Strange Conflict (16 page)

As the occult is the one art which extends beyond Earth only the fringe of it can be studied while a spirit is still going through the process of earthly incarnations; yet even
here the knowledge acquired in life after life gradually piles up, so that once an individual has been an adept, although the mysteries may be obscured from him for whole incarnations, each time the spark is rekindled the re-acquisition of the previous knowledge he has gained is an infinitely easier process. No one while in the physical body can hope to become fully conscious of his true astral life without having spent many previous incarnations in training to accomplish that end; yet Earth is now so old that there are few of us who have not done so at one period or another, which makes the re-acquisition of this knowledge by no means impossible providing that we work for it with real determination.

But it must not be forgotten that the whole vast scheme of things is planned like some great university. If a man having spent six terms studying history at Oxford then decided to go in for ‘maths' and spent a further two years immersed in the study of higher mathematics, should he at the end of that time suddenly be called upon to do a paper on history it would not be surprising if his history proved distinctly rusty. The same applies in the cosmic university where each life on Earth is no more than a term and life itself in its true, astral sense is everlasting.

It was many incarnations since de Richleau had devoted several Earth lives in succession to the serious study of the occult, finally achieving almost to the limits of such occult knowledge as is ever permitted to humans. In more recent Earth lives he had turned his attention to various other paths of progress, although during a number of them and the present he had retained a knowledge of the great truths and the power to follow his unbroken astral existence. Consequently, although he could still perform minor feats of Magic, it was many centuries since he had practised as a powerful White Magician and he had temporarily forgotten much that he had originally learnt in connection with the higher mysteries.

He now realised that the present was literally a case of having rushed in where angels fear to tread. His belief that the Nazis were using the occult was proved beyond all shadow of doubt; but he had visualised them as employing an occultist with only limited powers such as his own or working through a trance medium; whereas it was
now clear that they had in their service some great Master of the Left-Hand Path. He blamed himself most bitterly for not having foreseen such a possibility, as he knew that he should have done, in view of the fact that Hitler himself took care to plan each of his moves when the stars were propitious and that the very symbol of the Nazi Party showed them to be fundamentally allied to the powers of Darkness. With a nation of eighty million Germans, all the Black elements in which would automatically be in sympathy with the Nazis, it was only natural that they should employ a number of adepts of the first rank.

As the Satanic host rose up from the dark, sea-washed shore the Duke knew that to summon such a force his opponent must be a
Magister Templi
at the very least, and he marvelled now that with only Marie Lou and Simon to aid him he should have been able to drive back, harry and almost overcome such a mighty adversary. He knew, too, that only their instant determination to give battle, and the force with which they had pressed home their attack, had enabled them to do so.

Their astral action had, in fact, been a perfect parallel to that of the light cruisers
Ajax
and
Exeter,
outgunned and under-armoured, going in against the infinitely more powerful
Graf Spee.
But if, instead of seeking refuge in Montevideo harbour, the
Graf Spee
had been able to retire on Kiel and emerge again with a score of light cruisers and half a hundred destroyers,
Ajax
and
Exeter
would have stood no earthly chance against the hell of fire that could then have been brought to bear upon them; and that was the present case as regards Marie Lou and himself; their slender chance of saving themselves lay in instant flight.

‘Back to your body!' he called to her with all his will, and turning together they fled with every ounce of speed of which they were capable.

A great roar of triumph went up from the emissaries of Hell as they streaked through the middle-air in furious pursuit, and the seconds that followed seemed years of nightmare battling to the pursued. The forces of Evil brought all their powers to bear, seeking to strike them down with astral missiles, striving to drag them back by the exertion of malignant will and casting up in front of
them every form of astral barrier which might terrify and check them.

Instead of the effortless flight to which they were accustomed they felt as though their astral bodies were weighted with lead. A frightful storm arose in which they were tossed about like thistledown in a gale. Forked lightning streaked the sky while incessant peals of thunder vibrated through the air like an intensive bombardment.

