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The Final Song. Part two.
REWIND. REWIND. REWIND. REWIND.
© © © © Bruce C. Lee December 2005.
This book was written at Nitmiluk
Gorge from July 2005 to December 2005.
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© Bruce Cameron Lee December 2005
The Final Song. Part two.
REWIND. B. Cameron Lee
PROLOGUE.
Ruth lay back on the hot sand of the Fijian beach. A thin towel was all that
separated her magnificent, scantily clad body from the sticky grains beneath her.
It allowed all the heat through, heat that she enjoyed soaking up. It recharged the
batteries in her demon body. Ah, holidays. A short time, once a year, when she
could escape the City and travel to a foreign destination. There she could be by
herself and relive the memories of the evil committed during the past year. It
was difficult when the Devil was your old man. He could appear anywhere, at
any time but they had an unwritten agreement that holidays were ‘private’. She
closed her eyes and listened to the Pacific Ocean, lapping the coral sand at the
high tide line as the breeze soughed through the fronds of the palm trees further
up the beach behind her. She was aware of the gaze of some of the boys from the
resort who had wandered down the seafront to ogle her. Let them look, she
didn’t care. She was here to relax.
The Halloween Party at ‘Satans’ nightclub, ten days ago, had gone well. She had
returned there after taking Chris’ soul when he died in the car crash and the
night had been a big success. For her, the biggest success had been the Devil
agreeing to give her Chris’ soul for her very own. It was her first one. There was
something about Chris that attracted her. Yeah, he was easily duped and led
astray but he had an intensity of emotion that was directed at her. She couldn’t
understand it but liked the adulation though demons were not supposed to have
emotions, that’s what her Dad had told her on many occasions. However, the
more she dealt with Chris, the more she felt something strange but interesting
happening within her. An unspoken bond. He had gotten over the transition
from death to being a soul inside of her pretty quickly, all things considered. Her
Dad had told her it sometimes took years for spirits to regain their sanity but
Chris had clung to her like a limpet and adjusted rapidly to his circumstances.
The heat from the sun was delicious; she stretched languorously as her pale
white skin soaked up the energy of its rays. She could not burn, she was a
demon.
As she drifted off to sleep, her hand unconsciously wandered to the mound
between her legs, her fingers idly massaging that special spot. Chris’ spirit was
released.
“Leave me alone,” it wailed inside her.
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“Don’t you love me?” she asked.
“Yes but now that I know you are a demon, it doesn’t feel right. You are
dedicated to evil. You conned me. All I did was love you.”
This was not going well; she wasn’t supposed to feel guilty about such things.
“Chris. I, we are on holiday. I don’t have to be evil on holiday. If I agree to be
‘good’ will you be nice to me?”
“You’re a demon, you tell lies. How can I believe you?”
“Look into my dark soul if you want the truth. I’ll open it up to you.” Ruth did
the necessary mental adjustment and waited.
After a while Chris spoke within her again. This time, he sounded gentler and
more than a little incredulous as he delved deeper.
“You had a normal childhood.
Your mother was a nun!
You didn’t become evil until the Devil came for you at puberty.
The bastard! What he did to you! Ruth, I am truly sorry. I didn’t realize that
being a demon meant that you had a human mother. Why can’t you stop being a
demon?”
“To tell you the truth, I’ve never thought about it. Being bad is its own drug.
Now, will you be nice to me?”
Chris’ spirit interleaved with Ruth’s mind and his undying love for her washed
over Ruth as he gently titillated the pleasure centres of her brain. At the same
time, her own fingers were moving in ever decreasing circles under the tiny
thong of her bikini. She opened her eyes but the pleasure continued to build,
until it burst in a shattering crescendo which tore a cry from her lips. After, she
lay on the sand thinking about some of the things that had occurred during the
last sixty years of her being alive. Nothing could match the feeling that she had
when she was with Chris. What was going on? This was not right.
The heart of stone was developing cracks.
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Chapter 1.
Steve sat on the cold wet rocks at the end of the long promontory, gazing out at
the spume tipped, heaving grey seas. The wind’s incessant howling tugged at the
hood of his padded Gortex jacket and made his nose run. The lighthouse behind
him pointed at the leaden skies, its tip disappearing into the low clouds being
blown in by the rising storm. The first day of the New Year.
He gazed down at the box on his knees. No ordinary box this; it was about the
size of a shoe box and made from jet black onyx with gold hinges and a golden
lock on the front with a tiny golden key. The exterior was plain and unadorned,
apart from one word inlaid in gold in the centre of the lid, CHRIS. It had arrived
by courier, addressed to him at his home with no return address, just three
weeks after his best friend had died in a burning car wreck. Included with the
onyx box was a typewritten note which read, “For his earthly remains. You will
know what to do with them.”
The rising wind shifted its song up a few notes. Even the seagulls had forsaken
their aerial games as Steve sat contemplating the box. Inside were the mortal
remains of his friend, all that could be collected together. The burning car he had
died in had not totally consumed him, as the fire department had arrived in time
to extinguish the blaze before that had happened but there was not much of a
body left to cremate later.
The tears on his face mingled with the driven sea spray as he sat deep in thought,
a lonely figure in a wild place, on a mission. Steve could not believe his friend
was dead. The car accident had followed directly on the heels of Chris being
pursued by the police for the atrocious murder of his ex-landlady, who had been
chopped into pieces and then decapitated. Chris could never have done such a
thing, Steve knew but no one would listen to him. The case had been closed
rapidly as the police had their suspect, albeit dead and they were not interested
in reopening it, even though there were a number of anomalies in the chain of
events leading up to Chris’ death at close to midnight on 31
st
October,
Halloween. Where had Chris been for the three weeks before his death? No one
knew or could find out. The police had used the car registration to trace back to
Father O’Connor at St. Pauls, where Chris had won the car in a fund raising
raffle, just a few short months before his death. Father O’Connor had checked
with Steve before giving the police Steve’s telephone number. At that time Steve
had been eager to help the police with their investigations, in the hope that Chris’
name could be cleared. Unknown to him, the police had taken the liberty of
doing a background check on Steve without his knowledge and then came to
him for answers. He had none. All he could tell them was where Chris had
worked. They then went to the Fleeting Image Advertising Agency and viewed
Chris’ files, retrieving next of kin data. Chris had listed his grandmother as his
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next of kin but she was old and frail and could not cope with the loss of her
favourite grandson. She flatly refused to believe anything she was told regarding
Chris’ wrongdoings, consistently maintaining that the police must be mistaken.
She did however, give them the address of Chris’ brother at a University on the
west coast, clear across the country. Then the circle completed itself. Steve
received a phone call from Chris’ brother, Michael, who was in the process of
doing final exams for his Law degree. Michael knew of the close bond that Steve
and his brother had shared and being unable to spare the time at precisely that
moment, due to exam pressures, asked him if he would mind taking care of the
arrangements regarding Chris’ cremation and personal affairs. Steve had then
enquired after Chris’ sister Catherine but she was travelling overseas,
whereabouts unknown. So he had agreed. Michael sent a letter to Steve giving
him the power of attorney in dealing with Chris’ mortal remains and tying up
any loose ends of that life. All that he asked in return was to be consulted
regarding the final resting place for Chris.
Then the onyx box had arrived.
Steve shuddered and looked down at the box again. CHRIS. The gold lettering
on the top stood out, even in the dimming light. The wind was building and the
first drops of rain were beginning to fall, he felt chilled, in spite of his expensive
jacket and knew that he would soon have to act out the final scene of his friend’s
life. Such a short life. Steve shuddered again.
The days following Chris’ death had been weird. Steve was not used to being
treated like a criminal. The police were looking for accomplices to the murder
and made life difficult for him for a short while then the case was suddenly
closed with no explanation, a fortnight after Chris’ death. Although an autopsy
had been performed on Chris’ body, the results came back negative for drugs
and alcohol, completely contrary to what was expected. It was almost as if the
whole accident thing was being made to seem commonplace to avoid too much
investigation. The police would not accept the power of attorney letter at face
value and contacted Michael to check that the document was real. They would
not release the remains of the body to Steve initially and he had to enlist Father
O’Connor’s help in that matter. It still took a while. At long last, at the end of
November, the mortal remains were cremated and the ashes, contained in a little
plastic tub, were placed into Steve’s care. When he had returned home with the
ashes that evening, Mary, his lady, had taken him into the study where she had
set up a small table. The table had been covered with a red velvet cloth, on the
top of which were placed the black onyx box with a candle at each side and a
bible. There, by candlelight, on their knees, they had prayed for Chris’ soul and
transferred his ashes from the plastic tub into the onyx box and then locked it.
A telephone call to Michael a few days later had resulted in a long discussion
regarding the final resting place for the ashes. Michael was of the opinion that
Steve should decide where that was to be, as Steve knew Chris better than
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anyone. Steve on the other hand was of the opinion that ‘family’ should take
responsibility for that decision. It was then that Michael dropped a bombshell, he
said he had no desire to be associated with a murderer, dead or alive and maybe
a religious person like Steve would be the best person to say a few words as the
ashes were scattered somewhere of Steve’s choosing. The discussion ended there.
Steve and Mary talked it over and decided that the first day of the New Year
would be the appropriate time to scatter the ashes of his dead friend. As for a
place: the lighthouse promontory where sky, sea and land met. It was decided,
they both agreed.
So here he was, shivering with cold, in a rising storm with building seas. If he
didn’t act soon he ran the risk of being washed off the rocks where he sat.
Still, he could not act. Something was not right.
When he had gone to Central police station to ask after Chris’ possessions once
the case was closed, he had been stalled. No one seemed to know what had
happened to them. Passed from one department to the next, with one bland
excuse after another, he finally lost patience and threatened legal action to
recover them. This got a response and he was ushered into the office of a fairly
high ranking policeman. Why? This surely should have been a routine matter. It
was explained to him, rather officiously, that because of the nature of the case,
the possessions could not be released. When Steve had pointed out that the case
had been closed and he would be taking legal action to recover the few things
left, no matter what it cost him, a telephone call had suddenly been able to locate
them. He left the police station with a plastic bag containing a charred watch, a
slightly burnt wallet, some loose change and a small, blackened and very burnt
metal box with bits of melted plastic stuck to it. The wallet had apparently been
saved from incineration because it was in Chris’ hip pocket. That particular area
had escaped the intense heat of the blaze due to the protection afforded by Chris’
body being in contact with the seat. The plastic bag was now sitting, unopened,
on Steve’s desk at home. He was still trying to get the remains of the car released.
The daylight was starting to fade and the tide was coming in. If he sat here much
longer he would catch pneumonia. It was now or never. As he grasped the key to
unlock the box so he could scatter Chris’ ashes in the storm, he paused
momentarily. This was the last tangible link to his best friend. Then a small voice
whispered inside his head.
“What about Ruth?”
Ruth. Where did she fit into all of this? Mary and he did not like Ruth, she felt
decidedly evil but Chris had adored her and in return Ruth had seemed to have
some affection for Chris. They looked good together and Steve had never seen
his friend so head over heels about anyone before. Not even his one time live-in
girlfriend Angela. He knew that Ruth had something to do with a mysterious
club that went by the name of ‘Satans’ but its whereabouts was unknown to
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anyone he had asked, including the authorities. When he had mentioned Ruth to
the police, in connection with the murders, they had seemed disinterested in his
theories. Curious. Really, there was a lot more to all of this than met the eye.
Then there was the cassette tape that Chris had told him was responsible for all
of his good fortune. Steve had listened to it but had heard nothing. There was
nothing recorded on it, or was there? Where did the tape end up? Was it burned
in the car? He still had to go and deal with the insurance people regarding the
payout on the car. It was lucky that the post mortem had turned up negative for
drink and drugs or they wouldn’t have to pay up. However, they were stalling
on payment because they couldn’t get the car released from the police impound
yard either but if they could, maybe he could have a look through it before the
insurance people took it. He felt squeamish at the thought of looking through the
car his friend had been burnt to death in but at the same time resolved to be
strong in his search for the truth.
Steve did not believe that Chris had murdered Patricia, his ex-landlady, nor did
he believe that Chris’ death had been accidental. Somewhere, somehow, Ruth
was involved in all of this and he meant to find out the truth of the matter.
The crash of the last wave breaking on the rocks called him from his reverie at
about the same time that the swirling waters rose up and thoroughly soaked his
legs up to his knees. His shoes full of water, Steve scrambled back up the rocks
holding the onyx box carefully in front of him. Another mystery. Where had this
box come from? It was beautifully made, perfect even and very, very costly. Yet
no one had taken responsibility for providing it. Someone had cared and knew a
bit more about what was happening than a lot of other people. It had arrived just
three weeks after Chris’ death with his name inlaid in the top and it had been
delivered to Steve, the one person to whom all the responsibility would
eventually fall for subsequent arrangements. There it was again, coincidence.
The last light of the day was rapidly dying, being extinguished by the dense
black clouds that had gathered overhead. Rain had started to fall, blowing
sideways, driven in the near gale force winds that were mounting in intensity all
the time. This weather had not been forecast, just stormy conditions. Steve came
to a decision. He would not scatter the last remains of his friend. That act would
be too final and irrevocable. There must be something that he could do to clear
his friend’s name so he was not laid to rest as a murderer. In the meantime, this
beautifull black onyx box would be just the thing to contain the last remains of
his friend.
Tucking the box under his arm, Steve leaned into the wind so he would not blow
over and eventually reaching the sealed road around the lighthouse, walked
quickly over to his car and jumped inside. His teeth were chattering
uncontrollably as he pulled the keys out of his pocket and tried to insert them
into the ignition with wildly shaking hands. He could not feel the ends of his
fingers or his nose or his toes and knew that when the heater warmed the car up
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they were going to get very painfull. With the car now started, he put it into gear
and headed for home, happy with the decision he had just made and feeling a lot
better about things now, than he had for the last couple of months. He intended
to get to the bottom of this mystery. It was fortunate that his grandfather had left
him a small fortune when he had died several years ago, that would give him the
time and resources to investigate this matter fully. His fingers had started to ache
as the blood flow returned to them and his nose dripped steadily. He reflexively
wiped his nose and wondered, as he drove home, how Mary would feel having
someone’s ashes in the house with them.
Ah well, he would find out soon enough.
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Chapter 2.
The love of his life, Mary, was waiting for him anxiously when he arrived home
wet and cold from his lonely sojourn. Mary had entered his life last year, about
six months ago, after being introduced to his bible group by George and Doris
Stansbury. They were good friends of his who had died in a car wreck shortly
after selling Chris the winning ticket in a Church raffle. The prize was the red
Corvette that Chris had died in. Mary was beautifull. Blond, athletic and softly
spoken, a counterpoint to Ruth, Chris’ girlfriend, who was black haired, pale and
slightly oriental looking. Steve and Mary had sensed a rightness in each other
and had gravitated rapidly into a close relationship. She had not yet told Steve
her full history and was somewhat of a mystery but Steve had not pried,
accepting her for herself and figuring that she would tell him in her own good
time.
Mary ran from the front door of his house to the car, through the howling wind
and rain, with a coat over her head.
“Are you all right? I have been worried about you my love.”
“Sorry. I got lost in thought sitting out there and didn’t realise that it was so late.
Let’s get inside and I‘ll tell you about it there. I am really cold and need a shower
and a change of clothes.”
Picking up the onyx box from the front seat he tucked it under his arm and made
a dash for the house following Mary. Pushing the front door closed against the
insistent wind he turned and gave her a lingering kiss.
“I missed you out there. It was pretty wild toward the end and I couldn’t decide
what to do. Give me a few minutes to shower and change and we’ll talk.”
He took his jacket off and hung it on the coat rack then placed the onyx box on
the hall table and went up the long hallway towards the back of the house where
the bathroom and kitchen were located. On his way he grabbed some dry clothes
from the bedroom to wear after he had showered. Meanwhile, Mary headed for
the kitchen to make him a hot, strong coffee. She turned, halfway up the long
hallway, to look back at the onyx box. How could something be so black? She felt
very uneasy about it.
Fifteen minutes later, warmed up and in dry clothes, Steve retrieved the black
box from the hall table and taking it into the kitchen at the back of the house, sat
it on the kitchen table. He took a seat at the table and Mary sat down beside him.
They both studied the casket in front of them, holding hands as Steve sipped his
coffee and slowly gathered his thoughts together.
“I don’t really know where to start,” he began.
“It doesn’t matter. Start where you feel comfortable,” she suggested. “If there is
anything I don’t understand, I can always ask.”
He smiled gratefully at her. Mary was so understanding and patient with him.
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“Well, I had fully intended scattering Chris’ ashes at the lighthouse as we
discussed but as I was sitting there getting into the necessary frame of mind, I
wondered at all the anomalies surrounding his death. A lot of things are not
fitting together.”
Mary was listening intently. “Tell me a few of them,” she prompted.
“Well, Chris could not have killed Patricia. Especially the way she was
murdered. I have known him a long time and even in the grip of evil there
would always be a core of goodness in him that would preclude that sort of
action. He liked Patricia. We talked about how he felt about her. He was really
gratefull toward her for the chance she had taken on him, renting him a room in
her apartment in his hour of need. However, no matter how hard I try explaining
this to the police, no one in charge of this case will listen to me.”
Mary studied him before commenting. “Yes, even while the evil was running
through him I also felt that core of truth. He wasn’t totally evil; there was good
left in there somewhere.”
Steve squeezed her hand gratefully before continuing.
“Then there is Ruth. We both felt the total lack of morals or goodness in her,
despite appearances to the contrary. Chris was addicted to her. So where is she?
According to the police that were in charge of the case, no one besides you or I
actually saw them together and they are totally disinterested in looking for her.
Even if they were interested, we don’t even know her surname to pass it on to
them.”
“Yes,” Mary concurred. “There are a few unanswered questions aren’t there.”
“That’s not all. How did the accident occur? Chris was getting quite good at
driving his Corvette. How did he miss all the warning lights and marker cones
and drive through the only gap in the wall for a couple of kilometres? Where had
he been for the three to four weeks before his death? Don’t forget, someone rang
us the night before he died. There was only a lot of distorted noise on the answer
phone for that last message but I thought I could just make out Chris’ name. ”
“That‘s true, I just haven’t given it much thought or put it all together in that way
before.” Mary was starting to look interested now.
“There is more. I got to thinking about this casket.” Steve nodded at the black
box on the table in front of him. “Who sent it and why the note? There just seems
to be too many questions and a shortage of answers. Chris was my best friend,
we had something and now he’s gone but not forgotten. I couldn’t bring myself
to just throw him away with so much unresolved. His ashes are my last link with
him, so I brought them back.”
Mary didn’t look all that suprised. “I kind of figured that, when you were away
so long this afternoon and then took so much care of the casket bringing it into
the house.” She placed her hands on the casket. “Although, I must admit, I sense
something odd about it. What, I am not sure but there is a certain energy
involved in this. Something I am not familiar with, neither good nor evil.”
Steve raised his eyebrow. “Any possibility of being more specific?”
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“No my love, not at this time. What are you going to do with it?” She took her
hands from the casket.
“Well, if you don’t mind, I thought I would keep it in the study, on that little
table you set up with the candles and the bible. You know, with the red velvet
cloth.”
“Good idea, being near the bible would be usefull I think. In view of the last
couple of months of his life.” She smiled at him. “Shall we put him there now?
Then we can go to bed early and I can warm you up some more.” As she spoke
the last words, Mary snuggled her face against his neck and kissed and nibbled
him enthusiastically. He smiled at her and rose to his feet, taking up the casket
before him to carry it through to the study before he joined her in the bedroom.
The next morning was cold. The high winds had dropped overnight and the
forecast was for extreme cold with the probability of snowfalls. Mary decided to
go to the supermarket and lay in provisions in case the weather conditions
turned nasty. She never asked Steve for money, ever, and Steve never pried into
her history. Still, he wondered where Mary got her money from as she didn’t
work. Another mystery that would have to wait for Mary’s explanation. All in
good time he hoped.
With nothing to do he sat sipping his coffee in the kitchen pondering his next
steps in his investigation into Chris’ death. Where to start? He suddenly
remembered the meagre bag of Chris’ possessions that he had struggled so hard
to recover from the police. It was on his desk in the study. Rising to his feet, he
picked up his coffee and headed into the study. Settling himself at his desk he
couldn’t help but to look over at the black casket on the small table. “I will do
whatever I can Chris,” he thought to himself. Then he reached over and picked
up the bag of possessions, emptying them out onto the desk in front of him.
Steve sat and looked them over, the last things Chris had on him when he died.
His thoughts drifted for a while then the front door was opened and slammed
shut with a gust of wind.
“Sorry Steve. It’s only me with the shopping.” Mary’s voice drifted down the
hall.
“I am in the study Mary,” he called in reply then went back to his inspection of
the articles. The loose change he put to one side, then he picked up the
blackened watch. It had been on the wrist of his dead friend at the time of the
accident. He wiped the face of the watch but could not remove the burn residue.
He picked up his empty coffee cup and wandered into the kitchen. Some rubbing
with a pot scourer revealed the face of the watch underneath the glass. It had
stopped at five past eleven. Mary came back into the kitchen after changing out
of her damp clothes and proceeded to put the shopping away in the cupboards
and refrigerator.
“Found anything yet?”
“No, I have just cleaned up the watch face to examine it.”
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As his fingers felt over the glass while he was talking, they picked up very slight
irregularities in the surface. Too small to make out with the naked eye.
“I’m just going back to the study. I need to use a magnifying glass.”
“Okay, I’ll be along shortly,” Mary replied.
Back in the study, he took a magnifying glass out of the desk drawer and
examined the face of the watch. There, embedded in the glass, were some tiny
globules of molten metal. How had they got there? The fire in the car was not hot
enough, nor had it burnt long enough, to melt metal. As he looked even more
closely, it appeared as if the molten metal had left tiny trails across the glass
before embedding into it. Odd, what could have caused that? Just at that moment
the door was bumped open and Mary entered, carrying two steaming mugs of
coffee. She handed one to Steve and pulled up a seat beside him.
“Have a look at this,” he said, handing her the watch and magnifying glass.
Mary inspected it carefully. “There appears to be trails of melted glass and metal
globules on the face.”
“Exactly but there was not enough heat in the car fire to melt metal, so how did
that happen?” They looked at each other in puzzlement. The watch did not offer
any further clues so Steve put it to one side, next to the pile of change. He picked
up the metal box but it was really blackened and covered with bits of burnt
plastic so he put it to one side until last, as he would have to clean it before
examining it. That left the wallet. All its corners had been burnt and the side that
would have been away from Chris’ body was charred but not right through the
leather. Steve opened it carefully, trying not to break the now brittle leather. He
opened up the section that normally held bank notes and was suprised by the
wad of cash. He withdrew it carefully and gave a low whistle of amazement as
he counted it. The notes were charred on each corner but there was well over a
thousand dollars in his hand. At least now he knew that Chris had not been short
of cash. As much as he disliked Michael’s attitude, Chris’ brother and sister
would definitely be glad of this windfall. He laid the cash to one side and
continued with his exploration of the wallet. A couple of business cards, the
usual, real estate agent, Corvette dealer, even one from the Fleeting Image
Advertising Agency. There was a driving license and a credit card but little else.
Steve was disappointed, he was really desperate for a clue, something to start his
investigation off with.
“Nothing,” he said, handing the wallet to Mary. She went through the wallet
again, this time looking into the bottom of each compartment of the wallet. In the
third compartment she looked in, she noticed a crumpled piece of blue paper
squashed deep inside. Grabbing a pair of tweezers Mary pulled it out. If the
police had already been through the wallet, they may have missed this. Fighting
down rising excitement, Mary opened up the scrap of blue paper very carefully
and spread it out flat. On it was a phone number. Who or what it referred to she
had no idea, as there was no further information written down.
“What have you got there, love? Steve asked her.
14
“I don’t know, it looks like a phone number but there is no name or anything to
identify it,” she replied. Steve took the scrap of blue paper and sat back,
considering what to do, then got up, went to the toilet and made them another
cup of coffee before coming back to the desk. He handed one mug to Mary before
sitting down and taking a sip of his own coffee, trying to compose himself.
“What are we going to with this?” Mary asked, pointing to the telephone
number.
Steve looked at her. “I am going to ring it now. It is the only way we can find out
who it is. It could be important.” Then with shaking hands he picked up the
telephone and dialled the number on the scrap of paper. It rang.
“Yo.”
Steve almost jumped out of his skin. “Who is this please?”
“Mike Carruthers, who am I talking to?”
“You don’t know me, my name is Steve.”
“What can I do for you Steve?” Gruffly.
“Did you know Chris Wilkins; I am trying to find some things out?”
“What are you, a reporter or something?” Suspicion was evident in the voice.
“No! I was his best friend. I need to know what happened to him. You know,
before he died.”
“Listen bud. This is DETECTIVE Mike Carruthers. You ought to be carefull who
you talk to about this matter, it could get a bit sticky.”
“Are you one of the detectives from the case?” Steve asked with a sinking feeling
in the pit of his stomach.
“No I’m not. Look, we should meet in person. There are some things that cannot
be discussed over the telephone. It is possible that you may be being watched.
Can we meet later this afternoon?”
“Yeah, how about Tonies Coffee Shop about four o’clock. Can I bring a friend?”
“Sure you are not a reporter?” the gruff voice asked again.
“Detective Carruthers, I am sitting here looking at the casket containing my
friend’s ashes. No, I am not a reporter.”
“Can’t be too carefull bud. See you later.” With that the telephone line went
dead, leaving Steve with a slight feeling of elation. He had a lead at last.
Someone to talk to who may know something about Chris. He was so excited
that he forgot about the small metal box sitting to one side of the desk covered in
splashes of melted plastic. What did the Detective mean about being watched?
Who would want to watch him or Mary and why? Mary was looking at him
expectantly, her head tilted quizzically to one side.
“We have a lead,” he exulted. “We are going to meet a Detective Mike
Carruthers at four this afternoon. We may actually learn something now.”
Mary was a little worried, this was getting deep. What was going on?
15
Chapter 3.
Four o’clock that afternoon found Steve and Mary sitting in Tonies Coffee Shop
gazing out at the first thick flurries of snow beginning to fall as the daylight
waned. They had been there for about ten minutes and were both waiting
apprehensively for the person that they were supposed to meet. They were the
only people in the shop, probably due to the weather, which was extremely cold.
Mary found herself being caught up in Steve’s mounting excitement but was
slightly worried about the warning that Steve had been given. What if it was a
trap?
The door suddenly banged open with the wind as someone entered. They both
looked up at the same time, startled, to see a figure in an old overcoat and beaten
up hat enter the coffee shop. The figure took off the hat and coat revealing a well
built man in a shabby suit with a three day growth of whiskers covering a
battered face, complete with broken nose. He looked like a thug. Mary started to
tremble. What if......... Catching sight of them the man came over and extended
his hand in Steve’s direction.
“Detective Mike Carruthers.”
Steve took the big paw in his hand and shook it, noting the firm, warm grip
which felt very reassuring.
“Steve Sinclair and this is my partner Mary, Detective Carruthers.”
“Call me Mike, no need for formalities. What does a man have to do to get a cup
of java around here?”
“Allow me. How do you have it?”
“Black and strong please.”
As the day outside slid into darkness, the detective studied the earnest young
people in front of him while waiting for his coffee to arrive. His first impression
of Steve was of a person he could trust. Steve looked pretty average but had an
aura of quiet determination about him. A stayer, not someone who would easily
crumble. Bit of a tenderfoot. He might need all of that resolve the way things
were shaping up with regard to his friend’s case. The girl on the other hand,
Mary, was a real looker. He studied her closely. One of the things he prided
himself on was never forgetting a face and she looked familiar.
“Have we met before Mary,” he asked.
She looked suddenly startled and giving Steve a quick glance replied, “No, I
don’t think so.”
He saw the pleading in her eyes and suddenly realized that although these two
people were a couple and they looked it, Mary had secrets that Steve knew
nothing about. He decided not to push it, she seemed nice.
“Sorry, my mistake. We haven’t met before.”
16
Gratitude shone from her eyes. He bathed in it for a second or two until his
coffee was placed in front of him. He would protect her if he could, there was an
innocence there. Steve was a lucky guy. Mike took a sip of his coffee before
sitting back and looking at Steve.
“Okay, you want to start talking?”
Steve drew in a breath as he studied the detective. Could he trust this man? What
else did he have to go on?
“What would you like to know?”
“Everything from where it started to get strange. Off the record, I talked to Chris
for the first time when I telephoned him the day after the suspicious suicide,
when Sally jumped off the balcony at what was to become his apartment.”
“Yeah Mike, I remember that happening but it started a little earlier than that.”
Steve sat for a second or two gathering his thoughts then proceeded to tell the
detective the whole story, starting from the accident involving the colored guy
which occurred right outside the coffee shop they were in, back in late July. It
took a while to relate the story up to the present and by the time Steve had
finished, the coffee shop proprietor was looking to close up. Steve glanced at his
watch and was amazed to find it was nearly six o’clock.
“I’m really sorry Mike, I didn’t realise how late it is getting. Your wife will be
wondering where you are.”
“I’m not married bud; we’ll just keep going ‘till we get to the end of this. You
both want to eat? There is a restaurant in the Mall across the Boulevard.”
Steve glanced over at Mary who nodded assent.
“Okay,” he said, “but we are paying.”
“No argument there bud.”
They left Tonies Coffee Shop in a group, huddled into their coats and hats,
leaning into the wind driven snow. The lights went off in the coffee shop behind
them as they were crossing the grass verge to the road. Some of the streetlights
along the Boulevard were off also and it was pretty dark. Steve was the first to
reach the edge of the road and seeing no car lights stepped off the footpath. Two
things happened almost simultaneously. A large paw grabbed the collar of his
zipped up jacket and yanked him forcibly backwards as a big, dark car roared
through the place he had just been standing in.
“You ought to be more carefull bud or you’ll wind up dead. No number plates,
they were out to get you. Although how they knew you were going to be here is
anybody’s guess. Might be an idea to get a mobile phone, your house phone is
probably bugged.”
While Steve’s legs stopped their wobbling he realised that Mike had saved his
life and that Mike was a pretty cool customer.
“Thank you Mike, I owe you my life. I am in your debt.”
“De nada. You are buying me a meal, we’re even.”
17
Ensconced in a cosy restaurant in the Mall, with few other customers around,
Mike told them about the telephone call he had received early on the morning
that Chris had died.
“I wasn’t on that case but I advised him to give himself up. All the evidence was
stacked against him though. He wouldn’t have stood a chance in court. I did
mention, at his insistence, that a tape recorded confession from the real killer
would help and offered to fit him up with a wire. He hung up but I had traced
the call by then.”
“Where was he calling from?” Steve asked.
“A big holiday hotel down the coast called Holiday Magic. He had rented the
Penthouse, paid cash but left suddenly. Early in the morning the day after the
story broke.”
“I wonder what he was doing down there?” Steve mused.
Mary looked up. “Running away from Ruth?”
Both men looked at her, Mary stared right back.
“How do you know that?” the detective queried.
“I don’t know; I just know it. I cannot explain how but I know that is the reason.
Ruth is most likely responsible for Patricia’s death.” Mary’s eyes were gleaming.
Steve explained. “Mary has this gift and she has never been wrong. Strange as it
may sound, I fully believe her. Ruth is someone we need to talk to.”
The meals arrived, a big T-bone steak for the detective and fish dishes for Steve
and Mary. Before long there were three empty plates on the table and the
detective was ordering a big slab of cake for desert. He looked intently at both of
them, considering, before relating the next thing he had to say.
“This case is very strange. I know the policemen that were assigned to it and
why it was closed so quickly. Some police on the force are dishonest. They
became policemen for the power and the money that can be made on the side. I
hear a lot of things in passing, like who is getting kickbacks, who is getting
bribed and who is getting blackmailed. The people who blackmail cops have to
be very smart or strong otherwise they end up dead. ‘Satans’ is known to some
policemen but I only hear faint whispers. The star dancer is a black haired, pale
skinned woman who, after what you have told me, is probably this Ruth person.
Now, I am not allowed to investigate this case but I can find out information here
and there which may help you. Once you give me a mobile number, I can call
you with information and advice.”
Steve was flabbergasted. This was far more than he had hoped for, far more than
he ever believed possible. “Why are you helping us when you could lose your
job?” he asked.
“Two reasons. I like you guys and I probably could have done more to help your
friend. I feel guilty that I didn’t. This isn’t going to be a walk in the park. I advise
you to buy a gun each and learn how to use it. Get silver bullets too.” This last
was delivered with a wry grin.
18
Steve looked at Mike and shook his head. “No guns. We have God on our side.”
The detectives reply was immediate. “Well ain’t that fine and dandy. Let me tell
you, God has never stopped a bullet. Do yourselves a favour and buy a
telescoping steel rod each and learn how to use that. They may be illegal but are
a very handy piece of gear. The people I know about kill for fun. That’s right.
Fun. Get strong locks on your doors and windows and put your car in the garage
at night so no one can put a bomb in it. You think the attempted hit and run out
the front was an accident? Most likely crooked cops were driving the car.”
The big slab of cake arrived with three coffees. Mike seemed to have a bottomless
hole where his stomach was and quickly disposed of the cake. As he was sipping
his coffee he suddenly thought of one more thing.
“If you ever hear of the whereabouts of ‘Satans’, don’t go there. It is far too
dangerous a place for the likes of you. Tell me where it is and I will go in and
check it out. For now, if you get a chance, check out the story of the staff at the
Holiday Magic hotel. Get an idea of what was happening with Chris while he
was staying there and take notes. Do not rely on memory alone.”
Steve and Mary both nodded in unison, impressed with the seriousness of the
detective’s tone. Steve had a suggestion of his own to make.
“If our phone is bugged, yours may be also. Allow me to buy you a mobile
phone under my name. That way our phone calls will remain private and there is
less chance of another ambush.”
“Good point bud. By all means, if you have got the money I’m all in favour of
increasing our odds in this little venture. Now remember, be carefull! I like you
guys and don’t want to have to investigate your deaths.”
Shortly after, they left separately. Mike first then Steve and Mary, heading out
into the frigid evening. The snow was getting deeper by now and the drive home
was accomplished with much care. They didn’t see anything suspicious but
Steve was very cautious after his near recent brush with death.
When they arrived home the house was pleasantly warm as they had left the
central heating on. They checked through the house but nothing appeared to
have been tampered with. Both Steve and Mary were feeling a little paranoid
after their meeting with Detective Carruthers and sat for a while in the main
lounge room discussing what they would do next.
“First thing tomorrow I am going to get an alarm system installed in the house
and garage. A good one. Also, I think the idea of the telescoping steel rod is
pretty good for self defence. What do you think Mary?”
“I don’t want a steel rod, we are not violent people and the thought of hitting
someone is revolting but I will obtain some Mace spray if I can get it. I think we
should stick together from now on and go everywhere together when we are out
of the house. It may be a little awkward sometimes but having you nearly run
over tonight has scared me quite a lot. I never thought that death could be so
close. I am going to pray for us. Surely God will stand on the side of right.”
19
“I hope so my love. I sincerely hope so.” Steve was looking sombre.
“I’m off to have a bath now,” Mary said. “I need the relaxation. Join me?”
“In a while. There are a couple of things I need to clear up in the study,” he
responded.
So while Mary went off to run her bath, Steve wandered into the study to
organise the results of the day and find out the phone number of the Holiday
Magic Hotel down the coast. Sitting at his desk, telephone book on his lap, he
happened to look up and spotted the little metal box, all blackened and
encrusted. He found the number he was looking for and wrote it down in his
notebook then put the notebook down and picked up the metal box. The hairs on
the back of his neck prickled, his own private indicator of evil. This would take
more looking into. Getting up from the desk he went through to the kitchen and
put the box on the chopping board. Arming himself with a small but sturdy
knife, he started prising the melted plastic off the lid. It came away suprisingly
easily in largish chunks leaving behind blackened metal. Back to the pot scourer.
He ran hot water into the sink with a little detergent added and set to. Ten
minutes later he had a relatively shiny but scratched box. He dried it off and
went back to the study. Sitting comfortably in his chair he opened the lid and
was rewarded by a small gush of water, detergent and carbon which soaked his
pants. Reminding himself he didn’t swear, he went back to the kitchen and
checking that there was nothing further in the box, rinsed it out. It was clean but
blackened inside. He noticed the little spoon on the underside of the lid, a bit of a
giveaway. He wandered into the bathroom where Mary was ensconced in the
bath, bubbles all over the water. He smiled at her, waved the box and sat down
on the end of the bath to look it over.
Inspecting the base first, Steve found the hallmark that told him the box was
made of solid silver. So. An expensive item. A gift? Next he took note of the
plainness of the sides and bottom. The top he was saving until last. Then he had
a look under the lid, pulling out the tiny spoon from its cleverly designed clip
then returning it. This was a box to store cocaine in with its own dispensing
spoon. The cocaine must have carbonised in the flames that engulfed Chris’ car,
otherwise the police would not have let him have the box. It would have been
kept for evidence. Lastly he closed the lid and inspected the top of the box. It was
plain apart from the name on it. CHRIS. He looked at the name again, something
niggling at his brain. What? What?
He looked up to find Mary studying him. She smiled and held out her hand for
the silver box. He handed it to her so she could examine it. Mary noticed things,
most women did but Mary had a good eye and a quick mind. She finished her
inspection and handed the box back.
“Did you notice the writing on the lid is the same as the writing on the casket?”
Then it hit him. Steve quickly got to his feet and went into the study and over to
the small table where the black casket was. He held the silver box beside the
casket so he could see the name CHRIS on both boxes. The lettering and style
20
was identical. Both boxes had come from the same source. They had been made
by the same equipment but one was onyx and the other silver. Someone with a
lot of ability had been paid a lot of money to make these items and they both had
been for Chris. One, antemortem and one, post mortem.
Mary by now had finished with her bath. He could hear her moving around.
“Mary,” he called out to her excitedly, “can you come in here for a moment,
please.”
Mary entered the room looking quite luscious in her tight fitting silk robe and
walked over to stand beside him. He drew her attention to the lids.
“You were right, they are identically lettered.”
A small gasp escaped her lips. “Where did this silver box come from?” she
queried.
“It was with Chris possessions that I had to fight to get back from the police. It is
a box for storing cocaine in. See here under the lid, this clever little spoon must
be for sniffing from.” He crossed back to the desk and placed the little silver box
on it. Turning to Mary he said, “That’s not quite enough excitement for one day.
I’m going to have a quick bath and join you in bed.”
Mary gave him the sweetest most innocent smile, she liked sport and recreation.
Later that night, Steve dreamt. The landscape he was in was a dull monochrome,
lacklustre. He was sitting outside of Tonies Coffee Shop with a coffee, stirring,
stirring, stirring. Someone sat down beside him and he looked up to see Chris
sitting there. Chris spoke to him.
“Hello old buddy. I haven’t got much time. Just managed to sneak out for a little
while but if she wakes up I will get shit for it.”
Steve replied, “This is a dream Chris. What are you talking about?”
“I am not really dead Steve. My soul is inside.... I cannot mention the name
because she will wake instantly. Suffice to say, I am slowly learning my way
around in there. Now, if she sleeps, I can use some of her power to do little
things like this occasionally. Trouble is, she hardly ever sleeps. No, don’t try to
talk, just listen. Did you scatter my ashes? No. Excellent. If you had I could never
come back. At least now there is a very slim chance I may be able to.”
Steve felt a caress of air as a wind started to blow. In the distance a long howl
could be heard, getting ever louder. Something was approaching. The landscape
took on a red hue.
“Shit, she’s awake.”
“Who?”
“Ruth!” Chris shouted. “Look out Steve.”
A female devil form came streaking out of the dream heaven. Red scaly skin, red
eyes, small horns on top of her head and a tail behind. Still horrendously
beautifull even with the red talons held out in front of her. She alighted in front
of them, hissing. Steve stepped forward between Chris and the she-devil.
“This is my dream. In the name of Jesus, be gone!”
21
She laughed as she raked her talons down the left side of his face and grabbing
Chris forcibly, took off. Yelling over her shoulder.
“Jesus has no power, he was a King of the Jews once. That is all.”
Then they both disappeared into the distance and he woke up.
His face hurt abominably so he got up and looked in the mirror. Down one side
of his face, the left, blood was oozing from four lightly gashed furrows. He put
his hand up to his face wonderingly, feeling the gashes. His fingers came away
bloody. Then before his eyes, the gashes started to heal, like in time delay
photography. In a few minutes, there was no trace of any injury, not even scars.
He shivered involuntarily and went back to bed.
22
Chapter 4.
Not long after, ten city blocks to the east, there was activity in the darkened
building that housed the Fleeting Image Advertising Agency. From the street
below, the lights of the sixteenth floor, flickering on, could just be observed
through the ever thickening snow fall. A band of light in an otherwise darkened
building. Upstairs, a meeting was shortly about to start.
The room the meeting was being held in was opulent to the point of extreme.
None of the regular staff of the company had the key to this room and only a
select few ever got to visit it. Louise was presently the only occupant in that
luxurious place and it was she that had turned the lights on, preparing the room
at the agreed-on time for the next arrivals. The position she held in the company
was as the receptionist for the managerial level on the sixteenth floor. Her extra
duties, known only to a select few, were as a facilitator for other, more
mysterious and sometimes fatal, intrigues. Always elegant and refined in
designer label clothing, she was also quite beautifull and managed to exude sex
appeal in a subtle but catchy way. She regretted being mortal. However, that was
probably her main attraction to the biggest player of the coming meeting. Also,
she was getting impatient with her status. Being a favourite of the Devil was
okay but it didn’t carry the importance or permanency of being a child bearer.
That was what she was aiming for, bearing the Devil’s next child, her own little
demon. Once it was born, she would have real status.
There was a flash and the ‘whumph’ of displaced air, heard and also felt as a
slight compression in the ears as the air pressure readjusted. Standing before her
was a dark man, elegantly dressed in an Armani three piece suit complete with
gold fob watch and chain. He was slim and very handsome for an older person
with narrow red eyes and a thin lipped smile. Almost sardonic, except for the
evil undertones. Here was a person capable of great cruelty.
