high-powered rifle in your car.
 That s nothing, Robert said.
 I don t know what it is, but it s more than nothing. And none of
you are going anywhere until I get some answers.
 You re making a mistake, Officer, Brine said.  If we don t con-
tinue with what we were doing, people are going to die.
 First, it s Sergeant. Second, I m getting to be a master at making
mistakes, so one more is no big deal. And third, the only person who
is going to die is this little Arab if he doesn t get his ass on the
ground.
What was taking them so long? Travis had dragged the translation
out as long as he could, stalling on a word here and there, but he
could tell that Catch was getting impatient and to delay any long
would endanger Jenny.
He tore two sheets from the steno pad and handed them to Rachel.
 It s finished, now you can untie them. He gestured to Jenny and
the Elliotts.
 No, Catch said.  First we see if it works.
 Please, Rachel, you have what you want. There s no reason to
keep these people here.
Rachel took the pages.  I ll make it up to them once I have the
power. It won t hurt to keep them here a few more minutes.
Travis fought the urge to look back toward the woods. Instead he
cradled his head in his hands and sighed deeply as Rachel began to
read the invocation aloud.
Augustus Brine finally convinced Gian Hen Gian to lie down on
the ground. It was obvious that Rivera would not listen to anyone
until the Djinn relented.
 Now, Masterson, where in the hell did you get that metal suit-
case?
 I told you, I stole it out of the Chevy.
 Who owns the Chevy?
 I can t tell you that.
 You can tell me or you can go up on murder charges.
 Murder? Who was murdered?
Practical Demonkeeping / 231
 About a thousand people, it looks like. Where is the owner of
that suitcase? Is it one of these guys?
 Rivera, I will tell you everything I know about everything in
about fifteen minutes, but now you ve got to let us finish what we
started.
 And what was that?
Brine spoke up,  Sergeant, my name is Augustus Brine. I m a
businessman here in town. I have done nothing wrong, so I have no
reason to lie to you.
 So? Rivera said.
 So, you are right. There is a killer. We are here to stop him. If we
don t act right now, he will get away, so please, please, let us go.
 I m not buying it, Mr. Brine. Where is this killer and why didn t
you call the police about him? Take it nice and slow, and don t leave
anything out.
 We don t have time, Brine insisted.
Just then they heard a loud thump and the sound of a body
slumping to the ground. Brine turned around to see Mavis Sand
standing over the collapsed detective, her baseball bat in hand.
 Hi, cutie, she said to Brine.
They all jumped to their feet.
 Mavis, what are you doing here?
 He threatened to close me down if I didn t tell him where you
went. After he left, I got to feeling like a shit about telling him, so
here I am.
 Thanks, Mavis, Brine said.  Let s go. Howard, you stay here.
Robert, in the bed of the truck. Whenever you re ready, King, he
said to the Djinn.
Brine jumped into the truck, fired it up, and engaged the four-
wheel drive.
Rachel read the last line of the invocation with a grandiose flourish
of her arm.  In the name of Solomon the King, I command thee to
appear!
Rachel said,  Nothing happened.
Catch said,  Nothing happened, Travis.
232 / Christopher Moore
Travis said,  Give it a minute. He had almost given up hope.
Something had gone horribly wrong. Now he was faced with either
telling them about the candlesticks or keeping his bond with the
demon. Either way, the hostages were doomed.
 Fine, Travis, Catch said.  The old man is the first to go.
Catch wrapped one hand around Effrom s neck. As Travis and
Rachel watched, the demon grew into his eating form and lifted Ef-
from off the ground.
 Oh my God! Rachel put her fist to her mouth and started backing
away from the demon.  Oh no!
Travis tried to focus his will on the demon.  Put him down,
Catch, he commanded.
From somewhere down the hill came the sound of a truck starting.
Gian Hen Gian stepped out of the woods.  Catch, he shouted,
 will you never give up your toys? The Djinn started up the hill.
Catch threw Effrom to the side. He landed like a rag doll, ten yards
away. Rachel was shaking her head violently, as if trying to shake
away the demon s image. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
 So someone let the little fart out of his jar, Catch said. He stalked
down the hill toward the Djinn.
An engine roared and Augustus Brine s pickup broke out of the
tree line and bounced up the dirt road, throwing up a cloud of dust
in its wake. Robert stood in the bed, holding onto the roll bar for
support.
Travis darted past Catch to Amanda and Jenny.
 Still a coward, King of the Djinn? Catch said, pausing a second
to look at the speeding truck.
 I am still your superior, the Djinn said.
 Is that why you surrendered your people to the netherworld
without a fight?
 This time you lose, Catch.
Catch spun to watch the truck slide around the last turn and off
the road to bound across the open grass toward the candlesticks.
 Later, Djinn, Catch said. He began to run toward the truck.
Taking five yards at a stride the demon was over the hill and past
Travis and the women in seconds.
Practical Demonkeeping / 233
Augustus Brine saw the demon coming at them.  Hold on,
Robert. He wrenched the wheel to the side to throw the truck into
a slide.
Catch lowered his shoulder and rammed into the right front
fender of the truck. Robert saw the impact coming and tried to decide
whether to brace himself or jump. In an instant the decision was
made for him as the fender crumpled under the demon and the truck
went up on two wheels, then over onto its roof. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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