Acolytes of Cthulhu

by Robert M. Price

  He stopped again; his hand tightened on the banister.

  “Yes, Dad?”

  Duryea put his foot on the first stair. “I want you to lock your door tonight. The wind would keep it banging!”

  “Yes,” breathed Arthur, and pushed up the stairs to his room.

  Doctor Duryea’s hollow footsteps sounded in steady, unhesitant beats across the floor of Timber Lake Lodge. Sometimes they stopped, and the crackling hiss of a sulfur match took their place, then perhaps a distended sigh, and, again, footsteps…

  Arthur crouched at the open door of his room. His head was cocked for those noises from below. In his hands was a double-barrel shotgun of violent gage… thud… thud… thud…

  Then a pause, the clinking of a glass and the gurgling of liquid. The sigh, the tread of his feet over the floor…

  “He’s thirsty,” Arthur thought—Thirsty!

  Outside, the storm had grown into fury. Lightning zigzagged between the mountains, filling the valley with weird phosphorescence. Thunder, like drums, rolled incessantly.

  Within the lodge the heat of the fireplace piled the atmosphere thick with stagnation. All the doors and windows were locked shut, the oil-lamps glowed weakly—a pale, anemic light.

  Henry Duryea walked to the foot of the stairs and stood looking up.

  Arthur sensed his movements and ducked back into his room, the gun gripped in his shaking fingers.

  Then Henry Duryea’s footstep sounded on the first stair.

  Arthur slumped to one knee. He buckled a fist against his teeth as a prayer tumbled through them.

  Duryea climbed a second step… and another… and still one more. On the fourth stair he stopped.

  “Arthur!” His voice cut into the silence like the crack of a whip. “Arthur! Will you come down here?”

  “Yes, Dad.” Bedraggled, his body hanging like cloth, young Duryea took five steps to the landing.

  “We can’t be zanies!” cried Henry Duryea. “My soul is sick with dread. Tomorrow we’re going back to New York. I’m going to get the first boat to open sea… Please come down here.” He turned about and descended the stairs to his room.

  Arthur choked back the words which had lumped in his mouth. Half dazed, he followed…

  In the bedroom he saw his father stretched face-up along the bed. He saw a pile of rope at his father’s feet.

  “Tie me to the bedposts, Arthur,” came the command. “Tie both my hands and both my feet.”

  Arthur stood gaping.

  “Do as I tell you!”

  “Dad, what for—”

  “Don’t be a fool! You read that book! You know what relation you are to me! I’d always hoped it was Cecilia, but now I know it’s you. I should have known it on that night twenty years ago when you complained of a headache and nightmares… Quickly, my head rocks with pain. Tie me!”

  Speechless, his own pain piercing him with agony, Arthur fell to that grisly task. Both hands he tied—and both feet… tied them so firmly to the iron posts that his father could not lift himself an inch off the bed.

  Then he blew out the lamps, and without a further glance at that Prometheus, he reascended the stairs to his room, and slammed and locked his door behind him.

  He looked once at the breech of his gun, and set it against a chair by his bed. He flung off his robe and slippers, and within five minutes he was senseless in slumber.

  * * *

  He slept late, and when he awakened his muscles were as stiff as boards, and the lingering visions of a nightmare clung before his eyes. He pushed his way out of bed, stood dazedly on the floor.

  A dull, numbing cruciation circulated through his head. He felt bloated… coarse and running with internal mucus. His mouth was dry, his gums sore and stinging.

  He tightened his hands as he lunged for the door. “Dad,” he cried, and he heard his voice breaking in his throat.

  Sunlight filtered through the window at the top of the stairs. The air was hot and dry, and carried in it a mild odor of decay.

  Arthur suddenly drew back at that odor—drew back with a gasp of awful fear. For he recognized it—that stench, the heaviness of his blood, the rawness of his tongue and gums… Age-long it seemed, yet rising like a spirit in his memory. All of these things he had known and felt before.

  He leaned against the banister, and half slid, half stumbled down the stairs…

  His father had died during the night. He lay like a waxen figure tied to his bed, his face done up in knots.

  Arthur stood dumbly at the foot of the bed for only a few seconds; then he went back upstairs to his room.

  Almost immediately he emptied both barrels of the shotgun into his head.