“Hello darling, good to see you again,” she said to the well dressed figure.
“Don’t call me that, you know how much I hate that bullshit, lovey-dovey stuff!”
the dark man growled at her.
“Sorry, Mr. D, I forgot.” Louise’s apology was earnest. You didn’t mess around
with this guy.
He spoke again, “Is it time to fetch the others?”
“I guess so, they should be ready about now. They are usually waiting for you on
these important occasions.”
He nodded his head and his gaze turned inward, next moment there was another
‘whumph’ and after Louise’s eyes had recovered from the flash, she recognised
the naked young demon standing before her. Well built, tallish, with red scaly
skin, red eyes, little horns and a tail. Completely naked. He had the same sort of
mouth as his father.
“Hello Andrew. Mr. D is already here.”
23
“Greetings Louise.” Turning around he nodded at the figure in the three piece
suit. “Father.”
“Don’t call me that. You know the RULES, for us there is only one ‘Father’. If you
have to use human terms, I believe ‘Dad’ fits.”
The Devil concentrated on the back of a chair and clothes appeared over it.
Neatly folded and new, still with labels attached. Somewhere fairly close, a
clothing store owner would notice items missing the next day and suspect a staff
member of stealing. As Andrew walked over to the chair and began removing
labels from the clothing his demon body gradually began changing into its
human form. That of a handsome, black haired man with a well tanned skin. He
removed the labels and put on the clothes which fitted him perfectly.
“You know Dad; I sometimes get tired of being brought to meetings. Why can’t
we have powers like yours? Then we could bring ourselves along and do lots of
other stuff as well. It is ridiculous that we can only teleport what we can see
while your range is over a hundred kilometres. Also, if you could teleport me to
meetings in human form, already clothed, it would save you having to bring
clothes in from nearby when I arrive somewhere. Is there any way that we
demons can acquire the extra power to do more?”
The Devil shrugged, “You know the RULES are not changeable. It is a contract
between HIM and ME. HE claims humanity as his children and uses us to cull
the bad ones. For that I am allowed four demon children to assist. The limits to
your powers are set so we cannot take over. That is because HE has more power
than I do. How many times do I have to explain to you about genetics? You get
fifty percent of ME and fifty percent of your mother. Your mother, I shouldn’t
need to remind you, was human, so you can only have fifty percent of MY
abilities and not the true power that I possess. MY power is given to me by HIM
as part of my contract. It is unfortunate that you only posses the minor abilities
but that is how it is. Your powers only work on what you can see and you lack
enough mental strength to teleport yourself.”
Andrew shrugged, “It was worth a try. Why don’t you break the contract?”
“Yet once again I have to explain. Dummy. If I break the contract or any of the
rules, I may cease to exist. Simple. And before you get any ideas, that goes for my
immediate offspring also. So don’t even think about it.” The Devil strode over to
the table and pulling out a chair, sat down. He made a very small gesture and a
steaming cappuccino appeared on the table in front of him. In a late night coffee
shop about three blocks away, a confused waitress found she was one coffee
short when she arrived at a group’s table.
“Want one? Louise? Andrew?” Before they could answer, the Devil paused for a
second, head cocked to one side, still.
Their reply was stalled by another flash and a ‘whumph’. They looked over to
see a gorgeous female demon with red scaly skin and similar demonic attributes
as Andrew. Naked, she was magnificent. She slowly changed into a beautifull
female form with black hair and pale, pale skin. There was a slightly oriental cast
24
to her features. The Devil nodded in her direction and immediately she was
clothed in an elegant evening gown.
“Hi Papa. Thanks.” She gave him a little wave then looked down at herself.
“What, no label.”
“It came off a window dummy. Why weren’t you ready for me earlier Ruth?”
“Er, I forgot the time?” The hesitation was obvious to all in the room.
“Don’t lie to me daughter. I might get angry with you and you know what that
means.” His face darkened slightly and little forks of lightning flickered
throughout the room.
“I fell asleep for a few moments while I was in human form. The wards slipped
and Chris got away for a few seconds. I had to Change and go get him back. It
won’t happen again, honest.” She gave her father a timid smile and blushed.
“Save it daughter. You may be Daddy’s little girl but if you cannot control that
spirit I gave you to use, I can always take it back. Tell me, you are half devil.
What’s with the ‘honest’?”
Ruth laughed and followed Louise and Andrew over to the table where they all
sat down. A coffee appeared in front of Louise and the Devil raised an eyebrow
toward Andrew and Ruth.
“Tequila please,” they both chanted in unison. On the table in front of them a
bottle of tequila and two glasses appeared. Andrew unscrewed the cap and
poured two generous helpings, one of which he slid in front of Ruth.
The Devil gazed around the table, stirring his coffee, which immediately started
boiling and then looking directly at Ruth, spoke.
“How was the holiday? Ready for another year of evil?”
“The holiday was great Dad and yes, I am ready for work.”
“Good. Now I will take this opportunity to remind you that the job you did on
the air hostess was messy. We cannot succeed in our endeavours if we draw
attention to ourselves like that. You were exceedingly lucky that the Chris person
went for a drive at the same time you were slicing the hostess up or he would
have had an alibi. Any complications regarding our tame police that you would
like to report on?”
“No Papa, the porno videotapes from the club guarantee that I have quite a few
important police in my pocket. Blackmail works wonders. There is one
complication though.”
The Devil raised his eyebrows, “Which is?”
“Chris’ best friend Steve ended up with power of attorney for Chris’ estate. He
managed to get the few possessions that were in police custody and is trying to
get the car released also.”
The teaspoon in the Devils hand bent as it started to soften with heat, “Shit! We
don’t need any problems at the moment. If there is anything incriminating on or
in the car, I don’t want it known. Take care of this human if need be daughter
and try to be subtle about it.”
“Yes papa,” was Ruth’s meek response.
25
“And remember; try to make it look like an accident and no murder while in
demon form, unless someone tries to kill you first. The RULES don’t allow it.”
Then turning to Andrew, he spoke one word.
Andrew and Ruth glanced at one another for an instant before Andrew
formulated his reply.
“The tape idea is working fairly well. We have acquired a number of minions,
both male and female, which make the seductions easier for us. We can now
delegate quite a bit of the field work. This gives Ruth and I more time to collect
the souls that you require. However, we have a problem. Having only copies of
the one tape to work with, most of the victims end up working here for a brief
period of time. It’s not too bad as we can bring them back to work here when
they are minions. Only you have the power to do the last minute attunement of
the tapes to the final recipients and although it is nothing for you to do so, we
still cannot work fast enough.”
The Devil studied his son. “Explain.”
Andrew continued. “Although it is working exceedingly well, the process for
soul capture is taking far longer than we had originally anticipated it would. At
the present rate of soul acquisition, it will be over a century before we reach our
target number.”
The elegant figure of the Devil morphed into a horrendous apparition which
roared at them mightily before once more becoming the dark man. A slight
sardonic smile creased the leathery face for a moment.
“Do not give me excuses. We do not have that much time. Our plan calls for the
Army of Night to be mobilized within a year. This year coming. All the signs are
right for a takeover. HIS religions are fighting each other for supremacy and HE
cannot take sides or show favouritism. All the prayers and chants from all the
different religions, each asking him for exclusive backing, are making him a little
confused. HE is a little off HIS game at the moment and HE is not taking much
notice of us. If peace comes, we lose our chance.” The Devil took a sip of the still
boiling coffee and replaced the cup in it’s saucer. “So what do you propose to do
about it?”
Andrew sat studying his hands and buffed nails for a short time before looking
up and meeting the Devil’s flat and cruel gaze.
“Sis and I have come up with a very workable plan. Something that we do not
have to monitor and something that will be more popular than the music tape is.
It will not require your continual input and it will be self promoting. Of course,
the age group will be a little younger than the tape idea but Ruth and I reckon
that the numbers will be phenomenal. The only drawback is, whether or not it
fits in with the RULES.” Andrew poured himself and Ruth another healthy shot
of tequila each, sure he had interested the Devil. He was not disappointed.
“Well, details. NOW!”
26
Good old dad, always so predictable. Pity he couldn’t take the Old Boy out and
then become the Master.
“Nice thought son. I am so proud of you but don’t ever try it or you will cease to
exist immediately. Now get on with it.”
Andrew shrugged, he should have known, the old bastard was so powerfull.
“Well Dad, we were thinking of using a computer game based on the tape
manipulation. It is a classy way to go. Every game would have the same story
and music. We can manufacture them for computers and make them easy to
copy. If the game proves popular, we could also manufacture it for any game
console and it would spread like a virus across the whole country. Maybe even
across the whole world. What we cannot decide is; if the person playing the
game is controlling the evil that occurs in the game, are they then responsible for
that evil. Do the RULES allow us to take a soul for directing evil that hasn’t
happened in reality but only as a surrogate on a screen? The people playing the
game are actually making evil decisions as they play. Is that sinning?” Andrew
tossed his drink back and refilled his glass.
Louise was fascinated. These demons, spawn of the Devil, were really quite
clever. She secretly hoped that one day she could bear the Devil a child just as
clever.
Ruth chimed in. “We have gone over the RULES many times but the language is
so difficult. It is very old fashioned, full of ‘thees’ and ‘thys’ and ‘smiting’ and all
that sort of shit. We just weren’t sure about it all, so we thought we’d better run
it by you and see what you thought.”
The Devil looked pleased. “Well done. Everything is not ‘written’. I have just
checked the RULES and guess what? All that self-determination crap HE wrote
into them has left a loophole. HE never foresaw computers and there are no
regulations regarding that subject. No regulations mean we are not breaking any
RULES. Herod was condemned as a sinner for ordering all the boy children
killed when Jesus was born and he never killed one of them himself. So it should
work in our favour. Now, I do not, as you know, understand all this modern
technology. I am much too old to even try. So tell me, in simple terms, just what
you need to get everything up and running.”
Andrew started speaking again. “We are going to have to write the programmes
for the game. Not too difficult but it would be easier if we had Sonya and Tyrus
here to help us. They are pretty good at computer stuff.”
The Devil looked from Andrew to Ruth and then finally to Louise. “What do you
think, my clever little favourite? Does this sound like a workable scheme? Should
I bring my other two children here as well?”
Louise held his gaze, considering the options before speaking.
“If the game is catchy and becomes popular, it will be really effective in quickly
garnering souls for you. Whatever it takes to make it so, should be considered.
Even bringing all your offspring together in one location is not too high a price to
27
pay. Is it?” She smiled at him, mentally adding that if anything happened to any
of them, she would be happy to bear the next one.
The Devil looked at her appraisingly and nodded in agreement before making
his decision. Then he addressed the three of them again, the expression on his
face becoming quite serious as he spoke.
“As you know, we usually never all work together in the same place. Buying into
this company has given us a legitimate front which may help but there is a
reason that we do not come together. In the past, I have taken care of earthly
opposition myself, so you remain relatively unknown. However, it is now time
you know. There is an organization known as The Brotherhood, sworn to act as
HIS soldiers, which has dedicated itself to ridding the world of me and my
offspring. It is a clandestine operation whose operatives are descended from the
blood of Solomon and David, through Jesus the King of the Jews. It is a royal
bloodline that has continued in an unbroken fashion for thousands and
thousands of years. Today, the bloodline is very dilute and these people do not
have much power individually but they are very dangerous because there are
quite a lot of them. Occasionally, an individual surfaces that has the blood on
both sides of the family. They are stronger and more deadly to us. Well, not to
me but to my get. If we come together, you,” looking at Andrew and Ruth, “and
your brother and sister, could be in danger. Are you prepared to take that risk?”
There was a moment’s stunned silence as the Devil’s words sank home. Louise
sat back and watched the disbelief crossing both Ruth and Andrew’s faces.
Young demons, both thought themselves invincible until this moment. They both
tossed off their drinks and refilled their glasses. Then turning to the Devil as one,
they said in unison.
“We are not afraid. We will enjoy killing whoever or whatever gets in our way.
We need all the family together to have this happen. Make it so Mr. D.” Then
they laughed. Fiendish laughter, starting with a chuckle and ending in great evil
shouts of glee.
The Devil sat back, considering Louise. The summoning had just gone out. His
family would soon be together.
The time had come.
28
Chapter 5.
Steve woke late the next morning. Looking across at Mary, he saw she was still
fast asleep so he decided to get up and put the coffee on. Rising, he put on his
dressing gown and went up the hall toward the kitchen at the back of the house,
stopping off in the bathroom along the way. He walked into the kitchen and
picking up the coffee pot from the coffee machine, went over to the sink under
the window to fill it. Turning back toward the coffee machine he spotted the
hooded person sitting in the chair beside the Welsh dresser. Before he could
think, his nerveless fingers dropped the coffee pot which hit the floor with a loud
explosive crash, sending water and broken glass all over the kitchen floor.
“Who the hell are you?” he shouted.
The voice that replied was male, even though the face was concealed and the
words were calm and measured.
“I would be carefull of your language, if I were you.”
At that moment Mary came running into the kitchen barefoot, her night gown
fluttering out behind her. Steve held up his hand.
“Hold it Mary, there’s glass on the floor.” He purposefully looked over at the
man beside the Welsh dresser and Mary followed his gaze. She gasped and
immediately turned to run out of the kitchen.
“Hold it right there Mary,” said the stranger, a gun immediately appearing in his
hand. It was so fast, it was almost magical.
Mary stood still and looked at Steve questioningly. Steve shrugged in reply. The
stranger spoke again.
“I am not going to hurt you, nor am I going to steal from you. I just want to talk
to you both for a little while. I have some information that is vitally important
and I want to put a proposition to you both.”
Steve looked annoyed, “You could have knocked on the door to tell us that,” he
growled. “Instead of frightening us both half to death. Who are you anyway, to
come into our house like that uninvited?”
The man’s reply was slightly chilling. “What if I had been someone who wanted
to harm you both? You would be dead by now. I came to warn you that you are
both in danger. I thought the best way to show you was to do what your enemies
could do. You are lucky that I am here first. So how about cleaning up that mess
on the floor, making three instant coffees, mine is white and two please and then
sitting down with me and hearing what I have to say.”
“What do you mean, we are in danger,” Steve asked concernedly.
“Please, the coffee first. I have been sitting here half the night guarding you. I
could use a drink.” Saying that he threw back the hood of his tracksuit top to
reveal a person of indeterminate age and European heritage. Black hair, a dark
complexion with an aquiline nose and a well trimmed beard was offset by
piercing blue eyes that never wavered in their intense gaze.
29
“Sorry about the hood,” he said. “I find it comfortable. I will explain shortly but
first the coffee, if you don’t mind. Please do not try to leave the room for the
moment.” The gun was moved ever so slightly away from targeting Mary.
Steve looked at Mary, she nodded then carefully made her way over to the
cupboard underneath the sink to take out the dustpan and brush. Treading very
carefully over the floor to miss the broken glass, she proceeded to clear up the
mess as Steve turned to the kitchen bench top and grabbing the electric kettle,
filled it and plugged it in.
Ten minutes later, the three of them were sitting around the kitchen table. The
stranger was on one side with Steve and Mary on the other. The gun had
disappeared as fast as it had appeared. The stranger started to talk.
“I must apologise for startling you. It was the only way I could guard you and
get your attention. If I had just turned up at the door and tried to tell you what I
am about to relate, you would have probably asked me to leave. If there is
anything that you do not understand when I am talking, ask me. It is important
that you both comprehend fully what I am about to impart. First, my name is
Roberto and secondly I am with The Brotherhood.” He paused for a sip of coffee.
“I also apologise for drawing a gun on you Mary, maybe you didn’t notice but
the safety was on. You are both extremely important people. How important,
you have no idea but shortly, it should all become clear to you both. Good coffee
by the way.”
Steve looked annoyed, “Why don’t you just get on with it then you can leave us
in peace,” he growled.
“Sorry,” came the reply, “but it will be a long time before you will be in peace
again. That is why I am here. You see I know about Chris, your friend. A shame,
my condolences. His death is not an isolated incident, there have been too many
unexplained deaths in this city. Not murders, just unusual deaths, not ‘normal’.”
“Who did you say you were with?” Steve asked.
“The Brotherhood.”
“What is that?”
“A simple question but one that will take a bit of explaining. Bear with me. I
know that you are religious but I don’t know how much religious history you
know, so I’m going to give you both a short history lesson leading up to what the
Brotherhood is today. Stop me anytime if you have a question, as this is very
important. Remember, your lives may depend on what I tell you.
Now, most of the, so called, Christian bibles in use today are merely a
compilation of the Old Testament and parts of certain texts, especially in the
New Testament, that the early Roman Church put together from the writings of
some of the apostles. The Church did this with some pretty heavy duty editing,
to put a certain ‘slant’ on the religion that was around at the time of Jesus. It
resulted in a Christian religion that has lots of laws and rules. More was better to
the Roman Church and they policed their version of religion pretty hard,
30
brooking no opposition. The original copies of these early texts are in the
Vatican, locked away. The Brotherhood has access to many, even earlier copies of
those texts that were ignored or destroyed by the Catholic Church, as it came to
be known. The texts that The Brotherhood has are older and more reliable.
Most present day Christian religions are derived from those early bibles put out
by the Roman Church and that is where most of the problems arise. Essentially,
The Brotherhood believes that there is only one God and that Jesus was not his
‘son’. Somewhat similar to the Jewish and Moslem religions. The Christian angle
is one of the things that the Roman church started. They needed a religion that
went one better than all the others, so they invented Jesus as the Son of God
dying for our sins. With the incorporation of the Holy Ghost, they ended up with
far more angles to their religion than any other on the planet at that time. By
cleverly making the Christian religious festivals coincide with earlier pagan
festivals, they drew in quite a large consumer base. Any challenge to the Catholic
version of things is first ignored. If that doesn’t work, the next step is to use
heavy duty discrediting and if that doesn’t work, any opposition is crushed.
Throughout history, the Catholic Church has purged whole sections of
communities and populations. Did you know of the Crusade in the Languedoc,
in what is now southern France? It was called by Pope Innocent III in 1209. An
army of 30,000 knights and foot-soldiers ravaged and razed the whole area. They
came from Northern Europe and didn’t even have to cross the sea to do it. The
knights wore red crosses on their surcoats, doing the Church’s work. In one town
alone, Beziers, 15,000 men, women and children were put to the sword. This
whole area was a centre of learning with many universities and churches and the
people that occupied it were known as Cathars. Their beliefs did not suit the
Roman church, which is why the crusade was called. The dark ages soon
followed that crusade.” Here Roberto paused in his story and drank the
remainder of his by now, cold coffee.
Steve was stunned, “Is all that true?” he asked.
“You have my oath on it,” replied Roberto. “I hope to be able to show you the
documentation.”
Steve glanced at Mary who was sitting with her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Yes, but what relevance does that have for us?”
Roberto smiled, “There is much more to tell before I get to the end of my tale.”
“What say we all pause and have some breakfast and fresh coffee? Mary? Steve?”
Steve looked at Mary and slightly lifted one eyebrow, she replied with a tiny one
sided smile. Neither of them felt threatened now and they were both interested
in what was unfolding from this unusual encounter with a stranger in their
kitchen.
“You go to a lot of trouble for a free breakfast,” Steve remarked over his shoulder
as he and Mary quickly whizzed around the kitchen putting a breakfast together,
moving around and past each other with grace and speed. Before long they were
all tucking into bacon and eggs with heaps of toast. The kitchen was bright, light
31
reflecting in through the windows from the snow which had been falling all
night and outside the back garden was all white, white, white. Central heating
was a real bonus sometimes.
After the dishes had been cleared away, Roberto continued with his discourse.
“Most of the early religions in the area now known as The Middle East were all
based on the Old Testament. Islam and Judaism are basically similar, neither
believe in Jesus being the Son of God and for good reason. That is a Catholic
invention as I have already discussed. Now comes the clincher. There is
evidence, although not extremely strong, that Jesus was not crucified for real but
rather that the ‘crucifixion’ was a private ceremony held in a private garden. A
sort of ritual rebirthing that was not uncommon in some Jewish sects in those
days. After the ceremony, Jesus slipped away and if you want to go out on a
limb, there are reports that he is buried in the Kashmir region, although we
cannot substantiate those. The important thing is; Jesus was the King of the Jews.
He was not some poor little kid as is generally portrayed and he often stayed
with rich relatives. Trouble was that Rome could not allow his popularity to
grow because their hold on the region was tenuous. Pontius Pilate was bribeable
you know and Jesus was from a rich extended family.” Here Roberto paused and
asked if he could use the bathroom. While he was out of the room, Steve turned
to Mary and asked her what she thought of Roberto and what he was divulging.
Mary looked serious before replying. “Let’s see what else he has to say. It is very
interesting so far but I don’t know whether to believe him or not. He seems okay,
apart from the gun thing. I must admit he had me worried earlier but I feel he is
honest and trustworthy. You know, that female intuition thing.”
Steve nodded, “Yeah, I feel it too.”
Roberto entered the kitchen, “I am glad that you trust me. I could hear you from
the bathroom. It is a good thing. Now we come to why I am here.”
Steve and Mary gave him their complete attention as he started again.
“After the crucifixion, real or not, James, his brother and the Magdalene, Jesus’
wife, travelled to the area of what is now Marseille in the south of France. The
Magdalene was pregnant with the child of Jesus. The blood of Solomon and
David, descending through Jesus and James, is the blood of the Kings of the
Jews. The Jewish people and God go back a long way. The Brotherhood was
formed to guard this bloodline where possible and to fight the evil that is always
trying to take over the world.” Here, Roberto paused and looked from one to the
other before continuing.
“You both have that blood in your veins. Steve twice, through both mother and
father and Mary, strongly through her mother.” After dropping this minor
bombshell, Roberto sat back, waiting.
“How do you know this stuff about Mary and I?” Steve asked him, interested in
spite of the strangeness. Roberto put his hand into his pocket and withdrew a
32
couple of folded sheets of paper which he proceeded to unfold and flatten out on
the table.
“These are your genealogies going back to the Merovingian bloodlines of about
1000A.D.”
“What!” Steve exploded in surprise, echoed by Mary’s gasp a second later as the
import hit her. “How? Why?”
“Simple. The Brotherhood keeps track of all the important bloodlines. We are not
a small organisation and we have many resources you know. More than you
could ever imagine. See here, Steve. This is you, an only child. Your Grandfather,
the one who left you the money, was in The Brotherhood. He migrated out here
after the Second World War from Scotland. Sinclair derives from Saint-Claire
which originally was French. A lot of French people went to Scotland in the
fourteenth and fifteenth century. Your mother, on the other hand, had a father
who was a French Canadian. That is why you have the blood on both sides.
Mary derives from a pretty pure branch of the Merovingian bloodline known as
the Hapsburgs, who were a northern European branch of the family living in
Austria and Germany. Hard to say which, as those borders have changed so
much in the last couple of hundred years. There is your lineage. Both of you are
of the line of David, who was favoured by God. You will have talents that are not
found in a lot of people, whether you know it or not.”
‘Yeah, I get prickly feelings on the back of my neck when I am near someone
evil.” Steve volunteered.
Mary added her contribution. “Yes, and I just ‘know’ when someone is bad.”
“How do you ‘feel’ about me?” smiled Roberto.
They looked at one another puzzled then looked at Roberto.
“Nothing.” In unison.
“Good, I would have been worried if that wasn’t the case. Now, have you
noticed anyone lately that has caused you to react?”
Steve looked a little concerned. “Yes, as a matter of fact we have.” He exchanged
a meaningfull look with Mary, then continued. “Both Mary and I felt very
strongly about Chris’ friend Ruth. She came to dinner here once but it was a
strained evening. She was bad all the way through.”
Roberto was visibly excited. “Did she have black hair, a pale skin and look
slightly oriental?”
“Yes. How did you know?” They both spoke in unison and then looked
sheepishly at each other.
“She has been mentioned in relation to a number of our recent enquiries around
town. You say she uses the name Ruth. This could be very helpfull.
I actually came here for two reasons. I want both of you to join The Brotherhood,
so you can learn how to defend yourselves and understand how to use your gifts
and also because you are in danger.” He sat back and watched them both,
waiting for a reaction. It was not long in coming.
“Why are we in danger?” Mary asked seriously.
33
Roberto looked pleased with her response. “Because you have both met Ruth
and know something about her.”
Steve and Mary exchanged glances.
“You seem very well informed,” commented Steve.
“When you are in the business I am in, you have to be.”
“What exactly, is your business?” Steve asked him.
“The Brotherhood hunts down evil. We kill the Devil’s children wherever we can
find them. Ruth is a demon, one of the Devil’s four children. It has taken us a
long time to track her down. Now with your help, we have a lead. She must die.
Unfortunately we cannot kill the Devil. He is the Dark for God’s Light and can
never die but his children can. That is what we do, wait for groups of deaths and
unusual occurrences in one location, then investigate. Ruth is the youngest, a
replacement for the last one The Brotherhood killed over sixty years ago.”
“No way,” Steve interrupted. “Ruth is nowhere near sixty years old.”
Roberto looked patient as he continued. “Demons have a long life span. They
have fifty percent of the Devil’s genes and he is immortal. One of his current
children, Tyrus, is close to seven hundred years old and is by far the most
dangerous of them. We don’t know where he is at present. It is a bit of a worry as
he is exceedingly clever and totally ruthless. You are in danger because Ruth will
try to kill you to make sure you cannot involve her. It has to be an accident as she
cannot kill innocents directly. Your house may burn down with you in it, your
car may have an accident or you might just simply drown.”
“I find this all too unbelievable. Just too pat. What are you after really?” quizzed
Steve. Mary merely looked uncertain.
Roberto took Steve’s hand in his, saying earnestly. “Let me stay here for a couple
of days. I have some seriously researched books with me that you are welcome to
read. We can talk and when you are happy about us, you can make a decision.”
At exactly that moment, the doorbell rang.
“Are you expecting anyone?” Roberto queried.
Steve’s reply was a terse, “No.”
The doorbell rang again and Steve headed off down the hallway to answer it. He
carefully opened the door and looked out around the edge of it. Cold and white,
the snow in his front yard was a wide unmarked expanse out to the front gate. A
splash of colour caught his peripheral vision and he looked down to find a
bouquet of beautifull out-of-season flowers. No one was in sight. He picked the
bouquet up and closing the door against the cold, went back into the kitchen.
“Who was it?” Mary asked while Roberto looked on, replacing his gun in its
holster.
“There was nobody there, but look.”
Mary gasped as he drew the bunch of flowers from behind his back. Then she
exclaimed. “There’s a card! Open it, see who they are from.”
Steve took the envelope and quickly opened it and removed the card. As he read
it the colour drained from his face.
34
“What is it?” Mary asked.
“It reads, ‘I am really sorry that Chris died’, and it is signed, ‘Ruth’.”
Roberto gasped. “An interesting coincidence, seeing as we were just talking
about her. Any tracks Steve?”
“Tracks?”
“Yes, did you look for tracks in the snow? Footprints, that sort of thing.”
Steve was looking very sheepish, so Roberto got up and went down the hall to
the front door. Steve tagged along behind, still holding the flowers, while Mary
brought up the rear. Roberto opened the front door and the three of them looked
out at the expanse of recent, new fallen snow. Nothing marred the purity of the
surface, not a mark, not a scuff, nor could any trace of a footprint be seen. The
surface was unbroken right out to the footpath beyond the front gate.
They looked at each other for a moment, then Steve quickly shut the door.
Turning to Roberto, he asked tersely. “When did you say you were moving in?”
35
Chapter 6.
Roberto had left to get whatever things he needed and some of the books about
what he claimed was the ‘true’ religion. Steve had his doubts about all of it but
being the sort of person that he was, decided to keep an open mind. The snow
had ceased falling but the skies were still leaden and grey, brooding. Mary had
gone to the kitchen and was busily cooking lunch in anticipation of Roberto’s
return. She seemed to like him. That was a good thing, as her intuition about
people had yet to be proved wrong. Steve was in the study contemplating the
onyx and the silver boxes when the telephone rang. It was Michael, Chris’
brother.
“Hello. Is that Steve?”
“Yes it is. Who am I speaking to please?”
“This is Michael. Happy New Year.”
“Same to you Michael, how can I help you?”
“Well, I got a phone call from Sis a few days ago to wish me a Happy New Year.
She is over in France. She mentioned that she was running out of money. I was
just wondering if you had received anything from the insurance company yet
with respect to the payout on Chris’ car.”
“Sorry, not yet. The police have been stonewalling me a bit on getting the car
released. The insurance company will not pay out until they have the car in their
possession. Leave it with me, I will chase it up immediately and get back to you
within the next couple of days. I have some good news though, Chris’ personal
possessions have been released to me and there is just over one thousand dollars,
in cash, in his wallet. I could send it to you.”
“Thank you Steve. You don’t know how much of a help you’ve been to Sis and I
in this matter. Talk to you later. Bye.”
Steve sat looking at the phone in his hand. It was time to buy some mobile
phones, one each for him and Mary and one for Detective Mike Carruthers. That
would diminish the risks of their conversations being overheard in case his
telephone was being bugged.
Steve took out his notebook and rang the police station. When the call was
answered, he asked to be put through to the officer in charge of impounded
vehicles. There was a pause, then after a few rings it was answered.
“Hello. This is Steve Sinclair; I have the power of attorney relating to Chris
Wilkins’ estate. I believe you have a burnt-out, red Corvette convertible in the
impound yard.”
“Yes sir, we do.”
“Well, I would like it released immediately, as the insurance company is waiting
to take delivery of it.”
“Sorry sir but I can’t do that, I have instructions not to release it.”
36
Steve was getting used to these sorts of replies and countered instantly. “You do
realise that the case is now closed and there is no reason to hold onto the car
don’t you?”
“No sir. I can only release the car with the appropriate paperwork.”
“Very well. Please put me through to whoever I need to talk to about getting the
car released.”
“Yes sir, please hold.” The phone was put down and distantly over the line Steve
could hear the officer talking to someone. The line went dead for a second and
then another voice announced.
“This is Captain Stobles, I have been put in charge of this matter. What do you
want?”
Steve was suprised. “I wasn’t expecting to talk to a Captain but as you are aware,
this case is closed and there is no reason, as far as I can see, that the police should
keep the car.”
“That is our business, sir. When we wish to release it, we will.” The Captain’s
response bordered on gruff.
“Well, I am making it my business now, as the relatives of Chris Wilkins have
need of the money from the insurance on the vehicle and I have the power of
attorney in the estate. If I do not hear back from you within one hour, I intend
ringing my lawyer and finding out why the release is being blocked and who
authorised it. Believe me, I intend to get to the bottom of this and will not give
up. I have resources enough to make things happen. Your choice. Goodbye.”
Steve hung up, his hands shaking. In his whole life he had never spoken to the
police in such an abrupt manner. He was not going to take any more crap from
these people. There was definitely something fishy going on.
Roberto turned up soon after with boxes of books, a suitcase and a trunk with
locks on. Steve helped him move his things into one of the spare bedrooms but
was intrigued by the trunk. It was very heavy.
“What’s in the trunk?” he casually asked.
“That is for later, when the time is right. You need to walk before you run my
distantly related relative.” Roberto smiled.
“What!”
“We share the Merovingian bloodline Steve. I thought you realised that. All
active members of The Brotherhood do.”
“Yes, sorry. By the way, do you have a mobile phone?”
“Sure, I will give you the number later. Do you?” Roberto raised one of his
expressive eyebrows.
“No, but I am getting one later in case the telephone is bugged.”
“Excellent,” was the succinct reply.
They had a pleasant lunch, sitting in the kitchen and chatting about
inconsequential things for a while, until the telephone rang.
37
It was Captain Stobles, a little more conciliatory than earlier in the day. He said
he had taken the matter up with his superiors and the car was now to be
released. He also mentioned that there had been a bit of a mix-up with the
paperwork and that he didn’t want any trouble. The car was now available to be
picked up from the police impound yard. However, there was no apology
forthcoming from that quarter. When Steve related the good news to Mary,
Roberto looked over at Steve.
“Any chance of getting a look at the car before the insurance company takes it?”
he asked. “This could be your first lesson in our methods.”
“Sure, we could do that. I’ll go ring a towing company to pick it up and we can
have a look at it on the back of the truck when we get it out of the impound yard.
I will have to go down to the police station to sign for it anyway. On the way I
can buy a couple of mobile phones and introduce you to an honest policeman.”
Roberto beamed, “That could be very usefull.” He turned to Mary. “Will you
come with us please? I would feel happier knowing you were safe.”
Mary nodded, a look of concern passing over her face.
An hour later, with three mobile phones in his pocket, Steve was at the police
station with Mary and Roberto. He scanned the directory at the entrance and
found Detective Mike’s room number. The three of them then went upstairs and
Steve knocked on the door.
“It’s open.”
They went in to find a very astonished Detective Mike Carruthers.
“Shut the door, quickly. Sorry, but you shouldn’t be here. Who’s this?”
Introductions were made and Roberto and Mike sized each other up before
shaking hands in a firm and friendly fashion. Steve handed a mobile phone to
the detective and also gave one to Mary. They spent the next few minutes
programming each others numbers into the mobile phones.
“Good,” the detective said. “At least we can talk to each other without getting
bugged. Just remember to keep the phone with you at all times. Steve, have you
talked to the people at the Holiday Magic hotel yet?”
“No but it is the next thing on my list to do. Anything I should know?”
“Yeah, offer them money to tell you the truth. I know you see it on the movies a
lot but it does work. We want to find out as much as we can about what has been
going on. What did you say you did Roberto?”
Roberto looked directly at the detective, “I didn’t but I will tell you, as you are a
good man. I am with The Brotherhood.”
At the mention of that name, Detective Mike went very still. He looked anew at
the figure standing before him. “I am a Freemason. We know a little about The
Brotherhood. Has it come to that?”
“I am afraid so Mike. There is a nexus of evil in this city and I am here with
others to root it out and try to destroy it.”
38
The detective’s gaze took in the three people standing in front of him, they were
so young, so vulnerable. “If I can help in any way, without being found out, let
me know. The work you do is important and I can be of assistance.”
They all thanked him and took off, making sure no one was watching as they slid
out of the office and went down to pick up the paperwork for the car’s release.
The tilt-tray tow truck was there and very shortly after flashing the paperwork,
the three of them were following the truck, bearing the remains of Chris’
Corvette, back to Steve’s place. The tow truck driver was getting a little
impatient, as the afternoon was wearing on and he had to be back at the depot by
six o’clock, before which he had to drop the car off at the insurers. It was also
starting to get quite cold as the sun descended rapidly in the skies. A fifty dollar
bill and the promise of a cup of coffee put a smile on his face. He waited in his
truck while Roberto went into the house. He returned with a small hand held
bag and a hot coffee for the truck driver. Steve and he climbed up onto the back
of the truck and took their first serious look into the car. It was a mess. The fire
had burnt a lot of the interior to bare metal. All of the plastics had virtually
disappeared but the leather seat uppers were still recognisable. Behind the seats
there was a huge rent in the floor caused by the car being impaled on a large
steel sculpture after it left the overpass when the accident occurred. There wasn’t
much left in it at all. Roberto set down his case and opened it, taking out a small
camera.
“This is a digital camera with a macro lens. I will photograph the interior and
exterior all over and we can analyse the photographs after I download them into
the computer.” He set about working quickly in the fading light, the camera
flashing with each picture, while Steve looked on, slightly sickened by the
thought that some of his friend may still be amongst the ashes on the floor.
Roberto then put some gloves on and picking up tweezers and some zip-lock
bags, started to pick up small samples of whatever he thought important. When
he came to the seats, he held open the crack between the upright and flat part of
the seats and picked out samples of something which he placed into the little
bags. The passenger seat seemed to interest him the most. After ten minutes he
was satisfied.
“Well, that’s it. Do you want to do anything further?” he asked Steve.
“No, I have had enough of this.” Steve choked down, glad they were finished.
They got down from the back of the truck as the last of the light was waning and
sending the relieved driver on his way, hurried into the house.
It was warm and cosy inside, much to their relief as they were both quite chilled.
Mary had made a hot meal for them and they ate in silence, quickly, as Roberto
was going to do some analysis on the photographs and samples. After the meal,
the table was quickly cleared and Roberto opened the suitcase, instructing both
Steve and Mary to pull up chairs beside him so they could watch him at work.
The inside of the case lid was a computer screen and other electronics could be
seen inside the case itself. Steve was impressed. This was really high tech gear,
39
very expensive. Roberto loaded the pictures he had taken into the computer and
brought them up on the screen one by one, looking for something at ever higher
magnifications. Nothing. Then he adjusted the pictures, changing the light source
to create deeper shadows and ran through them again. He finally stopped at one
with a sigh.
“Look. Right there. This is a picture of part of the outer passenger side door, just
below the top of it. What do you see?” He fiddled with the computer a bit more
and there on the screen were the dished impressions left by four finger ends. Just
below each one, was a single, evenly depressed small mark, digging into the
fibreglass of the door.
Steve looked at Roberto. “What is it?”
“The impression of four clawed fingertips that were extremely strong. That is
why they have marked deeply. Demon claws. There was a passenger in this car
that was not human. It probably gripped the door reflexively at the time of the
crash. Now, one more test.”
He took one of the zip-lock bags and carefully extracted a tiny fragment of
something which he placed into a slot inside the equipment in the suitcase. He
activated a switch.
“This came from the crack in the passenger seat. I believe it is a piece of skin
which would have been shed at the transformation from human to demon. The
machine should be able to show us soon.”
There was a small beep and Roberto pressed another button on the computer.
The picture on the screen changed to show chromosomes, human, nearly and
definitely female. The Y chromosome was obvious in the picture.
Roberto was not suprised by what he saw. “A female demon was in the car
before the time of the accident. My guess is that it was the demon known as
Ruth.”
Steve and Mary exchanged a look with each other. Their fears had been realised
and a small amount of guilt at not being able to help their friend was also
contained in that look. Despite the guilt, Steve was really impressed with the
quick confident way in which Roberto worked and the equipment he had to
work with. He may not believe in Roberto’s version of the Bible at this time but
he recognised integrity when he saw it. Roberto was a ‘good’ man, Steve and
Mary should hear him out thoroughly and take the information he gave them
without prejudging. You never knew, Roberto may just be right.
After everything had been cleared away and the kitchen tidied up, the three of
them adjourned to the lounge where Roberto starting pulling books, some of
them extremely old, out of a solid cardboard box. He laid them out on the coffee
table in piles, with a brief comment on each pile.
“These are the copies of the original scriptures on which the New Testament is
based. When you read them, you will notice differences to the current one. These
are a history of the bloodline of David and Jesus, Kings of the Jews. This pile is
the history of our Order and here is the verifiable data on the four children of the
40
Devil, the Demons. It is a bit scant in places. Read what you wish, if you want to.
I would like you to, please. Now I must bid you goodnight as I am really tired
and have sleep to catch up on.”
Startled, Steve and Mary looked up and both wished Roberto a pleasant night’s
sleep and blessed him. Roberto smiled shyly and went to bed, leaving them to
their studies. It was midnight before Steve and Mary could tear themselves away
from their reading and head for bed, making sure all the windows and doors
were securely locked before they turned in for a well earned night’s repose.
Steve found himself in a desert, low sand dunes with rocky valleys in between.
The valley floors had low crooked cactuses growing in them and the whole scene
was bathed in a reddish light. He was standing, wondering what was going on,
when a voice spoke from behind him.
“Hello my friend, good to see you again.”
Steve whipped around. “Chris! Is that really you? How? What?”
“Steady on, be calm and listen. I don’t know how much time we have. One of
Ruth’s ‘clients’ smacked her up the side of the head and knocked her out, which
has freed me up until she comes around. This is what her mind looks like. Bleak,
isn’t it? You are dreaming at this moment but it is really me. I want to show you
something. Come this way.”
With that, Chris set off across the landscape, Steve following, his mind awhirl
with what was happening. They trudged up a sand dune and cresting the top
saw before them an oasis. The pool of water in the middle was crystal clear and
palms and shrubs grew around the edge.
“What is this?” Steve queried.
“It is mine. I made this, all of it, in the short time I have been here but I want to
show you something in particular. Look over there, see that rose bush growing.
It even has flowers. Ruth made it, without being asked. It is not evil and I believe
that she is not totally evil either.”
Steve looked sad. “We just found evidence that she was in the car with you when
you died.”
“Yes but she didn’t kill me. She wanted me to be her minion. You know, an evil
person in thrall to a demon. I couldn’t bring myself to be totally evil. We fought
while I was driving too fast and then I lost control of the car. It was my fault I
died in the accident, not hers. Since I have been in her mind, I have discovered a
lot about Ruth. She was born about sixty years ago, her mother was a Catholic
nun. The Devil appeared to her mother as a handsome young priest and by dint
of lies, managed to seduce her. He likes doing shit like that, it amuses him. Ruth
was born and her mother left the convent, eventually taking up teaching. She
had a happy childhood. Neither of them knew the Devil was her father until she
started to menstruate. That is when He came and took her. Her eldest demon
brother was her first sexual encounter and during the next few years, between
the Devil and the demons, they killed any good that was in her and planted evil.
41
That is the desolation of the desert. Look before you though, an oasis and she
hasn’t destroyed it and has even got a plant of her own growing. I firmly believe
that Ruth can be saved and plead with you that you help me.” Here, Chris stood
in front of Steve and took both of Steve’s hands in his.
“Promise me as my friend that you will do everything you can to help Ruth turn
from being evil. Quickly, I feel her starting to stir and I have to send you back.
Please, promise me.”
Steve looked into his friends eyes, they were so sad. “Okay, I promise. I will do
whatever I can to help Ruth escape evil.”
Chris smiled, “And I will help you whenever I can, my friend. I am learning how
to use her powers.”
