‘It can’t be true!’ Simon’s voice was almost a wail.
The Duke stood up and laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘Alas, it is, my son. In this my heart bleeds for you, but there is no escaping the truth. On the Astral personalities never lie. They may like or dislike one another, but they are incapable of disguising their true feelings. It is the Law, and cannot be evaded. The Prince made the situation clear to me beyond all misunderstanding. It proved very easy to trick Miranda. Within an hour of learning of our escape, he had a wax image made, cut upon it the name Pinney, performed his conjuration, then stuck a thorn into the leg of the puppet.
‘Yesterday morning, when Pinney went to have her bath, she slipped, fell heavily and broke her leg. The next move took place a few hours later. A young Frenchman, who is one of the Prince’s pilots, arrived at the Hilton. He told Miranda that you had sent him to fetch her. When asked why, he said that he had no idea; that he had received his orders through a third party, but it had been impressed upon him that you needed her urgently.
‘Naturally, Miranda was torn between two loyalties. Should she remain with the unfortunate Pinney, or respond to your appeal? As anyone could have foreseen, love won. Fearing that you were ill or in serious trouble, she agreed to be flown up here. She is in no immediate danger, and believes herself to be among friends. Silvia Sinegiest is looking after her, and she has been told that we are on our way to the fortress; that we shall be there for lunch.’
Simon groaned. ‘What … what does that fiend mean to do with her?’
‘Nothing, provided we surrender to him.’
‘And if we don’t?’
De Richleau did not reply, but looked away.
‘I know! I know!’ Simon almost screamed. ‘You don’t have to tell me. When she was trapped in that fire on her cousin’s ranch, she was only nineteen and a virgin. She’s still a virgin. They’ll use her in their unholy rites. They’ll rape and murder her. They’ll offer her up as a sacrifice at a Black Mass.’
There were tears in the Duke’s eyes as he gave a slight nod. That is what the Prince threatened unless we agree his terms. But they are not unreasonably harsh. His anxiety now is to keep secret his Black Power movement. I made it plain that, in no circumstances, would I use such powers as I have to further his plans, and he accepts that. He would, though, require all of us and, of course, Miranda, to remain up here indefinitely. We should be given one of the hutments in the settlement at Sala, and be free to enjoy such amenities as there are there.’
‘Good God, what a prospect!’ Richard burst out.
Simon turned to him. ‘It’d mean you’d never see Marie-Lou again. I couldn’t ask it of you.’
‘We might persuade him to agree to a compromise.’ the Duke suggested. ‘I’ve had a wonderful life and I cannot expect to live for many years longer. If I remained here as a hostage for you keeping your word, he might accept your oath that you would never mention what is going on here, and let you go.’
‘Greyeyes, be yourself.’ Rex cut in abruptly. ‘I’d go a long way to save Miranda, so would we all. But not that far. What is the martyrdom of one woman and ourselves when set against the appalling suffering that Black Power will inflict on the world? As long as we have the slightest chance of killing this thing, we’ve just got to keep on trying. And you know it.’
‘Ummm.’ Simon nodded. You’re right. Rex. Greyeyes made that offer without considering its implications. Not like him; but he was thinking only of me. Tell you what, though. I’ll chuck in my hand. Go on my own to the Prince. Have to … have to take a chance on what happens to Miranda and me. Pretend that I’ve been sent to try to negotiate a new deal. Keep him busy for a few hours while you three get away.’
‘No dice.’ said Rex. ‘He’s much too wily a bird to fall for that. But he might if I went, because I’m the only one of you who knows the whole set-up and it’s more important to him to keep his claws on me than all three of you together.’
‘I won’t allow that.’ De Richleau’s voice was sharp. ‘His resentment against you for having betrayed him will be far stronger than against any of us. His power is greater than mine when we are pitted against each other; but he must have many things besides ourselves to occupy his mind. If he takes it off us for even a short time I could subdue any of his lieutenants, protect you and, with luck, we might get away. So I shall go with you.’
‘I must go,’ said Simon. ‘Couldn’t clear out as long as they’ve got Miranda.’
