worst.
The more I listened to Hess, the more skeptical I became, the more convinced that he was a low-level lunatic with dull dreams and a psychological inability to consider any 'truth' but that which he invented for himself.
However, as the man was so fundamentally amiable and clearly trusted me so completely, I had an opportunity to see what he knew of my father. Had he ever met old Count von Bek? I asked. The one who went mad and was burned alive. Killed himself, didn't he?
'Killed himself? Perhaps.' Hess shuddered. 'A terrible crime, suicide. Betrays us all. On a level with abortion, in my view. All life should be respected.'
I had discovered quickly the trick of steering him gently back to the subject.
'Count von Bek?'
'He lost the Grail, you see. He was entrusted with it. Father to child-son or daughter-down the centuries. 'Do you the Devil's work! ' is their ancient motto. They were at the Crusades. The oldest blood in Germany-but tainted by decadence, madness, Latin marriages ...
'Legend had it that the von Beks always protected the Grail, until such a time when Satan was reconciled with God. All stupid Christian nonsense, I know, and a corruption of our old, muscular Nordic myths. Those myths made us successful conquerors. It has always been our destiny to conquer. To bring order to the whole world. The myth still retains its power.' His eyes were focused on me now, burning into me. 'The power of myth is the power of life and death, as we knowfor we have restored the power of the Nordic myth. And again we are successful conquerors. We shall challenge that other Nordic race, our natural allies, the British, until they turn with us against the evil East and defeat the tyranny of communism. Together, we shall bring civilization to the whole planet! '
A typical sample of his droning, pseudophilosophical nonsense. It explained why the Nazi chiefs in their lunacy placed such value on the Grail and the Sword. These things represented a mystical authority. Only with them in harness with their political power were they confident they had secured their victories. Triumph over the admired British Empire would be a kind of epiphany. An armistice achieved, together they would restore the purity of blood and myth to its proper place in the order of things.
'We only have to complete the destruction of their air force and they will call for a truce.'
'I am impressed by your logic, sir.'
'Logic has nothing to do with it, Colonel. Logic and the so-called Enlightenment are Judeo-Christian inventions, deeply suspect by all right-thinking Aryans. Those Nazis who cling to their pro-Christian beliefs are working for the JudaicBolshevik cultural conspiracy. The British understand this as well as we do. The best kind of Americans are also on our side...'
I think that in all my adventures I have only shown real courage and selfdiscipline once: when I restrained myself from throwing the glamorous deputy Fiihrer out of my car.
'How, ' I asked, 'did old von Bek lose possession of the Grail?'
'As you no doubt know, he was an amateur scientist. One of those prehistoric gentleman scholars. He knew of the family's trust, to guard the Grail until we, its true inheritors, should come to claim it. But he was curious. He wanted to examine the Grail's properties. Which meant that first he had to master the laws of magic. Of necromancy. His studies drove him mad, but he continued with his examination of the Grail, and in doing so, he summoned a certain renegade Captain of Hell...'
'Klosterheim?'
'Just so. Who in turn brought the help of another renegade. One of the company of Law. The immortal, extremely unstable Miggea. Duchess of the Higher Worlds.' Hess grinned. He was in the know. He swelled, full of his own secrets. He twitched with supernatural intelligence. 'Alf-our Fiihrer-told me to find Gaynor, who was already an adept, and offer to blend our strength with his. Gaynor agreed and, rather later than he'd promised, brought the object of power back to Bek. With it we shall control history-the war against Britain is already won.'
In spite of my direct experience of realities he had only heard of, I still found him hard to follow, exhausting in the way mad people often are. Therefore I was deeply relieved when the car began its final drive towards the gates of Bek. Because the deputy Fuhrer was with us, our papers were never inspected. All I had to hope was that Gaynor did not recognize me. My hair was hidden under my military cap and I wore the dark glasses, which were an unofficial part of the uniform, to disguise my albinism.