Steve suddenly sat bolt upright. He was in bed. Rubbing his eyes, he looked
around but saw nothing in the darkened bedroom. Beside him, Mary stirred at
his change of position and reached out an arm in sleep for him. What a dream.
What would his overworked mind come up with next? As he lay back down he
turned his head to the left. There, on the bedside table, seen in the dim glow from
the alarm clock, was a perfect white rose.
42
Chapter 7.
Andrew stood, gazing out from his office window on the sixteenth floor of the
Fleeting Image Advertising Agency, at the scene below. White was the motif.
Apart from where heat escaped the buildings and tyre tracks had melted the
snow, the whole cityscape before him was mono-colored. It had stopped
snowing recently and a melt had almost started but plunging temperatures
overnight had frozen the snow solid. Andrew hated the cold with a vengeance,
he would have much preferred being somewhere a lot warmer. He hadn’t really
quit from his job a few months ago like he had told Chris, that was a lie. Andrew
liked telling lies; it was fun and anyway, why quit a job where your dad owned
half the company. What he had done however, was to promote himself, so he
could get off the fourteenth floor where the drudges worked and into an office of
his own, two floors up, where he had some privacy.
There was a discreet tap on the door and Louise entered as Andrew turned from
the window.
“Yes Louise, what is it?”
“Good morning Andrew, I just popped in to tell you that the airport is closed.
Tyrus and Sonya were due to fly in this morning but their flight has been
rerouted to Bravura, due to the runway being iced up here. I guess they will get a
rental car and drive down.”
Andrew frowned. “How long do you think that will take?”
“Oh, about six to seven hours in these conditions,” replied Louise.
“Damn. Well, not much we can do about now. Let me know when you hear
anything further.” Andrew went back to his surveillance of the weather.
Louise coughed discreetly and Andrew turned around to face her again.
“Mr. D would like to know why Ruth is being a bit strange.” She smiled a little
as she lowered her gaze. Being the Devil’s favourite was quite a good thing to be
when dealing with the family.
“Ruth is not being strange. She is just putting more time into the club these days.
The videotapes of so called deviate behaviour that we have made there are
paying of handsomely as blackmail for City officials and Ruth is working hard to
build up the numbers we have on our side. If Mr. D wants to know anything
about Ruth, he can always go and see her at the club. She is the youngest of us
and still needs some further training of her abilities.” He sighed and pulling out
his chair, sat at his desk, leaning back to look up at her. “She will be fine, just try
and keep the old man off her case for a while. All of us will be together shortly
and things will change.” His eyes narrowed and he transfixed Louise with his
gaze. “Remember, you may be Dad’s favourite but you are not one of the family,
yet. Be very, very carefull around Tyrus. He doesn’t fear the old man much and
will maim you at the drop of a hat if he feels you are being disrespectfull. I won’t
warn you again. Remember your place.”
43
Louise looked suitably chagrined as she backed out of the door but once the door
was closed her beautifull face transformed into a mask of rage. Who did he think
he was, to tell her what to do? She was the Devil’s favourite, which meant a lot.
Fuck Andrew and his warnings. All it took was the right manipulation and she
could have anything.
Two hundred and fifty kilometres away, the international flight from Europe
touched down and taxied into the terminal building. As the passengers filed out
through immigration, all female eyes magnetically swivelled to observe the tall,
bearded Arabian looking gentleman accompanied by a stunning blonde woman.
Tyrus was used to the attention, he was handsome in that dark, exotic fashion
that women find irresistible. His conception had been another of the Devil’s little
jokes. A seduction of a little Jewish virgin over six hundred and fifty years ago
that had brought shame to the family of the Rabbi had resulted in the birth of
Tyrus. He had been using that attraction to his evil advantage ever since. He
smiled secretly to himself as he put his current passport away in his pocket, if
these women only knew, they would run screaming from his sight. Beside him,
the blonde woman, Sonya, was a real contrast. Her mother was Scandinavian,
one of the early converts to Christianity. The Devil liked his little jokes and there
wasn’t much point in knocking up heathens.
Tyrus and Sonya travelled as man and wife even though they were half brother
and sister. It was convenient and a good cover, besides they liked having sex
together. As themselves or as demons it didn’t matter, it was excellent either
way. Humans were so frail sometimes when one let rip in the throes of passion.
They had both left many dead people behind them after sex sessions that were
intense and turned out very messy. Sonya had been caught once tearing out
someone’s heart at the moment of orgasm and had to turn into her demon form
to get away. The Devil frowned on that, as he wanted the existence of his
children kept very low key. He was concerned about organised resistance to the
family and the chance of one of them being killed. It had happened in the past,
most recently about sixty years ago. Humans were soft and squishy but
dangerous when organised, especially when HE was on their side.
Tyrus told Sonya to wait for him out the front of the airport and then headed
over to the rental car desk, smiling at the woman behind the counter as he
approached. She flushed pink and fell over herself to help him and within
minutes, Sonya and he were outside, where a top of the line Audi Quattro sports
car was being brought around to them. They put their luggage in the small boot.
“Pity we have to drive.” Sonya commented.
“Why? I like to drive. All those years of dirty horses and slow carriages that I
have had to put up with. This present age has no idea how lucky it is in that
respect.”
“Well, if you put it that way, I guess you have a point.” Sonya relented.
44
“Sure do sis and we can have some fun on the way.” Tyrus followed this
comment with a broad and evil smile.
Sonya knew that smile, someone was about to die.
They hopped into the Audi and drove from the airport. The roads were slippery
but the four wheel drive and traction control on the car more than made up for it.
Besides, Tyrus had been driving for over a century now and was rather good at
it. If it wasn’t for the stricture about publicity he would have been a world class
racing driver. That would have been a problem when he didn’t age along with
everyone else though.
He turned the Audi up the curving access road onto the highway and headed for
their destination and a long awaited family reunion. Sonya looked puzzled.
“It would be quicker to take the Freeway wouldn’t it?” she asked him.
“Yes, but not as much fun as we are going to have,” was his enigmatic reply.
As the afternoon wore on, the light started to fade and headlights were going on.
The traffic was light. Not many people were on the road due to the weather but
very soon Tyrus gave a chuckle.
“Sit tight Sonya. Fun time!”
Away in the distance a set of lights were coming towards them. As they got
closer the other driver dipped his lights. Tyrus didn’t and moved their car over
the centre line until he was driving straight at the oncoming vehicle. The other
driver flashed his lights at them but Tyrus stayed where he was. As the other car
moved over to the side of the road, so did Tyrus, accelerating even more. The
other driver only realised at the last moment how fast Tyrus was going and
wrenched the wheel over so the two cars wouldn’t collide. He lost control of his
vehicle and it skidded sideways off the road, at speed, rolling a number of times
to eventually come to rest wrapped around a tree. The driver was impaled on the
steering column.
Tyrus laughed with glee. “I do so like driving,” he said.
His next target was a semi trailer loaded with fuel. Although at the time all he
could see were truck lights coming towards him. It was a close thing, with the
back mudguard of the sports car being dented by the back of the trailer as it went
into its final, fatefull, jack-knife slide. Only some excellent driving by Tyrus kept
their car on the road as the truck and trailer overturned and exploded into a
huge fireball, visible for miles. It didn’t matter if Tyrus and Sonya were in an
accident, a quick change to demon form would render them virtually
indestructible. It had always been easy for them in that respect. It was all a game.
One Tyrus had played many times before.
“What do we do about the damage to the car,” Sonya asked him.
“Drop it off and tell them we swerved to avoid a deer and went into a skid and
hit a roadside fence. It doesn’t matter, insurance will cover it.”
“Hope Dad doesn’t find out.”
Tyrus grinned, “No matter if he does, what’s he gonna do?”
45
They played chicken a couple of more times with other road users until they got
close to the city, only managing to kill one further person before dropping the
rental car off. Tyrus went in to the office alone, having left Sonya down the road
a ways. His explanation of the rear mudguard damage was accepted by the lady
at the counter who tried to find out where they were staying. Not for any reason
other than she hoped to bump into Tyrus later that evening. Literally.
“Looks like I will have to change passports again,” Tyrus said to Sonya as they
walked away from the rental car agency. She smiled, it was not the first time this
had occurred.
Walking down the road about a block they found a narrow alley and ducked
into it. Tyrus flashed in and out of demon form. His beard had disappeared in
the transitions and he now looked totally different from before. Without the
facial hair, his nose looked a little more hooked and his lips a little fuller. It
would not have been easy to compare the previous bearded version with the
present version. His passport was torn up and dropped into a dumpster and he
retrieved a new one from his briefcase, one of six spares, this one showing him
clean shaven and with a different name. Heading back out to the road, they
caught a cab to the Fleeting Image Advertising Agency building. Before long
they were up on the sixteenth floor sitting in Andrew’s office. Louise was
introduced to them and Andrew, being aware of Tyrus’ proclivities, suggested
he did not ‘fiddle’ with her as she was the Devil’s favourite.
“How is sister Ruth?” Tyrus asked Andrew. “I haven’t had her or tried her out
for over fifty years. I hear she is a bit of a Hell Cat when she gets going.”
Sonya looked on approvingly, her brother was so disgustingly direct sometimes.
What a demon he was!
Andrew looked a little discomfited, “I’m afraid Ruth will be a little
uncooperative at the moment. Due to the pressure she has been under with our
venture into tape recorded recruitment, she is feeling the strain and has been
acting a little out of character. Nothing serious you understand but you will get
to meet her later when we have our family conference. Dad is keen to get going
on the new venture and we will explain it all later this evening. Meanwhile, both
of you are booked into the best hotel in town as husband and wife, as per your
request. I suggest that you check out your accommodation, have a look around
and be ready to be back here around half past midnight. Dad will teleport you
both in, this floor is secure from prying eyes.”
Tyrus looked at Sonya for confirmation, a small nod was sufficient. They both
rose and headed for the door. As they were exiting, Tyrus turned at the door and
spoke to Andrew.
“See you later little brother.” Then with a wink at Louise he followed Sonya out.
“He is dangerous.” Louise confided to Andrew.
“Yeah, you have no idea how much of a loose cannon he can be,” was Andrew’s
response. “He is however, simply brilliant and we need him. Sonya keeps him in
check a little but she is nearly as bad as him. It’s their age you know. Six hundred
46
and fifty years of evil will do that to a demon. I have no idea how Dad keeps it
all together. He’s been at it for thousands of years.”
Louise said nothing but her mind was working overtime. Being the Devil’s
favourite was maybe not quite what she had anticipated. What if he decided to
pass her around? Tyrus scared her shitless.
Steve, Mary and Roberto arrived at the Holiday Magic Hotel. It was an hour and
a half drive down the coast from the city, more in the snow. They had come here
to talk with the day clerk who had observed Steve’s friend, Chris, leave the hotel
on that fatefull day when his landlady was murdered. The roads were icy, so the
drive took them a little longer than expected and they arrived just before the day
clerk knocked off work. After a round of introductions, Roger, the clerk, asked
them what their business was. Steve took him to one side and explained that
Chris was a friend of his and he didn’t believe that Chris could have killed
anyone. A hundred dollar bill changed hands and Roger smiled and started
talking.
“When the police came they didn’t want to know much. They acted like they had
already decided he was guilty. I only saw him leave. I remember the time
because I was just about to finish my shift. That’s at six in the evening. I
remember Chris because of his car, the red Corvette convertible. In fact, I
watched him drive off, so cool. Funny though, he headed off down the coast, not
back to town but the police weren’t interested when I told them that. They
reckoned he only did that to make people think he was going south. I don’t
know what time he returned as I had already knocked off but Serge might. He
was the night clerk that night. He will be here shortly. Hope you find out what
you want to know, the police were bastards. Thanks for the tip. Good Luck.”
With that Roger wandered out of the hotel heading for his car in the carpark,
finished for the day.
The three of them headed into the empty bar to wait for Serge. According to the
barman it wouldn’t be that much longer before he arrived. Steve bought a round
of drinks for them and they sat around a table talking amongst themselves while
they were waiting. Before much longer, an earnest young man in hotel uniform
introduced himself to them as Serge. After an exchange of handshakes and the
passage of another hundred dollar bill, Serge sat down and recounted the events
of that night last October. He remembered Chris because of the car and the fact
that the hotel was nearly empty. According to Serge, Chris had returned about
nine thirty that evening. He had seemed fairly relaxed as he passed the reception
desk and nothing about him suggested that he had committed a crime of that
magnitude. The clincher was the fact that his clothes were clean, impossible,
unless he had changed clothes and there just wasn’t enough time.
“The police just wanted to know the time and said maybe I was mistaken. I was
not mistaken, I checked the clock but they didn’t write that down.” Serge
47
informed them. “The policemen were not very nice I thought. They had already
made up their minds about this.”
“Or had their minds made up for them.” Roberto added darkly.
When Serge had left to go back to work, Steve pulled his mobile out of his pocket
and rang Detective Mike.
“Hi Mike, looks like you were right. Chris couldn’t have got up to town and
murdered Patricia then got back down here already cleaned up. The two hotel
employees we talked to think that the police had already decided to pin this on
Chris. Is there any way you could discreetly check it out? Yeah, we’re okay. What
was that?” Steve sat listening with a concerned expression on his face, nodding
to something that Detective Mike was saying. Mary was getting a little worried,
she knew that expression well. He finally started talking again.
“We are heading back now. Thanks. Yes, we will take care, talk to you later.”
Steve put the phone back into his pocket then turned to Mary and Roberto.
“He’s going to look into it for us. He also warned us to be carefull. There has
been a series of motor vehicle accidents, including a tanker truck exploding,
between Bravura and the city. Three people are dead and one is in a coma in
hospital. No witnesses and all the vehicles had run off the road with no other
vehicles apparently involved. Someone or something has come into the city from
the direction of Bravura. Some of the police at Central police station are acting a
bit jumpy. It may be just coincidence, nothing more but we had better keep our
eyes open. Shall we go?”
They thanked Serge again on the way out and hopping into their car, headed
back towards the city.
48
Chapter 8.
‘Satans’ night club had just opened for the night and the odd assortment of
clients were starting to fill the place up. It was only ten thirty in the evening and
the music was barely audible above the hubbub of voices as people pushed to the
bar to get drinks and snorts of cocaine. ‘Satans’ was really Ruth’s club, if the
truth were known, but her father, the Devil, owned half of it. Andrew, her
brother, helped with the books and the business side of things which took quite a
burden from Ruth. She was the star dancer here, the one that drew the audiences
night after night to see her dance her demon routine. What the audience didn’t
know was that the horns, tail and glowing red eyes during her performance were
real, not stage costuming. Up until a few months ago, this life was all she had
wanted.
The video tapes of the goings on in the private rooms were disgusting enough
for her to bribe quite a few powerfull city officials and policeman to turn a blind
eye to the club’s existence and leave her alone. The trade in drugs was excellent.
Officially the club didn’t exist and she was doing her part for the greater cause of
evil by promoting the sort of behaviour that would get anyone thrown out of any
other place in town. However, she was not happy. The family did not need the
money the club made, hell, the Devil could teleport all the money they could
ever want out of bank vaults. The Devil had been insistent though, that the club
would provide excellent cover for their many schemes and scams, including the
one that Andrew had worked out for soul recruitment using audio tape cassettes.
The only problem had been tailoring the tapes for the target people. Any last
minute adjustments had to be made by the Devil and He had to deliver them to
their targets. Trouble was he was not always available for delivery. A second
problem that had become apparent was a lack of minions to help corrupt the
targets by steering them into evil deeds. The plan was excellent in theory but
very unwieldy in practice. Andrew had come up with a new plan, very different
and innovative and there was a family meeting at half past midnight to discuss
it. Her eldest brother, Tyrus, who was reputedly over six hundred and fifty years
old, would be there, as would Sonya, her five hundred year old sister. Tyrus and
Sonya played at man and wife. She had not met Sonya, her sister, and was
looking forward to it. Tyrus she knew from her initiation into evil. He frightened
her. The Devil only had four children at any one time, a rather exclusive family.
Ruth’s stage act was scheduled to begin at midnight and she didn’t like to be out
the front of the club mixing with patrons before it. The impact was lost. So she
got up and moved to the private bedroom out the back of the underground club.
The king-size, four-poster bed looked inviting, so she lay down for a while.
Relaxing, she allowed her mind to wander and once again it turned to thoughts
of Chris. Chris, who should have been her minion. Chris, who had given her
pleasures a demon only dreamed of. Chris, who had died beside her in a car
crash after trying to get evidence to vindicate himself of a murder he didn’t
49
commit. She had committed the murder, a slice and dice job on his ex-landlady,
in order to bring him to heel. It hadn’t worked. Deep inside him, enough good
had lingered to stop him making the final commitment to evil. In order not to
lose him, she had asked her father, the Devil, to give her Chris’ soul. He was
there inside her, mentally chained but not silent. Her hand crept down under her
mini skirt and her fingers gently moved her thong sideways, creeping back to the
tuft of black hair and massaging her moist, warm nether lips before delving
inside. She shuddered at the feelings her fingers generated. Chris. Her control
lapsed at the thought of him and Chris’ soul moved inside her mind, taking over
the movements of her fingers. His voice intruded into her thoughts.
“I love you Ruth, always. I know what you are and what you have done but I
still love you. Remember, you are half human. Your mother was a good woman,
seduced by the Devil for his own amusement. She taught you what goodness
was before the Devil came for you. There must be a way we can be together
again.”
Ruth moaned, tormented by her pleasure and the fact her lover was dead. Not
forgotten though, how could she ever forget, when his soul reminded her at
every opportunity? She was a demon, evil was supposed to be inherent in her,
wasn’t it? Her fingers were being moved faster now and the heat and moisture
being generated threatened a coming explosion. At the moment of release she
screamed and shifted to demon form unwittingly, her talons grazing the insides
of her most delicate spot. She chuckled evilly.
“Well, Big Boy.” Her favourite pet name for him. “What do you suggest?”
The Chris’ spirit thought for a few seconds. “How do you feel about not having
sex with anyone but me from now on?” he asked.
The red scaled demon lazily rolled over on the bed, tasting her moist fingers,
eyes flashing red as her tail twitched back and forth in the aftermath of passion.
“I don’t know if I could do that. No more pleasures, no more corruptions. What
would I do?”
“You could come to bed and release me into your thoughts. I know many ways
to pleasure you. I have been in your mind for a couple of months and have found
all those little things that you like. Even some tender ones, Demon spawn.”
She inspected her talons before changing back to Ruth. “Answer me one
question. Why should I?” She smirked at posing a difficult question to the spirit
inside herself, totally unprepared for the answer that came without hesitation.
“Because I love you, I always have and always will. No matter what you do, that
love will always be true. I loved you from the first time I met you until you
caused my death and I still do. It would please me a lot to know that you cared
for me enough to refrain from casual sex.”
She laughed then, a cruel and evil laugh and banished him back to the dungeon
in her mind, reserved only for him. As she did, a tear, a real tear, spilled out of
her right eye and trickled down her cheek. Wonderingly, she reached up and
collected it on the end of her finger, staring at the rainbow reflected from it by
50
the light in the bedroom. Ruth’s last tear had been shed the day she was taken
from her mother by the Devil. Over sixty years before.
Shaken, she rose from the bed and checked the bedside clock. It would soon be
time for her act. Walking back from the bedroom, through the office to the club
beyond, she thought seriously about Chris’ suggestion. Yes, she was a demon.
Yes, she was supposed to be evil and laugh at feelings but something inside her
moved in step with the suggestion that Chris had made. For the first time in her
life, since she was parted from her mother, she felt loved unequivocally. Not for
the super attractive sex machine that she was but for herself. As only Chris could
know her. She resolved to try it. Smiling and holding her head high she went to
the back of the stage area to prepare for her routine.
The meeting, on the sixteenth floor of the Fleeting Image Advertising Agency,
which was to begin at half past midnight, actually began at one o’clock in the
morning. The Devil was the first to arrive, on time, closely followed by Louise,
who he teleported in right after he arrived. Ruth and Andrew were next to be
teleported in. Arriving in demon form they both greeted their father, the Devil,
before changing to human form and dressing in the clothes he teleported in for
them. Ruth’s clothing was worn a little less sexily than usual but neither the
Devil nor Andrew seemed to notice.
The Devil turned to Louise and asked. “Does Tyrus know what time he is
supposed to be ready for teleporting here?”
Louise replied to the affirmative. “I telephoned him about eight o’clock and
confirmed the time of the meeting with him. I also reminded him that you do not
like people being late.”
“Good. Excuse me a second while I locate them.”
Just then, at that moment, there was a loud report and a flash of flame shortly
followed by a second loud report and a smaller flash. Standing before the group
were both Tyrus and Sonya in their demon forms. Tyrus was magnificently evil.
Whereas Andrew and Ruth were attractive, in a strange way, in their demonic
forms, Tyrus was magnificently other world. From the top of his head to the
soles of his feet, several hundred years of being a demon had transformed him.
His horns were huge, fully forty centimetres long and joined across the base in a
huge bony ridge which extended down the forehead to the large craggy brow
ridges. The eyes were deep set liquid fire above a hooked nose with large flaring
nostrils. The thin lipped mouth had fangs jutting over the lower lip. He was huge
and well muscled with washboard abs above a large erect penis. His tail, long
and thick, lashed from side to side as he stood there and both his hands and feet
ended in long, strong talons. Sonya was similarly presenting but not being quite
so old; the changes had not carried quite so far. Her breasts, normally average
sized, in this form were small with sharp points where the nipples were expected
to be.
51
Tyrus, retaining his demon form, walked over to where the Devil was seated and
went down on one bended knee.
“Master, I am yours to command. Use me as you see fit and let me feed.”
Sonya moved right beside Tyrus also on one bended knee.
“My Lord, we came at your bidding to do your work. Command us.”
“Rise, rise and be welcome my eldest children.” Turning to Andrew and Ruth he
commented. “I do so like the old ways, when respect was automatically given to
the powerfull. Take note you two.” Turning back to Tyrus and Sonya he spoke
again. “It is time for you to meet your youngest sister, Sonya. Andrew you
already know. This is Ruth, very young, less than seventy human years old. She
replaces Tanya who had her head cut off by a jealous lover or The Brotherhood,
while she was in human form but you already knew that.” Turning to Ruth, the
Devil beckoned to her with a finger. “Come over here and say hello to your
eldest brother and sister. They have travelled far and can teach you much.”
Ruth rose from her chair and went to shake the hands of her brother and sister
but Tyrus grabbed her hand first and hugged her roughly to him, poking his
giant erection into her stomach as he did so and whispering in her ear. “I will try
you out later sister. Be ready for me.” His leer was way above the top of her head
as he towered over her diminutive figure. She pulled away from him irritatedly
and shook hands with Sonya who smiled at her a tad maliciously.
After Tyrus and Sonya had transformed into their human forms and the Devil
teleported in some clothes for them to dress in, the group sat down together.
Louise fetched strong coffee, a favourite of the demons and set the mugs down
on the table before filling them from the coffee pot. Placing the pot on the table
she went and sat down beside the Devil with an almost proprietary air, which
was not lost on the group.
“Is she worth trying out?” Tyrus asked the Devil, nodding at Louise, who looked
extremely alarmed at the prospect of being handed to the Devil’s eldest son.
“I haven’t fully broken her in, she won’t be ready for your brand of service yet,”
was the reply. Tyrus knew better than to argue.
“Right,” the Devil spoke authoritatively, “Shall we begin? You all may or may
not know the full story but in a nutshell, Andrew found a way to get around the
RULES. It involved a music cassette tape being prepared, with modern music,
which had a run of songs on it gradually sucking the listeners deeper and deeper
into evil by first hooking them on easy rewards then dragging them into
depravity. It was the prototype in a scheme which looked quite promising. We
had a number of copies of the tape prepared, which allowed us to lead quite a
few people down the pathway to evil simultaneously. As the necessary warnings
were on the cassette and in the first songs, we could start the ball rolling
automatically after the victim received the tape. We had hoped to have quite a
few minions by now to help run the system. The idea was good but in practice
the scheme has proved difficult to run and soul pickup is not fast enough, so we
are going to scrap it. We need souls fast at the moment because HE is having a
52
few problems due to HIS religions fighting each other and we could attempt a
takeover bid if we had a large enough army of tortured souls. Andrew however,
has come up with another idea that sounds like a winner for us. I will let Andrew
explain it as it is too high tech for me. Andrew.”
The Devil sat back in his chair gazing at his family. Pride was a sin he enjoyed.
Gazing at the fruit of his loins made him grin with satisfaction. He looked at his
youngest, Ruth. She was a worry. Rebellious with just a touch too much human
about her yet. That would change as the evil matured within her. It took time to
make a really bad demon. His eyes swivelled to Tyrus, his pride and joy. That
was one mean ‘mother’ of a demon. If only they were all that bad, he could rule
the world.
The group were all looking at Andrew who cleared his throat before he spoke.
“The tape idea lacked sophistication in the delivery system and the amount of
input required from us, so I tried to think of something that would run itself and
be popular enough to travel through the earth’s susceptible population. I hit on a
computer game. We could take the theme of the tape and transfer it to a game. A
first person role playing type of game. In the vein of creating someone’s life from
down and out no-hoper to successfull go-getter. All the warnings would still be
in the songs embedded within the game, so that would get us around the
RULES. To go to each new level within the game would mean finishing each
section by accepting the prize for that level. The person playing the game is
actually controlling the evil in the game by making decisions about committing
acts which are deemed evil by.....” Here, Andrew raised his eyes in an upward
direction. “You get my drift. The beauty of it is, that one story line will work for
every game. Male or female is chosen by the player at the start and the game
runs for either. When someone gets to the end of the game, their soul is ours. We
will put sex into it in a big way, as that is a good hook, so our target audience is
eighteen and over. No doubt the youngsters will make copies and pass it around.
We make it cheap, addictive and easily copied.”
Tyrus cleared his throat. “Have you worked out a storyline?”
“As a matter of fact we have. It revolves around one of the people that played the
music tape right through. Someone that Ruth was running. A guy named Chris.
She did well and really wound him up, quite a few juicy murders and plenty of
illicit sex and drug use. It ended with a fiery car crash.”
There was an involuntary gasp from Ruth, “You didn’t mention to me that you
were going to use Chris’ story.” She accused him.
“I didn’t have to. What’s the big deal?” Andrew queried her. Ruth hesitated.
“Nothing. It was just a suprise, that’s all.”
“Okay. Well that about sums it up. Anyone got any questions.”
Tyrus sat back in his chair. “Yeah, what the fuck are Sonya and I doing here? You
seem to have everything under control.”
“Everything? Not quite. We need you both to write the program for the game.
No one else among us can do that Tyrus. We need your brains and expertise.”
53
“Flattery will get you everywhere but do you realise how long it will take? I’ll
tell you. About three to four months working almost non-stop.”
Andrew looked extremely pleased. “That quick. Excellent. I actually thought it
would take a lot longer than that.”
The Devil shifted in his chair and regarded Tyrus, “Do you think it is feasible?”
he asked.
“Sure, sounds like an excellent idea. Wish I had thought of it myself but what
about computers and stuff to work on?”
“The next floor down has everything you will need my son. Complete this game
and soon we will be able to rise and take what is ours and free ourselves from the
Father. Start tomorrow night. Right now it is time for us to get the creative juices
flowing in the way that we know best.”
Sonya leaned forward and interrupted. Speaking to the Devil directly.
“I would like to try out Andrew and introduce him to some mature sex. If he is
willing.”
The Devil nodded and Andrew left his seat heading for Sonya like he had been
shot out of a gun. They met in the middle of the floor and started tearing the
clothes of each other immediately.
“Human form first, then demon. Agree?” Andrew asked around mouthfulls of
Sonya.
“Yes, yes, anything. Just fuck me now, hard.” They effectively excluded everyone
else in the room as the frenetic pace of their initial coming together kept going
with no let up and they took advantage of the floor space in the room.
Tyrus meanwhile, leapt out of his chair and striding over to Ruth, picked her up
and went to plant a kiss on her full red lips. She slapped him, hard. It was not
friendly nor was it meant to be. He dropped her and rubbed his cheek angrily.
“What is the meaning of that,” he asked, glaring at her.
“You never asked,” was the reply.
“Okay, can we get it on?” he asked as he reached for her again.
“No! I do not want you. Leave me alone.”
Tyrus turned to the Devil, who was looking a little concerned at that moment
and appealed to him.
“Master, this is not right. All the family fuck each other whenever. How can we
set a bad example if we do not?”
The Devil turned his gaze to Ruth who stood there defiantly, arms crossed.
“I don’t want him Daddy. He has no respect for me. To him I am just a fuck on
legs. He doesn’t know me and is not prepared to take the time to do so. I will
choose, not him.”
The Devil looked exasperated and turned to Tyrus muttering, “Modern bloody
women, I hate this shit.” Then to Tyrus he said, “Unfortunately, we must
progress with humanity, so until Ruth says you may, you are not to have sex
with her. Definitely no raping allowed. Got that.”
54
Tyrus glared at Ruth with a frustrated hatred as he nodded his head, not trusting
himself to speak. Before long he was on the floor with Sonya and Andrew. The
Devil studied Ruth for a moment silently before looking down at the sprawl of
his other children engaging in wanton sex. He left with a smile on his face,
leading Louise into the next door bedroom. He just loved the old ways, where
you took without asking.
Later that night when Ruth had finished her second act at ‘Satans’ and the doors
of the club had closed, she went to bed alone and released Chris from his mental
shackles. He immediately took over the pleasuring of Ruth, using both her hands
this time. She got hot immediately.
“That was very brave of you, to face up to Tyrus. He is really scary.” Chris
commented on the earlier action.
“It felt good Chris. Like I was in charge of myself again. You do realise that I
know of no other way to live than like this. Even if I wanted to change I don’t
know how.”
“I could help you. We could be together, just the two of us.” The voice in her
head was comforting but she longed for the real thing. Being a demon was fun
but it was also lonely. How could anyone trust a demon daughter of the great
liar? Chris seemed to want to........
Was it possible?
55
Chapter 9.
Steve sat at one end of the kitchen table opposite Mary, who sat at the other end.
Between them on the table was a fairly sizeable pile of books of all ages and
sizes. Most of them had little bookmarkers stuck in between the pages where
they needed to cross reference information. The snow of a couple of weeks ago
had melted and now cold winds were blowing from the south making the
outside chill. Pale, weak sunlight shone wanly into the kitchen past the cafe style
curtains hanging on the windows. It was getting close to lunchtime. Roberto had
moved in with them after the incident with the flowers and true to his word he
had not tried to change their beliefs. All he had done was to bring over a pile of
books which he suggested they both read, so they could make up their own
minds about the truth of the religion in which Steve and Mary presently
believed. Roberto was easy to have in the house, almost unnoticed at times and
very unobtrusive. After he had been in the house for a couple of days, Steve had
given him a key of his own, to come and go as he pleased. This he did, ducking
out on errands at odd times whenever the need arose. Roberto had liaised with
the local chapter of The Brotherhood in the city and was now, so he said, ‘getting
ready for the war’.
Steve sighed and stood up, heading for the new coffee pot once again.
“Would you like a coffee Mary?”
“Yes please my love. That would be great. What do you think about all of this
information we have been reading?”
Steve considered for a moment while he was filling the machine and adding
ground coffee to the filter paper.
“I am not really sure. You learn something your whole life then in a few days it is
all turned upside down. Makes for great difficulty in accepting what is true or
not. The evidence on the table is very compelling. For instance, the statement
‘There is only one true God” runs right into the heart of religious belief. I agree
that Christ and the Holy Ghost are probably a manufacture of the Holy Roman
Church in times gone by and some of the information here is very compelling.”
Mary considered him for a moment before adding her point of view.
“Yes, plus the fact that Jesus really was a King of the Jews and descended from
David and Solomon and that line is favoured by God. According to what Roberto
told us, we have some of that blood in our veins. He reckons that is why we can
sense evil in people the way we do.”
Steve finished fussing with the coffee pot and sat back down while he waited for
the coffee to be made. “Really, what we are looking at is a faith closer to Judaism
or Islamic beliefs rather than any of the Christian religions which are all
derivations from the scriptures put together by the Roman Church. Personally, I
don’t have a problem with it, as I still believe in God. What about you, Mary?”
“I don’t have a problem with it either Steve. In fact I was waiting for you to
decide what you wanted, as I decided over a week ago.”
56
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Steve asked, suprised.
“Because I did not want to influence you in your choice. Now that we are both
agreed I guess it is time to sit down and talk seriously with Roberto.”
Steve got up and finished making their coffees and then sat back down at the
table, handing a mug to Mary. Just at that moment the front door could be heard
opening and Roberto called out, “It’s only me.”
“We are in the kitchen, fresh coffee available.” Steve called back.
Roberto prowled into the kitchen, that was the only way to describe how he
moved. As well as being handsome he was also tall and well built. Not much fat
on that body and it had been well trained, judging by the way he held himself as
he walked. He went over to the coffee pot and poured himself one. Turning, he
looked at Steve and Marys’ smiling faces. Not understanding, he looked down at
himself to see if his fly was open then finding everything okay, looked back at
them.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s not you. Steve and I have decided to accept that there is only one God and
are now ready for your instruction.” Mary’s eyes fairly twinkled as she related
this information. Roberto however, looked more serious than they thought he
would at receiving this information. He sat down at the table and looked
sombrely from one to the other.
“That is excellent news but in truth it is the easiest part of all we have to do. If
you start training to become part of The Brotherhood you will find that there are
trials both of the mind and body that are far more demanding.”
“What do you mean?” Steve queried.
“For instance,” Roberto paused to take a sip of coffee, “there can be no secrets
between us. The Devil and his children use things like secrets to create divisions
between their enemies. Us. We have to know everything there is to know about
each other in order to take this battle to them. I must trust you both
wholeheartedly as I expect you to trust in me. This trust is very important and
we cannot go forward until we do. That is Brotherhood. Family.”
Mary sat at the end of the table, white-faced and stricken. Both men felt the
change in the air and turned to her at the same time.
“What’s the matter Mary?” Steve asked her, concern in his voice. She burst into
tears, her hands covering her face and in a sobbing voice replied.
“Oh Steve, there are things I have done in my past that I didn’t want you to find
out about. I have been living in fear of you ever knowing, in case you decided I
wasn’t worth loving anymore. If we go through with this, it may mean the end of
our relationship.”
“Mary, Mary. Do you think I am so shallow? When I accepted you, I accepted
you wholly for what you are. Not what you were. That is why I have never pried
into your past. I figured that one day you would tell me when you were ready.”
Roberto got up to leave the room but Mary spoke before he had even cleared his
chair.
57
“No, stay Roberto. You have to know this about me; you might as well hear it
now. It will save me repeating it again.” Roberto sat and Mary continued.
“My father is quite wealthy and I went to a good private school but got mixed up
with the wrong crowd of people. By the time I was fourteen I was into partying
and drugs and alcohol. I guess it was one of those rich kid things. Well, one thing
led to another and I was expelled and ran off to the streets. My father cut off all
money and told me not to return home until I was prepared to give up that life,
so I learned to steal. I had progressed to heroin at that stage, which is quite
expensive. Luckily I was sensible and used clean needles and syringes so I didn’t
pick up any horrible diseases but I became a really good thief. I spent a year
stealing from retail stores until I learned how to open safes. I don’t know how I
do it but I seem to feel/perceive the tumblers falling into place. If I hadn’t got
caught, due to a concealed motion sensor hooked to a silent alarm, I would still
be doing it now. The police recovered a lot of the money that I had hidden away
in my squat and I got sent to a juvenile detention centre for a couple of years
until I turned eighteen. I’d been hardened up on the streets so I kept out of
trouble there and managed to keep up with my education. It was there that I got
off the drugs and found God. Religion was a great help in getting through that
place and when I got out I swore I would always stay with God and find good
people in my life. Steve is the very best of them, the most caring person I have
ever known and I am honoured to be with him.”
Steve blushed at this, up ‘till now having been totally engrossed in what Mary
was relating. Roberto looked a little uncomfortable at these, oh so personal,
revelations. Not quite finished, Mary continued.
“After getting out of the detention centre at eighteen, I went home and
apologized to my father and mother for all the trouble and pain I had put them
through. They were really happy that I had ‘grown up’ and found God and my
father set up an account to pay me money every month until I found my way in
the world. I have been doing church work since then, helping kids on the street
who are like what I used to be like. I feel as though it makes a difference to them
that someone cares.”
Steve got up and went and squatted beside Mary, putting his arm around her
and giving her a long hug.
“I love you more every day that I am with you and thank God that you came into
my life. Not only are you beautifull but you are very brave as well. Thank you
for sharing that with me, it can only bind us together ever more tightly.”
Mary looked relieved and smiled, pure sunshine in the darkening room. Roberto
looked at them both and also smiled, his strong white teeth a stark contrast to his
dark skin.
“This is not going to be as difficult as I thought. If we talk to each other tonight as
Mary has just talked, we will be able to go onto the next stage of training
tomorrow. Welcome Sister. Welcome Brother.”
Steve couldn’t restrain himself, “What is the next stage of training?” he enquired.
58
Roberto grinned again, “That is for tomorrow, tonight we feast and talk and talk.
Remember, no secrets between us. They are ammunition for the wicked.”
The rest of the evening was one that Steve and Mary would remember for a long,
long time. They learned about Roberto and his family. Most of them
Brotherhood, keeping an eye on the descendants of the line of the Jewish kings
favoured by God. They learned that he had killed people as part of that job but
only as a last resort. Evil men and women, minions sent by demons or the Devil
to do their dirty work. They stayed up late and drank a little too much wine. It
would be one of the few occasions for a long, long time when they could afford
to relax so much. Neither Steve nor Mary realised that Roberto did not drink
much of the wine at all. If you hunted demons, you couldn’t afford to be drunk,
ever.
The next morning saw three people, who now knew and trusted each other,
sitting in the large lounge room. There was a large pile of documents on the
coffee table in front of Roberto which he was sorting through.
“The training will have to be quick unfortunately, as we do not have much time.
Things have quietened down recently, which is not a good sign. I have put
together a timetable for us, so that each area of expertise is covered at least
basically. In all, this breaks down to theory, unarmed combat and weapons
training. As I said, we will only have time for basics but in this situation, it is
better than nothing at all. Steve, I would like some of the Brotherhood to secure
the house with alarm systems and protective devices, maybe change a few walls.
Is that all right with you?”
“Yeah, no problem,” Steve acquiesced.
“Good. They will start later today. All it takes is a phone call to get that
underway. Next, we will be having a vehicle delivered. A very special vehicle.
Lined with Kevlar and built with bullet-proof windows; strong enough to
withstand a demon attack for a few minutes, if it comes to that. We need a room
in the house emptied for the unarmed combat training and I need you fitted for
Kevlar vests. I am sorry to tell you that what we are dealing with is extremely
dangerous. You still have time to pull out if you want to, in fact up until we go
into battle, you don’t have to commit. Once we start, that is a different story.
Mary, we may need to use your cat burglar abilities but in the name of good this
time. Can you do that?”
Mary appeared subdued, “Only if there is no other way,” she replied. “I thought
I had left that behind me.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Roberto replied. “We are getting closer to finding ‘Satans’,
the night club that Chris was caught up in and we know, from the information
that Steve supplied, that is where we should find Ruth, the youngest demon.”
“Has anyone ever killed a demon?” Steve asked Roberto.
“Yes, a number of demons have been killed over the years. Not as many as we
would like but as soon as we kill one, the Devil makes another. He is allowed
59
four. Finding them is not easy. The last must have been about sixty years ago. It
wasn’t by us though. I believe this Ruth is her replacement. Our methods for
locating them have improved with time but we have to be subtle in some cases.
How is your history?”
“Passable,” was Steve’s reply.
“Okay, here is an example. Philippe IV of France, known as Philippe le Bel was a
demon.”
Steve chuckled, “Get out of here, no way.”
“Yes, way. He wanted the riches of the Knights Templars whose Order was
created by a Pope and he wanted them out of the way, so he and his ministers
kidnapped and killed Pope Boniface VIII and also possibly poisoned Pope
Benedict XI between 1303 and 1305. Then in 1305 he secured the election of the
Archbishop of Bordeaux to the empty papal throne. The Archbishop took the
name Pope Clement V and did whatever Philippe wanted. In this case it was a
pre-timed raid made on every Templar establishment in Europe at dawn on
Friday, October thirteenth, 1307. He had the Grand Master, Jacques de Molay,
crucified to within an inch of his life but kept him alive. In 1312 he got the
Knights Templars officially disbanded and in March 1314 he had Jacques de
Molay and Geoffroi de Charney, who was the Preceptor of Normandy, slowly
roasted to death over a bed of coals.”
Mary shivered, a shiver that started at the top of her body and travelled all the
way to her toes. Roberto noticed.
“Not nice. Anyway, The Brotherhood got to him. Poured Holy water on him
while he slept, which stops the change to a demon form and inserted a thick
needle up through the base of his skull into his brain through the hairline. No
bleeding and a tiny wound. Looked like he died in his sleep. Tyrus was his
replacement and Tyrus is presently the worst of them that we know of. His ‘wife’
Sonya, is another demon, nearly as old as he is, although we do not know much
about her. Thanks to you, we now know about Ruth, probably the youngest,
which leaves one we know nothing about. I feel that he is in this city as well.
Something is brewing.”
Steve was impressed. There was a lot more to life than met the eye. To think, the
Brotherhood had been battling for centuries against demons and no one knew
anything about it. He cast his eyes over Mary, to find her sitting in rapt attention.
“So. Where would you like us to start?” he asked Roberto.
Almost as if he had been expecting the question, Roberto removed an embossed
sheet of heavy paper from the pile in front of him.
“At the beginning. This is a copy of part of an ancient document that came from
under the Temple of David when the original Knights Templars excavated there
in 1109 or thereabouts. It is incomplete. The first two parts are missing with only
this third part surviving. Over the centuries it has been found to be reliable and
seems to be rules regarding what demons are allowed to do and what they are
not allowed to do. I want you both to memorise these rules because from now on
60
your life may depend on knowing this stuff.” He stared from one to the other of
them, a deadly serious look on his face. “I was standing right beside my friend
Ignacio when Sonya, in demon form, ripped his heart out and ate it in front of
me. I was lucky, she could have had mine too right then but I didn’t shoot at her.
