Sanctum Arcanum

by Alexander Kautz

  Rich had looked over at me and my heart had caused me to deeply sigh, “I’m afraid that it’s no coincidence, and that you’re most likely right.”

  “Then, I just want you to know, laddie--,” Her features softened as she spoke affectionately in that endearing Scottish drawl, “That no matter what happens or what may come of it, I’m glad to be here with you and Caitie at the end.”

  “Let’s not have that kind of talk--,” Norman gently brushed the white curls from her face, “For if anything comes of this—we will put our foot to its back-side, right quick!”

  Caitlin had looked up at me from where she lay beneath the blankets, gently embraced within my arms. We sat on the couch beside Rich and Maya and across from Eva and Norman. There was a strange light of confidence, even admiration shining in her loving eyes. It was something that caused me to feel ever worse, as I knew that it was certainly undeserved….

  “As long as we stay together and remain in the house we should all be just fine.” Attempting to calm my companions, I tossed another log into the hearth, “No matter what anyone hears—or thinks that they might be seeing—just stay calm, and stay right here.”

  “Nothing could make me go out into that blizzard.” Maya snuggled closer into Rich’s arms.

  “Are you suggesting that someone or something may attempt to affect our minds--,” The tea cup trembled in Eva’s failing grasp as Norman assisted her by taking it from her hands, and said, “There is nothing out there to concern yourself about. We are all home together, safe and sound.”

  “He’s right.” Adjusting his glasses and shooting a nervous glance in my direction, Rich added, “All that we have to do is stay together and all will be just fine….”

  It was apparent in the nervous way that he had chuckled that he also had doubts. There was a sudden fluttering sound, as the raven appeared and swooped down from overhead! Perching in the deep shadows atop the hearth, it settled and fell silent. Everyone had just turned and looked to me as the bird’s eyes flashed crimson, and it solemnly gazed down.

  “You never told me that thing was alive!” Caitlin had gawked in astonishment, flinching in revulsion at the mere sight of the thing.

  “Because it isn’t truly alive or totally dead--,” Rich swallowed hard, horrified and fascinated at the same time, “Somehow I doubt that it wouldn’t have come down here without a very good reason….”

  “What do you mean; it isn’t really alive or dead?” Norman appeared astonished. “It’s either one or the other. Not that a person could tell by just looking at the thing…”

  “Let’s not discuss this--,” I had reasons to be concerned, as looking toward the windows, I noticed the pale phantoms gathering again, “Not right now—please….”

  There came an abrupt, slow pounding upon the front door. It was a sound that echoed unnaturally through the whole house, and as I turned to look into the hall, sent shudders that crept, tingling like icy fingers the length of my spine. Norman had moved to answer the door, but Eva, being horrified, had taken hold of his wrist and whispered, “No human being could have gotten through those gates—especially at night and in that storm….”

  “She’s right--,” Rich stuttered in a barely audible tone, “There’s something unnatural out there—knocking on that door….”

  “You are all scaring yourselves out of your wits!” Norman blurted, pulling free of Eva’s grasp, intending to attend the door, and said, “All this talk of ghosts is making everyone paranoid, afraid to even breathe.”

  “Be still—curse you!” Marlowe’s apparition appeared in the mirror above the hearth, “Lest you bring death down upon all of you even sooner!”

  Norman had dropped back onto the couch, his mouth hanging agape as his eyes stared in wide disbelief! Eva had drawn him back beneath the blankets as they both trembled before the angered and glaring mystic.

  Appearing as little more than a fine vapor with bright and burning white eyes, Marlowe waved a hand in warning, “Do not attend doors nor windows—or harken to that which might attempt gaining entrance by other means. For nothing may enter this sanctified place, unless unwittingly permitted by foolishness and fear. Know this—death and the devil wander the shadows on this night. Hold your faith and stand strong together until the morning’s first light….”

  Marlowe’s eyes burned like twin beacons as he slowly faded from out of the dark glass. The raven simply sitting upon the mantel undisturbed, continued to just stare.

