‘The crime was attributed to some drugged-up lunatic who already had two more murders on his record,’ Shelton said. ‘But the message to me was clear. Dave had been punished for his betrayal. He couldn’t meet the terms of his bargain with Satan, and he suffered the penalty. That was what made me understand the real truth about the forces of Good and Evil. It set me on a path that I’ll never turn away from, not until all these monsters are eradicated.

‘You see, I now believe that this is my calling in life, and that in some horrible sense poor Dave was God’s messenger, sent to open my eyes to reality. I withdrew to this lonely, quiet spot, built my new home and tore into my quest to research and discover everything I could about the Luciferian cabals that have infected our world like a disease and seduced and inveigled their way to the highest levels of power. And then, I found out about the Pandemonium Club.’

Chapter 45

Shelton said, ‘On the face of it, the Pandemonium Club is simply a social establishment that continues a long tradition within the culture of Britain and elsewhere. It doesn’t openly advertise its existence – you won’t find it on the internet – but nor does it try to conceal it entirely. To understand the nature of these mysterious societies, it’s worth knowing something about their historical background. Have either of you heard of the Hellfire Club?’

‘A hellfire missile, yes,’ Wolf said. ‘Never a club.’

‘It dates back to the early eighteenth century,’ Shelton explained. ‘In actual fact there never was a single “Hellfire Club”, because it’s a generic name given to a particular sort of exclusive gentlemen’s club that emerged around 1718. Membership of these groups was offered to upper-class rakes and libertines who wished to take part in activities that would have been socially regarded as immoral. Their meetings were a way for wayward young gentlemen, as well as the not-so-young, to let their hair down and give vent to their wilder side. Drinking, doing drugs, cavorting with harlots, all the usual dissolute pursuits. At least, that was the idea in principle.’

‘But I’m guessing they were something more than that,’ Ben said.

‘And you’d be right. The first well-known so-called Hellfire Club was the one founded by Lord Philip Wharton, the 1st Duke of Wharton, an esteemed politician who also had a reputation for being a rake, a drunkard and a rioter. It’s unclear who its members were exactly, but we can imagine they were all well-connected individuals. In their ceremonies they dressed as characters from the Bible, and satirised and mocked the Christian religion in honour of the club’s patron, supposedly the Devil himself.’

‘No shit,’ Wolf said.