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

saw something come out of it.  Like a thousand bats.  We were chasing a hound that had killed someone the night before.  There was another death today.  A policeman.”

Capshaw widened his eyes.  For a second, they no longer sparkled.  They were dark.  “Gomory is one of thirteen gates,” he said.  “The Lurker at the Threshold is Yog-Sothoth himself.  If Abdul is trying to open the gates . . . if Gomory is one of thirteen, there are twelve gates to go.  Once that happens . . .”

“Yog-Sothoth will be loosed on Innsport.  And the rest of the world.”

“Good heavens!” Capshaw said.  “And this hound you talked about?”

“It started the day I found the book.  I’ve been hearing it throughout the city.  There was a murder, the victim’s throat torn out.  The same thing happened to the policemen.  But it was . . . almost unnatural.  We could hear it.  I saw its shadow in the museum.  A green glow.  Not sure what that was.”

Capshaw nodded.

“So, what is this . . . Yog-Sothoth?” Macky said.  “What does it look like?  Do you have any idea?”

“He’s made of thousands of globes.  Orbs. Spheres.  Whatever you want to call them. A sort of monstrous, empirical creature made of thousands of spheres.”

“Like an organism, bluish-green?”

“Have you seen him?”

“In bits and pieces.  I saw one in the office.  We took it outside and threw it in the dumpster.  I’ve seen them randomly, then they disappear.  Millie saw one, so did Duke and Newt—a couple of prowl boys I know.”

Capshaw nodded.  He was thinking.

“So what do we do?”

“I have some ideas.  But let’s go up to my office.  I want to see for myself.”

Macky nodded.  “Suit yourself,” he said.

Capshaw opened the door, and they stepped outside.

—

“It’s gone all right,” Capshaw said.  He touched the drawer, looked inside, as if expecting it to materialize.  “Who else knew it was here?  Who else could’ve possibly broken in?”

“Millie and the prowl boys knew, but they didn’t want anything to do with it.”

“I understand.”

The office was how Macky had left it, the door ajar, and the drawer open.  There was no sign of The Necronomicon.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Macky said.  “If he wanted you to study it, add to it, why would he take it?  Or have somebody else take it?”

“I have no idea.  Maybe he got what he needed.  Maybe he’s using it with others.”

Macky widened his eyes.  “I think I’d better check on Millie,” he said.

—

Macky drove to the office first in case she was waiting for him.  She wasn’t.  The empty office made him nervous.  He got back in the car with Capshaw and drove to Kensington Place.  He parked in front, got out, and they took the elevator up. On the 6th floor, the doors opened, and Macky pulled the cage back.  At 6C, he knocked loudly.

“Millie!  Are you in there?”

Macky tried the knob.  It was locked.

“Lock-picking set,” Capshaw said.

Macky nodded, took it out, grabbed one of the tools inside, and fiddled with the knob.

“Using this thing a little more than I expected,” he told Capshaw.

The door clicked.  The knob turned.  Macky pushed it open.

Capshaw took a slow, intake of breath.  Neither said a word.

It was something from the pages of a children’s fantasy.  The opulence, foliage, colors, and flowers were bright, verdant, and scintillating.  The sun was high.  It was a doorway to another world.  Towers in the distance gleamed in the sunshine.  A lake shimmered brightly to their right under the sloping hill they stood on.

Its scope defied the confines of the apartment.  The portal was Millie’s front door.

They were standing on a hill overlooking the land.  The mountains, the setting sun, and a dense forest was to the north.

To the south was a city made of pale, marble towers.

“Millie!” he shouted over the landscape.  His voice echoed back.

It had to be an illusion.  Maybe it was like the hound, or what he saw coming out of the portal.

He reached out and touched the stalk of a large plant.  Most of Millie’s furnishings were visible under the growth.  If it was an illusion, how come he could touch the plant?

He called her name again.  Faintly, he heard a dog barking.

“Mr. Kalabraise,” Macky said.

“Huh?”

“Millie’s dog.  Mr. Kalabraise.”

“This place looks vaguely familiar, like something I’ve read about,” Capshaw said.  “But I can’t remember where.”

Macky turned.  “It looks familiar?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t leave Millie here.  We have to find her.”

“Dev,” Capshaw said, putting a hand on his arm.  “I know this sounds crazy, but I know someone who can help us.  It’s a long shot, but I think it would be worth it.”

“Does he live close by?  I think we’re having an issue with time here, Creighton.”

“To be honest, Dev, I think she’s safe.”

“Safe?  In case you didn’t notice, Millie’s apartment has turned into another world.”

“I think she’s safe until the thirteenth gate is opened.  I have my reasons for that.”

“I’d feel a lot better if you told me what those reasons were.”

“These things don’t have power yet, Dev.  They’re in the early stages.  On this side, for now, they’re illusions.  They can’t harm her.  Or us.”

“Tell that to Muncie,” Macky said.

“Who?”

“The officer who had his throat torn out.”

“I see.  Yes.  That’s puzzling.  But didn’t the hound appear before you found The Necronomicon?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It doesn’t.”

Macky stood staring at him for a long time.  “Are you sure the Mad Arab isn’t still in your head somewhere, because you’re not making any sense.”

“I know.  I don’t think the hound is related to the gates.  I don’t how that’s possible, but that’s what I believe.  As far as the gates go, I think Millie