Both the fugitives knew that these were only manifestations which could not harm them providing they remained unafraid and kept their faith and purpose. Yet the great jagged streaks of lightning which were directed at them would have daunted the most fearless, and as they fled they instinctively swerved from side to side in an endeavour to evade them.

Suddenly the whole scene changed and instead of swirling black clouds pierced by the terrifying flashes they were faced by a great wall of fire which had neither top nor bottom. The wall was not composed of flames alone; it was like the interior of a furnace and one vast mass of solid, white-hot matter which glowed, bubbled and hissed, giving out a blinding light and a heat so intense that it seemed to shrivel up their astral bodies.

With a wail of fear Marie Lou faltered and stopped, but de Richleau knew that if they did not succeed in getting back to their bodies they would die in their sleep. That was part of the price they would have to pay for having gone out against Evil powers stronger than themselves. By their own rash act they would have brought their present incarnations to an untimely end—in fact, they would have committed a form of suicide—and that would mean for both of them a setback on the great journey—a setback of perhaps several lives.

Seizing her by the arm he dragged her with him straight into the glowing mass. For a second the pain was practically unendurable, then the fiery wall dissolved; the roaring of the flames gave place to a quietness which could almost be felt. Gasping with relief they both threw back the bedclothes and sat up to find Richard, Rex and Simon kneeling beside them in the pentacle with their heads bowed in prayer.

At the sound of their waking Richard opened his eyes and
grabbed Marie Lou to him. ‘Thank God,' he murmured, ‘thank God you're back. Simon told us, and I've been half crazy with fear for you ever since he woke up.'

Simon looked shamefacedly at the Duke. ‘I'll never forgive myself for having had to leave you in a muddle, but— well, I just couldn't keep asleep.'

De Richleau mopped his perspiring face then laid a hand on Simon's arm. ‘My dear fellow, don't be absurd; I thought you put up a marvellous performance in sticking it so long. I'll wager you can't remember when you last managed to sleep for eleven and a half hours in one stretch; and you saved me from that brute when in the form of a crab he had me by the nose.'

‘By Jove!' Simon exclaimed, ‘I remember now; I had the luck to get in under his guard and sting him in the belly.'

‘It wasn't luck, Simon; it was sheer courage. You always say that you're a coward, but when it comes to a pinch you're the bravest of us all. With one swipe of its free claw that filthy beast could have damaged your astral so badly that you could never have returned to your body.'

‘What happened?' asked Rex. ‘When Simon got back he told us that he'd had to run out on you while you were mixed up in some sort of set-to but he couldn't recall the details, and there was just nothing that we could do but pray.'

‘You couldn't have done anything better,' the Duke replied, ‘and it's quite certain that your prayers must have helped us to win through. But next time you pray you should stand up to do it—as the Ancients did—and hold your hands out to the Infinite. The kneeling position is one of false humility, which was only introduced by the Christians, and since each one of us carries God within ourselves, it is not fitting that we should stoop before anything in Earth or Heaven.'

Richard had put a little bed-jacket about Marie Lou's shoulders, but in spite of that and the warmth of the room, in which a bright fire was still burning, she shivered slightly as she said:

‘Although we've just come through the fiery furnace I'm still desperately cold.'

‘We'll soon remedy that,' smiled the Duke. ‘What we both want is a good meal; and we're going to have it.'

‘Holy snakes!' exclaimed Rex. ‘I've gotten so used to living on steamed fish and rabbit's food that I hardly remember how it feels to eat like a Christian. But surely you're not chucking your hand in?'

‘No, I'm not doing that,' de Richleau said soberly, ‘but I'm not going out again until I've had a chance to re-learn certain of the more powerful methods of protection. In the meantime it will do us all good to live like normal human beings for a spell.'

‘D'you mean we'll be able to have civilised drinks?' asked Richard.

De Richleau nodded. ‘Yes—in moderation.'

‘Oh boy!' Rex laughed. ‘What a cocktail I'll shake for you all this evening!'