  The tragedy at Timber Lake was discovered accidentally three days later. A party of fishermen, upon finding the two bodies, notified state authorities, and an investigation was directly under way.

  Arthur Duryea had undoubtedly met death at his own hands. The condition of his wounds, and the manner in which he held the lethal weapon, at once foreclosed the suspicion of any foul play.

  But the death of Doctor Henry Duryea confronted the police with an inexplicable mystery; for his trussed-up body, unscathed except for two jagged holes over the jugular vein, had been drained of all its blood.

  The autopsy protocol of Henry Duryea laid death to “undetermined causes,” and it was not until the yellow tabloids commenced an investigation into the Duryea family history that the incredible and fantastic explanations were offered to the public.

  Obviously such talk was held in popular contempt; yet in view of the controversial war which followed, the authorities considered it expedient to consign both Duryeas to the crematory…

  THE SEVENTH INCANTATION

  BY JOSEPH PAYNE BRENNAN

  “Of these black prayers or incantations there be seven, three for ordinarie charmes and aides, and the like number for the unholie and compleat destruction of alle enemies. But of the seventh the curious in alle these partes are warned. Let not the last incantation be recited, unlesse ye desire the sight of moste aweful deamon. Although it be said the deamon shews not unlesse the wordes be spake by the bloodie altar of the Olde Ones, yet it were well to beware. For it be knowne that the Saracene sorcerer, Mai Lazal, dide wantonlie chante the dire wordes and the deamon dide come—and not finding a bloodie offering did rage at the wizard and rende him exceedinglie. The life bloode of a childe or chaste maid be best, yet a beaste, a goode ox or sheep, is said sufficient. But beware lest the beaste be dead when the bloode be taken, for then shall the deamon’s rage be dire. If the offering be well, the deamon shall give unholie power, so that the servant grow riche and reache above alle his neighbors.”

  FOR THE THIRD TIME, AND WITH GROWING EXCITEMENT, Emmet Telquist read the faded words. They were contained in a crumbling and curious and probably unique bound manuscript book which he had discovered quite by accident some days before while shuffling through the dust-laden packing crates which held his deceased uncle’s library.

  The book was entitled simply True Magik, and the writer signed himself “Theophilis Wenn.” Quite possibly the name was a pseudonym; certainly, judging by the contents, the rash author must have had reason to keep secret his real identity.

  The book was a veritable encyclopedia of devil’s lore. There was everywhere manifest a genuine and erudite scholarship which had been lavished on a vast variety of esoteric and forbidden subjects. There were detailed discussions on enchantments and possession, paragraphs on vampirism and ghoul legends, pages devoted to demonology, witch worship, and eldrich idols, notes on holocaust rites, unspeakable maculations and fearsome full-moon sacrifices to the powers of pristine darkness.

  Evidently the writer had been a necromancer of note. The style in general was arbitrary and assured, betraying egoism and not a little arrogance. There was no faint note of humor. Theophilis Wenn—or whoever it was that disguised his true identity under that name—had written in dire earnest. Of that there could be no doubt.<
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  Emmet Telquist, the village outcast, the bitter misanthropic issue of an infamous father and a mother who had died insane, regarded the book as a sudden treasure, a secret storehouse of knowledge and power which would enable him to compete with his more successful neighbors.

  He had always been an outsider, a misfit, the subject of vindictive local gossip and criticism. He had always felt himself more or less allied to inhuman laws and agencies.

  His uncle, the only relative he ever remembered, had been a sour, black-hearted, brooding old man who tolerated him only because of the chores and errands which he performed. He never had had the slightest doubt that his uncle would have disowned him utterly had he not been a useful drudge. The bond of blood would have been meaningless to the old man.

  As a matter of fact, had it not been for his sudden and somewhat mysterious death, the scoundrel probably would have seen to it that his nephew inherited only black memories. But since no will had been located, Emmet Telquist had gained possession of his uncle’s rambling farmhouse and such meager chattels as it contained.

  But as he squinted eagerly at the quaint faded hand-writing of the necromancer Theophilis Wenn, Telquist began to believe that the manuscript book was by far the most valuable item which his evil relative had unintentionally put into his hands.

  Furthermore, a number of matters which had always puzzled him in the past became less baffling. He had often wondered about the peculiar behavior of his uncle—his long absences from the house, especially at night, the muttering and mumbling which frequently came from his room, his unexplained sources of income.

