A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 86: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

cPen yi Yeny Or) Peay fre yeu 7) x hy Ne { iy ae, fhe A Ly y j ’ ‘ \ \ i A f RB i Bat MALTA SAL NaN UR 1 1 we yh - iy yy | | * *. = i “> eRe Af | | G: 4 ¥ 2 ~ sd a is ko =F hey {A 2 ’ oy - “a > A ‘ ] - va : : ie YSN ROL i 7 } yi \ ot ye +f, tay Ween) ‘ ‘ } -altation did not wane; Ss We WENT out of the dining room and up the stairs. The inhuman ex- it grew stronger; - more ruthless. Life to be taken, but what _ me it was important . the life of one or the lives of many if they were rungs of a ladder up which I sould climb out of the pit into the sun? Force eee: from That which had — lived before life . . command It... the Creator? With de Keradel’s hand upon my arm I passed into my room. He bade me strip _and bathe, and left me. I stripped, and my hand touched somethin hanging in my left arm-pit. It was a holster in which was an automatic. I had forgotten who had given it to me,-but whoever it was had told . most important ; not to be lost nor given up... essential. I laughed. I tossed it into a corner of the room, De Keradel was beside me and I won- dered vaguely why I had not seen him come into the room. I had bathed and he was wrapping a breech-clout of white cot- ton around my lois. He laced sandals on my feet, and he drew my arms through other . sleeves of a robe of thick fine cotton. He stood back, and I saw that he was clothed in the same white robes. There was a broad belt either of black metal or ancient wood around his middle. There was a similar cincture around his breast. They were inlaid with symbolings in silver . but who ever saw silver shift and change outline . . . melt from this rune into an- as these did? Around his fore- head was a black chaplet of oak leaves, ‘ and from his belt swung a long black knife, a black maul, black and oval bowl and a black ewer . Dahut was s watching me, and I won- ~ dered why I had not seen her enter. She wore the robe of thick white cotton, but the girdle around her waist was of gold and on it the shifting symbols were red; and of red gold was the fillet that bound her hair and the bracelets upon her arms. In her hand was a golden sickle, razor- edged. They fastened around my waist another black and silver symbolized belt, and set upon my head a chaplet of the black oak - leaves. De Keradel drew from his belt the - maul and put it in my hand. I shrank from its touch and dropped it. He picked it up and closed my fingers around it. I tried to unclose them and could not, thease the touch of the maul was loathsome. rs raised the maul and looked at it. It was = heavy and black with age. . belt: =.= heart of oak; massive head blunt— The mael bennique! . like the 4 like the chaplet. It was shaped all of one piece as though carved from the shaft in center, ends of its — The ‘beater oho breasts! Heart crusher! And I knew that _ its blackness was less from age than from ~ - red baptisms. : My exaltation ebbed. Something deep within me was stirring, tearing at its fet- _ ters, whispering to me... whispering that it had been to stop the beating of this maul that I had gone from Caranac long and long ago to slay Dahut .. . that whatever else I did I must not use the maul . . . but also that I must go on, go on as I had in lost Ys . . . meet and even steep myself in his ancient evil, so that ...so that... De Keradel’s face was thrust into mine, mouth snarling, hell-fire flaming in his eyes: Maul!” Dahut’s hand closed around mine; her | cheek touched me. The exaltation swept — back ; the deep revolt forgotten. But some echo of it remained. I said: “T am one with you—but I will not wield the maul.” Dahut’s hand pressed and my fingers were loosed and I threw the thing from me. De Keradel said, deadly: “You do as I command. Pick up the maul.” Dahut said, sweetly, but with voice as deadly as his own: “Patience, my father. He shall bear the bowl and the ewer and do with them as is prescribed. He shall feed the fires. Unless he wields the mal of his own will, it is useless. Be patient.” He answered her furiously : fore you betrayed a father for your lover.” She said, steadily: ‘And may again... and if so what can you do, my father?” His face writhed ; he half raised his arm as though to strike her. And then crept into his eyes that same fear as had shown” t we had met when he owers summoned to aid and obey, and she had added—“or to 3 5 > . i » there on the ni had» spoken of command us.” His arm dropped. He picked up maul, and gave to me the bowl and ewer. He said, sullenly: ‘Let us go.’ We went out of that room, be on one Eomicbooks = ge “Vou are one with us, Bearer of the “Once be-. ‘4 . r */ + fp adh Ditie f 7, oo aber ih ~~ Ny < com