Richard gave a little laugh. ‘That settles it then. You can’t possibly think I’m going to quit and leave the rest of you up to your necks in this?’ “One for all and all for one”, as the great Dumas put it. We’ll see this hellish business through together.’
‘If we do, it is certain that our chances will be better,’ de Richleau told them. Everyone has in him a divine spark and, united in purpose, a number of ignorant but good people can defeat a warlock who has considerable power for evil For example, powerful as he is, the Prince could not overcome the congregation of a small Christian parish church if they had faith and the will to resist him. All of us are well advanced on the path of understanding, so together, we are a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, we are not pitted against the Prince alone. He will have the support of his lieutenants: but, if the opportunity to confront them separately occurs—as I did the Baron down at the Sala—we may win through.’
Simon picked up the carving knife with which they had cut up the tinned meat, and thrust its point through the bottom of the pocket inside his jacket, then buttoned the jacket so that the knife could not be seen. Casting a gloomy glance at the others, he said, Taking no chances. If that bastard is planning to sacrifice Miranda at a Black Mass, I’ll kill her first and myself afterwards.’
‘How dare you contemplate suicide?’ de Richleau rebuked him sharply. ‘In certain circumstances one is justified in taking the life of another. When one’s country is at war, for example, or to put someone one loves out of pain. But never must one take one’s own life. The length of each of our incarnations is decreed to the split second and by no possible means can we lengthen it. As you all know, during these incarnations we are set certain lessons to learn and given certain trials to bear, so that we may increase our knowledge and fortitude. To cut short an incarnation is to turn back the page, and results in having to face an even greater affliction in the next. Few Christians realise it, but to commit suicide is the Sin against the Holy Ghost, for the Holy Ghost is our own spirit.’
For a moment there was silence, then Richard said, ‘Come on, chaps, let’s get going.’
Gathering up their few belongings, they scrambled over the rubble and out of the ruin, then crossed the intervening low scrub to the aircraft. As the Duke had felt certain, it had been outside the area of the hurricane and was just as they had left it, anchored only by two light ropes.
They had not eaten since their meagre meal the previous evening, so they opened up some more tins of meat and fruit. Then they settled in their places and, with Rex at the controls, the little ‘plane took off. A half of an hour later he brought her down on the island airstrip.
Ebolite, the wall-eyed Negro and the Babu, Kaputa, had come down from the fortress to meet them. Neither uttered any sneering remarks about their Master having forced his prisoners to return. On the contrary, they might have been two officials receiving V.I.P.s. After greeting the four friends courteously, they escorted them up the steep stairway and between the towering massive walls of stone blocks, into the modernised part of the stronghold. There the Duke, Simon and Richard were shown into the rooms they had previously occupied, and Kaputa accompanied Rex to his own quarters.
Clean clothes had been laid out for them and when they had shaved, bathed and changed. Richard and Simon joined de Richleau in his room. Less than three hours had elapsed since they had left the ruined church, so it was still only mid-morning. Simon could not contain his impatience to see Miranda and, thinking she might be in the big room at the end of the passage, he opened the door with the intention of going along there. But he found his way barred by one of the servitors, who abruptly signed to him to go back. It was a sharp reminder that, in spite of their friendly reception, they were still prisoners.
For the best part of two hours they sat in the Duke’s room, talking in a desultory fashion while endeavouring to forget their equivocal situation. At length the servitor opened the door and beckoned them to follow him. He led them to the big room and ushered them in.
Miranda was sitting there alone. As Simon came through the door, she jumped to her feet and, without a second’s hesitation, ran to him with outstretched arms. Previously, at the distance she had been from the door, she could have made him out only as a blur; but, as he moved to meet her, he saw how her eyes had changed. They were now clear, bright and shining.
For a moment he was utterly aghast, believing that the Prince had tricked them—that this was the same figment of his imagination conjured up from Hell as that which had tempted him with a drink two nights before, and that the real Miranda was still in Santiago. But, before he could check his forward movement, her arms were round him. They were warm flesh and blood, and she was crying:
‘Oh, darling! Isn’t it wonderful that you should have found this marvellous Prince and had me flown up to him? Bless you and bless him a thousand times. I can hardly believe it yet. But it’s true. He’s restored my sight.’
