"He killed our father Moira, Rob Hinds killed him."
These softly spoken words sent feelings of hatred through her mind and down into her heart, initially confusing her, for up until now she had regarded Rob as her friend, but she felt something else, something deep within her was agreeing with the message. As she struggled against this new and strange feeling, she watched as the Satanist Moira smiled and then spoke so softly Moira had to strain to hear the words.
"Remember your nightmare Rob Hinds, when you enter this building you will be entering the Victorian house of your nightmares."
Unknown to the watching Moira a spell had been cast, one second she watched Rob as he entered a modern hallway, then everything changed, the modern hallway was now Victorian. She had been surprised at the sudden change, and it was obvious to Moira that Rob was both confused and a little scared by what had just occurred. Rob turned around and looked back through the open doorway; however, the doorway now looked out on to the burnt and blasted land of his nightmare world.
Once again, she heard that terrible whisper. "He killed our father Moira, Rob Hinds killed him." Once again that whispered voice sounded like her own voice and she wondered if it was coming to her from the time in her life that she had forgotten.
The dreaming Moira was jolted back into the dream when she heard a loud thump thump thump of approaching footsteps, each one louder than the one preceding it, and now the house began to shake with each new thump. The monstrous creature, whatever it was, was coming from the nightmare world on the other side of the front door, which suddenly blew wide-open letting in a blast of hot air which the sleeping Moira felt and from which she shrank away. The land beyond the doorway was suddenly filled with a thick fog, however the footsteps stopped, instead she heard what sounded like the roaring of a lion, only a very large and angry one, and it sounded as if it was almost at the open doorway. Rob seemed to think so too for she watched as he turned around and bolted up the staircase.
"He killed our father Moira, Rob Hinds killed him." The soft voice whispered to her again.
The sleeping Moira smiled as she watched Rob running for his life and her laughter followed on behind him. The whispering had finally changed her heart forever, gone was her cosy little world revolving around a life of study in a nunnery, it was replaced by one that was rather exciting and very much to her liking.
"Let Rob Hinds` nightmare house disappear and normality return, but when he sees me, I will appear to him only as an old crone." The Satanist Moira whispered from the bottom of the Victorian staircase.
Moira watched as Rob, on reaching the top of the staircase, found the building change yet again, now he was back in a modern apartment building. Rob looked confused as he turned to look down the staircase, expecting to see the dragon climbing the stairs, but all he saw was a woman in her sixties struggling up them. What Rob did not know, but the sleeping Moira did, was that this old kindly woman was Moira Bourbon.
"Are you all right young man, you seem to be rather befuddled, and even a little scared?" The old woman asked anxiously and then she turned and looked directly into Moira`s eyes and whispered.
"He killed our father Moira, Rob Hinds killed him."
Tears filled the eyes of the Satanist Moira, tears that the sleeping Moira felt streaming down her own face. Rob did not seem to hear the old crone`s accusation or see the tears, instead he replied to her question.
"I am fine thank you, just a little light headed; I will be OK after a bit of a sit down." Rob replied and walked along the hall to number 24, the apartment of Colonel Masters.
The sleeping Moira by now was sobbing; tears were streaming down her sleeping face as she remembered her father, reborn as a young man thanks to her but killed just weeks afterwards by Rob. She watched as Rob knocked politely on the door and she heard someone inside call out that the door was open, apparently he did not know that it had been the Satanist Moira who had answered him and unlocked the door.
The Satanist Moira now continued with her fun. "Let the nightmare world of their dreams appear within the home of Colonel Masters." She whispered in the softest of voices.
Moira watched tearfully as Rob walked into a small hall to see a man, who the sleeping and who Moira assumed to be Mr Masters, he was sitting in his front room. Something woke Masters who looked up in anger, surprised to see a stranger standing in his apartment, but on seeing Rob he did not tell the stranger to leave his apartment, instead he stood up and screamed out in terror. Suddenly the clean white walls disappeared and they were replaced by the burning rocky landscape of Hell. Rob began to choke as a sulphur-laden air filled his lungs, his knees buckled under him as his strength was mysteriously drained from his body. From out of nowhere flashes of electricity crackled over their heads, and then electricity was running all over his body causing him to cry out in pain. The sleeping Moira smelt burning hair and she saw smoke rising from Rob`s head, more smoke began to rise up from his shoes, she was helpless to go to his aid, even if she now wanted to do so. A blinding bolt of lightning struck without warning, and the two men found themselves hurled hard against the nearest solid object by the force of it, the rumble of accompanying thunder deafening them.
"Let their nightmare world disappear and normality return." The Satanist Moira whispered from the hallway outside of the apartment and then she turned again to the sleeping Moira and spoke directly to her.
"Remember Moira, he killed our father, Rob Hinds killed him."
