by Byron Craft
“Well, it had the all the looks of a current edition that hadn’t been touched.”
“So,” he challenged.
“It had today's date on it, Matthew.”
It was after nightfall when we got back. Ian occupied the back seat along with Robber. As it turned out it was a reunion for the two; Ian had taken-up with the station house mutt while tailing Sayter. Or more than likely, the dog had taken up with him. Probably was looking for a handout when he witnessed the A-Man disappearing through the ballroom wall. Robber was going to stay as my dog though. It would break Allison’s heart if I didn’t bring “her baby” home.
The first thing we did upon getting back was to return to the old mansion to retrieve the Windlass. Except it was gone. It was not where Bell and I had last seen it. I even tore up some of the floorboards in the hope of finding it, but no luck. I had a gnawing feeling where it might have gone. During one of my subsequent telephone conversations with Otto Meldinger, I told him that we were going to stake out the ram shackled joint in hopes of nailing our suspect and told him that for his safety to stay clear of that end of town if bullets should fly.
I was worried that Otto might try to use the device to travel back in time and rescue his beloved Elspeth. If he was successful, he could disrupt all that we have accomplished. What Bell, myself, Maggot and Robber did could be undone.
So much of it made sense to me by then. Through Otto’s potential time traveling meddling all of Arkham could be grist for a mill, to an ancient evil, hybrids of lost Elder Ones dating from a remote past, pursuing a deadly campaign of terror that could bring Arkham under its control, and the world to its knees. When they became fruitful and multiplied, they would return.
Otto and even the Feds said that something came down from the stars, maybe it was a ship, a landing that went wrong, or maybe it was just a dimensional portal created by that damnable Windlass that focused on the incorrect spot. Whatever it was that day, back how many thousands of years, the thing that we called Francisco Sayter crawled out of the depths and on to the beach of that little island in the Miskatonic and ever since then he had been attempting to retrieve and assemble the breeding cargo, his mate.
Not on my watch!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Byron Craft started out writing screenplays, moved on to authoring articles for several magazines and finally evolved his writing style into exciting, sci-fi, fantasy, horror novels.
Craft has published two novels in a planned five-novel mythos series that reflects the influence of H.P Lovecraft. Byron Craft's first novel "The CRY of CTHULHU," initially released under the title "The Alchemist's Notebook," was the reincarnation and expansion of one of his most memorable screenplays. Craft demonstrates he is as capable a novelist as scriptwriter. Craft's second novel, “SHOGGOTH” continues with all the ingredients of a classic Lovecraft tale, with some imaginative additions.
The Arkham Detective series, which includes “Cthulhu’s Minions,” “The Innsmouth Look,” “The Devil Came to Arkham,” and finally, “The Dunwich Dungeon,” are currently available individually in a Kindle format, and in softcover as a collection.
Craft enjoys writing full-length stories and would love to get feedback from his readers. Please visit his website: www.ByronCraftBooks.com
If you would like to read more books by Byron Craft, please visit his website: www.ByronCraftBooks.com or go to Amazon.com
The Mythos Project Series
The CRY of CTHULHU
(Originally published under the title: The Alchemist’s Notebook.) This novelization of The Cry of Cthulhu film project is about a shell-shocked Vietnam vet, and his wife. They inherit an old country estate in Germany around the time his company transfers him to the same area. The two soon discover that the coincidence is really too good to be true.
Their home rests near a timeworn door into the earth that is poised to open, exposing all to a horde of four-dimensional beings. Soon the line between our reality and that other space-time will be blurred forever, leaving mankind to be consumed by shrill, shrieking terror. Only one man has the slimmest chance to save our planet and, even though he has no place to hide, he prefers to run. [Book One]
SHOGGOTH
An accepted theory exists that millions of years ago a celestial catastrophic occurrence wiped out every living thing on the planet. This theory may be flawed. Fast-forward to the 21st century. A handful of scientists, allied with the military, discover a massive network of tunnels beneath the Mojave Desert. Below, lies an ancient survivor, waiting...and it's hungry! [Book Two]
The Arkham Detective Series
Cthulhu’s Minions
A Novelette introducing the Arkham Detective. Cthulhu’s Minions are Pilot Demons. Nasty pint-sized legless creatures that crawl on their hands with razor sharp claws and fangs. The diminutive beings must be stopped before they conduct one of Cthulhu's Old Ones to the back alleys and streets of Arkham, likewise the entire planet. The story takes place during the Great Depression, a spot in time where H. P. Lovecraft and Raymond Chandler could have collaborated. Henceforth the narrative begins, through the eyes of an Arkham Detective.
The Innsmouth Look
The second story in the series that brings the detective back, investigating a murder and the kidnapping of a small child, which leads to Innsmouth by the sea, the frightful creatures that lurk there, and what they plan to call up from the depths.
The Devil Came to Arkham
Follow the Arkham Detective as he attempts to discover the source of a deadly epidemic. Is it the devil? Is it a Night Gaunt? Or Both? Find out when you read about a soul sucking creature that is bent on turning Arkham, Massachusetts into a ghost town.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Byron Craft’s
CTHULHU’S MINIONS
CTHULHU’S MINIONS
By Byron Craft
Some say that they have always been there. A guy down on Delancey Street once said they were the remains of aborted fetuses. But the story I liked the best was told to me by an old tramp at the Nathaniel Derby Soup Kitchen. He said they were what was left over after a great war; a war that took place millions of years ago between good and evil. In my business evil prevails too often, but in his story, they lost. The Dark Ones, as he called them, were cast into some kind of underworld although a few managed to stay behind.
