When Laila turned into the Hollow Valley car park, she had not been bothered by any laughter since meeting the hare.
A good sign.
Amazed, Laila saw that many vehicles had already been parked in the parking lot.
She parked in a vacant space and slowly got out of the Porsche.
The parking lot was not lit and was on the edge of a dense forest.
Laila could not make out lights far and wide.
She stepped to the rear of the Porsche and leaned against the bumper.
From her coat pocket, she pulled another pack of cigarettes and lit the glow stick.
No human, except her.
Where would the others be?
Where was Atibor?
It could not be too late.
Atibor had written 23:00 clock on the slip.
She had turned into the parking lot at 10:40 pm.
Two headlights divided the darkness and blinded Laila.
She shielded her eyes with one hand.
The car stopped in the middle of the parking lot.
The passenger door flew open and a figure got out.
The car sat back with screeching tires and glided elegantly into a parking space.
The figure approaching them was illuminated by the flashing headlights of the parked car.
She distinguished herself as a shadow outline before Laila.
The graceful passage could only belong to one woman.
The figure was only a few meters away from Laila .
Laila recognised the redhead that Atibor had passionately kissed in the bar.
As a precaution, Laila turned on nonsense and was surprised when the redhead spoke to her kindly.
" Atibor has announced you, would you please take off your coat, I need to make sure that you are absolutely clean. "
Laila crossed his arms in disapproval of his chest. "I beg your pardon?"
"No weapons, no bugs, ..." She shrugged. "... we have to be careful."
Almost apologetically, she added, "Nobody has been invited so quickly to a secret meeting, and Atibor says the devil sent you personally."
She looked at Laila expectantly.
Laila thought that Atibor was not so wrong with his assessment.
Reluctantly, she opened her coat and laid it on the back of the Porsche.
The redhead looked intently at Sam's naked body.
"You're beautiful, my name is Lola."
"I am Linda."
"Fine, Linda, I'll touch you now, if you're nice, we'll finish quickly and join the others."
"Where are the others? Where is Atibor?"
"Later, first I have to be sure."
Laila spread her arms and stood with legs apart.
Lola began to feel her body.
She stroked her hands over every inch of her bare skin.
They slid from her shoulders over her breasts down to her hips.
"You have a fragrant scent."
Laila was silent.
"Turn around please."
Laila obeyed and drew in a sharp breath as Lola's fingers grabbed her from behind her legs and slid up through her buttocks.
"Sorry, but we've seen the most unlikely things here, you're clean, let's go."
Laila grabbed her coat.
"Leave him here." Lola took off her coat and put it over the Porsche as well.
Laila followed Lola down a narrow path.
They were slow in the dark.
Her soles hurt.
The floor was covered with branch pieces and small stones.
Lola did not seem to mind.
Grimly Laila thought that she had probably gone this way a number of times and her soles were covered with a thick horny layer.
"Hey, how far is it?" Lola looked around for the stumbling Laila .
She gestured with her arm along the way.
"We'll be right there, is it still possible, I promise you, the effort will be worth it."
"What's going on in front?"
Lola looked at her with a smile. "Your consecration."
"My what ...?"
Lola rolled her eyes annoyed. "Your consecration, or do you not want to become a member of our community?"
"For that I should know what you are for a community." Laila snapped.
Lola continued on her way. "We look after each other, spend a lot of time on our farm ..."
Laila listened to a farm? Maybe the place where Tamara was imprisoned?
"Do you live there like the Amish people?"
Lola's laughter drifted through the night like a bell.
"No, we appreciate the comforts of the modern world, we meditate a lot and try to reach a higher level, so that, like our guide, we can communicate with the devil."
"You believe in the devil? Sounds crazy."
"By no means, all signs indicate that he will soon take his rightful place in the universe."
"Of course, and he'll burn our asses all over, and purgatory ..." Lola whizzed around.
Laila saw her eyes glitter fanatically in the darkness.
Their faces were only inches from each other.