She followed the rules on that paper.”
Before either of them could comment, Roberto excused himself and went off on
another mission. Steve and Mary were left staring at the single sheet of
parchment.
· · ·
· · · ·
· ··. ·
· · · · ·
·· ··
· .
·
·· · · ·
. · ··.
. ·
· . ·
61
“Whew, this is pretty heavy stuff we are getting into Mary. Do you really want to
do this?” Steve’s concern for her showed in his voice as Mary took his hand in
hers and gazed into his eyes.
“As long I have the chance to be by your side, I would ride into Hell itself,” she
told him.
“Hey, that’s sweet but definitely not funny. We just don’t know what is going to
happen next.”
Mary kissed his hand shyly. “We will make a good team you and I. Whatever
happens, we have each other.”
62
Chapter 10.
The training proved to be extremely arduous.
Six o’clock each morning, their day started with a run. The fitter they got, the
further they ran. Roberto always accompanied them and never seemed to tire.
The slight bulge under the left arm of his tracksuit top proved to be a fully
loaded and ready to use Glock nine millimetre pistol. When asked about it,
Roberto just smiled and said.
“Insurance.”
After the run, while they were still warm, a couple of circuits of weight training
were fitted in before breakfast. After this, theory of religion and an ever
widening appreciation of the Brotherhood and how it guarded the people of
Earth. This was followed by Martial arts, then lunch. After lunch came weapons
training. Not only guns but knives, blades, stakes and staves. Between three and
four in the afternoon there was a rest period followed by another run.
Suprisingly it was Mary who took to the training like a duck to water and she
quickly became fit and proficient at the basics. Steve was not far behind her but
took longer to cope with the level of training they were getting.
After a week or so, when the training was well underway, a succession of
overalled tradesman kept turning up at the house. Roberto informed Steve and
Mary that they were all Brotherhood. After some initial discussion, alterations
were made to the interior layout of the house. Complete walls were removed to
make rooms bigger, a panic room was fitted and the whole house was alarmed
from the attic space right through to the old fashioned basement. Secret
compartments were installed in each room, to be fitted with special weapons in
case of emergencies. The teams of workers came and went for a fortnight before
Roberto was satisfied.
During this time Steve and Mary had contacted all of their Bible group friends
and talked with them about their inability to continue on with the group
meetings. It was a difficult time for them but they had both realised that they
needed to protect the people associated with them and the best way to do that
was to not see them. Any of their friends could and would be used as a tool
against them if any of the demons got wind of their friendships. At first they had
thought that Roberto was taking things too far in suggesting that they do this but
he patiently talked with them, telling stories about how innocent people that he
once had known were now dead or in mental hospitals because he hadn’t
believed what he had been told and didn’t take the advice. It was chilling.
The story that they gave to their friends was one that they cooked up with
Roberto’s help and it rang true, because it was. They explained that they both
had a crisis of faith with the religion that they had once believed in and were
studying an older form of religion with a foreign priest. This was not a lie, as
Roberto was an ordained priest in The Brotherhood.
63
The hardest thing that Steve had to do was to go and talk with Father O’Connor
at St. Pauls. He had dreaded going to see his old mentor but found that the
actuality was not as bad as he had thought it would be.
“I am sorry that you feel that way.” Father O’Connor had said to him. “What are
you doing about your relationship with God?”
“Nothing,” Steve had answered. “I hope I still have the same relationship with
Him. It is just that now I believe in God. The one God. Not bits and pieces of him
transferred into other iconic figures.”
Father O’Connor tilted his head to one side regarding Steve quizzically. “I do
believe that you are happy with this, therefore I have no problem personally. In
reality I should be using words like ‘heresy’ but I am not stupid. There is a whole
world of beliefs out there but as long as the one true God figures in them, I do
not have any trouble accepting other’s beliefs. Did your friend Chris’ death have
anything to do with this change?”
Steve pondered for a moment. “No, not really but subsequent events have
reinforced my position. His life towards the end and his death were both very
odd. I am still finding out about them. Mary and I have talked with the members
of our Bible group and told them of our shift in faith. Do you think you could
smooth it over with them please? They are all good people.”
“Certainly Steve, your honesty is to be admired. Remember, if you ever need a
helping hand or a place to crash, or even if you just want to argue doctrine, you
and Mary are always welcome here.”
Steve smiled and extended his hand. “As always, a pleasure Father O’Connor. I
will miss your wisdom. Thank you for the past few years.”
Shaking the priest’s hand was the last time for a long while that Steve would
have any dealing with a Christian church but he still dropped a sizeable
donation into the collection box on his way out.
After the last workman had departed from Steve’s house, Roberto took Steve and
Mary on a guided tour of their own place. It was all so new and smelt
refreshingly of sawn wood and drying paint. The layout of the house had
changed considerably. The passage from the front door remained but with no
doors leading off it. Access to those rooms was now from the enlarged central
area of the house. Similarly, a short passageway led to the back door, it also had
no doors leading from it. Roberto’s explanation for these changes was simple.
“If anyone or anything enters through the front or back door uninvited, they are
in a trap for the length of the passageway. It may give us a fraction of a second
advantage. Once into this large central room, whoever or whatever can be easily
targeted. The panic room is over there where the study used to be. It is also
lockable from the outside in case we catch a demon. Here is the secret switch.”
He twisted the plate of the ornate wall-mounted light switch to the right and
underneath the panel were a red button and a numbered keypad. “It has a ‘close’
function with the red button but needs a combination entered into this keypad to
64
open the door from the outside,” he explained. They checked out the inside of
the ‘panic’ room and opened and closed the thick steel door a number of times. It
worked perfectly. There were plenty of supplies laid up and also a closed circuit
television camera which was partly concealed behind a ventilation grille.
“What is that for?” Steve asked, pointing to the camera.
“In case we catch a demon,” Roberto replied. “We may need to keep an eye on
it.”
They were then shown all the concealed hiding places that weapons were going
to be hidden in throughout the house. Just in case! Then there were instructions
on how the alarm system worked and how to turn it off and on both for the
house and the garage. Roberto was pleased with them and told them so.
“I wish a lot of our recruits were as quick and able as the two of you. If they
were, there would be no demons left on the planet. Now come outside, I have
something to show you. It has only just been delivered.”
They trooped outside to find a brand new Nissan four-door Skyline parked
beside Steve’s old car. It was a deep silver grey with blacked out windows and
completely unadorned. The wheels were wide with low profile tyres making it
sit low to the pavement. Steve’s mouth fell open at the sight of it.
“Is this yours?” he stammered, looking at Roberto.
“No, it’s yours,” he replied enjoying the look of amazement that passed over
Steve’s face. “Fully tricked out with all the go-faster gear that we could fit into it.
Four wheel drive and turbo. Also with bulletproof glass and lots of Kevlar lining
the body panels. Not only is it extremely hard to break into but there is not much
around here that could keep up with it and it’s not too expensive to repair if you
dent it.”
That took care of the next hour or so as Roberto explained the modifications that
had been done to the vehicle and after setting the alarms on the house, they went
for a drive. Steve drove it first, then Mary. She was quite an adventurous driver
and Steve found himself gripping the dashboard on a couple of corners that
Mary took at speed. The car was perfect. They were now ready for the lessons on
how to fight demons.
After dinner that night, Steve jokingly asked Roberto about sharpened wooden
stakes.
“Why?” was all he said.
“Well, this is getting too much like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I figured that a
couple of wooden stakes would not go amiss.” Steve meant it as a joke but to his
amazement Roberto replied seriously.
“We are not here to go after vampires. That is handled by another branch of The
Brotherhood. Vampires are base creatures which started from the mating of a
male demon in demon form with a human female. Very occasionally this mating
results in a vampire offspring. Most of the vampires today are a result of Tyrus’
proclivities. Their blood contains a strand of DNA which can infect humans, a bit
like the way that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease works. Anyone that gets vampire
65
blood into their system turns into a vampire also. They are not too difficult to kill
and not that common. Just extremely hard to find. A wooden stake through the
heart is not the best way to kill them, that’s for the movies. Concentrate on
demons for now.”
Steve was abashed. “Sorry, I was only having a joke. Shit, vampires are for real.”
He glanced over at Mary, who had visibly paled and took her hand in his. “We
will be okay my love, God is on our side.”
Mary returned the smile with one of her own, shyly.
Ten blocks away, lights were on fifteen floors up in an office building housing
the Fleeting Image Advertising Agency. It was the floor with the big computer
system on it. Tyrus, in human form, was sitting in front of a giant flat screen
monitor punching keys in response to the computer code flowing across it. His
fingers were blurs as they danced on the keys like dervishes. He was laughing.
“Am I the best or what?” he announced without pausing.
Andrew looked up from the computer he was working on, curious.
“Why? Are you getting somewhere at last?”
“Getting somewhere! Give me another minute and....... Ah!” Tyrus punched the
‘enter’ key and the screen swirled with colour, resolving into a picture of the
view across the Boulevard from ‘Tonies’ Coffee Shop. “Take a look at this
Andrew and tell me what you think.”
Andrew rolled his chair over to the desk that Tyrus occupied and watched in
amazement as Tyrus fast-forwarded through the backgrounds for the computer
game that they were making.
“That is absolutely brilliant. Amazing detail. You are as good as the Old Man
said you were. So fast. We are well ahead of schedule now. How long do you
reckon before all the lighting and shadowing are done.
“Just a few more weeks little brother and we will be ready to incorporate the
icons for the players. Sonya is nearly finished with the music and sound effects
and hopefully your characters are nearly done. I think we will be finished
completely in two to three months.”
“Excellent Tyrus, truly excellent. What time are you working to tonight?”
Tyrus regarded Andrew with a puzzled look for a second. “What sort of demon
are you? I have been working all day every day for the last few weeks getting the
backgrounds finished and now it is time to play. I haven’t had much fun in a
long while and I need some now. I am going out.” He looked down the row of
desks, “Sonya,” he called out loudly.
She looked up from the screen of the computer she was working on and removed
the headphones that she had been wearing for the music editing.
“Yes.”
“Playtime.”
66
She grinned an evil grin and stood up immediately, ready to go. “About time,
this place is really boring. I would much rather be in Europe or Iraq. Let’s go, I
am definitely in the mood for fun.”
Half an hour later found them both in a nightclub. Not Satans but another that
was fairly boisterous with pulsating lights and loud music and a lot of people
dancing in the strobe lights. Quite a few of them looked high as they swayed and
bumped to the insistent beat. Tyrus gave Sonya a dark smile and a nod as they
entered the club and split up. For what they were after, single hunting was the
best.
Tyrus wandered onto the dance floor, casually moving to the music without
effort, one of the many things he did well after six hundred plus years of
practice. He was hunting, senses raised, sniffing the air for a hot human female,
preferably a sinner. Eventually he found one that suited his purpose, dancing
alone with a vacuous expression on her pretty face. She was well endowed;
breasts and thighs chunky and voluptuous with dark hair cascading down her
back over the skimpy top to reach the low cut jeans that hugged her ample legs.
Just how Tyrus liked them. He moved in front of her and placed his hand on her
waist.
Her eyes focused on him. Hmm. Handsome but she couldn’t be too easy.
“Fuck off!”
Tyrus smiled to himself. Yes, this one would do.
“Interested in a snort? Columbian, uncut.”
“Fuck off I said. I don’t do drugs with strangers.”
“No problem, my name is Tyrus. What’s yours?”
She was interested now. Most men would have been discouraged by now but
this guy had something about him. “Melanie. Were you serious about the
Columbian?”
“Sure, want to go somewhere a little more private?”
Melanie, thoroughly amoral, who blew strangers in back alleys for extra pocket
money, thought for less than a second. He sure looked good and she would have
something to relate to the girls in the office tomorrow. “Where?”
“I’ve got a motel room just down the road, if that’s okay.”
“Sure, we can come back later if we get pass-outs. Lead on Tyrus.”
A slick smile passed across his face as he followed Melanie out of the club. He
and Sonya had both taken motel rooms in the same motel in anticipation of the
night’s activities. He led Melanie down the road to where the motel sign
advertised ‘vacancy’.
With the motel room door firmly closed and locked behind them Tyrus took a
large vial of white powder out of his jacket pocket and proceeded to make up
huge lines of coke on top of the motel bible. Nice touch he thought as he rolled
up a hundred dollar bill to snort through. Melanie was sitting on the edge of the
bed, seemingly idly flicking through television channels as she drank a Scotch
from the minibar but she didn’t miss the hundred dollar bill being rolled up.
67
Tyrus walked in front of her, blocking the television and holding out the rolled
up bill for her.
“After you,” she said. Melanie wasn’t stupid. If he was all right after a hit then
she was going to have a big one. This sort of offer didn’t turn up every day.
Tyrus took two big hits and handed the bible over to her along with the rolled up
bill. Melanie snorted up one line and only got half way down the second before
the top of her head seemed to explode. She had already dropped an Ecstasy tab
earlier in the evening and now was having difficulty dealing with the coke. “It
must be pure,” was all she could think before toppling backward onto the bed.
Her pussy was on fire and she was so horny but almost unable to move. Tyrus
was talking to her but the words weren’t getting through. He smiled a feral smile
and started to undress her, caressing and licking her as her clothes came off.
Then he was licking between her legs and she was coming in wave after wave of
pure pleasure.
“Inside me,” was all she could gasp.
Tyrus stood up and removed his clothes. His penis was erect and huge, sticking
straight out in front of him as he advanced toward the bed.
“No way,” Melanie tried to say but his hand came down over her mouth as his
erect organ tore into her. The pain was horrendous but through it, as he started
to move, the pleasure built. She passed out for a short while and when she came
to she was lying on her front and he was still pounding into her but the
pleasure/pain had moved to a different location.
“NO!” she exclaimed, “Not up my rear end.” She tried to scream but the sound
was cut off by one of his hands across her mouth. The other was in the small of
her back holding her down. She couldn’t move. The pounding became harder
and faster and blood was now seeping from between her legs but there was no
relief. At the moment of his orgasm, Tyrus hauled back on Melanie’s head and
her neck snapped. Dead. Tyrus then changed to demon form and pumped his
seed into the body beneath him, tasting the soul but it was not quite evil enough
for him to take and he had to watch it depart, screaming, heading for the light
which opened above to receive it. Somewhere he could never go. In the throes of
orgasm, he ripped the corpse with his talons and spun it over while it was still
impaled on his hardness, to eventually plunge his hand into her chest cavity and
rip out the heart. He feasted.
Sonya meanwhile, was not in such a hurry. She enjoyed a slow build-up to her
entertainment and upon entering the club, went and sat at the bar. Her low
neckline and short skirt revealed a lot more than it concealed and it wasn’t long
before a succession of hopefulls had cruised up to her and been rebuffed. She
didn’t play with boys, no sport. After an hour or so, a large bald-headed black
man with lots of gold rings and chains came over and sat down beside her.
“You working?” he enquired gruffly.
“No, what do you mean?” she replied innocently.
68
“With your looks and my contacts, you could make a lot of money ‘working’ for
me,” was his reply. “Interested?”
“Could be. What do I have to do?”
“First thing babe is for me to sample what you got. Then we know where we at.”
She smiled and reached lazily down between his legs. He recoiled slightly.
“What you doin’ bitch?”
“Just checking out if you have what it takes.”
He relaxed against her hand and she was pleased by what she felt.
“Do you like cocaine?” she asked in her little girl voice.
“You holdin’?” he queried.
“Sure. Best quality Columbian. Care to join me? I have a motel room down the
street.”
“Lead on, bitch.”
She got up from her seat, the tall powerfull black man following. This was going
to be good.
In the motel room she made up the lines of coke and they both had four lines
each. His constitution was amazing; two lines would stop most normal people
but not him. Better and better all the time. He roughly grabbed her breasts
through her top and started pawing her.
“Not like that,” she said pushing him back on the bed and leaning over to switch
on the radio which she tuned to a station with funky music. Then she did a strip
for him, finishing by removing her G string and putting a couple of fingers inside
herself, moving them around in time to the music. His face was getting extremely
red at this stage and not being able to contain himself any longer, he jumped up
and tore his clothes off, grabbing her around the waist and throwing her to the
bed.
His erection was bouncing in front of him. He grabbed it and waved it at her.
“Teasin’ white bitch, now you goin’ to get some real cock in yo pussy.”
Sonya smiled as he jumped on top of her and roughly mounted her, pumping in
and out in time to the music. He was rough but that is exactly how she liked it
and his size was no problem, after all the years she had spent with Tyrus. He
came quickly but didn’t stop pumping and quickly grew hard again.
“This time bitch I’m goin’ to unload in yo mouth.”
She didn’t move fast enough for his liking, so he slapped her across the face,
twice. Hmm, yes, just what she liked, aggression. Now she could retaliate when
and how she liked. He sat on the edge of the bed as she knelt on the floor in front
of him and holding her head, by wrapping his hands in her hair on both sides,
worked his penis into her mouth. She obligingly opened it wider for him and
took his penis right down her throat. His breathing grew ragged and just at the
moment of ejaculation, he looked down to find his penis fully buried in the
mouth of a demon. His eyes widened in terror just as she bit his penis off. In that
instant of suprise, before he could react, she jumped up and clamped his mouth
shut with both of her taloned hands. Blood was spraying around the room and
69
the black man struggled mightily but to no avail. Sonya, now fully changed into
demon form, spat his penis out and then bit his nose right off. She loved pain
and giving it to people. The struggling diminished as the man suffocated on his
own blood, his thrashing body meant nothing to Sonya who had enough
strength in demon form to subdue five like him at the same time. She looked into
his soul. Lucky Sonya, it was a bad one. She took it. Mr. D. would be pleased
with that little gift. Now, one last thing to do. Plunging her taloned hand into his
chest, she tore the heart out and ate it while it was still pumping. She was glad
Tyrus had shown her how to do this, it was nearly as good as sex.
Afterwards she showered and leaving the body on the bed and the cocaine on
the bedside table, went along to Tyrus’ room. He answered the knock on the
door and she got a quick look into the room before he came out, closing the door
behind himself.
“Was it as good for you as it was for me?” she asked him.
His answer was to grab her and tongue fence for a moment before suggesting,
“Let’s go home and have us some real sex.”
Sonya agreed. Was there a finer demon on the planet?
70
Chapter 11.
The next morning, just after breakfast, the morning run and weight training over
with, Steve’s mobile phone rang. Mary and Roberto stopped talking and looked
at him when he opened it and took the call. Only one other person had this
number and he was on the other end of the line.
“Hi Detective Mike, what can I do for you?” Whatever reply he received was not
heard by the others but Steve looked very serious, nodding his head rapidly in
response to what he was being told. After a couple of minutes he then held the
phone out to Roberto.
“He wants to talk to you. Apparently there have been a couple of gruesome
murders at a motel. Both in separate rooms but with the same sort of M.O.”
Roberto took the phone and started to talk to the Detective. Meanwhile, Mary
looked over at Steve with a questioning look on her face.
“Well, out with it. Stop with the ‘I want to protect you’ crap and just tell me. I am
in this just as much as you. Remember? Demon hunters.”
Steve sighed, “Sorry, you’re right, I just can’t help trying to protect you. The
police were called to a motel in the City. The cleaners found a body of a young
woman this morning. She had been sexually abused, sodomised and had her
neck broken and heart ripped out. Her body was covered with claw marks and
the heart is missing. She was nineteen. However, that is not all. Three rooms
away, the body of a large black man, a well known pimp, was also discovered.
His penis and nose had been bitten off and his heart was missing too. More claw
marks. Forensics are down there looking for clues.”
Mary had sat there quietly while Steve described the murders but now she
turned to Roberto who was handing the closed phone back to Steve.
“Are we going downtown to take a look?” she asked Roberto.
He smiled, a little wanly, “No, we are not going downtown, I am. Before you
protest, listen. Your training has a ways to go and this may be a trap. If you get
spotted by a demon, they might trail you back here and we lose the element of
suprise. Mike is going to pick me up at the end of the road and take me to the
motel. There, I will be introduced as an out of town colleague and hopefully get
some pictures with a hidden minicam. Remember? We covered those last week.”
He left the room and returned a few moments later with his jacket on. It was still
chilly outside. Then Steve noticed the badge on the lapel. Pointing, he asked.
“Is that the camera?”
“Yeah, well spotted. Now you two, I want you to read this until I get back. This
is one of the most important pieces of information that you will get.” Roberto
then showed them the slim glossy volume that they hadn’t noticed he was
holding in his hand. “This is a treatise, with illustrations, of all the ways known
to kill demons, both in their human form and in their demon form.”
“It’s not very thick,” Mary offered.
71
“Exactly,” was Roberto’s succinct reply. “So learn it well, it may save your lives
one day. Wait here until I get back or phone you. Do not go out and do not
answer the door. Please.”
Ten blocks away, on the sixteenth floor of Fleeting Image, a row was about to get
underway in the private quarters. The Devil had materialized in front of Louise’s
desk in the public area. She knew he could check places ahead of his arrival but it
was still a very dangerous thing to do, as the risk of discovery was increased
dramatically. What was more worrisome was that he was having difficulty
controlling his human form. His normally urbane public manner was gone and
the smell of singed clothing was very noticeable. His eyes kept flicking to vertical
slit pupils and back again and every so often smoke would come down his nose.
Louise was worried that the smoke detectors might go off.
“Do not let anyone enter the private area,” he had informed her. “No one. Got
that.”
She nodded dumbly as he strode off toward the private office, smacking his fist
into the palm of the other hand with a loud cracking noise.
Once inside the office, he composed himself slightly and concentrated. There was
a crack and whumph of displaced air and a very suprised Sonya looked up from
the floor and quickly got to her feet.
“What are you doing Dad? I was fast asleep.”
“Shut up and sit over there,” he said pointing at a lounge chair.
She walked over towards it as a pair of blue overalls materialised on the chair
back.
“And put those on.”
There was another crack and whumph of displaced air and Tyrus stood before
the Devil. One look at the Devil’s face and Tyrus shut his mouth and said
nothing.
“Very wise Tyrus but you always were smart.” Tyrus smiled. “But not fucking
smart enough you stupid pair of fuckwits. I’ve seen more brains in angel shit.
What were you thinking of? Don’t bother trying to answer. I got a call about ten
minutes ago from one of Ruth’s tame policemen. Seems they have found two
bodies at a motel. Yes, both at the same fucking motel. Both fucked over, clawed
and with their hearts ripped out and missing. I know it was you two who did it. I
should have kept you both on a shorter leash. What were you thinking?”
Tyrus scowled at his father, “We were bored. We’ve been working very hard,
night and day on the computer game, so we thought we would have a break.
They won’t be able to trace it back to us anyway.”
“That is not the point dipshit. What if there is Brotherhood in this town? They
will know it was demons that did it. Now, if you look on the chair behind you
Tyrus, you will find a pair of blue overalls like Sonya is holding. Put them on
and then go and clean every restroom on the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth
floors, top to bottom. The whole of Fleeting Image. When you have finished,
72
move your stuff into the private apartment here and do not show your faces
outside this building until we see what repercussions come from your little
‘jaunt’. I expect if our tame police cannot smother this, your descriptions will be
circulated in every hotel, motel and rooming house in the city.”
Looking suitably chagrined, Tyrus and Sonya dressed in the overalls after they
changed into human form and headed for the door. Just as they reached it, the
Devil called out after them.
“I did like the way you killed them though and don’t forget to give me the soul
Sonya.” She turned and blew him a kiss containing the soul.
The Devil smiled with pleasure, “Thank you sweetie.”
He leaned on the intercom button and asked Louise to get Andrew for him as
soon as possible. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and Andrew
came in looking a little subdued also.
“You heard?” the Devil asked. At Andrew’s nod the Devil continued. “You are
probably the only one of us that the police or any of the others don’t know. Get
down to the motel and keep a watch. Take one of the mobile phones with a
camera in it and photograph anyone that you don’t recognise who enters those
two motel rooms. We have to find out if The Brotherhood is in town. Find out the
address of the motel from Tyrus. Now go.”
Andrew left quickly, you didn’t bug the ‘Old Man’ when he was in a temper,
that had a tendency to get painfull.
Shortly after this exchange, Mike and Roberto arrived at the motel. It was a little
chaotic with police cars and forensic vehicles littering the parking area. Detective
Mike waved his badge and introduced Roberto as an expert from overseas. As
forensics were still working the case, they could only observe the crime scenes
from the doorway of the two units. There was blood everywhere; on the beds, on
the floor and on the walls. It was a slaughterhouse, enough evidence for Roberto,
who turned to the Detective and mouthed the word, “Demons.” They both
turned and headed for the motel office where the manager was being questioned.
After a few questions, the manager of the motel opened up and gave them a
pretty good description of the man and woman who had booked those rooms.
Mike called in to Police Headquarters for a police artist to come out to the motel
and draw the suspects from the manager’s descriptions
While they were standing around, they didn’t notice Andrew turn up and
mingle with the crowd of curious onlookers, surreptitiously taking photographs
while looking like he was trying to place a call on a mobile phone. He wasn’t
there for long before leaving. No point in being noticed.
When Andrew got back to Fleeting Image, the Devil was waiting impatiently for
him, pacing up and down in his office. He grabbed the mobile phone from
Andrew and started checking out the photographs. On the fourth one he
stopped.
“Ha! I knew it, Brotherhood.” He showed the photograph to Andrew. “That is
Roberto, all the way from Italy. He is definitely Brotherhood. Who was he with?”
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Andrew took back the phone and shortly handed it back with another picture
showing. “This man was with Roberto, Mr. D.”
“Do we know him?”
“Yes Mr. D, he was on the case of Sally’s apparent suicide. You remember, the
girl that Ruth threw off the balcony.”
“Course I remember, I may be ancient but I am not senile. What is his name?”
“Detective Mike Carruthers, we have nothing on him. He’s as clean as they come.
What are you going to do?” Andrew smiled, he liked to see his Dad in action.
The Devil picked up the phone and dialled a number. When it was answered he
spoke quickly using Ruth’s voice, “Hello Commissioner, we have a slight
problem that needs fixing. One of your men, a Detective Carruthers was at a
crime scene today. Yes, the motel. He took a civilian with him. I need him off the
case. Oh, it wasn’t his case. How fortunate. Deal with it, this guy could be a
problem. Just remember the tape we have of you with the transvestite and do
your best. Yes, I will see you at the club and give you a little reward as usual.
Thank you, bye.”
Turning to Andrew, the Devil smiled. “Well, that should give us a bit of time.
Good work Andrew. Now leave.”
Later that day, Roberto and Mike turned up back at Steve’s house. The first time
the Detective had been there. Steve was suprised to see Mike with Roberto but
was even more suprised to hear that he had been suspended for taking a civilian
to a crime scene that was not even his case. Badge and gun job. Indefinite, until it
was officially reviewed. Detective Mike was really pissed off.
“We were made at the motel and pressure was applied,” Mike opined. “I would
love to find what these guys are being bribed with. I reckon ‘Satans’ has
something to do with all this. Call it a hunch but I would love to get in there and
have a look around.”
Heads nodded in agreement and Mary went off to make coffee, more to escape
the tension in the room than for reasons of thirst.
Roberto reached down to the coffee table, picked up the slim volume he had left
with Steve and Mary and turned to Mike.
“You are welcome to work with us while you are on suspension, if you like.” He
said to the Detective, who slowly nodded his head.
“Fine by me. What’s that you got there?” Mike asked Roberto.
“A basic handbook on ways to deal with demons. The three of you should study
it together and if you have any questions, I will be around to answer them.”
The Detective nodded and when Mary came back with the coffees, they all sat
around the table studying the book. Basically, it all boiled down to a few ways to
deal with demons. These were;
1. Holy water. When sprayed on a demon in human form it stopped the change
to demon form. The human form was then vulnerable to any form of death that
74
would kill a normal person. However, if the water evaporated or was dried off,
the effect was negated.
2. Total immersion in Holy water. This put the demon’s human body but not
the mind, into a state of suspended animation.
3. Violent death of the human body by any means. It had to be instantaneous
or the demon would change to demon form which was nearly invincible.
4. Beheading, or something equally non-reversible, of the demon form. This
required a blade which was blessed and had never been used for evil purposes.
5. Explosive devices, remembering that if seen by a demon, they could be
teleported away.
“That’s it?” Steve looked a little shaken. “Doesn’t exactly leave us a lot of room to
manoeuvre in, Roberto.” He checked out Mary and Detective Mike to gauge their
opinion.
Roberto chuckled, “It would seem that way but tomorrow you start your training
in the many ways to kill demons that these methods open up to us. Would you
like to learn also, Mike?”
The Detective nodded, “Could be pretty usefull, considering what I’ve seen
today. What time do we start?”
Mary looked at him shyly, “Well, if you have no reason to go home, why don’t
you stay here for the night. We have plenty of room and dinner shouldn’t take
long. We would love to have you as a guest.”
Mike smiled at her warmly, the warmest smile they had all seen from him yet. “It
would be a pleasure Mary and if you ever give Steve the boot, come and look me
up.”
She blushed and they all had a chuckle over it. The evening went on to become a
very convivial occasion which did a lot to bond them together.
After they had all gone to bed, in the early hours of the morning, Steve dreamed
yet again. He was back in the desert but it had changed. Where before there had
been sand, rocks and a few stunted shrubs, now the land was fairer. Grass grew
and trees dotted the countryside. Under one of them, Chris sat chewing lazily on
a piece of grass. Steve gave a low whistle of amazement as Chris rose and joined
him.
“What’s happening here?”
Chris looked pleased, “Let’s walk over to the oasis. I want to show you
something.”
They trooped over the hill, wading through the fresh green grass which came up
to their knees. On the other side, the oasis was a riot of colour. All types of
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flowers were growing in abundance and bees and birds were working in
amongst them.
“This is amazing Chris, talk to me.”
“Ruth allowed me to come to see you. Her human side is remembering what
‘good’ is. I think she wants to stop being a demon but she can’t. Can you help us?
I just need to have her to myself for a while, maybe a month and I think I may be
able to do it.”
“Do what?” Steve asked his friend.
“Finish the conversion that my love for her has started.”
Just at that moment, a familiar figure stood up from beside the waterhole where
she had been sitting unnoticed. Steve tensed, and then saw that Ruth was more
conservatively dressed than usual in a swaying skirt and loose peasant top. It
suited her and she looked really pretty but not in that sexy, man-eating way that
she used to.
“Hello Steve. It is good to see you. I am truly and deeply sorry for any pain that I
may have caused you or Mary. Please forgive me. We need your help to try and
get away from the Devil. It will be dangerous; doubly so if the Devil finds out
because he will take Chris’ soul from me and we will lose Chris forever. I
couldn’t live without Chris. I have come to appreciate just what ‘love’ is through
the devotion that Chris has continually shown me. Will you help us?”
Steve stood considering. Was this a trap? It didn’t feel like one. “I will do what I
can but first I must consult with Mary, and Roberto who you haven’t met. He is
Brotherhood as we are becoming. I will need to take something concrete back
with me that will help us in our fight. How about the location of ‘Satans’.”
“I cannot do that,” she sobbed. “I am bound in a demon oath not to reveal its
location.”
“But I’m not.” Chris said with a smile and to Ruth’s delight, promptly gave away
the location of ‘Satans’ to Steve.
“Excellent. Now we may be able to take the fight to the Devil by killing his
demons. No offence Ruth. Hang in there both of you and I will see what we can
pull off.”
With smiles all round the dream faded and Steve woke up feeling refreshed. It
was only after he was fully awake that he realised that the hairs on the back of
his neck had not bristled with their usual warning of evil when Ruth had shown
up. Looked like change was in the air.
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Chapter 12.
Detective Mike was on his third cup of coffee and had breakfast already
prepared when the other three occupants of the house straggled into the kitchen
early the next morning. A pile of pancakes was sitting in the middle of the table
and fresh coffee was brewing on the coffee maker.
“Sorry, I rummaged around and found the ingredients. Thought you might like
breakfast made for you. I don’t sleep that much,” he said with a smile.
Steve, Mary and Roberto sat down and got stuck into the food before them. It
was great. Around mouthfulls of pancake, Steve explained his dream to them
and told them of his discovery of the location of ‘Satans’.
“You believe this?” Roberto asked Steve. “No possibility of a trick?”
“I believe that the Chris I talked to in the dream is the Chris that I knew. This is
not the first time that I have been contacted by Chris. He may be crazy falling in
love with a demon but I am sure it is him that is appearing in my dreams. He has
had a really rough time of it but he has always been straight with me. Yes, I
believe this.” Steve looked levelly at Roberto. “What can we do to help them?”
“Them!” Roberto exploded. “I have no intention of helping a demon. I spend my
waking hours fighting against demons. I have pledged my life to killing them.”
Mary interjected. “Roberto, it doesn’t matter which religion we are in, we all pray
to God. All religions mention forgiveness. Shouldn’t we at least try to help Ruth,
who is half human?”
“Ah, gentle Mary. I hope your heart does not betray us. Demon vengeance is
swift and often final. Very well, we need a plan but first I have something to
show you all.” Roberto got up from the remains of his breakfast with a nod of
thanks towards Mike and went off to his room, returning shortly with a strange
looking contraption in his hands. It vaguely resembled a gun with a short barrel
under which was a long cylinder. At the back of the cylinder, above the pistol
grip was a ‘T’ piece and topping the whole contraption off, looking very
incongruous, a plastic drink bottle was attached vertically, upside down, at the
rear above the barrel. The neck of the bottle looked to be screwed into a socket
there.
Mike looked puzzled. “Ain’t like any gun I’ve ever seen. What is it?”
Roberto chuckled, “A water cannon.”
Detective Mike spat his coffee back into his cup to avoid spraying everyone with
his mouthfull of coffee and exclaimed, “A water cannon! Shit, don’t tell me you
intend we fight demons with a water pistol. Might as well piss on them.” He
blushed and turning to Mary, apologised for his language. “Okay, you got me,
how does it work anyway?”
“First off, remember your lessons from yesterday. This canon fires Holy water.
This spot here is where a standard plastic bottle screws in, it will take any size
but I prefer five hundred ml. bottles as they are the easiest to handle and carry.
This ‘T’ piece at the back is the air pump, just pump it in and out a few times and
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the compressed air is stored in the cylinder under the barrel. All you do to use it
is point and squirt. It has a range of about thirty metres.”
Steve looked a little concerned, “That is really interesting Roberto but where do
we get the Holy water from. We’ll probably need quite a bit.”
Roberto grinned ear to ear. “Wait one moment please,” he said as he rapidly
exited the room returning moments later with a cardboard box which he placed
on the table. “Never underestimate The Brotherhood my friends. Check it out.”
The other three people around the table looked into the box and then reached in
and withdrew a full five hundred ml. bottle each. Made of a greenish plastic and
with a label that read, ‘Rennes le Chateau, one hundred percent pure spring
water. Product of France.’
They all looked a little bewildered. Roberto was enjoying their puzzlement. It
was a couple of minutes before he explained.
“Rennes le Chateau is a little village built on a mountaintop. A few miles to the
south-east is another peak, Bezu, with the ruins of a medieval fortress, once a
Knights Templar preceptory. The village church in Rennes le Chateau was built
over a sixth century Visigoth structure and was consecrated to the Magdalene in
1059. It has a deep well in the cellar with pure water. This is blessed as it is
drawn from the well and bottled into these bottles. It is distributed by The
Brotherhood at the village to destinations all around the world as bottled
drinking water. However, it all ends up stockpiled with The Brotherhood at their
various chapterhouses around the globe. Yes, this is bottled Holy water, as much
ammunition as you will ever need.”
Comprehension dawned on their faces and the water cannon was passed around
from hand to hand and investigated. So simple, yet possibly so effective. If the
books were to be believed.
A short while later and Steve was lost in thought. Gazing at the kitchen ceiling,
his mind off on a mission, he started to worry Mary. The other two noticed
Mary’s concern and their conversation drifted off.
“Steve, Steve!” Mary tried to get his attention, eventually succeeding.
He shook himself, as if waking from a reverie and turned to Roberto. “How
much of this can we lay our hands on?” he asked seriously.
Roberto considered for a moment. “About ten cases for now. Why?”
Steve smiled. “I was thinking about our lessons the yesterday and what Chris
said to me in the dream. If we can capture Ruth and immerse her in Holy water,
she would be alone with just Chris in her mind. Exactly what Chris asked for. He
seems to think he can win her over from her evil and he seems to be succeeding
already. I would really like to try this Roberto. What do you think?”
Roberto looked unimpressed. “No one has ever captured a demon before and the
writings that we have are ancient. We don’t even know if it will work. No, it is
too dangerous.”
A side of Steve emerged just then that even Mary had not seen before. Stubborn
and forcefull. “Roberto, we have accepted you and taken your version of faith to
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our hearts. We have become Brotherhood. I want this and am personally willing
to take a chance on attempting it. Mary?”
“I am with you on this Steve, we owe it to Chris.”
Steve and Mary turned to Mike, who regarded them both with an open gaze for
about half a minute before speaking.
“Well, I feel that I let Chris down when he needed me so I guess I’ll also agree to
back you on this.”
They all turned their attention back to Roberto who just sighed. “If I have to die, I
might as well go trying to save a soul. Even if it is a demon’s.”
The planning went on well into the afternoon before there was general
agreement. First, ‘Satans’ had to be reconnoitred to find out the quietest times
throughout the whole day and night. They would go in at the time of least
activity. Detective Mike was the volunteer for that job and according to Roberto,
if he soaked his clothes with Holy water, the demons would be unable to sense
him. Mary would be in charge of getting them inside and once there, they would
spray anyone they found inside the club with Holy water. Mary and Steve would
carry telescoping steel batons for self defence, as their pistol skills were woefully
inadequate, Detective Mike had his hideaway gun still and Roberto would be
carrying his own nine millimetre pistol and a daito, a long Japanese sword. Steve
had asked him about that but all Roberto would tell him was that the Japanese
made the finest sword blades and his had been blessed. They would all have the
water cannons of course. The ‘panic’ room would have a big plastic tub put in it
for the immersion of Ruth in Holy water. If they could capture her and provided
that they came out of the adventure alive. The panic room was the best place
they all decided because it was pretty secure, the walls were quite thick and it
had a lockable steel door. Tentatively, one week from today would be when the
raid went down and it was agreed that if there was time during the raid, a search
could be made, at the club, for whatever material was being used to bribe the
police and local government officials. Game on.
That very afternoon there was a heated arguement going on at ‘Satans’ in the
main bar area. Andrew was there with Ruth and the Devil.
The Devil drew himself up to his full height and fixed his gaze on Ruth.
“Andrew has informed me that you are no longer doing ‘tricks’ with the punters.
He also informs me that you are spending a lot of time on your own. I personally
cannot feel the level of evil emanating from you that I think is required to be a
fully functioning demon. We are here to corrupt, daughter. That is what you
must do!”
Ruth glared at Andrew. “He is just pissed with me because I didn’t want to sleep
with him. He can get any woman he wants to. Why should I just lie down and
spread them when he asks?”
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The Devil sighed. “We are evil. Incest is evil. That is why we enjoy it. It is part of
our work. Sleeping with your brothers, including Tyrus who you also turned
down, is perfectly normal for a demon. It worries me that your behaviour in this
respect is abnormal.”
Ruth looked uncomfortable and Andrew was amused, revelling in her
discomfort. “Daddy, I am just a little tired. I will be alright and back to normal
soon.”
“Daughter, demons don’t get ‘tired’. My children don’t even need to sleep; it just
helps the human part last a little longer. I suspect your problem has something to
do with the extra spirit you are carrying. Do you want it removed?”
Ruth had to work hard to hide her anxiety at this remark but hide it she did. “I’ll
be fine Daddy, I’m feeling better than I was. I should be back to normal very
soon.”
“Excellent. You have one week, then you will come and sport with me and my
two sons. Tyrus is dying to try you out again and it is a while since I have
partaken of a little chippy off the old block. One week daughter or we will come
and take you anyway. We are evil you know.” With a final wink, the Devil
disappeared.
Ruth turned to Andrew with a scowl on her face. “How could you, you little
weasel. Is all of this because I wouldn’t let you fuck me? How could you go to
the Old Man about it?”
“We are demons sis. What do you expect, loyalty, honour, no way. I do what it
takes to get what I want. I will be watching you closely for the next week. Don’t
fuck up or else.” He turned and walked off towards the back entrance whistling
one of the songs from the new computer game that was slowly nearing
completion.
Ruth pulled out a chair and slumped into it resting her head in her hands. It was
all so complicated now. What was she doing? More to the point, what was Chris
up to?
Early March was cold and Detective Mike, not being of a religious bent, couldn’t
understand the necessity of keeping himself soaked in Holy water. He respected
Roberto though and duly kept to the plan they had hatched by keeping his
underclothes soaked from the bottles of Holy water that he had with him, while
wearing warm clothing on top. He had never worn long johns before and felt
ridiculous in them but they kept his nether regions warm enough, even if he was
wet. The only problem was his feet, they were damned, oops, cold. He had taken
station upstairs in an abandoned building opposite the back of the club. Most
buildings around this area were abandoned, it was an old part of town and
scheduled for demolition or so he was led to believe. He refused to be relieved
by the others as he reckoned he was the best person for this job and took his
work seriously. The others could do all that demon killing stuff but he would get
them the intelligence that they needed to do it. Over the next few days he
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photographed the comings and goings at the back of the club night and day.
During the day he used a silent digital camera and at night added a nightscope
to it. He built up a pattern of movement over the nights he watched, which
suggested the quietest time for a raid was about six in the morning, after
everyone had left and before the cleaning staff arrived. Each day, around ten in
the morning, he snuck away from his hidey hole and briefed the others then took
a nap, resuming his watch about eight in the evening. It was cold miserable work
but someone had to do it. After four days of surveillance the team had enough
information to go on and the final plans were laid. They would go in two days
from now.
