by Joe Vadalma
"To the dimension where our friend, Michael Ellul, is in bondage. Can you lead us there?"
"Yes. I know of the one that you speak. But this channel is to small. Find a mirror large enough for you to enter it."
The face faded. Deju was again looking at his own reflection. He turned to Longfeathers. “We need to find a larger mirror. I have a full length mirror in my bathroom."
"Will we have to repeat the formula?"
Deju shrugged. “I don't know. We'd better bring this paraphernalia with us."
The two men placed all the things they had used in the ceremony in a sack and left the building.
* * * *
When they reached Deju's apartment, he opened the bathroom door wide. It contained a full-length mirror. He stood in front of it and said, “Spirit guide Sheila, are you present?"
Immediately, his image faded to be replaced by a white mist. By squinting, he could see a figure walking toward him with a feminine stride. After a few moments, the young woman he had seen in the small mirror stood before him. His mouth hung open, and he blushed. Sheila was naked.
"Hello Rhami and Robert,” she said in sultry voice.
It took Deju a couple of minutes to regain his composure. He could not help but stare at her perfectly formed ample breasts, the deep curve from her upper body to her hips, her long shapely legs and the fine blonde hair on the area between them.
"Hello,” he finally croaked. “Will you lead us to where we want to go?"
Sheila raised one eyebrow and grinned wickedly. “And just where is it you wish to go? There are many places I could take you. Many things I could show you."
Longfeathers, who was not quite as mesmerized as Deju, said, “Take us to our friend, Michael."
"Of course. Step right this way.” She made a hand gesture to follow her.
Deju pressed his hands against what should have been the glass of the mirror. They went through as though the mirror did not exist. He stepped over the area between the mirror and the floor into a place of mist and shadows. Longfeathers followed. Once through the gateway, the two men saw more clearly their new environment. It was a small square room with stone walls. On two of the walls were niches in which molding skeletons rested. In addition, there was a stone sarcophagus. They faced an arched entranceway. A white mist rose from the floor and made everything hazy and unreal.
Torches in sconces provided a flickering smoky light that made shadows loom and recede with every stray air movement. The odor of decay and mold pervaded the room. The only sounds were their own breathing and the padding of Sheila's bare feet on the damp floor.
Longfeathers glanced back the way they had come. It had become a solid stone wall. He put his hand on it. It was quite solid. There was no sign of the mirror or any other way to return. The gateway Sheila had led them through worked in only one direction.
He asked, “After we save our friend, how will we return?"
Sheila said, “I will show the way back as well as forward. Follow me."
"What is this place?” asked Deju.
"A catacombs. Above us is the castle where your friend is held captive. Take my hand. I will lead you to the stairwell that leads up to the castle. Do not let go. If you lose me, you will never find your way. The catacombs is a labyrinth."
Each man took hold of Sheila's hand, and they ventured forward past the arched entrywayThey hiked for what seemed like miles, making many turns and twists until Deju and Longfeathers lost track of the path they had taken. Each chamber was pretty much the same. Some had niches with skeletons in them, some did not. Some had two archways, some three, a few had only one. Nonetheless, Sheila always seemed to know which one to take.
Once, however, Deju got over anxious and started through an archway before Sheila chose the right one. As he stepped through into a dark chamber, instead of striking the hard stone floor, his foot went into nothingness. He tipped forward and whirled his arms around windmill fashion to keep his balance. It was not enough. He found himself falling forward. Just before he took a nose dive, Sheila grabbed him by his jacket and hauled him back.
She pulled so hard that Deju hit against her causing her to stumble backward. They tumbled to the floor in a tangle. Sheila giggled. “Rhami, if you wanted to wrestle, you should've simply asked me. You didn't have to fall on me.” She put her arms around him and wriggled her naked body against him enticingly.
She did not feel like a spirit, but like a sensual young woman with soft bare flesh. Deju became hot and flustered. Longfeathers reached down and grabbed his waist to pull him to his feet. He offered a hand to Sheila, who said, when she grabbed it, “My you're strong.” She felt the muscle of his arm which brought a broad smile to his face and an envious one to Deju's.
