**********
The lights were all on when Rob arrived home, he found the twins crying but there was no trace of his wife or Cassie, he felt his blood run cold, for he feared for their lives in the hands of such monsters as the aliens had shown themselves to be, vampiric Satanists. He had assumed that the aliens had taken them, or he had until he saw a note on the coffee table, a note that was addressed to him. It was from Moira Bourbon, she had left it to make his punishment begin all the sooner.
'Hi Rob, just a note to tell you that sweet Christina and Cassie will be my guests for a while, we have plans for them that will keep them busy for eternity, bye for now. PS, the twins need changing.'
Rob`s heart rate now shot up, he could hardly breath as he read and reread the brief note, one thought rampaged through his brain like a mad bull, why had he not killed her the last time that they had met, it had been insane to believe that she could change so completely, and stay that way forever. His next thought was to check at the convent where Moira had been living; however, on speaking on the phone to the convent he was told that Moira had been missing for the last hour, maybe more for no one could remember seeing her for some time.
**********
The authorities raided the farmhouse only to find that the aliens had flown minutes earlier, leaving the farmer and his family wondering why they had slept away the whole day. The aliens had left nothing behind that could be of use to the agents so once again, they were left waiting for a lead that might never come, and when it did blood would almost certainly be attached to it.
**********
For the last two days Sir Willoughby Brown had thought that the aliens` starship must be hidden beneath the waves of the North Sea, and when the latest atrocity had occurred just off the Yorkshire coast he had ordered the Royal Navy to move operations from the south east coast to there. Cruising just off the coast of Yorkshire, and just south east of Scarborough, three type 23 frigates of the Royal Navy were using their world beating sonar to search for the alien` starship. Three more frigates were moving south from the Durham coast towards their comrades, it was hoped that between them they would find their elusive prey. Only the frigates` captains knew their real target, the remainder of the officers and the crew had been told that the Daesh had somehow got hold of a submarine and a crew and that they were in the UK`s territorial waters with very bad intentions. The crews had been told that the vessel must be found before it carried out its mission, which was thought to include an attack on one of the two new British aircraft carriers, either the Queen Elizabeth or the Prince of Wales, which is being built at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth, Scotland. The frigates` orders were to destroy the vessel immediately that it was located; it was thought to be submerged under the North Sea off the eastern coast of England. They were informed that there was no allied submarines in the area; even the Russians had notified the Prime Minister that the area held none of their submarines. This information was freely given as the leaders of the free world and Russia had all been notified of the alien presence in the UK and of the terrible murders of so many innocents by these monsters from deep space.
**********
Lord Asbaritch already knew that the alien starship was hidden somewhere beneath the North Sea, and when he gave this information to Moira she decided to use the minor demon Veigel to track down their exact position. To this end, she had her dark lord take her to her satanic temple beneath her chateau in France where she kept the necessary items to prepare a potion, this she needed to conjure up the demon. However, before she conjured up the demon she decided to make up a powerful alcoholic drink, called Rakiremanin, to give to the demons that she would require for the task she had in mind, it would make them more ready to assist her. The items had always been kept at the chateau so it was a quick an easy task for her to make up a ready supply.
Rakiremanin is a green drink much liked by demons; the ingredients include a large cask of white wine, a generous mixture of molasses, some herbs and spices to give it its exotic flavour and colour. The next batch of ingredients came under the heading of slugs and snails and puppy dog's tails, enough to say that it took a strong stomach to drink such a concoction knowing just what was in it. Finally, a special preparation of wood alcohol was added to the concoction, it gave it strength and a certain something extra.
With the strong alcoholic drink ready, she now prepared to conjure up the first of the demons. When she had finished mixing the necessary potion, she lit it and watched as a yellow plume of smoke began to rise from the potion, and when it reached the ceiling of the room, it spread around it, thinning out as it went. Moira now called to the demon.
"Veigel obey my call." Moira ordered in a voice that rang loudly within the confines of the small laboratory, which was to the rear of her satanic temple.
Veigel must have been close by, for moments later a thin plume of smoke began to rise from the rear of the laboratory, however he did not immediately appear, which was usual for most demons, so she impatiently called out to the demon again.
"Veigel come to me now, I, Moira Bourbon command you." Moira ordered the demon.
The room quickly cooled and the plume of smoke turned into a thin veil of smoke within which Veigel, a minor demon that she used on such occasions as this, appeared, his stunted body bent and his face terribly misshapen. The stench of the beast also reached her, but she did her best not to show any outward sign of it, and knowing that it always preceded the arrival of a demon she had been ready for it.
"Mistress, how good it is to see that you are back, I missed you." Veigel cried out when he saw her.
However, he was surprised to see Lord Asbaritch also there, even though he had heard that the Dark Lord had lost his equally dark heart to the powerful Satanist. Bowing deeply to the powerful demon he said. "My Lord, it is always a pleasure to see you."
Lord Asbaritch did not reply, however Moira did.
"Thank you Veigel, I also missed you." Moira replied in a voice that was quite civil for her and which caused the demon some surprise.
