Skybound Satanists

by Spark, Luc

  Our young vampire now had adrenaline pumping through his body, it was so overpowering that his hands fluttered with apprehension. Palpitations were only a heartbeat away. Blood vessels expanding and contracting, was this excitement or human like fear Viorel was now experiencing? Or was it a bit of both if you will. He addressed the coven with a slightly elevated voice.

  “The prophecy has indeed confirmed that the Alset are the creators of vampires. It has also gone onto declare that in the distant future our existence as a race will be under a severe threat and if we do not act at the correct moment we shall lose a huge percentage of our human blood hosts by the actions of an unknown group of Satanists. The time period is just over 500 years into the future, the location that we shall be required to storm is not known at this juncture. Neither does this scroll bring to light just exactly who the Alset are and why they don’t simply interject themselves. All I can garner from this is we are to track down a former priest who has become a servant of Lucifer”

  Dretore looked around the coven and into the eyes of all the vampires gathered, he wanted to know who was going to fight alongside himself and Viorel. Reflected inside the eyes of the grouping was a steely togetherness and determination to get the mission done and to not falter regardless of what they may encounter. Dretore looked up to the heavens and shouted

  “By the honor of the Alset, we shall not fail you for we are vampires and we never back down!”

  “You can count me in as well!” came a voice from the corner

  It was Viorel’s old friend Alexander who was now well trained in hand to hand combat and the art of the longsword. He was already kitted out in iron greaves, pauldrons, and a steel cuirass. Dretore highly impressed by this young one’s spunk walked on over and patted him on the back.

  “You shall have your wish come true young one … I know Viorel will be ecstatic to have his trusty companion by his side” said Dretore.

  The atmosphere in the throne room was beginning to become more and more war ready, the sensation of camaraderie amongst each vampire member was increasing by the minute as they knew that in order to achieve success they would have to be willing to lay down their lives for each other and to trust each other implicitly. Ivan was next to announce his dedication, he expanded his chest raised his ax to the sky and roared

  “Let this be the moment that this coven shall be an example for all covens thereafter to follow… we are one… we are Alset offspring… we are the vampires!”

  Not wanting to be out of place or the odd ones out Alexis and Elena threw their ingredients into the mix. This was not a boys club after all

  “We shall show our alien masters that they did not create us needlessly… whoever they truly are and wherever they are watching us from… they will see that their craftsmanship and their faith in vampires is not unjustified… we both represent not just females vampires but our entire race as one… long shall we have dominion and no Satan lickers are going to spoil the party!” shouted both Elena and Alexis.

  With everybody on the same page and ready for war the group headed on over once again to the castle armory but this time it would be to grab as many weapons and supplies as they possibly could carry, this could, after all, be a one way trip into oblivion.

  Once everybody was kitted out to the max only one more issue remained… how to get each soul five hundred years into the future, as the time traveling horse could only accommodate a couple of riders.

  Half an hour passed with numerous head scratching sessions, this seemed like a folly situation … but it was made abundant that this was going to be a mission for the whole coven, not just Viorel and Thomas the stinky.

  Lapis Lazuli was again outside the castle grounds having a well-deserved rest period and as per usual was face full into his grazing. The group all emptied outside and looked upon Lapis with the predicament of how to get everybody transported still looming over them like a dark cloud. Intelligence amongst the ranks was very high thanks to the Alset genetic tinkering and it was not much longer before Alexander came up with the solution. The lightbulb went off in his head and once he put the idea out there it seemed so silly that nobody else had thought of it.

  “Look everybody… behind Lapis’s poop stained butt…look at that pile of turgid manure all fresh and gross. If we are to sieve through it then surely we can uncover some traces of dark matter that if we then ingest ourselves with will give us the uncanny ability to jump time zones. Why should this ability be the sole right to this cantankerous mule?”

  Despite the previous declarations of commitment to the cause…this Alexander proposal turned the stomachs of even the most battle hardened vampire. Elena started to turn ghostly white with sickness.

  “You cannot be serious Alexander that is so gross I cannot even bring myself to contemplate it… you want us to sieve through shite? And Horse dung is no doubt riddled with parasites… I think I may be sick any second now!” she said in disgust.

  The other vampires, although sickened by the very notion, did also understand what Alexander was implying that by getting a belly full of dark matter they should in theory then possess this most envious of abilities. Humans could not even fathom the very laws behind time travel yet and possibly never will have that power. This will give the vampires, even more, control and dominance other the pathetic mere mortals.

  Dretore gave Alexander a hug as any king would do to a loyal and useful knight; he turned around to the coven and shouted the order.

  “Right then my friends…let’s get sifting!”

  Lapis could not give a monkeys as he was in his own world chomping away… foul maggot ridden manure began to fly all over the place as the vampires began to sift with a stubborn purpose and a feeling of death in their stomachs. Get the brown stuff down your gobs ladies and gentlemen.

