The Irregulars

Chapter 7

Perched on a hill overlooking the small village that shared its name, Wewelsburg Castle was, on the surface, a training facility for the German protection squadron, the Schutzstaffel, more commonly known as SS. The castle's true purpose, however, was far more sinister.

Built near the purported site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where German tribesmen beat back the invading armies of Rome, the castle was reported to be a site of great mystic energy. Energy that Hitler and the Third Reich were very eager to tap into.

For years, the castle had stood empty, left to be reclaimed by the surrounding forest. But, in 1933, it had been purchased by the Nazi party, desperate to uncover its vast secrets. Under the watchful eye of the Reich, the castle had undergone a vast and exhaustive restoration, overseen by SS head Heinrich Himmler himself. Working from a bizarre blueprint of his own design, Himmler had rebuilt the castle using slave labor, culled from nearby camps. The laborers worked tirelessly around the clock to create a monument to the Nazi's occult agenda. When a worker dropped dead from exhaustion, another was immediately forced into his place.

The white stone, triangular-shaped building cut an imposing figure against the forested landscape, especially at night, when lights glowed like haunted eyes from its four towers. The interior of the castle was equally striking. The main hall was upheld by twelve pillars, to symbolize the twelve main offices of the SS. The walls were decorated with a wide array of weaponry, from pikes and lances to gleaming swords and shields. Suits of armor stood guard impassively along every passageway while overhead, lit by the flickering torches, hung flags and banners emblazoned with the lightning bolt symbol of the SS.

Himmler had also spared no expense when designing the floors of the castle, adorning them with elaborate tiled swastikas and the twelve-spoked "Black Sun" symbol, carved in green marble. One of the largest swastikas was located in the catacombs beneath the castle. It was there that SS members who fell in battle were cremated, their death's head rings stripped from the body and stored in a special casket. This section of the castle was heavily guarded by a garrison of SS officers hand-selected by Himmler himself. Clad in black from head to toe, their faces concealed by silver recreations of the death's head symbol emblazoned on their rings, these soldiers represented Hitler's elite. The Army of the Black Sun.

Just after midnight, a Rolls Royce Phantom limousine pulled into the castle's triangular courtyard after midnight. The driver turned towards the back, addressing the silent passenger.

"We are here, mein Herr," he said.

Kruger, still seething over his failed confrontation with Alec, looked up and nodded. He stepped out of his car, barely returning the sharp salute offered by the Black Sun soldiers at the entrance. His mind was on other things, and his face was a mask of concern, worry and puzzlement. The encounter in Paris had not gone as he had anticipated and he did not relish the thought of having to explain himself.

"Herr Kruger, guten aben."

Kruger looked up to see the pale, skeletal figure of Dr. Bergen advancing on him from down the hall. The man moved with a gangly, awkward gait, like a marionette controlled by unseen strings, and it unnerved Kruger greatly. That and the grim pleasure the doctor took in his work.

"Guten aben, Herr Doktor," Kruger said absently. "Do you have news for me?"

"My work with the twins continues," said Bergen, with the excitement of a child discussing his insect collection. "But I will confess, it is becoming harder to find subjects that are more...cooperative. This is why I hope you have news of your own to share from Paris?"

"I have news from Paris," said Kruger. "But it is not for your ears."

At this revelation, Bergen's face became almost gleeful. When he spoke, his voice came out somewhere between a whisper and a giggle.

"You mean...you are going to meet with...?"

"Yes," said Kruger, brushing past the doctor, "and you've already made me late."

Kruger made his way through the castle, passing the urns reportedly filled with the ashes of deceased German heroes, including members of the SS. Over each urn glowed a skull carved from pure crystal, supposedly designed to draw energy from the remains and send it out throughout the castle. He walked down a spiral staircase lit only by low flame, past the wine cellars, through the chambers where Himmler held initiation rituals for SS soldiers, with the idea being that they had to renounce their faith in order to embrace the new religion of the Third Reich.

Walking further down the staircase, Kruger at last entered the catacombs deep beneath the castle's stone floors. Entering through a small wooden door, Kruger found himself in what had come to be known as the "Communion Room." On the floor was a massive Black Sun symbol surrounded by twelve pillars, supposedly placed strategically so as to draw energy from above and below the earth. At each pillar stood a Black Sun guard, their masked faces betraying no emotion. Here, according to Himmler, was the beating heart of Wewelsburg Castle. This was the center of all the energy the castle took in and, according to his blueprints, the exact center of the planet itself. It was here that Himmler conducted "Visualization sessions," contacting the disembodied spirits of long gone magic users. Kruger himself had taken part in many of these sessions, and found them deeply unpleasant. Like peering over a wall and seeing something horrible beyond it. But it was through these sessions that he had acquired his abilities, such as the power to suppress the gifts of other users. Not that it had served him especially well in Paris, he thought angrily.

Preparing to accept his fate for his failure, Kruger walked into the circled symbol and approached the hooded figure in its center. He was careful not to get too close so as not to disturb the figure. After a moment, the figure turned and lowered his hood, revealing the face of Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the SS. Himmler was the most vocal supporter of the Nazi's paranormal agenda and the man most directly responsible for influencing the occult practices of the Nazi party. He looked at Kruger with dark, rodent-like eyes from behind small metal glasses. As Himmler studied him, Kruger felt an almost unnatural ripple of fear, and he couldn't quite place why. Himmler was just a man, after all, but there was something else behind the human facade. It wasn't just the thousands of people whose deaths he had already had a hand in. It was something else. Something dark and misshapen that seemed to move underneath his skin. As though an inhuman form had taken his body as a sort of disguise. And, every so often, the disguise slipped, showing the horror underneath.

"So, my friend," Himmler said in a clipped, icy voice. "It seems you had quite a time in Paris."

"It was not a complete loss," said Kruger. "I made contact with the prospect."

"And yet you stand before me alone," said Himmler. "What am I to make of this?"

"He had friends."

At this Himmler gave forth a laugh. It was not a joyful laugh and it made Kruger uncomfortable to hear. He was relieved when it finally subsided.

"What will the Reich come to," said Himmler. "If we can be so easily thwarted by a boy and his friends?"

"What would you have me do?"

"I would have you not be such a fool, to begin with," said Himmler. "But since that seems to be a task beyond your abilities, I would have you make a more sincere effort to acquire the prospect and bring him before me."

"But, he has already seen me," said Kruger. "I do not think I can get so close a second time..."

"Do I need to remind you that the time draws near?" said Himmler. "The Fuhrer has taken most of Europe. Only England stands in our way. Our time is at hand and without the device we cannot hope to proceed."

"Yes, Herr Himmler, I know," Kruger said. "But..."

"You seem to be full of excuses," Himmler said. "I have heard more than my fill. Perhaps you would like to travel to Berlin and try them there?"

Kruger bowed his head.

"No, Herr Himmler."

"Good," said Himmler. "At last we seem to be understanding each other. But we do have a dilemma. I wish for you to bring the boy to me, you feel as though you have lost the element of surprise. How fortunate for you that I have a solution."

"You do?"

In response, Himmler offered a smile that, like his laugh, was entirely devoid of mirth.

"I have a man in France," he said. "And he is very eager to help."