During the night, about five in the morning, Steve had another dream. He met
Chris in the desert landscape again. Only this time it was weirdly different. The
whole of the dream world was coming apart. Literally, coming apart. Large
voids of midnight black appeared as fissures all across the dreamscape. Steve
was extremely concerned at what he saw.
“What is happening Chris?” he said looking about himself at the devastation.
“The Devil has given Ruth an ultimatum. Either return to her evil ways or loose
me, forever. She is distraught and barely holding things together.”
“Okay buddy, don’t worry. Plans are underway but I can’t tell you because it
may be pulled from her mind. Tell me. Do you know what the demons are using
to blackmail the police and City officials?”
“Yes. Video tapes of them performing various sick acts with people or animals.
They were filmed without their knowledge.”
“Do you know where the tapes are kept?” Steve asked.
Chris did and gave Steve explicit instructions on where to find them. They were
parted suddenly, shortly after that, as Steve was woken by a worried Mary who
was forcibly shaking him.
“You were talking in your sleep and shaking your head. Sorry, I just had to wake
you.”
“That’s okay my love. We now have all the information we need.”
That morning, Steve told everyone what had transpired in his dream. Roberto
still looked like he thought Steve was making it all up but Brotherhood being
Brotherhood he took it at face value. The raid would have to be moved up one
day to the following morning at six o’clock. Mary went out shopping for a while
and spent part of the rest of the day checking over some equipment that she had
purchased. Suprisingly, she declined to show everyone what she had bought,
being more than a little embarrassed about her previous life. After checking each
of the items out, she carefully stowed them in a black briefcase. Roberto
produced long black coats for them, with pockets sewn on the insides, usefull for
holding spare Holy water bottles. He told them they were also flame proof. He
also supplied Kevlar vests for them which would stop anything up to a full
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grown bull elephant but apologised for the fact that they only slowed a demon
down. It was starting to get serious now. He had them drilling on bottle changes
and pressurising the water cannons until they could do it blindfolded. Detective
Mike got sick of doing the drills and sat in a corner pulling his hidey gun apart
and reassembling it. The time was drawing closer and they were all feeling the
strain of waiting for their first raid together as a team. Roberto and Steve filled
the plastic bath in the ‘panic’ room with Holy water, in preparation for Ruth’s
body, Roberto shaking his head all the while at this untried gambit. That
evening, all preparations finished, they sat around after the evening meal having
a final drink before an early bed.
Roberto asked for silence and said a short prayer while the other three sat with
their heads bowed.
“Lord God all powerfull. We of the Brotherhood and Detective Mike are going to
work on your behalf in the morning, to continue the fight against evil. Please
bless our endeavours and keep watch over us. If we die, I ask that our souls be
free to find their own final resting place. Thank you Lord. Amen.” The ‘Amen’
was echoed all around the group, even Detective Mike joined in. Very shortly
afterwards they all headed for bed, each person thinking about what was to
come early the next morning.
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Chapter 13.
At four thirty in the morning, the alarm went off and Steve and Mary, Roberto
and Detective Mike rose and donned their long underclothes after soaking them
in warmed Holy water. Over the top of these went warm black clothing before
the Kevlar vests were velcroed into place. Once dressed, they met in the kitchen
for a quick coffee before putting on their equipment, gathering up their
previously packed bags and the long black coats. It was time.
They all jumped into Steve’s ‘special’ Nissan and headed off into the darkness of
the early hours. Parking a block away from the back door of ‘Satans’, they made
their way as silently as possible to the club. All was quiet. They stood across the
street from the back door and put their masks on. At a signal from Roberto, Mary
quickly and suprisingly quietly, crossed the street to the entry door. This was the
tricky part but she had come prepared. Reaching into her bag she removed a
‘stud’ finder, a small device that detects metal nails in wall studs. She ran it
around the door frame and noted where its indicator light blinked. There was a
strong response at the top of the door, probably a contact alarm. She then
removed two thin strips of magnetised metal, joined by a long thin wire and
insulated from each other. Holding her breath she inserted them between the
door and the frame where the contacts were. Nothing happened that she could
hear. Taking a few steadying breaths she turned her attention to the lock and
took out a set of lock picks. Not the easiest thing to get hold of but some of her
old friends hadn’t forgotten her. She went to work on the lock and in a very short
time had it open but she didn’t push the door yet. Carefully she reached up and
separated the two thin bits of metal with the wire attached, then she gently
swung the door in. One piece of the device stayed on the metal contact of the
door frame, the other swung in with the metal contact on the door. She then took
out some tape and taped them in place. All up, less than five minutes. Mary
signalled the others, who came quickly and silently across the street. Steve gave
her arm a reassuring squeeze on his way past. Mary closed the door behind
them, now bringing up the rear of the group as originally planned.
Roberto led them, they were all now wearing night goggles and could see quite
well as they descended the stairs and crossed the cellar. There was a door off the
passage to their right. Roberto held his finger in front of his mouth for quiet and
ever so slowly turned the handle on the door. The lock was well oiled and so
were the hinges, the door opening silently. It was a bedroom and there on the
bed, nude and fast asleep, was Ruth, looking as beautifull as ever. At a signal,
they all pointed their water cannons and fired simultaneously, totally
unprepared for what happened next. Ruth woke screaming, Roberto jumped on
her as Detective Mike leapt in to help and the roll of ‘gaffer’ tape that Roberto
had ready was put to good use. As soon as Ruth’s arms were taped to her sides,
Roberto took a wrap of tape around her head to shut off the screaming and then
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taped her legs up, with lots of assistance from the other three. Ruth was very
strong. About then, Roberto gave up on silence.
“Quick. Wet down the bedspread with Holy water and wrap it around her.
Detective Mike, carry her back to the car and put her in the boot. Whatever you
do, keep the bedspread wet with Holy water while you wait for us or she will
turn into a demon. Take no chances; it could get really nasty for you if you do.
Guard your back, if we have not returned in fifteen minutes, leave and carry out
the rest of the plan. Steve, you know where the blackmail tapes are. Show me the
way. I will lead. Mary, wait here. Guard our backs.”
With Steve guiding him, Roberto went into the office from the bedroom and
Steve followed. Once in there, Steve immediately spotted the bookcase and
located the copy of Dante’s Inferno on the right side of the top shelf. He tilted it
forward and was rewarded with a loud ‘click’. The bookcase swung open silently
on its hinges, to reveal a small room with video surveillance equipment and
recording devices. To the right of these was a shelf with at least a hundred video
tapes on it.
“Which ones?” Roberto gasped. “There are hundreds.”
Steve smiled. “The power of dreams my friend, the power of dreams,” was all he
said as he reached past Roberto and opened a drawer in a filing cabinet, located
below the shelf. From this he removed about twenty videocassettes which he
placed in his shoulder bag.
“Okay, mission accomplished. Let’s get out of here.”
Roberto could not agree more and they both headed back to the bedroom to
collect Mary and get the hell out of there. Luckily, they stuck to their plan, with
Roberto taking the lead. For just as they stepped out of the door onto the street
they met Andrew, who was returning to the club unexpectedly. For one split
second Andrew and Roberto’s eyes met. Roberto raised his water cannon. That
was all the perceived threat that Andrew required and he instantly changed to
demon form. The Holy water evaporated into steam before it got to the demon’s
hot, naked body. Its clothes had immediately incinerated to ash with the fierce
heat of its rage. The demon form screamed and ran at Roberto. It all happened so
fast, that later on, Steve could not really tell anyone what had occurred in that
instant. All he knew was that Roberto let go of the water cannon which fell to his
right side on its strap and simultaneously, with a lethal whisper, drew the daito
sword and swung it, all in one fluid motion. There was a lot of power in that
swing and the sword descended, whistling, until it met the demon’s outstretched
right arm, slicing it off effortlessly just below the elbow.
The arm hit the ground and disappeared. The demon that was Andrew pulled
up short, staring at the stump of the right arm in amazement. There was no
blood but he had never been injured before, ever. This should not be happening.
He was a demon, son of the Devil, invincible. Roberto advanced, showing no
fear, the sword held down beside him, out from his body to the right. Another
swing of the sword. This time high, going for the neck of the demon. At the last
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moment, with superhuman speed, the Andrew demon ducked but lost the end of
one horn to the swing. It too disappeared when it hit the ground. The Andrew
demon backed off, confused. Maybe he should stop attacking them and leave, in
case whoever they were could kill him. He would have to consult with Dad on
this one. Turning, he ran off through the predawn light in the direction of
Fleeting Image, reluctant to change into human form in case he bled to death.
Who were those people?
‘Those people’ were shaking and trembling, in the aftermath of the demon
attack, even Roberto. A fully-grown, attacking demon tends to do that to people
and for all his poise and bravery, Roberto was human. They made their way back
to the car without further incident. Detective Mike was looking a bit perturbed.
“What in God’s name was that screaming?” he asked them. “It sounded horrible
from here.”
“We just bumped into a demon and you should have seen Roberto move. He is
amazing.” Steve was interrupted by Roberto. “Not now Steve, sorry but we have
to go, immediately.”
They all piled into the car and after driving a block or so, removed their masks
and took it quietly until they got home to Steve and Mary’s house.
Steve backed the car as close to the house as possible and between them they
lifted the still struggling Ruth from the boot and carried her into the house,
depositing her on the floor in front of the ‘panic’ room.
Steve looked to Roberto for guidance, pointing at the still writhing body inside
the bedspread. “What do we do with her now? Will she drown if we dump her
into the bath?”
“I honestly don’t know. Let me make a quick phone call to headquarters so we
can find out.” Roberto replied, and grabbing a mobile phone he made the call. A
couple of urgent questions and some headshaking later he replied. “Kill her.”
“No way,” Steve protested. “My friend is inside her and you are not going to kill
her because he will die too.”
Roberto drew his gun. “Sorry, I have my orders.”
A quiet throat clearing behind them made them look around. Mary gasped, there
stood Detective Mike with his hidey gun pointed levelly at Roberto.
“Sorry, I failed Chris once and I don’t intend for it to happen again. Put the gun
away and we will work this out. Otherwise I will have to shoot you and I will if
necessary. You said yourself that capturing a demon alive has never been done
before, yet we’ve done it. Let’s try and finish the job. Believe in your own
resource material Roberto and work with us. We just may be able to save them.”
Roberto sighed and put his gun away. “I didn’t really feel right about the order
from headquarters. If this goes sideways, you all realise I am in deep shit. Not
the least for ignoring an order given by a superior.”
85
Steve replied evenly. “We are all in deep shit Roberto. Mary and I are also
Brotherhood now, remember. Anyway, our superior is ‘there’ and we are right
here.”
Roberto smiled warmly. “Yes you are and you are both an excellent acquisition.
So be it. I believe we must immerse her in the tub of Holy water and hold her
underneath until she stops struggling. It must be done soon.”
“Won’t that just kill her by drowning?” Mary asked in a worried voice.
“I’m afraid we will just have to be guided by the old texts. We have nothing
more to go on. Let’s just do it before she dries out,” was Roberto’s terse reply.
They opened the door to the ‘panic’ room and lugged the body in. Roberto and
Steve lifted Ruth into the bath. Mary left, it was too much for her to participate in
at this stage, she could not bear to watch someone being drowned, even if it was
a demon. The still struggling body was placed in the bath and Roberto pulled the
bedspread down and removed the tape from Ruth’s mouth. The screaming
started and was abruptly cut off as he pushed her head under water. Steve went
pale as Ruth started thrashing and he held her lower section under the water at
the same time as Roberto held her upper body and head under. “Seeing someone
drown is not a pleasant experience for anyone,” he thought as the struggling
gradually subsided. Eventually Ruth was still. Roberto looked sickened by what
he had just done and removed the bedspread completely from the body.
“We should leave the tape on until we know what has happened.”
Steve agreed. They were both terribly shaken by what they had just done. Ruth
lay still in the water. No movement, no attempt at breathing, to all intents and
purposes, dead. A tear slipped down Steve’s face. He wiped it with the back of
his hand and gazed at Ruth’s body. God she was beautifull. What a shame. He
put his hand into the water and held her hand. It was soft and warm. If only
there had been another way.
A tiny pulse ticked once under his grasp. Was it just his imagination? Thirty
seconds went by. There was another tiny pulse.
“Mary, Roberto, Mike,” he cried out, “come here, quickly.” They all crowded
into the ‘panic’ room and each had a go at feeling the pulse, one every thirty
seconds, regular as clockwork. The demon part of Ruth was keeping her body
alive, just. They had succeeded.
Across Southtown, the Andrew demon had ripped the front from a Salvation
Army clothing bin with its good arm, several blocks away from the club. He
could not afford to be seen as a demon but couldn’t change back, in case he bled
to death in his human form. He found some old trousers, a huge pair of worn
shoes to cover his taloned feet and a smelly track top with a hood. As he put the
trousers on he tucked his tail up between his legs and secured it with the waist
band of the trousers before donning the track top. Finally, after putting the huge
shoes on and leaving the laces untied he pulled the hood of the track top up to
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cover his head with its missing horn. The track top stank. Andrew was a sharp
dresser normally and now he had to wear this lot. Someone was going to pay.
He made his way on foot to the building that housed Fleeting Image and took the
elevator to the sixteenth floor. Louise called out after the shambling, smelly
figure as it made its way past her desk but was ignored. She was in the process of
calling security when she saw the figure punch the numbers into the electronic
lock pad of the private suite. The door opened and she relaxed. Only a few
people knew that number. As Andrew entered the private suite it occurred to
him that he was fortunate, in that it was early enough to avoid being spotted
getting up here, apart from Louise at her desk. The Devil should be in soon. He
would know what to do.
At exactly nine o’clock in the morning, the Devil materialized in the private
quarters. Slightly startled by having a demon waiting for him he hesitated for a
moment. “What is the meaning of this Andrew and why are you dressed in such
scruffy clothes?”
Andrew threw back the hood of the track top and the Devil gasped as he saw one
horn was missing.
“What happened to your horn?”
In answer, Andrew tore the track top off to reveal his missing right forearm. The
Devil roared and the whole building shook to its foundations.
“HOW?”
“At the club, this morning,” was Andrew’s fearfull reply. He had only seen his
Dad angry a couple of times but that was enough.
The Devil winked out of existence only to wink straight back a few minutes later.
He struggled to compose himself before speaking to Andrew.
“Ruth is gone. Holy water has been used at the club, that means Brotherhood.
Damn, damn, damn and damn again. The video tapes which we used for bribery
are gone also. This means war. Did you get a look at them? Could you recognise
them?”
“No Dad, they were wearing masks and they had wet themselves with Holy
water so I couldn’t get a ‘sense’ of them. Can you do anything about my arm?”
“Sorry son, I got a little excited. Yes, I can fix it, come over here.”
Andrew walked over to the Devil who took the right arm in his hands, above the
elbow and closed his eyes. Instantly, in front of Andrew’s gaze, his arm grew
back. Bones first, then muscles and blood vessels and finally the scaly demon
skin. Next the Devil pressed his hand on Andrew’s head and the horn grew back.
Stepping back to admire his handiwork, the Devil said, “Now you can change
back to your human form and get cleaned up and put some decent clothes on.
You will need to double your food intake for a couple of days to make up for the
tissue you have lost. Come back in an hour, we are going to have a council of
war. How dare these puny humans harm a member of my family. They will
regret their actions sooner rather than later.” With that he disappeared again.
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One hour later they were all assembled in the private quarters. The Devil, Tyrus,
Sonya, Andrew and Louise. The leaden March skies outside the window
perfectly reflected the Devil’s mood. Dark, grey and angry.
“What’s all the fuss about Sire and why the urgency?” Tyrus enquired.
The Devil shifted his gaze around the room to take in all of them before replying.
“The club has been raided and Ruth is missing, as are the tapes she made for
blackmail.”
“The little double-crossing slut,” Tyrus exclaimed. “I knew she was up to
something.”
A bolt of electrical discharge shot from the Devil’s hand and caught Tyrus right
between the eyes. Tyrus recoiled, rubbing the spot with his fingers.
“What was that for? I was just saying what I thought. She has been acting weird
lately. Maybe it was all her idea.”
“Tyrus, for all the years that you have lived, you sometimes speak without
thinking. Ruth is missing. You forget, I am THE Devil and I can find my children
anywhere on the planet, instantly, whenever I want to. How do you think I know
some of the stupid things that you have done over the years? I make sure all of
you do not break the RULES or we would all cease to exist. Ruth is missing. I
cannot find her. She is not dead or I would have felt it. This has never happened
before and it’s embarrassing. I have a feeling that HE may be involved in this
somehow. You all know who I am referring to. Andrew, tell them what
happened earlier this morning.”
Andrew, looking a little pale under his tan, started his tale of woe. By the time he
had finished the other demons were looking angry and a little worried.
Sonya was the first to break the silence. “Dad, give us your slant on this. It
sounds a little like The Brotherhood to me but they have never done anything as
daring as this before. We usually have to dodge them a bit and change our
operations centre; but disappearing a demon. That is heavy shit.”
The Devil smiled at Sonya. “You always were the smart one when it came to
seeing the issues. Yes, I believe The Brotherhood is involved but they are getting
stronger and smarter. How did they know about the tapes and how did they
choose the right ones out of all that were there? Who are they and did they have
divine help? What is our response to be?”
Tyrus growled, low and long. “Find them and kill them all, slowly and
painfully.”
“Ah, my son. Exactly what I would expect from you. Two things you have to
remember. One, you can only kill them while you are in human form, unless
they threaten you. In human form you are vulnerable to death and these people
have shown they are a force to be reckoned with. Two, what about your sister?”
“Fuck her. She was a flaky demon anyway. Imagine not wanting to fuck your
own brother. That’s weird. As to the so called Brotherhood. Well, I think we
should go and have a really good look all around the club and through it, in case
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there are any clues as to their identity.” Tyrus looked around the group to see
how his suggestion had been taken. There were nods here and there.
“Andrew, your thoughts on the matter please.” The Devil requested.
“I agree about searching around the club, we should do that very soon before all
the scents dissipate. As to Ruth. The RULES state that you are allowed four
demon children at one time. You say that Ruth is not dead but you cannot locate
her. That means that she is no longer a demon. You could have another
daughter.”
The Devil beamed. “I knew your education would come in usefull some day. Let
me check.” The Devil sat staring off into some far distance for a while then
collected himself. “Right on the money Andrew, it is within the RULES. Okay
here is what we do. Sonya, you can investigate the club and its surroundings. Be
carefull and be thorough. In the club, use demon form if necessary to pick up
other clues. Anything suspicious, anything at all, we need to know about it.”
Here, the Devil paused for a moment. Sitting, deep in thought, while the others
waited respectfully. It didn’t pay to upset the Old Man. After a few moments
contemplation, he looked up with a smile on his face and an evil gleam in his
eyes.
“What we need is a diversion. One that will have The Brotherhood chasing their
tails and barking up the wrong tree. We must give them something real and with
meaning. Tyrus, my athletic son, who has been working so hard in Europe for so
long. Your offspring from human women, all those little vampires that you have
made over the centuries, do you know how to contact the covens?”
Andrew’s head shot up. “What are you talking about?”
Tyrus looked smug but it was the Devil who replied.
“Sorry Andrew, you do not know of this because traditionally, only the eldest
male demon is made aware of how to make vampires.”
Andrew looked annoyed. “So tell me now. I may be the eldest son soon, if The
Brotherhood doesn’t take the bait.”
The Devil considered for a moment. “You could be right. Very well, it goes like
this; if you mate with a human female during the full moon and she is receptive
to your seed, your offspring will be a vampire. Half demon only, they are not
bound by the RULES. In their blood is a DNA strand that can infect normal
humans and turn them into vampires within a couple of weeks. It is something
that we find usefull to use in our little contest with HIM. For the last six hundred
years, Europe has been very fertile for Tyrus or should I say Tyrus has been very
fertile for Europe. The culture there lends itself to having vampires and Tyrus
likes them. Don’t you Tyrus.”
Tyrus looked a little abashed and bowed his head, speaking in almost a whisper.
“Yes Sire, I go and play with them sometimes. My vampire daughters fuck up a
storm and it is so refreshing seeing them kill. I get jealous because they are not
bound by RULES like we are. They let me drink the blood sometimes.”
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“Excellent. Contact some of the covens. I want twenty to thirty vampires over
here immediately. A little mayhem will help us in our fight. It will provide a
diversion to keep The Brotherhood occupied and off our case for a while. After
you have done that, get back to work on the game, I want it ready to roll in one
month.” At the look on Tyrus’ face, the Devil stressed, “One month Tyrus, no
excuses, finished.”
Turning to Andrew, he then said. “Your job is to find a dark, comfortable place
for our visitors. Somewhere they can come and go without too much difficulty.
Somewhere easy to defend if necessary. Some sort of business cover for their
activities would be usefull also. However much it costs, whatever it takes. Do it.
After that, locate that Brotherhood bastard Roberto who you photographed at
the motel. If he is the one that chopped your arm off, kill him. Remember that
these people are dangerous. Report in to Sonya at regular intervals. I mean it, let
it be so.”
He sat back, a grim smile on his face. “You all have your orders. Now go and
carry them out. Louise, remain behind.”
The three demons rose as one and trooped out of the suite to carry out their
various tasks. That left Louise sitting by herself with the Devil. He contemplated
her for a moment.
“Louise, my precious, I know what has been in your heart for a long while. You
want power. You lust for it. Well now is your chance to earn it. We will make a
daughter together, you and I. However, the situation is urgent, so we are going
to do something a little different. I can tweak my seed by altering the DNA, one
of the advantages of being the Devil, which means your gestation will be of one
month duration. You are young and healthy, it won’t kill you but it will be
challenging for you. Once our daughter is born she will grow exceedingly
quickly. In six months she will be the equivalent of ten human years old and will
reach maturity in a year from now. We will purchase you a proper house,
befitting your position as mother of my child and you will no longer work here.
Sonya can do your job until we can find another minion for it.” Rising, he
approached her with his hand outstretched and took her hand in his. “Tonight
my dear, you and I are going to have some real sex. By this time tomorrow you
will be carrying a demon inside you. A special one, a prototype for the new
order. A female demon that no one has seen the like of before.”
They were going to have a baby.
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Chapter 14.
In the first few hours after the raid on the club, Steve and his friends were
euphoric with the success of their venture but very quickly that euphoria was
replaced with the realisation of the reality of what they had done. They had
taken one of the Devil’s children and stolen the videotapes used for the
blackmailing of city officials. The Devil was going to be pissed. They could
possibly expect reprisals at any time.
Steve’s house was an anomaly. It was one of the original houses in the area,
single story, constructed of weatherboards, with high ceilings and sitting on a
decent size piece of land with gardens front and rear. All around his place there
were two story apartment blocks crowded onto small segments of land. The
developers had been after Steve for a while now to sell them the house so they
could tear it down and build a couple of apartment buildings. He had refused all
offers, enjoying the space. However, the small band in the house now realised
that the walls would not stop a demon intent on entering. For the next few days
they slept in rotation with one of them always on guard.
“Roberto. How reliable are the rules regarding demon conduct?” Steve asked.
Voicing the question that they all were thinking.
“Well, in eight centuries of the Brotherhood being active, they have never been
broken. We rely on them. If they are going to come, they will come in human
form. They always have in the past, without exception.”
The relief around the room was palpable.
Mary took Detective Mike yet another coffee. He had been viewing the stolen
videotapes on Steve’s home theatre system and was making notes. He was
visibly shaken by what he had seen on them, never having been exposed to such
sordid behaviour before, even after twenty years on the police force. She stood
beside him, her affection for the grizzled police officer apparent to all. He was
like a father to her.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
Detective Mike looked up with fondness. “I am going to copy these tapes and
send copies to all the people in them, with a note telling them that the originals
are in a safe place. The note will ask them to do their jobs properly or else the
media will get a copy of their tape. I am going to get my suspension lifted and
get myself put on the motel murders case. Then I am going home. That should be
enough.”
Roberto looked up from polishing his sword. Demon flesh had slightly pitted the
blade.
“If you do that, we will not be able to protect you. You will be exposed.”
“Not a problem buddy. As far as I am concerned, I have been on vacation and
got sent these tapes by special delivery. There is no way to connect me with you
guys, apart from us visiting the motel together. You should be worrying more
than me about reprisals.”
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Roberto shrugged. “If that is how you want to play it, I cannot stop you. All I can
do is wish you luck and remind you about our mobile phones.”
Mary whirled around to face Roberto. “You can’t just let him walk out of here.
He could be in danger.”
Roberto shrugged. “He is not Brotherhood, he is his own man and a fine one at
that. Thank you for your help so far Detective and remember, if you ever need
help or assistance, contact us.”
There was murmured agreement all around. Mike looked embarrassed at this
then continued with his work of copying the tapes. That night, under the cover of
darkness and rain, he left the house to continue their fight in the way he knew
best. His one capitulation to common sense was to take a water cannon and ten
spare bottles of Holy water. The front door closed firmly behind him and the
alarm was set.
In the silence that ensued, Steve was the first to speak.
“Roberto, I want to learn how to handle a sword like yours. Will you show me?”
Roberto looked steadily at Steve for a moment, obviously weighing up the pros
and cons. How could he not. Steve was courageous and determined, and
Brotherhood.
“Okay, we start now. I already have another daito, a long sword, part of a set but
you don’t get to draw it from its sheath, except for polishing it, until I say. We
practice with wooden swords until you are good enough to handle the real thing.
Also, I want you to wear it strapped to your back at all times. It has to become a
part of you, move with you and be an extension of your body. You have to love
and respect it. If you agree to this, we begin.”
Steve looked at Mary with such an imploring look on his face that Mary laughed.
“You big kid. No, I don’t mind, I know I’m your number one love and I am not
jealous of a sword. Besides, it seems a very effective weapon. Roberto, please
teach me also.”
“To you Mary, I will teach the technique of the shoto, a shorter sword. I have one
here, the mate to Steve’s daito. Both of these blades have been blessed and
purified ready for their work .It is fitting, paired swords for paired people.”
The lessons started that evening, beginning with the history of the swords they
received, made by a master swordsmith in Japan and over two hundred years
old. The scabbards were plain and black, mounted in the buke-zukuri or katana
style. The swords appeared at first to be plain also but when they looked closely,
they saw the beauty of the guards at the base of the rayskin leather bound
handles where the blade started. A finely wrought design of intertwining
dragons, one large and one small, the same on both the long and short swords,
was crafted with minute attention to detail. The blades themselves ended in an
angled point and hundreds of wavy lines extended along the length of the
blades. Roberto explained that these were due to the steel being folded again and
again during the crafting process. This is what gave them strength, suppleness
and the incredible sharpness. Steve strapped his to his back with the adjustable
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harness but Mary chose to strap hers to her left thigh as she was left handed. It
was not too long and ended before her knee. She giggled.
“I feel like a Western gunfighter with it strapped here but it isn’t in the way and I
can move quite freely. A little more feminine don’t you think.”
Roberto shrugged; the attitude of modern women was a subject he had difficulty
with. Steve just smiled lovingly at her. How had this woman come to him, of all
people? He was blessed.
That night Steve dreamt. He found himself in a glade within a forest; fresh green
leaves on broad, straight limbs formed a canopy which leaned over him,
supported by the tall, stately trees which encircled the glade. It was carpeted
with myriad wildflowers, swaying above the verdant grass in which he sat. Birds
sang in those trees and squirrels bounced up and down the branches, cavorting
in play. The sunlight was mellow and slanted down through the foliage, bringing
warmth with it. This dreamscape was beautifull. He heard laughter and looked
up to see Chris and Ruth enter the glade hand in hand. Ruth had totally changed.
Gone were the sexy siren looks, instead a very pretty looking woman of oriental
appearance, dressed in a long dress that looked almost medieval, gathered as it
was under the bodice, stood demurely beside his friend Chris. She was one fine
looking female. They came over to him.
“Hi Steve, we just don’t know how much to thank you. For the first time since
becoming a woman, Ruth knows peace. We have no idea how long it will last but
we are gratefull.” Chris came up and gave him a big hug, suprisingly, so did
Ruth.
“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear. Chris spoke again.
“We have been thinking about God and how we fit into the scheme of things. We
were wondering if you would talk with us about God so we may learn about
him.”
Steve considered carefully. “Can we extend this dream to include Mary?”
Ruth answered. “Yes, I can do that.” She concentrated and the next moment
Mary was with them. Mary looked stunned. Standing gawping like a fish as she
took in the surroundings and the three people in it.
“Am I dreaming you all?” she asked in general.
“Sort of my love,” Steve said. “This is what I told you about but the dreamscape
has changed. For the better I might add.” He looked at Ruth and Chris grinning.
Mary stepped back from Ruth, ignoring her purposefully, a worried look on her
face. “Is she dangerous?” She directed the question at Steve, who was a little
quizzical.
“No I’m not.” Ruth answered for herself and just about then Mary realised that
her evil detecting abilities were silent. She apologised profusely and gave Ruth a
big hug.
“I’m sorry. Your life must have been so hard. It’s just.........”
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“I understand Mary, I have been a bad, bad girl; but now? Well, we brought you
here because Chris and I want to learn more about God. When we asked Steve
about God, he said he would like you here to help him with instruction. So here
you are. Now, we have some very important information for both of you. The
demon side of me had knowledge which may help us. It ‘knew’ that if we had a
recently deceased male body in good condition, I may be able to put Chris’ soul
into it, so he is once more ‘alive’. I emphasize, recently dead and little or no
damage. It could be very tricky, as I believe the new soul has to be transferred in,
just after the old one has departed. Too long a gap between and it won’t transfer.
If it doesn’t, we may lose Chris’ soul for ever. Gone. Just something for us to
think on.”
The dreaming for Steve and Mary was long and full of discussion about God and
the body requirements for Chris. It was the first of many such occasions for them,
with different dream environments each time. One dream, an island beach,
bathed in warm sunshine. The next, a moonlit balcony of a hacienda with a view
from the Andean mountains. Ruth was good at that stuff. It was a time of peace,
away from the challenge of the real world. However, the waking world was
much too quiet. No unexplained deaths or accidents in the city. No
disappearances or runaway teenagers. Nothing. Like the calm before the storm, it
was the hush that presaged the possible violence to come.
Roberto, Steve and Mary used that time to hone their skills. All day, everyday,
they worked on martial arts, fitness and weaponry. Attack. Parry. Thrust.
Roberto was a skillfull teacher, bringing out the best in them and they rapidly
developed abilities that they never thought to master. They became skilled.
Every so often Steve or Mary would check on Ruth, floating submerged in the
plastic tub in the ‘panic’ room. She never altered, although a small smile could be
seen on her face now as the hardness that was previously there, left it. They had
removed the rest of the restraining tape which wrapped her for security and
Mary had donated a matching bra and panty set for the sake of modesty. She had
actually put them on Ruth herself. She considered Ruth as her friend now. One
whom she would help whatever the cost. Mary was a warrior of the Lord.
When Sonya had set out to investigate ‘Satans’ night club, she had arrived too
late. The cleaning crew, not knowing otherwise, had done their usual thorough
job. No spots or stains anywhere. There were no clues to be found there at all.
Searching the abandoned buildings around the area of the club, she had
eventually found the place where Detective Mike had been watching the club
from. Demon senses were put into play but gave her nothing. A mystery. She did
however, notice the tracks in the dust of someone’s coming and going. Quite a
few tracks, the club had been under observation for a number of days. Why had
no one been able to pick that up? The biggest clue was in the mud outside the
remains of the back door. There she found a large bootprint belonging to
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someone who was quite large and heavy. That was all. She reported this back to
the Devil.
“I couldn’t find anything using demon sense but a large man had been there a
number of times. The place was clean. Like a professional had been there.
Someone who knew not to leave any clues.”
The Devil was impressed, as much by his daughter as by the calibre of the
opposition. “He must have been soaked in Holy water. That is why he was
undetectable. It has to be one of The Brotherhood or someone working with
them. That is one of their tricks. This is a puzzle for me to solve. Thank you
daughter, now go and take over the reception desk for now. That will be your job
until Andrew can locate Dixie, one of Ruth’s minions from ‘Satans’. She doesn’t
know yet but she is getting a promotion. If you have any problems, get Cindy
downstairs to help you and remember that she is not one of us.” Sonya left and
the Devil sat, chin in hand, pondering on the Game. God was good at it, with lots
of subtlety but every now and again he cheated a little. So did the Devil.
Over the next few days, the Devil and Louise chose a house in one of the better
suburbs of the city. His next child had already been conceived. Louise had been
very enthusiastic and he had felt the spark of new life within half an hour of their
tryst. Devil sperm was strong and fast. Particularly the sperm he had altered for
this union. Now, a week later, Louise was ensconced at their new place with a
mountain of food. She needed it. Her tummy hadn’t started to bulge yet but her
appetite was outrageous. She was eating five main meals a day and putting on
weight. That extra weight would be needed as she entered the last week of the
month long pregnancy and also after the birth, as she met the demands of a
rapidly growing demon child. The Devil smiled to himself as he watched her
eating yet again. He had tinkered with more than the growth rate of his DNA.
His next little demon child was going to be a product for the twenty first century.
To hell with the RULES, there were loopholes and God was giving him the shits.
If it all went sideways, God could have his little paradise on Earth. The Devil was
getting tired of his job, it wasn’t the same anymore, it was getting too hard.
Maybe he should ask God if he could retire in favour of Tyrus. Sort of give God a
bit more of a challenge in the Game. Still, he took his work seriously, maybe next
week, for now there was some serious evil planning to do.
The vampires should start arriving early next week. He had leased a plane for
their transport. A cargo plane with no windows so they could travel comfortably,
even during the day. The plan was to load them at night in Prague and unload
them at night over here. As far as Customs were concerned, he was bringing in
an empty plane to pick up a load of grain and staples for famine relief in
Mombolani in Africa. He had already bought the grain and medical supplies
locally as part of his cover and he was well known as a philanthropist. He, he. It
was a good cover, like the shell game. Only he knew where the pea was. He
wasn’t called the Prince of Liars for nothing. A couple of trips were all it would
take and he could sell the grain to the warlords around Mombolani. To cover his
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costs of course. Andrew had found an excellent place for the vampires to live
and work, a basement beneath a shopping centre. They had already bought
planning permission to turn it into an adult nightclub. People would be coming
and going all night. What an excellent cover for a vampire coven. He would get
them to feed sparingly but infect a lot of people and create lots more vampires.
Until the time was ripe to unleash them on an unsuspecting city. It would be
delicious. This city was going to be a war zone. No one took a Devil child and
lived long enough to regret it. Brotherhood or no. That policeman photographed
by Andrew at the motel, the one with Roberto. He was probably the person who
had watched ‘Satans’ for a few days. A personal visit was on the cards for that
one. He picked up the phone.
Tyrus finished the first part of the computer game ahead of schedule. Played it a
few times to iron out any glitches in the programming, then played it again to see
how the music was, then played it again for fun. That is where the Devil found
him, in front of a computer screen, playing the game.
“This is a really good storyline, Sire. Turned out to be quite a fun game. It will be
completed in three weeks. All we need for the marketing is a name for it.” Tyrus
spoke while still playing.
“How about, ‘The Final Song’.” The Devil suggested.
“Sounds good to me. Want to pull in some scruffy college kids when it is
finished and give it a try on them. You know, market research, might gain us a
couple of kiddie minions while we are at it. At the worst, they could be the start
of our distribution network.”
“Excellent idea Tyrus, apart from some of your enthusiastically disgusting
habits, you are really excellent at what you do. Before this game is finished, we
will unleash the vampires to create as much trouble as possible for the
opposition. While they are dealing with that, we can launch the game on an
unsuspecting public. Hopefully, it will take hold unnoticed for a while. If so, it
has the potential to spread all over the world. After the launch, we will give it a
couple of months until we finally have enough minions to go to war. Then you
can be enthusiastically disgusting all you want.”
Tyrus smiled to himself with a thoroughly evil smirk.
Detective Mike was happy. He was reinstated, back in the Department and
keeping an eye on city officials on the quiet. They seemed to be doing their job
adequately and the city was settling down to the normal low crime level.
Detective Mike had been assigned to the team which investigated the motel
murders and now had two identikit pictures of the perpetrators. One male and
one female. The guy was Arab or Jewish looking and may have been involved
with the trail of destruction on the road south from Bravura earlier in the year.
Beards were easy to loose and not many gentlemen of that persuasion visited
here. The woman, on the other hand, looked similar to Ruth in some regards.
96
Boy, the Devil sure threw beautifull girl children, deadly too. Mike realized he
would have to keep his eyes open while he was around town. You never knew
what might turn up. He Emailed Roberto and sent the two pictures as an
attachment. The message read, ’Photofits of the two motel killers, most likely
demons. Take care, Det. Mike.’ Happy now, he turned from his desk and got out
of his chair. Time to head home. Smiling, he grabbed his hat and coat on the way
out. He so liked doing the job he had dedicated his life to.
97 had
disappeared and now he had been instructed to kill one of the people who had
caused her disappearance. Fine by him, all he had to do was find the bastard. It
was a little complex due to the fact that the vampire nieces and nephews, who he
had never met, were due to fly in tomorrow night. He had spent quite a bit of his
time recently getting things ready for them, what with the club idea and all.
Before they arrived though, he had this problem to solve. How to locate Roberto
and kill him. A puzzle, but one which should not be too hard to work out. He
knew from the feedback of their no-longer corrupt policemen, before the raid on
the club over ten days ago, that the car in which Chris had died had been
released from impound to a friend of Chris’. That friend may be able to give him
a lead. All he had to do was get the information from the guys at the impound
yard. Shouldn’t be too hard to bribe one of them. Yeah, that’s what he would do.
Soon.
First though, sitting on the table in front of him, there were three or four lines of
coke to take care of. Shame Dixie was now working over at Fleeting Image, he
felt like sporting with her for a bit of relaxation. He liked her moves a lot and she
squealed appealingly at the right moments. Maybe tonight after she finished her
receptionist’s job. He are not allowed to divulge information like that to anyone. It.
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“Hold on, I’ll just see what comes up on the computer.” He ducked back into the
booth and worked on the computer for a minute or so, then came back.
“All I can tell you is that it was taken away by Regent Towing Services. You will
find them over on Tremaine Street, down the far end.”
“Thank you very much,” Andrew replied as he backed off and wandered away.
Excellent. Now he had to get over to Regent Towing and see if he could find the
driver of the tow truck before he knocked off for the day. Pulling out his mobile
phone, he contacted Sonya at Fleeting Image.
“Hi Sonya, this is Andrew. The Old Man is getting a bit paranoid and asked me
to keep in touch. I am on my way to Regent Towing on Tremaine Street to follow
up a lead on the car. How is Dixie doing? Yeah, that good. Tell her I’ve got a job
for her tonight, dress optional. Right, spot you later. Bye.” He put block from the place where Ruth had taken
apart that air hostess.
Roberto, Steve and Mary had just finished their sword training with the wooden
swords. They wore their real ones as they had been doing for the last ten days
since the raid on ‘Satans’, getting used to the weight and feel of them. All three of
them were standing in the central area of the house wiping the sweat from their
faces with towels and having a drink of water. The training sessions that they
were doing were pretty intense and they were feeling it. The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Roberto said throwing his towel down. “I am expecting a delivery.”
He went to the front door, forgetting to check the closed circuit television
monitor as he should have. He did however, pick up his water cannon as he
passed the place where it was hung on the wall and slung the strap over his
shoulder in a practiced manner. He strode to the door and flung it open with a
smile on his face that instantly froze as he recognised just who was standing
there. He grabbed for his water cannon, which was a big arm and stopped him.
It had only taken an instant but the noise of the fracas reached the main room
and Steve, with a sense of foreboding, came to see what was happening. What he
saw was his worst nightmare. Roberto, dangling, with his feet off the ground
being gripped around the throat by a demon. The demon Andrew had not
advanced into the house and the narrow passageway actually stopped Steve
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from rendering any assistance, as Roberto was between him and the demon. He
dropped back into the main room to find the eyes of a worried Mary observing
him.
“This is it Mary! There is a demon in the passageway strangling Roberto. I can’t
get past him to reach the demon. I need you to go out of the back of the house
and quickly head around to the front door. Stab the demon with your sword if
you can. I will try to keep him occupied so he doesn’t see you. Go!”
Mary didn’t need telling twice, she sprinted toward the back door and out of the
house while Steve turned and started yelling at the demon.
“Save your breath human or you will be next. This one took my arm so he is
mine. The woman has run away, why don’t you?” Andrew was exultant. Killing
was such a buzz. Especially when he was full of coke. The Devil was going to be
very proud of him. Never mind that he hadn’t been around as long as Tyrus, he
could still get the job done and he was smarter. business end of a short sword protruding from its
stomach. With a roar of rage, Roberto was thrown away and with blinding speed
the demon swung around. Mary’s sword hilt was ripped from her grasp but she
stood her ground, praying loudly to their God. Steve had not wasted any time
and as soon as Roberto’s body was clear of the demon, in one motion he drew
and swung his daito with all his might in an overhead arc. The wondrous blade
hit the demon on the top of the head, fair between the horns and carried on
down through the demon’s body until it finished up beside its mate, Mary’s
shoto. The swords seemed to pulse once before Steve grasped both swords screamed his rage and the impotence that came from
not knowing where this had happened. There was no way he could track it, the
moment, along with his demon son, didn’t exist anymore. He looked over at
Louise who was just starting to show.
“Andrew is dead. I need another wife to make another child. Any suggestions?”
Mary looked at Steve who was standing gazing at the swords in his hand, a look
of amazement on his face. He shook himself and handed Mary’s sword back to
her, hilt first.
“You okay?” she asked him.
“Yeah, you okay?” he replied looking up and smiling at the realisation that they
had slain a demon. Their first. Then a little dose of reality intruded.
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“Roberto.” They said in unison as Steve turned and with Mary beside him they
hurried to where Roberto lay, not moving. Between them, and considered Mary. “Well my love, what do we do
now?”
