Skyships Over Innsmouth by Laine Susan

Author:Laine Susan [Susan, Laine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

“COME WITH me, my dear prodigal sister,” Nyarlathotep said as he gestured toward the black pool of the portal’s energy. “It’s high time you see your home again.”

Malia said nothing. Without hesitation she stepped through the portal.

Rough autumn winds blew her clothes about her as she stepped onto the rocky reef. At her feet lapped restless ocean surges. This was no sandbar or coral reef, but more of an outcropping of bedrock, jutting upward from the sea in a smattering of stones smoothed by the sea, fused together by ocean salt, erosion, a variety of windswept plants, and even a mangled shipwreck on the northern peak.

Devil’s Reef. That’s what this lifeforsaken shoal is called.

Far to the west, land rose from the sea in a picturesque vista of misty green and gray shapes, including the fishing town of Innsmouth. So close, yet so far. Only a few twinkling lights here and there were visible amid the vague forms of barely erect, worm-eaten buildings with their tilted steeples and sagging roofs. No wisps of smoke, no excited movement, no signs of life anywhere.

A dreamlike vision of a town, Malia concluded, smiling inwardly, for she had plans.

“Did you ever imagine seeing Innsmouth alive before your very eyes?” Nyarlathotep asked behind her. He was pleased though the nuance was scarcely discernable.

“No.” Malia spoke the truth. Not that her companion of the hour would have been able to tell the difference. But her secret designs necessitated a show of trust. “What you’ve accomplished here is remarkable, quite a feat of creativity. Even if it is a mere shadow.”

Nyarlathotep snorted. “More than a shadow or a fantasy. More than a dream.”

Malia shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Not yet.” With a knowing smirk, she glanced at the tall, dark man over her shoulder, letting him in on her cynicism. It would be up to him to cast those doubts aside—and simultaneously reveal as much as possible about his long-term agenda. “You need humans for that. Their dreams fuel this… fantasy.”

Nyarlathotep chuckled. “For eons we have prepared for this day, for the time when all of humanity would succumb to us. Our moment of victory is at hand.”

“At tentacle, to be precise.” Malia grinned at him, and Nyarlathotep chimed in with a chuckle. Yet it was not a sound born of true joy. He and his ilk were far too cold for that. “I have to admit, what you did to Lovecraft and Derleth back in the day….”

Nyarlathotep beamed, clearly swayed by praise on some egotistical level. “The Key of Condensation gave them horrific dreams and bouts of endless creativity. Those visions, as shared in literature and art, in turn created powerful evocative imagery—which is now buried in the human collective subconscious.” Malia waited patiently for Nyarlathotep to continue his exalting soliloquy, and she wasn’t disappointed. “Deep-ocean creatures, intelligent monsters, ancient underwater cities, terrible evolutionary turns, darkness leading only to madness. The dreams we inspired reminded humanity why they should fear the dark; not because their predators were stronger, but because they were also smarter.

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