He stopped on the top step. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking over at them. “It’s just…,” he trailed off and suppressed a smirk when they nodded.

“If you see either Mr. Williams or Miss Curtis, please let us know,” Gant said, flipping his notebook closed.

Bill nodded. “I will.” He watched the officers get into their cruiser and drive off. When he walked back inside, all eyes were on him and he grinned. “Show time,” he said, holding up the box of condoms.

“Tracy’s dead, Bill,” Adam said.

“That’s what they said.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder and then looked up at the clock. “We need to get the pledges out to the campsite and then the real games begin.” Walking into the kitchen, he put the bag in the corner by the back door and scanned the eager pledges. “You all ready?” he asked, and smiled when each and every one of them nodded.

They filtered out and Bill put a troubled, somber expression on his face just in case the police were watching. The pledges all piled into the seniors’ cars, following him as he drove onto an obscure dirt road that led to a small clearing where everyone parked. It was roughly a mile between Paradise Cove and Black Cove. He got out and pulled a couple tents from his trunk.

Adam and Joe pulled tents out of their trunks and laid them out on the ground.

Bill set the groceries and the coolers near the tents. “Your mission tonight to finalize your acceptance into Beta Theta Pi is to follow that path to Paradise Cove and get a picture of the reflection in the water with these Polaroid cameras. If you are daring, you can follow the small stream to Black Cove and bring us back a picture of that as well. If you bring a photo of Black Cove back, you’ll never have to pay fraternity dues.” He looked around the group. “We’ll be back before midnight. Anyone with pictures will be able to participate in the initiation ceremony. All those who don’t return by then, well, you’ll have to walk back to campus.” He tilted his head and smiled. “Oh, and one more thing—each of you has to go alone.” They all nodded. “You might want to pitch those tents and get a campfire going before you take off. There are hot dogs, beer and stuff to make s’mores. I expect there will be some for us when we get here, right?”

The pledges nodded in agreement.

“We’ll be back,” he said.

The senior fraternity members retreated to their cars and headed out. They parked near the entrance of the dirt road and looked at each other while they waited just inside the woods, out of sight. A van slowed at the entrance and stopped just beyond the group. The side door slid open and they piled in.

“Hey, Jake.” Bill smiled at the driver. He was the former president of the fraternity and passed the torch to Bill when he left.

“Hey.” Jake looked over as Bill took the passenger seat. “Who do we have this year?” he asked as the side door closed.

“Jenny,” Bill said.

Jake swerved a little and looked at Bill. “She was off limits,” he said. “Tom traded his life for hers.”

Bill nodded. “That was two years ago. Things change.”

“Jesus,” Jake said, and glanced over at Bill. “Jesus.” He slowly smiled and glanced in the rearview mirror. All the senior members were nodding.

“Yeah, man, we finally get to do everything we ever wanted with her.” Adam smiled into the mirror.

“Speaking of that, did you stop and pick up the package by the back door?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t understand.”

“That was the directive. She needs to be clean.” He shrugged.

Jake looked at him for a moment and the next thought sent quivers down his spine. “You don’t think…,” he trailed off and physically shivered in the seat.

Bill laughed. “Yeah well, everybody wants to fuck that piece of ass.” He looked in back. “We also have someone else in the crypt.”

Jake glanced over at Bill. “Who’s that?”

“Jenny’s boyfriend. But he’s all doped up on Peyote and LSD. He won’t feel a thing when we cut him.”

“We aren’t cutting her?” Jake asked. This was so different from the past sacrifices he’d been involved in. The girl was always used and she was the one cut up.

“No,” Bill said. “She’s not to have a scratch on her,” he replied. “Well, she’ll be bruised.” He grinned. “But that’s acceptable.”

Jake glanced at Bill, and then back at the ten other members of the fraternity as he pulled into the cemetery.

Chapter 39

“Steve?” she asked, her eyes still scrunched in confusion.

He didn’t want to burden her with the details of the plan forming in his mind. It meant he had to be alive and awake and get them as near to Mirror Lake as possible.

Now all his Grandfather’s warnings made sense. Although, if spilling their blood was a way to send this beast back to hell, then why didn’t he or any of the others before him make the sacrifice?

He huffed. It was simple. None of them really believed in the lore. Superstitious, yes, but taking the leap to believing in a demon, no, none of them went that far.

Now it was up to him.

He reached down, and un-holstered his gun, setting it on the side of the altar. Slipping off the rock, he leaned down and brushed her lips with his. “I need to get my shit together before they come. I’m going to take down as many as I can. Maybe I’ll get lucky,” he smiled. “But in case I’m not, I want you to know I love you and I tried.”

Jennifer bit her lip, stifling the tears. “I know.”

Stepping to the middle of the mausoleum, he began to do karate forms.

* * * *

His balance was off, but the forms were still beautiful to watch in the dim moonlight and her vision blurred. She didn’t know what he had in mind, but the willingness to put himself between her and the hungry frat boys sent fear through her. What if he couldn’t stop them?

She closed her eyes on all the what ifs drifting in her head and let the exhaustion yank her under.

He walked shakily into the clearing, sidestepping away from the black water as he snapped the picture. He laughed to himself and turned to head back the way he had come. A claw shot out of the dark, ripping through his flesh. He fell to his knees as the dark figure lifted his arm again.

Jennifer screamed and tried to sit up. “No, no, no, no.” She sobbed in the dark.

“What’s wrong?” Steve said, immediately standing next to her.

“It got someone else.” The chains vibrated on the stone as she shook. “It just killed someone else.”

Steve put his hand on her stomach. “I’m not gonna let it get you, Jen. I’ll die before I let that happen.”

That’s exactly what she was afraid of.

The slam of a car door outside the crypt brought both of them to their present situation.

“Love you.” He kissed her and stepped away with the gun in his hand, aimed at the door, unaware that he now stood in the middle of the pentacle.

Chapter 40

The doors swung open and the report of a gunshot made Bill spin from his perch in the van. Adam paused in the entrance, and a second shot sounded. This time Adam’s head snapped with the force of the bullet, and he fell backwards, a hole smoking between his eyes.

Bill glanced at Jake and Joe, the fear pumping hot fuel through his blood, the rest of the brothers hugged the building walls outside the doors, their expressions mimicking both Joe and Jake. Horror, shock, fear, and all eyes landed on the van for further direction.

“He has a gun?” Jake asked, looking from one frat member to the next.

“Apparently,” Bill said and glanced at Adam. “And he’s either a damn good shot, or just lucky.” He returned his gaze to Jake and he swallowed the ball in his throat. “I’d rather take my chances with him than that thing…,” he trailed off thinking about the consequences if they didn’t deliver Jennifer and Steve to Black Cove.