Mary looked back at him, eyes brimming with tears. She had really liked Roberto
and now he lay dead in front of her. Dead. DEAD!
 have to end up fighting any more enemies around.
Stepping over to the large plastic tub they gazed down at Ruth’s apparently
lifeless body clad only in bra and panties. She had been under the holy water for
nearly two weeks but looked as if she had been immersed but five minutes ago.
Steve took the arms and Mary held the legs and after a count of three, they lifted
Ruth out of the water and placed her on the floor beside the tank.
“What do we do now?” Steve asked Mary.
“I don’t know. Dry her off?” Mary took one of Ruth’s hands in hers and started
patting and squeezing it. Steve responded by grabbing moans
escaped her beautifull lips.
“Ruth, RUTH. It’s alright you’re with Steve and Mary. We had to wake you.
Ruth. Open your eyes.”
Ruth’s eyes opened. Deep emerald green, focusing on Steve first and then Mary.
She coughed, “Where, what.”
“We had to wake you, Roberto’s been killed by a demon. Choked to death. You
said you needed a body if we were to help Chris.” Mary told her, tears in her
voice.
“Are we in danger?” Ruth croaked.
Steve studied the closed circuit television monitors on the wall of the panic room.
They showed every room in the house and a view of the grounds outside. He
could see no danger. “As far as I can tell we are on our own,” he said to her.
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 the body, Ruth helped where she could
but was still a little weak from her suspended animation. Meanwhile, Steve had
returned with the casket.
Ruth spoke again, “Get some of the Holy water and mix it with the ashes in the
casket. Then smear them onto Roberto’s body, particularly around the head and
over the heart. We don’t have much time left.”
Steve hurried to comply, using a new, unopened bottle of Holy water to make
the slurry which he then smeared onto Roberto’s now naked body. Ruth looked
down approvingly at the body before her on the floor, smeared with Chris’
ashes.
“Well equipped. Excellent. I really hope this works. Okay you two, I have to
change to demon form to do this and I don’t even know if I can perform the
exchange of Chris’ soul into this body. I have colored. Ruth was amazing to behold. There was however,
no time to sit and stare as Ruth leaned forward, placing her hands on each side of
Roberto’s still temples. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Everyone was
holding their breath, not knowing what to expect. Hoping against hope that the
transfer would work. Ruth took her hands away and sat back on her heels.
“That’s it, all I could do. I don’t know if it will work or not. It is up to Chris
now.”
The seconds ticked by. Two people and something other than human, intently
watched the body in front of them for some sign of life. A minute had passed and
still nothing. Heading on for two minutes, Steve noticed rapid eye movement in
the body and drew the others attention to it. Ruth moaned and raising her arm,
gave the body a healthy whack on the chest. A quick gasp ensued, followed by
another then another. This was followed by a long intake of breath which settled
down into regular breathing. The body was alive but who or what was in there
and how much? Ruth looked down at herself.
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“I was born a demon but what is this? Something I have never seen or heard of.
What am I? How much power do I have and what sort of power is it?”
A bout of coughing drew their attention, quickly followed by a groan as
Roberto’s? head started to move. The eyes slowly opened and focused on each of
them in turn, questioning.
“Chris?” The longing in Ruth’s voice could not be disguised as she spoke the
name of the man who had loved her through emotional suffering, pain and his
own death.
A smile came to the face of the body on the floor and one word changed their
lives for ever.
“Yes?”
A couple of hours later and Chris was sitting with them in the kitchen having a
cup of coffee. Beside him, Ruth in her human form was touching, touching, in an
almost unbelieving fashion. Upon awakening, almost in front of their eyes, his
bruised and battered throat had started to heal. He had dressed, after showering
the ashes from his old body off his new one and had proceeded to try and
explain what was happening to him.
“It is hard to describe in words but it felt as though Ruth had lain me in an
empty shell. It wasn’t empty though. I took a while to realise that I could use it
by hooking myself into it. Like driving a car only a bit more complex. Before long
things were running automatically and I didn’t have to think about what to do to
stay alive. What is even scarier is that all of Roberto’s memories are in here with
me and available. It will take a little while to get used to accessing them
automatically. What is even scarier is that all of his fighting ability is here too. It
is like moving into a fully furnished house that someone has just walked out of.
Speaking of which.......”
Here he turned and took Ruth’s hands into his own, gazing deep into her
emerald eyes. “I love you so much but you know that. We have been closer
together than any other lovers have ever been. Because of that, I saw how things
work and I believe I have a little suprise for you.”
Chris/Roberto sat and concentrated for a moment. Then slowly, before all of the
amazed faces at the table, he started to change. Silver scales replaced skin, hair
drew back into his head and diamond-tipped talons emerged from what were his
fingers.
“We are something new Ruth. I have the knowledge of the Brotherhood in my
head. I have Roberto’s love for God and my own growing faith and I have you
beside me again. We can never go back to who we were. This is our chance to
fight evil and redeem ourselves. Are you in agreement my love?”
Ruth’s gaze never wavered for an instant. “For what has been done to you and
me, I vow to fight evil for the rest of my life. However long that may be.”
They both looked at Steve and Mary. “Are you with us?”
Steve and Mary replied in unison, “Until the end!”
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For the next hour or two they sat and discussed strategy. It would be unsafe to
remain where they were. Steve’s house would have to be abandoned. Luckily,
Chris/Roberto could get them into the main Brotherhood’s safe house in the city,
a place where the demons could not find them. Ruth told them of the meeting
that had occurred at Fleeting Image and of the computer game that was being
developed to replace the tape as a means of ensnaring souls. It would be ready in
approximately two weeks if the schedule was being met. Its release had to be
stopped however they could manage it, because once it got out, there would be a
snowball effect if it was popular and soon it would be all over the world. Chaos.
The only thing that was not discussed was the thing that none of them knew
anything about, the arrival of the vampire covens.
Later that night, safely transferred to the Brotherhood safe house, they headed
off to bed. As Chris settled under the covers, Ruth reached down and took his
potent erection in her hand.
“We are so lucky that Roberto was really well endowed. I’m sure that God
doesn’t mind wild uninhibited sex between consenting adults. Do you mind if I
call you ‘Big Boy’ now and again?”
Chris’ answer was to slide beneath the covers to kiss that other set of lips before
testing his new equipment. If anything it was better than the old.
Much to Ruth’s enjoyment.
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Chapter 16.
The Devil was slightly worried. This didn’t happen very often but neither did
loosing two of his offspring in such a short time frame. Yeah, sure, he could do
the rapid pregnancy thing with another offspring but if he did, the demon child
wouldn’t have a very long lifespan, not like Tyrus. Now there was a demon. A
son to be proud of. Defiant, arrogant and definitely evil. Apart from his
occasional stupid mistakes when the bloodlust took him over, Tyrus was
definitely the pick of the litter. He was the Devil’s longest living child and
appeared to be in perfect health. What Tyrus didn’t know was that the Devil
wanted to retire. He had been doing this job long enough. If nothing else, a long
service leave of a couple of centuries would go down well. Tyrus wasn’t ready
yet though, he still had some rough edges to knock off and needed to develop a
sense of humour or at the least, irony.
The Devil sighed, he had to make another child but his threat to bring in another
woman and start off another rapid pregnancy was merely a teasing of Louise.
She was getting too possessive and needed a little reminder now and again that
he was THE Devil, the original bad-arse guy, not some little, wimpy johnny-
come-lately. Another sigh, he had rather liked Andrew and all that time spent at
college, gone, yesterday, late afternoon. These demon slayers were getting better;
it might be that technology was helping them or HIM. He thought through the
options that presented themselves, planning on the run. Maybe it would be
better to make his next child in a discrete location, where it could not be traced
by The Brotherhood. He could whiz over there after its birth, grab it and give it
to someone to rear for him. Then it could grow up in a privileged environment
and wield the power befitting a true demon. He would make this one Muslim, an
increase in the religion base was important. It was going to be a boy, which was
something he had no control over. Whatever child needed replacing, the sex was
automatically correct.
Fuck the RULES, he would like to have more daughters than sons, easier on the
eye and not as difficult to deal with. He considered the options, it had been a
long time since he had a black demon child. Mmm, Africa, that would take the
young one out of harm’s way and he could do a seed and forget. No more of the
fast pregnancy style however but the rapid growth thing was usefull. He would
do that. It would be night over there now. Perfect. One less thing to worry about
and The Brotherhood would have no idea. A Muslim!
The ruler of Mombolani, a small nation in sub-Saharan Africa, was becoming
worried. Not only were his people in the grip of a famine but he had no son to
follow in his footsteps. If he did not produce one shortly, the people would start
to doubt his manhood and he might just be deposed. One of his six wives had to
get pregnant soon but unless he went and did something with one of them, that
would not happen. He decided on wife number three and waddled off to do
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something about it. Fifteen minutes later, tired from his exertions, he went to his
own bed. Wife number three lay on her bed, totally unsatisfied. The King had
lost his fizz, half hard for ten minutes and then a grunt and that was it. She
longed for some real sex.
The sound of someone approaching interrupted her reverie. It could only be the
King, he was the only one the guards would allow in here. He must have
forgotten something. The King entered her room with a swagger in his step and a
very obvious bulge in the front of his robes. Wife number three was instantly
interested.
“Why, sire, it is most unusual for you to return to my chambers so soon and the
bulge in your robe is quite large.”
“Yes wife number three, I decided to show you what I am really made of. I am a
King and a man!”
With that, the robe was flung off. Wife number three had never seen the King
with such a huge erection before and more than her mouth was watering at the
sight of it.
“Come to me my King and we shall make a baby, the like of which has never
been seen before.”
The Devil, Prince of Liars, wearing the shape of the King, muttered to himself,
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Wife number three had never, in all her whole life, been fucked like she was that
night. The King’s weapon was huge and insistent. It made her eyes water to
accept the thing inside her and when the King came, it was like liquid fire inside
her, burning deliciously. He was tireless, his erection never went down. Even
after coming so copiously that it ran out of her in streams, he was still hard. He
left her before dawn, sleeping, with enough to dream about to keep her happy
for quite a while. Wife number three was also pregnant. The Devil was happy.
She was a good fuck and this son was going to be the best so far, he just knew it.
Big, black and powerfull. A Muslim leader and demon to be reckoned with.
The Devil suddenly reappeared in his chair by the fire, the time difference
making it about local early afternoon. Spring was late and he was getting sick of
the cold, the African climate was much more moderate. Louise was seated in the
chair opposite. She was just starting to show, with two weeks of her four week
pregnancy left to go. She was munching, as usual.
“Hi Mr. D. How was it?”
“Fine. Mission accomplished. We won’t be having a little chippy running around
the house while you are here.” He smiled to himself, he did so much like lying, it
was almost an art form. “The next thing to deal with are the vampires, they are
arriving tonight, later on. Andrew was in charge of the arrangements but he is no
longer with us. Luckily I kept abreast of developments and most of the basics are
on the computer. I have been thinking about ‘Satans’, now that Ruth is no longer
with us. We are using back-up dancers at the club and the living space there is
now available. We could house some of the coven masters in it and they could
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make converts out of some of the police and politicians that we lost when the
tapes were stolen and take control of them. Yes, that should work quite well. Of
course the rest of the vampires would occupy the underground club we
organised in the city centre. Louise my darling, do you think a Gothic theme
would be overdoing it for the nightclub?”
Louise sat considering for a moment. “No, I think in view of the entertainment, a
Gothic theme would be ideal.”
“Great, I’m glad you approve. Now I must go and do some business. Bye.”
Before Louise could reply, the Devil stood and disappeared from view.
She felt alone and uncomfortable with the rapidly advancing pregnancy. This is
not what it was supposed to be like. She had envisioned sitting at the Devil’s
side, his Queen, wielding power and helping to decide important matters, not
being stuck at home like a breeding bag. She was afraid. Once the child was able
to fend for itself, she would no longer be of any value to the Devil and he had
virtually promised her to Tyrus. Louise shivered at the thought of entertaining
Tyrus. He was equipped like a horse and sex with him would be far more pain
than pleasure. Louise got to thinking about her future and just how little
bargaining power she would have. Louise was not a stupid woman, her biggest
mistake had been in believing the Prince of Liars. She needed to acquire power
from somewhere, real tangible power, power of her own. As her mind wandered
over the options, she started fantasizing about what it would be like to have the
powers of a vampire. She would have to find out more about them. Maybe she
could live for ever.
The Devil appeared on the sixteenth floor of Fleeting Image, checked his attire,
straightened his cloak and went down to the fifteenth floor. On his way past the
front desk he stopped in front of Sonya, who was still tutoring Dixie in her new
job, to have a chat with her.
“Andrew is dead, yesterday afternoon.” There was an indrawn gasp from both
girls.
“That’s why he didn’t show up last night,” Dixie whispered sadly.
“Whatever. We are down to two demons now Sonya, you and Tyrus. It is
possible that you may both be a target for The Brotherhood. Dixie can run this
desk whether she is ready to or not as I have other uses for you, Sonya.” Dixie
smiled proudly and inhaled, straining the buttons on her business suit. “There is
always Cindy from the fourteenth floor to help her if she gets stuck. I want you
downstairs in the computer room now; we have some planning to do.”
“Yes Sire, immediately,” was Sonya’s reply to the Devil’s back as he swept
away. In her own way Sonya really loved her Old Man. He was a complete prick,
a liar, a cheat and the most evil person she had ever met. What a perfect father.
The Devil swept into the room containing the big computers. Tyrus was bent
over a keyboard entering raw code into the machine. On the screen in front of
him, a figure which could only be Chris, was in the process of killing a man
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outside of a bar while the image of Ruth looked on. The animation was excellent.
The Devil was able to see the rage in the figure on the screen.
“Greetings my son. The game is progressing?”
“Yes Sire, it is coming together well but I am getting tired of having to remain in
this building. I need some fun and entertainment.”
“Your brother Andrew is dead.”
“WHAAAT.” Tyrus roared as he pushed out of his chair and turned to face the
Devil. “When, how?”
The Devil smiled, he did so like this one. “Yesterday afternoon, late. Possibly
Brotherhood, I had told him to deal with Roberto. I think he found Roberto but
was careless and placed too much reliance on his demon powers. As you know,
there will shortly be a new sister coming along and I have started off another
brother for you as well but we will keep that under wraps for now. Listen,
Andrew rang Sonya yesterday and told her he was going to Regent Towing on
Tremaine Street to follow up a lead. Must have something to do with finding the
red Corvette that Chris owned. The one that you are building into the game. I
think a little research will do you good. I want you to go there and find out what
Andrew found out then go and investigate. Be carefull, the Brotherhood are
resourcefull and dangerous.” Sonya entered the room. “Oh and take your sister
with you as back up, she could probably use some fresh air too.”
“Excellent Sire, I was getting frustrated with being caged in here.” Tyrus turned
and sat on his desk. “What time do the Covens arrive?”
“The plane is coming in around eleven this evening. The Coven leaders will go to
‘Satans’ with Sonya. She is going to live there and keep an eye on them. As well
as having some fun.”
Sonya was beaming all over her face, this was excellent news. Some of the Coven
leaders were long time pals that she and Tyrus often partied with. They sure
knew how to have a good time and liked a good snort as well. Sonya was
pleased.
“What about me, my evil Sire?” Tyrus asked hopefully.
“You Tyrus can have your hearts desire. Once the game is finished you will live
with the vampires at the new underground complex in the city centre. Until that
time, I want you working all day and through until midnight on the game.
Andrew and I decided to call the new club, ‘The Mausoleum’. It opens tomorrow
night. Although your brother was stupid enough to get himself killed, he was a
pretty smart cookie in some respects. He left messages at a lot of the less
salubrious ‘chat rooms’ that the club opening was tomorrow night and that entry
was free. It was to have a ‘Gothic’ theme. Expect a large crowd of younger people
bent on having a good time. They are the ones the vampires will infect. You can
play there from midnight on if you want, as long as by working during the day,
you can get our computer game finished inside the timeframe. One thing though,
stay in touch with either Sonya or Louise. We don’t want another Andrew
incident.”
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Tyrus was skipping up and down with glee. What was the point in being an evil
bastard if you couldn’t do anything evil? Now was his chance to have some fun.
“Trust me Mr. D. I will get the job done for you.”
“Make sure you do and keep a low profile,” were the Devil’s last words as he
swept out of the room.
Tyrus and Sonya turned to each other and gave a high five in exultation at their
new found freedom and the chance for working evil.
An hour later and Tyrus and Sonya were standing out the front of Regent
Towing. They asked whether Andrew had been there and after spending a
hundred dollars to find out the information that they required, they went to the
address they were given. The largish old fashioned house was set back from the
road among a profusion of two story apartment buildings. It appeared deserted
but the two demons were not going to make the same mistake that Andrew had
made. They split up and circled the house, noting the CCTV cameras around the
outside of the house and the signs of new work having been recently carried out.
The windows were locked and the curtains were drawn, barring any observation
of the interior.
“What do you think?” Sonya asked Tyrus.
“I think we should break in and have a look. First though, we should disconnect
the power.”
They searched around the house until Sonya found the short pipe coming out the
ground beside the front of the house and disappearing under the weatherboards.
“Here it is,” she exclaimed.
Tyrus wandered over and took a look. Checking there was no one observing, he
shifted to demon form without the heat and grasping the pipe, ripped it out of
the wall. Arcing wires at the end of the cables soon shorted out the local
distribution fuses and all went quiet. He changed back to human form. They
went around the back of the house and entered through the back door. Tyrus
didn’t even need demon form for that, a hefty kick was all it took. They stepped
back from the door, just in case, but all remained quiet inside. Taking a small
chance, Tyrus walked down the short hallway while Sonya remained outside.
Not for long though, Tyrus called her to join him and she entered the house also.
They explored it together. There were signs that the occupants had left in a
hurry, unwashed crockery in the sink, half-eaten food in the refrigerator and
small pieces of rubbish scattered around. Tyrus found some empty five hundred
ml. bottles and read the label before sniffing the top.
“Brotherhood. This is stinking Holy water! We need to find out who owns this
house and whether Roberto has been here.”
They continued around the large room until they got to the ‘panic room’
doorway. Luckily it had been left open; otherwise it would have taken a lot of
demon energy to get through the steel door. On entering, they found the plastic
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tub of water in the middle of the room. Tyrus idly put his hand into the water
then hurriedly withdrew it.
“Shit! My hand is burning and I can’t move it,” he cried, dashing into the kitchen
to rinse his hand under the tap. “Holy water, a bath full of it. No wonder the
Devil couldn’t find Ruth. She must have been here all that time. This has never
been accomplished before.” He looked squarely at Sonya. “We are up against
some tough opposition here.” Then he smiled a dark smile. “Excellent. For over
six hundred years I have been looking for opposition worthy of my talents and
now finally, I have a chance to really let loose. Come on Sonya, we have to report
this to Mr. D.”
They left the house the same way they entered but not before starting a fire that
would shortly consume the whole building.
The mobile phone rang and Steve answered. “Yo, Detective Mike, to what do we
owe the pleasure?”
“No pleasure Steve, your house has just been burnt to the ground. Sorry.”
“Shit. Well, couldn’t be helped. It was insured and we are not there any more. I
took out everything that was of value last night when we shifted. We have had
some new developments and need to bring you up to speed. Can we meet you
somewhere after work and bring you to our new safe house?”
“Sure, buddy. Say six o’clock. The phone box two blocks down from where I
work. I just need to check I am not being tailed.”
“Okay Detective Mike, see you there.
At precisely six o’clock a Nissan Skyline, with blacked out windows, stopped
briefly at a phone box. A man jumped in and the car left quickly. It was
unobserved. Fifteen minutes later it pulled up outside an ornate set of steel gates
in a long wall surrounding an estate. The gates opened and the car sped up the
drive and entered a large garage set beside the house. The garage door closed
behind the car. Only when the door was fully closed did the car doors open and
the two occupants stepped out.
“My, you certainly have had a change of fortunes,” drily observed Detective
Mike. Could do a lot worse.”
Steve smiled; he liked the gruff detective and found his dry humour amusing. “It
was necessary believe me. This is a Brotherhood ‘safe house’, headquarters in
this city and if you come with me, you will see why we are here. How is your
heart by the way?”
“Fine, lead on.”
Steve didn’t see the quizzical expression on the detective’s face as he followed
Steve up into the house, passing armed guards at various intervals.
“Pretty tight security you have here Steve. What’s it all about?” the detective
asked.
“Two minutes and all will be revealed,” answered Steve as they came to a large
single steel door. It looked very strong. Steve pressed the switch beside the door
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and spoke into the microphone. The door swung open to reveal a large lounge
area. Steve ushered in Detective Mike and the door closed firmly behind them.
Mike was shocked. Standing before him was Ruth, the demon woman. He went
for his gun but Steve’s now strong grip, thanks to all the training, caught his
wrist before he could get his hand under his jacket.
“Wait. Listen to what we have to tell you before going off. Okay.”
Detective Mike assented grudgingly and Steve let go of his wrist. Roberto
nodded at Detective Mike who nodded back but thought he saw an amused
gleam in Roberto’s eyes. He sat where indicated, never taking his eyes off Ruth.
The four friends proceeded with the story until just after the transfer of Chris’
spirit into Roberto’s dead body but they didn’t mention how Ruth and Chris
could now change into ‘other’.
Chris/Roberto smiled at Detective Mike and advanced with his hand held out.
“I just want to thank you for doing your job and helping me in small ways,” he
said. “I know you are a good person and I hold no grudges.”
Detective Mike could not believe what was happening. This was Roberto, not
Chris. What were they trying to pull here and why was Ruth, a full on demon,
sitting with them?
Steve took up the narrative. “All this occurred yesterday afternoon. Roberto was
killed by asphyxiation, a demon choked him and Mary, my beloved ‘butter
wouldn’t melt in my mouth’ Mary, slew the demon.”
“We both did, lover.” Mary corrected.
Steve continued, “Mary and I have been communicating with Ruth and Chris by
way of dreams for a while. Myself for longer than Mary. I assure you that Ruth is
now one of us. She and Chris are committed to fighting evil.”
Detective Mike looked like he was really confused but finally his brow cleared
and he stood up and took Chris’ hand.
“I believe you all and if you really are Chris, I owe you an apology for not doing
more to help you at the time. Unfortunately, I only learned about all the crooked
cops and officials after you had died.” He nearly choked on that last word. “I
mean passed on. Oh shit, I don’t know what I mean. C’mere.” Detective Mike
pulled Chris/Roberto to him and gave him a monstrous bear hug. “I am just glad
you got another chance, sorry about Roberto though, I kinda liked him.”
Chris leaned back, “He is still all here, only the soul is missing. That essential
part that makes us who we are. Yes, it was a shame but nothing of Roberto has
been lost. If I hadn’t taken this body, all of it would be no more.”
Detective Mike moved over to stand in front of Ruth and held his arms open.
“You were a bad bastard and I should be taking you in for what you have done
but you gave Chris back and they tell me you have reformed.”
She smiled sweetly and folded into his arms, giving him a big hug. “I was told
how you helped in the raid on ‘Satans’ to get me out. You are a wonderfull,
brave huggy bear. Thank you Mike.” She stepped back in time to see Detective
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Mike’s face go pink with embarrassment. Everyone had a chuckle and the ice
was broken.
“One last thing Detective Mike and this must remain secret. We don’t know the
implications yet but something amazing has happened. Chris, Ruth, if you don’t
mind.”
Chris and Ruth stepped back into a clear space and standing facing one another,
began to change. They could have done it instantly but for the sake of Detective
Mike, they allowed the change to happen slowly. What he saw was, the areas of
their body that weren’t covered by clothes changed to scales. Bright silver,
shimmering scales and all the hair on their heads vanished. Their hands changed
to talons ending in diamond nails. They turned to face him, fierce and beautifull,
a pair of new beings never before seen on the face of the Earth. His knees started
to wobble and he sat down suddenly, his pink face draining of colour. “What the
fuck.......” was all he could manage. When he looked up again, there were Chris
and Ruth, standing before him again.
“Guys,” he croaked. “Is there really a God?”
The four friends looked at him and smiled tenderly.
“We tend to think so but only you can answer that question for yourself. Now,
down to more mundane matters.” Steve spoke as he walked to the large desk
and picked up a sheaf of papers. “I printed off a few copies of the Photofits that
you sent of the people involved in the motel murders. Ruth has confirmed that
they are a pretty accurate representation of two demons, Tyrus and Sonya. They
are based at the Fleeting Image Advertising Agency on the sixteenth floor,
coincidentally where Chris scored a job. These two demons are exceedingly
dangerous and the Devil owns half the business. We need to act before the
computer game they are cooking up is released in a couple of weeks. It could
mean the end of civilization as we know it.”
Detective Mike looked a little puzzled, “Why don’t we just go over there with a
squad of policeman and arrest them.”
“How do you know they are there? The Devil could send them anywhere within
a hundred kilometre radius instantly.” Ruth’s dulcet tones interjected gently.
Then she continued, “You may not believe in God but I strongly suggest that you
believe in the Devil. He is here in this City and He is mighty. I know, He was my
father once. He could make your whole squad disappear in the blink of an eye if
they showed any aggression towards him at all. Going to His place, armed, is not
a good idea. Believe me.” Ruth sat down and Chris sat beside her, holding her
hand. After being disembodied for so long he just couldn’t stop holding her.
“What do you suggest then?” he asked them.
Mary answered, her voice soft and personal. “We have two weeks before the
game’s release. We should plan to move on Fleeting Image in about a week’s
time. That is where the computers are that the game is being made on. To do
that, we need excellent planning. Since Chris has taken over Roberto’s body we
have access to all the resources of the Brotherhood and we are going to need
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them. One thing though Detective Mike, as recently as yesterday we have all
been through some pretty heavy action and we all need a rest. How about you
have dinner with us this evening, as our guest. Stay the night and we can get
down to some serious planning tomorrow.”
“But what about going to work?”
Chris looked up, it was unnerving dealing with him in Roberto’s body but they
were getting used to him as Chris now. He spoke. “Get a life. Take a sickie. We
are planning to save the world and you want to go to work?”
Steve joined in. “Yeah, take a sickie but only one day. We could still use the
inside line to the police force. I still don’t trust those bent officials and you are
our only intelligence on them.”
Detective Mike looked relieved. “That is an excellent suggestion.” Looking at the
others he asked them. “Do you all agree?”
They all agreed, so Detective Mike stayed the night and the next day sat in on the
planning session.
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Chapter 17.
Late that evening the Russian transport plane arrived at the airport right on time.
Unfortunately, it overshot the main runway and ended up on the grass near the
fence around the airport. As the pilot was explaining to the control tower, in
fragmented English, why he had overshot the runway, dark shapes were
dropping out of the rear side door and heading for the fence. By the time the
pilot had turned the plane around, the door had been closed and an empty plane
arrived at the cargo terminal for the customs inspection. The thirty or so dark
shapes disappeared through a hole in the fence which was subsequently wired
back together. They boarded a couple of small mini buses which drove off
quietly into the night without lights. Very smooth and very slick. The mini buses
delivered the majority of them to ‘The Mausoleum’, the new dance club in the
centre of the city, while the rest, the Coven leaders, were delivered to ‘Satans’.
‘The Mausoleum’ was extremely well designed for the purpose to which it was
going to be put. There were luxurious permanent living quarters at the very rear
of the premises behind the kitchens and storage areas. These had their own exit
to the streets above. At the front, there were false walls inside the main area of
the underground club. It appeared fairly innocuous, decorated as it was around
the walls with coffin lids but each of these coffin lids affixed to the walls had a
secret catch. When activated, the lids swung back on hinges to reveal a small
room with a large bed in it, synonymous to a crypt. Once the door was closed,
the rooms were lit but when the door was opened, the light went out. This was
where unsuspecting patrons were going to be given free coke and provide the
opportunity for feeding the vampires and being ‘turned’. Although inspected by
building inspectors, its secrets had not been discovered. The best way to cause
mayhem in the City was to multiply the vampires as quickly as possible. All it
took was vampire blood in the bloodstream of a normal person and within a
week or so, that person would become a vampire also. Even dead, Andrew’s
legacy was a well organised and built venue for the continuation of ancient evil.
Tyrus was in his element. At the new club, each of the vampires was given his, or
her, own crypt and they quickly settled in. Some of them called Tyrus father,
some of the younger, blood infected ones, called him grandfather. Tyrus liked
this; it gave him a paternal feeling that had been missing since the last time he
had played with them. Tonight they would have to go hungry. As he explained
the plan of action to them, more and more smiles could be seen around the room.
Smiles that revealed wicked looking canine teeth, modified for venipuncture and
razor sharp. It was a good plan, simple but efficient. After a couple of weeks,
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when things hotted up, the original vampires could disperse throughout their
newly adopted country. Emigration and leaving the old country behind was the
way to go. Make a new start in a land of opportunity. After the briefing, things
started to relax a lot. Bags of coke appeared and the music went on. With
flashing lights and Marilyn Manson on the sound system, the private party
started in earnest. It wasn’t long before Tyrus headed off to a crypt with his
favourite daughter and granddaughter. He loved playing with vampires, they
could take everything he dished out and even give some back. They had no
morals and healed quickly. If he was particularly destructive, a little feed of
blood revived them no end. They even allowed him to fuck them in his demon
form, something that would kill a normal human woman.
Tyrus was ecstatic. Tomorrow was another day.
At ‘Satans’ the atmosphere was a little more reserved. Sonya was sitting in the
private office with five coven leaders, four men and a woman. It was unusual to
find a female coven leader but she had risen to power because she was strong
and ruthless. Sonya was outlining the plan to them.
“We intend to turn every policeman, politician and city official that visits this
club into a vampire. There are quite a few of them, so you will have your work
cut out. My old man, the Devil, asks for your co-operation in this matter and
suggests we should work on a timetable of one week to have the bulk of them
turning.”
Lucinda, the female Cven leader, chimed in, “Why the rush? What difference
will it make whether we take one week or three weeks?” She sat back and looked
closely at Sonya, trying to work out how dangerous she was.
“The other part of our plan involves a computer game that we believe will be
very popular. It is nearly finished. If we can have the authorities in confusion
and arguing with each other, the game can be launched quietly. Hopefully, this
will allow it to spread quickly all over the country and then the world.” Sonya
had tried for a concise explanation.
Dragovich chimed in, his English a little rough. “So, what is importance of mere
computer game to us. Where do we benefit?”
Sonya paused, “Sorry, I didn’t make the explanation perfectly clear. We believe
that this game has the potential of making all who play it into minions. That is, a
reservoir of evil souls at the Devil’s command, which is also a resource of food
for the Covens. Evil wins and good looses out. God takes one on the chin for a
change and the dark times will come. Do you know how powerfull we will be?”
Dragovich laughed, “Power I do not need. I am Coven leader. I am powerfull.”
Lucinda bared her fangs and hissed at Dragovich, “Do not listen to the old fart.
He is more of a woman than me and becoming toothless with age. I want power.
What about the rest of you?”
There were nods all around as all the Coven leaders accepted the plan. Sonya
would be the lure and once an official or policeman was in a private room they
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would be subdued and infected. Lucinda was the other bait for the male patrons
of ‘Satans’, she would be irresistible to them. The female patrons of the club
would be easy prey for the Coven masters.
They would start tonight.
Louise was bored. Sure she had a new house and a big one at that but the Devil
had not come near her sexually since the night she was impregnated. She was
just starting to show and as randy as all get up and go. She needed a good
session of lovemaking and the Devil wasn’t going to do it. He couldn’t expect her
to sit at home all alone while he was out fornicating and accepting virgin
sacrifices. The world was in the twenty first century now and dual standards
were rapidly becoming a thing of the past. She had to get out of the house but
where could she go? ‘Satans’ that’s where. The club that the Devil set up for
Ruth. It was the place where all the bad people went and she should be in her
element there. She could find some well mannered gentleman and have
anonymous sex with him. One never knew, it could be good.
The taxi dropped her off near the club. She had been enough times to know that
she had to go down the side street and into the ally. There was no problem with
entry and one o’clock in the morning was not too late for this place. She was hot
and getting hotter. Louise squeezes her thighs together, causing little ripples of
pleasure around her clitoris. Her panties were wet. She had to get something
happening soon.
That something was four noses, which smelt her in the club very shortly after she
had walked through the door. The aroma of sweet pussy with subtle undertones
of early pregnancy was a beacon for the four male Coven masters. Dragovich
was the first to reach her, bowing with a flourish before introducing himself.
“I am Count Dragovich, at your service madam and you are?”
“Louise, Count Dragovich. So pleased to meet you.” She was getting squirmy
now. This guy was really quaint in an old fashioned way but she felt drawn to
him. If only she could get him alone soon. Almost as though he were reading her
mind, Dragovich turned and picking up a bottle of champagne and two glasses,
asked her if she would like to accompany him to a private room. He was
irresistible, charming and there was no way she could refuse. Louise followed
Dragovich to a private room and there, with the door locked, they undressed
each other. It was not frenzied, Dragovich slowly removed each piece of clothing
from her, licking and caressing her skin as he removed it. She in turn responded
in a like manner. By the time she was naked, she was so turned on that bodily
fluids were running down the inside of her legs. Dragovich was rampant. He
was not much in the length department but his penis was very thick and covered
with gnarled veins and tiny scars. It looked old, although he didn’t. They got
down on the bed and Dragovich pointed at her stomach, “You are pregnant, just
showing. How long?”
“Two weeks,” Louise replied without thinking.
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“Ah, you make joke, no. Ha ha.”
“Yes I make joke, I meant to say four and a half months.”
“Good, good. It make your titties sensitive and make you horny, no.” He spoke
as he slid his hand down between her thighs. His fingers barely brushed her
shaved lips but she bucked in response. It felt like an electric shock.
“It makes me horny, yes. Please, put it in me, I can’t wait any longer.” She
grasped his thick penis in her hand and pulled him towards her with it. It was so
fat, her fingers did not meet around it. No problem though, she was so wet that
with a little shove he coasted right into her. All the way to his pubic hair.
“I like a woman to have bald pussy. Very sexy,” he commented before starting
the in and out rhythm she was aching for. Her back arched in pleasure as she met
his thrusts blow for blow. It all felt so good. She came, wave after wave of
pleasure but still Dragovich kept up the rhythmical thrusting. Then, wonder of
wonders, she came again and again, then almost continuously until with a great
shout, Dragovich started coming. She had never met a man who shot as much as
him, spasm after spasm wracked his body, each one accompanied by a jet of
fluids. Finally he stopped. The sheets were sopping wet with their combined
juices and Louise felt really languid, she flopped her head back on the pillow and
lay trying to catch her breath. Dragovich however, started to move down her
body, kissing and nibbling her flesh. It felt wonderfull and she lay back allowing
him to explore her pussy with his tongue then move down to the inside of her
thigh. She was rapturous and even the small pricking bite didn’t interrupt her
enjoyment. It was not unusual for the Devil to lay bigger bites on her. It was only
when Dragovich came back up her body to lie beside her that she opened her
eyes and noticed the blood on his mouth. Sitting up, she looked down and saw
the blood on the inside of her thigh trickling from two small puncture wounds
over the femoral vein. She looked at his face again and saw the cut on his lip
where his own blood was leaking out. Before her eyes, it healed up leaving not a
trace. Her heart sank and a feeling of despair wrapped itself around her like a
clammy blanket.
“Tell me that you are not a vampire. Tell me that you have not infected me,” she
whispered in anguished tones.
Dragovich looked suprised. “How did you know? We modern vampires never
use the puncture of the neck. It is too obvious. How can you tell I am a
vampire?”
“I couldn’t until you bit me. Please, if you have infected me, make it go away.”
“I am sorry Louise, that is not possible. There is no known cure once infected.
You will become a vampire as will your unborn child. There is no cause for
concern, you can join my Coven. I find you rather tasty.” Saying this, he ran his
tongue over his lips in an obviously sexual gesture.
Louise was frightened. All the joy and satisfaction of the liaison just disappeared.
Evaporating into the sexual aromatics of the room they were in. She got up and
quickly wiped herself down with one of the provided towels, then dressed
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hurriedly. She had to get home immediately before anyone saw her or
recognised her. She fled the room, heading for the way out and failed to see
Sonya who was passing. Sonya however, had seen Louise and curiosity piqued
her. She went to the door of the room that Louise had just left and entered, to
find Dragovich slowly dressing.
“Did you infect the woman you were just with,” she asked him anxiously.
“Of course. Is that not the plan you told us. Infect as many as possible as quick as
possible. I do my duty at the Devil’s command.”
Sonya was looking more worried as the conversation progressed. “Do you know
who she is?”
Dragovich paused, something was going on here. “No, I do not know who she is
but I would like to fuck with her again. She is very wanton.”
Sonya made a decision at that moment. This incident was best kept a secret for
now, even from the Devil. If he found out he would be very wrathfull and no one
knew how much power the Devil could really wield. He might just take out all of
the players in this game if he was mad enough. If she could only slow down the
change, just until the demon child was born, the Devil may not care as much.
“Is there any way I can slow down the infection?” she asked Dragovich. “This is
really important. It may mean your life if she turns too quickly.”
By now he was worried. Here was a demon and a powerfull one at that, begging
for his help. At the same time she was telling him that his life may be forfeit. He
had enjoyed his four hundred years of existence and didn’t want to die just yet.
Dragovich considered. “Feed her lots of garlic. Italian food is good. Three times a
day. When she cannot accept the garlic anymore she will change. Maybe two
weeks if we are lucky.”
“That’s it! The only way!”
“You could always kill her. That method works very well.” Dragovich chortled
at his own joke.
“You fool!” she yelled at him and spinning on her heel, turned and left the room.
Sonya figured Louise would head for home. The new one, the mansion, not
Fleeting Image. As she turned into the gravel drive, she was gratified to see
Louise’s car sitting beside the house. This was going to be a tricky thing to
handle. Still, being alive for around five hundred years helped to some degree.
Sonya rang the bell and before to long Louise’s voice could be heard.
“Who is it?”
“Sonya. Let me in please.” The door swung open and Louise asked suspiciously.
“What do you want, I don’t feel like talking.”
“Well you had better listen then.” Sonya said as she pushed past Louise and
entered the house. “Is the Devil around?”
“Who ever knows? Not in the flesh anyway,” was the reply.
“Good. Listen up, we don’t have much time. I know what happened tonight. I
don’t care about the sex thing, we are evil and it is our job to keep the standards
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as low as possible. However, you have been infected by a vampire while carrying
the Devil’s child. That has never happened before and Mr. D. could go ballistic.
You don’t know what that means but I do. It ain’t pretty. Bulk death, etcetera.”
Louise spoke up. “But I didn’t know he was a vampire, he never said. Just bit me
the horrible bastard. Who is he anyway?”
“One of Tyrus’ children by a human mother from long ago. He is a Coven master
now and quite important in the vampire world. You just got caught up in one of
the parts of the Devil’s big plan, honey. Thing is, the Devil can’t know about it
for now, so we have to disguise it.”
“Can’t you make it stop?” wailed Louise.
“Unfortunately not. Seems as if there is no cure. However, it can be slowed down
for a week or so if you eat huge quantities of garlic. Like Italian food three times
a day. Also, we have no idea what effect it is going to have on the little demon
you are carrying. Could be interesting.”
Louise’s emotions had graduated past scared and now she was angry. “Fuck
that. I am already eating five meals a day to keep up with the demands of this
pregnancy. We live in the modern age. Tomorrow I am off to the health food
store to pick up a decent supply of odourless garlic tablets. That way the Devil
won’t be able to smell something stinky going on.” She chuckled at her own joke.
Sonya was relieved; Louise wasn’t as flaky as she had thought. She was bearing
up well to the pressures of the situation. They may get out of this alive yet.
“Good girl, I won’t breath a word of this to anyone, it will be our little secret, just
between you and me. If you need help, contact me. Now go to bed and carry on
your life as normal. As if having a one month pregnancy is anywhere near
normal. I am going back to ‘Satans’ now. See you later on.” She turned and went
down the steps to her car. Just as she reached it she heard her name called.
“Sonya.” She stopped and turned. Louise gave her a really gratefull smile.
“Thank you ever so much, I won’t forget this.” Then she turned and went inside.
Sonya left. As she was driving away she felt somewhat sorry for Louise.
Sorry? What was this shit! She was a demon, daughter of the Devil. Sorry? What
the fuck, Louise got what was coming to her. Stupid bitch shouldn’t have gone to
the club in the first place. It just had to be kept quiet in case the Devil went ape
shit.
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Chapter 18.
Steve and Mary, Chris and Ruth and Detective Mike had a leisurely breakfast
together. The Brotherhood house was well run and totally staffed by
Brotherhood. Some fought, some planned and some cared for others. After basic
training the members of the Brotherhood gravitated to what they were best at.
Roberto had been fairly high up in the organisation and had a fair amount of
autonomy. He was in charge of the present campaign in the City. As Chris had
occupied the body, with all its memories intact, when Roberto was killed, it was
effectively Chris that was calling the shots. However, he relied heavily on the
advice of his friends and any insight that Ruth could give him on the inner
workings of the demon cabal.
Steve and Mary had been conversing with each other the night before while they
were in bed, prior to going to sleep. It had come to Steve’s awareness that every
member of the Brotherhood was a distant relative of both Mary and he. In fact he
and Mary were distantly related. It was a peculiar feeling, he thought while
eating his breakfast, to know that he was related to the man who cooked his
food, the man who served it and any other of the Brotherhood in the house.
After the breakfast dishes had been cleared away they got themselves another
cup of coffee each and the meeting started. Steve had become the default leader
of the little group because everyone respected his commitment to the venture
and his level headedness. Chris had all the information on the technical side of
the Brotherhood’s workings and Ruth was the mine of information about
demonology. Detective Mike lent his years of experience as a policeman and
Mary was, well, Mary. The quiet one who could bridge the others’ ideas.