Immediately the apartment changed back to its original form. Masters had been thrown to the floor by the powerful blast and now found that his back was against the far wall, not a hard piece of basalt rock, and he looked terrified as he looked over at Rob. Rob was picking himself up from an armchair while feeling equally confused, and looking out for an attack by one of the denizens of Hell.
Lord Asbaritch had easily arranged the small pieces of special effects, the whispered accusations, and by the look upon the Moira`s face he knew that his messages were having the desired effect upon her. It was now that Lord Asbaritch ended the vision, to continue could easily cause his beloved to lose her mind, and that he did not want, so he returned to his fortress in the Netherworld, later he would show her more of her old life, but for now, she needed to sleep.
**********
Magnus One had been concerned when he saw the power demonstrated by the two humans. However, fear ran through his veins on realising that he was powerless to stop whoever was searching through his mind.
When the searching mind left him Magnus One took a deep breath, as did the rest of his coven who looked at him for an answer, not having one he merely led them and their five new victims back to their new base. However, his fears did not lesson with time, or distance travelled, he knew that he and his coven were in grave danger from the being who hasd so easily entered his mind. One question ran through his mind, if this being was part of the SIS then why had they only now used this awesome power. He debated whether to return to their starship, for if the newcomer was a member of the SIS then the farmhouse would soon be surrounded and he had no idea if they would be able to escape this new intrusive mind, one that, he thought, might be capable of stopping them in their tracks. In the end, he decided to stay, for they were on a mission of discovery, and he had learned far too much to leave before he had found answers to the many questions that had built up so fast.
The new base was a deserted farmhouse, one in which the supporting beams were now fully exposed by them. Opposite the old farmhouse was the large but derelict barn in which they garaged their shuttlecraft, ready for them if they needed to depart in a hurry. He had Linguia construct an inverted pentagon while Timoni and Technic readied the shuttlecraft for immediate lift-off. Four more of the coven sat and guarded their latest seven victims while the remaining four kept a lookout for any signs of their enemy. With the pentagram ready, they strung their victims upside down from the exposed rafters of the old farmhouse, using the last of their specially anointed rope
.
Magnus One now called in the other members of the coven, for the time had come for the ceremonial part of the nights gruesome activities, and he now killed and then cut all of the seven humans` throats while calling out to his gods to look favourably on his gift to them, a gift comprising of the unbelievers` life-force. 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 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 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 much like a lightsabre, except that only a red plume of smoke came out of it. Only after the ceremony was completed did the Amaymons clear the top of an old sideboard. One left there by the previous occupant and upon this they placed four pewter plates, they had taken these plates and others from the churches that they had visited. The plates were laden with the seven brains and it was now that the aliens dined on the brains of their victims. Finally, they washed their dinner down with the blood that they had collected in the large buckets.
**********
Lord Asbaritch returned to find Moira still asleep; a small spell had caused the nuns of the convent to forget about her until the demon lord allowed them to remember her. He watched as the Amaymons began their terrible ceremony and so he woke Moira and linked her mind to that of Magnus One, and she witnessed almost the whole of the ceremony. She watched the terrible proceedings, initially shocked by the killing of the victims she was also confused, were these visions showing her what was actually happening now, or was it showing her the past, as she assumed the other visions in which she herself had appeared had done, or was she simply going insane.
**********
Magnus One now notified the authorities anonymously by phone, telling them that he had found seven dead bodies; he also gave them the location of the bloody scene. On investigating the call, they immediately notified Chief Superintendent Reynolds who set off for Yorkshire with his full team. By now, Reynolds trusted the agents of the SIS, so he in turn called Sir Willoughby Brown who sent Rob and David up to Yorkshire, which is precisely what Magnus One wanted.
**********
Scientia arrived at Fort Mead in Maryland, USA in the early morning, and because of the hour, he had been led to his cell to sleep until the day shift arrived to question him. He soon found that his new guards had not taken the many precautions that the SIS in London had taken, so he decided to educate them, especially as there was only the graveyard shift present at this late hour in Fort Mead. He soon had a plan of escape worked out, thankfully, they had left his translation device turned on and it worked over the short range between him and the device, which was sitting on a desk in a nearby office.
"Guard, guard, help me!" Scientia cried out.
Twenty seconds later a tired looking agent, Miles Larson, appeared at the cell door. Agent Larson had been told very little about this particular prisoner, just that he was special; well he could see that from his height, his gaunt looks, his pallid complexion and red eyes, Agent Larson thought as he looked through the bars at the prisoner. It was now that Agent Larson noticed how bright the red eyes were, how they glowed, he noticed that he was opening the cell and walking inside, but little else, then he was laying down upon the bed and he was soon fast asleep.
