The Diablo Horror (The River Book 7) Read Online Free Page A

and it would make matters worse. So you’ll just have to trust me and
be patient if I talk in code.”
    “Grandpa Roy seems to know what you’re talking about,” Jason
said. “So it’s just me who’s in the dark.”
    “No,” Roy said, turning to Jason. “I know who he’s talking
about, but I don’t know the details of what he has to do. I’m as much in the
dark as you on that.”
    “You mentioned an object,” Jason said. “What is it?”
    “It’s called an Agimat,” Steven said. “No idea what it does.”
    “It wards off evil spirits,” Jason said. “It’s Filipino. They
call them anting-anting.”
    Roy turned to Steven, surprised. He turned back to Jason.
“How’d you know that?”
    “I dated a Filipino girl once,” Jason said. “She had one.
Wore it around her neck, even during sex. It was bugging the hell out of me, so
I asked her what it was and why she wouldn’t take it off. She said there had
been an evil spirit that followed her family for generations, making them sick
and poor. She was very sincere about it. And she would not take it off.”
    “Well, this particular Agimat,” Steven said, “seems to have
the ability to return to its owner. And I was warned that it was recharging.”
    “Oh yeah, the holiday,” Jason said.
    “What?” Roy asked. Now he felt like the one in the dark.
    “Supposedly Agimats recharge every year between Good Friday
and Easter,” Jason answered. “Or so she said. I’ll bet there’s plenty of info
about them on the internet. I could pull it up on my phone and show you, but I
forgot to bring it.”
    “That’s got to have something to do with his accelerated
timetable,” Steven muttered to himself, hoping Roy would hear him but not
Jason. Jason had insisted he come along, and Roy supported the idea. But both
Steven and Roy agreed Jason wasn’t ready to know about Eximere, and Steven was
under obligation to the demon to keep the terms of their deal secret. Talking
to Jason about anything they were currently doing was proving to be very
difficult.
    “So we’re going to Diablo to hunt for this thing?” Roy asked.
“Do we know what it looks like?”
    “It’s a square, flat metal piece about an inch wide, with red
markings,” Steven said, “attached to a leather necklace. So I assume, like
Jason said, it’s meant to be worn around the neck.” For some reason he involuntarily
thought of the Agimat being worn by a naked woman, the amulet dangling between
her breasts. Must be Jason’s story, he thought, shaking his head.
    “And do we know where in Diablo it is?” Roy asked.
    “No,” Steven said. “We don’t. We’re going to have to do some
detective work.”
    “Well, that shouldn’t be too hard,” Roy said. “It’s not very
big.”
    “I’d been to Diablo Lake with friends,” Jason said. “I didn’t
realize there was a town called Diablo.”
    “It’s hard to call it a town,” Roy replied. “It’s strictly a
company town, not more than a couple dozen houses, tucked at the bottom of
Diablo dam. Only employees of the utility that built the dam live there.”
    “You-know-who said that because it was recharging, the owner
of it would be active,” Steven said. “Whatever that means. And he said to use
caution.”
    “Could mean anything,” Roy said. “I guess we’ll see. And when
we find it, what then?”
    “He said to bring it back to my house in Seattle,” Steven
answered. “I presume that meant he’d take it from there. And that should
complete the deal.”
    “Hmm,” Roy said, leaning back in his seat and looking out the
passenger window. Tall evergreens lined the freeway as they sped toward
Everett, but Roy didn’t seem to be seeing them. Steven knew he was kicking
around what he’d told him. He probably thinks it’s a trap, Steven
thought.
    “And Eliza?” Roy asked, turning back.
    “Still in the hospital,” Steven said. “I called just before
we left. Too weak to speak, so I talked to Joe. I’m guessing