by Scott Shoyer
“Two bodies mangled beyond recognition,” Landry said in a soft voice. “Both men were members of the original six founding families.” He then turned and walked out of the kitchen, deep in thought. Landry’s family name held the same amount of clout in Derleth as the six founding families did. Landry’s ancestors hadn’t been amongst the six founders, but they had been in the town almost as long. Soon after Derleth had been founded, Jebediah Landry and his family had rolled into town. Jebediah had been the law in a small town in what would eventually become California. The others already in the town had greeted the Landrys with open arms, and had welcomed them to the town. The Landrys had since served as the law enforcement in the town of Derleth.
“Does the High One know about these deaths?” Landry asked Joanie as he took out a cigarette. His head was full of theories as to what might have been going on. It was obvious that these weren’t typical murders.
Nothing human and of this plane of existence could do that to a body. The Ancient One in the clouds had committed these murders, but for the life of him, Landry couldn’t figure out why.
“Yes, Sheriff,” Joanie answered. “Karen Shaw contacted the High One, but none of the founding families have heard anything from him yet.”
Landry exhaled the smoke from his lungs. He watched the smoke curl up in the air and form a cloud. His eyes were fixed on the cigarette smoke.
“For over a century my family has provided protection and a shield for this town,” Landry said as he waved his hand in the air to disperse the smoke. “I know my family’s place in this town and I’ve always been okay with that. The Landrys have never been involved in any of the ceremonies, and the Landrys have always been given just enough information to protect the founding families.” Landry turned to face Joanie. “With that being said, is there anything you can tell me that might help us figure out what the hell is going on?”
“Tell you… like, what?” Joanie answered.
“Maybe something happened during the last ceremony?” Landry said. “or maybe there’s been some in-fighting among the founding families? I don’t know.” Landry paused and took another drag from his cigarette. “But I do know that something is wrong—that something is off. A founding family member has never been killed by the Ancient One. Now, in less than three hours apart, there have been two murders. Why?”
“Sheriff,” Joanie said as she looked the man in the eyes. “I don’t know. Vincent was behaving normally and we just had a dinner party with the other families a week ago. I didn’t sense any tension among any of the families.”
Landry was about to follow up with another question when he noticed the odd look on Joanie’s face.
“What is it, Joanie?” Landry asked. “Anything you can think of, any detail that seemed ‘off’ over the last few days, could be helpful in figuring out what the hell is going on. I don’t want to scare you and the others, but it seems the Ancient One is targeting and taking out the founding family’s patriarchs.”
Joanie’s head snapped up and her eyes met Landry’s.
“Two nights ago, Vincent had a strange dream,” Joanie said. “Stranger than his usual dreams.” Joanie paused and started to bite her fingernails. “Vincent seemed worried about something. He said the High One called for a special ceremony.”
“He didn’t say anything else about it?” Landry asked.
“No,” Joanie answered, “but he did seem more on edge after that dream. His mind seemed preoccupied. He seemed almost scared.”
Landry walked over to the ashtray and put out his cigarette. “Thanks, Joanie,” he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “I won’t let the others know you told me that.”
“Do you think me and the kids are in danger?” she asked.
“I don’t think so, Joanie,” Landry said. “There’s nothing here or over at the Shaw’s to suggest the Ancient One is targeting the family members. Besides,” Landry added in a somber voice, “if It was, there wouldn’t be anything any of us could do.”
Joanie forced a smile and walked Sheriff Landry to the front door.
“Thank you for your help, Joanie,” Landry said before he walked out the door. “If you can think of anything else, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
“Well, I guess there is one thing,” Joanie said. Landry turned to face her and saw the distant look in her eyes.
“Please,” Landry said.
“When I heard Vincent’s final scream and ran into the kitchen, I heard a whisper in the air,” Joanie explained. “There was no one or no Thing in the room, but a whisper seemed to float in the air.”
“Was the whisper understandable?” Landry asked.