  50 Miles West Of Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, 1982

  The airship could be seen with the naked eye no more than a few kilometers away. The outer skin or envelope as it’s known was huge; one would hazard a guess at this flying craft being over six hundred feet in length and over one hundred feet in diameter. Emblazoned across the side of the crafts envelope was the name Nagirag… which appeared to be a word play on the name Gagarin, the early Russian cosmonaut. As the satanic group drew closer they noticed that this was a Zeppelin type craft, eerily similar to the Hindenburg which fatefully caught fire and burned to the ground. Powered by hydrogen these airships although able to demonstrate high lifting capabilities were extremely volatile.

  The Nagirag had the typical gondola or flight cabin underneath its outer skin but it was also equipped with a huge fifty-millimetre turret at the rear of the craft, ideal for defending against incoming fighter jets or suicidal paratroopers. With the airship not currently in their ownership, it was time to locate the wealthy Kazakh oil refinery businessman and manipulate him into handing over the keys to this soon to become floating base. Fortunately, the outside air temperature was a pleasant thirty degrees and not the severe cold that was known to dominate this region of the world during its very harsh winters. Marcello walked over to the hangar that was the biggest structure in this area, and straight into the office with an air of confidence that could only be described as not of human making.

  Sat in the office was a man of around sixty years of age with a substantial gray beard, bald on the head with an intumescent stomach. He was wearing a very finely tailored purple suit and was chewing on some pipe tobacco. On his desk was an IBM computer and monitor, a couple of box files and a portable hand fan with seemingly new batteries inserted as it was spinning at a great speed.

  Seconds after Marcello walked in, Lodovico Rossi came swiftly alongside in order to greet his well-heeled Kazakh client.

  “A thousand days drinking and whoring may blessed be to you my good friend,” said Lodovico

  The businessman got up out of his seat and embraced the Italian car dealer like a brother.

  “It is great indeed to see you Lodovico…for it has
been some months since I was last in Milan… but tell me what brings you all the way out here to remote Kazakhstan… did my cheque bounce?” the business quipped.

  Lodovico Rossi did not waste any time in sorting out his manners and introduced Marcello with extreme enthusiasm.

  “Forgive me for this intrusion… may I introduce Father Marcello, he is one of Milan’s most eminent and influential priests… we come to you today to ask you a deep favor. Please, by all means, say no if you deem this request totally unsatisfactory. We are in need of facilitating the service of that majestic looking airship you have outside. If you will honor our grand application we will be eternally grateful… so much so we can guarantee you a very warm reception in the afterlife… too warm perhaps”

  The businessman spat out his chewing tobacco and gave a deep rumbling belly laugh. This was the kind of laugh that said: “Do I look like a mug?” His bloated stomach was jumping up and down with the ferocity of this Mickey taking; this, in turn, began to get Marcello’s hellish blood to boil with the rage of a furnace.

  “We do not have much time to wait on your decision. We have a very pressing engagement in the skies. We can offer you one hundred million Kazakhstani Tenge to hand over the relevant documentation and keys to this craft. I am not a man who minces my words we simply need an answer immediately” Marcello demanded.

  After this declaration of intent from the demon priest, the businessman regained his composure and sat back down in his blue mesh chair. He opened up the box file that was underneath the smaller two and produced another plastic file and contained within that was the paperwork relating to the Nagirag. With that, he again stood up and handed over the plastic file and grabbed a set of keys that was hung on the wall behind him. The businessman gave Marcello a hug and a kiss on both cheeks.

  “Father she is yours for the amount you are offering I can have a jolly good time in Las Vegas, I am getting too old for this flying claptrap anyway… she is a very fine craft and has been furnished to exceptional standards. Please take care of her and I wish you many years of joyful flying… now please will you join me for a few drinks before you take off?”

  The deal was done with wine glasses in hand the three men drank and toasted to the future endeavors of the Nagirag. Outside with sweat dripping from his brow Jürgen was becoming tense and tetchy… the heat did not settle well with him after his time in Siberia. Dmitri was entertaining himself with flinging stones up into the air using the power of his telekinesis, although he was also not a fan of balmy temperatures.

  Once Marcello and Lodovico came back out the assembled group made no qualms about the desire to get into the craft and partake of some refreshments and settle their backsides down into some comfy seating. Jürgen was eager to get back to the Rain Arcane base and recruit his scientific research fellows. General Kozlov would not be too pleased if his chief scientist did not return within an allotted timeframe… despite his failing health, he could still shout down a lion.

  The group entered the airship and began to get familiar with their surroundings for this was now going to be home for the foreseeable future. The envelope was perhaps by deception even bigger within its interior. The steel structure that gave it its rigidity was manufactured from the finest aluminum. The flooring was a grand concoction of meticulously crafted pine and oak.

  The main lounge area had wonderful paintings of German war heroes and also images of the Soviet Space Agency. Hanging from the ceiling was a model Sputnik one and Vostok one. Split off from the main area was various individual cabins and what looked like a medical center. The sight of this gave a glow to Jürgen’s eyes

  “This will be my new home from home, I hope it comes equipped with up to date tools. In order to fully develop the HGL virus into an airborne weapon, I will need only the best” stated Jürgen.

