A Cold and Lonely Place by William King

Author:William King [King, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction
Publisher: Typhon Press
Published: 2014-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

Kormak staggered down the stairs and emerged onto a landing. His strength was returning too slowly for his liking but he needed to push on before the second monster caught him.

He kicked open the door at the foot of the stairway. The smell of alchemicals assaulted his nostrils. Lantern light revealed a large chamber that took up most of this floor of the tower. Books filled the shelves and lay stacked in great piles on the floor. In one corner sat three cages large enough to hold giants. A mummified corpse, missing an arm, lay propped against one side of it. Along one wall metal cases held jars and flasks and pottery vessels, all marked with cryptic runes.

An oak bench dominated the centre of the room. Chains and manacles hooked onto steel rings were set in its top. Complex mystical runes glittered on their surface.

The manacles held another of the tentacled monsters in place. Its skin was greyish and had the texture of a blighted mushroom. Translucent tubes jutted from the tentacle mouths. Blackish fluid dripped through them and passed through a complex arrangement of alchemical beakers and distilling equipment. At the terminus was a rats’ nest of flexible tubing and a bed on which a man might lie. What was going on here? Was the apparatus intended to drain the life from the monster and distil something from its blood?

The place stank of gangrene and rotting flesh. The creature swivelled its head and surveyed him. Its dull eyes took on a spark of life. Images and emotions flickered through his mind, of pain and imprisonment and fear, a plea for ending. The amulet on his breast warmed as it neutralised most of the magical impulse the imprisoned creature sent at him.

He visualised an Elder Sign within his mind and the flow stopped. He knew better than to risk such a contact with an alien being in circumstances like this.

Over on the far-side of the room a tapestry flapped, although there was no breeze. The crystalline windows prevented there from being one.

Kormak moved over to inspect the imprisoned beast. The creature raised a feeble limb as he came closer. There was an odd gentleness to the movement. It stared at him with its inhuman eyes and the amulet grew warmer. Small fluting sounds came from its trunks that made Kormak think of whimpers. It seemed to be making a supreme effort to enthral him or communicate with him.

A heavy body thudded down on the roof. Talons scraped against stone. The sound of the trapdoor being lifted came from above. He was running out of time.

The creature’s eyes narrowed as it focused on Kormak’s blade. Its tentacles writhed, pointing first at the sword and then at its breast.

This monster had none of the awesome strength of its kin on the roof. It appeared emaciated, drained of life as if by a vampire. It looked at him imploringly. Clearly it wanted to die and Kormak could think of no reason not to grant its wish.

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