“The skull of the Marquis de Sade!” exclaimed Millie Drake. “Gosh, is that what it really is?”
“That is the rumour, anyway,” I replied. “In any event, it appears that someone believed this -- believed it enough to commit theft and murder!”
We were at our headquarters, located in the golden trapezoidal roof of a metropolitan skyscraper. I was clad in my usual finery, including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, and jungle boots. My panama hat and opera cape hung from a near by hallstand.
My companion, Miss Millie Drake, is an exceedingly beautiful young lady; petite and perfect, with luxurious chestnut hair, lovely violet eyes, and sun-kissed skin. The pink dress she wore only served to highlight her slender teen figure.
Also with us was Kit-10, our mobile personal computer that resembles nothing more or less than a small mechanical cat, who was at this time attached to one of the many computer consoles whilst performing a certain electronic search.
“So the skull is rumoured to have supernatural powers?” enquired Millie.
“Indeed so,” I confirmed. “You see, the remains of the notorious de Sade were exhumed from the grounds of a French insane asylum soon after his death there in 1814. The official reason is that they were believed to be valuable in research related to the so-called science of phrenology, but it was not long until the remains -- most prominently the skull, vanished into the occult underground. The idea that the late Marquis had indulged in certain rites of black magic, as one of his many infamous crimes against nature, was too much to resist, hmmm?”
“So the skull eventually resurfaced and was sold to this collector in Highspire Borough, Pennsylvania?”
“Quite so. His name was Peter Cushini, and he was a wealthy and reclusive collector of antiques related to literary figures. He purchased the supposed ‘Skull of the Marquis de Sade’ less than a month ago.”
“And now someone has murdered him,” shuddered Millie Drake, “while burglarising his home to steal the skull?”
“Indeed,” I replied. “Mr. Cushini was stabbed to death in his sleep and the skull was the only thing found to be missing from his collection.”
“Is there any way to find out who did it?”
“Possibly. Cushini did have a surveillance camera, but it was a bit old. Only one image is available of the criminals, and it was rather blurry. I managed to receive a copy from a contact at the Highspire Borough Police Department. It should be finished going through the upgrade process in our systems now. Ah, here it is.”
Just then, an image appeared on the computer monitor next to me. It was dark, but none the less showed two figures. One was a voluptuous teenage girl with raven black hair and luminous blue-green eyes, wearing only a crimson red bikini. The other was apparently a man of middle years, his face still showing signs of handsome distinction despite being marred with the results of lifetimes of extreme ungodly evil. His hair was long and dark, and his countenance decorated with a thin moustache and goatee beard. Most of all, his eyes shone with an absolutely hypnotic glare. He was clad in a tailored suit of ebon silk.
“Don Wingus!” I said, recognising him immediately. “I should have known. So he did escape from the powers of Torr, and has reunited with is daughter Anastasia.”
“And,” added Millie in horror, “he now has the skull of de Sade!” ...
My name is Doctor Daniel Rumanos. I carry within my blood the vastly superior genes of the legendary Watchers of Algol, the most intellectually advanced race in all of the known galaxies, whose technology is so sophisticated it appears to be miraculous to lesser beings. Whilst most Algolites live in elitist seclusion from the rest of the Universe, I am an operative for an organisation known as the KOSMIKOS, tasked with protecting Earth from all manner of menace. I am -- The Daemon-Star!!! …
We looked at the picture of Magister Don Wingus on the computer screen, forsooth the image of that most infamous criminal mastermind in all of existence, that renegade Algolite who, along with his dangerously seductive daughter, now had in his possession the very skull of the notorious Marquis de Sade!
“By the Triple Star!” I swore. “The skull must be authentic for Wingus to take interest in it. Nevertheless, what powers does it possess, hmmm?”
“S--,” replied the simulated yet pleasantly feminine voice of Kit-10, “results of analysis scan are complete.”
(It should be noted here that Kit-10, along with her other feline characteristics, is possessed of the total inability to openly show respect to anyone. Indeed, the closest she ever comes to it is by referring to me by a slight “s--” sound -- for “sir”, and to Millie by “m--” -- for “ma’am”.)
“Excellent, Kit-10,” I praised. “What does the search show?”
“Analysis has revealed the presence of Baalberith energy,” replied the robot.
“Spires of Daemonia!” I swore. “Baalberith!”
“Daniel, isn’t that the name of an ancient Canaanite god?” queried Millie Drake.