  “Whatever happens--,” I pulled Caitlin closer beneath the covers, “We have to do exactly as we were instructed, and hold together until dawn’s first light.”

  “Instructed by what?” Eva’s eyes were huge as she directed our attention to the mirror above the hearth, “Undead birds and ghostly images that appear in mirrors? What madness is this? Michael—,” She wept, slowly shaking her head, and mumbled, “For the love of God, what is going on here?”

  “What’s going on out there—who or what are those things?” Maya became hysterical, desperate, “What do they want from us—and why won’t they leave us alone?” Tightly gripping Rich by the shoulders, she gawked in horror while seeking answers that he could never provide!

  “We have re-awakened an ancient evil--,” I attempted to explain, “Something that’s been stalking us all through countless lifetimes—and is hunting us now. It has the power to affect our minds, deceive us into seeing things that aren’t really there….” I remembered the lumbering and horrendous monstrosities that had attacked Marlowe’s family, and mumbled, “And, create undead nightmares beyond your wildest fears…”

  Rich had slowly turned and just stared at me. His eyes were huge behind his glasses, glistening in the firelight. His expression revealing that we had simultaneously considered the horror of Harrison Mills, and suddenly realized the truth. We were both horrified, dreading the terrifying possibilities. The lurking horrors that might now be waiting, lingering in the frozen blackness just beyond the windows….

  “What about uncle Red and the others?” Terrified, Maya had looked to Rich, the tears filling her dark eyes as she pulled at him, “What’s going to happen?”

  “Nothing is going to happen to anyone. That’s what all the renovations were about--,” He spoke softly, almost apologetically, as he looked around the room, and said, “The moldings and trim are decorated with sacred symbols and prayers of protection. And the amulets that we gave everyone for Christmas all contain the same symbols and writing. They’re protection against this thing.”

  “So, you knew about this all along? Knew that something was coming…” Eva’s eyes reddened with tears, a disappointment and depth of sorrow streaking her otherwise kindly features, “And, never said a word to anyone. You let this happen to us….”

  “No--,” Slowly shaking my head and with hands that trembled and were raised in explanation, I softly said, “I had some suspicions, but never expected anything like this. It all began long ago—and was beyond anyone’s control. I still don’t know everything—it’s like a puzzle that’s slowly coming together.”

  “A puzzle--,” Caitlin peered up in utter disbelief from beneath the blankets, “This isn’t some type of game.” She gazed upon the dismayed expressions of our friends and then back to me.

  “So now--,” Eva muttered while staring deeply into the flames of the hearth, “We’re all trapped without power in a storm—with the devil at the door…”

  “Isn’t anyone hearing a single word that he said?” Rich moved in my defense, “This isn’t something that he stumbled over one night, or just brought home by mistake. This is an infinite evil—something that’s likely taken us down in the past, and intends to do the same thing now.”

  “Then what about all this other hocus-pocus in the mirror?” Eva nodded in gesture to the raven, “And that nasty old bird?”

  They’re tools of the trade for a wizard or sorcerer--,” Norman scorned the thought, “Not items belonging in a good Christian house or home.”

  �
�Angels or devils--,” Fear and frustration now carried me into disappointment and anger, “They came in our time of need when none other would!”

  “Well it all makes little difference at this point--,” Norman had exclaimed, “Let’s just all be still and make the best of things, such as they are.”

  The wind howled beyond the window and I turned to look back, my eyes widening as something pale and thin tapped, slowly scratching, at the glass. There were numerous heads jutting out from different aspects of its twisted, leathery and skeletal frame. It was a ghastly accumulation of almost indiscernible parts, a mass of broken, bony limbs protruding from all perspectives! I thought to have seen a man and a woman, a young girl and the parts of a child all combined. The rotting remains of a family, which having been hideously crushed together beneath an avalanche, were frozen and hellishly conjoined….

