The mummy was now completely reconstituted by the life-force of the four men he had assaulted. Beneath his wrappings, his bulging muscles rippled with strength. The hands were firm and fleshy. The mummy’s eyes glowed a vibrant red through the eye-holes of the mask.
Behind the living mummy stood a white-haired man in a gray suit. Quentin recognized him immediately as Dr. Xorthonos. On the doctor’s hand glistened a gold ring set with a scarlet gem, much like those on the mask.
Brennan moved toward the mummy, but the curator grabbed him by the arm. “Don’t get too close,” Quentin said, “or you’ll end up like that woman’s husband.”
But the officer did not listen. He broke free of Quentin’s grasp and walked closer to the monstrosity. At that moment, the doctor raised the ring to his lips and spoke softly. Quentin recognized the language – an ancient form of Egyptian that he knew. But, he couldn’t hear enough of the phrase to translate it.
The mummy stepped forward and seized Brennan by the throat. The officer’s clothes fell away as he broke down into a thick rain of pale-gray granules. In a moment, the mummy’s strong hands were empty.
“Good day, Quentin!” said the white-haired man. “Good to see you again! I haven’t talked to you in years.”
“Can we dispense with the niceties?” Quentin said. “I see you’re now using the Blood Ring of Anubis to perform Scorpion Magic. Your servant can even deliver what the ancients once called the Sting of Death.”
“Correct on all counts,” the doctor said with a throaty laugh. “You’ll be pleased to know, I’ve been keeping track of your career. The Internet makes it quite easy. When I found out that this lovely museum of yours was featuring a collection of grimoires, I decided to pay you a visit. I stopped by your Egyptian Gallery earlier today, shortly after my gift arrived. It’s clear that you were meant to help me usher in the reign of Nyarlathotep. The book in the case by my side, The Blasphemies of Ghattambah, should work nicely. The information it contains will prove quite useful.”
“You seem to be in a chatty mood.” Quentin nodded toward the mummy. “Does your servant have a name?”
“Of course. Where are my manners? This is Sykharna, a former high-priest of the Cult of Nyarlathotep. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” Dr. Xorthonos held the ring close to his lips and uttered a short sentence. “I asked my servant to destroy that case,” he added with a smile.
Sykharna approached the display for The Seven Blasphemies of Ghattambah – a large book bound in leather, with tufts of black bristles sprouting from the cover in spots. The title had been branded onto the spine and front cover. The mummy raised his fists and brought them down on the case with all his might. Alarms sounded as the entire assembly fell apart.
“You are acting as his will through that ring, aren’t you?” Quentin said.
Dr. Xorthonos nodded. Then he softly uttered more words to the ring.
“Now I’ve asked my servant to destroy you,” the doctor said.
The mummy began to move toward Quentin.
Quickly, the curator stepped toward the wall and pulled down a sheet of its black satin covering. He threw the sheet over Sykharna and pushed him toward Dr. Xorthonos. The doctor screamed as the mummy fell toward him, pulling him down to the floor.
As the monstrosity struggled to its feet, the black sheet fell away. The doctor worked to stand up, but he stepped on the slick satin and fell again. Without thinking, he grabbed the mummy’s hand to steady himself.
Instantly, Sykharna absorbed the life-energy of the white-haired man.
The doctor’s flesh turned pale gray as it dried out and rained down in small pieces. His whole body started to crumble away, until all that remained of him were his clothes and a scattering of gritty granules. The Blood Ring of Anubis rested on the grisly pile.
The living mummy stared into space. With Dr. Xorthonos gone, it had no idea what to do.
The curator picked up the ring and slipped it on. He then brought it up to his lips and said, in Sykharna’s language: “It is time to rest, servant of evil. Become now the dust you have made of others.”
A moment later, all that remained of Sykharna was a pile of pale gray granules and linen wrappings, topped by a lustrous gold mask.
About The Authors
Mark McLaughlin’s fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in more than 1,000 magazines, newspapers, websites, and anthologies, including LIVING DEAD 2, WRITER'S DIGEST, CEMETERY DANCE, GALAXY, MIDNIGHT PREMIERE, DARK ARTS, and two volumes each of THE BEST OF HORRORFIND and THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES (DAW Books).
Mark’s latest paperback fiction release is DRACULA TRANSFORMED, a collection of vampire stories co-written with Michael McCarty. Other collections of Mark’s fiction include HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS; BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM; BEACH BLANKET ZOMBIE; and MOTIVATIONAL SHRIEKER. He also co-wrote the novel MONSTER BEHIND THE WHEEL with Michael McCarty. He once won the Bram Stoker Award for Excellence in Poetry, along with co-authors Rain Graves and David Niall Wilson, for THE GOSSAMER EYE.
Be sure to visit Mark’s Amazon Author’s Page to find out more about his various works, including his other Kindle story collections: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-McLaughlin/e/B008QCY4TC/
Michael Sheehan, Jr. works for a local school system and loves horror and science-fiction movies. Michael and Mark co-authored the chapbook, CASINO CARCOSA, and they have collaborative stories in the forthcoming SUMMER OF LOVECRAFT anthology, as well as THE GRUESOME TENSOME, an anthology that pays homage to horror director H.G. Lewis. Michael has also collaborated with McLaughlin on the Kindle story collections, SHOGGOTH APOCALYPSE & More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos, THE BLASPHEMY IN THE CANOPIC JAR & More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos, THE HORROR IN THE WATER TOWER & Five More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos, and THE ABOMINATIONS OF NEPHREN-KA & Three More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos. Here are links to those Kindle collections:
The Abominations Of Nephren-Ka & Three More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015KCOYPE/
The Horror In The Water Tower & Five More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DIHNRRE/
The Blasphemy In The Canopic Jar & More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M08J985
Shoggoth Apocalypse & More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6VSKKW/
The Relic In The Egyptian Gallery & More Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos fiction and cover artwork ©2017 Mark McLaughlin & Michael Sheehan, Jr.
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