D. Mitchell - The King of Terrors

‘And it’s still with us. Same old promise — if it’s working don’t mess with it. Over the ensuing centuries the Church of Everlasting Bliss has been involved in many wars, acts of terrorism and genocide, in many countries, across continents. Death, to them, is simply an act of cleansing, preparing the way for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s Great Plan: to wipe everyone out and create a New Eden. It’s like the Masons but without the silly aprons, and of course a whole lot meaner.’

Gareth shook his head disbelievingly. ‘Come on, Caroline, how come nobody knows about them?’

She looked at him patiently. ‘Some of us know, Gareth, obviously. And anyhow, that’s the point of a secret sect; they don’t want anyone to know. Not yet at least. The modern Church of Everlasting Bliss has a foothold in all aspects of society, particularly in positions of financial power, a long tradition that goes back to Benedict Jones and its medieval origins.’

‘You seriously expect me to believe all that?’

She shrugged. ‘Suit yourself. You asked, I’m telling. You’d do well to believe me.’ She looked to the ceiling. ‘Yeah, I know, it sounds like baloney, but it isn’t. They’ve been central to stirring virtually every conflict across the world for hundreds of years. Take one big example. Who do you think was instrumental in orchestrating the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, an act that was to be the catalyst for the First World War? A bunch of inept thugs, a nineteen year old kid called Gavrilo Princip? The Black Hand? The Church not only was a part of the plot to assassinate the Archduke, it also managed to get to the Serbian ambassador to Vienna, a guy called Jovanovic, so that he was unable to deliver the warning that there was a threat of assassination to Austria-Hungary. Not satisfied with that it even had a hand in drafting the Habsburg Ultimatum that hung the Kingdonm of Serbia out to dry, forcing them into war. War was going to happen, whetever it took, and they played everyone against each other to achieve those ends. That’s only one instance, there are many more. Who, for instance, was an unseen financial force behind the emergence of fascism across Europe in the ‘Thirties, secretly funding the Nazi’s rise to power, and that of Mussolini in Italy? Who is currently behind a great deal of the radicalisation of young British people who then go on the perform acts of terrorism? Who do you think is involved in recent events in Syria threatening to drag us all into God knows what? They have their twisted fingers in virtually every nasty pie across the globe in some way, shape or form. Hell, all they’ve ever had to do was give us a little shove and we do their dirty work for them, quite happily murdering each other by the million, year in, year out. It’s what we humans do best, kill each other. I’ve seen it up close and personal. The more people that die the closer Doradus and his Church feel closer to achieving God’s Divine Intention. Best of all there’s not a lot we can do about it; the rot has set in for far too long and is too far reaching for it to be cured.’

‘Are you saying they go right to the heart of our political system too? Is that why we can’t go to the police?’

She laughed coldly. ‘That’s the trouble with all these conspiracy theories — every novel or movie that’s ever had one has the Prime Minister or President of the US ultimately responsible. In truth you don’t have to have anyone in government involved — those morons couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery. Don’t worry; Margaret Thatcher wasn’t Doradian, though many would probably argue otherwise. For the most part politicians are as ignorant as your average man on the street. Anyhow, political systems change too often. You need long-term stability, which means more can be done from elsewhere in the societal strata, particularly the financial sector. That’s where Doradus and his Church cut its teeth hundreds of years ago and has been a part of it ever since. That’s the more powerful force at play. Need an example? Take another look at major banks found to be processing billions worth of dollars in South America to finance God knows what mayhem through accounts that don’t exist? That’s just one dirty example. I have many more where that came from.’

‘It still doesn’t make sense. What on earth can this Doradus, whoever he is, want with my sister and me? And Lambert-Chide — what have I got that he needs so badly? Muller mentioned me being valuable because of some kind of immunity I had, but quite frankly this entire thing is just plain ludicrous!’

‘Ludicrous until you end up dead and in tiny pieces on the floor. You are both extremely valuable, that much is true, but Muller hasn’t quite got it right,’ she said. ‘He’s put two and two together and come up with five. Let’s say he was close but no cigar.’ She went to the grimy net curtains and peeled them back to peer outside.

‘OK, so what has the murdered woman in Manchester got to do with all this?’ asked Gareth. ‘My photo was found on a false driver’s licence in the flat. The way she was murdered obviously means Camael and Doradus were behind it. But what’s the connection between all that and me?’

Something outside the house was bothering her; she found it difficult to pull herself away from the window. When she did her attention seemed to be elsewhere. ‘A simple case of mistaken identity. Your sister had been living at the flat, occasionally sharing with the Polish woman. Somehow Camael found out where she lived and turned up with the intention of disposing of her. Don’t ask me about their rituals, why it had to be there and then, why not anywhere else; those kinds of details even I don’t know. Anyhow, Job done, they thought, only to find out later it wasn’t your sister. Someone who looked a lot like her, yes, but definitely not the same woman. So the chase was on again. And it’s been a chase that’s been going on some time.

‘As for the false documents the police found at the flat, those belonged to Erica; she’d been gathering it, preparing an entirely new identity for you. She knew Doradus was getting close to discovering who you really were, and figured you’d be next on their hit list. She felt she had to protect you, to save you. It was no accident that you ran into her that night in the lane. She’d been squatting in an old house nearby, but had been traced there by Camael and his lackeys. She narrowly escaped being caught by them and was on her way to warn you when she encountered you in the lane, must have slipped in her haste and you accidentally knocked her over.’

‘And the symbol painted on my cottage wall?’ he asked. ‘How’d that get there?’

‘My guess is Camael and co traced Erica as far as they could, finally coming upon your cottage as the most likely place she’d find shelter for miles. They discovered the place unlocked and empty.’

Gareth thought back to that night, which seemed an age ago. ‘I remember taking Erica’s coat off because it was so wet. I took it with me to the cottage, threw it over the back of the sofa. Maybe they saw it, thought she’d been there, or expected her back at any time.’

‘It’s the only reason I can see that they set about preparing for the ritualised killing,’ she said. ‘Like I told you, it’s impossible to know the exact secrets of their rituals — timings, places, things like that — but the time and the place had obviously been in alignment that night at your cottage.’

‘Except we were in the Land Rover and they never knew.’

‘That was a close run thing,’ she said.’ Had you taken Erica indoors you would have both been murdered.’ Caroline once again moved to the window. Stared hard outside. ‘The arrival of the ambulance obviously disturbed them and they either took flight or hung around to see Erica being taken to hospital. Muller’s appearance at the hospital scared her into flight again. So that’s how we are where we are,’ she said. She took the gun out of her jeans belt and checked it over. ‘Doradus wants you dead because he deems you evil; Lambert-Chide wants you alive because of your immense value. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, huh?’ She beckoned for him to rise. ‘We have to go now.’