  With a sense of mounting suspense and expectation, he turned the pages whereon the seventh incantation was inscribed. It was written in a peculiar bluish-grey ink which seemed faintly phosphorescent. He did not dare to read the words; he merely glanced at them, ascertaining that they were what appeared to be merely a jumble of meaningless vowel sounds frequently interspersed with the name “Nyogtha.”

  Grinning slyly to himself, he turned back the pages and reread the paragraph which served as an introduction and explanation of the incantations. Well he knew what Theophilis Wenn had in mind when he referred to the “bloodie altar of the Old Ones”! He, Emmet Telquist, had seen such an altar.

  Although that had been years before when the swamp was not as nearly impassable as it had since become, he had no doubt that he could locate the accursed sacrificial cromlech. How well he remembered crawling along the faint raised pathway which wound through the swamp! The sudden, unexpected knoll, dark somehow, even in the midday sunlight, the circle of huge monoliths, the mound in the center, the enormous flat slab on its top, rusty red with an unspeakable eldrich stain which even the rains and winds of centuries could not blot out!

  He had never spoken of his discovery to anyone. The swamp was a forbidden place—ostensibly because of rumored quicksands and poisonous serpents. But on more than one occasion he had seen old-time villagers cross themselves when mention was made of the area. And it was said that even hunting dogs would abandon the pursuit of game which fled into its fastnesses.

  Already anticipating the power which would ultimately be his, Emmet Telquist began to formulate plans. He would not make the mistake of the unfortunate Saracen sorcerer, Mai Lazal. Although he did not quite dare to take the necessary steps to secure a human sacrifice, “a childe or chaste maid,” a sheep should be relatively easy to obtain. He could steal one at night from any of the several village flocks. He knew all the woods and lanes and would be safely away with his prize long before the loss was discovered.

  The night before the advent of the full moon, he slipped into a nearby pasture where sheep were grazed and made away with a fine fat ewe, shoving and dragging it over a stone wall and then leading it off along circuitous back roads and grass-grown lanes.

  The next day he paid a stealthy visit to the environs of the forbidden swamp, exploring the rank underbrush until he discovered the start of the faint trail down which he had stolen years before. Although it was partially obliterated by a thick growth of sedge, vines and lush swamp grass, there were indications that deer used it occasionally. Probably patience would be required to force a way through, but at least the path should not be impassable.

  Carefully noting its location, he returned home and completed his preparations for the evening.

  Shortly before eleven o’clock he crept into the shed where he had tethered the ewe and led it forth into the moonlight.

  The countryside was steeped in a bewitching silver light. He experienced no difficulties in reaching the swamp and after some little searching located the narrow trail.

  But as he plunged into the shoulder-high grass, the tether tightened in his hand. The ewe strained against the rope, its eyes suddenly wild with fright.

  Cursing, he scrambled around and kicked it brutally. It bolted forward a few yards and stopped. Grimly determined, he tightened the tether until it cut through the ewe’s wool into its hide.

  He made progress by the foot and by the inch. The ewe had to be dragged and shoved at regular intervals. And as he penetrated toward the heart of the swamp, the increasing height and thickness of the lush undergrowth made passage more difficult.

  Moonlight filtered down eerily among the trees and on all sides treacherous pools gleamed silver-black in the shadowy darkness. Occasionally hidden watchers stared at him out of the depths and quite often enormous toads hopped into the path and regarded him with their amber eyes. They seemed to be devoid of fear, almost as if they considered the swamp their special domain and deemed him incapable of harming them. He began to imagine there was something vaguely malignant about them. He had never seen them so large before, nor in such numbers. But probably that was merely because they were left unmolested in the swamp to breed and develop without encountering the artificial obstacles which would inevitably prevail in any less shunned area.

  As he pushed into the heart of the swamp, the gathering silence became oppressive. The ordinary night sounds ceased altogether and only his own strained breathing broke the silence. The ewe became more obstinate than ever; all his strength was required to drag it along. It appeared, he imagined, to sense the fate which awaited it.

  Suddenly, so suddenly that he nearly cried aloud in astonishment, the underbrush ended and he was standing at the base of the unhallowed knoll.

