The Lurker at the Threshold : A Horror Mystery by Brandon Berntson (books under 200 pages .txt) 📗

He nodded and rolled a cigarette.  “I think I might be responsible for this.  Although, it’s very hard to tell.  It’s early.”

“Why don’t you tell us the whole story?” Duke said.

Macky nodded.  He puffed on his cigarette and leaned back.  “Well, it’s kinda like this . . .”

—

“Except for this body in the Shady District, nothing convinces me they’re connected, you know?” Macky said.

“I think it qualifies,” Millie said, folding her arms.

“Am I doing that wishful thinking again, Mill?”

“Bullseye.”

“Where’s the book now?” Duke asked.

“I gave it to Capshaw, the museum curator.  He wants to study it and see if he can find anything useful in it.”

“Maybe the smartest move you’ve made so far,” Duke said.

“There’s a compliment in there somewhere if I look hard enough,” Macky said.

—

“This would be better celebrated with a drink,” Macky said.  “Who wants to come with me to the liquor store?  I’d like to get there before it gets too late.  It’s already dark.”

No one said anything.

“Millie, you want to fetch us some hooch?”

“No, Dev.  That’s where I draw the line.  You know that.  I didn’t get hired to be a liquor store gopher.  You want your hooch, you can get it yourself.”

“Yes.  I remember seeing that on your resume.”

“So, this Mad Arab gave you the book, and you took it back to the office the next day to give to Millie?” Duke said.  “And then you looked for the bookstore but couldn’t find it?”

“Correct.”

“And we have a hound loose in the city that’s killed one person at the same time.”

“The shop was filled with all kinds of old books, sigils, symbol, stuff like that,” Macky said.

“What’s a sigil?” Newt asked.

“A symbol,” Macky said.  “See, Mill, I remembered.”

“I’m proud of you, Dev.”

“Look, nothing’s happened.  Everything’s fine.  I’m betting the hound is just a coincidence.  It doesn’t mean anything.”

A greenish-blue glow came from the space behind Macky’s desk.  Millie widened her eyes, and she stepped backwards.  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.  She pointed.

“What on earth is that?” Duke asked, getting up from his chair.

“What?” Macky asked, turning around.

“That,” Newt said.  He pointed to the space behind where Macky was sitting.

A greenish-blue orb was glowing in the corner of the office.

Chapter 5

“What is that?” Millie asked.  Her eyes were wide.

Macky jumped back.  Millie had never seen him move so fast.

He shook his head.  His face was glowing with greenish-blue light.  “It’s like an egg sac or something.  Membranous.”

“It just appeared out of nowhere,” Millie said. She looked terrified.

Newt pulled his gun from his breast pocket and stepped toward it.

“Dev,” Millie said.  “Let’s get out of here.”

“Hang on a second.”  Macky stepped toward it and knelt down.  “It looks like some kind of . . . organism.”

“It could be alien, Dev,” Millie said.

He reached out to touch it and Millie shouted, “Don’t touch it!  Are you crazy?”

Macky started, let out a deep breath, and looked back. “Would you not do that, please?”

“Sorry,” she said.  “I’m just . . . watching out for you.”

“She’s right, Dev,” Newt said.  “Who knows where that thing came from?”

“The mystery deepens,” Macky said.

Duke stepped around the desk to get a better look.

“Will you get me a towel, please, Mill?” Macky asked.

She nodded, disappeared into the other room, and came back with a towel.  She handed it to Macky.  Macky took it, held it in both hands, so he could grab the orb without touching it.

“Get the door for me, Duke, will you please?” he asked.

Duke opened the door.  Macky carried the thing downstairs, out the back door, and into the alley.   Everyone followed.  Macky threw it in the nearest dumpster.

“Your best guess on what that was, Dev?” Duke asked.

Macky shook his head.  He threw the towel into the dumpster with the orb.  Night had fallen.  The clouds were dense.  Not a single star was visible.

“This is all because of that stupid book,” Millie said.

“I sympathize with you, Dev,” Newt said.  “But I’m with Millie.  I wish you would’ve left that dang thing alone.”

Macky nodded.  “I’d argue if I could.”

“I think you released some entity or something,” Duke said.

“I read a bit from it,” Macky said.  “A gag, you know?  Who would’ve thought to take that seriously?  There were more symbols in it than anything.  I couldn’t even pronounce the words.”

“Looks like you pronounced them fine,” Duke said.

“You got a book of the black earth written by a madman from a place that no longer exists,” Millie said.  “Now there’s a hound roaming the city and organisms appearing out of nowhere we know nothing about.”

“It could be a coincidence,” Macky said.

“That angle’s no longer useful,” Duke said

“It’s the only one I got.”

“I can’t blame you for that.”

Macky heard nails scraping against the pavement, the jangle of a collar.

The hound was twenty feet in front of them.

—

 “Every hair on my body just stood on end,” Millie said, and shivered.

“I raised a few hackles myself,” Newt told her.

Duke and Newt looked down the alley.  Newt held his gun.  So did Duke.

“This is what we were dealing with,” Duke said.  “But the fun hasn’t begun.”

“The hound?” Macky asked.

Duke nodded.  He coughed into his fist and looked at Newt.

“Would you guys care to elaborate?” Macky asked.

The collar jangled, the scrape of nails on pavement, moving closer.

“We couldn’t find him, Dev,” Newt said.  “That’s not surprising.  After a while, it seemed obvious what was happening.”

Macky looked at them and raised his eyebrows.

“We tracked it all over the city,” Newt told him.  “It’s smarter than you realize.”

Macky looked at Duke.  Duke nodded.

“It’s true,” the