Then all at once Dema sensed a strong new presence, and a commanding voice from the entrance door at the other end of the salon said, in English, "What's going on here?"

It was Ryan, with Rosita at his side! But in Dema's heightened state of awareness they both wore glowing auras of power.

The boat entities, too, felt this new presence, and responded to it as if they were angels from heaven, which in a way they were, because, unlike Juan and Dema, Ryan and Rosita both shared with El Diablo's sacrifice victims a Catholic upbringing, and their sense of outrage at the unholy scene before them brought those early beliefs to the fore.

Sensing that these angels of retribution were on Dema's side, the entities changed allegiance en masse, and were suddenly Dema's to command. And would no longer respond to El Diablo.

Instantly she shed her bonds and rose from the table as the Lamia, in half-snake form, binding El Diablo in her coils to keep him from pouring the gasoline.

"Your power is my power now, El Diablo," she hissed. "No longer will you be allowed to spill the blood of the innocent."

Juan, too, shed his bonds, and quietly took the gas can from El Diablo's hand and put the cap back on it.

The brujos, seeing that the Lamia had rendered El Diablo powerless, began a mad scramble for the boats. Chaos screamed dire warnings at them, trying to get them to stay, but under the circumstances her normal powers of persuasion had abandoned her, and her words had no effect.

Then, seeing that Juan and Dema had El Diablo at their mercy, she started to leave herself. But Rosita had caught on to the way of things, and grabbed her as she tried to get out the door.

Soon Rosita and Ryan had Chaos subdued, and walked her to where Juan was binding the hands of El Diablo. Chaos began babbling to El Diablo about how there was no evidence here of any crime, and that she knew how to deal with police authorities, so they had nothing to worry about. But he said, "If you thought there was nothing to worry about, then why did you try to leave?" When she tried to explain herself to him he told her to shut up.

Once they had Chaos secured next to El Diablo, Ryan turned to Dema, who had returned to normal, and gave her a big hug, relieved to see her whole and unharmed.

Dema then asked to be introduced to his new friend. Ryan put his arm around Rosita quite possessively, and told Dema how they had met, and what they had gone through to get here, including the long swim from shore.

For her part Rosita nestled against Ryan quite as familiarly as he held onto her, and Dema smiled. The smile went very deep within her, she could not have been happier for Ryan.

Ryan turned to Juan, and thanked him heartily for arranging his introduction to Rosita, but then he said, "Well, what's next?"

Juan said, "See if you can find a wrench and a flashlight, then come with me."

Ryan quickly produced an adjustable wrench and a small flashlight from a toolbox in the engine compartment, and Juan led him to where they could get at the access panels on the big pontoons. Ryan opened a panel and they looked inside. And saw bones. Human bones.

"As I suspected, El Diablo could not maintain control over the souls of his victims without retaining possession of their bones," said Juan.

None of the boats that had brought the brujos remained tied to the houseboat's little dock, but Ryan's seaman's eyes spotted one that had gone adrift with nobody in it during the confusion, and he quickly swam out to it and brought it back. Then he disabled the houseboat's engines, so on the off chance that El Diablo and Chaos might get loose, they wouldn't get very far. Juan went to check on the prisoners one more time, then they all got in the little boat, and Ryan piloted them back to shore.