Alchemist (58 page)

Through the rope cords that bound his hands, he pressed his fingers together for meagre reassurance. A door closed; bolts clanked home. Then the solitary peal of a gong resounded.

It was followed by a loud male voice: ‘
In nomine Dei nostri Satanas Luciferi exelsi!
'

The incantation seemed to hang in the air, growing in
strength, then, finally turning into an echo of itself, it slowly faded away.

Another voice said: ‘Hail Satan, the Ruler of the earth.'

This was the signal for a thunderous chant from all around Daniel: ‘HAIL SATAN!'

The gong rang again. Then it was followed by the male voice.

‘Tonight Brother Theutus will become the forty-second Initiate, the forty-second Assessor, the forty-second
Adept
of the Temple of the New Order of Satan. If anyone present dares to challenge his application, declare now your objection or forever live in the threat of permanent oblivion. Speak up in the name of Satan!'

There was a long silence. Daniel held his breath. One and a half years. One and a half long years he had waited as an initiate. Now he was finally to become a first-degree adept. Tonight!
30 April; Walpurgis
; the second holiest night of the year.

A hand-bell rang out shrilly.

There were more Latin incantations. Then he felt his robes being lifted from his shoulders so that he was completely naked, except for the blindfold. Soft hands began to rub oils into his skin in sensual upward motions; silken fingers touched his penis, rubbing something on it that produced a burning sensation. He struggled hard for control, aware that he was starting to feel sharp arousal in the pit of his stomach. He concentrated, reminding himself of all the people in the room, but he could feel his penis swelling and beginning, jerkily, to rise as if it had a life of its own.

At this point the Magister Templi's voice rang out imperially: ‘His Satanic Majesty commands you, Initiate Theutus, to prove your knowledge by reciting the nine Satanic Statements!'

Daniel waited as he had been bidden in rehearsals. The gong rang. He drew in a deep breath and in as loud a voice as he could muster said: ‘Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!'
Gong!
‘Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams!'
Gong!
‘Satan represents undefiled wisdom, instead of hypocritical self-deceit!'

He waited for the next gong, then said at the top of his voice, free of all inhibition now: ‘Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates!'
Gong!
‘Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek!' His voice soared, rolled around the room, came back at him from the walls. ‘Satan represents responsibility to the responsible, instead of concern for psychic vampires!'

He felt the vibrations of the gong rippling through him. ‘Satan represents man as just another animal. Sometimes better, more often worse, than those that walk on all-fours. And who, because of his
divine spiritual and intellectual development
, has become the most vicious animal of all!'

Gong!
Daniel was growing, growing in stature, becoming a man. He could feel his limbs lengthening, knew that his penis was towering over the heads of his audience, knew that they were in his thrall. ‘Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental or emotional gratification!'

He paused long after the peals of the next gong had died, aware that the assembly had no option but to wait for him and it felt good, so good, to have them in his power. His voice soared through the temple, delivering the last Satanic Statement.

‘Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!'

The Magister Templi's voice said approvingly: ‘Hail Satan!'

The chorus resounded: ‘HAIL SATAN!'

Gong!

Hands untied Daniel's blindfold. He blinked as it fell away. He saw candle flames, naked bodies, a blur of faces, and nothing but darkness beyond. It was the first time, he realized, that he had seen the members of the Order without masks. High up, shining from the darkness, he could make out the inverted pentagram on the wall. He was standing in the centre of the pentacle on the floor, alone, with a candle flickering on each point. The Magister Templi faced him from the north point, naked except for his crown, a massive, glinting ceremonial sword gripped in both hands and pointing upwards.

Slowly he lowered the sword until it was horizontal, took a
step forward and pressed the tip against Daniel's chest. Daniel felt the sharp prick, but stood, unflinching. Energy flowed from the sword into his body.

The hand-bell rang three times and the entire temple became silent.

The Magister Templi raised his head high and his phallus rose into an erection. ‘In the name of Satan!' he pronounced. ‘With this mark, o mighty Satan welcome into Your eternal kingdom Your new adept, Theutus!'

