29th March
Helen and I returned to our quarters just before one o’clock in the morning. It was late, but we had wanted to discuss with Etienne and Joan the details of my planned videolink interview with Arkangel.
‘I’m not going to be able to sleep,’ I said. ‘I need to do something to completely unwind.’
‘Me too,’ replied Helen, picking up a roll of parcel tape that had presumably been left by the previous occupants of the bungalow when packing their belongings.
She stuck one end of the tape to the floor and unrolled it to form a grey line across the white carpet.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
Helen said nothing. She continued to define with the parcel tape the geometric shape of a pentagram.
As the pattern began to emerge, I grasped what she was intending.
When the mystical symbol was complete, I walked to one of the external points of the star and stood quietly with my head bowed.
‘Remove you clothes,’ she said coldly.
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ I replied.
As I undressed, Helen did too.
She then walked to the centre of the pentagram and stood facing me. ‘You will obey my every command,’ she stated in a solemn tone.
‘Absolutely,’ I replied. ‘I mean, I saw what you did to those two vicars that crossed you.’
Despite the extremely tasteless black humour in that last comment, it struck the chord we both needed to find some release from the stress that recent events had built up within us. Our eyes met, and we were on the point of dissolving into laughter.
Then suddenly, a wail of agony and despair came from just outside our window – a cry that could have emanated from a tortured soul in the most desolate reaches of Hell.