Read Online They Used Dark Forces by Dennis Wheatley - Free Book Online Page A

a minute she said in a dreamy voice, ‘You may proceed, Master. I am with him.’
    Transferring his gaze to Gregory, the doctor asked, ‘What is your name?’
    Gregory kept his mouth tightly shut but, automatically, inhis mind he saw his usual signature on a cheque. Khurrem’s low voice came again. ‘It is a little difficult to read. Geoffrey, I think. No, Gregory. And his surname is—but how strange. It is that of the Roman historian, Sallust.’
    Utterly amazed, Gregory jerked his head from beneath her hands; but Malacou raised his pistol and rapped out, ‘Don’t move! Remember that I can force these answers from you by having you tied up.’
    With a sharp intake of breath, Gregory sat back. Once bound, even if he could resist the doctor’s hypnotic powers, he would not be able to prevent Khurrem from again placing her hands on his head and, it seemed, extracting a certain amount of information from him. His only defence was to try to make his mind a blank.
    As Khurrem’s fingertips again pressed down on his forehead, Malacou waited for a moment, then asked, ‘Where were you three nights ago at this hour?’
    In spite of himself a picture formed in Gregory’s mind. He jerked his thoughts from it and, visualising a brick wall, strove to concentrate on that; but in vain. In flashes his mind persisted in reverting to the original scene, as Khurrem began to speak in a monotonous tone:
    â€˜He resists, but uselessly. It was a warm night and he was sitting in a garden. Seated beside him there is a fair woman. She is very beautiful with a strong resemblance to Marlene Dietrich. She must know that he is about to leave her for, although she smiles bravely, her eyes are red. With them there is another couple; the man Sabinov and a small, dark woman. She is younger than the other, also good-looking and wearing a nurse’s uniform.’
    â€˜Mother of God, protect us!’ Kuporovitch suddenly burst out in French. ‘This is the Devil’s work, otherwise it would be impossible.’
    Malacou’s thick lips broke into a smile and, using poor but fluent French, he commented, ‘Instead of calling on the Holy Virgin in her remote serenity you would be well advised to speak with respect of the Lord of this World.’ Then, turning back to Gregory, he reverted to German. ‘Tell me, Herr Sallust, about this house at which you spent that night.’
    Still hardly able to credit the existence of such psychic powers, Gregory stared in bewilderment at the doctor for Khurrem had given an accurate report of the picture that had floated through his mind. Before setting out on their mission he and Kuporovitch had gone up to spend their leave with Erika and Madeleine at Gwaine Meads, Sir Pellinore’s ancient property on the Welsh Border. On their last night there, as it had been warm, the four of them had gone out after dinner and sat in the garden. Rendered more vulnerable by Khurrem’s success he could not prevent his thoughts from flickering to and fro in response to her father’s question.
    Khurrem spoke again. ‘It is a mansion. Far larger than Sassen and with many rooms. I see a spacious bedroom. In it there is a bed with a tall canopy. He shares it with the fair woman. I see her then in another room. It is downstairs and much smaller. There are many files in it and she is typing. In the more modern part of the mansion the big reception rooms now contain lines of beds. Young men lie in them and nurses move about among them; so it must be a hospital. I see another part of the garden. It is a big lawn and men in uniform are sitting about there, some with crutches. They are all officers of the British Air Force and there are no German guards to be seen, so this hospital must be in Britain.’
    Malacou’s dark eyebrows suddenly lifted. ‘Khurrem, are you quite certain of that?’
    Despite himself Gregory’s mind slipped back to