It was now time to mix the potion that would help them to get through to the Netherworld, David began to put the various minerals into the bowl that Kali held in her upraised hand, some of the minerals were well-known to those who practised witchcraft, and some unknown to most everyone except a few powerful Satanists. To these he added the juice of the Hawthorn berry, petals from the Calendula flower, crushed garlic and many other items that have long been used to ward off evil or to strengthen the conjurer. He then called Rob across and after lighting the potion and waiting from the plume of white smoke to slowly climb up towards the sky they recited the spell.
"We, champions of the right hand path, call upon the angels upon high to open a portal to the Hell dimension, the Netherworld. Make the other end of the portal open before the Fortress of Asbaritch and the portals and tunnel large enough for our vehicles to drive through with room to spare. We ask that the portal is kept open until one of us calls for it to be closed shut."
The soldiers who were working with them almost broke into laughter when they heard what they had assumed were government agents reciting what to them was garbage. That is until they saw a small very bright light appear in two of Kali`s other hands which were held together to form a cup, a light that grew in size, slowly hiding the statue, until the light was the size of a large tunnel. Stunned and silent they watched as the agents and soldiers boarded the Water Cannon and the Land Rover and drove the vehicles through the portal, of the statue there was no sign that it had ever existed.
Once passed the portal the vehicles were whisked briskly along a brightly lit tunnel, lit by what could have stars, what could have been almost anything, one minute later and they found themselves driving through another portal into a desert world, they had arrived in the Netherworld. Before them was a massive fortress with cyclopean walls constructed of gigantic stone blocks of limestone.
The four men in the Land Rover stopped at the end of the tunnel and although badly shaken they got on with their own task, but as they watched the others drive over to the fortress the four soldiers felt very alone and very vulnerable. Their only protections were the arc of blessed salt, their 20 litre capacity garden pressure sprayer and a sheet of paper upon which David had written the Lord`s prayer, in case any of them had forgotten it.
The Water Cannon pulled up near to the massive gates of the fortress and then everyone except for Private Stringer, who was the driver, climbed down to push the massive gates open, the dark lord had not bothered to lock them for he had thought his kingdom impregnable. With the way open to them, Rob climbed back into the cab of the Water Cannon to man their main weapon; Lieutenant Alan Jones sat in the window seat next to him. David, Angela Collins and Sergeant Tucker stayed on the ground in readiness for their next task. Private Stringer then drove the vehicle through the now open gates and into the empty courtyard. After allowing David, Sergeant Tucker and Angela Collins time to start up the stone staircase to the first floor, he drove the vehicle straight into the Grand Hall of the inner fortress.
The dark lord, Lord Asbaritch, was indeed sitting upon his throne and Moira was sitting upon his knee, they had been preparing to retire to his bed chamber when they heard the Water Cannon`s engine. Turning to the doorway they were both shocked to see the human vehicle drive into their fortress, they were even more shocked to see that it was Rob who was inside the cab of the vehicle. Rob used the Water Cannon immediately, he fired a powerful jet of water at them, knocking both of them off the throne, and he smiled when he heard their curses as their bodies hit the hard stone floor, and their cries of pain as the holy water attacked their demonic bodies.
With the attention of the owners of the fortress upon Rob, David along with Sergeant Tucker and Angela Collins hurriedly searched the first floor of the fortress for Moira or Cassie. They knew that they had less than five minutes to accomplish their tasks before they would have to re-join the others, for after that the water from their Water Cannon could have run out.
Leaning out of the window of the cab of the Water Cannon, Lieutenant Jones fired his automatic weapon at Moira but Lord Asbaritch leapt in the way fearing that she could be taken from him again. His anger rising as the holy water drenched the two of them, the dark lord ignored the pain from the large amount of holy water hitting his body to fling mystical bolts of energy at vehicle, which was struck repeatedly, however it survived thanks to the protection spell that David had put upon it.
In response to the dark lord`s assault upon the vehicle Rob turned up the pressure of the water and once again knocked both Moira and the dark lord off their feet. As he fell to the floor one of Lord Asbaritch`s mystical bolts of energy hit a supporting wall destroying it, and bringing down part of the ceiling. Lieutenant Jones, who had climbed down from the Water Cannon, was preparing to launch his own attack upon Moira, aiming his automatic weapon at her, however he was hit by some of the falling debris, and knocked to the floor unconscious. Rob swore as the odds swung towards the side of evil, but he could do nothing except to drench the two evil monsters with holy water while looking for another opening that would allow him to take out Moira. Beside him, Private Stringer picked up his automatic rifle and began firing towards Moira but seeing his rifle swinging towards her she leapt to one side and hurled an energy bolt towards him. Rob had known what she was about to do and he pulled Stringer back inside the Water Cannon as the energy bolt was absorbed by the metal of the vehicle.
**********
On the first floor of the fortress David was to use his pressure sprayer to give protection to the other two, should they meet Moira, while they fired their automatic weapons. Thankfully, she was on the ground floor and screaming in pain as the holy water burned her demonic part. David, Sergeant John Tucker and Angela Collins found Cassie at the doorway to Moira`s suite of rooms, she immediately told David that she could not escape because of the spell that Moira had put on the only doorway into the room, Sergeant Tucker smiled and pulled out some plastic explosive.
"Stand back Cassie, I am about to create another opening."
The small explosion was lost amongst the explosions that were occurring in the Grand Hall, and when the smoke had cleared, Cassie screamed excitedly and scrambled through the new doorway. Just then, they heard a massive explosion behind them and on investigating, they found that they could not escape back the way they had come. An energy bolt hurled by the dark lord had ricocheted off the Water Cannon and exploded against the far wall, and in doing so, it had also destroyed the staircase that they had used. On looking for another route, they found themselves standing upon a small gallery, one that overlooked the Grand Hall, beneath them they could see Moira standing by the massive throne. Angela Collins and Sergeant Tucker realised that they had a great opportunity to take her out, maybe the only one they were ever likely to get.
