Read Online The Taint and Other Novellas by Brian Lumley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Brian Lumley
Tags: Horror
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the question….But if you insist upon this folly, then I’m sure I can find someone to help you. God knows I’d come with you myself—even on this wild-goose chase you propose, and despite the forecast of heavy snow—but…my dear, I’m an old man. My eyes are no good anymore; my limbs are no longer as strong as they used to be. I’m afraid that this old body might let you down at the worst possible time. It’s bad country north of here when the snows come.”
“Is it simply that, Jason,” she answered him in her nervous voice, “or is it really that you believe I’m a madwoman? That’s what you as good as called me when I was here earlier.”
“You must forgive me for that, Lucille, but let’s face it—that story you tell is simply… fantastic! There’s no positive proof that the boy headed this way at all, just this premonition of yours.”
“The story I told you was the truth, Jason! As for my ‘premonition,’ well, I’ve brought you proof! Look at this—”
There was a pause before the Judge spoke again. Quietly he asked, “But what is this thing, Lucille? Let me get my glass. Hmm—I can see that it depicts—”
“No!” Her cry, shrill and loud, cut him off. “No, don’t mention Them, and please don’t say His name!” The hysterical emphasis she placed on certain words was obvious, but she sounded calmer when, a few seconds later, she continued: “As for what it is—” I heard a metallic clinking, like a coin dropped on the tabletop, “just keep it here in the house. You will see for yourself. It was discovered clenched in Sam’s right hand when they—when they found his poor, broken body.”
“All that was twenty years ago—” the Judge said, then paused again before asking: “Is it gold?”
“Yes, but of unknown manufacture. I’ve shown it to three or four experts over the years, and always the same answer. It is a very ancient thing, but from no known or recognizable culture. Only the fact that it is made of gold saves it from being completely alien! And even the gold is…not quite right. Kirby has one, too.”
“Oh?” I could hear the surprise in the Judge’s voice. “And where did he get it? Why, just looking at this thing under the glass, I should have taken it for granted—even knowing nothing of it—that it’s as rare as it’s old!”
“I believe they are very rare indeed, surviving from an age before all earthly ages. Feel how cold it is. It has a chill like the ocean floor, and if you try to warm it…but try it for yourself. I can tell you now, though, that it will not stay warm. And I know what that means….
“Kirby received his in the mail some months ago, in the summer. We were at home in Mérida, in Yucatán. As you know, I settled there after—after—”
“Yes, yes I know. But who would want to send the boy such a thing—and why?”
“I believe it was meant as—as a reminder, that’s all—as a means to awaken in him all I have worked to keep dormant. I’ve already told you about…about Kirby, about his strange ways even as a baby. I thought they would leave him as he grew older. I was wrong. That last month before he vanished was the worst. It was after he received the talisman through the mail. Then, three weeks ago, he—he just packed a few things and—” She paused for a moment, I believed to compose herself, for an emotional catch had developed in her voice. I felt strangely moved.
“—As to who sent it to him, that’s something I can’t say. I can only guess, but the package carried the Navissa postmark! That’s why I’m here.”
“The Navissa—” The Judge seemed astounded. “But who would there be here to remember something that happened twenty years ago? And who, in any case, would want to make a gift of such a rare and expensive item to a complete stranger?”
The answer when it came was so low that I had difficulty making it out:
“There must have been others, Jason! Those people in Stillwater weren’t
“Is it simply that, Jason,” she answered him in her nervous voice, “or is it really that you believe I’m a madwoman? That’s what you as good as called me when I was here earlier.”
“You must forgive me for that, Lucille, but let’s face it—that story you tell is simply… fantastic! There’s no positive proof that the boy headed this way at all, just this premonition of yours.”
“The story I told you was the truth, Jason! As for my ‘premonition,’ well, I’ve brought you proof! Look at this—”
There was a pause before the Judge spoke again. Quietly he asked, “But what is this thing, Lucille? Let me get my glass. Hmm—I can see that it depicts—”
“No!” Her cry, shrill and loud, cut him off. “No, don’t mention Them, and please don’t say His name!” The hysterical emphasis she placed on certain words was obvious, but she sounded calmer when, a few seconds later, she continued: “As for what it is—” I heard a metallic clinking, like a coin dropped on the tabletop, “just keep it here in the house. You will see for yourself. It was discovered clenched in Sam’s right hand when they—when they found his poor, broken body.”
“All that was twenty years ago—” the Judge said, then paused again before asking: “Is it gold?”
“Yes, but of unknown manufacture. I’ve shown it to three or four experts over the years, and always the same answer. It is a very ancient thing, but from no known or recognizable culture. Only the fact that it is made of gold saves it from being completely alien! And even the gold is…not quite right. Kirby has one, too.”
“Oh?” I could hear the surprise in the Judge’s voice. “And where did he get it? Why, just looking at this thing under the glass, I should have taken it for granted—even knowing nothing of it—that it’s as rare as it’s old!”
“I believe they are very rare indeed, surviving from an age before all earthly ages. Feel how cold it is. It has a chill like the ocean floor, and if you try to warm it…but try it for yourself. I can tell you now, though, that it will not stay warm. And I know what that means….
“Kirby received his in the mail some months ago, in the summer. We were at home in Mérida, in Yucatán. As you know, I settled there after—after—”
“Yes, yes I know. But who would want to send the boy such a thing—and why?”
“I believe it was meant as—as a reminder, that’s all—as a means to awaken in him all I have worked to keep dormant. I’ve already told you about…about Kirby, about his strange ways even as a baby. I thought they would leave him as he grew older. I was wrong. That last month before he vanished was the worst. It was after he received the talisman through the mail. Then, three weeks ago, he—he just packed a few things and—” She paused for a moment, I believed to compose herself, for an emotional catch had developed in her voice. I felt strangely moved.
“—As to who sent it to him, that’s something I can’t say. I can only guess, but the package carried the Navissa postmark! That’s why I’m here.”
“The Navissa—” The Judge seemed astounded. “But who would there be here to remember something that happened twenty years ago? And who, in any case, would want to make a gift of such a rare and expensive item to a complete stranger?”
The answer when it came was so low that I had difficulty making it out:
“There must have been others, Jason! Those people in Stillwater weren’t
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