Once Deju recovered from his near fall, he took a torch from the wall and shined the light into the chamber where he had almost fallen. There was no floor, only an open pit full of poisonous snakes. From that point on, he did not step into a room without seeing what was in it.
They came upon a chamber whose floor was divided into large stone squares. Each square contained an alchemy or planetary symbol. Rows of spears were imbedded into the ceiling. Sheila removed a skeleton from a niche and placed it on one of the squares. A spear from the ceiling dropped, impaling the skeleton.
"Those symbols are alchemy symbols. You must step on them in the same order as I do in order to pass through the room safely."
She stepped on the symbol for Mercury. Nothing happened. The men followed her lead being careful to step only on the same squares as she did. They went through the same procedure on the Venus square and so forth. Apparently, the correct order was the same as the order of the planets followed by the four elements of alchemy. They continued on. Suddenly, Sheila dropped their hands and dodged through an archway.
Deju and Longfeathers ran after her into a dead end chamber. Except for corpses in the niches, it was empty, Deju called out, “Sheila. Where are you?” He was answered with echoes of his own voice.
CHAPTER 15. THE CAMPAIGN
When Nicholas returned to Washington, D.C., he gathered his closest associates and supporters together for an announcement. He brought Mandy to the forefront. “Guys and gals, I want you to meet my fiancé, Mandy Blake. We're going to be married this weekend in Las Vegas."
Everyone clapped and cheered. They each came up to congratulate him and give their best wishes to Mandy. Nicholas had previously ordered champagne and other alcoholic beverages. He toasted his new bride. Someone else proposed a toast to his winning the coming election. Other toasts were proposed. The meeting degenerated into a freewheeling party. Someone put on a rock station on the radio. Cigars and cigarettes were lit producing a thick smoky haze. Couples nuzzled in the corners. Mandy fell right into the spirit of the thing, dancing with everybody and shaking her booty all around the office.
At one point, Nicholas asked for quiet. “I also want to introduce a new employee. Come out, Victor.” Legion had been sitting quietly in an empty office reading a paperback book by Ann Rice. When he entered the room, the party disintegrated into awed silence. Everyone stared at his tremendous height and build and the scarred appearance of his face. Some people shuddered or looked frightened.
Nicholas put an arm around him. “This is Victor Legion. His primary task will be as a bodyguard for Mandy. He'll also be doing special jobs for me. I'm sure he'll be welcomed into the organization with open arms and will be an asset to the campaign.” The way he said this made his people aware that Legion was someone who had the ear of the boss. As the party continued, this fact made him popular with men and women with ambition who vied with each other to be close to the ugly monster.
As the party grew to a close, Nicholas’ campaign manager reminded him that the election was not that far away. He hand him an itinerary that the campaign tour should take. “Great. Since my first stop will be L.A., Mandy, Victor Legion and I will meet you the rest of the crew at campaign headquarters there."
; They discussed TV commercials. Herb, the campaign manager, said, “We have plenty of ammunition for great attack ads. That stuff you dug up on your rivals is great. Where did you get it?"
"Sorry Herb, I'm afraid I can't reveal my sources, not even to you.” Actually Nicholas had obtained the information by occult means.
"Are you ready for the big debate on national TV?"
"Absolutely. Don't worry Herb, the election is in the bag."
"I wish I was as confident as you. Being a third party candidate is an uphill battle. The two major party candidates have a lot of high powered people behind them and many resources. And people don't normally switch their vote to another party unless they've got a damn good reason."
Nicholas slapped Herb on the back. “You worry too much. We've shown one of the candidates to be a dishonest liar and the other to be a sexual deviate. My election is assured."
"Unless they dig up dirt from your past somehow. You don't have skeletons that we don't know about, do you?"
"Don't worry about that. I don't have a past.” Nicholas chuckled.