  It was just as he had remembered it—huge menhirs standing in a rough circle about a central mound upon which lay a large flat slab of a dark hue which did not match the color of the surrounding monoliths. Over all a shadow seemed to fall, and yet when he glanced upward he saw that the full moon stood directly overhead.

  Shaking off the sense of dread which closed upon him, he started up the lichen-covered slope. But now the ewe sank upon its forelegs and he was obliged to drag it inch by inch toward the circle of megaliths. He rather welcomed the exertion however, for it freed his mind of the nameless fear which the cromlech aroused in him.

  By the time he had dragged the sheep alongside the ring of boulders, he was nearly exhausted, but he dared not pause to rest, for he knew that delay would be his undoing. He already had a wild desire to leave the ewe and rush back through the toad-infested swamp to the familiar outer world.

  Quickly slipping off the sheep’s tether, he bound its legs firmly together and with a tremendous heave shoved it onto the rust-colored sacrificial slab.

  Rejecting an almost uncontrollable impulse to flee, he unsheathed the hunting knife which he carried and drew from his pocket the curious bound manuscript book, True Magik by Theophilis Wenn.

  He had no difficulty in locating the strangely sinister seventh incantation, for in the bright moonlight the unusual bluish-grey ink in which the characters were inscribed seemed actually luminous.

  Holding the book in one hand and the knife ready in the other, he began to repeat the jumble of unintelligible sounds.

  As he read, the syllables appeared to exert some unearthly influence upon him, so that his v
oice rose to a savage howl, a high-pitched inhuman ululation which penetrated to the farthest depths of the swamp. At intervals his voice sank to low gutturals or a thin sibilant hiss.

  And then, at the last enunciation of the oft-repeated word, “Nyogtha,” there reached his ears as from a vast distance a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, although not even a leaf stirred on the surrounding trees.

  The book suddenly darkened in his hand and he saw that a shadow had fallen across the page.

  He glanced up—and madness reeled in his brain.

  Squatting on the edge of the slab was a shape which lived in nightmare, a squamous taloned thing like a monstrous gargoyle or a malformed toad which stared at him out of questing red eyes.

  He froze in horror and a sudden rage flamed in the thing’s eyes. It thrust out its neck and an angry hiss issued from its mottled beak.

  Emmet Telquist was galvanized into action. He knew what the thing wanted—life blood.

  Raising the knife, he advanced and was about to plunge it downward into the sheep when a new horror seized him.

  The ewe was already dead. The unspeakable presence which squatted beside it had already claimed it. It had died of fright. Its eyes were glazed and there was no indication that it still breathed.

  Remembering Theophilis Wenn’s warning, “beware lest the beaste be dead,” Emmet Telquist stood like a stone statue with the knife still unraised in his hand.

  Then he dropped it and ran.

  Darting between two menhirs, he plunged down the knoll and raced toward the swamp trail.

  Lifting its scaly neck, the presence on the slab looked after him and finally, hissing in fury, bounded off the stone and leaped in pursuit.

  One terrible shriek rang out and presently the thing hopped back onto the slab, holding in its bloody beak a dangling lifeless form, a fitting sacrifice.

  FROM THE PITS OF ELDER BLASPHEMY

  BY HUGH B. CAVE & ROBERT M. PRICE

  THERE WERE DRUMS TONIGHT—OR WAS IT THUNDER, SO FAR off he couldn’t yet tell the difference? But then he could hardly hear them. Not only too far off, but suddenly drowned by something closer at hand, something admittedly less ominous, but with more raw irritation—the barking of dogs. It started, his bedside clock documented, at precisely 3:15 in the morning, putting an end to any hope of slumber. One dog would bark somewhere in that part of Port-au-Prince in which he had rented a room at the Pension Etoile. Half a dozen others would follow, scattered throughout the city, at first with an almost tentative note, as if a great canine orchestra were tuning up for a concert. But when they started in earnest, it was more like a shouting match, each bark answered by challenging rejoinders until the whole city was set ahowl. Dismissing the momentary urge to add his own barked “Quiet!” to the melee, a weary Peter Macklin gave up in disgust and got out of bed. Shrugging himself into his clothes, he opened the verandah door to let in any breeze that might be passing by. It was July, and Haiti—this Caribbean land of vodun and poverty—was as savagely hot as its people were gentle in their unspoken surrender.