"Veigel beneath the North Sea, and probably just off the human seaside town of Scarborough, a vessel containing some alien creatures is lurking, please locate it for me and when you return here you will be given a large cask of Rakiremanin. As for your usual blood fee, you can take it from your quarry; I think that you will find it much to your liking." Moira ordered.
"I obey oh mistress." Veigel said and then disappeared in a flurry of smoke.
"It is strange to be at this end of the conjuring my love, and I now see just how much time is spent in the preparations, it really is amazing." Lord Asbaritch said to his beautiful consort.
**********
Veigel soon found the starship, and without the need for sonar, however boarding it caused the vessels sensors to kick in and then the starship`s computer called out a warning to the crew.
"Warning, warning, intruder alert, intruder alert, there is an intruder in the engineering department."
The computer`s message was broadcast all over the ship and brought an immediate response from the crew who made for their security stations. On reaching the bridge, Magnus One turned off the message and then he interrogated the computer.
"Computer, give me a detailed report on the intruder." Magnus One ordered.
"Captain, an alien being tripped my sensors in the engineering department, however I have no idea how the intruder got aboard, the intruder just appeared on my internal sensors for the briefest of time." The computer reported in a metallic drone of a voice.
In engineering Veigel came across one of the aliens who had no time to react to the computer warning. The demon latched on to his back and then dug his sharp teeth into the alien`s neck and began to drink his blood. Amid the screams from the Amaymon, Veigel was surprised to find that his victim was a minor Satanist, and finding the blood much to his liking, he drained the body completely. With the sound of many approaching footsteps Veigel left the starship, for he was not up to taking on
so many beings, even just two adults would have stretched him, especially with the element of surprise no longer on his side, for Veigel was merely a minor demon of the lowest order. Veigel now returned to the laboratory beneath the chateau in France, whereupon he reported to Moira.
**********
"I have found the alien vessel mistress, however I should tell you that one of the creatures died while I took my blood payment." He said with a look of satisfaction upon his face.
He then showed Moira the image of the starship, the image appearing in a thin veil of smoke that he conjured up.
"That is perfectly all right Veigel, it was your right. Will you please hold the image there Veigel, while I summon Skargel?" Moira replied.
Veigel was almost in shock at being treated so well by Moira Bourbon, as she had never been so nice to him before. As Veigel tried to come to grips with the new Moira Bourbon, she now mixed up the potion that would help her to conjure up Skargel. With the image of the starship still visible, Moira lit the potion and then summoned up the demon.
"Skargel, obey my call, I Moira Bourbon summon thee to appear before me."
Moments after she had finished speaking, a black plume of smoke appeared in the corner of the laboratory, and then the demon Skargel appeared. He was in the form of a huge olive green man, with bulging eyes and a large nose, and as usual when in the company of a human, strange hissing sounds came from the demon`s enormous teeth filled mouth. He had an enormous tongue that was forked, just like the tongue of a serpent, and it flicked in and out of his massive mouth tasting the nearby scents.
"What can I do for you mistress, you who are the most powerful Satanist of all time and favoured by Lord Asbaritch?"
On catching sight of the dark demon lord Skargel bowed and said.
"It is always a pleasure to see you my Lord."
Lord Asbaritch ignored the minor demon`s greeting so Skargel turned back to Moira to hear what she required of him.
"Skargel, look at the image brought to us by the good and faithful demon Veigel, it shows a vessel that lies beneath the North Sea. In it you will find eleven strange creatures, you will kill them and take your blood fee from them. As a token of my affection for you I will present you with a cask of Rakiremanin when you return her to report that you have completed your mission." Moira ordered.
"To hear is to obey oh wondrous one." Skargel replied before vanishing in a cloud of black smoke.
Lord Asbaritch looked anew at his beautiful consort. "You have changed my love, you are a people person now, or should I say a demon person, you will go far with if you deal with all your demons in this fashion."
"As with everything in life My Lord, I learn from you." Moira replied sweetly.
**********
Pandemonium ruled aboard the alien starship, the death of one of their coven was bad enough, however to find that his body had been drained of blood, their own particular thing, was very disturbing. The coven immediately began to search the starship for the intruder, but one thought lurked in the back of all their minds, had there been an intruder, could the killer be one of them. It was into this situation that Skargel materialised into the engineering section of the starship, and with his arrival, the computer screamed out its second warning.
"Intruder alert, intruder alert, there is an intruder in engineering."
Skargel had appeared in all his demon finery and he rushed forward snarling, his hand grabbing the only man in the section, the first engineer, who had been preparing the craft for flight while the other Amaymons searched for the murderous intruder. Easily lifting the heavy man off the floor by his throat, for Skargel was both larger and heavier than the alien; Skargel began to shake him like a doll. The Amaymon could not cry out for help with the hand crushing his larynx, instead beat frantically at his attacker, but to no avail, Skargel merely shrugged off the attack and bit into the alien`s neck. Skargel now drunk his victim`s warm blood, for once again he had been instructed to take his payment from his victims, which he did while the alien was still alive, in fact he took all of his victims blood. It had taken less than a minute for the Amaymon to die, in that short period of time he only managed to make a strange gurgling noise, but that was all, no one heard him die. With the alien now dead, Skargel continued squeezing his victim`s throat until it was crushed by the force of his powerful grip and then he howled long and loud, for the blood had been much to his taste.