Her joy was so infectious, for the moment, they did not even wonder what their enemy’s object could be in having performed this miracle. Sharing her happiness, they crowded round kissing and congratulating her.
When the first excitement had subsided and they had sat down in the easy chairs, she said, ‘By now, like me you must have realised that we were all wrong about the people up here. Silvia Sinegiest explained everything to me last night. They are not Satanists at all, and they had nothing to do with the murder of Nella Nathan. It is simply that they don’t believe in Christianity, as it is taught in our churches. They hold that the Church taboos make people miserable and frustrated, whereas the Old God wanted everyone to be carefree and happy. Of course, parties like that barbecue you told me about are going a bit far. But some people like that sort of thing, and one doesn’t have to take part in it if one doesn’t want to. As Silvia said, the only commandment they have is, “Do what thou wilt is the whole of the Law”.’
De Richleau shook his head, ‘My child, you have been grievously misled. That one and only Satanist commandment, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” frees those who subscribe to it from all responsibility. In effect, it is a decree that everyone should give way to every temptation and use any means he can think of to secure for himself anything he desires without the least consideration of the unhappiness it would bring upon others. Just consider the sort of thing that would lead to. I will give you a few examples:
‘Let us say that two pretty girls are in love with the same man. One does what she wills. She slashes her rival’s face to pieces with a razor, in order to put her out of the running.
‘A young man has just become aware of the joys of sex. One night he picks up a street girl and contracts from her a venereal disease. His sex urge is not lessened by it. Instead of waiting until he is cured, he light-heartedly goes with other girls, passing the disease on to them.
‘A head of State is inordinately ambitious. Solely to make himself a greater figure in the world and with no thought for his people, he picks a quarrel with a smaller State and plunges his country into war.’
The Duke paused for a moment, then went on, ‘Surely you see, my child, how the acceptance of this terrible doctrine “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” would bring unbelievable misery on the world? No. There is only one way by which universal happiness can be achieved. That is by everyone practising the way of life urged on His followers by Jesus Christ; and that, at least, the Christian churches have continued to preach: ‘Do unto thy neighbour as thou wouldst be done by.”’
Miranda stared at him, wide-eyed with consternation at the thought that she had failed to realise the universal duplicity, fear and grief that would result if a great number of people became Satanists. She was just about to express her feelings when the Prince and Silvia came in, both carrying their familiars.
In spite of the recent conversation, Miranda had developed such a liking for Silvia, that she jumped up, ran to her and kissed her as though she was a much-loved sister. As Simon saw them embrace, he gave an inward shudder. Apart from deceiving them down at Punta Arenas, Silvia had done them no ill; but she held the high office of The Maiden’, so was steeped to her beautiful eyebrows in the Satanic faith.
Meanwhile, with his warmest smile, the Prince was saying to de Richleau:
‘My dear Duke, I am so happy that you and your friends have decided to stay on with us. When that wicked fellow Rex took you off in one of my aircraft, without even letting me know his intentions, I was really quite worried. I gather now that you only wished to see those interesting ruins at Potosi. But I am annoyed with him, very annoyed.’
There was nothing to be gained at the moment by forcing a show-down and, for Miranda’s sake, de Richleau even returned the smile. ‘I am sorry that you were concerned about us, Prince. And it was good of you to provide such a pleasant surprise for us on our return. We are naturally delighted that you should have restored Miss Van Ryn’s sight.’
The Prince shrugged. ‘It was nothing. Just a minor magic, and an expression of goodwill. I felt it would compensate the three of you, particularly Mr Aron, for the discomfort you suffered while guests of von Thumm.’
‘How is the Herr Baron?’ asked the Duke smoothly.
‘In excellent health. You will see him this evening. He is flying up from the Sala. Glasshill, El Aziz and Harry Benito are coming with him, as I have bidden them to a party.’
Richard’s eyes narrowed, and his chin stuck out aggressively. Noticing his expression, the Prince laughed and chided him, ‘Now, now, Mr Eaton. You must remember that Lincoln had good cause for resentment because you made it necessary for him to abandon bis profitable practice in Santiago. Now that we are all to be friends, you must let bygones be bygones.’