“I heard the whisper say, ‘Not you,’” Joanie said.
“‘Not you?’” Landry repeated.
“‘Not you,’” Joanie verified.
Landry’s walkie talkie hissed to life, making them both jump.
“Sheriff Landry,” the dispatcher said. “Come in, Sheriff Landry.”
“Thanks, Joanie. I’ll be in touch,” he said as he turned and walked off the front porch toward his car.
“This is Sheriff Landry,” he said into the mouthpiece.
“Sheriff, we need you down at the hotel, A.S.A.P,” the dispatcher said.
“Ahh, shit. Was there another death?” he asked.
“No, Sheriff,” the dispatcher explained. “A family just pulled into town looking to stay for a few nights.”
“Shit,” Landry said. Then into the walkie talkie, “I’ll be right there. Over.”
10
Damien dreamt of strange-looking birds and sea creatures in alien skies and oceans. Whatever it was that had filled him with visions of the alien-like world back on the mountain top still swam in his head.
After being jolted awake, Damien realized that he wasn’t afraid of the visions this time. The whole time he’d dreamt—at least he had assumed it was a dream—he’d felt calm and open to exploring that landscape. Upon awaking, he’d experienced what felt like tendrils receding from his mind.
*****
Kate had driven the rest of the way to Derleth. She didn’t know what to make of Damien’s bizarre behavior on the mountain top. It was just road exhaustion, she had kept telling herself. Unable to convince herself that was the cause, she promised herself that when they returned home that she would talk to Damien about going back into therapy.
That’s not a discussion I’m looking forward to, Kate thought. Kate then turned her attention to the backseat. “We’re here, Brandon,” she said in an excited, perky voice.
“Where exactly is ‘here,’?” Brandon asked.
“We’re in Derleth,” Kate answered. “This town was founded back in 1812, a hundred years before Arizona was even a state.”
“Okay, okay, mom,” Brandon said. “I’ll get out of the car, just please no more history lessons.”
Kate looked over at Damien. “We’re here, babe. Let’s get out of this damn car and into a comfy bed.” Kate smiled but noticed Damien looked worried. “Are you okay, Damien?”
Damien sat in the passenger’s seat and stared out the windshield.
“Damien,” Kate said as she reached over and shook his shoulder, “babe, we’re here. Areyou all right?”
Damien looked around at the town from inside the car and then shook his head. “Yeah,” he said as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “I’m good. I just had a really strange dream. Actually, it was pretty fucked up.”
“I don’t think Hualapai cuisine agrees with your system,” Kate said half-jokingly to lighten Damien’s mood.
“No… no, I guess not,” Damien said as he rubbed his face and got out of the car. “This town looks quaint,” he said as he looked around.
“There’s only around two hundred and fifty people in this town,” Kate said. “Tourism at the Grand Canyon is like eighty-five, ninety percent of this town’s income. Maybe more.”
“Well, then,” Damien said as he held
his arm out to Kate, “let’s go experience some local hospitality.”
11
The Ancient One had dreamt. It had dreamt of a place beyond this world, outside of space and time. It had dreamt of its origin and how it had ended up in its current situation—an Elder god trapped between two worlds and not being a part of either one.
When the Ancient One had dreamt, it wasn’t sure what world it was part of, but it had always preferred the realm of slumber. In that world it had remembered the darkness of its home and the other gods that inhabited it. It had been a tenebrous world, and still was, where all the gods ruled as One. There had been a delicate balance among the Elder gods—the swarthy Indescribable Ones in the sulfurous oceans had never ventured or dared try to rule the hideous tentacled Ones’ domain in the clouds. Sky, sea, and land were all separate, sacred domains that had been respected. Any breech of rule resulted in war that could last hundreds of thousands of years.
But what’s a few hundred-thousand years, or even eons, when you have eternity?
There had always been an Elder god that had gotten restless and wanted to rule the entire realm. Uprisings weren’t uncommon. Every god in Yuggoth believed itself to be the mightiest, and would challenge the Others.