"Be glad that Atibor thinks you could be important, otherwise I would have ripped your dangerous tongue out long ago."
Laila looked calmly at Lola.
"I do not believe in the devil."
"Oh, trust it, you'll believe in it, you'll feel it." Lola went on.
Laila was still pondering Lola's words.
What should she feel and what was a consecration?
Why Atibor thought her important was clear to Laila .
If he had checked her—and Laila was sure he had done just that - he would know, thanks to Benedict's computer genius, that Linda was currently a millionaire.
He would also know that Linda had been in a psychiatric hospital several times and had twice committed suicide attempts.
Light food for Atibor.
But if it went to Laila , he should suffocate at the first bite.
Lola stopped abruptly, so that Laila almost ran into her.
"We are there."
Laila peered past Lola and saw a large clearing in the forest, framed by numerous small light sources. Laila guessed that it was an earthenware oil container, because it did not smell like burned wood and an electric light source in the middle of the forest was unlikely.
At the end of the illuminated circle, Laila saw a huge altar-like structure, which was completely covered with a black cloth.
There was no human presence except Lola and her.
Laila swallowed dry, she did not like that at all.
"Where are the others? Where is Atibor?"
"The others are with the sacrifice, and Atibor never knows whether he is attending consecration."
Laila's nerve endings began to vibrate.
The victim? Tamara! And she stood around naked and without weapons.
If she was lucky, 'the others' were not many people, maybe just women who Laila could turn off in combat.
It started best with Lola.
Laila tensed her muscles.
Suddenly she heard loud cracking in the undergrowth.
Lola and Laila both looked in the direction the sounds came from.
"They are there." Lola stepped into the clearing.
A group of about 20 women and men, all naked, stepped into the clearing.
In tow, a ram's goat, which they led on a rope.
Laila sent a blessing to Heaven - the beast should be sacrificed, not Tamara.
After she had recovered, she followed Lola and walked towards the group.
The women and men looked at Laila curiously.
More and more people came to the clearing, 20 - 30 - 40 - maybe more.
In spite of their nudity, they all moved naturally, as if the most normal thing in the world was to be naked in the middle of a forest late at night.
The ram was passed close to Laila , in the middle of the clearing.
Laila saw the massive, curved horns and muscles working under the brown fur.
She looked after him and had to resist a laugh.
The buck's big buckle rocked between his legs.
Lola joined Laila .
"We start."
"By which?" Lola grabbed her upper arm.
"The ritual, just watch and enjoy it."
She smiled mysteriously.
Laila followed her.
The present men and women had formed a circle around the ram.
Laila was placed in a circle just before the head of Aries.
Lola stepped in the middle to the animal.
She raised both arms over her head and began to speak in a clear voice.
"Prince of Darkness, look to your disciples, we have come to pay homage to you ..."
Laila felt the fingers of the men to the right and left of her interlocked.
The circle mumbled in one voice. "Satan, enlighten us."
"... you are the truth, the understanding, the power ..."
"Satan, enlighten us."
"... see this strong animal, you are not allowed to take possession of your body ..."
"Satan, enlighten us."
"... we are your tool, your gateway to our midst ..."
"Satan, enlighten us."
The crowd started to beat rhythmically.
Laila stared spellbound at Lola and the ram.
An elderly woman with drooping breasts and Gray pubic hair approached Lola and handed her a large dagger.
She picked up a bowl that had been at Lola's feet, removed the blood-red cloth that carried the three intricate 6's, the symbol of Symbolia, and stepped toward a woman standing in the circle about 3 meters from Laila , She held the bowl out to the woman.
She bent her head low over the shell and audibly inhaled six times.
The older woman moved clockwise toward Laila and repeated the process in front of each person.
Hold the bowl, dip the head, inhale six times.
Laila watched curiously as the man on his right leaned his head low over the bowl and inhaled.
When he raised his head, he looked at Laila for a moment.
His eyes were cloudy, his features relaxed.