With the table cleared they got down to the business at hand. Unfortunately, the
one piece of information they were missing was the fact that a plane load of
vampires had arrived in the city the night before.
Steve started the ball rolling. “Okay, so far, we know that we are facing up to the
Devil and two older demons, Tyrus and Sonya. We know what the demons look
like and have pictures of them. Their plan is to release a computer game which is
the story of Chris’ ‘adventure’ under the influence of the cassette tape. From
what Ruth tells us, the RULES by which the Devil works do not cover a
computer game. Apparently, if anyone plays the game through, by accepting the
warnings and making the characters continue in the game, they are as guilty of
sinning as someone who actually did those things.”
Chris groaned and put his head in his hands shamefully. “Don’t remind me
please.”
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Mary piped up. “It’s all right Chris, you never turned fully and you have
accepted God. You are a good person and we respect you.” Mary understood
completely, her life previous to ‘finding’ God had not been without its bad side.
Steve continued. “The idea of the game is to create an army of minions to further
the work of the Devil and to act as a reservoir of souls for the Devil to draw on.
We have to stop this game getting out. I believe that is our objective. Now, any
ideas or comments.”
Detective Mike put his hand up. “It looks like we have to get to the computers
and destroy the game before it is finished. That means getting into Fleeting
Image and accessing the computers, wherever they are.”
Steve jotted down that point on a pad before him. “Right, do we all agree.” There
were nods all around. “Good. Next.”
Chris was the next to speak. “The computers are on the fifteenth floor. I used to
work there and have a fairly good knowledge of the layout. Between Ruth and I,
we could come up with a floor plan of the three floors that Fleeting Image
occupies. I don’t know much about the sixteenth floor, particularly the ‘private’
area but Ruth will be able to fill in the blanks.”
“Okay, excellent.” Steve made another note on the pad. “I will leave the floor
plans to the pair of you. Well done. Next.”
It was Mary who spoke next. “If we have to go in there, we need to know what
the Devil looks like.”
There was a snort from Ruth. “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you all. We
are talking about The Prince of Liars, The Great Pretender. He can be whatever
he wants. The little girl eating an ice-cream on the street corner, your mother,
even you if he so desires. Most of the time he favours a three-quarter length,
black leather coat and a black Stetson hat. The other piece of bad news is that he
cannot be killed; he is the flip side of Devine but with slightly less powers.
However, he cannot just up and kill one of God’s children for no reason. You are
your own protection. If your heart is true and you carry your belief strongly
within you, as long as you don’t commit a sin, you are safe. In other words. If
you kill one innocent person by mistake, he can take you out in the blink of an
eye. For most of the routine wet work he has his demons to kill for him. That is
what we are up against.”
There were sombre looks all around the table. This was not going to be easy.
“We need someone on the inside.” Detective Mike suggested. “It would make
access easier if we had a key or two. Any suggestions Chris?”
Chris sat pondering for a moment then a smile lit his face. “I wonder if Cindy
still works there. She was pretty good to me and seemed sorry when I was fired.
She seemed like a good person, untainted. Ruth?”
“As far as I am aware, she wasn’t a minion or one of us. Might be worth a try.”
Steve considered this point. “It would save us a lot of time and effort if we had
easy access. Someone will have to talk with her. Who?”
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Mary put her hand up. “Detective Mike and Roberto were probably seen at the
motel murder scene. Ruth is known and you, Steve, may be compromised by
being Chris’ best friend. That leaves me. I am the only one that can not be
recognised. I will go.”
Steve was not happy with that but Mary was right. Another note was added to
the list.
“Chris, how do you think we should deal with the computers?”
A smile crossed Chris’ face. “Blow them up.”
“What!”
“Blow them up. They are probably password protected and the game will be on
the huge hard drives. There will also be backup copies of parts of the game
stored in desks or other places. I reckon we should use plastic explosive on the
computers themselves and incendiary charges over the rest of the fifteenth floor.
We can’t leave anything to chance. The sprinkler system will cut in and contain
the fire but the windows blowing out could be a problem.”
Detective Mike smiled. “Not much of one if we blow it around four in the
morning on Sunday. I like that plan. Very positive and very direct.”
Steve chipped in, “That is in six days time. Any comment?”
No one around the table had any objections to the idea, so it was added to the list
on the pad in front of Steve.
“Where do we get all the explosives from?” Detective Mike queried.
“We are sitting on them.” Chris answered, gesturing in a downward direction.
“The cellar’s chock full of armaments.”
Mike was amused. “From a professional standpoint. How did you get them into
the country?”
Chris winked at him. “They were already here and that is all I am going to say on
the matter.”
“So how’s this going to go down?” Steve asked them all. It was Chris who
answered again.
“Detective Mike downstairs watching the main entrance. We will all be wearing
earpieces and throat mikes for communication. Mike has no experience in
fighting demons, so it is safest for him to be there. Mary, I believe you are the
expert at getting into places. We will need to use the stairwell to access the
fifteenth floor from the fourteenth. I doubt Cindy has keys to the upper level
stairwell doors and access by the lift to the fifteenth and sixteenth floors will also
be controlled by key locks. There may also be an alarm system activated. Steve,
once we gain access to the fifteenth floor, you protect Mary and I will go and set
the charges. I would like Ruth to go with me. Does that sound okay to you
guys?”
Steve smiled. “Spoken like a Commander of the Brotherhood.” Everyone
laughed as Chris blushed a deep crimson. He was unused to taking charge but
his new body had been very used to it and sometimes went into autopilot. Still,
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he had only been in it a couple of days and was continually adjusting to the finer
points.
The group had made good progress during the morning, a plan had been
hatched and the notes that Steve had taken were fleshed out over the next couple
of hours as details were added to them. By the time they broke for lunch in the
early afternoon, everyone had a good idea of what they were going to be doing.
Mary decided to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible and left shortly
afterwards to try and make contact with Cindy. Steve went with her, his
intention being to wait in the car, close to the Fleeting Image building, in case of
any problems. The fact that the weather was cold was very handy as the hooded
track top he was wearing covered not only his head but also the handle of his
sword which was strapped to his back. Mary carried a mobile phone with her.
Detective Mike also left with them. He was to be dropped off near his home
which wasn’t too far out of their way. Truth be told, he wasn’t really happy with
his role in the up and coming attack on Fleeting Image. Being delegated to watch
the door of the building during the operation was not his idea of an important
task. He was a take charge sort of person and he felt the idea of being a glorified
doorman was a little beneath his talents. Anyway, how bad could those
supposed demons be if Steve could take one out? He could see the sense in all of
the plan but not having anything to do with demons directly, made him wonder
at the stories he was hearing. He carried two guns and he knew how to use them.
Had used them. Had killed armed and dangerous criminals. Still and all, he was
part of a team and that is what they had all agreed on.
After the others had left, Chris and Ruth sat together stroking each other on the
arms, the face, anywhere the skin was bare. It was a source of endless pleasure
for them to be reunited in the flesh. Ruth was still coming to terms with the new
body that Chris occupied. She had liked the old one well enough but this one
was bigger and stronger and just as well endowed. His new face was not as
handsome as the old but held far more character. Years of training, knowledge
and combat were engraved there, giving his countenance an almost regal quality.
Chris saw Ruth as Ruth, the woman he had fallen in love with, before he knew
she was a demon. The woman he had loved even when he suspected she was
evil. The woman who had contained his soul after his death. The woman who
was no longer evil and who had placed his soul in another body so he could live
again.
They laughed simultaneously.
“You know, I would love to take you to bed and see what it is like to be together
‘changed’. Chris whispered in Ruth’s ear.
“Okay, let’s go.”
They adjourned upstairs to their room, locked the door and got undressed. Lying
on the bed together they changed into their other shiny, scaled forms instantly.
Ruth wiggled underneath Chris and guided him into her. They meshed and
MESHED.
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The external world was gone. They had no awareness of their bodies. They were
back in that forest that they had created together, naked, in human form. They
stood and stared at each other and their surroundings.
“What the......”
Ruth placed a finger on his lips. “Don’t talk lover. We are in our own place.
Whatever is happening to us is something that we should enjoy. We have peace.
It may be a gift or it may be something which is a side effect of our trials but I
think we should enjoy what we have.”
He nodded dumbly and holding each other they sank to the deep moss of the
forest floor.
The two silver forms on the bed, one on top of the other, were glowing with a
dim silvery glow which reflected from the rooms furnishings. There was no
movement, all was still. Time had ceased to exist for them.
About four o’clock that afternoon, Steve dropped Mary off outside the tall, glass-
walled building where Fleeting Image occupied the fourteenth to sixteenth
floors. Mary entered and took the lift up to the fourteenth floor. The lift doors
opened and she stepped out looking lost. The attractive blond girl behind the
reception desk looked up.
“Hello. I’m Cindy. Welcome to Fleeting Image, can I help you?”
“Um, er, oops. Sorry, wrong floor. My mistake.” Mary’s acting must have been
very convincing because Cindy replied.
“No problem, happens quite a bit. You get used to it.”
Mary smiled as a ‘ping’ signalled the next lift down. “Thank you for being
understanding,” she said as she boarded the lift. “See you.”
Cindy gave her a little wave as the lift doors closed.
Mary waited in the coffee shop in the foyer of the building, trying to be
inconspicuous in a secluded corner with a view of the lifts. It was finishing time
upstairs and crowds of people were now disgorging from the lifts as businesses
closed for the day. The crowds started to thin out and just as Mary thought that
she had missed her, Cindy came out of the lifts. Mary rose from her seat and
walked quickly to intercept Cindy, trying not to hurry as she edged up beside
the attractive blond girl.
“Hi, remember me,” she said.
“Yeah, the girl from the lift. What do you want?”
“Fifteen minutes of your time for which I will pay one hundred dollars.” Mary
took a folded bill from her pocket just as they were exiting the building. “No
tricks, just hear what I have to say and the money is yours.”
Cindy was intrigued, this was quite a novel approach. Deciding that she had
nothing to lose, she agreed and they entered a bar down the street. A Nissan
Skyline with blacked-out windows also moved down the road and took up
station just down from the bar. Inside, Mary bought them both a drink and they
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settled into a private booth at the back of the bar. She unfolded the hundred
dollar bill and placed it on the table in front of Cindy.
“This is yours, whatever.”
Cindy was impressed but thought she had better get the ball rolling. “Start
talking sister, the clock’s ticking.”
“Okay. At the beginning of last year, a half share of the company was sold to an
unknown buyer. Since that time there has been some strange goings on
associated with the company. The death of a junior executive in a car crash fire,
the hiring and firing of Chris and his subsequent death. Andrew, started work
downstairs but then after Chris was fired he stopped working there for a while
but still hung around on the sixteenth floor. Louise who came to work at Fleeting
Image after the purchase of the company, replaced the original receptionist who
disappeared. Ruth, hanging around the sixteenth floor and being involved in all
sorts of shady deals, including getting Chris hooked on coke. Now there is a
stranger working almost non-stop on the computers on the fifteenth floor. What
do you think about all of that?”
Cindy was amazed. “How do you know all of that stuff? Yeah, it’s kinda creepy
all right. There is other stuff that you didn’t mention, like the number of new
people who start there but only last six weeks or so. Most of them seemed to coke
out. Now that I think of it, it is pretty weird. Then there is that guy working the
computers on the fifteenth floor, he gives me the willies. He looks at me like I
was a piece of steak and he was hungry. Those eyes, nasty. Anyway, what do
you want?”
“I am working for a secret organisation that believes the security of the nation is
under threat. We believe that Fleeting Image is being used as a cover for some
power that intends to do this country harm. We have been watching them for
some time, which is how come we know so much. Even down to the fact that you
arrive for work half an hour early and cover for the people who work on the
fifteenth floor whenever possible.”
“Okay, okay. What do you want me to do?” Cindy couldn’t believe how much
this person knew. Their surveillance was excellent.
“All we want you to do, is for you to give us your company keys for two minutes
so I can take a wax impression of them. We need to get to the computers on the
fifteenth floor without any of these people knowing. There we can search for any
incriminating information and maybe do something to the files to corrupt them.
This will delete the data in there which we believe constitutes a serious threat to
the wellbeing of the country. You will not be implicated, no one will know of the
part you played because the operation is totally secret. Oh, by the way, you will
also receive one thousand dollars cash. A small reward for helping your country
in these troubled times.”
Being a lady who liked her cash, Cindy handed over the company keys. Mary
took a couple of slim metal tins, for making wax impressions, out of her bag and
taking the four identified keys off the keyring, placed two into each tin side by
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side and shut the lids. After the keys were copied, they were placed back on the
keyring and returned to Cindy.
“Cool, I always wondered how that was done. When are you going in?”
“Can’t tell you that Cindy, it’s top secret. However, we will get your money to
you after we’re done. Now, is there anything further we need to know that could
help us?”
Cindy grinned at Mary as she pocketed the one hundred dollar bill. “Yeah, don’t
get caught.” She picked up her glass and drained the last of the drink before
getting up and leaving the bar. Mary could not believe her luck. She hadn’t lied;
everything that she said was the truth. She was stunned, she did work for a
secret organisation, her, Mary. She finished her drink and left the bar, jumping
into the waiting car outside.
“How did it go?” Steve asked.
“Suprisingly easily,” she replied with a smile. “We’re in.”
As the light in the bedroom dimmed with the approach of evening, so to did the
pulsating glow from the silvery bodies. With a deep indrawn breath they rolled
apart and changed to human form.
“Wow.” Chris said.
“Hey, your lips didn’t move,” she replied wondrously.
“Neither did yours, my telepathic darling.”
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Chapter 19.
It was only early in the evening but the streets around ‘The Mausoleum’, a new
Gothic style underground nightclub in the centre of the city, were starting to fill
up with crowds of young people. The club wasn’t due to open for a couple of
hours but the promise of free entry on the opening night had attracted a lot of
people early on. Steve and Mary, on their way back to The Brotherhood safe
house after their meeting with Cindy, noticed the large number of weirdly
dressed youngsters waiting to enter the club. Flowing dark clothes and face
makeup, the eyes darkened to look almost cadaverous, dark lipsticks and pale
faces along with body piercing, made the effect rather ghoulish.
”I wonder what is happening there.” Mary commented to Steve, as they drove
past.
“Don’t know but the makeup and the way they are dressed makes them look like
animated corpses.” Steve replied.
A shiver ran up Mary’s spine. “Do you feel it?”
“What?”
“How is the back of your neck?”
“Fine, why do you......” Steve stopped talking in mid sentence as he felt a very
sharp tingle of the hairs at the base of his neck. He looked over at Mary and
slowed the car. There was nowhere to park and he was in traffic so he couldn’t
stop but as they passed the club, they gave it a close inspection.
Steve relaxed a little. “’The Mausoleum’. What will they think of next? Doors
aren’t open yet, so it must be someone in the crowd setting us off. I will see if
Chris can get one of The Brotherhood to keep an eye on this place. Maybe even
call Detective Mike to see if he can find anything out about it.”
Mary seemed a little more relaxed now and as they were past the club, they just
kept driving. “Don’t forget we have to get those keys made up,” she reminded
him.
As the countdown continued until the time that the club opened its doors, the
activity inside intensified. The coven leaders had come over from ‘Satans’ to brief
the covens. The vampires were hungry. Dragovich and Lucinda, being the eldest,
stood on the stage to address the vampires below.
“We are here,” Dragovich spoke in a low voice which carried to every corner of
the large room, “to make vampires. We are not here to feast. No killing. This
place should be respected. If you kill, we will be hunted down mercilessly and
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possibly exterminated. The Coven masters are also fasting but trying to recruit as
many of the ruling elite as possible. In a week or so, we can start feeding on the
newly turned. Then we expand to other cities. What is the term used in this
country? Franchising, that is it. Our future as vampires in this new land depends
on all of you obeying me. Is that understood?”
A rousing chorus of yells and ululations accompanied fists punching the air
showed the vampires understood. Lucinda moved to the front of the stage, she
frightened all the vampires in the Covens. Nobody ever messed with Lucinda.
She addressed the Covens in a loud menacing tone.
“You all know me. A few have crossed paths with me, to their regret. I tell you
now. Any vampire caught feeding will be dealt with by me. That eventually
means death and you will welcome it when it comes. Do I make myself clear?”
There was a low mumble of assent.
“Sorry, didn’t hear that. Do I make myself clear?”
“YES,” the crowd roared.
“Good. Now you have been instructed in the use of the crypts around the room.
There are Ecstasy tabs, speed and cocaine available in them for both you and our
‘guests’. Try not to be too obvious entering and leaving the crypts. Use small
bites for infecting and fornication is allowed, even encouraged. Have fun.”
A cheer ran around the room as Dragovich stepped up again. “This club will
open in one hour. The Coven masters have to leave now to go to our other club.
Remember what you have been told. Enjoy.” He and Lucinda left the stage,
accompanied by a deafening roar from the assembled vampires below.
The music started half an hour before the doors opened to the public. Out on the
street the tension was building and people began pushing towards the doors, not
wanting to miss out on a free evening. A few fights broke out but they were
quickly stopped before anyone got too injured. At nine o’clock the doors opened
and two large people came out. Their job was to weed out undercover cops and
newspaper reporters. They set up some ropes and stands and started ushering
people into the club. The crowd surged, no one wanted to miss out. Slowly, over
the next half hour, a hundred and twenty people gained entrance to the club.
That was the limit and the doors were being shut. Just before going back inside,
one of the doormen addressed the crowd of mostly late teens and young
twenties.
“We don’t close until four in the morning, if you hang around out here, you may
be able to get in later when some others come out.” Then he disappeared inside
and shut the door behind himself. Some stayed but the majority went home.
Something, which for some of them, may have been a life saver.
The club rocked to the heavy base beat of the music and as the new patrons
descended the stairs, they were unsurprised to see quite a few people already in
the club. Everywhere you went in society, there was always that group of people
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who either had bulk money or sucked up to those who did. The crowd swelled
with the recently admitted and the alcohol flowed freely.
The twenty something males were the first to be turned. They strutted their stuff
and weren’t at all surprised when some dark eyed, dark haired girl made a move
on them. It was their due as kings of cool. The girls sidled up in a very suggestive
manner, licking blood red, full lips with the tip of a moist tongue. Speaking in a
sexy foreign accent, the offer was made to go for a private party. Who could
refuse? A crypt door was surreptitiously opened and a couple slipped in, closing
and locking the door behind them. Once in there, coke seemed to be the drug of
choice and quite a few of the patrons were amazed that it was being given away
free. Most accepted the explanation of a once only, opening night special and
snorted the nearly pure stuff like it was going out of style. After a couple of
minutes, it was down to the business in hand and the girls were adept at giving
blow jobs.
“Sorry, did I catch you with my teeth? Don’t worry, I’ll kiss it better.” The girls
tongue, with a drop of her own blood on the end, was extended toward the little
nick in one of the veins of the penis. A small dab and the infection had begun.
The vampire girls swallowed copious amounts of semen during the evening’s
work but every now and again they found some guy who was well endowed and
spent extra time in the crypts banging away to their hearts content, mixing a bit
of pleasure with their business.
The male vampires did not have it quite so easy however, as some of the young
women were resistant to their gothic looks and romantic foreign accents. No
problem, who needs drink spiking when you can gaze into a woman’s eyes and
bend her will. The coke helped a lot also, as the girls tended to become wet and
ready after a couple of snorts of the excellent coke provided. Nibbling gently
around the top of the legs, it didn’t take much to open a small hole in a vein and
pass the infection. Most of the time, this procedure went unnoticed. After a
number of love making sessions however, the vampire males were just too tired
to go the whole hog and resorted to just passing on the infection with a bit of
pussy licking. This left a number of dazed women wandering about feeling a
little dissatisfied and in need of the real thing. Some left the club after a while,
accompanied by boys that wanted more than a blow job and more patrons were
allowed into the club to replace them. Ecstasy tabs were passed around, as was
the speed, and the whole club rocked. By four in the morning the place had been
cleared of the public, some being shovelled into taxis semi comatose and the
vampires gathered to drink and boast about the numbers they had turned during
the evening.
The opening night of ‘The Mausoleum’ had been a great success.
Over at ‘Satans’ a similar pattern of events was taking place but the coven
leaders, being fewer in number were more circumspect. They engaged their prey
in conversation first, to find those which held positions of importance in the
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community, then they worked on them to infect them. Often, a little mesmerism
had to be employed but the end result was always the same. Another vampire on
the way. The Devil was there, thoroughly enjoying himself in the club named
after him. He chose to be a transvestite and took his pleasure at every turn. He
preferred to be with masochists as he liked to inflict pain, sometimes
withholding it to inflict more. He sampled the essence of evil souls, heady stuff,
an aperitif before the release of the game which he was looking forward to. It
was going to be fun. Hitler as a minion was a good experiment but the Jews
weren’t evil nor were most of the German army. Rwanda was better but a bit of a
bust as only the killers were evil, not the millions that were killed. With minions,
however, he could feed and play. Yes, things were going well. Between the two
clubs, over one hundred and sixty people had been infected that night and the
epidemic had just begun. The only down side was that someone or something
had been able to make his daughter, Ruth, disappear and Andrew had been
killed. Possibly by the same agency. The Brotherhood most likely. Still, a little
competition always made the game more fun and when the new vampires got
going there would be so much confusion in the city that the game would get out
and he would have an army at last. God would get what was coming to him and
Evil would be in charge for once. Then he could change the RULES and maybe
take a vacation. He was due for one. The Devil smiled as he tasted another soul.
Death was good.
Tyrus was pissed off. He and Sonya had to work on the damned game tonight
while everyone else got to party at the opening night of ‘The Mausoleum”. It
wasn’t too bad for Sonya living at ‘Satans’ as she was. This was the last night he
was going to work on it though, hadn’t the Devil said he could work on the game
during the day and party after midnight. He didn’t miss Andrew and couldn’t
give a fuck about Ruth. He was just pissed off. The game however, was coming
along well. It was going to be finished on time now, so he could start enjoying
himself again. All the major parts were complete, now all that remained was to
join them up with the end sections, smooth a bit of music over the links and put a
title to it. It would have to be computer based as they did not have the facilities
for manufacturing Playstation, X Box or other platform based games. No
problem, this game could be emailed all over the world when it was finished in
less than two weeks and shortly he would be second-in-command over a
generation of minions. It almost made up for missing a few nights of debauchery.
Speaking of which.
“Sonya,” he called out. She was down the other end of the room, working on the
music again.
“Yes Tyrus?”
“It’s time for a break. Come over here.”
Smiling, Sonya got to her feet and started taking off her clothes as she
approached Tyrus.
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“You little mind reader,” he grunted as, stepping out of the last of his clothes, he
turned into a demon. She did also and as their naked bodies met they started
tearing at each other in a frenzied exhibition of demon fucking. To say sparks
flew would be an understatement. The game would have to wait a little while.
When Steve and Mary arrived back with the wax impressions of the keys to
Fleeting Image, Chris, as Roberto, sent them off to the workshop to be made up
and then came back and sat down with Ruth and the other two in the conference
room. He was smiling.
“Okay Chris, even in someone else’s body, I know that smile. What gives?” Steve
asked him, an amused tone in his voice.
“Ruth and I have had a little quality time together and we have discovered that
in our changed forms, we can communicate telepathically.”
Steve and Mary were suitably impressed.
“That’s wonderfull,” Mary said to them both. “What else can you do?”
“We don’t know but I am thinking of going down to the training rooms in the
basement to give us both a workout. Just to see what our ‘other selves’ can do.
Interested?”
Steve looked at Mary and raised his eyebrows. She giggled, a delightfull little
giggle and answered him. “Well, we have been sitting around a lot today. Might
as well go and hone our fighting skills. We may need them shortly.”
They all trooped downstairs to the training rooms and found they were the only
ones there. They locked the doors and changed into light combat suits. Chris
rang upstairs to inform security that the surveillance camera was going to be
covered up for a while.
“The Brotherhood may not understand if Roberto changes into something else,”
he joked as he hung his shirt over the camera, “and as our other forms do not
generate heat like demons, we can remain clothed to save you embarrassment.”
So they began. Steve and Mary sparred together, practicing in unarmed combat,
knife play and sword play. Every so often they would stop and watch the
magnificence of two silver creatures fighting. Before long, they forgot all about
practicing and just stood, open mouthed in amazement, as the two shiny forms
in their combat suits came together. Neither pulled blows or strikes, the force
was just absorbed and seemed to make them stronger. Chris used the knowledge
from Roberto and Ruth used sixty years of experience as a demon. At times they
were moving so fast that they blurred. When it came time for weapons, Ruth,
unarmed, faced Chris who came at her with blinding speed, wooden sword in
hand. Ruth calmly reached into the blur and gripped the sword which turned to
dust where she squeezed it.
They stopped then, which was a good idea as Steve and Mary were having a
reality crisis. What they were seeing was just not possible.
“Wow guys. To say I am impressed would be an understatement. Have you
found anything that you can’t do yet?”
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Chris, back in his human form, smiled shyly, “I don’t think I can fly,” he said.
“How about you, Ruth?”
She looked adoringly at Chris. “This form is better than the old one but I can’t do
fire. Maybe we have some things to discover yet, lover.”
“When the time is right, God will reveal our abilities.”
“Amen,” they all chorused and bowed their heads in silent prayer.
Sitting in his apartment that evening, Detective Mike was suprised to find he was
lonely, for the first time in his life. After spending the day in the company of
Steve and Mary and Chris and Ruth, he had come to realise something that he
had never been made aware of before. Men and women were two halves of
something greater than either and when they worked together with love, respect
and mutual understanding, almost anything could be accomplished. He had
observed the couples throughout the morning with his finely honed abilities and
more so now than ever before, he could almost see each couple as one entity. It
saddened him to realise that because of his attitude to life, he may have missed
out on something wonderfull. He cursed and reached for the ever present bottle
of Scotch which occupied his private time. She could be a harsh mistress but
helped dull the memories of some of the horrors that he had seen in his job and
some of the things he had done in the past. He picked up the remote and turned
the television to a sports channel. Tomorrow was another day.
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Chapter 20.
Four days later, reports of a mysterious illness started appearing in the local
newspapers. It seemed to be affecting mostly the sixteen to twenty-five year old
age group, although isolated cases were turning up in other age groups. The
numbers were large enough for the word ‘epidemic’ to appear in connection
with the reports. Some of the affected people had been hospitalised while others
had been told to go home and rest and were under observation. The symptoms
of the disease were puzzling to the doctors who were investigating the cases. The
patients were presenting with flu-like signs, malaise, weakness of the muscles
and no desire to eat. Quite a few of the patients also exhibited aversion to bright
lights. Temperatures were slightly elevated and occasionally, rashes on the skin
appeared. Laboratory testing had revealed very few changes in the blood picture
apart from a small amount of lysis of red blood cells with a suprising decrease in
blood haemoglobin and changes to the morphology of some of the white blood
cells. Epidemiological studies were initiated and drug panels were run. A large
number of the affected people were found to have used cocaine in the previous
few days and had attended a new night club, ‘The Mausoleum’ in the centre of
the city. Public health workers and a few police were dispatched to the club to
investigate. Nothing was found. The crypts, behind the coffin lids on the walls,
hid their secrets well. Reports in the newspaper indicated that the club owner
did not encourage drug use but could not monitor the activities of the people
who attended his club. As no food had been served, the club was given a clean
bill of health and allowed to continue operating.
Steve came into the common room that morning with a newspaper which carried
a report on the mysterious illness. He and Mary had read it over breakfast and as
they were reading the article, the warning signals for evil had gently made
themselves known. Had the game already been released without their
knowledge? This was something that Chris and Ruth should be made aware of.
Hence his trip to the common room. They had all had plenty of time in there over
the previous few days, going over the planning for the raid on Fleeting Image
and now three days before the planned attack they thought they could relax
somewhat. Steve sauntered in to find Chris and Ruth sitting on one of the
lounges with their heads together, deep in discussion.
“Hope it’s something good,” he joked. They looked up, slightly startled.
“Oh, good morning Steve, How’s it going?” Chris was the one to speak, Ruth
nodded at him.
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“Fine, Mary and I are enjoying the quiet time. Have you seen this report in the
newspaper regarding a mysterious illness that’s sweeping mostly the young
people in the city?” He passed the newspaper over to Chris who took it from him
and spread it out to read. Ruth went round behind Chris and leant on him to
read the article over his shoulder.
As they read down the article, Ruth’s face took on a look of dismay. Chris looked
back over his shoulder and seeing Ruth’s face said.
“Are you thinking what I am thinking?”
“I hope not.”
Steve couldn’t contain himself. “What?”
They looked up at him and spoke in unison. “Vampires!”
“What! Get out of here.” Steve exclaimed.
Chris sat back. “One thing about Roberto is that he had a brilliant mind. Hold on
while I go and get a book for you.” With that he rose and headed off toward the
library, returning shortly with a book which he opened and placed in front of
Steve. Ruth remained seated but looked agitated. Steve read.
Vampires.
A product of the mating of a demon with a human
female. Creatures of the night which feed on
human blood. After a person is infected with
vampire blood, the change to a vampire will
occur within ten days. The change may be slowed
by ingestion of garlic. Symptoms of a bite include
fever, muscle weakness, aversion to bright light
and inappetence.
Steve looked up and saw Chris studying him.
“It goes on and explains in some detail about vampires but basically it boils
down to a few basics, once you cut through the folk lore.” He held up his hand
and ran through the points, turning a finger down for each one. “Sunlight
doesn’t kill them, they just sunburn far more easily than people. They don’t have
to drink human blood, any blood will do. They live a long time and can infect
other people by the exchange of blood, a bit like AIDS and Hepatitis C. They
regenerate and heal amazing quickly and the only way to kill one is by
decapitation.”
“How come we haven’t bumped into one before?”
Chris replied. “Two reasons; mainly, The Brotherhood have been keeping them
under control. There is a division devoted to vampire slaying. I think I will let
Ruth answer on the second point.” Here, Ruth took over.
“My evil brother, Tyrus, has been in Europe for most of his six hundred and fifty
years. He just loves fornication and is pretty indiscriminate about who or what
he fornicates with. I suppose we are lucky that sex with animals is infertile. It has
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been his little hobby to build up Covens of vampires in remote areas of Eastern
Europe. He often spends his vacations there with them. Up until now, they
haven’t bothered about migration but something or someone has got them
moving. They must be here. Now, we have a problem.”
“I’d better go and get Mary then.” Steve interjected. “We need to sit down and
work out what we are going to do. Won’t be long.” With that he got up and went
upstairs to find her. Before long they were all sitting around the table together.
After Mary had been brought up to speed, she looked thoughtfull for a second.
“Steve, remember the other night when we were returning from our mission at
Fleeting Image. We saw all those young people on the footpath in the centre of
town. You remember, the ones dressed in that Gothic style.”
“Yeah, right.” Steve looked interested.
“They must have been waiting to get into that club that’s mentioned in the
newspaper article, ‘The Mausoleum’. I bet that is where they got infected, even
though the place was cleared by the police and the Health Department.”
Chris picked it up. “The only way to find out is to send someone in under cover.
One of the young Brotherhood here should do. It will be a good mission for him.
Just dress him up in Gothic clothing and have him check it out. Shouldn’t take
long for him to suss out what is going on.”
Ruth, who had been fairly quiet up until then, now entered the conversation.
“Yes, but what are we going to do? We have arranged to undertake a raid on
Fleeting Image to destroy the game. We cannot deal with both.”
Mary looked at the faces around the table. “I think that the game has the
potential to cause the biggest problem. We should go ahead with our plans and
try to deal with the vampires afterwards. What do you all think?”
There was a moment’s silence, then Steve said, “I agree.”
Chris and Ruth exchanged looks. “So do we.”
It was settled. The mission at Fleeting Image was going ahead as planned and a
young member of the Brotherhood was to be sent to ‘The Mausoleum’ that
evening. They adjourned for lunch.
Later, around nine that evening, the young agent of The Brotherhood, Mat, short
for Mathew, fronted up to ‘The Mausoleum’. This was his first field assignment
and the only reason he had got it was because of his young age. He was not the
brightest match in the box and had been given a quick briefing on the does and
don’ts, while he was in the club. Do go into the club, don’t stay to long. Do
observe what happens, don’t get involved. Do learn about the workers there,
don’t give away any secrets about the Brotherhood. Do look like you are having
a good time, don’t enjoy yourself.
After paying his ten dollars and entering the club, Mat realised that there were
fewer people here than he had expected but the music filled the room. There
must be a finite limit to the number of young people in the city who enjoyed this
sort of nightlife. He wandered down the stairs, through the light crowd, with his
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mouth hanging open. He had led a fairly sheltered life up to now and found the
scene around him to be amazing. Goths, grunge and punks. After a short period
of time, he saw one of the crypt doors open and a young girl stagger out,
obviously under the effects of something. She wandered over to a group of
young people on the dance floor and nodded her head. They smiled and patted
her on the back in a congratulatory sort of way. Mat decided that a little more
investigation was required. He turned and bumped into a very attractive woman
with deepset eyes and long dark hair. She laid a hand on his chest as she gazed
into his eyes. He was confused at his reaction. His penis became very hard. This
could be a bad situation if he didn’t leave immediately. He couldn’t leave, his
body would not obey him and his head was a little fuzzy. The woman took him
by the hand and led him into one of the crypts, never taking her eyes from his.
After locking the door behind them, she offered him some drugs. He refused the
offer but had no ability to stop her lowering his trousers. Her eyes seemed to
bore into him, she was taking over his world and his mind did not belong to him
at the moment. Laying Mat back onto the pillows, the exotic lady smiled up at
him before engulfing his erection within her luscious mouth. It was almost
heaven, or so it felt like but her teeth were a little sharp. He didn’t even feel the
nip when it happened, almost at the point of ejaculation as he was and
afterwards he couldn’t feel anything down there. She wiped him off and pulled
his trousers up gently, zipping them up for him.
“You are nice man. You I like. Taste good. Come see me in couple of weeks. My
name is Katrina. Ask for me.” The only words she had spoken to him since he
bumped into her.
Katrina led him out of the hidden crypt and he stumbled up the stairs and out of
the club. This was not good. How was he ever going to explain to his superiors in
the Brotherhood? He walked around the corner, making sure he wasn’t followed
and got into the car. Time to report.
When Mat got back to the safe house, even though it was quite late, he was
ushered in to see Chris and Ruth to make his report. It was all fairly standard
until he got to the part about bumping into the exotic lady and how he had
difficulty acting on his own accord. Ruth’s eyes hardened.
“She took you somewhere and did something to you, didn’t she. Tell us.”
Mat squirmed in his seat. This woman knew everything he realised. Who was
she? Where did she come from? Roberto had just turned up with her one day out
of the blue and she had moved in and become his right hand. He told them
haltingly what had transpired in the club earlier. Ruth sighed.
“Take down your trousers please.”
Mat was shocked. What sort of request was that to make. He looked to
Chris/Roberto, his superior, for confirmation.
“Just do it.” Chris told him.
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Mat was extremely embarrassed but stood and lowered his trousers. He was
even more embarrassed when Ruth came over and gently took his penis in her
hand and inspected it closely.
“Here,” she said, “underneath. Take a look ‘Roberto’.” Chris came over and
looked where she was pointing. There it was, a tiny cut, already crusting over
with a scab. Ruth looked up at Mat. “Sorry to have to tell you this but you have
been infected. The exotic lady was a vampire and soon you will be too.”
To say Mat was devastated would be a huge understatement. Tears sprang to his
eyes as he watched his future disappear into a hellhole. What could he do?
Ruth watched him for a moment or two then spoke to him.
“Mathew, you are named after one of the friends of Jesus who was your distant
relative. What has happened to you is not the end of the world. A vampire does
not have to be evil. You are not born of demon seed, you have merely been
infected. Trust in God. You will develop a taste for blood but it doesn’t have to
be human. You’ll find sunlight will cause you to sunburn rapidly and you will
prefer dimness. On the other hand, if you don’t give in to base desires, you will
be extremely usefull to the Brotherhood. Your senses will become much, much
sharper, you will be able to move much more quickly and you will heal very fast.
On top of that you will have an ability to bend people to your will. All these
things are positives for someone in your line of work. Oh, and you will live a
very long time. Maybe long enough to head the Brotherhood some day if you use
your brain more.”
Mathew could not believe what he was hearing. He forgot about his
embarrassment at having his trousers around his ankles, he forgot about his
dread of a few minutes ago and he gazed down at this black haired, oriental
looking woman before him with adoration. No wonder Roberto had teamed up
with her.
“Thank you for what you have just told me,” he said as he pulled his trousers up.
“God bless you and you also Roberto.”
Ruth smiled. “One thing though Mathew. You are going to be a pretty sick
puppy and very vulnerable to evil for the next couple of weeks. Do not leave
these premises. The woman will be calling you and you will be hard pushed not
to answer her summons. If it gets too difficult, we can lock you in but it is best if
you can fight it yourself. That will make you stronger. We will let cook know of
your future requirements for eating and see if we can rustle up some black
pudding for you. That, you will enjoy. Remember that we are here to help. Now
get out of here and in future, try not to fuck up.”
Mathew backed out with little bows and after the door had closed, Chris
chuckled before commenting.
“Well done my love. You handled that really well. I am proud of you and I think
that Mathew may be a little in love with you.”
She smiled at him lovingly. “There is only one man for me, Big Boy and guess
what. It’s bedtime.”
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Chris jumped up and kissed her tenderly before taking her by the hand and
heading upstairs.
Louise was far from happy. She was in her third trimester now and she had only
been pregnant a little under three weeks. The speed her skin was having to
stretch, to accommodate the rapidly growing bulge in her belly, was causing her
agony. She was sick of eating five or six large meals a day and gulping down
large numbers of odourless garlic pills was a pain. All in all, things were not
going that well. Her problem was in having believed the Prince of Liars but he
was so glib and believable. Her other problem was that she was starting to feel
the effects of the vampire bite that she had received, she was feeling feverish and
her joints ached. The garlic capsules helped a little but they were starting to make
her feel nauseous. Also she was getting a bit averse to sunlight now. It was
probably good that the Devil was only popping in for a few minutes here and
there and seemed distracted when he was home, otherwise he might have found
out about her being bitten by a vampire. Sonya had dropped in a couple of times
over the last few days but other than that, she was on her own. She was starting
to feel a little afraid of the whole affair.
Detective Mike was finishing off his bottle of Scotch. Something was going on
with some of the ranking police officers and city officials that he had kept an eye
on for the last few weeks. Most of them were off work on sick leave. All at the
same time; that was suspicious. The big job was going down in two days and his
finely tuned detective intuition told him he should be worrying but the Scotch
told him not to bother. He sighed and refilled his glass.
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Chapter 21.
In the Brotherhood safe house, the excitement levels were building as the time
for the raid on Fleeting Image neared. The Brotherhood observers posted near
‘The Mausoleum’ had reported decreased numbers of young people entering the
club and that quite a few of the people now attending the place were repeat
visitors. The assumption was that all the susceptible young people had been
infected and the next wave of infections would be when the present victims
craved human blood. According to the texts that Chris had consulted, this would
start in anywhere from one to two weeks. It was a very worrying time. Detective
Mike was visiting The Brotherhood safe house for a final planning session.
Before it got under way, he conveyed his fears to the group around the table.
“Listen everyone, I believe this is important. You know the people holding
power in the city, the ones that have previously been bribed with the tapes made
of licentious and degenerate behaviour at ‘Satans’, they’re away from their
offices on sick leave. I believe they have also been infected. If so, we are going to
be in deep shit pretty soon.”
“Thanks for that Mike but we can’t dwell on all these other problems at the
moment,” Chris said apologetically. “We have to get ourselves really focused on
the job tomorrow night. Now, let’s go over the plan one more time then adjourn
to rest and get our equipment ready. Detective Mike, you first please.”
Detective Mike looked around the group. These were the nicest bunch of people
you could ever meet and he loved them all, although he still had secret fears
about Ruth. Trouble was, they were all so young. All his life he had done most of
his thinking and planning for himself and now he was having difficulty with
going along with taking orders but shit, he had seen the ruination of the two
bodies in the motel and the menace they were fighting had to be stopped.
“Okay, we arrive at four o’clock in the morning and park at the side of the
building away from the main road. I check that the coast is clear and Mary uses
the keys to open the front door. We all go in and lock it behind us in case of
security checks. The four of you go up to the fourteenth floor by elevator and I
wait downstairs, hidden in a doorway, to protect the rear. I keep my copy of the
key handy in case we have to leave in a hurry.”
“Excellent Mike, thank you. Steve?”
“I am Mary’s bodyguard making sure that her back is covered while she does her
magic with alarms and locks and stuff. I am also carrying a pack with incendiary
bombs for you to set when we get to the computers on the fifteenth floor.”
“Mary?”
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“I do locks and alarms. From the information which we have, the floors above
fourteen have been locked down recently. Alarms have apparently been fitted to
the stairwell doors and the lift. We have decided to lock one of the lifts with the
doors open and access the fifteenth floor through the roof of the lift. I am then to
neutralise the alarm on the fifteenth floor lift well doors and open them. Any
locked office doors will be picked by me. Once we have access, Steve hands over
the pack of goodies and he and I return to wait at the lift doors on the fifteenth
floor.”
Chris sat back and smiled. “Right on the money Mary. Perfect. Now, Ruth my
love. What do you do?”
“I follow everyone and carry a pack of explosives. It is my job to guard Chris’
back while he sets all the charges. We are using timers which are linked
electronically. When the first one goes off, it will set the rest off. If there is
electronic interference, then each charge will explode on its own timer. Hopefully
failsafe. After the timers are set, we retrace our steps and get out of there before
the fireworks begin. With any luck, we will leave no trace of our presence.”
“Thank you Ruth. My job is to carry a pack of explosives and set the charges
where ever necessary after identifying the main computer. Roberto’s memory
will help with the first and my memory with the second. Remember I used to
work in that place once. Okay, I suggest we get ourselves a little rest and check
the equipment for a final time then meet back here about eleven thirty tomorrow
night for supper. Yes Mike.”