**********
When Moira had been hit by the Water Cannon and knocked back against the massive throne of her dark lord, lying on the floor at the foot of it, her anger exploded. However, it was aimed mostly at the fates rather than at Rob, for her massive amount of power has been negated by the thousands of gallons of holy water that Rob has brought with him. The demon part of her body was now wracked with pain as the holy water attacked her, burning her wherever it touched her now red and very sore body. Even so, she struggled to her feet determined to kill Rob if it was the last thing that she ever did. It was just as Sergeant Tucker and Angela Collins emptied the magazines of their automatic weapons, Moira screamed out in pain as she felt the bullets entering her body and then she fell to the floor dead, her blood mixing with the holy water and turning it red.
**********
Lord Asbaritch turned in grief when he heard his beloved scream out in pain and he unleashed a thunderbolt that took out the gallery. However, David, Sergeant Tucker, Angela and Cassie had already hurried away, for David knew how the dark lord would react. They did not see the fury on Lord Asbaritch`s face, fury that was aimed directly at them and the other humans who
had invaded his realm. They finally found the second staircase that climbed down from the first floor and hurried down it, their aim now was to escape the terrible wrath of the dark lord.
With the death of his beloved, and because of the amount of holy water hitting him and painfully burning his tough skin, the dark lord decided to transport himself to another part of his kingdom, he was running away from the battle but he was not yet beaten, he was merely marshalling his strength, he told himself. However, he knew this was not the real reason why he was leaving the scene of battle, he needed time alone to think, to grieve. He knew why they had been beaten, why his fortress was in ruins and why his beloved was dead. It was because he had forgotten the advice that he himself had given his beloved, if you want revenge against Rob Hinds then simply kill him, do not go in for a long drawn out affair, for to do so is to underestimate him. Instead they had kidnapped the two people in Rob`s life that meant the most to him and they had left him alive, assured that he would be suitably punished in this way as he grieved for the loss of his wife and his sister in law. Instead, he had done the impossible; he had found his wife, breached the impenetrable kingdom of the Netherworld and killed Moira Bourbon whilst rescuing young Cassie. Lord Asbaritch slumped down upon a hard rock, one roasted by the never setting sun of his realm and cried, a major demon lord grieving for his lost love and wishing that he could go back in time and change it.
**********
Rob knew that they had almost run out of time, and after Sergeant Tucker had gathered up the limp body of his fallen officer, and he the fallen body of Moira Bourbon, they climbed back into their vehicle and drove back to the portal, only stopping to check up on the four soldiers. Rob quickly told Cassie not to fear for her sister or the twins, for he had already rescued Christina from the Satanist, and that the twins were healthy and safe. One minute later and they were all standing upon Salisbury plain looking at the stunned soldiers who had just completed the construction of a large funeral pyre. David now looked up at the heavens and called to their unknown helpers, asking them to close the portal before the forces of evil attempted to follow them through it. After it had closed all that was left of the pentagram was the statue of Kali, looking to be undamaged and shining like a new pin.
Rob immediately had Moira`s body put on to the funeral pyre, and then he set the pyre alight, only while he stood there watching it burn did Cassie finally get the opportunity to throw her arms around him, and after giving him a kiss on the cheek, and thanking him, she burst into tears of joy and relief. As for the statue of Kali, Rob was under orders to bring it to the offices of the SIS where it would be locked away in their vault with the other satanic artefacts.
Later that day there was a joyful reunion in Lower Boulding, when the two sisters were re-united, quite safe with the agents of the SIS there to provide protection, for Angela Collins had been ordered by Sir Willoughby Brown to ensure that Rob and Cassie got safely back to their temporary home.
**********
The black twisted soul of Moira Bourbon found itself in a line of other similar souls walking along the tunnel that was beneath the Fortress of Asbaritch. It would take her soul to Tartarus, however it had no idea where it was heading, no longer was it the soul of a fearless Satanist, now it was in a state of shock, and when it finally got to the end of the tunnel, it found Lucifer waiting. Lucifer laughed when he saw her pitiful soul and then he turned to two of the guards of Hell.
"Take it to my personal torture chamber; I will introduce it to a few of my tools of torture that it will have to endure for the rest of eternity, a fitting punishment for one who not only continually failed me but also turned against me."
Lucifer was not taking a personal interest in the soul of Moira because of the crimes that she had committed against the humans, it was because Moira had attempted to kill him, and now she would have the time and opportunity to regret her actions.
The End
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About the Author
I was born in London, England. Like most of the world, I had to work hard to pay my mortgage and all the other bills, so I only had the time and the energy to write some short stories. My wife and I have a son who is now married to a lovely wife and they have five children of their own. Since retiring to the Greek island of Crete, I have finally found the time and the energy to write some full-length Science Fiction stories.
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Other Books by the Author
Colonies of Earth Series in order
Galaxy Spies
Time Storm
Rebirth
Trial by Ordeal
The Colonies of Earth Collection
Horror Stories
Strange tales; three short mild horror stories
Rob Hinds black magic stories
Kidnapped and Bound for Hell
The Satanists
Dreamscape
David Charlton stories, a science fiction series
Rescue Mission to the Stars
The Treasure of Altaraus
Return to Mazere
Other science fiction stories
Quasar
The Venetou
Invasion Earth
Short children`s stories
Three Journeys of the Scary Kind
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