The Ancient One--N’Xabez, as loathsome as it was-had always been content in the methane clouds of Yuggoth. The thick, noisome atmosphere had provided coverage for N’Xabez and its brethren. That coverage made them more mysterious and dangerous than the Unutterable Ones inside the dirt and sand, whom could be seen slithering around at all times. N’Xabez and its kind were worshipped and feared. Incur the wrath of Ph’nafh nagl’fhtagn—‘The One in the Clouds’—and one would meet a horrible end, as long tentacles reached from the dense clouds and snatched you away forever.
N’Xabez existed in the minds of the Yuggothian's as a spectral reminder of the power of the Elder Ones.
But then, on that stygian day a thousand Earth years ago, N’Xabez had felt the unavoidable pull as the words chanted from a different realm had taken the Ancient One from its place in the Yuggoth clouds.
Wgah’nglui Ph’nafh nagl’fhtagn Yuggoth znul’thelshg.
Wgah’nglui Ph’nafh nagl’fhtagn Yuggoth znul’thelshg.
Wgah’nglui Ph’nafh nagl’fhtagn Yuggoth znul’thelshg.
The words had no Earthly translation, but when they had been spoken and repeated on the night when the planets had aligned in perfect singularity, N’Xabez could not ignore the pull. The Ancient One had been torn from Its domain on Yuggoth and through what had seemed like a dream had appeared in the wretched realm known as Earth. At first N’Xabez had no influence in this realm. It had been nothing more than a spectral presence in the clouds that had no control over its ability to manifest or be seen by the primitive beings of the planet.
But among the primitives had been a Holy One, the first High One, who had kept chanting the words, Wgah’nglui Ph’nafh nagl’fhtagn Yuggoth znul’thelshg over and again until more followers had joined in the chant. Their numbers had given the Ancient One substance and slowly it had learned to make itself physical in its new world.
Now N’Xabez could feed, and through feeding it came to know the feebleness of Earth’s inhabitants in both mind and body. The inhabitants feared the unknown—N’Xabez—and that too had given It more strength.
As time had passed, the Ancient One had learned how to get inside the minds of the Earthlings and read their thoughts and feed from their fears. These feeble-minded ones needed a god to call their own and to worship. N’Xabez had learned that being ruled and subjugated was human nature, and It was more than happy to oblige.
But to completely rule in this realm, it had needed a permanent physical presence. It already had the clouds to call home, but it had known that it would never be able to strike true fear into the Earthlings until it occupied this realm completely.
N’Xabez had reached out to the special Earthlings—the descendants of those original escapees from Yuggoth so many millennia ago—and had led them to the land underneath the clouds It inhabited, and then had them create the town of Derleth. It had chosen the strongest-willed amongst them as the High One and through him, the Ancient One had established the ritual that had been performed since.
The Circle of R’lyeh was the strongest of rituals, and N’Xabez knew that, in time, It would be completely pulled through into this realm.
A century had passed and the Ancient One had grown restless. It was ready to rule this world and bring to it the darkness of its home realm of Yuggoth. Madness would descend over the people, and it would be the uncontested Immortal One. N’Xabez had also known that by becoming completely physical in this world, it would forever give up residence in Yuggoth. It was willing to make that sacrifice, however, because right now, it was an inhabitant of neither world. Better to rule a lesser world than no world at all.
Then the Ancient One felt it.
An iridescent mind among the darkness that was the key to N’Xabez existing in both worlds.
N’Xabez rolled over in the clouds as it felt the Effulgent One drawing closer. Time had always been on the Ancient One’s side, and now the time had come to execute the plan it had set into motion millennia ago.
N’Xabez would rule this world and plunge it into madness and darkness. Once It ruled Earth, N’Xabez could then plan its next move to reclaim its rightful legacy as the One True Elder of Yuggoth.