The crew of the starship quaked in their boots as the howls from the demon reverberated around the starship, stopping their rush towards the engineering department as they debated what could be the cause of such a terrible cry. Finally they put their fears aside and renewed their hurried dash to engineering, and their crew member. Meanwhile, Skargel had left engineering and he now materialised upon the recently vacated bridge of the starship, vacated by all but one alien that is, for here, he found the one person left to guard the area. Nereid sat fearfully in the far corner of the bridge looking at the only entrance, her Satan weapon aimed directly at the door. For his next victim Skargel took the form of a demonic chimera, a creature that had the front end of a lion, a goat`s middle and a snake for a tail, and he appeared by her side. Grabbing her gun hand, he held it away from his body while he bit into her soft neck and drank her warm fresh blood that gushed into his large capacious mouth. Nereid would have screamed long and loud before she died, but the demon had bitten clear through her larynx, silencing her screams before they left her, except for a few weak gurgles that escaped from her body right up until the moment that she died. Nereid`s body, drained of blood was slumped in her chair; her gun had fallen from her limp hand to the floor.
Before he left the bridge Skargel decided to see what would happen if he pressed some of the icons on the starship`s main computer terminal, for he had always been fascinated by the technology that the humans, and now the Amaymons, possessed in abundance. One icon operated the starship`s defence shield, he touched it and unknowingly turned it off, the shield had been activated when the Royal Naval frigates began to draw ever nearer, to prevent their percussion weapons from destroying the starship. Another icon operated the forward energy weapon, after charging the weapon it blasted the massive rock in front of the starship to a thousand pieces, pleased by this he pressed the icon repeatedly and he was delighted as the starship destroyed the cliff-face directly in front of it. The resultant pressure waves, caused by Skargel`s repeated use of the weapon, struck the starship a series of heavy blows resulting in a dozen minor hull breaches, for without the defence shield there was nothing to stop them. Water began to pour into the vessel from the breeches, putting interplanetary flight well and truly beyond their reach until repairs had been made.
When Magnus One finally returned to his bridge to investigate the many explosions outside of the starship, he found Nereid's dead body, and he came to an instant decision.
"Linguia, call Amaymon, tell them to stay away from this world, the inhabitants are slow to act but when they do they are invincible." He said in a quiet beaten voice.
As Linguia obeyed his commander`s instruction, Moira, who had asked Lord Asbaritch to take her to the starship to witness its destruction, smiled in satisfaction. Then seeing the demeanour of the defeated commander she laughed out loud causing Magnus One and Linguia to tremble in fear and search the bridge for the being who had penetrated their starship`s defences so easily. On seeing Moira materialise in front of them they both reached for their weapons, however neither of them were able to use them, for they were stopped by Moira who held them motionless using her immense powers.
"This is my domain alien, yet you dared to come here and kill and mutilate at will, you even dare to attempt to use your puny weapons against me." Moira shrieked in anger. "Now you despicable aliens see how I, Moira Bourbon, punish such acts." Moira declared regally as she glared with contempt at the two Amaymons.
Magnus One and Linguia now quaked in fear as Skargel, who had one of the Satan energy weapons in his hand, and who was standin
g in engineering as it slowly filled with water from one of the hull breeches, now began to fire the weapon at any likely looking piece of technology. Each blast of the energy weapon brought with it a warning from the starship`s computer, one such blast finally took out the hyper drive, which was already damaged by the water running over its controls, and another blast took out the second engineer who had come charging through the door to see if he could save the engineering department.
**********
Far above them, and aboard a type 23 frigate, Lieutenant Sanders in the Sonar department contacted the bridge.
"Captain, we have found our quarry, but there is something queer about it, instead of staying silent it sounds as if they are throwing some sort of a party, and they are firing at something."
Captain Marshall now contacted his weapons officer, Lieutenant Carson. "Lieutenant, launch two Sting Ray torpedoes, ten seconds apart; Sonar will give you your target."
**********
As the Amaymons not on the bridge still searched for their unknown attacker, the computer noted the two torpedoes coming their way. However, with no one in engineering they could not escape them, nor could they defend against them for their weapons system was disabled by one of Skargel`s blasts from his new toy, and their defence shields no longer had any power to activate them. The two torpedoes ended the danger posed by the aliens; for they were all killed either by the blasts or drowned by the water pouring into the starship. On their home world, their leaders decided against sending another starship to Earth when they heard the message sent to them and then found that they could no longer contact their reconnaissance vessel.
Chapter Seven
Moira wants her Revenge
Moira gave the two demons she had employed to rid the Earth of the alien presence their large casks of Rakiremanin, and then she and Lord Asbaritch left the chateau in France and returned to the Netherworld. Here they celebrated Moira`s victory over the alien monsters, the dark lord had a large drink of Rakiremanin and Moira had a glass of vintage wine, then they headed up a steep winding staircase to speak to their two guests.