At that moment luncheon was announced and they all walked between the curtains to the table in the window that had such a superb view. During the meal the Prince exercised his magnetism to make them feel as though they were enjoying a normal social occasion. He kept the conversation going on a variety of subjects, none of which had any bearing on the occult. De Richleau, knowing the nervous tension that his friends must be feeling, ably seconded him.
When they had finished luncheon, the Prince said, ‘And now I have an unpleasant duty to perform. I trust that you, especially, Miss Van Ryn, will not be too upset, as it concerns your uncle. I maintain a strict discipline here and, by taking one of my aircraft without permission, he has deliberately broken a rule of which he was well aware. For that he must be punished.’
Taking up a dessert knife, he tapped an empty glass with it, so that it gave out a little ping. Rising from the table, he added, ‘That will bring him to us.’ Then he led the way to the far end of the room.
Now acutely anxious about what form the unfortunate Rex’s punishment was to take, the others sat down, but the Prince remained standing. After a few minutes Rex came in and the Prince addressed him:
‘I have been greatly shocked by your conduct. For a moment it even occurred to me that you intended to play the traitor. Be that as it may, you used one of my aircraft to take my guests away without my consent. I have been considering what form your punishment should take. There came to my mind the truth about the events which occurred in the Garden of Eden at the time of the Fall.
‘The second chapter of the book of Genesis has been misinterpreted. There was not one enchanted three, but two. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life, which is mentioned both in verse nine and in chapter three, verse twenty-two. God the Creator, the One indivisible and eternal, having created Man in His own image, was so pleased with His work that he decided to make him immortal. He therefore sent His messenger, the Serpent who, at that time, was an angel with wings and limbs, to tell Man that he should eat the fruit of the Tree of Life.
‘But the Serpent was vain, ambitious and had Evil in his heart. He perverted the message, beguiled Eve into eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and himself ate the fruit of the Tree of Life.
‘As a result, symbolically, the Serpent sheds its skin, but never dies; whilst Adam and Eve and all their descendents unto this present generation were condemned to age and die, to strife, sorrow and the pains of childbirth, then driven out of Eden. But the Serpent did not escape without punishment. The Lord God said to him:
‘ “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shah thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.”’
The Prince paused to glance at his gold wrist-watch, then went on, his large, limpid eyes beneath half-closed eyelids, riveted on Rex, ‘This morning I cast a spell on you. In three minutes’ time it will take effect.’
Rex had listened to him, pale but defiant. He made no reply and continued to stand there. The others watched him, a prey to the most awful apprehension. They felt as though they had been made rigid by being encased in invisible armour. None of them moved a hand or foot, and they were terribly aware that there was nothing they could do. Even the beautiful cat and the bouncy little dog remained completely still. An utter silence had fallen. The three minutes seemed interminable.
Suddenly Rex’s legs gave beneath him. With a loud cry he fell to the floor.
For a moment the Prince’s handsome features were transformed into a mask portraying sadism and hatred. In a loud voice he said; ‘Even as the Lord God struck down the treacherous Serpent, I have struck you down. You shall crawl on your knees and feed on the floor like a dog until it is my pleasure to release you.’
His words broke the spell that had held them rigid. Cursing him, Richard jumped forward and grasped Rex’s arm to help him to his feet. Seconds later, Simon was at his other side. But Rex was sixteen stone of splendid manhood. It was all they could do to drag him up between them, and that only for a moment. His weight proved too much for them. He sagged back on to his knees.
With an imperious gesture, the Prince waved them aside and said harshly to Rex, ‘You may go now. Crawl to your quarters and remain there until I summon you again.’
Silvia had remained pale but self-contained throughout this frightful scene. Miranda had sat frozen with horror, her big, blue eyes starting from her head. Now, with a despairing cry of Oh, God, Uncle Rex!’ she sprang out of her chair, cast herself down beside him and kissed him on the cheek. But Rex, his eyes moist with unshed tears, put her gently from him and, obeying the command he had been given, crawled out of the room.
