Dave shook his head. “It’s not that. Each drain is backed up, individually.” He took the handyman on a tour of the house and guest house, Ross and Lita tagging along, and after McDaniels checked the septic tank just to make sure that wasn’t the problem, he brought in a coiled wire snake connected to an electric motor that he plugged into a kitchen wall socket. “We’ll start in here,” he said. “It’s closest to the main line.”
The three of them stepped back as McDaniels put on a pair of rubber gloves, inserted the coiled cable into the drain as far as he could push it, then turned on the motor. A terrible clanking filled the room; it sounded as though the pipes were being torn apart. But the snake, fed by the handyman’s gloved hands, continued to unspool down the drain. The clanking became more muffled and then there was a loud wet pop.
The stench that came from the sink was nearly overpowering and reminded Ross of the terrible smell in the root cellar. McDaniels flipped a switch on the motor to reverse direction, then shut it off and withdrew the snake. Tangled up in the coils was what looked like a mass of bright green string, but within seconds after hitting the air, the green filaments coalesced into a disgusting gray goop that dripped thickly onto the sink in bloblike patches.
Lita’s eyes were big. “What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know,” McDaniels said, “but that’s what was clogging up your drain.”
Ross took a step forward to look at the gelatinous glop. He had no idea what it was or how it had come from that tangle of strange green threads, but he was pretty sure he knew its source.
McDaniels turned on the water, washing everything down the sink, and leaving the tap on to make sure the drain was clear. It was.
“Next,” he said.
In the bathroom, the toilet water was already black and thick like oil after being plunged, and the handyman told them to wait while he got something out of his truck. “That snake’ll crack your porcelain all to hell. We need something a little more delicate for this job.”
Lita was staring at the obsidian-colored water. “What do you think’s down there?”
“What was that back there?” Dave asked, cocking his thumb toward the kitchen.
Ross didn’t say anything, but he thought about the chickens and the bees, the simultaneously clogged pipes, and wondered if the ground beneath them was contaminated, if that monster in the shed had somehow tainted the earth for miles around and the poison was seeping up through the thin spots and causing havoc.
McDaniels returned with a handheld device from which protruded a long thin probe. “I think this’ll work,” he said. It did, and this time there was nothing unusual to see when he withdrew the tool.
It was another story in Ross’ shower, where the water had not gone down and there were tiny creatures swimming in the water. Buglike, shocking pink, the size of paperclips and almost as flat, they had appendages that approximated human arms and legs, and looked like miniature Olympians breaststroking their way around the pool. The creatures had clearly come up through the drain, though no new ones were emerging at the moment, but their presence gave McDaniels pause, and he hesitated before inserting the snake.
The handyman glanced back at Dave, Lita and Ross. “If any of you have any idea what’s goin’ on here, you better fill me in, cuz I’m completely lost.”
“Not exactly,” Ross said. “Not specifically. But I’m pretty sure of the original source.”
The three of them told McDaniels what they’d seen at Cameron Holt’s place. The description of the monster matched his recollection from New Year’s Eve, but the handyman seemed surprised by the account of Holt’s workers all worshipping the shed. Even more surprising to him was the description of Holt’s odd subservience. “That sure as hell don’t sound like the Cameron Holt I’ve come to know and hate.”
“It’s because of…”
“The angel’s influence?” McDaniels said.
“I’m not sure I’d call it that,” Dave admitted.
“To be honest, it’s brought me nuthin’ but good luck.”
“That’s not what it’s brought everyone,” Lita said.
“I know. I heard.” He looked toward the pooled water in the shower and the little pink creatures swimming in it.
“You know, I’m not religious,” Dave said. “I don’t believe any of that happy horseshit. But I’ll give you this: that thing has power. Dead or alive.”
“I’ve been thinkin’ that, too,” McDaniels told them. “But how’s that even possible?”