  Dmitri wandered over to the rear of the craft and sat in the turret. It did feel mightily cramped and required the operator to assume a rather unnatural seating position.

  Marcello and Lodovico made their way into the cockpit or gondola as it’s truly known. This was decked out very nicely with brass knobs and handles everywhere. A retro style speaker system was gently humming some 1940s jazz music which must have been coming from the vintage gramophone in the left-hand corner. There on the right-hand wall was an intercom system so they could relay communications back and forth to the rest of the crew. The remaining satanic crew members were flittering about the place between the port and starboard sides of the airship.

  At the airstrip itself, the wind was relatively calm and non-threatening, perfect conditions to get airborne without the fear of flying into the overhead power cables. The last thing the Lucifer movement needed right now was another Hindenburg situation.

  Once everyone was settled in and knew their respective roles aboard the Nagirag it was time to be transported vertically into the Kazakhstani skies and begin the first order of business which was to acquire some test subjects for Jürgen to try out his developing virus on. These test subjects would have to be individuals that nobody was going to miss.

  They could be shortlisted from a number of unfortunates, from prisoners of war located at a Siberian gulag to homeless down on their luck individuals to even working girls picked up from seedy backstreet brothels. But even before that Jürgen wanted to fly back to Rain Arcane and pickup his trusty and able team, making sure to do this under the nose of General Kozlov…unless Kozlov could be eliminated. However, with Rain Arcane being funded by the Kremlin, it would be a very taxing scenario to simply remove Kozlov from existence without an official becoming alerted when Rain Arcane no longer relays messages back and forth with Moscow. Jürgen’s mind was boggling on what his best course of action would be to take. Eliminate Kozlov or try and stealthily persuade his research team aboard the Nagirag?

  With a few hours gone by and all the flight preparations made he elected that Kozlov must be eliminated and a sleeper agent put in place to carry on the communications between Moscow and Rain Arcane. Marcello knew nothing of aeronautics and flying charts so he promoted Lodovico to the Nagirag captain under his strict supervision of course. The Italian car dealer had hundreds of flying hours under his belt from his time flying a Cessna trainer aircraft at a local base outside of Milan. Mr. Rossi set the coordinates for the Siberian countryside and up the Lucifer cult went into the sun soaked sky.

  Up and away and onto Rain arcane and Jürgen’s trusty band of nerds

  Nice Smelling Vineyard, Lombardy, Italy, 1982

  The time travel hop had been very unpleasant with the vampires retching all the way through from having to ingest the horse manure of Lapis Lazuli. It was not the relative plain sailing that Viorel and Thomas had experienced. When the portal opened at the other end of the journey and the vampires had found themselves in a remote vineyard area of Lombardy, they had found not all of their body parts arrived in unison.

  Heads and torso came first but there had been a significant gap before the legs and feet could be bothered to join up to make a complete person. Dretore roused the troops and said with an immense feeling of confusion.

  “My brethren… rise to your feet for we are… where the blazes are we?”

  The vampires looked all around them; the air was filled with the sweet aroma of grapes. They were in an elevated vineyard location which was having a tempering effect in the severe summer heat. The first part of the mission was now completed but there were many steps that lay ahead in order to precisely track down this satanic group and put an end to their evil doings.

  Viorel was the next to speak up

  “So how do we go about finding this group of scum? It’s a mighty big world out there with many places this band of misfits could be in hiding. They could be in some underground subterranean city. They could be at some grand church or cathedral. I don’t want to sound like a party pooper but the Alset have led us on a merry dance to essentially locate a needle in a billion haystacks”

  All the vampires looked at each
other and nodded in mutual agreement. They would require some stroke of sheer luck or the services of some genuine mystic to have any hope of finding the Satanists. Dominating the skyline in the not too far distance was the city of Milan. Searching this first major population center was the obvious port of call even if just to find a place to stay for a few nights. The troops roused themselves and gathered their weapons and armor making haste towards the lights of the city.

  Without warning, an angry sounding and elevated noise came from the northern end of the vineyard.

  “Hey you there what do you think you are doing?”

  Dretore told his squad to hide their weapons in the vines temporarily until the situation had resolved itself. He did not want to scare off any potential information providers.

  A man of lean build, olive toned skin and hairy ears came walking over to the vampires with two worker looking men and a small boy. The scenario could become troublesome unless Dretore or Viorel could provide a rational explanation for trespassing in this aromatic vineyard. With the weaponry adequately obscured from the humans view it was time to give the explanation to the four individuals stood before the vampire team.

  Like any true leader would Dretore took the center stage.

  “Good evening sir and may I congratulate you on such a grand looking vineyard. Forgive us please as we are travelers who have become lost on our way to the big city. We mean no threat to you or your land”

  This did not wash very well with the landowner and his two workers. The young child was visibly nervous and could not maintain eye contact with any of the vampires; it was like he had something to say but could not bring out the strength of character to mutter the words. The landowner spoke with a convicted tone