There were many stories, but I didn’t believe any of them until Jefferson Buck had his face chewed off.
Jeff had been my partner back in the days when we wore the blues and drove black and whites. A few years later, a series of budget cuts put cops alone in their squad cars. A very dangerous situation for a policeman in a big city when there is no one to watch your back, a situation that followed us even after we both made detective. Oh sure, if we were investigating a homicide, the coroner would be at the crime scene along with a police photographer and one of the guys dusting for prints, or at the scene of a robbery there would normally be a uniform officer in attendance with me, but that was it. Most of the time, like all guys on the force, I was on my own, knocking on doors in some tenement or cold water flat questioning perps, looking for clues in back alleys and speakeasies.
Detective Jefferson Buck was found face down in the basement of the old Crowley Milner Building. The long forgotten department store had been closed for decades. Most of the windows in the twelve story brick structure had been broken out over the years, leaving it open to the wind. It had become a haven for drifters and street people. The guys from forensic said that Jeff had been dead for several hours before they got there. One of the bums, looking for a safe place to shoot up, found him. His screams carried through the opened windows and an officer on the beat heard the clamor.
Jeff’s face was completely gone. I had seen something like this before. A couple of years ago I was called to the scene of an accident. A drunk had fallen off of a dumpster and cracked his skull for good. His face had been gnawed away by rats; not a pretty picture, but this was different. Jeff Buck’s f
eatures hadn’t been removed by a hundred little fangs like the drunk’s; instead, it looked like it had been done by one size-able bite as if it had been made by a large animal.
“An alligator,” a young forensic assistant blurted out. His assumption was quickly ruled out. There were rumors of alligators living in the sewers, but in all my years on the force, I had never seen one. Besides, there were several chilling things
in addition to Jeff’s condition. His .38 had been discharged…six times. Whatever he ran into down there, he had emptied his Smith & Wesson into it before it took him down.
Also, there was plenty of blood at the scene, mostly Jeff’s, but there was some that didn’t appear to be his, next to an open storm drain. It was pale, very nearly pink, like veal, giving the impression of whoever this second party was; he must have been very anemic.
THE MYTHOS ALLIANCE
This is Byron Craft’s tribute to a secret society of mythos authors and artists known only to a select few as THE MYTHOS ALLIANCE. Please check them out:
F. Paul Wilson . . . is an extremely prolific author, primarily in the science fiction and horror genres. He is the winner of multiple awards: two-time winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, 2005 World Horror Convention Grand Master Award, 2009 Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, and twice has received the Prometheus Award for Best Novel. Mr. Wilson has requested that we showcase his most Lovecraftian tale, “The Barrens & Others: Tales of Awe and Terror,” available at Amazon
Sean Hoade . . . writer extraordinaire who, like a butterfly within a chrysalis, has masterfully developed inside a cocoon of literature and has, so far, written novels about a murderous RV salesman, Charles Darwin on the Beagle, and vis-à-vis Lovecraftian monsters attacking an Edwardian household. Mr. Hoade would like you to examine his novel “Cthulhu Attacks! Book 1: The Fear” Check it out @ www.CthulhuAttacks.com
C. T. Phipps . . . is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, fantasy, and especially H.P. Lovecraft. C.T. unearthed a passion for tabletop gaming that compelled him to write and he eventually metamorphosed into a lifelong geek. Take a gander at one of his latest, “Cthulhu Armageddon” @ Amazon.com
David J. West . . . tells us, "I write because the voices in my head won't quiet until someone else can hear them." David writes dark fantasy and weird westerns. He is a great fan of sword & sorcery, ghosts and lost ruins, so of course, he lives in Utah with his wife and children. Peruse all his books @ www.kingdavidjwest.com
Sarah T. Walker . . . is a writer and artist of dark subject matter, both fiction and non-fiction. Her art and writing have been published in multiple places from the Lovecraft eZine, to Audient Void, The Lovecraft Lunatic Asylum, and Shoggoth.net. You can learn more about Sarah on her Blog Website.
Eric Lofgren . . . is an awesome Lovecraftian artist. Eric is a recognized freelance illustrator in the RPG and CCG markets, a master at commercial illustration that includes collectible card art, book cover art and interior book illustrations. Please review his impressive works @ www.ericlofgren.net
Matthew Davenport . . . spends his time writing, reading, and working to promote and support writing communities in Iowa through his company Davenport Writes, LLC. Author of over a dozen books, some Lovecraftian, he is an absolute MUST READ. You can keep track of Matthew on his Website.
Paul Atreides . . . is an author, playwright, theater critic, and columnist. Troubled with abiding by those pesky rules of the afterlife, Paul has penned the Deadheads series as well as numerous short stories. To learn more about Paul Atreides go to www.paul-atreides.com
Kristopher Neal McClanahan . . . tells us that he is an artist, Con Man, soap boiler and teller of tales, currently living in Southeastern Idaho. You can see what he's made of by going to the Deeply Dapper website that features his artwork and links to his podcast and con appearances @ www.deeplydapper.com
Peoples Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos . . . is a podcast that follows the literary timeline of the Cthulhu Mythos from the big bang, to the cooling of our sun. Go there and listen to find what lurks in the darkness, and who created these lurkers. They also talk cult film, graphic novels, and contemporary mythos collections. Go, if you dare, and be scared @ www.pgttcm.com
Seesar . . . The Seesar project constructs dark ambient soundscapes inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, utilizing Italian Futurism and Dadaist approaches to sound creation. To find out where to obtain his several compilations on CD or tracks visit, www.seesarmusic.com