The Unblessed Ch. 10

 This chapter supports my observation that Collin sucks at plans.

It starts off with a dream - Smith and Raymond telling Collin to "go back". So when he wakes up he flies back to Montana with no word left to his friends.

So naturally we join him three weeks later in Louisville, Kentucky. We get a long, drawn-out scene where Collin quizzes an old miner who used to work in the Newhope mines back in Montana. The mine closed, and his son was killed, when part of it flooded. Collin has maps and gets some inside information on where the entrances are and what tunnel connects where. I just summarized seven pages of mine talk. You're welcome.

Meanwhile, Samantha has been making the satanic cult rounds in an attempt to find the particular one they want. We don't get any insight into how you find hedonistic cults. It's just that she has "contacts". She meets Denver McGhee at "a tacky bar on Fifth Street, and talked for a time over a couple of weak martinis." p.313 Her thoughts indicate that she has been through this routine with other possible leads a number of times and is not looking forward to him putting the moves on her, especially when he invites her to his "temple". But when they get there she finds it quite nice and sporting "a garage containing a variety of expensive and elegant automobiles."

Inside is as elegant as outside and "one of the most beautifully decorated houses the young anthropologist had ever seen". There are a lot of people about, of all types, just relaxing mainly.

"Denver called to a beautiful black girl, clad in the skimpiest possible bathing suit." p.315 I just want to remind you it's January in New York "on the outskirts of the city". Anyway, she's Jenny and she serves no purpose here.

Denver gets them a couple of drinks, goes into the office not of "the master" but of the "master's guardian" so you know she's in the right place. He makes his formal introduction of Samantha, who is calling herself Carol Cooper and she heads in to face the man alone for a cult interview. It is, in fact, Mr. G.

"She realized with something of a shock that this man was handsome, profoundly so, and there was something in the way he idly held the pen in his hand that bespoke elegance and breeding." p.318 No mention of his Latin looks? I'm disappointed.

Mr. G, of course, (and I don't know why this wasn't planned for) immediately starts probing her mind and discovers she's an imposter. Because that's the biggest terror that this whole affair brings with it: the fact that this demon has and imparts the ability to read and control minds. Maybe Collin forget to really hammer that point home before running off to play lone hero.

However, Mr. G is intrigued by this new woman. She's not like the other "shallow and oblivious" people who come seeking a loose, hedonistic lifestyle. There's something different about her. For one thing "this woman knew who and what he was."

This is an interview, though, so Samantha Carol gets to ask questions to determine if she really wants to join. His group follows Satan who "Through the worship of the master, as we know him, the ordinary problems of life are swept away, and the rewards are great...alliance with the master brings with it real, tangible rewards. Gratification is instant..." p.321

Just as Samantha is finding Collin's enemy to be very smooth and urbane and intelligent and, let us not forget, good-looking, so too does Mr. G think "Carol" is pretty rad. "She was far more complex and powerful than the hollow females who usually found their way to his dens." p.321 Well, maybe if you had a business that didn't truck in people who want no responsibilities and instant gratification in return for giving up control of their lives to a being that is seen as the one responsible for all evil maybe you'd meet nicer girls.

"Here was someone who, if he were still mortal, he could have loved." So, great, this is heading in a direction I didn't anticipate. I don't know why; I should have seen this coming. Mr. G has a crush on Samantha, same as Hunt and Collin. Anywho, he begs off answering any specific questions about what kind of ceremonies they perform and lets her know they'll be leaving for more private accommodations soon. He lets her get a glimpse of the map of the Newhope Mine on his desk and she takes her leave.

"It was then that she became aware of an intriguing truth about the Guardian: His presence was most acutely sensed when it was withdrawn." p.324

Back to Collin in "a filthy garage he had rented in the outskirts of New York City." He's working on some machinery and a truck and who knows what else. He calls up Dan Hunt to ask if he and Samantha want to have dinner so I guess he's been in contact with them. Unfortunately Samantha left for Montana six hours ago because she got a call from Chris (remember his first name?) telling her to meet him there. Collin swears it wasn't him, Dan rewinds his voice recorder that he was using to dictate notes and realizes that the phone never actually rang. The demon (or Mr. G?) has discovered their location and used telepathy to make them think there was a phone call.

Dan is understandably pissed when Collin reveals that he's known for weeks that the demon was still in Melville. Collin tells him that he left an envelope with instructions in it behind their TV. Dan has to get out now and meet Collin in Montana to rescue Samantha. Suddenly Collin says someone is coming, Dan hears gunshots and Collin screaming. Horrified, he realizes that someone is also coming for him, and grabbing his gun, he makes his way to a balcony and down a rope.

Back to Collin in the garage. He faked the whole attack to make Dan think he was on his own, for reasons. He isn't happy that the timeline of his plan has accelerated but he hopes Dan follows his marching orders. Collin sets out to finish his preparations and pack.

I feel like a lot of their problems involve lack of clear communication and remembering that their enemy can influence minds.