The enormous, amorphous Elder again rolled among the clouds. It knew it would take many mortal lifetimes to accomplish Its overtaking Yuggoth, but then again, with eternity, there was nothing but time.
12
Damien was pulling their suitcases from the back of the car when the sheriff’s car pulled into the open parking space next to him.
“Welcome to our quaint little town,” the sheriff said as he walked closer to Damien. Damien noticed the smile on the man’s face, but there was something else behind it. Something… concerning. “I’m Sheriff Landry.”
“Good evening, Sheriff. I’m Damien Squire,” Damien said as he momentarily stopped unpacking the car to shake the sheriff’s hand. “You have no idea how long we’ve been on the road,” Damien said with a smile.
“I can imagine,” said the sheriff. “I see you’re all the way from Texas,” he continued as he nodded toward the license plate. “What part?”
“Central Texas,” Damien answered as he shook the sheriff’s hand. “Around Wimberley.”
“Yes, sir,” the sheriff said. “That is indeed a long drive. I’m assuming you and the family are here to visit the Grand Canyon?”
“We are,” Damien replied. “We were going to stay at the Hualapai Lodge, but apparently they close down for a few months during the slow season.”
“Indeed they do,” the sheriff confirmed. “They really need to advertise that fact a little better.”
“No kidding,” Damien said as he began to feel more at ease around the sheriff. “On the positive side, if the Hualapai Lodge wasn’t closed, then we would’ve never found out about your town.” Damien held out his arms and swept them around. “I didn’t see Derleth on any of the maps.”
“It seems the map makers keep passing us over,” the sheriff said, “but luckily people always seem to find us. It is hard to miss us. We get a lot of traffic and visitors on their way to the Grand Canyon.”
“Well, I can honestly tell you that my family and I are extremely grateful you are here and that the hotel is open,” Damien said. “If I had to drive one more mile I think I would’ve gone mad.” Damien laughed as he reached into the car and grabbed the final suitcase.
“Well, and I speak for the town, I’m glad we are here as well… for you,” the sheriff said. “How long are you planning to stay?”
“Just a night or two,” Damien said. “Originally, we planned on one night at the Hualapai Lodge, but we are so exhausted from the road we might stay a day or two longer.” When Damien looked up, he saw the sheriff’s eyes were fixed on him. “That will
be okay, Sheriff, won’t it?” Damien asked.
The sheriff stared at Damien for a few seconds and then forced a smile. “Of course it is,” he finally said. “We’re glad to have you. Let me help you with your bags,” the sheriff said as he nodded toward the entrance of the hotel.
*****
There was something about the man from central Texas that didn’t sit well with Sheriff Landry. It had always been stressful when visitors rolled into town during the off-season. The thing in the clouds was unpredictable. Sometimes it ignored the new visitors, while other times it fixed on them and demanded the sacrifice.
Sheriff Landry had gotten good at getting a feel for visitors during the off-season. He’d discovered that, after chatting with them, he had an almost supernatural insight as to their fate. Most who came during the off-season didn’t fare well, but there were always the lucky ones that the thing in the clouds paid no attention to and let pass through—and let live.
But Damien Squire was different. Landry couldn’t get a feel for him.
Landry led the way toward the entrance of the hotel and felt Damien close behind. Once in the hotel’s lobby, Landry met Karen and Brandon. He wasn’t able to read the other members of the Squire family either and finally decided to leave them be. They’d be in town for the next few days.
As he walked out of the hotel, Landry also realized that there was no energy emanating from the clouds. The Ancient One was still, and that, more than anything, was unusual. The Ancient One always reacted when outsiders rolled into town.
But this time, nothing.
As Sheriff Landry got into his patrol car and pulled away, he knew what must be done.
It was time to visit with the High One.
13
“What did the sheriff want?” Karen asked as they got to their room.
“I’m not really sure,” Damien said. “He started off as the welcoming wagon, but then it seemed he was more interested in how long we were planning on staying.”