Scientia took the agent`s keys and weapon, he debated about searching for his translating device and his Satan energy weapon but decided against it, he could easily be seen and shot should he dally too long in this building. He had no particular idea as to where he would go after escaping from the building, unfortunately his plan stopped just short of perfect, he would just have to play it by ear. He quietly made his way to the staircase and followed the fire exit sign that led him down to the large reception area at the entrance to Fort Mead. So far, he had met no one, so he now took a moment to familiarize himself with the percussion weapon before he was called upon to use it. It took him but a moment to work out how it worked so he proceeded on, opening the door he saw two men sitting behind a desk, they were the night security for this level, levelling his weapon on one of the men he used his mind to take control of the other guard. It took him a little longer because the guard was not looking directly into his eyes, but finally he was in control of the guard, who just stood there immobile.
The two agents in the reception area were as tired as the one that Scientia had already taken out, but while one of the agents, Johan Muller, went into a daze, due to Scientia focussing his mind control on him, the second agent, Mitch Wayling, was looking out through the glass doors at the car park beyond. It was he who saw Scientia reflected in the glass of the door, and it was this agent who reacted even while Scientia attempted to aim the strange weapon at the second guard.
Agent Wayling threw himself to one side while twisting around, even as Scientia attempted to react to this sudden movement, Agent Wayling had landed on the hard floor and taking only a fraction of a second he aimed and fired his Taser weapon, the only weapon that the two guards were allowed to use in the reception area. Scientia felt the electricity run through his body, he recalled crying out in pain, but that was all, moments later Agent Wayling has handcuffed Scientia and hauled him over to the lift. While Agent Muller struggled through the mind control that had suddenly gone, Agent Wayland returned Scientia to his cell where he found the sleeping guard, who on being awoken and released him from the cell looked a combination of baffled and deeply shamed. Wayland now ensured that their prisoner would not awaken too soon, for he pumped him full of a strong sedative always kept on hand to quieten unruly prisoners. Wayling had one more task to complete before he headed back down to the reception area. He contacted his chief, Agent Colin Charles, who on being awoken from a deep sleep swore, then after listening to everything that Agent Wayling had to say about the episode, he fired out some quick instructions, Agent Charles then dressed and drove quickly over to Fort Mead.
Here he was once again told about the way their prisoner had taken control of two of their agents' minds, he was also told that Agent Wayling had pumped the alien full of a powerful sedative to ensure that he did not come round too soon to try his tricks on them again. On hearing the strange tail Agent Charles called his superiors, who in turn finally remembered the warning given to them by the SIS, they quickly realised that they needed expert help and so they called Sir Willoughby Brown and asked him for help. David, who up until then was heading for Yorkshire with Rob, was diverted to the city of Maryland, USA.
**********
The Amaymons had moved to another farmhouse just a couple of miles away from their latest crime scene, Magnus One was using it as a very temporary land base, within it the aliens were busy setting their trap to capture Rob or David. They had used their superior technology to hack into the CCTV cameras around the MI6 building, Then to follow Rob as he drove across London to the M11 motorway that would take him North and Scarborough. Even when Rob turned off onto one of the narrower roads they kept track of him, Magnus One following him using the smallest of drones. The crime scene was still three country lanes further on when the countryside alongside the lane opened up, the lane cutting through open farmland for a short distance. There was just row upon row of cabbages, and it was amongst these that the aliens were concealed as they waited for Rob.
Rob was given a clue to their being near to him when the engine of his vehicle cut out, but Rob put this down to a genuine fault in his vehicle as he guided the vehicle to the side of the lane. It was not until the aliens suddenly appeared on both sides of his vehicle that he realised what the fault actually was, the aliens had used their technology to stop his leisurely dri
ve through the lanes of Yorkshire. There were four of them, each armed with one of their Satan energy weapons, all of which were aimed at him through the closed windows of his vehicle, the one looking at him through the driver`s side window spoke to him.
"Rob Hinds make no attempt to reach for your weapon or we will open fire on you." Linguia ordered. "I am going to open your door, you will get out slowly and carefully keeping both of your hands in view at all times. Please understand Mr Hinds, there are four of us, should you not follow my orders precisely, should you choose instead to attempt anything reckless, then at least one of us will shoot you, do you understand?"
Rob nodded slowly. "Yes, I understand, I will play nice." Rob replied softly.
This phrase seemed to stump Linguia for a moment but seeing it as words of compliance he reached down and opened the door of the vehicle.
Rob had considered ramming the door into the alien`s body, but with three other dangerous looking weapons trained on him he resisted the urge to play rough, later maybe, but for the moment he would simply wait until the odds had shortened. As he slowly got out of his vehicle he cursed himself for a fool, the aliens had guessed that he would be sent to the scene of their last atrocity, why had he not taken greater care as regards his personal protection. The answer of course was that he was in England, he always felt safer here, had he been anywhere else in the world his natural survival instincts would have kicked in. Now though he was their captive, and they would use their technology coupled to their mind control to learn everything that he himself had learned about black magic, of Moira Bourbon and his friend David Pritchard. This would make them unbeatable when added to the power that they already possessed, that of being able to control the mind of anyone not suitably protected, it was while Rob was thinking the worst that Linguia cut into his thoughts.