"My people, they are chanting in Aramaic, the language of the Messiah, they are truly his messengers." Jeremiah Jones exclaimed and fell to his knees before the aliens. "It is a chant composed by our lord Jesus Christ!" Jones exclaimed in awe.
His words seemed to break the spell that the rest of the followers were under, actually, the Amaymons had returned most of their mental faculties to them, and suitably impressed by what Jones had said they too fell to their knees before the aliens. However, the aliens still controlled part of the humans` mental faculties, for the aliens feared that they might be exposed as frauds if they were subjected to too many questions about the Messiah. It was now that Magnus One spoke.
"Followers of the Chosen One, I thank you for your greetings and I think it apt that we meet in a building much like a barn, for was it not in such a building that our Lord was born here on Earth." Magnus One said and then carried on before Jones could reply. "I am more than impressed that you recognised the Messiah`s own language, the one that he uses when he speaks daily to us."
"My knowledge of it is poor my Lord, but I will persevere now that you have come to us." Jones replied.
"Come my friends, get off your knees, such gestures should be kept for one man alone, the Chosen One, the Messiah, Jesus Christ." Magnus One said gently admonishing the followers of the Church who immediately got to their feet and moved closer to their guests.
"Do you require food, or something to drink perhaps?" Jones offered graciously.
"Thank you no; we have eaten, perhaps though you can show us to our sleeping quarters, for we are tired after our journey?" Magnus One asked.
The aliens were led to the cloister where they were given rooms, some formerly occupied by the Elders. Early the next morning the aliens awoke and they soon washed and dressed, and after breakfasting with Jones and the Elders, Magnus One spoke to Jeremiah Jones.
"I need for you to hire for us two large vehicles so that we may travel into the large city nearby, we saw it from space. Only when we are totally immersed within the city will we get some sense of the sort people who now rule over Earth, and of course their citizens, only in this way and after many such trips will we be able to fulfil the task given to us by the Chosen One."
"Of course Magnus One, I will immediately send two of the Elders of the Church to do this, we will be only too happy to be your guides." Jones replied graciously.
"No, we need to do this task alone, so that we are not swayed by your company, your ideas, but thank you Jeremiah for your kind offer." Magnus One replied graciously.
During the rest of the day Magnus One, when he was not talking to the followers of the Church, was on the internet researching the defences of Earth and in particular, those whose task it was to defend the people of the city, what he found made him smile for he saw them as archaic.
**********
That night the thirteen Amaymons boarded the two large MPV`s that the Church had hired and they then drove towards the bustling city of London, parking their vehicles on the road in front of the church of St Luke in the Fields. Magnus One had decided on using a church for their feast for this one night only, for it appealed to his warped sense of humour. He even wished that he could be there when their own unique donations were found the next morning, but he knew that he would have to be content with merely watching it on the news programs shown on the Church`s quaint television set.
Magnus One led one party of six Amaymons around the old streets of the ancient city of London, while Scientia led the remainder. It had been late by the time they had parked their vehicles, now only the serious revellers were left and when the rain began to fall they too began to leave for home.
The first targets the Amaymons came across were two young men who were staggering home along the wet London streets; they were heading for the late night tube at Liverpool Street station. There were plenty of CCTV cameras along their way, but as the two men approached Bishopsgate, all the cameras ahead of them recorded, was static, and it was here that they saw seven people who looked to them to be monks, and very tall ones at that, and each of them carried a small metallic tube resembling a lightsabre.
"Jim, those fellows up ahead, they look like something out of a horror movie." The younger of the two men said anxiously.
"What are you going on about Bob, they are probably in fancy dress, or maybe they work at a theme restaurant." Jim replied scoffing.
"Maybe Jim, but let`s cross the road anyway, OK?" Bob said for the closer they got to the monk-like figures the worse his feeling in the pit of his stomach became.
"You`re not scared of them, surely, they are just walking on stilts, they are not really that tall." Jim replied contemptuously, however he followed his friend across the road for there was something decidedly weird about the monks.
As the Amaymons drew nearer to the two young men they too crossed the road and they then began to chant, however the words sounded foreign to the two men. A plume of red smoke now began to rise from the tubes that were now held high above the heads of the monks, the smoke snaking lazily upwards before flattening out, almost as if it was a sentient being. The Amaymons slowly encircled the two men, blocking their way, even Jim was now a little anxious about their immediate future. However, he decided that a show of bravado was the best way out of what could turn out to be a nasty situation, so he edged forward towards Magnus One who was immediately in front of him.
"Look guys we`re cold and just a little wet, and if you are after money then you are out of luck, we blew what little we had on a couple of drinks, so how about you move out of our way and let us return home to our beds, OK?" Jim said with Bob moving up beside him in what he hoped was a show of strength while he tried to wave away the red smoke that had sunk down over the heads of himself and his friend.