His phallus fully erect now, he pushed the sword harder into Daniel, then ripped it savagely upwards, slicing a two-inch rip in the skin across the breastbone.

Daniel gasped as the blade glinted past his eyes; he felt the sting of pain, then glancing fleetingly downwards saw the loose flanges of flesh and the blood trickling down. But
he
could cope with the pain. He was no longer Daniel Judd. No longer a child initiate. He was Adept Theutus. A man! A first-degree adept of the New Order of Satan.

And he was an Assessor. The forty-second and final Assessor; now the Order was closed. Next week he would be presented with his mask; he had been wondering what it would be, had tried to think which creature was missing.

Morgana, the High Priestess, walked slowly towards Daniel. She wore only her crown, the rings on her fingers and a necklace of tiny amulets.

‘Hail Adept Theutus,' she said. ‘Blessed be thy feet that have brought thee in these ways.' As she spoke she knelt and kissed first his right foot, then his left. Having done so, she raised her head and kissed first his right knee then his left, saying: ‘Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.'

Then she took his penis gently in her fingertips. Daniel felt it hardening even more, but he no longer minded. He was proud of it now, proud of its size.

‘Blessed be thy phallus, without which we would not be,' she said. Then she kissed the tip with her lips, lingering lightly with her tongue, fixing Daniel with her eyes. Next she stood and kissed his nipples in turn. ‘Blessed be thy breast, formed in strength.'

Finally she stared him in the face and said solemnly: ‘Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the sacred names.' She leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth, then stepped aside. As she did so, another woman adept took her place and repeated the same ritual. Each woman in the temple, in turn, followed.

The last one was the youngest by some years, barely older than himself, he thought. She eyed him shyly; a striking, slender girl, with long, fair hair and a gentle smile. A bead necklace rested on the top of her large breasts, and he found his gaze drawn to her ruby nipples. His penis reached out towards her as if it were an uncoiling serpent, and he was aware of her glancing down at it approvingly.

The Magister Templi stepped forward. ‘Our virgin initiate, Lileth, will perform the Great Rite with you in the name of His Satanic Majesty. Are you prepared, Adept Theutus?'

‘I am,' Daniel replied. His voice sounded oddly disembodied, as if it were someone else speaking.

Two older women came forward and took Lileth's hands, guiding her down on to her back in the centre of the pentacle. They stretched out her arms so that her hands were on the two upper points of the pentagram, then they parted her legs, pushing them wide out, so that each foot was on the next two points.

The gong rang. The Magister Templi began to incant the Lord's Prayer backwards. As he did so, another male adept stepped forward, holding up a communion-wafer host, then inserting it slowly into the girl's vagina. When he removed it moments later, he held it high as he spoke the communion blessing in reverse, then tossed it contemptuously to the floor.

There was a universal call of ‘Hail Satan!' Then every person in the temple, except for Daniel and Lileth, took it in turn to step forward and stamp on the host, grinding it into the ground.

Gong!

Two male adepts each took one of Daniel's arms and guided him until he was standing directly between Lileth's legs. Then they eased him down on to his knees.

The gong rang three times. Daniel saw the girl watching him. He saw the soft brush of her pubic hairs, the pink lips of her vagina, felt the power coursing through his veins.

All around him, the adepts began a chant which started low and deep, resonating, carrying with it an energy, a life force, as it rose towards a crescendo.

He knelt, his confidence faltering for a fleeting moment, then returning as the chanting got louder and more feverish every second. The girl reached out her hand, took him firmly and began to guide him into her. He felt momentarily dry resistance, then soft moistness. He pushed gently forward, not wanting to hurt her, then felt resistance again.

His swelling was increasing; his whole body filling with desire. His hands touched the soft skin of her shoulders and he kissed her on the lips, fully aware of everyone watching. He was doing this for all of them. He was performing the Great Rite for his Lord and Master, Satan. For Lucifer, Baphomet, Leviathan. For the Eternal Omnipotent Prince of Darkness. For the other forty-one Assessors.