"What about Mandy and this Legion guy?"
"Mandy has had some minor arrests it's true, but nothing earthshaking. Compared with what the candidates themselves have done, it's nothing. As for Legion, he's like me. He has no past."
Later that evening Nicholas, Mandy and Legion boarded a plane for Las Vegas.
* * * *
As Nicholas and Mandy lay in bed in a luxury suite of the New Yorker, Mandy said, “So this is what it's like being married. I always imagined that if I ever got married that it would be in a big church, and I'd have a reception at a party house with hundreds of guests."
"Don't worry, baby. We'll have that big reception after the election is over. In fact, we'll have it in the White House. Won't that be grand?"
Mandy hugged Nicholas and kissed his throat. “Oh Nicky, you're wonderful.” She rubbed her naked body up against him. “Let's do it again."
Nicholas chuckled. “Baby, you're insatiable."
They made love for the third time that morning. While they were smoking cigarettes, Mandy asked, “Why does Vic have to tag along with us all the time?"
"We need a bodyguard. Presidential candidates and their spouses are prime targets for nuts."
"But you had professional people guarding you before. Why not now?"
"There's something about Victor that strikes me as someone who has more than the usual strengths and powers. He seems to be quite aware of everything around him, and he has the strength of ten ordinary guys."
"Yeah. There's that. Y'know, he claims that he's Frankenstein's monster. I think he's a bit balmy."
"All the better. A madman is just what we need to protect us."
* * * *
Mandy enjoyed all the traveling around. At each campaign stop, Nicholas, when he had time, showed her the sights. Wherever they went, Legion was in the background, watching. Sometimes when Nicholas made a speech somewhere, Mandy and Legion were alone together. Mandy would tease Legion by flirting with him. He never flirted back. Instead he told her to stop it. If she got too outrageous, he walked out of the room.
One time she sucked on a finger and said, “Are you going to tell Nicky that I'm a naughty girl when I'm with you?"
"You're nuts, Mandy. We have a good thing going with Nicholas. Why spoil it?"
He left the room.
Finally, there was the evening of the great debate. As predicted, Nicholas devastated his opponents by iterating all their past failings. He made great promises which the other candidates said were impossible without bankrupting the country. Finally, in desperation, they brought up Mandy's past brushes with the law. He turned these around and made them seem mean spirited by bringing up dirt on his wife. He pretended to be absolutely outraged. It was decided by the pundits that he had definitely won the debate.
Mandy and Legion watched it together on the sofa. After a while she got bored and started to tease Legion again. She put her hand on his upper arm and said, “My, that Frankenstein guy gave you some physique. How did he do on that organ between your legs?"
Legion grinned at her. “It's in proportion to the rest of my body. For a married woman, you seem awful curious about the sexual parts a man who is not your husband."
"Well, I've been with a lot of men. And they're all different. But I was never with anyone like you."
"What about my ugly puss? Doesn't it repulse you?"
"I've gotten used to it. In fact, I've become quite fond of it.” She reached up and stroked his cheek. The robe she was wearing slipped off of one shoulder. “C'mon, Nicky is on TV. He won't be home for hours. We could do it, and no one would know."
"You are a temptress, and it's been a long time since I've had a woman."
He undid the front of her robe. She wore only her bra and panties underneath. He kissed her shoulder. She put her arms around his neck and nipped at his ear. He unsnapped the bra and cupped her breast in one of his huge hands. His rough palm rubbed against her nipple, arousing her. She sighed and pulled his head down on the other breast. After he sucked for a while, he rose to swiftly remove his clothes. She stared at his member. It was indeed huge. She wondered whether it would hurt. Nonetheless, she wanted it badly. She slid her panties off. Moments later he was inside of her. It was as marvelous as she had fantasized. It seemed to fill her whole being. For such a big man he was very gentle. She screamed in ecstasy as they climaxed together.
* * * *
When Nicholas arrived at the hotel room, Mandy and Legion greeted him with a bottle of champagne.
