Free In the House of Mirrors by Tim Meyer Page B

didn't believe any of these things to be true, but if you asked me prior to that night what the chances were that people actually practiced Satanic rituals in the middle of the night, deep within the woods of Central New Jersey, I'd probably say none.
    How dumb was I?
    “ Dear, Master. Bringer of Light,” Boone's voice boomed through the speaker. “O Commander of Darkness, I command the forces of the Black Abyss to bestow their infernal power upon us. Save us, Lord Satan, from the treacherous and the violent! O, Satan! Spirit of the Earth, God of Liberty! Open wide the Gates of Hell and come forth by these names! Satan!”
    “ Satan!” the group shouted.
    “ Beelzebub!” Boone thundered through the speakers.
    “ Beelzebub!” the congregation repeated. 
    “ Leviathan!”
    “ Leviathan!”
    My heart pumped faster. I imagined a hole opening up in the middle of the altar, and the Devil himself ascending. The chanting continued.
    “Asmodeus!” Boone continued.
    “ Asmodeus!”
    “ Abaddon!”
    “ Abaddon!” the group shouted back.
    Silence swept over the mass like a plague. Not a word was whispered for at least a minute. Boone stood before the altar, his arms outstretched, as if he were a bird taking flight. After moments of standing like a statue, his eyes fluttered open. “Children of the Infernal Order, our Master is here with us. I can feel his spirit wander through our congregation, surveying the souls of those who worship him. Judging them. Deeming them worthy enough to carry out his commands. Are thee worthy enough to satisfy our Master's biding?”
    “We are worthy!” the Order of the Black Book responded.
    “ Are thee worthy enough to seek the truth, and dispel the lies of the so-called All-Mighty one, the one who refers to Himself as the Creator of our World.”
    “ We are worthy!”
    “ Are thee worthy enough to proceed in the learnings of the Black Book, learn the ways of the Infernal One, and put to use its knowledge and awesome power, not for personal affairs, but for the affairs of our diabolical king. Lucifer domini.”
    “ We are worthy!”
    I slouched further in my seat. Petrified, I didn't utter a single sound.
    “My children, long will live the days when the heavens rain blood and the Creator's sky is filled with locusts. That much I promise you. With our Master on our side we will conquer the impending doom this planet waits upon. We will never suffer disease or famine, never will our Lord judge us, or condemn us, throw us to the side like unwanted toys. Never will our Lord leave us in darkness, for he is the Bringer of Light.”
    I checked my watch to see how much more of this nonsense I'd have to suffer through. It had only been fifteen minutes. It can't last longer than an hour, I thought, hoping to sneak out unnoticed as soon as it ended.
    “ Let us give thanks to Satan, our Master,” Boone continued, holding a chalice up in the air as if it were a trophy. “We will drink the blood of the two-horned demigod to celebrate our Order.” He drank from the glass, wiped his mouth with a black cloth. “Let us align,” he told the people in the pews. They rose, lining up in front of the altar like Catholics during the Eucharist.
    As the line began to move, I noticed the girl in the black sweatshirt rising from her seat. Instead of jumping on the end of the line to receive the goat's blood, she removed herself from the ceremony. I watched her head toward the exit. Before disappearing through the double doors, she caught me staring. I quickly turned my attention to the floor. She was pretty, around the same age as me. Upper twenties. No way she was over thirty. After she left I looked back at the exit. I wished I could have followed her, but I knew I had to stay. At least a little while longer. I was hoping I could catch Olberstad and Aunt Danica in the parking lot, smooching perhaps. I could snap a few pictures, give them to Uncle Bernie, and be done with this detective bullshit.
    My