Blue Flame. Robert A. Webster

and looked at Freda after reading the ancient texts on both glass compartments.

      Hans beckoned them over to the glass rooms door and shoved Freda through the glass door and over to the coffin.

      Twigg, enraged, was about to attack Hans again when Erik shouted, “Come here, Keeper.”

      Twigg trembled and went over to Erik standing with the commandos by the portal, while Hans Kruger ordered Freda to lie down in the coffin.

      Freda rubbed her stomach, comforting her unborn infant as Hans closed the lid. He picked up a large jar marked ‘Schwefel’, Sulphur and poured the powder in a circle around the coffin.

      Twigg became furious when he looked back and saw this and punched the soldier closest to him. The other troopers tried to mob him, hoping they would not get a repeated thrashing. A scuffle never occurred, as Erik moved in front of Twigg, who went numb. Erik walked forward, forcing Twigg to back up towards the Hansen’s portal.

      “Summon the spirit ‘Aufpasser,’ Keeper, Guardian,” demanded Erik.

      There was no need as Fritz Hansen, the Spirit Keeper, after detecting strange anomalies at the portal went to investigate and materialised in the earthly portal.

      Fritz felt fear coming from his son and his pregnant daughter-in-law, who he saw lying in a glass coffin looking helpless. He saw the protective pentagram and symbols replaced and became concerned as the mortal with the demon aura now stood in front of him and gave him a stark warning, “If you attempt to raise the alarm in the spirit world, it would not bode well for your mortal family,” said Erik pointing to Freda.

      The bemused commandos in the room could not understand what was happening and Hans ordered them to go upstairs which they did with great haste because they felt scared.

      Fritz waited to see what would transpire before summoning help and knew his Spirit Guide wife would not be far away.

      “What do you want demon?” Fritz asked.

      Hans looked on bemused. Erik appeared to be speaking to an empty spot on the floor. ‘What is this devilry’ thought Hans, as he slowly edged his way behind Twigg as instructed to await the signal from Hitler’s Jewish psychic.

      Hans was a mortal spectator in the room and could not perceive what the others were witnessing.

      The room became a swirling kaleidoscope of illuminated vivid colours. Crimson lights emanated from the glass coffin containing Freda, the two Keeper’s myriad of rainbow colours swirling around the portal, and the dark blue, almost black, aura emanating from Erik.

      Twigg glared at Erik, and asked again, “What are you doing, and what do you want?”

      “I am here to help mankind. They have lost their way and need guidance. I demand the help of the spirits to accomplish my goals,” said Erik.

      “You can demand nothing demon, your kind only wanted to destroy mankind,” said Twigg and sounding defiant, added, “We will stop you as we have always done in the past.”

      “And what do you hope to achieve?” Fritz asked.

      Erik grinned and told them, “With your cooperation, I can bring about new world order and …”

      While the Keepers glared at Erik as he spoke and unable to pick up any emotion to know he was lying, Twigg and Fritz did not notice Hans, who now stood behind Twigg.

      Eric had, and seeing Hans in position, yelled, “Now, Hans!”

      Hans lunged at Twigg, pushing him to the location on the floor that Erik had shown him. Fritz saw this, panicked, and tried to flee back into the spirit world, but with everything happening too fast, Hans had forced Twigg into the portal before Fritz could escape.

      “Excellent, excellent,” shouted Erik, clapping excitedly. “Right on target.”

      Hans looked on in horror as the mighty Twigg shook. A force seemed to enter Twigg’s body, knocking Hans of his feet. Hans watched from the wooden floor, as Twigg stood fixed to the spot, convulsing as if some powerful invisible force shook him. Hans saw Twigg’s face distort and small particles of flesh floating away from his body, swirling around him. Watching with horror, Hans saw Twigg disintegrating before his eyes which unnerved him and he looked at Erik grinning as he stared where moments ago Twigg stood.

      What Hans didn’t see was the portal’s blue flames intensifying, as a multi-coloured tornado swirled around violently as the two Keepers intertwined, stuck together like conjoined twins. After several moments, the blue flame disappeared, leaving the fused slow-spinning rainbow vortices rotating around a flameless portal

      Erik laughed and sounding condescending, said aloud. “I knew I could do it. My calculations were correct, “I have closed a portal. Now me and the Füehrer can live forever.”

      Erik then looked down at Hans on the floor with his mouth agape. ‘You’re not so tough in my world,’ he thought, sneering at him.

      Hans got to his feet, and trembling like a frightened child, asked, “What devilry is this?”

      “You need not know, so carry out your orders. Now, give me your pistol,” snapped the Jew.

      Hans’s hand shook as he handed Erik his Luger.

      Erik walked into the glass room and over to the glass coffin. He opened the lid, pointed the Luger, and as Freda put her hands up to protect herself, Erik fired two shots, one into Freda’s head, and another into her stomach and closed the lid.

      “You’re going nowhere,” he said to the corpse and smirked as two crimson spirits filled the coffin, like red smoke in the wind.

      He looked over at the swirling rainbows in the portal, grinned, and shouted, “At least you can spend eternity close to each other,” he laughed as the crimson lights settled down, as Freda, now a Spirit Guide, realised the situation was hopeless. She watched her husband and father-in-law’s spinning auras, before melding with the smaller crimson light of her unborn child within her prison.

      Erik went over to Hans and looked up at his ashen face glaring wide-eyed at him as he handed back his Luger, smirked, and said, “You have done good work here SS-Oberfüehrer, the Füehrer will be pleased.”

      Erik and the trembling Hans left the cellar and went upstairs. Hans’s commandos saw their leader shaken. They all thought that the sooner this part of their mission was over the better, they’d never felt so scared. These soldiers were the elite of the German army and although they had witnessed and caused many scenes of death and carnage, this was something that seemed far worse than simply dying.

      They all went outside the cottage and looked towards the edge of the Black Forest as the rumbling became louder and the first row of trees collapsed forward. With the sound of splintering and cracking wood, two large Weinmach MS40 heavily armoured earthmovers pushed their way through. Smaller diggers, cranes, and various other excavation and building equipment, along with trucks carrying men and supplies, followed closely behind.

      The convoy made its way sluggishly toward the cottage.

      Hans looked at his watch. The slow pace of the machines infuriated Hans and his men. The heavy vehicles only appeared to inch their way forward. The commandos all looked relieved when they saw three vehicles swerve past the others and speed towards them. Two half-track Maultier cargo trucks and a Kubelwagon jeep approached the cottage.

      Hans breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his replacement, SS-Oberfüehrer, Benno Von Arent, sitting in the front.

      “Good, now we can get away from this place,” Hans told his relieved, battered, bruised, and terrified men.

      Erik glanced at Hans and smirked as the Kubelwagon stopped in front of him and the commandos.

      Benno got out and saluted them. They returned the salute and Benno, Eric, and Hans went inside the cottage. Benno took blueprints and other documents from a case and laid them out on the kitchen table.

      “You don’t look well SS-Oberfüehrer,