Read Online Jigsaw World by JD Lovil - Free Book Online

and the dog trudged the thousand feet or so through
the sand to the outcropping.
    Finally arriving at the outcropping, they
climbed its rocky face, and crouched down at its crest, to avoid
being spotted. The chanting has become louder, and the visage which
presented itself to the trio was that of a group of better than two
dozen robed and hooded figures, black robed figures in a circle
around three red robed figures, who in turn encircled the tableau
of a Crimson robed figure holding a ceremonial Athame and standing
before a totally naked and bound girl laid out upon a stone
alter.
    As they watched, the crimson robed man, who
must have been the High Priest, was speaking in English as three of
the black robed figures came before him.
    “ We call upon Black Throned
Azathoth, ruler of all time and all space, greatest of the Great
Old Ones save he whom we summon. Aid us in opening the gate for he
whom we summon. We offer these three as a sacrifice to Thee. Help
us to open the gate! Accept our tribute!”
    There was a sound like a distant flute, and
the flitting shadows that they had seen earlier returned,
possessing a depth that made them seem solid objects themselves.
One of the shadows touched one of the three offerings, and she
screamed and dissolved into the shadow. Other shadows touched the
other two offerings, and by their screams Tom determined that they
must be men. From beginning to end, it lasted but a few seconds,
but it seemed to last for hours.
    “ We thank you, great Azathoth, for
your blessing and aid. With the coming of your Consort, He who is
the All in All, we shall bring an end to the blight of Man on
earth, and at last the Great Old Ones shall rule this
world!”
    During this interlude, the naked girl on the
altar was struggling frantically. The High Priest took a second to
tighten the bindings on the girl, and then he started the
invocation for which all the former chanting was just a
prelude.
    “ Yog Sothoth, He who is All in
All, He who is in all spaces and in all times! We call upon you,
who is the key to the gate, and is the gate, and is that which is
outside the gate, and that which is inside the gate! We offer you
this virgin sacrifice, and we speak the ancient words of unbinding,
that you may enter our world through the gate, and rule our world
forevermore!”
    The high priest began to massage the girl's
breasts and nipples, and made several arcane gestures over the
girl. He raised the Athame, and by his body language, it was
obvious that he would soon sacrifice the girl. Tom felt a bit
regretful about that, but it was unlikely that the two of them
could take on the group of Cabalists, and rescue the girl for
future activities. The Priest began to speak in an unknown
tongue.

    “ N'GAI, N'GHA'GHAA, BUGG-SHOGGOG,
Y'HAH! YOG-SOTHOTH, YOG-SOTHOTH, IA! Y'HAH, BUGG-SHOGGOG,
N'GHA'GHAA, N'GAI! Y'AI 'NG'NGAH, YOG-SOTHOTH H'EE—L'GEB F'AI
THRODOG UAAAH!”

    Just as the priest croaked out the final 'UAAAH !’, a shot rang out from some
unknown point from what sounded like a 30 caliber or so rifle,
possibly set up as a sniping rifle. The priest fell, and dropped
the Athame. As he fell, several more shots from the same rifle
range out, and the three red robed priests also fell. The black
robed priests started to mill around in a panic, and most of them
began to run away from the beach area.
    For the next sixty seconds or so, the trio
watched from the outcropping as the rifle picked off the rest of
the black robes one by one. When at last they were all down, a
figure came down from the nearest inland hill, where he had been
crouched behind a tree with his sniping rifle. Tom, George and
Bailey crested the outcropping, and started down toward the altar
where the girl was still struggling. When they got close, the man
with the gun challenged them.
    “ What is your business here?” He
asked. He interposed himself between the girl on the altar and the
trio.
    “ Probably the same thing as you.”
Tom said.