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cover. There were only a few lights on in the park s trailers, and she hurried
past them to where her own windows flickered with the lonely blue of the
unwatched television. She looked past her house to the space where Steve
lay healing and noticed a figure out-lined in the fog. As she drew closer,
she could see that it
The Lust Lizard Of Melancholy Cove / 153
was not one person, but two, standing not twenty feet from the dragon
trailer. Her heart sank. She expected the beams of police flashlights to swing
through the fog any second, but the figures were just standing there. She
crept around the edge of her trailer, pressed so close that she could feel the
cold coming off the aluminum skin through her sweatshirt.
A woman s voice cut the fog,  Lord, we have heeded your call and come
unto you. Forgive us our casual attire, as our dry cleaner did close for the
weekend and we are left sorely without outfits with matching accessories.
It was the school prayer ladies, Katie and Marge, although Molly
wouldn t be able to tell which was which. They were wearing identical
pink jogging suits with matching Nikes. As she watched, the two women
moved closer to Steve, and Molly could see a rippling across the dragon
trailer.
 As our Lord Jesus did give His life for our sins, so we come unto Thee,
O Lord, to giveth of ourselves.
The end of the dragon trailer lost its angles to curves, and Molly could
see Steve s broad head extending, changing, the door going from a vertical
rectangle to a wide horizontal maw. The women seemed unaffected by the
change and continued to move slowly forward, silhouetted now by Steve s
jaws, which were opening like a toothed cavern.
Molly ran around her trailer and up the steps, reached in and grabbed
her broadsword which was leaned against the wall just inside the door,
and dashed back around the trailer and toward the Sea Beast.
Marge and Katie were almost inside of Steve s open mouth. Molly could
see his enormous tongue snaking out the side of his mouth, reaching behind
the church ladies to drag them in.
 No! Molly leapt from a full run, slamming between Marge and Katie
like a fullback leaping through blockers
154 / Christopher Moore
to the goal line, and smacked Steve on the nose with the flat of her sword.
She landed in his mouth and rolled clear to the ground just as his jaws
snapped shut behind her. She came up on one knee, holding the sword
pointed at Steve s nose.
 No! she said.  Bad dragon. Steve turned his head quizzically, as if
wondering what she was so upset about.
 Change back, Molly said, raising the sword as if to whack his nose
again. Steve s head and neck pulled back into the shape of a double-wide
trailer.
Molly looked back at the church ladies, who seemed very concerned
with having been knocked into the mud in their pink jogging suits, but
oblivious to the fact that they had almost been eaten.  Are you two okay?
 We felt the call, one of them said, either Marge or Katie, while the
other one nodded in agreement.  We had to come to give ourselves unto
the Lord. Their eyes were glazed over and they stared right past her to
the trailer as they spoke.
 You guys have to go home now. Aren t your husbands worried about
you or something?
 We heard the call.
Molly helped them to their feet and pointed them away from Steve, who
made a faint whining noise as she pushed the church ladies away toward
the street.
Molly stopped them at the edge of the street and spoke to them from
behind.  Go home. Don t come back here. Okay?
 We wanted to bring the children to feel the spirit too, but it was so late,
and we have church tomorrow.
Molly smacked the speaker across the butt with the flat of her sword, a
good two-handed stroke that sent her stumbling into the street.  Go home!
Molly was winding up to smack the other one when she turned and held
up her hand as if refusing a refill on coffee.  No thank you.
The Lust Lizard Of Melancholy Cove / 155
 Then you re going and you re not coming back, right?
The woman didn t seem sure. Molly turned her grip on the sword so the
edge was poised to strike.  Right?
 Yes, the woman said. Her friend nodded in agreement as she rubbed
her bottom.
 Now go, Molly said. As the women walked away, she called after
them,  And stop dressing alike. That s fucking weird.
She watched them until they disappeared into the fog, then went back
to where Steve was waiting in trailer form.  Well? She threw out her hip,
frowned, and tapped her foot as if waiting for his explanation.
His windows narrowed, ashamed.
 They ll be back, you know. Then what?
He whimpered, the sound coming from deep inside, where the kitchen
would be if he were really a trailer.
 If you re still hungry, you have to let me know. I can help. We can find
you something. Although there is only one hardware store in town. You re [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]