Chapter 3

Later that morning, Ed was finishing up the last lube job of the day and was about to start repairs on a huge luxury Imperial. The sun was extraordinarily hot that day and he had been drinking cold soda from the machine, one right after the other. His frustrating quarrel with Marion the night before clung to his mind; he still felt angry and hurt, and could not understand his wife's fascination with the occult. To him it seemed she was being totally foolish, and that the whole business was a way her mother had devised to drive a wedge between them and ruin their good marriage.

Christ, I'd of thought giving her a fuck like that would have knocked some sense into the broad. I don't know what the hell's wrong with her!

He loved his wife deeply, but he had to admit that there was now a rift growing between them and he felt she was to blame. After all, he had been patient at the beginning, but now he had no more time for nonsense. It was the busiest season at the garage and after a hard day's work he didn't want to put up with a lot of crap.

He had just raised the hood of the big car that was parked inside the garage, when a loud insistent beeping started out near the pumps.

Who the hell's that, he thought.

"Hold your horses," he shouted, "I'll be right out."

Damn! Why is it that half the time I'm the only one in this goddamn garage. With all the work there is, the boss should hire at least five more guys!

Muttering under his breath, and wiping the sweat from his forehead with a large red handkerchief he kept in his pocket, he walked outside.

A compact convertible, late model, was parked by the premium gas pump. At the sight of the driver, Ed almost dropped the handkerchief from his hand.

It was a redheaded girl, about twenty-three, with an exotic face. Ed guessed that she must be foreign, maybe from Europe. He could only make out the upper half of her body in the car, but the short, tight halter she wore revealed her round, pointed breasts, and the skin he could see was as white as milk. The combination of her flaming hair, her pale, translucent skin, and the bright green of her eyes made Ed gasp; he felt an immediate attraction to this strange, radiant creature. He could feel his cock harden in the tight, oil-stained dungarees.

"Fill her up?" he asked, as he approached the car.

"Please do," the girl said, in a soft, melodious voice.

In that moment, their eyes met and there was an electric charge between them. It seemed forever before they broke contact, and in that time Ed felt himself become flushed with excitement. He moved to the rear of the car and opened the gas tank.

That's some gorgeous broad, he thought. Christ, I've got a hard-on already. She's really something.

Yet, despite his attraction for the girl, he felt suddenly guilty as the face of his pretty blonde wife flashed into his mind.

Well, hell he said to himself, if she can go gallivanting around to all these crazy cult-shops, then why can't I have an extracurricular activity of my own? Sure, why not?

But immediately he tried to put these thoughts out of his mind. He had a lot of work to do and he knew if he started daydreaming about screwing every chick who drove into the station he'd not only ruin the work schedule, but take a big chance on really messing things up with his wife. Instinctively he felt he should reject these wild ideas and concentrate on the problems at hand. Still he had to admit, the girl in the car was exceptionally beautiful and seemed to find him attractive too. He slid the curved metal tube from the gas pump into the car's tank and watched thoughtfully as the thick golden liquid poured into the tank.

In the front seat, the redheaded girl has been speculating about Ed in much the same way as he was thinking about her. She had been immediately attracted to his boyish good looks and strong build. There was something about him, she felt, something that had immediately charged her body with alertness.

He looks so sexy in those tight dungarees, she thought wickedly, and I'm sure he's got a hard-on!

There had been something about the thought of his lust- hardened genitals stuffed into the tight, dirty denim that she found irresistible. He was so muscular, and had that look she liked about men who worked at hard physical labor. There was a crudeness, a rough-hewn quality that was highly appealing to her. She could almost feel her body begin to twitch with excitement and high up between her thighs she felt the warm, wetness come oozing down at the thought of this handsome garage attendant.

Well, take it as it happens. There's no sense getting all excited if it isn't going to come to anything.

Ed finished with the gas, replaced the hose, and walked around to the front of the car.

"Charge or cash?" he asked.

"Charge," she said, rummaging in her huge purse to find her charge-card. "Damn, it's in here somewhere. I've got so much junk in this bag it's just impossible to find anything."

"That's okay," Ed said, smiling. His eyes roved down inside the car and riveted hungrily on her long, slender legs fully revealed by the short shorts she was wearing.

Look at those gams, he bought. Man, what I wouldn't give to lick those sweet legs all the way up into that snooty little pussy of hers.

Glancing up at the dash board, he was suddenly struck by a strange object that was swinging on a chain from the rear view mirror. It was a dagger-like object with two rings at the top.

"Say, what's that?" he asked pointing to it. "I've seen one of those things before."

"That's the symbol for the group I'm with," she said. "It's called the Sign of Vallus."

"Sign of Vallus?" he repeated. "Now why do I know that name?"

He thought for a moment then realized that he had seen the symbol on the cover of the pamphlet that had caused the quarrel with his wife the night before.

"Oh," he said, "now I remember. That's all that voodoo crap."

The girl suddenly became angry.

"Crap? Well, I don't think so. I happen to take it very seriously! Vallus has changed my life, and I think before you go around condemning something you ought to find out what it is!"

"Hey, don't get all upset," Ed said, trying to calm her down. "I didn't mean to condemn it. I just don't believe in that stuff! Maybe it's all right for other people, but not for me!"

"How do you know?" the redhead said, raising her eyebrows slightly and gazing steadily into his eyes. "Ever tried it?"

"Huh?"

"How do you know there's nothing in it for you. It seems to me you protest a little too much. Maybe if you found out a little more about these things instead of shouting at people you might pick up a thing or two."