However, the protests from the two men were ignored for the Amaymons continued to chant and when the two men looked into the red blazing eyes of Magnus One and the team`s third in command, Technic, Jim and Bob became automatons, zombies with no will of their own. Behind their eyes, they silently screamed out in pain, for this time the Amaymons mind control also allowed the two men to see the thoughts of the aliens, and horrifyingly they saw what the aliens had planned for them, but however much they tried, they could not break free from the mind that was now controlling them. Glazy eyed and fearful, and now fully under the control of the aliens, they meekly followed Magnus One and his six Amaymons along the dark wet streets of London. Magnus One was pleased with how things were unfolding on Earth, if it continued this way then this planet could become a new home world for his people, and one that would last far into the future.
As the early morning grew ever colder and wetter the two teams of Amaymons had accumulated seven people in this fashion, and as agreed, they met up at the church of St Luke in the Fields to feed upon their victims. Magnus One easily unlocked the doors of the church and entered first, with the victims and the other Amaymons following him inside the dark cavernous building. He then had his coven set up tall black candles around the centre of the church, and when lit they provided enough light to enable the aliens to be able to see by, but not enough to bring any unwelcome attention to them. The seven victims, five men and two women, were then lined up against the wall, and even though they were under the control of the aliens, this mind control did not stop their fear from reaching new heights within their hearts, especially when Bob saw their eyes looking directly at him, and he again noticed the colour, red. When he had been taken, the part of his mind that registered such things had not conveyed this information to his cognisant mind, now it did. He recalled various Draculas movies and his fear went through the roof, however next to him was a young woman and Bob could see that she too was scared, and even through the combination of mind control and fear he managed to speak.
"Stay close to me; I will make sure these goons do not hurt you." Bob promised although he knew that he would not be able to do as he had promised, for he had seen the end planned for them in the
minds of their captors.
The woman turned to him and managed a weak smile, she knew that he could do nothing to help her, for she too had seen their end, but even so, his words did comfort her, a little.
It was now that seven of their captors took off their outer garments, for it was not thought proper to kill their sacrificial victims while clothed in anything but the lightest of garments, and the humans got their first glimpse of the aliens. What was revealed to them were seven tall gaunt people, four men and three women, all with pallid complexions and red eyes that glowed whenever they looked directly at one of their captives. These seven aliens now pulled out their Satan energy weapons, named after a powerful mythical figure from their planet`s distant past. Bob saw that they held what looked like Star Trek Phasers to him, and he almost freaked, for he realised then that his death was imminent, he just hoped that it would be painless. The others must have also reached this conclusion, for the fear of imminent death allowed them to break through the mind control, and the first, and only, thing to enter each of their minds was to escape their nightmare deaths. However, not one of them managed to out distance the powerful energy bolts that screamed through the air and tore into their bodies, lighting up the church for a moment before the dim light of the candles returned, for the aliens had anticipated their victims attempt at escape, they had even looked forward to it.
Magnus One then had the bodies of the humans strung up by their legs using specially anointed rope that they had brought with them, the ropes being tied to a long thick wooden beam that crossed from one wall to the other. Their victims` heads dangled six feet from the floor for easy access, and large sacrificial buckets, ones superbly decorated with sacrificial scenes, were put beneath the humans` heads. Under the central bucket, unnoticed by the humans when they had entered the church, was a pentagram which formed part of the church`s floor decoration. The Amaymons had noticed it though, for it was a holy design on their worlds, although few of them remembered the way that their distant ancestors had used it or the reason why.
Those humans who were not quite dead watched as the life slowly ebbed away from their fellow victims and cried for their own rapidly diminishing life-force. Magnus One now stripped off his own outer garment, and he went to each of the victims to check on their condition, those still alive cried out weakly as their personal angel of death pulled out his Satan energy weapon and used it on them, killing them this time. The time had come for the sacrificial part of the night's gruesome activities, and he now cut all of the seven humans` throats. All the while he called out to his gods, gods that very few of his people now believed in, however they all enjoyed the ritualistic part of this sort of meal and so they continued to practice them.
"Oh mighty ones who rule over the universe, please look favourably upon this gift, a gift comprising of these unbelievers` life-force, and that we dedicate to you." Magnus One cried out.
The blood from the humans dripped down into the buckets, quickly filling them as the aliens looked on in anticipation of drinking it. As the last drops of blood fell into the buckets Magnus One ordered the seven men to once again use their Satan energy weapons, this time to cut off the top of each victim`s skull and then to take out the brain. With this grisly task done the remainder of the Amaymons removed their hooded garments so that they were not soiled by their meal. The Amaymons now slowly walked around the line of bodies, chanting as they did, their words were thanking their victims for their blood and their brains, and once again, they each held above their heads their Lampada that looked so much like a lightsabre except that only a red plume of smoke came out of it.
From outside of the church the red glow coming from the Lampadas shone through the windows, luckily no one investigated it, for had they done so they would surely have been killed, citizen and constabulary alike.