Miranda burst into tears, rounded on the Prince and cried:
‘How could you? Oh, how could you?’
He shrugged, shook his head and gave her his most charming smile. ‘Please spare me your reproaches. I warned you that I must punish, your uncle. But, just as I gave you back your sight, I can restore the use of his legs to him whenever I wish. For how long or how short a time he will have to suffer depends, to some extent, on the behaviour of you and your friends. I might even relent soon enough to enable him to stand up and give you away when you are married.’
‘Married!’ she repeated. ‘But …’
With a sharp gesture he silenced her and went on, ‘Yes. I can hardly suppose that either you or Mr Aron wish for a long engagement. So why should you deny yourselves longer than necessary the joy of being united? I have arranged for you to be married tonight.’
‘But …’ she stammered. ‘But, how can we be married here?’
He smiled again. ‘We have a temple, and the ceremony will take place there. The rites will be performed as they were in the beginning and you will receive the blessing of the True God.’
‘No!’ de Richleau came to his feet. ‘I forbid it! I forbid it!’
The Prince turned and gave him a mildly contemptuous look. In my presence you have not the power to forbid anything. And you know it. If you and your friends prove troublesome, I will deal with you as I have dealt with Van Ryn. Then all of you shall witness the ceremony, and the consummation of the marriage on your knees.’
‘The consummation!’ cried Simon. ‘Ner, ner! Damned if …’
Miranda’s cheeks had gone scarlet and she gasped, ‘You don’t mean …? You can’t!’
The Prince’s voice was silky. ‘My dear young lady. True marriage does not consist only of exchanging oaths and, perhaps, the giving to the woman of some symbol, such as a ring. As it is said that justice should not only be done, but be seen to be done, so with marriage. The two principals, the Yang and the Yin, must be brought together before witnesses. Then the offspring of this mating, should the woman be so blessed as to conceive, is vowed to the service of the True God.’
‘What! Sold to Satan before it is even born?’ Richard snapped. ‘You bastard!’
‘Mr Eaton, you are still comparatively young in time, or you would know that the word Satan, which you regard as a designation of Evil, is only a name used by the ignorant for the Deity from whom all blessings flow. As for your abuse of myself, I will let it pass. But it distresses me that a man of your breeding should permit himself to display such ill manners.’
Since the Prince had silenced de Richleau, the latter had stood with bowed shoulders and downcast eyes. Now, making a gesture towards Miranda who, with Simon’s arm about her, was weeping hysterically, he looked up again and said:
‘You tell us that the God of the Christian churches demands that His followers should deny themselves the joys of life; whereas your god is ever anxious to foster people’s happiness. How can you possibly maintain that assertion when your proposals have brought such shock, distress and horror to these two?’
Their reaction is due only to the false beliefs in which they have been reared. It is understandable that Miss Van Ryn should shrink from exposing herself naked and being possessed by others in addition to her husband. But you will find thai she will swiftly overcome this reluctance. There has never yei been born a woman endowed with a good figure who, however prudishly brought up, in her secret heart would not delight in displaying her beauty.
But that is not all I am, of course, aware that she is a virgin. That being so, her bridegroom is unfortunate, for a first penetration rarely brings much pleasure to the man and, for the woman, is usually painful. The result in Christian marriages very often is a most unhappy period, during which the woman is unwilling to repeat the act, and the man suffers an infuriating frustration. Indeed, not infrequently, it leads to the couple never developing a satisfactory sex life.
‘In his wisdom, the True God devised a means by which this sad state of affairs would be overcome. He decreed that, on her wedding night, the bride should be possessed by seven men. After the second or third has had her, she feels no more pain: with those who do so later, she experiences an ecstasy of passion Tomorrow, when Miss Van Ryn has recovered from her exhaustion, she will be beseeching her husband to embrace her.’
They were so horrified by the Prince’s revelation of a Satanic wedding that they heard him out in silence. As he ceased speaking, they gave vent to a chorus of protest.
