pistol. Stepped forward, pointing the gun in the
direction of the sound.
I waited until he’d stopped and listened three
more times before hissing again. This time he let
out a curse and pressed his belly up against the
iron bars of the gate, eyes wide with suspicion and
anxiety. He raised the weapon, moved it in an arc
like a turret gunner.
When the barrel was pointing away from me I
rushed him, grabbed the gun arm and yanked it
forward through the bars. A sharp perpendicular
twist against the metal made him cry out in pain
and drop the weapon. I put my fist in his solar
plexus and as he gasped, employed a little trick I’d
learned rom Jaroslav, Grabbing his neck, I felt for
the right places, found them, squeezed and shut
down his carotid arteries.
The choke-hold worked quickly. He went limp.
and passed out. As consciousness departed, his body
grew heavy in my grasp. I struggled to keep my
284 Jonathan KellZn’man
hold on him and lowered him carefully to theground.
It was tricky working through the bars but } managed
to roll him over and loosen the drawstrings of
the stash bag. The yield: a roll of breath mints, a
small sack of sunflower seeds, and a ring of keys.
I left him ‘the snacks, took the keys and unlocked
the gates. After retrieving the tools and the pistol, I
walked trough, closed and relocked the gates.
Stripping Graffius was harder than it looked. I
used his clothes tohind his arms and legs. By the
time I’d finished t’,as breathing hard, After ensuring
that his nasal ,passages were clear I gagged him
with one of h’lss,
H ‘
‘
e d be c i:axound soon and I didn’t want
him discov :0.5t lifted him over my shoulder
and carried ‘ihimof-f.the path, stepping into the bed
of succglents. The Phats sqUished underfoot, moist
and cold nst my ttaserlegs. I took him through
to where-e/iooded.ea began, continued several
Yard, and.-do. ! between two redwoods.
Gather’mgmy tools I.began-the walk to the Retreat.
A pale amber light shone above the door of the
cathedral. The crucifix seemed to float above the
.belfry. A pair of male cultists patrolled the entrance
at- ten minute intervals.
I took my time crossing the viaduct, crouching to
avoid detection, concealing myself behi.qd the col-urnns
of the arbor. An arched gate was set into the
wall to the right of the main building. When the
time was right I made a run for it, found it unlocked,
and walked through.
I was in one of the many courtyards I’d noticed
during my first vi a grassy rectangle rimmed on
three sides by a h :edge of eugenia. The church wall
BLOOD TEST 285
formed the fourth. At the far . of the lawn. was a
brass-topped sundial.
Draperies had been .drawh ow
windows, but a crescent of
and whitened the grass. I bounded-
the windows were too high to see through, the
stucco walls free of toeholds.
I searched for somethi’ng to stand on, saw only
the sundial. It was solid stone, far too heavy to
carry. Boots had wrapped themselves around the
base. By rocking it back and forth I vOas able to ‘free
it from its earthly mooring. Laboriously I rolled it
to-the window, hoisted myself up, and peeked in
through folds of brocade.
The huge domed room was brightly lit, the biblical
murals vivid to the point of vulgarity. Matthias
sat in-its center, cross-legged and naked, on a padded
mat. His long body was as thin as a fakir’s, s6 pounds
and pale. Other mats ringed the periphery of the
cathedral. Cultists squatted on them, fully garbed,
men to the left, women to the right.
The pine table that had been at the center of the
roo. m during my first visit was pushed back behind
the guru. One of the men–the black-bearded giant
from the vineyardJstood by it. Several red porcelain
bowls sat on the table. I wondered what was in
them.
Matthias meditated.
The flock waited silently and patiently as their
shepherd retreated into an internal world, eyes
closed, palms pressed together. He swayed and
hummed and his penis began to harden, tilting upward.