It was only after the ceremony was completed that the Amaymons cleared the top of the altar and placed four pewter plates upon it, they had found these within the church itself. The plates were laden with the seven brains and it was now that the aliens dined on the brains of their victims, for even as advanced as they were they still clung to the barbaric idea that eating their victim`s brain would in some way increase the power of their own brain. It was not that they did not like the more normal forms of food; it was just that they liked to munch on a brain when they could find a supply of them. Finally, they washed their dinner down with the blood that they had collected in the large buckets, another idea left over from their own very dark ages, which still seemed to be with them, for to them blood was equated to life itself. Any blood remaining would be drunk over the new day, the Amaymons, their nights work done, now returned to the Church of the Second Coming and their beds.
The aliens planned to enjoy many more nights such as this one, they would always arrive in London late at night, and each time they would take seven victims, and drink their blood and eat their brains. During the day, the Amaymons would content themselves with the normal food supplied by the Church, and in this way, they would not slight their hosts, not yet anyway.
Chapter Two
Another Mission for Rob Hinds
It was a cold and windy December night, however Rob Hinds was feeling good, for he had just arrived home, and the first thing that he had done after kissing his wife was to look in on their twin babies, Julie and Gerry, and at the moment they were asleep in their cots. At this age, they needed a lot of looking after, luckily for Rob, his wife Christina bore the brunt of this work, with a little help from her sister Cassie. Rob had just walked into the kitchen when his mobile phone rang, it was Sally Chambers on the phone, she was the secretary of Sir Willoughby Brown, the man who led the Special Intelligence Service and she had a message for Rob.
"Rob, Sir Richard wants to see you here in the office at seven tomorrow morning, he asked if you can also arrange for your friend, David Pritchard, to come along as well." Sally Chambers informed the senior agent of the SIS.
Rob`s stomach now did flip flops, for Sir Richard to want his friend along meant only one thing, another black magic case, he hoped that Moira Bourbon had not reverted to her previous state, where she was the most powerful Satanist on or off the planet. Ms Chambers now interrupted his thoughts.
"He said to assure you that it has nothing to do with the Bourbon family, in fact it will probably prove to be a non-case as far as we are concerned. Rob, the Yard want you to look into the massacre at the church of St Luke in the Fields early this morning, they want you to find out if this is the work of a satanic cult or not." Sally Chambers said.
"Tell our lord and master that we will be there, goodnight Sally." Rob replied.
"Goodnight Rob, give the twins a kiss from me."
Rob now called his friend David Pritchard, up until a year ago, he had been a catholic priest, albeit one who was frowned upon by the Church, however his former Archbishop had been a friend and had always looked the other way when he had involved himself in cases involving demons and all things to do with the devil. Then David had met Rob Hinds and he had been thrust much deeper into the satanic world, one that included amongst other things travel to two hell dimensions. In fact David Pritchard had been involved in all of Rob`s black magic cases, which was just as well for Rob, because initially he knew next to nothing about Satanism, he had learned about it on the job. When David`s friend the Archbishop had died, he had been replaced by one not willing to overlook his apparent eagerness to go against the will of the Church, and just six months ago he had been told to leave the Church or face being officially defrocked. David Pritchard had bowed to their wishes and now worked full time for the SIS, as a consultant into all things to do with Satanism. Rob Hinds had been responsible for this, he had demanded of his superior, Sir Willoughby Brown, that as his friend was out of work because he had assisted them in stopping the most powerful Satanist ever from becoming even more so, that it was only right to employ him now that he was out of work. In any case, Rob argued, they should hire him to ensure that he
was always on call should another satanic problem come their way, and now it had, and that evening Rob was in luck for his friend answered immediately.
"David, how are you?" Rob asked rather than dive right into his reason for calling.
"Fine thank you Rob, are the family well?" Dave replied while waiting for Rob to tell him why he was calling when they had seen each other just the day before, for David had stayed the weekend on one of his periodic visits to meet up with his favourite family.
"David, Sir Richard`s secretary has just called, he wants to see the two of us in his office at seven tomorrow morning. I can assure you that it is nothing to do with the Bourbons, it seems that the Yard want us to look into the massacre at the church of St Luke in the Fields, the Yard wants to know if it could be the work of a satanic cult." Rob said.
"I did wonder myself when I first heard about it Rob." David replied thankful that Rob had not become involved in another black magic case that could see both of their lives endangered and have them both whisked away to yet another hell dimension.
"David, do you know of any way to tell if a satanic mass has taken place in the church of St Luke's over the last couple of days?" Rob asked.
"Yes there is a way Rob, I came across it in one of the volumes we confiscated from the Bourbon library, after Ulysses Bourbon died. Luckily, I have all the necessary items that I need to conjure up the past for you; I will bring them along with me. Is it OK if I drive over to your apartment now, so I do not have to get up too early tomorrow morning to beat the traffic?" David asked as he lived in deepest West Sussex.