Mandy said, “Congratulations Nicky. You murdered those other saps. They didn't know what hit them."
Legion said, “Yes, congratulations friend. You really did well. I'm sure you'll be elected.
Nicholas said, “Oh, I knew that I would be elected from the time I decided to run. All this campaigning is simply for show. I have tricks I haven't used yet."
"What do you mean?” asked Mandy.
"It's a secret.” He put a finger to his lips.
Mandy knew when not to press him. She did not pursue the matter.
They drank champagne until midnight, at which time Legion went to his own room, which joined theirs.
After he left, Nicholas gave Mandy a curious look. “Did you and Legion have fun while I was debating?"
"Fun? What do you mean? We were watching the debate."
Nicholas chuckled low and mean. “Don't think you're fooling me, Mandy love. You forget that I'm a telepath and can read minds. I know exactly what you did."
Mandy realized that she was caught. She brazened it out. “So, what are you going to do about it? Beat me? Divorce me? Fire Vic? What?"
"None of those things. It simply surprises me that you would do it with him. You and I are quite alike. I would cheat on you too if I had the time and the opportunity and the woman attracted me. Just remember that."
Mandy smiled with relief. She touched Nicholas’ cheek as she had Legion's a couple of hours earlier. “Well, I don't think either of us ever said ‘I love you.’ It's been simple lust between us all along. Am I right?"
"Right as rain. So let's continue in that vain."
He grabbed her roughly and threw her on the floor. He pounced on her like an animal, ripped her clothes off of her and took her in a manner that resembled rape. Nonetheless, Mandy enjoyed it almost as much as she had with Legion. She had always liked rough sex, and Nicky was a perfectionist at it, giving her just enough pain to make it interesting.
* * * *
September and October were hectic. They went from city to city campaigning, appeared on talk shows and had conferences with important contributors. On Halloween night, they were in Chicago. Nicholas said that they needed to take the evening off, that it was an important holiday in his religion. He called it Samhain.
"What are you?” asked Mandy. “Some kind of warlock or something? A secret Satanist? No wonder you can read minds."
"That's
not all I can do. No, I'm not a Satanist, nor a Wiccan. I have my own private religion, the worship of Nicholas.” He grinned broadly, so Mandy did not know whether he was pulling her leg or really meant what he said. “Of course, to the public, we must pretend to be proper Christians."
"Of course."
"Now Mandy. You must leave me alone for a while. There is something I must do, and I need to not be distracted. Go next door and amuse yourself with Victor."
"What are you going to do? Worship some dark god?"
"Something like that. Now, be a good girl and leave."
This aroused Mandy's curiosity. He had asked to be alone before, but never seemed so intense about it.
When she went into Legion's room, he was in bed watching reruns of The X Files. He looked surprised to see Mandy.
She said, “Nicholas sent me in here. He knows all about us."
"That doesn't surprise me. Apparently he doesn't mind."
"Not at all. In fact he actually encourages it."
"Nonetheless, I don't like the idea of doing with him in the next room."
Mandy approached the bed and whispered into Legion's ear. “We won't. I want to see what he does when he's alone. He seemed really anxious to get rid of me tonight. I think it has something to do with Halloween, or Samhain as he calls it."
"It's none of our business."
She put a finger to his lips. “Are you sure? I'd like to know just what kind of man I married."
Legion shrugged. He knew her well enough not to argue.
Mandy tiptoed to the door and very quietly opened it a crack. She put an eye to the slight opening. Nicholas was on the floor in the lotus position with five lit candles around him. One was directly in front, one was to his left, another was to his right, the fourth candle was to his left rear, and the last candle was to his right rear. If lines had been drawn connecting the candles, the figure formed would be a pentagram, a five pointed star. Nicholas eyes were closed, and he held his hands out resting on his legs palms up and fingers slightly curled. His breathing was shallow. His only movement was by his lips. He was muttering something so low, Mandy could not hear what it was. He seemed to be in a trance.