A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

|Her brother is with her. You are all she ony We are here to take you back to ther.” I said, “No. Not until—” Gale blast that closed my mouth as jthough a hand had struck it. Crash of Wave against the ridge, shaking it. I felt | the spray of it on my face, and it was ‘like the whip of Dahut and it was like the ‘cold fingers of her on my eyes... ~ And suddenly McCann and Ricori ;seemed unreal and shadowy. And sud- aes seemed to see — shining body 0 ut swaying onwar the path hekwees the: bia kde fie . and I heard a voice in my heart—the Lord of ‘Caranac’s voice—and mine: how can I i kill her, evil as I know her to be? ~PQXICORIS voice . . . how long had he been talking? . . . “and so when last night you did not appear, I used, as. you had suggested—my judgment. After we were assured of her safety, we set out. We persuaded the guardians of the gates to let us enter. They will guard no more gates. We saw the lights, and we thought A. MERRITT’S FANTASY - . ewers they carried . . . and that although — a | es 5 . and that it must be a full thousand feet: away. Yet not only could I see the Cairn: — as though I were beside it, I could see within it as well. a Strange, too, although the wind was roaring overhead and whipping us on the rock, that the fires before the Cairn burned _ steadily ; flickering only when those who ~ fed them sprinkled them from the black < cs the wind came from the sea, the smoke of the fires streamed straight against it. And strange how silent it was down there among the monoliths when steadily grew the shouting and the clamor of the sea... nor did the flashing of the light- ning marching ever higher dim the fires, nor did the rumbling thunder invade the __ silence of the plain more than did the clamor of the combers .. . 3 Those who fed the fires were not now in white but in red. And de Keradel was — clothed in a robe of red instead of the white robe of the sacrifices. 3 He wore the black belt and the cincture; but the shifting symbols on them glittered not silver but scarlet .. . a _ that where they were you would most like- ly be. We distributed our. men, and McCann and I came by chance upon this excellent place for observation. We saw ‘neither you nor Dahut .. .” Dahut! . . . another wave broke upon ' the rock and shook it, then surged hack shouting . . . shouting—Dahut! Another | gust roared over the rock . . . roaring— There were ten of the fires, in a semi- circle between the three altars and the monoliths which faced the threshold of the Cairn. Each was a little more than a man’s height, and they burned with a cone- shaped, still flame. From the peak of each arose a column of smoke. They were — as thick as the arm of a man, these — Dahut! Ricori was saying, ; “They are down there, awaiting our I interrupted, attention abruptly cen- tered, “Signal for what?” He said, “To stop what is going on - down there. He pointed toward the inward edge of the rock, and I saw that its edge was out- lined black against depths of the ruddy light. I walked to the edge and looked down— The Cairn was plain before me. I thought : how strangely close it seems .. . how stark the monoliths stand out! Tt was as though the Cairn was but a few yards away .. . de Keradel so close that I could reach out my hand and touch him. I knew that there were many of the standing stones between me and the Cairn, columns, and having ‘risen twice the — height of the fires they curved, and then streamed straight toward the threshold of the Cairn. were like ten black — arteries of which the ten fires were the — hearts, and they were threaded with crim- _ son filaments, like little fiery veins. iyo The blackened, hollowed stone was hid- den by a greater fire which burned not — only red but black. Nor was this like the others, a still flame. It pulsed with slow and rhythmic beat—as though in truth — it were a heart. Between it and the es slab of granite upon which he had beaten _ in the breasts of the sacrifices stood de aa There was something lying upon the stone of sacrifice, covering it. At first I thought it a man, a giant, lying there. Then I saw that it was an immense vessel, _ strangely shaped, and hollow. A vat. Eomicbooks.com