CHAPTER THIRTY‑FOUR

Cordie, lying belly‑ down among the impaled heads, heard the roar of Manfred Krull. It came from far in the distance.

But she knew he would soon arrive.

Bringing new heads.

And he would find her.

She’d spoken his name to Lilly. The worst kind of luck. Some say he hears it if you say his name, and comes foryou.

Now he’s coming.

She raised her head. Beyond the pikes, the open field looked deserted. The others must have run when they heard him.

My chance!

They’ll all be hiding!

But if they catch me… Better they get me. Better anything than him.

At least she’d stand a chance, out in the woods. Maybe she could find Dad, and they’d escape together.

She glanced back at the cabin.

They might let her in, if she begged.

No. That’s the worst place to be, even worse than here in the heads.

The door couldn’t keep him out.

And they didn’t have the rifle, anymore. The big girl, Sherri, must have taken it. She’d seen Robbins and Neala come back to the door without her. Later, she’d heard a gunshot far away.

Somebody got Sherri.

Good.

The bitch had really hurt her with that poker–would have killed her if she could.

Good riddance.

The bitches deserve whatever they get. If they’d only come along with her, they’d all be safe now.

She looked again at the moonlit clearing. Again, she saw no Krulls. She’d better not go that way, though. The roar had come from that direction.

So she turned to her left, and began to crawl. She moved slowly, careful not to bump the poles. When she reached a pair too close together, she squeezed through on her side, her back rubbing one stick, her breasts brushing the other.

There were so many! They seemed endless.

But she kept moving, kept crawling, kept dragging herself forward.

Until a quiet sound stopped her.

The pop of a breaking stick.

She dropped to her side, and looked back.

Him!

Stabbing a cross into the ground near the place where she’d entered, so long ago.

How long had he been there?

As she watched, he raised a head high and rammed it down. It made a wet sound. Then he stripped the limbs from another stick. He lashed a crosspiece into place, and plunged the cross down. He shoved a head onto its tip.

Then he entered the field of crosses.

He glided through them, turning silently, never bumping a single cross.

Cordie watched, afraid to move.

How could he travel so fast, and not knock the heads off?

He is the Devil!

Suddenly, he turned toward Cordie.

He’d seen her!

She heard a tiny whine in her throat. Warm liquid spurted down her thigh.

Then he turned away.

She moaned with relief, and watched him move through the last of the heads.

The ground seemed to shake beneath her as he thundered Krull” and kicked open the cabin door.