  Remembering the way in which the evil had betrayed Marlowe, I fought the horror out of my mind! As in thought I had diverted the images into fleeting fancy, imagining them to have been nothing more than a bad dream. Fearfully averting my eyes, I had remained silent, and stared into the hearth.

  “It’s getting so cold—I can feel it in my bones” Maya stared around the little gathering, her deep brown eyes wide. Shivering uncontrollably, she stuttered, “I’ve never been this cold in my life—it just doesn’t feel right.”

  “Just hang in there, honey--,” Moving to toss another log into the hearth, Rich gently covered her up, “We have everything that we need, and we’re safely tucked away for the evening. It’s just a matter of time.”

  Caitlin had looked to Eva, and then quietly buried her face in my breast. I knew that she had been crying. I could feel the dampness as she slipped deeper beneath the blankets. Peering at Eva as though seeking some form of clemency, I knew that she would never forgive me. She had looked away as though disgusted beyond words. An utter suspension of disbelief now hung over the entire room. The raven sat soundlessly watching, never flinching, its eyes burning red in the long shadows upon hearth.

  A sudden and thunderous pounding sent us sprawling! The surrealistic echo resounding though the blackness as it boomed, beating against the front door! It was the sound of something heavy and like the muffled hammering of two anvils battering frantically, faster and faster! The whole house shook beneath the violent assault as even the foundations appeared as though they would crumble and collapse at any moment, sending us all crashing into the darkness below!

  “Don’t listen, it’s not really happening--,” I persisted, forcing them all to cover their ears, “It’s just the nightmare trying to frighten you all, and use the power of fear against us!”

  They all cowered and clung together like children, terrified of the pounding that echoed like madness throughout the house! And then, as quickly as it had all begun, everything had ceased! Nervously drawing my hands from about my head, I gazed into the blackened corridor while clambering back onto the couch

  “It’s like that last night in the Duff Glenn--,” Caitlin spoke in a fearful whisper, “It all seems so real—but it’s just playing with our minds and preying upon our fear…”

  “It can’t harm us as long as we don’t feed into it--,” Rich turned to look upon the old Vienna wall-clock, “It’s only half past ten.”

  “First light is just after seven thirty--,” Norman cursed under his breath, “But it’s gotten quiet, perhaps whatever they are—they have finally given up and gone away?”

  There was a faint scratching, the type that a tree branch makes upon a glass pane in the wind. It drew my immediate attention toward the large living-room window and to where the frozen and rotten corpse of something long dead now rapped, tapping at the glass from beyond!

  Maya screamed as she had looked to where I stared aghast, as more of the shambling dead now appeared from out of the storm! They crept and crawled from out of the deep shadows of the pines and across the snow drifts to the glass. Withered and worn, the frozen corpses of those lost to storms over time now gazed inward and silently screamed!

  “It’s no good!” Rich had cursed as he pulled Maya close and covered her eyes, “We can’t control our emotions if we have to keep looking at these god-forsaken things!”

  Staring back at the window, I swallowed hard, watching as something unspeakable now pressed closely against the glass! A hideous and malformed monstrosity blackened with rot, scraping, scratching while staring through pale and blind eyes!

  Confronted with no other possible conclusion, I had risen from my seat and raced angrily across the room! Grabbing at the draperies, I quickly and tightly pulled them closed! Without hesitation I continued rushing about. While spreading my arms to gather and draw the drapes, I was suddenly halted by what I had seen. From beneath the window and in the deep snow, through the blinding flurries I now saw a kneeling form! Her gown was soiled and tattered, and the flesh was leathery and black! She had pleadingly raised her arms with fingers that desperately clutched at the night. And in that moment, and beyond death’s mask, I had immediately recognized what had remained of her face!