Miranda had fainted. Simon lowered her to a chair and stood trembling, his mouth agape. Richard, his eyes glaring, was half crouched, his fists clenched and about to launch himself on their tormentor. Just in time the Duke grabbed his arm, held him back and said hoarsely:
‘Young women indoctrinated into your evil cult might accept the ceremony willingly and, perhaps, enjoy it. But that could not possibly be the case with one brought up to be chaste and who, above all, is not only physically attracted to one man but has also given him her spiritual love. To be defiled by a succession of men would so revolt her that it might well drive her out of her mind. This marriage must not take place. I know well that we are in your power. But is there not some alternative, some inducement we can offer you to refrain from forcing Miss Van Ryn to submit to this hideous ordeal?’
The red lips of the Prince’s beautifully-modelled mouth parted in a smile, revealing his gleaming white teeth. ‘Ah, now we are talking. Yes. Since you are so bigoted and anxious to deny this charming couple entering in the true joy of life, there is an alternative. You have only to agree, as I urged you to when you first arrived here, to acknowledge the True God as your Master, and give me your aid in my undertakings.’
‘No,’ the Duke replied at once. ‘That I cannot do. And my friends would not ask it of me.’
The Prince shrugged. ‘Then there is no more to be said. Silvia will take charge of Miss Van Ryn and later prepare her for her wedding. You others will now go to your rooms. You will not communicate with one another, as I have no intention of giving you the chance to hatch some plot which might cause a temporary hitch in my arrangements. In due course, you will be sent for.’
Fixing his large dark eyes for a few moments on each of them in turn, he pointed to the door. Dominated by his will their urge to resist crumbled. Silently, with bowed heads, they filed out of the room.
Simon spent the greater part of the hours that followed alternately sitting on the edge of his bed hunched in despair and imploring the help of the God of his fathers. Richard, as an old soldier, knew how important it was to get as much sleep as possible before a battle. Feeling certain that the Duke would put up a fight, he was anxious to be in a state to give him as much support as he could. It took him a long time to clear his mind of the heart-rending scene in which he had participated, but eventually he dropped off. De Richleau deliberately left his body for the Astral. There he sought out as many of his long-time friends who were out of incarnation as he could, and asked them to spend the coming night thinking of him and supplicating the Lords of Light to come to his assistance.
In due course a meal on a tray was brought by the servitors to each of them. The Duke neither ate or drank anything. Simon, feeling that he ought to recruit his strength, attempted to eat a wing of chicken chaud-froid, but he was in so grievous a state that, after having swallowed a few mouthfuls with difficulty, he was sick. Richard, true to form, made a good meal and drank three-quarters of the bottle of champagne that had been brought him with the food.
In vain he had searched his bedroom early in the afternoon for something he could use as a weapon. The bottle, he decided, was the answer. It made the perfect club. But it would be missed when the servant came to collect the tray. Moreover, it was too big to be easily concealed about his person. Emptying the remaining contents on the floor, he took the empty bottle into the bathroom and smashed it on one of the bath taps. The punt fell off and several other pieces, leaving in his hand the neck of the bottle and, projecting from it, a six-inch-long sliver of glass.
Folding a light hand-towel into a narrow strip, he tied the centre twice round the lip of the bottle, thus making a handle for this improvised dagger, then wrapped the ends round the blade, so that he should not cut himself on it but, being loose, the ends would fly apart when he pulled the dagger from the side of his trousers belt where he intended to hide it. Collecting the other pieces of shattered bottle, he took them into the bedroom and threw them into the wastepaper basket.
When the silent servitor came for the tray, Richard pointed first to the wet patch where the wine had stained the carpet, then to the pieces of glass in the basket and made a grimace to indicate that he had had an accident, dropped the bottle and it had broken. The servant only shrugged and took the tray away.
Quite a long time later, he came back again, carrying a white robe with gold cabalistic signs on it, and laid it on the bed for Richard to change into. Richard ignored it as, in due course, he found had the Duke and Simon, who had had similar robes brought to them.
It was half an hour before midnight when, having been summoned by Pedro, they met Kaputa in the corridor. The grossly-fat Babu signed to them to follow him down the stairs to the basement.
They did so, knowing that the vital hour had come.