“Quite so,” I confirmed. “The so-called ‘lord of the covenant’ who also appears in the medieval grimoires as a devil that tempts men to quarrels leading to murder.”
“But what is Baalberith really?”
“In reality, Baalberith was a soldier. He was one of the Cacodemons of Andromeda who went into exile after the Galactic Wars and ended up on Earth. He then utilised his alien powers to become a deity to the ancient people known as the Canaanites. Eventually, Baalberith faded from physical existence but -- as is an ability of his kind -- managed to continue as what is known as an ‘evil spirit’, hmmm? His worship was later eliminated when the Israelites conquered the land of Canaan, but the legends concerning him lived on, eventually finding their places in the very books of black magic used by the infamous Marquis de Sade!”
“So that’s the connection then,” pondered Millie. “Don Wingus is using the skull of de Sade to conjure this Baalberith. But why?”
“Given his own proclivities, of which we are all too aware from former experience,” I returned, “Wingus likely intends to utilise the powers of Baalberith in one of his mad schemes of world domination.”
“Then we need to find and stop him as soon as possible!”
“Indeed so. Fortunately, now that Kit-10 has identified the Baalberith energy, it should be relatively easy for me to use the transonic device in order to pinpoint the current location of Don Wingus.”
I then took the transonic turnscrew, an highly advanced scientific instrument in physical form somewhat resembling a writing pen, from my jacket pocket. I activated it to scan for Baalberith energies.
“Ah, here we go!” said I upon reading the results before returning the device to my pocket. “Baalberith energy has indeed been utilised recently in the area of Gaithersburg.”
“That’s about forty miles outside the city,” added Millie.
“Come along then, Mills and Kit-10. We have a demon to face!” …
A short time later, my companions and I were racing to-wards the Gaithersburg area in my especially-modified canary coloured Edwardian roadster (affectionately known as “Lizzie”). We ended up at the now-abandoned shopping centre known as the Damascus Mall, quickly leaving the car in the parking lot and heading for the main entranceway on that overcast afternoon.
“So this is where the energy has been detected?” enquired Millie Drake. “The Damascus Mall?”
“That is what the transonic says,” I replied. “It seems the Baalberith powers are indeed being evoked here.”
“But it looks closed.”
“It is. Shuttered and abandoned, in fact. The old Damascus Mall, although once one of the most popular shopping centres in the area, has now closed due to the effects of internet shopping and other factors of the modern world. I really think that it…”
“Oh my goodness, Daniel!” suddenly interrupted Millie. “Look at that!”
I quickly turned my head in the direction my friend had indicated and beheld an horror. It was like unto the phantasmal image of an huge human skull, with its eyes glowing in an eerie red effulgence -- and it was approaching us quickly.
Kit-10 quickly fired off several shots of her nose-laser, but it had no effect on the ghostly floating skull. I then heard Millie scream in horror as the thing reached us.
Then, just as the red-eyed skull would have touched us, it suddenly vanished as soon as it had appeared.
“It is all right now, Mills,” I said. “The apparition is gone.”
“But… what was it?” stammered the young lady.
“Only some illusion engendered by Don Wingus by utilising the Baalberith powers of the skull of de Sade,” I explained. “It was just an attempt to frighten us. He will not use any significant level of the power until we are in his presence and therefore pose an immediate threat.”
Millie Drake, Kit-10, and I then continued our approach to the abandoned shopping mall. The door not being locked, we encountered no further resistance as we entered the old building. We walked along the corridors and beheld the numerous shuttered shops of the dilapidated establishment, lit only by the dim glow from the mall’s high skylight windows.
It was in the very centre of the Damascus Mall that we finally saw them. They were standing on the stage that at one time was erected there for the use of local school marching bands and similar presentations at the shopping establishment. It was Don Wingus and his daughter, the bikini-clad Anastasia.
Before them was a table, covered with a silken cloth of ebony black hue. On the table was a skull, normally sized and formed -- but with the eldritch red glow emanating from its otherwise empty eye sockets!
“Greetings, Rumanos and Miss Drake,” spoke Don Wingus, his voice as usual a tone of mocking evil. “We have been expecting you.”
“Kit-10,” I called. “The skull!”
With this, the mechanical cat shot forth a blast of her laser directly at the death’s head, but it was to no avail. The shot simply stopped and disappeared before it reached its target.
“There is no hope in that, Rumanos,” announced Wingus. “That is the skull of the Marquis de Sade, and it -- along with my little Stacy and I -- is protected by the demonic power of Baalberith!!”