‘I've still got some pretty good hocks in London,' Simon murmured, ‘Steinberg Cabinets and Schloss Johannesburgs of the rarer vintages; I must get some down. But tell us what happened to you after I had to quit.'

‘What's the time?' asked the Duke.

‘Just after midnight,' replied Richard.

De Richleau glanced at Marie Lou. ‘The servants will be in bed, then, but I'm sure you won't mind, Princess, if we raid your larder and cook ourselves some supper.'

‘Of course not, Greyeyes darling. The servants came to the conclusion that we'd all gone mad within twenty-four hours of your arrival. Our sudden change to a vegetarian diet, the banning of all drinks and the way in which this room's always kept locked, while some of us spend hours at a stretch in it, soon convinced them that we ought all to be put in the loony bin, so it won't make the least difference if we hold an orgy in their quarters.'

‘Cook positively loathes anyone going into her kitchen,' said Richard dubiously.

But de Richleau laughed. ‘I don't doubt a word from me in the morning will put matters right. Cook and I have always been on the most friendly terms. From the day I showed her how to produce poached eggs which had not gone hard in the middle of a cheese soufflé she recognised me as a fellow artist.'

‘A word from you means a pound-note,' said Marie Lou quickly, ‘and you over-tip the servants as it is. It's not the
least necessary, Greyeyes. I am the mistress of this house, and I shall do what I like in my own kitchen.'

‘Hurrah!' shouted Rex. ‘That's the spirit! Come on, now; let's think of all the good things that we can possibly manage to eat one on top of the other.'

When they reached the kitchen, however, they all discovered that it was not the delicacies in Marie Lou's store-cupboard that they really wanted. Their recent abstinence from rich food had simplified their tastes, and as they were in the fortunate position of having plentiful supplies from the Home Farm they unanimously agreed that the best of all meals at the moment would be an unlimited supply of ham and eggs, to be followed by pancakes.

While Rex and Simon laid the kitchen table, Marie Lou cooked the ham and eggs, de Richleau prepared the batter for the pancakes, which he proposed to make himself, and Richard disappeared down to the cellar to return a few minutes later with a couple of magnums of champagne.

‘Krug ‘26,' muttered Simon appreciatively as he saw the dusty labels. ‘By Jove, it's a while since I saw any of that!'

Richard grinned. ‘I thought at the time it came out that it was one of the wines of the century so I laid down quite a bit of it, and I reckon we'll still be able to knock off a magnum or two together long after Hitler's drunk his last glass of orange-juice.'

‘Talking of which,' cut in Rex, ‘we're all mighty anxious to hear the latest from the astral front.'

‘Marie Lou shall tell you all about it when we've eaten,' said the Duke, and three-quarters of an hour later she gave them a graphic account of the desperate encounter which she and de Richleau had had with the enemy.

‘What's the drill now?' Rex asked when she had done.

‘My theory that the Nazis are using the occult having proved correct,' said the Duke, ‘our next problem is to find in the flesh the Black occultist who is working for them. We must then kill him.'

‘How d'you propose to set about the job of finding him?' asked Richard.

‘We know that he's a Negro—a black Witch Doctor— and there can't be a great many people of that kind in Germany,' said Marie Lou.

‘Maybe,' Rex cut in. ‘And you can travel to Germany in
your astrals, but as long as you're on the astral plane yourselves you can't kill a human. So what's the big idea? D'you figure on our trying to get into Germany in the flesh?'

‘It looks as if we may have to,' replied the Duke, ‘and with Sir Pellinore's assistance I don't doubt that some of us could get through. I think, though, that Marie Lou is wrong in assuming that the person we are after is necessarily a Negro. The probability is that he only assumed that form when we saw him; it's much more likely that in the flesh he is a fair-haired, blue-eyed Hun.'

‘That makes the proposition more tricky than ever,' said Richard glumly, ‘since in Germany fair-haired, blue-eyed Huns are two a penny. Besides, for all you know, he might be a dark-haired Rhinelander or even a red-headed woman—in fact, it seems to me that up to date you've got no evidence at all to go upon.'