The chanting was getting wilder, and more demonic. In response, he pushed harder; harder still, felt the girl's pelvis flexing back against him. Pushed again. She let out a tiny gasp that could have been pain or pleasure, then he suddenly slid deep into her.

He was hardening all the time; she was kissing him ferociously like a wild animal, making tiny little cries every few moments.

His whole body had become a pump and the release came like an exploding bomb inside him. Seed gushed like an energy force from him. It kept on, unabating. She was crying out, and so was he.

Then suddenly he was on his feet again, looking down at her. He was towering over everyone now. Twenty, thirty, forty feet tall, the ceiling of the temple pressed against his head. Lileth's eyes rolled up at him and a smile rippled in slow motion through her lips. Waves of energy pulsed through him. He was a giant among pygmies. His blood had been replaced with electricity. He was powerful enough to do anything he wanted.

‘
Hail Satan!
' The chant rang out a long way beneath him, like a murmur of approval.

I am Theutus. I was a boy who became a man who is now become a god. I am the god Theutus
.

The Magister Templi rose in height also, until he faced Daniel eye to eye. ‘You have the power now, Theutus. The power vested in you by Satan. He commands you to use it! Invoke whatever forces you wish. Satan instructs you to demonstrate your power to us all.'

The Magister Templi shrank back in size until he was again lost in the sea of faces that stared up at the giant. Daniel clenched his fists and said the words of the ritual he had learned.

The temperature in the temple began to drop. A mist was gathering around him; cold, swirling, icy. He concentrated hard, forcing the temperature lower, then lower still. Goose pimples pricked his skin. Spurts of vapour rose from the mouths of all in the temple. He smiled and spoke.

‘O Thou mighty light and burning flame of comfort, in Whom the great secrets of truth have their abiding, be Thou a window of comfort unto me. Move therefore, and send a servant to appear! Open the mysteries of Your creation! Be friendly unto me, for I am the same! The true worshipper of the highest and ineffable King of Hell! I ask You Lord Satan to make Thy presence known!'

A long silence followed, as if every sound in the temple had been sucked up by the mist. The temperature was dropping further and the coils of vapour thickening. But suddenly there was a low, rippling crackle, then all the vapour funnelled upwards into a vortex.

It gained speed, until it was ripping past Daniel like a speeded-up cinefilm. All the while, the crackle continued, shaking the air like thunder. Then, within it, he heard a scream of real agony. Enveloped within the vortex of rising mist, he could see nothing. The scream was repeated; a woman in terror, piercing his ears like a knife. Then it stopped as abruptly as it had started.

The temple began to return to its former temperature, and the mist thinned into one thin, swirling strand until it was
gone. Daniel was back to his normal size. He stared at all the faces watching him. Then he looked down at Lileth.

For an instant, he could not believe that what he saw was real. A shock wave of revulsion ripped through him. He took a step back, panicky suddenly. But the other faces showed no emotion, no expression.

Lileth's head had been twisted almost full circle. Her eyes were bulging and blood trickled from her mouth and ears. Her flesh had been torn open from neck to navel; some of her guts had spilled out and lay in a tangle beside her. The hideous stench filled his nostrils.

The Magister Templi spoke quietly from the crowd: ‘It is indeed a great power, Theutus. Greater than any other on earth. You have learned tonight just how dangerous it can be. Use it wisely, and it will serve you well all the days of your life and beyond into the eternal plane. Use it unwisely, and you unleash the most uncontrollable forces in the Universe. It is important to practise, to learn to harness the power, to moderate it and make it work for you. You have the gift of life and of death, now. Satan does not bestow it lightly. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Hail Satan!'

As Daniel gazed in shock at the grotesque female remains at his feet, the chant rang out once more in unison.

‘
HAIL SATAN!
'

Saturday 26 November, 1994