Chatting easily with Hess I lifted the encased sword from the car. 'For the ceremony, ' I told him. Hess was by far my best cover and I was determined to stick with him as long as I could. As I moved through my old home, however, it was difficult to restrain myself from exclaiming at what had been done to it. I would rather Gaynor had destroyed it as he threatened. The house had been thoroughly violated. The place had been redecorated like a Fairbanks film setall Nazi pomp and circumstance: gold-braided flags, Teutonic tapestries, Nordic plaques and heavy mirrors, freshly made stained glass in the old Gothic windows, one of which showed an idealized portrait of Hitler as a noble knight-errant and Goring as some sort of male Valkyrie. A Rheinejungen perhaps? Swastikas everywhere. It was as if Walt Disney, who so admired fascist discipline and had his own ideas for the ideal state, had been hired as Bek's interior designer. The Hitler gang's passion for the garish trappings of the operetta stage was demonstrated throughout. In so many ways Hitler was a typical Austrian.
I, of course, said none of this to Hess, who seemed rather impressed by the house, enjoying his reflected glory as every SS officer stopped to click his heels and give him the Nazi salute. I luckily stood in Hess's reflected glory and Oona in mine, and so we passed as if charmed through our enemy's defenses while the deputy Fuhrer spoke warmly of King Arthur, Parsifal, Charlemagne and all the other Teutonic heroes of legend who had borne magic swords.
By the time we reached the armory, deep within the castle's oldest keep, I was beginning to wish Hess would return to his earlier topic of Nordic veganism. All in the repressed fear of my own imminent discovery and destruction! The deputy Fuhrer asked me to hold his canisters of food while he took a large key from his jacket pocket. 'The Fuhrer gave me the honor of holding his key, ' he said. 'It is a privilege to be the first to enter and to greet him when he arrives! '
He inserted the key in the lock and turned it with some difficulty. I thought it wise of Hitler to have his friend go ahead of him like that. After all, the Fiihrer could never be sure it was not an elaborate plot to end his life. Thus, as members of Rudolf Hess's entourage, we passed into the high-ceilinged armory which had been spared redecoration and was lit by a high, circular window. A sunbeam pierced the dust and fell directly upon a kind of altar, square granite carved with the Celtic sun cross, which had recently been placed there.
Involuntarily, I moved towards this new object. How on earth had they carried such a weight of granite through our narrow corridors? I reached out to touch it. But Hess held me back. Clearly he thought I was eager for other reasons. 'Not yet, ' he said.
As his eyes became used to the dim light, he looked around him in sudden puzzlement. 'What's this-what are you men doing here before I ever crossed the threshold? Do you not realize who I am and why I should be here first?' The shadowy group seemed unimpressed.
'This is blasphemy, ' said Hess. 'Infamy. This is no place for ordinary soldiers. The magic is subtle. It requires subtle minds. Subtle hands.' Klosterheim, automatic in hand, came grinning into the sunlight. 'I assure you, sir, we are nothing if not subtle. I will explain as soon as possible. But now, if you don't mind, Deputy Fiihrer, I will continue to save your life-'
'Save my-?'
Klosterheim pointed his pistol at me. 'This time my bullets will work, ' he said. 'Good afternoon, Count Ulric. I had an idea you would be joining us here. You see! You're fulfilling your destiny whether you wish to or not.'
Hess remained outraged. 'You are making many mistakes, Captain. The Fiihrer himself is involved with this project and will be arriving shortly. What will he think of a subordinate pointing a gun at his deputy and one of his top officers?'
'He will know what Prince Gaynor will tell him, ' said Klosterheim. He was careless of Hess's words. He hardly heard them. 'Believe me, Deputy Fuhrer Hess, we are acting entirely in the interests of the Third Reich. Ever since he was denounced as a traitor and his property confiscated, we have been expecting this madman to make an attempt on the Fiihrer's life-'
'This is nonsense! ' I began. 'You know it is a lie! '
'But is the rest a lie, Count?' His voice grew softer, more intimate. 'Do you think we expected you to give up pursuit? Wasn't it obvious that you would make some attempt to reach this place? All we had to do was wait for
