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.He had turned his body to face Whistler, sohis back was to January as he counted the upraised hands:Whistler,Lourdes ,Sherman , Louise,Henderson , Augie."Six," he managed tosay."It's a tie." Then came a tap on the shoulder.He twisted around to faceJanuary."Sorry, Nick," she said, gazing implacably into his eyes as she slowly raisedher hand."Seven, then," Whistler said briskly."All opposed?"Nick found himself counting again, as if somehow the principles of additionand subtraction had slipped out of whack along with the rest of his universe.There were only four hands raised this time: Beverly, Toshi, Sandy,Sally.Seven and four makes eleven, he thought dully.But there are twelve ofus.Page 156 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThen he remembered but just as he started to raise his own hand, he heardWhistler's mocking voice again."Now now, Nick why don't you show a littleclass like I did, and abstain from voting for yourself? After all, it won'tmake any difference& All right, have it your way: the vote is seven to five.See you in six months, pal."ButLourdes was whispering something into his ear.Whistler inclined his headto her like a witness conferring with his lawyer at a congressional hearing,covered his mouth with his cupped hand as he replied, then addressed Nickdirectly again."Lourdessuggests that your hiatus should run, not from today,but from the date of your transgression.That way you'll be reinstated in timeto attend our wedding in June."With a sweep of his hand he included the rest of the membership: "If that'sall right with the rest of you, that is.We're planning a June wedding up atTahoe.You're all invited, of course we'll be sending out invitations soon,but in the meantime, just hold Midsummer that's the solstice open."Whistler glanced behind him."Oh Nick? You can put your hand down anytime.It's all over now."Nick looked up at his own hand in the air.Somewhere in the distanceBeverlywas shouting, but it all seemed so far removed.He remembered feeling likethis once before, back in 'Nam, during his only skirmish alongside theMontagnards he'd heard the distant popping sound of a rifle, and it was notuntil he'd fired off an entire clip that he recognized from the subsequentsilence that it had been his own weapon.Slowly he lowered his hand.If he had any thought at all as he pushed himselfback from the table and rose to his feet, it was some vague notion of leavingwith a shred of dignity.But even that last hope was not moored firmly enoughagainst the wave of rage that washed over him at the sight of Whistler's nextgracefully understated gesture a little bye-bye flick of the long fingers, andan infinitesimal lift of the yellow eyebrows.The son of a bitch is dyeing his eyebrows too, was Nick's last thought beforehe launched himself across the table.After that, only red rage, a hunger forWhistler's throat between his hands, then the sensation of flying an oddlypeaceful feeling, even as the room turned upside down around him.Chapter 4ONE"Good evening, everyone," began Selene, looking around the keeping room,which had been remodeled into a low amphitheater with three horseshoe-shapedtiers lined with velveteen-covered cushions (red paisley: red to camouflagethe bloodstains, paisley for the come) surrounding an orgy pit of foam palletsand leather bolsters."I'd like to welcome you to the celebration of thevernal equinox.As I promised those of you who were with us at the Coven'slast gathering back in February I think that's most of you on Candlemas, whichwas a celebration of the Goddess renewing herself and reembodying herself as avirgin, tonight's celebration centers around spring, and a ceremony of renewalto honor the coupling of the Goddess with the Lord of the Green, also known asthe Goat-God, Pan& so it should be a lot more fun& than Candlemas."Selene paused for a breath, relieved to have worked her way back to heroriginal sentence.After twenty years as High Priestess, she was still notPage 157 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcomfortable with public speaking.And this was a larger crowd thanusual arrayed before her across the top two tiers of cushions were the fullCoven, including the first-level initiates, each in her green hooded robe slitup the crotch and sides, and the reestablished Penang (which by nowencompassed the entire membership of V.A.with the exception of Nick andBeverly) in their crimson satin robes with crotch-high easy-access placketsfore and aft."Before we get started," Selene continued, "let me remind you of a fewthings.Firstly, the vernal equinox is all about the Horned Hunter roaming thegreenwood hitting on everything that moves.He and the Goddess don't settledown until Beltane, so please, couples? no sneaking away."Secondly, let's not be rigid about our roles Jamey, don't snicker, it'sunbecoming.You know what I mean.Women, feel free to embody Pan; there areall sorts of phalluses in the cabinets at the side of the room.And men,rememberyoudon't need any extra equipment to embody the Goddess; lubricantsand lotions are also available in the cabinets."Thirdly, the Coven has already completed the solemn part of the ritual,so everybody? just relax and have some fun."She caught Whistler's eye and nodded.He andLourdes rose from their seats inthe middle of the top tier, and holding each other's hands for balance, withtheir feet sinking into the soft cushions, they descended tier by tier untilthey were standing next to Selene."Our host and hostess have volunteered tokick things off," she announced unnecessarily, then closed her eyes and heldboth arms out from her sides, palms up St.Theresa again.Whistler knelt on one side of her,Lourdes at the other; they pushed up thesleeves of her gown, and then with his scalpel Whistler opened a small vein onone wrist whileLourdes wielded a miniature Luzan machete on the other.Together they performed the trick at which Nick had so excelled: they filledtheir mouths with blood, then turned to the serried ranks of witches andvampires, and let a few ceremonial drops trickle down their chins beforeswallowing the rest.They drank for another few seconds, then closed the finely slitted woundswith a firm pressure of their thumbs as Selene slowed her breathing andheartbeat to assist the clotting.Then she opened her eyes and addressed theassembly: "By the way, dearies, I almost forgot I'm still under my vow ofcelibacy, so I'll just be a spectator tonight."Whistler, ever the gentleman, led the others in a disappointedAwww.Selenebowed, and swatted him across his crimson-swathed behind before hiking up herrobe and ascending to the top row of the keeping room, just under thelozenge-shaped domed ceiling, which had been newly painted with a pastelfrieze of nymphs and satyrs the usual gambol no vampires.The colors,turquoise sky and mango sunset clouds, were pure Maxfield Parrish, illuminatedby glowing panels of light all the way around the base of the dome; ducts setbetween the light panels wafted in warm scented air.By the time she'd turned around,Lourdes had already pulled her robe over herhead, eliciting a gasp from the rapt audience
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