Mike studied his finger nails, “Is there going to be any demon shit going down?
You know, weird stuff.”
“Can’t say Mike, why?”
“Will guns be any use?”
“Depends what happens. If a demon appears, it would be better to let Ruth or I
handle it. If one is coming upstairs, use the walkie-talkie to let us know it’s
coming. If you have to shoot, aim between the eyes. That will slow it down for a
couple of seconds. Remember that demons are incredibly fast and you might
miss. It is better to hide than to take one on. Remember also, a demon form
cannot kill you unless you show aggression but its human form can. That goes
for all of you. Guns are what you use when you have run out of other weapons,
okay! We will be carrying water cannons.”
There was a general chorus of assent and then the group broke up to go their
separate ways. They would be rolling in less than thirty six hours.
Eleven thirty the following night, they all met again in the boardroom. A supper
had been laid out for them and they sat down to enjoy what could possibly be
their last meal together. All of them were nervous to some degree except for
Chris, who had the advantage of Roberto’s memories and knew that action was
necessary and whatever happened would happen. If they failed tonight, a new
chapter would begin in humankind’s never ending fight against evil. One that
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might not be won this time around. This was a nexus point in the centuries old
struggle, the one that God used to see if his little experiment would be
successfull or not. If not, God had plenty of time to set up another one using a
different approach. If humans could not become good, there was no real point in
continuing with the present model. Chris shrugged to himself. It wouldn’t hurt
to ask for help though. After everyone had finished eating and the remains of the
repast had been cleared away, he turned to Steve.
“I think we should all pray to God and ask for his assistance. Steve, would you
be so kind as to say a prayer for us all.”
Steve looked very solemn as he bowed his head and began.
“Dear Lord. Your ways are mysterious but your path is laid out. We believe in
your goodness and mercy and ask that you help protect us in the fight against
the enemy of mankind, your creation. Some among us have come into your fold
only recently but we are devout and honest in our love for you. We all fight in
your service and hope you will care for us in these dark times. Amen.”
While the prayer was being recited they all stood around with bowed heads
except for Detective Mike. He really didn’t cotton to all this religious stuff, a man
did what a man did and religion was for those who didn’t have the strength to
act for themselves. Still, he was impressed with the sincerity of the people
around him.
The next hour or so was spent checking and rechecking equipment, polishing up
the razor sharp swords that some of them carried and taping up anything that
might jingle and make noise. This was going to be a silent operation.
At three thirty in the morning they filed out to the Nissan Skyline Special, loaded
their gear into the boot and headed out. They arrived at Fleeting Image about ten
to the hour and parked around the darkened side of the building away from the
main road. Getting out, they unloaded their gear while Mary and Mike went to
the front door. Mike gave them a signal when the front door was open and they
quickly filed around to the front and entered the foyer area. Mike took up his
station in a darkened doorway while Steve and Mary went to the lifts and Mary
used the second key to bring a lift down to the ground floor. Chris and Ruth ran
quietly over and got into the lift followed by Mary and last of all, Steve, who
gave Mike a little wave.
The lift headed up and stopped at the fourteenth floor. The doors opened
smoothly and quietly. Mary took a telescoping rod out of her pack and extended
it to fit the width of the lift doors. Placing the rod just above floor level she
twisted it to lock the lift doors open.
This was the hard bit. She signalled Steve who cupped his hands in front of him
to provide a step and Mary climbed up to sit on his shoulders. She then tested
various roof panels in the lift until one swung open. Using Steve as a ladder she
climbed onto the top of the lift and waited until Steve had been assisted up there
also. Up above them they could see the back of the doors which opened onto the
fifteenth floor and in a very short space of time they were balanced behind them.
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In her time, Mary had been a very successfull thief and now she used that ability
to scan for alarms on the doors in front of her. It took a little while for her to
locate it and the tension was beginning to be felt below but the consensus had
been for quiet and this was observed. Mary removed a length of electrical cable,
with alligator clips on each end, from her pack and used it to bridge the circuit of
the alarm. It was relatively simple then to lift the lock on the doors and wind
them open manually. They didn’t hear any alarms and breathed a sigh of relief as
Mary fitted a telescoping rod in these doors also. Ruth and Chris were quick to
join them and then Chris led Ruth and Mary down the corridor to the main
computer room. So far the operation had been silent. One thing that could not be
denied about the Brotherhood was that it had access to excellent equipment.
Chris stopped at a doorway and checked it, locked. He signalled to Mary who
moved up and took her lockpicks out then started on the lock. Meanwhile, on a
signal from Chris, Ruth went off checking and opening the doors that she could,
right around the floor. With a quiet snick, the door that Mary was working on
opened and she withdrew to go wait with Steve at the elevator. Chris smiled
happily and entered the room, taking his pack off his back as he went toward the
big computer. Ruth enlisted Mary’s aid in opening a few more doors that were
found to be locked then, after seeing Mary safely back with Steve, she took his
pack and rejoined Chris who was laying charges. They visited every locked room
first then circulated through the others, scattering incendiary bombs freely
throughout. The charges were armed. Five minutes to leave the building. Go.
Quickly retracing their steps they lifted the lock rod and shut the outer lift doors
of the fifteenth floor. Removing the alarm deactivator they then dropped quietly
through the roof of the elevator below. The clock was ticking. While Mary
removed the rod holding the doors open, Ruth, on Chris’ shoulders, shut the
trapdoor in the roof of the lift. Mary pressed the button for the ground floor and
the lift started to descend.
Meanwhile.
The Devil had just returned from a sightseeing trip to Iraq. He really loved the
job his minions there were doing. It didn’t matter what faith you were, there was
only one God and one Devil in the world and the Devil was enjoying that
particular conflict. He particularly loved car bombs, all those innocent victims, a
real slap in the face for God. It was so satisfying.
He materialized in the new house which he had bought for Louise and wandered
into the bedroom to find Louise lying on the bed groaning. She was propped up
with lots of pillows trying to get comfortable. Her stomach was quite distended
and her skin was blotchy red in patches. She looked awfull. He tried the cheery
approach.
“How are you my dear? Coping alright?”
She looked up in surprise, her eyes dark rimmed and haunted.
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“You bastard,” she screamed at him. “You never told me it was going to be like
this. I am in agony. Where have you been? You are never around to help
anymore. Look at my stomach you shit, I feel like I am going to die. How dare
you just go off and leave me!”
Now, being the Devil, the most evil thing in the world, means you only have one
Boss to answer to. Louise was not that boss and she was pissing the Devil off in a
big way. He knew she wasn’t going to die, so........
“I just dropped by to check on you my dear and now I have to go to the office on
urgent business. I will come back later when you are not quite so emotional.”
With that he translated to the sixteenth floor of Fleeting Image. It was his
favourite sanctum, a place he could come to relax and enjoy his little triumphs.
Sitting quietly at his desk with a good Scotch, he looked over to the window
where he could survey some of the city beneath. This was where his little
computer game would soon unleash the most subtle, soul capturing trick that
humanity had ever seen. It was going to be his trump card. He got up and
poured another large Scotch then walked over to the window to gloat.
After a couple of minutes gazing out, he happened to look down and caught a
flicker of movement in the foyer. What was this? Placing the Scotch down, he
went to investigate.
Detective Mike was bored. Nothing was going to happen here, it was four
twenty in the morning and the streets were deserted. He was stiff from standing
and needed to walk a little to help the muscles in his legs. He had just turned
around after walking across the foyer when bang in front of him was a little girl
clutching a doll. Before he realised, he whipped his gun out and if it wasn’t for
the fact he had to lower the muzzle to target, he would have popped a cap into
the little girl.
“Er, hello little girl. What are you doing here?”
The little girl stared at him with big round eyes.
He tried again. “Where are your Mummy and Daddy?” he asked, puzzled.
The little girl spoke in a little girl’s voice. “Hello Detective Mike, what are you
doing here? Shall we play a game?”
Mike was gobsmacked, this was not right. It shouldn’t be happening but he was
compelled. “Okay little girl, what game is that?”
“A guessing game. I get to go first. Let’s see. Why did you become a policeman? I
know, back in college your girlfriend, who you really loved, was shot dead in a
bungled hold-up. You became a policeman when you came back from Vietnam
so you could get revenge on criminals. Am I right?”
Mike was taken aback. “What the fuck!”
“Am I correct?” the girl asked.
“Yes!” Mike exploded.
“Goody, it’s my turn again. How did you get revenge I wonder? I know, you
killed criminals ‘resisting arrest’ or ‘running away’ before they even went to trial.
Guess what? Some of them were innocent. Am I right?”
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Mike could not understand this, merely nodding his head in his slightly dazed
state.
The little girl put her head on one side and looked at him. “What are you doing
here though?” Suddenly there was a roar and Mike found himself looking at the
Devil in all his Glory. Wings unfurled, tall and so ugly it hurt to look.
“THE GAME? YOU DARE? A TEAM?”
That was the last thing Detective Mike heard before he went to hell. Two swipes
from the Devil’s huge, razor sharp talons and Mike fell onto the floor in ten, very
messy, very separate pieces. The Devil disappeared just before the lift doors
opened and disgorged Chris and Ruth, Steve and Mary who rushed up to the
just recognisable remains of Detective Mike. They stood there staring for a
second in horror at their friend’s remains. Tears welled in Mary’s eyes.
“We have to leave NOW!” Chris yelled, galvanising them into action.
The Devil arrived on the fifteenth floor and walked into the main computer room
just as the charges went off. It would take him several minutes to reassemble
himself. Downstairs, the four friends heard the loud explosion as the charges
went off simultaneously and felt the building shudder just as they were opening
the front door. Mary was hauled back into the building by Chris just in time to
avoid being hit by the shards of glass and debris that were raining out of the sky
in huge quantities. The flash of the incendiary bombs had lit the night sky,
blowing every window out of the fifteenth floor and all around, apart from the
sound of impacting debris, the night lay in stunned silence.
“Well, I guess that did the trick,” Steve giggled with nervous laughter. “Now it’s
time we exit, stage right.”
They fled the scene and drove away from the building with their lights off for
quite a while before turning around and heading for Detective Mike’s place by
the backstreets. There were a few things to pick up there like the blackmail tapes.
With Mike gone, someone would have to try and keep the city officials in line.
Half an hour later they left Mike’s and headed for home. Mary couldn’t help
sobbing in the back seat as she recalled the mess that was Mike. Steve, an arm
around her shoulders, consoled her as best he could.
Mission accomplished.
The Devil was really, really pissed off. If it wasn’t for the RULES, he would have
gone on a killing spree but he had been playing this game with God so long that
he had become philosophical about it all. It had taken him a while to assemble all
his bits and pieces together after the blast, change into evening wear and pour
himself a stiff drink. The only puzzle for him was just who the other players had
been. He had caught a glimpse from Detective Mike’s mind, just before he was
dismembered but it was not detailed enough to identify them. He really
shouldn’t have let his temper rule him but he was so pissed off with Louise that
the discovery of the plot against Fleeting Image had just driven him over the
edge and caused him to snap.
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“Tyrus is not going to be happy after all his hard work,” the Devil reflected. “I
had better bring him over here and have a talk with him.”
He went back upstairs, retrieved his drink, sat back in his comfortable chair and
pondered his next moves.
Tyrus, at that moment, was thoroughly enjoying himself being very demonic. All
the vampires that had come into the country on the plane were his children and
they adored him, they would do anything for him, for which Tyrus was very
gratefull. Although most of the female vampires were slim, he preferred the
ample ones and currently he was entertaining himself with three of them. They
were great, he could damage them and they never complained, just went away
and healed up ready for the next time he felt in the mood. Out of all of them, he
liked Lucinda, his eldest, the best. Pity she was over at ‘Satans’ working. To hell
with all this work, work, work. A demon should have time to do the things that
demon’s liked to do. He was just at the point of entering his third female
vampire when the Devil located him and took him.
Tyrus sprawled on the floor at the Devil’s feet, his huge demon erection jutting
painfully from his body.
“Very impressive Tyrus but I have something to show you,” the Devil drawled.
Clothes appeared on the back of a chair and Tyrus changed to human form and
proceeded to get dressed.
“Aw Dad, I was really having fun for once. What could be so important that you
tore me away?”
“Follow me,” was all the Devil said and headed out the door. Tyrus was close
behind pulling on a tee shirt as he followed the Devil, who took the stairs down
to the next floor.
When they managed to pull the door to the fifteenth floor open, Tyrus stepped in
wordlessly. The place looked like a bomb had hit it, which it had. His face
became darker and darker as he surveyed the damage. The fire system sprinklers
were on and a strong breeze was blowing through the floor, taking the last of the
smoke and steam out. None of the computers or any of the systems were left
intact. Plastic and small bits of burnt computer innards littered the floor, floating
in the puddles of dirty water. The place smelt of burning, something he normally
enjoyed. Tyrus stood in the middle of the floor and howled his fury, flickering in
and out of Demon form as he did, his clothes burning off his back.
“Wait until I find the people responsible for this. By the time I am finished with
them they will beg to go to Hell for a brief respite from me.”
The Devil by now was calm. “Son, all this is only a game. Just like chess only
played on a larger scale. We lost a piece or two but we haven’t lost the game yet.
God is a cheat. He didn’t give me as much power as he has. Come upstairs and
have a drink with me, I have a few things to tell you. We can leave before the
police and firemen arrive.”
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They trooped back upstairs and the Devil brought in more clothes and poured
Tyrus a large Scotch and after handing it to him, sat back in his comfortable chair
again.
“I am guilty of not telling you enough about us over the years and leaving you to
make your own way in the world. However, what I am about to tell you will
increase your understanding of how things work between God and the Devil. I
am not the original Devil, that was my Grandfather. When a Devil retires, the
eldest son is given the power to be the next Devil. I am seriously thinking of
retiring which will make you the next Devil. My current batch of children would
all serve you. Just as they do me at the moment.”
Tyrus sat back, a huge smile on his face, thinking of the power and the glory
associated with the position.
The Devil continued. “When God made humans, he was hoping for
companionship but he forgot to imbue them with enough intelligence. HE
decided that they would become smarter if he left them to make their own way
in the world. As he only wanted goody goodies, a Devil was created to influence
those which could be corrupted and to take their souls, so as not to pollute
Heaven. However, a lot more souls than He expected became evil, due to the
excellent work of my Grandfather. So, HE made up RULES by which to play. See
where this is going? We didn’t have a say in those RULES, so they are rather one
sided. That is why we have to be smart, cunning, devious and downright
dishonest. Even within the RULES, it is just possible for us to win but we have to
play it cool, calm and collected and always remember, it is just a job.”
Tyrus was really intrigued with what the Devil was saying. His Dad had never
talked to him like this before and what he was hearing gave him pause for
thought. Maybe there was room for change in his own behaviour.
“Not much Tyrus,” the Devil said, reading his thoughts. “Each new Devil puts
his own stamp on the way things get done. If you do become the Devil, all I
advise is controlling your temper. Anyway, you have to have a job interview
with God first, to see if you are acceptable to him.”
Off in the distance sirens could be heard. Getting closer. The Devil looked up
then carried on talking to Tyrus.
“HE always has the advantage but we are catching up. We haven’t finished with
that game idea yet and once the new batch of vampires comes into their thirst,
this city will become chaotic and a great source of evil for us. It will run on its
own and we can go somewhere else, maybe Europe for a change. I am thinking
of pulling out from here in a couple of weeks from now. After Louise has
delivered your sister. We could all, and that means any of your vampire children
that wish to leave, do with a holiday in the South of France for a while. Right
now, we have to get out of here before the police arrive, so we can be suprised
when we are informed about the damage later. I am going to ‘Satans’ for now.
Do you want to be returned to where I pulled you from?”
“Yeah, wouldn’t mind Sire, I was having fun.”
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“Very well.” Tyrus disappeared and the Devil closed his eyes for a second before
smiling. That boy of his was a chip off the old block. Shame about his temper
though. It was the one thing that had to be controlled by Tyrus if he ever wanted
to rise above being a lackey in the future. Then the Devil had an idea. Tyrus
needed to learn to take more responsibility. What better way than to put him in
charge of famine relief. The hired cargo plane was due back from its latest relief
flight tomorrow and after being loaded, it was scheduled to fly out to
Mombolani. Tyrus could accompany the planeload of food and medical supplies
as the new Distribution Head of Famine Relief. He should be able to get in with
the Royal Family of Mombolani pretty easily, another plane load or two for the
black market would take care of that and when his brother was born, it would be
simple for Tyrus to steal him and meet up with the Devil in Europe somewhere.
Knowing Tyrus, half the Royal wives would be producing little vampires not
long after he left. Then the Devil could hand over the reins to Tyrus and retire to
take life easy.
Firemen were running up the stairs so the Devil sat back, closed his eyes and
popped off to ‘Satans’.
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Chapter 22.
The scene in the foyer of the office block that housed Fleeting Image was chaotic
the next morning. People from all the different businesses in the building were
milling around trying to get to work, while police and ‘special teams’ were
cordoning off areas of the foyer around the remains of Detective Mike’s body to
preserve clues. The fifteenth floor was also cordoned off for the same reason.
Television news teams outside the building were setting up for on-the-spot news
reports and the news helicopters were circling the fifteenth floor, where every
window had been blown out. Reporters from City newspapers were
interviewing people as fast as they could, trying to get a story together for the
afternoon editions. This was big.
The Devil was annoyed, he didn’t need the exposure but this was out of his
hands and as a half owner of Fleeting Image he had to deal with all the relevant
authorities that were there to ask questions. He didn’t like it. Too much publicity
was not good for the way he operated.
“Do you think this attack is related to the supply of aid to Mombolani?” one
official had asked him in earshot of a reporter and within a very short period of
time, although the Devil had answered in the negative, it had become fact, as
other news teams picked up on it. What kept the pot bubbling was the arrival of
the aid plane, which at that very moment was being loaded for a return trip to
Mombolani. He would have to get Tyrus out with the plane tomorrow afternoon
when it left. They were too exposed. Damn the Brotherhood.
In the early afternoon, the four friends, rested and cleaned up, met in Roberto’s
office at The Brotherhood safe house to debrief and make plans. They were all
saddened by the death of Detective Mike who they had loved and respected. It
was Steve who summed it up for them.
“He would have wanted to die while he was doing his job rather than becoming
old and feeble. I think we should pray together and say a few words to God on
his behalf. It will do us no good to dwell on this as we have other work to do. We
can remember him in our hearts as a brave and true friend then we must put it
behind us.”
There was a chorus of assents from around the table and Steve bowed his head
and led them in prayer. Just as they finished, there was a knock on the door and
Mathew entered to ask if they required coffee. As he came into the room, Mary’s
head shot up and she stared at him levelly. Steve also focused on Mathew with
an intense gaze.
“How do you feel?” Mary asked, aware of Steve’s interest also.
“A bit strange,” Mathew replied, obviously puzzled. “Why?”
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“Because you have evil within you,” she answered flatly.
Mathew looked worried. “Well, I have been getting these urges to drink blood
and my dreams are really weird. Lots of naked bodies and stuff....” His voice
trailed off in embarrassment.
Chris studied Mathew. “Fight it and pray. If you cannot, you will be lost to evil.
Ask the cook to prepare you some black sausage, it’s made from blood. That may
help a little and yes, we would like some coffee please.”
Mathew withdrew.
Chris surveyed the group around him and sat back in his chair, picked up the
remote for the television and turned it on. After a short channel search he found
one reporting on the devastation at the Fleeting Image building. The pictures had
been taken from a helicopter flying around the building and the voice-over was
just at the point of discussing apparent motives.
“It is believed that terrorists were responsible for the attack, in the early hours of
this morning, which wiped out an entire floor of the Fleeting Image Advertising
Agency’s offices. One of the owners of the company is a well known
philanthropist who has recently supplied aid to the African country of
Mombolani. It is believed enemies of that country may have perpetrated this
outrage. I am Naomi Clark, reporting for Channel Ten, now, back to the studio.”
Chris smiled and switched off the television set. “Well, it seems as if we are
international terrorists now.” He looked at the others. “We have a lot more to do
before this city is safe. There is the problem of the vampires. Any suggestions?”
Ruth eased back in her seat. “We all know that they have to die. There is no other
way to stop them. Only beheading or burning will work and we need to move
quickly.”
Mary looked concerned and addressed a question to all of them. “What about the
ones that have been infected in the last couple of weeks. We can’t kill all of them.
There could be anywhere from a hundred and fifty to two hundred of them.”
“We may have to if no other solution presents itself, although I never saw myself
as a butcher.” Chris looked downcast as he spoke. He may have Roberto’s
memories but this wasn’t right.
“Tomorrow.” Steve suggested. “They won’t be expecting another attack so soon
and we will have the advantage of surprise.” There was a general murmur of
agreement around the table and they started to discuss possible plans and
avenues of attack. Mathew returned with the coffee and Chris, Ruth, Steve and
Mary settled into what was to become a long planning session.
In the wake of the mystery disease outbreak that had occurred, hospitals were
now getting people turning up with bite wounds and no memory of how they
got them. Some of these people were suffering from blood loss also. Beneath the
jokes, people were getting worried and questions were being asked about the
relationship of the new disease to the terrorist attack on Fleeting Image. A couple
of black vans had arrived in the City over the last few days and large, burly men
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in dark suits had been out and about flashing badges and asking questions.
When one of them turned up with bite marks, blood loss and no memory of the
event, fear started to creep into the people closest to the problem. Armed police
guards were stationed on every floor of the hospitals and in medical centres.
Meanwhile, in ‘Satans’ and ‘The Mausoleum’ there was a feeling of
accomplishment as the ranks of the vampires started to swell in the evenings as
the newly changed came to the clubs. Vampires were feeding now, doing what
came naturally and blood was their food. Not a few of the homeless in the City
had disappeared from the streets, eventually finding their way into the river as
drained corpses. The vampire ranks were swelling. Soon there would be enough
of them to split up and head throughout the land to infect it all. Soon, the whole
country would be in thrall to vampires and their ilk.
Louise was doing it hard. She had another three to four days to go but was in
difficulties now. The skin over her abdomen was being stretched too quickly and
every day was painfull for her, she could hardly move. On top of that, the garlic
pills were not working anymore and she had a strong desire to drink blood.
Damn Dragovich. The Devil was being a bastard and had not been that
interested in her lately. She was left alone for long periods of time, broken only
by Sonya’s occasional visits. The last was two days ago. The baby turned rapidly
inside her and yet more pain flashed through Louise as she gasped for air. Why
had she ever agreed to have the Devil’s child?
Later that evening on the sixteenth floor of Fleeting Image, the Devil’s eldest
child, Tyrus, was sitting with his sire discussing their plans for the future.
“So,” the Devil said, leaning back in his chair with a cigar and a Scotch, “you will
be leaving tomorrow afternoon on the plane for Mombolani. I will come to the
airport to see you off and we will meet again at our Chateau in the South of
France in nine months. If you need me in the interim, just think of me and I will
turn up to assist you.”
“I am hoping that will not be necessary Sire. I should be able to handle this
assignment without any problems and am looking forward to it.” Tyrus grinned
evilly. “A Muslim brother. That’s an interesting twist.”
“Yes, I thought so too. As it is your last night in this country, is there anything
you would especially like to do?” The Devil’s eyebrows rose in query.
Tyrus considered for a moment. “Yes, spend it with Lucinda and Sonya. Those
two will be enough for me tonight I think.”
The Devil nodded thoughtfully. “It shall be so and I think I will spend a night of
evil fornication at ‘The Mausoleum’. It has been a long time since I have sampled
the delights of fucking vampire girls. They do like their Grandfather you know.”
He gave Tyrus a wink before they both vanished.
The next morning, at The Brotherhood safe house, the four friends met again to
finalise their plan. After much discussion, it had been decided that Ruth would
go to ‘Satans’ with Steve and that Chris would go to ‘The Mausoleum’ with
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Mary. The lovers didn’t really want to be separated but Ruth had the most
experience with demons and so was the logical choice for ‘Satans’. Steve was
going as Ruth’s backup because Chris was the logical choice to lead the raid on
‘The Mausoleum’ and he would take Mary as his partner. The raids had to be
staged simultaneously; otherwise one of the groups could be warned in advance
of an attack. They had thought about the timing of the raids carefully and
decided to go early, at eight o’clock, so as to avoid lots of the newly infected
people who may be there after opening time. Chris picked up the sword that had
been Roberto’s and drew the daito blade from its sheath to give it a final polish.
The shinier it was, the easier it cut. As the blade came free from the sheath, it
slipped and he caught it reflexively and in doing so received a nasty cut to his
hand which started bleeding profusely. Mary jumped to her feet and opening the
door, stuck her head out and yelled to Mathew.
“Bring the first aid kit please Mathew. Quickly.”
Mathew turned up seconds later and quickly mopped up the blood with a couple
of swabs and applied a light pressure bandage to reduce further bleeding. Ruth
looked on amused as Mathew cleaned up the mess and left the room.
“Why are you so amused by this Ruth?” Steve enquired, a little shaken by Ruth’s
apparent unconcern. In answer, she pointed towards Chris, who was taking off
the bandage.
“No Chris, leave it on.” Mary expostulated.
Chris merely smiled and held up his hand. There was no cut. It had healed
already. There was not even a scar.
Just then there was a wailing cry followed by a loud thud from the corridor on
the other side of the door. The four of them ran out to find Mathew writhing on
the floor about ten paces from the door. He appeared to be in agony and had
blood on his lips. Mary placed a hand on his forehead.
“He is burning up. What is happening?”
Chris looked Mathew over and noticed something in his right hand. Bloody
swabs, the same swabs that moments before had been used to wipe up Chris’
blood from the sword cut. “Bring him into the office. We need privacy.” To the
other members of The Brotherhood that had come running in response to the cry,
he said. “It is alright, everything is under control. Go back to your work. We will
take care of this. Thank you.”
They picked up Mathew and took him into the office, closing the door behind
them. Chris immediately changed to his other form and placed one of his silver
scaled hands on Mathew’s forehead while with the other he examined Mathew’s
lips. A look of wonderment passed over his face and he glanced at each of them
in turn.
“Unbelievable. God does work in mysterious ways.”
“What? Will he be all right? Tell us.” They all chorused. Mathew had stopped
groaning and the colour was returning to his cheeks. In fact he looked better than
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he had for the past fortnight. Chris changed back to his normal form. Mathew’s
eyes opened and he looked very relieved.
“Do you want to tell them or shall I?” Chris queried with a smile.
“I will, I am still Brotherhood.” He considered the faces looking down at him
before continuing. “When I left the office with the bloody swabs, I could not
control the urge for blood that rose within me. I must confess that I sucked on the
bloody swabs.”
Here, Chris took over the story. “In his haste he bit his own lip with his newly
sharp teeth. I guess some of my blood entered his circulatory system directly.”
Looking down at Mathew he chuckled. “Tell them how you feel.”
“Great. Never felt better. The desire for blood has gone, I don’t feel sick anymore
and my chronic sinus problem seems to have gone also.” Mathew sat up. “Can I
go now? I have other work to do.”
“Yes Mathew, you may go but what has happened here has to remain our secret.
Okay? Now get out of here and try to stay out of trouble.”
After Mathew had gone, Chris beamed at the group. “You know what this
means? My blood can be used to cure infected vampires. A very small amount
injected intravenously will affect a cure. We don’t have to kill all those people
that have been infected. All we have to do is take out the ones who have been
born vampires. Tonight.”
After a long night of fornication, the Devil was feeling much better and a lot less
tense than he had been. So in the morning he ducked over to the new house to
check on Louise. Big mistake; she was writhing around in agony and her
stomach was grotesquely distended. Between gasps and grunts of pain she
abused the Devil mightily for what he had done to her, conveniently forgetting it
was her own lust for power that had contributed to the state of affairs she was in.
The Devil was putting his eldest son on a plane that afternoon and was in no
mood to put up with the abuse that Louise was handing out, so he left. Not long
after he left, Louise was wracked with even greater spasms of pain and the baby
started moving in earnest. Louise could do no more than lay back and look at her
rotund belly which was stretching even more. It appeared as though a tiny hand
was pushing upward, the fingers almost individually discernable through her
skin. Another tiny hand joined the first and the agony was excruciating now.
Then before Louise’s unbelieving, pain-filled vision, the skin on her belly
ruptured and that tiny hand pushed through. By now she was screaming almost
non stop and flickering in and out of consciousness. The first tiny hand was
closely followed by a second tiny hand pushing through the hole in her abdomen
then both hands gripped the edges of the wound and stretched it. The baby
popped up as the skin over her belly tore and blood started pumping from
arteries, spurting over the surrounding furniture and light colored carpet. The
last thing Louise saw in this life was her first child. Ugly as sin, with malevolent
eyes and its brand new mouth full of sharp fangs. Long claws were at the ends of
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its fingers and as it turned away to gaze around, she saw two nobbles of flesh on
its back. Her eyes closed for the last time and her lifeless head fell back as the
little child started lapping Louise’s blood from the open wound in her abdomen.
Her body had now became a food source for the little one as it progressed from
lapping blood to flesh eating over the next hour or so.
Tyrus showed one of his passports to the Immigration official and had it
stamped with an exit visa. The Devil already had clearance to be out on the
tarmac with his plane. They walked to the now fully loaded aircraft together,
looking like any father and son, chatting amicably before its departure. Tyrus
made his way on board and the stairway was removed prior to the door
shutting. The engines revved up and the plane turned around and headed off
down the runway with ever increasing speed until with a lurch, it grabbed sky
and became airborne. As the plane became a smaller and smaller dot in the sky,
the Devil gave a final wave then headed off. If he was pulling out of the City
soon, he would need to have a chat to the Covens but first, Fleeting Image still
required his attention. He would visit the vampires later, after they had slept
throughout the day, as was their habit.
At seven thirty that evening outside The Brotherhood safe house, two cars were
waiting to take Chris and Mary and Ruth and Steve to their appointment with
destiny. Both men were equipped with their daito swords and Mary had her
shoto sword. Ruth was unarmed, preferring her natural abilities, learned when
she was a demon. They didn’t take water cannons, as holy water was not an
effective weapon against vampires. After fond farewells, they climbed into their
respective vehicles for the trip downtown. As he entered the car behind Ruth,
Steve pulled the hood of his track top up over his head to hide the handle of the
sword strapped to his back. The element of surprise could be important shortly.
He smiled at Ruth as he got into the back of the car with her.
“Who would have thought you and I would be going to fight evil together,” he
chuckled.
She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, who would have thought.”
Lucinda was at ‘Satans’ with the other Coven masters and Sonya and the Devil.
They were discussing plans for the spread of vampirism throughout the country.
She had enjoyed last night’s fornication with her father, Tyrus, but something
was not quite right. Why had he left? Oh, she had heard all the reasons that they
gave but still, after the bombing of Fleeting Image she was becoming a little
insecure. One must never forget that the Devil and his demons lie. Her Coven
was important to her. She was the eldest vampire and her Coven was her life.
She had to go and see them and warn them about the state of affairs. Without
further ado and telling no one, she drifted off and quietly slipped out of ‘Satans’
by the back door, heading off across town on foot to ‘The Mausoleum’. Not five
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minutes after she had left ‘Satans’, a Brotherhood car pulled up outside the back
door at one minute to eight. At exactly the same time, the other Brotherhood car
pulled up outside of ‘The Mausoleum’. Chris and Ruth got out and headed for
the front doors which were still locked, while their car and driver parked across
the street to wait for them. Mary took out her lock picks and within minutes they
were inside. The lighting was dim but sounds of discordant music could be
heard coming from the club area through the foyer. They both drew their
swords, holding them down low as they advanced. The first attack came as they
opened the swinging doors to the club proper. A male vampire sprang from the
side at Chris. There was a flicker of reflected light off the barely visible sword
blade and Mary gasped as the body fell one way and the head the other, blood
gouting from the severed neck. Chris grimaced with distaste and set his jaw
firmly. Down the stairs they went, side by side, while before them about twenty
vampires formed a semi circle, laughing and joking.
“Lucky shot. Need a girl to do your fighting. You a ninja, dummy. She can do a
head job on me anytime.” The vampires were confident of their abilities.
Chris said nothing, merely motioned Mary to fall into position behind him to
watch his back. He halted and stood there silently, waiting. He didn’t have long
to wait as half a dozen vampires charged him simultaneously, some waved
wicked looking knives. Chris changed on the move and Mary lost track of him,
he was moving too quickly in the dim light for her to follow with her eyes. It was
like trying to follow moving mist. He was back where he started, in the same
pose, in human form, before the first body had hit the ground. As it hit, the head
rolled off, as did all the others. Blood fountained out of the corpses, their clothes
were splattered. Mary was amazed and horrified at the same time. She knew
these were vampires but still hated to see things killed.
“Be carefull,” Steve whispered to her. “I won’t be able to guard you for a
moment.” Then he changed again and began the dance of death. Almost too fast
and fluid to see, the wonderfull, silver servant of God swept through the room,
carrying out beheadings faster than Mary could count. It beggared belief, even
though she had seen him in action before. When it was finished, he stood, an
alien silver creature, with his head bowed, praying for forgiveness. While he was
doing so, a crypt door flew open and a vampire with a huge knife launched
himself at Chris. Without thinking, Mary turned, went down on one knee and
drove her sword two-handed into its abdomen, right to the hilt. She was thrown
over backwards with the momentum of the attack but had slowed the vampire
enough for Chris to spin around and decapitate it.
“You all right Mary?” he asked as he pushed the headless body off her and
pulled her to her feet.
“Yeah, I’ll live. I just need my sword,” she said as she tugged her shoto out of the
vampires body, trying not to look where the head had been. “We better check to
see if any more of these hidey holes contain vampires. Just in case.”
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Chris nodded and they checked every crypt, finding two more vampires which
were dispatched quickly. They then swept through the whole club but found
nothing more.
“That’s us. I wonder how Ruth and Steve are doing.” Chris said to Mary as they
exited ‘The Mausoleum’ and headed quickly toward their car, glancing around in
case they were seen in their bloodied state.
When Ruth and Steve exited their car at the back of ‘Satans’, Ruth had walked
over to the door and just flickering into her other, silvery form, gave it a hard
shove. It opened explosively, tearing part of the door jamb with it.
“So much for surprise,” Steve giggled nervously.
Ruth motioned with her hand and they entered the club and passed through the
bedroom and office on their way in. The bedroom had been very well used
recently but there was no one in it now. As they entered the main area of the
club, they were spotted. Ruth just carried on walking, right into the centre of the
open area. Steve, with his hood up, followed along behind, keeping a wary eye
out on both sides until Ruth stopped, then he turned around and stood back to
back with her, protecting her from a rear attack. The Devil was there, as was
Sonya and the five remaining Coven leaders, Lucinda having just snuck out.
They had been sitting around a table making plans but now they stood, the
vampires fanning out around the sides. The Devil was the first to speak and he
was incredulous.
“RUTH! What? How? Nice to see you daughter, I thought you were lost.” He
stared at her for a moment then shook his head. “You are lost to me. No longer a
demon eh. Full of that damn Light. It will be a shame to kill you, I did like you.”
“You cannot kill me sire, I have no sin now. A power greater than yours is now
my master and HE has forgiven me my sins. I have entrusted my soul to GOD.”
She shouted the last word and every evil being present shivered at the sound of
that name. Only Sonya smiled.
“The Devil may not be able to hurt you but I can. There are no RULES about
demon kin fighting and you were born demon. In human form, Sonya advanced
quickly toward Ruth who stood her ground. Just before she reached the spot
where Ruth was standing, Sonya became demon and the fist she was swinging
was white hot. There was a flicker of silver as Ruth changed into her other form
and easily deflected the blow. All the creatures in the room gasped in unison at
the change in Ruth as Sonya stepped back.
“What is this,” the Devil enquired in a sneering fashion. “Tricks?”
“No tricks. This is what God did to my demon half when he forgave my sins. It is
his gift to me. Now Sonya, you have shown aggression. Defend yourself.” As she
spoke, Ruth moved forward toward Sonya, dropping into a fighting crouch and
facing the red scaled demon woman. Long diamond claws on the ends of Ruth’s
talons glittered in the available light. The battle began. So swift and so powerfull
were they that tables and chairs were sent flying like toys, some carved up into
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matchwood. Steve noticed the vampire leaders starting to fan out around the
sides of the conflict and readied himself for treachery. It was not long in coming,
as two Coven leaders launched themselves at Ruth’s back simultaneously. In one
single motion, Steve dropped his hood back, grasped the hilt of the daito and
swung. One vampire’s head shot off its neck and fell to roll along the floor. As
the other turned with a look of amazement on his face, the backswing took his
head off also. Dragovich roared at this attack on his fellow vampires and
launched himself at Steve, who could only wound the Coven leader with his first
swing. Dragovich grabbed the sword exultantly, only to stare in amazement as
his fingers fell off, cut through by the exquisite edge of the Japanese blade. Steve
recovered in that instant and swung again, this time his aim was true and
Dragovich’s head rolled. The other two Coven leaders hung back, waiting to see
the outcome of Sonya’s and Ruth’s battle. Flames, fall out from Sonya, were
starting to spring up around the club as the contestants raged against each other.
Both combatants were showing wounds; Ruth’s diamond tipped talons were
very effective, even against demon hide but Sonya was very strong. Finally
Sonya managed to get Ruth into a headlock and proceeded to strangle her. Steve
was really worried now, things weren’t going so well. What if Ruth was killed?
Just as it looked as though defeat was on the cards, Ruth backflipped right over
Sonya’s head, tearing out of the chokehold, to land behind her. Before the demon
could turn around Ruth rammed the middle digit of her right hand up beneath
the occipital bone of Sonya’s head. It was a perfect strike. The diamond tipped
finger penetrated right through the soft spot at the base of the skull and smashed
the brain stem to pulp. Sonya went rigid for a second then limply fell off Ruth’s
raised middle digit and disappeared. Ruth stood, holding up the bloody middle
digit in front of the Devil. A demon insult.
The Devil disappeared and Steve advanced toward the two remaining Coven
leaders, sword held at the ready but before he could get there, there was a flicker
of motion and two heads were parted from their shoulders by one swipe of a
diamond tipped, silver, taloned hand. Ruth changed back to human form and
stood naked before him, swaying with weariness. Steve went and found her a
chair but she refused it.
“We can’t stay here, it’s on fire. Let’s get out into the fresh air.” They retraced
their way back out of the club and Ruth paused in the bedroom to grab some
clothes. Steve was relieved, as Ruth was stupendous naked. Then back up the
stairs, Steve helping Ruth where necessary. As they got outside, Ruth paused for
an instant with her eyes closed.
When she opened them, some of the weariness had gone to be replaced with a
smile. “Chris and Mary are fine and have completed their mission. We are to
meet them at the safe house.” They signalled the driver across the road who
brought the car over. They got in and left the now burning building behind as
they headed home for a well earned rest.
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The Devil had transported himself to ‘The Mausoleum’. What he found when he
arrived there was a heap of headless bodies and Lucinda, quietly weeping on the
stairs. He was angry. Bloody GOD, cheating bastard. What had he done to Ruth?
That wasn’t in the RULES. Thinking of which, he realised that tweaking his own
DNA wasn’t really in the RULES either. Oh shit! Louise. He motioned to
Lucinda, wrapped his arms around her and transported them both to his new
house.
They arrived in the lounge room to find the body of Louise lying on the couch
with her innards pulled out onto the floor. There, a very ugly and rotund young
baby was feasting on them. Lucinda gagged but the Devil strode over and picked
up the child who squealed in delight and tried to bite the Devil’s fingers. The
Devil cuffed it gently and held it out in front of him. A little girl, good.
“Your name is Tamsyn and you are the first of a new breed of demon. Long may
you live in evil.” The baptism over, he handed the ugly little girl to Lucinda who
took it gingerly, wary of being bitten.
“Louise fucked up. It looks like she must have been bitten by a vampire while
she was pregnant. For the next year you will be its mother and I will help you
raise it. This is the future of evil. Tyrus is going to like this one. He may even
have a child with you.”
Before Lucinda could reply the Devil wrapped his arms around her and the
baby.
“This game is over but the weather in the South of France is beautifull at this
time of year. Let us away to my Chateau.”
They vanished.
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EPILOGUE.
The Devil, no longer the Devil now but plain old Mr. Dee, leaned back in the
pool-side lounger sipping on his Scotch-on-the-rocks and took in the view.
Young, well endowed women in micro bikinis, lazed around the pool waiting to
be spotted by rich older men, just like him. He was enjoying his retirement,
immensely.
Tyrus had arrived in the South of France from Mombolani a couple of years ago
with his dark skinned baby brother, Hamma, who was now fully grown. He had
found Lucinda there and a nearly fully grown sister, who had become prettier as
she had aged. Luckily. She still had the little nobbles of skin on her back though
and no one knew her full potential yet. When she had first changed to demon
form, she had even scared the Devil a bit. Hamma and Tamsyn ‘trained’ with
each other regularly. Tyrus was overjoyed to find Lucinda there waiting for him
as she was his favourite. He was still very evil but had matured so much that the
Devil decided it was time for him to retire in favour of Tyrus.
They made the necessary appointment with GOD, who was impressed enough
with Tyrus that the ceremony was held immediately and Tyrus was granted the
necessary powers to become the fourth Devil since the position was created. The
RULES were updated and Mr. Dee retired from the world scene and was given
plenty of funds for his retirement. Tyrus paid him a consultancy fee and
consulted him now and again. Between them they had figured out that Devil and
vampire matings would produce the finest demons so Tyrus, against all
expectations, had taken Lucinda as his one and only all time wife. She was now
pregnant with their second and last child for now. Normal gestation but rapid
growth. Mr. Dee’s first demon grandchild, named in memory of Sonya, was
nearly fully grown and so evil. Well, that Tyrus was a lucky fellow and he had
been doing good work. So many wars and famines, more and more people in a
world that didn’t have room for them and maybe a computer game on the way
to snare some more souls. GOD was going to need his ‘specials’.
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© Bruce C. Lee December 2005.