  “Leigh--,” The whisper had left my lips as I stared in a horrified suspension of disbelief, “But, it couldn’t possibly be you… Dear God in heaven—please, don’t let it be…” The corpse had risen unsteadily to its feet, and swaying in the bitter winds, now stumbled forward in steady approach. Her features glistening repulsively as they ran wet with blackened decay and filth. Shuddering, she extended a rotting hand, clutching toward my face from inches beyond the glass! Caitlin had suddenly called, breaking me from the ghastly dream! Realizing to have been captivated by my own worst fears, I had swiftly drawn and tightly closed the drapes. With the last of the windows covered, we were now spared from suffering the sight of the horrendous things.

  But no sooner had I done this, than did we hear the abrupt explosion of a window from somewhere upstairs! And then a loud thump, as though something having followed closely from behind.

  Eva cried out while frantically pointing to the stairs, “Something’s found its way into the house!”

  “That’s impossible!” Rich had argued, more terrified than given to rational thought, “This entire place is protected. There’s no damn way that those things could ever get inside!”

  “The glass may be broken, but that doesn’t mean anything--,” I had hurried from the window and back to the hearth, “In a storm like this a branch might’ve fallen, or the wind could’ve tossed something through the glass. Nothing unholy can pass through those windows. It’s like Rich said, there are protective symbols on the ceilings and window frames throughout the house.”

  “Oh my God--,” Caitlin threw her hands before her mouth, “We forgot the upstairs bathrooms, the one in the hall and the master-bedroom. The workmen never went in there…”

  “The crown moldings--,” Rich immediately pointed out, “They might get into the bathrooms, but not through the whole house. We covered the ceilings in each room and every single hall.”

  “Please, just calm down--,” I waved around the group as the raven fluttered back to its roost atop the hearth, “Everything will be just fine—I have closed all the draperies and the house is all securely locked. You all heard Rich. We have protection in every room.”

  Returning to my seat on the couch beside Caitlin, I gently took her into my arms, “Just close your eyes, have faith and stay close, everything will be just fine.”

  “What is that horrid thing?” Eva kept peering back to the black bird, and speaking quietly, asked, “Is it evil—some kind of demon or devil that you’ve gotten mixed up with somehow?”

  “Not all things that seem evil are our enemies--,” I gently brushed the fiery curls from her terrified eyes, and looking to the demon, whispered, “And the only difference between a demon and an angel—is the side that you choose in the end.”

  Caitlin had wept with my words, the hot tears soaking through my shirt. In all the time that we had been together and all that we had shared, there had n
ever been as many tears as there were now…. I had held her silently as the wind howled through a broken window in the house. I silently gazed upward while sensing something moving from somewhere in the rooms just above.

  “Will this really be over in the morning--,” Norman had inquired. Moving from beside Eva, he placed the kettle in the hearth to boil, “Or will this nightmare still come after us each and every night, from now on?”

  Rich had quietly looked over. A dark suspicion twisting his features as the thought visibly terrified him. I had looked to my friend as both of us knowing the answer, had refrained from giving a reply.

  “All that we can do is hope and pray--,” Caitlin interrupted, “We’ve been through some terrible things together at the Duff Glenn.” She reminded Eva and informed Norman, “Matters that might have likely shared some evil connection to all of this….”

  “Regardless of everything else--,” Old Norman cursed, nodding toward the raven that now peered darkly back at the old man, “Must we continue to suffer looking at that grim and ghastly old thing? Or can we put it elsewhere--,” He grimaced as its red eyes flashed and he muttered, “It reminds me of some watch-dog from Hell—come to witness our ends….”

  “Stop it!” Eva slapped the old man’s face, the tears flowing from her reddened eyes, “Must you make this worse than it already is? What on earth is the matter with you?”

  “The dog--,” Rich gasped, pointing as he moved from his place on the couch, “Old Norman is right!”

  “I’m sorry Rich, but I don’t understand what you’re trying to point out?”

  “You can’t summon the Grim against this thing that’s hunting us--,” He now stood before me, his eyes blazing with a sudden madness and finality, “But those nightmares out there—,” He pointed a hand toward the window, “They’re the souls of the lost—and belong in the realm of the dead….”