Ed was completely taken back by her words. She handed him the charge card imperiously and he turned away in a huff to stamp the receipt in the office.

"Yeah... well, maybe so..." he mumbled as he moved inside. He had just put the card on the machine when he heard a car suddenly drive out of the gas station with a squeal of tires.

"What the..." he said, his jaw hanging open. "That dumb bitch didn't even wait for her card. Christ!"

He glanced down at the name on the charge-plate. It read LORRAINE HOLZMAN. Ed stared at the card, puzzling over his strange exchange with the girl. For some reason he found himself vividly recalling that strange talisman that hung from her mirror, and although he still felt it was all rubbish he nevertheless was drawn to the strange shape of the thing and to the intensity of belief that the girl seemed to have. A compelling idea began to take hold of him.

Maybe, he thought, maybe I ought to find out more about this damn group. After all, if Marion decides she's going to get involved, the only way I can stop her is if I know first-hand what a bunch of baloney it is. Yeah, that's it. I'll return this chick's card in person and find out what the hell's going on with this Vallus thing...

Still sprawled on the carpeted floor of the incense-laden room, Marion had fallen into a light sleep. As she slept, Raoul had slipped quietly out of the room and was in the adjacent storeroom with his mother, who had long since returned from her errands.

"Just let me get this camera loaded with this film," she was saying, "and we'll be all set."

"Hail Vallus," Raoul said, jokingly.

His mother smiled at him.

"You're such a good son," she said, as she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "Soon we'll have enough money to get out of this hellish city. Maybe we'll go to Acapulco. Or Europe! That would be nice."

She finished inserting the film into the camera and than placed it on the strange-looking device sitting on a nearby table.

"The automatic timer is working perfectly, that means that once I start it, it will take pictures all by itself. I don't have to do a thing but watch."

They both laughed.

"Now," she continued, "let's see how our little housewife is doing."

She drew aside a row of curtains that hung over most of the wall facing the camera. The next room, the worship chamber, was fully revealed, and they could see Marion sprawled lewdly on the floor.

"The joys of a two-way mirror," Raoul said, gazing longingly at the sleek, white body.

"Our smartest investment," Alida said.

As they watched Marion from the other room, they could see her begin to twitch slightly, as if on the verge of waking up. Her slender, voluptuous body was undulating slowly, still caught in the thrall of what had taken place only minutes before. Her large, red-tipped breasts rose and fell like waves of the ocean. At the sight of her warm, squirming body, Raoul felt his thick shaft spring to life once more. The excitement of having new flesh to explore had charged him with sensuality, and he was anxious to give full vent to his obscene desires.

"Well," Alida said, noticing her son's gently bobbing penis, "time to go back to work eh?"

"Yes..." he said, fondling himself slightly to increase his desire, "but this time she's going to do the work while I lay back and enjoy it."

"Yes, son, don't over-exert yourself. You'll spoil your looks." She reached out and patted her son's dark curling locks with her hands. "And we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"

"No, mother," he said, a leering smile spreading across his face, "Definitely not."

He turned and moved out of the room. Watching his slim naked body retreating from her, Alida sighed, as her own still- responsive body became somewhat excited by her son's young, manly buttocks bobbing as he walked, and the way the light fell across the silky fine skin of his tightly-muscled back. The door closed as he left the room, and she turned her attention to the camera, checking it again for possible mechanical flaws, and gazing through the two-way mirror at the scene that was about to unfold inside.

Raoul slipped inside the room and lay down next to Marion. He hadn't been this excited in weeks; suddenly, from nowhere, was a new disciple, a new toy for his pleasure. It was times like this he relished most, when his sense of potency and power was at its peak.

Lying spread-eagled and naked on the rug, Marion was awakened by the feeling of Raoul's hot, wet tongue forcing its way into her mouth. His body was pressed against hers, and she could feel his hard cock digging into her thigh. At first she was confused and frightened, and tried to resist him.

"Surrender to Vallus," Raoul said, soothingly, "Surrender, surrender."

Marion realized where she was. Yet, she remembered, only minutes ago she had surrendered to that strange demi-god at Raoul's insistence. Wasn't that enough? Was there still more required? She tried pulling away from him again to question him further about the cult.

"Raoul... please..." she said.

"Why do you resist?" he asked. "I told you to surrender, to give yourself completely to the will of Vallus. Separate from the ego! Lose yourself in Vallus."

"I... I'm... I'm tired..." she stammered, "and I should get home soon... "

Raoul's eyes burned with fiery anger.

"So! You are nothing more than a terrified small-minded person! Is that it? You come here to make a mockery of us, despite your calling! Despite the fact that you are a chosen creature of Vallus. DO YOU WISH THE CURSE OF VALLUS TO DESCEND ON YOU FOREVER? DO YOU?" He was screaming at her, his eyes bulging with rage.

"No... no," Marion replied, cringing in terror. "I want to do what's right. Please believe me, I do."

"THEN SURRENDER! SURRENDER!" he shouted.

Marion was exhausted by his insistence, and felt herself submitting completely once again.

"All right..." she said weakly. "I surrender... I give myself to Vallus..."

"Good... good," he said softly. "Trust. Trust. You will be purified. You will be saved. Trust in Vallus. Hail Vallus..."

"Hail Vallus," Marion repeated, hypnotically.

He took her head in his hands and kissed her violently. They both fell back on the floor, their two hot naked bodies were crushed together. Marion thought she would smother from the intensity of his kiss but she did not resist.