Lilith steps out of her overalls and stands over the minister in her underwear. For the first time in her life, she feels safe, in total control. ‘Remove your boxers, slave.’

‘Yes, Succubus!’ Quenton yanks off the undergarment, exposing himself.

Lilith stares at his sex, now fully aroused. ‘Who am I?’

‘The Succubus!’

‘Listen to me carefully, slave. Exquisite pleasure shall be yours, but only on my terms. I will come to you if and when I please, but only when I please, is that understood?’

‘Yes, Succubus, yes!’

‘You will never come to me unless I give you permission. You will never touch me again or come home drunk. Is that understood?’

‘Yes, Succubus.’

‘From now on, I am in control. I will sleep in your bed, and you will sleep on the sofa. You will no longer tell me stories about Jesus and God. The Succubus is sick of hearing about Jesus and God.’

‘Of course, Succubus.’

‘The Succubus hates God, do you understand. Say it with me, I … hate … God.’

Quenton hesitates.

Lilith tears off her panties and fingers herself. ‘This is what you want, isn’t it, slave?’

‘Oh, God, yes!’

‘We hate God, don’t we, Quenton?’ She touches herself again. ‘Say it!’

‘We … hate God.’

‘Again!’

‘We hate God!’

Lilith squats over her delirious guardian. ‘Keep your hands at your sides. Don’t attempt to touch me, don’t even move a muscle. I will touch you.’

‘Of course, Succubus, anything you want!’

A child’s face appears at the church door.

‘Go away, Brandy, we don’t need you anymore. The Succubus needs no one!’

The delusion fades into the night.

‘Go away? Who are you speaking to, Succubus?’

‘Shut up, fool.’ She lowers herself onto Quenton, guiding him inside her.

Quenton closes his eyes, moaning in delight.

Cold, emotionless, feeling nothing, Lilith grinds her pelvis into her guardian as she stares at the crucifix mounted behind the pulpit.

Are you watching me, Jesus? Can you hear me, Jacob? Are you two assholes enjoying what you’ve created?

Longboat Key, Florida

Jacob swoons in his trance, his mind ignoring Lilith’s haunting cry as he focuses upon his father’s words. I’m listening, Father. What did the drone find?

Something immense, an artificially created platform hovering twelve hundred feet above the volcanic terrain … so vast it blotted out the alien sky for thousands of square miles. Protruding from the underside of this monstrous structure were countless rows of silo-sized coiled iron objects, hanging down like a crop of metallic stalactites. The drone’s sensor readings warned us of the presence of an intense magnetic field emanating from these million-strong objects. Had our UAV crossed into the field, it would not have survived the scrambling of its electronics.

We instructed the drone to fly higher, hoping to glimpse a topside view of this incredible antigravitational platform. What we saw, Jacob … my thoughts, mere words—they simply do no justice.