“Wingus, you unhallowed fiend!” I charged. “You stole the skull of de Sade from the late Mr. Cushini -- murdering him in the process.”
“Oh, my daughter here took care of the latter process. She has indeed become quite adept with the knife.”
“So I have heard. You then utilised certain psyche-sexual techniques to reactivate the demoniacal powers at one time summoned by the infamous Marquis himself, hmmm? I am certain your daughter had a part to play in that as well.”
“Oh, of course, Rumanos. Of course. You have always been rather jealous of the closeness I share with my child, old chap.”
Millie asked, “But what do you plan to do with the skull? How will its powers help you?”
“The skull is possessed of the ancient power of the being known as Baalberith,” replied Don Wingus. “The same demonic force that has become known as that causing quarrels that lead to violence and murder. I intend to use this power to the utmost.”
“Wingus,” I said. “You do not mean that you… ?”
“Oh, indeed I do. I shall enhance the power and send it forth around this very planet, where it will cause a wave of extreme violence like has never before been seen. Murder, rape, revolution. Wars and rumours of wars. I shall use the power of Baalberith to evoke chaos and disorder upon Earth and then -- then! -- I shall use the results of this pandemonium to establish myself as supreme ruler of the world!”
“Daniel!” cried Millie. “We have to do something to stop him!”
“Oh no, Miss Drake. Not this time. The days of you and Rumanos here foiling my plans are at an end -- as are your very lives!!!”
With this pronouncement, an immense wave of power suddenly came forth from the stage area and hurtled itself directly at Millie Drake, Kit-10, and me. It hit us hard and with a force that caused immense and well nigh unbearable pain -- pain that I knew we could not long endure.
“Feel the power of the skull of the Marquis de Sade!” shouted Don Wingus in sick satanic ecstasy. “Feel the power of Baalberith! Feel the powers that I -- Magister Don Wingus -- now wield over this wretched planet! Feel the powers, and die!!”
Do you even begin to recognise the darksome horror, forsooth the utter unhallowed terror of this situation, my dear friends and readers? There we were: the lovely Millie Drake, the robotic Kit-10, and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos -- being pummelled by the grotesque power of the ancient Canaanite god known as Baalberith, the lord of the covenant! There we were, being brutalised by the very powers of darkness that the obscene intergalactic villain known as Magister Don Wingus had called forth with the help of the actual skull of the infamous Marquis de Sade!!
“Now you will die, Rumanos!” exulted the evil Wingus. “The powers are mine to command, and now you will die!”
“Father, no!” suddenly interrupted Anastasia. “Please don’t hurt Doctor Rumanos! I want him! You said you would let me have him as a plaything when you came into your power over the planet Earth.”
“Stacy, you retarded whore!” bellowed Don Wingus in outrage as he turned and slapped his daughter hard. “I am so utterly sick and tired of your silly schoolgirl crush on that damnable old Daniel Rumanos!!”
Now a strange thing happened. The concentration of the wicked Wingus having been broken, the phantasmagorical Baalberith energies emanating from the skull now quickly changed their course. In stead of continuing to pummel my companions and me, they reversed course to-wards Don Wingus and his daughter.
“What!” shouted Wingus in sudden shock when he realised what was happening. “No! No!! You cannot do this to me! I am Magister Don Wingus, the master of all black magic! Baalberith, you will obey me! Spirit of Marquis de Sade, you will obey me! No! No! Nooooooooo!!!”
The demonic energy completely surrounded Don Wingus and Stacy and, within a very few moments, they had vanished out of existence.
“Daniel, look at the skull!” Millie cried.
Indeed, the skull of the Marquis de Sade had risen from its place on the table and, whilst the glowing red horror grew in its dead eyes, it suddenly shattered into countless pieces.
Millie and I looked around the area. The phantom powers had vanished, and all was now quiet.
“By the Stellar Triplicity!” I swore, my voice echoing around the empty mall. “Don Wingus lost control of the Baalberith energies when Anastasia distracted him, hmmm? Seeking an outlet for its inherent violence, the energies then naturally focused upon Wingus and his daughter, the resultant shock taking them out of this very realm of reality.”
“Are you all right, Kit-10?” queried Millie.
“All systems undamaged and functioning normally, m--,” replied the little robot.
“So, what about the skull?”
“It was old and worn,” I explained. “The powers being invoked in it again was more than it could take, and so it was destroyed. Truly -- the skull of the Marquis de Sade is no more!”
***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN
