A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

. 7) feed onl 102 A. MERRITT’S FANTASY | 4 : - Up I floated, and up, until song and drum-beat, chimes and sighing harp chords blended into one— The voice of Dahut. She was close to me, and she was sing- ing, but I could not see her. I could see nothing but the green twilight, and that was fast darkening. Sweet was her voice and pitiless, and wordless was her song except for its burden... “Creep, Shadow! Thirst, Shadow! Hunger, Shadow! Creep, Shadow— creep!” I strove to speak and could not; strove to move and could not. And still her song went on . .. only its burden plain. “Creep, Shadow! Hunger, Shadow ... where and when I bid you! Thirst, Shadow . . . drink only where and when I bid you! Creep, Shadow . . creep!” Suddenly I felt my body. First as a tingling, then as a leaden weight, and then as a wrenching agony. I was out of my body. It lay upon a wide, low bed in a tapestried room filled with rosy light. The light did not penetrate the space in which [ was, crouching at my body’s feet. On my body’s face were three crimson welts, the marks of Dahut’s whip, and Dahut stood at my body’s head. I knew that my body was not dead but Dahut was not looking at it. She was looking at me ... whatever I was ..*. crouched at my body’ S-1eet ; “Creep, Shadow .. . creep . . . creep, Shadow ... creep .. The reom, my body, and Dahut faded— in that precise order. I was creeping, creeping, through darkness. It was like creeping through a tunnel, for solidity was above and below and on each side of me ; and at last, as though reaching a tunnel’s end, the blackness before me began to gray. : I crept out of the darkness. I was at the edge of the standing stones, on the threshold of the monoliths. The moon was low, and they stood black against it. There was an eddy of wind, and like a leaf it blew me among the monoliths, I thought : What am I to be blown like a leaf in the wind! I felt resentment, rage. I thought: a shadow’s rage! I was beside one of the standing stones. . creep a ad . “TT ® at ‘ - Dark as it was, a darker shadow leaned — against it. It was the shadow of a man, 3 although there was no man’s body to cast — it. It was the shadow of a man buried to 3 the knees. There were other monoliths — near, and against each of them leaned a man’s shadow . . . buried to the knees. — The shadow closest to me wavered, ihe the shadow cast by a wind-shaken candie — flame. It bent to me and whispered: “You have life! Live, Shadow . . . and 3 save us!” 2 I whispered: “I am shadow... shadow ~ like you... how can J save you?” oa The shadow against the standing stone ~ swayed and shook. 4 “You have life... kill. . kill him.” There was a stronger eddy of the wind, and on it I was whirled like a leaf almost — to the threshold of the Cairn. The whis- ~ pering of the shadows fettered to the — circling monoliths grew locust shrill, beat- ~ ing back the wind that was whirling me ~ into the Cairn . . . shrilling a barrier be- ~ tween the Cairn and me . . . driving me ~ back, out of the field of the monoliths. — The Cairn and the monoliths were gone. — The moon was gone, and gone was the familiar earth. I was a shadow... ina — land of shadows .. . : 3 There were no stars, no n1oon, no stn. © There was only a faintly luminous dusk — which shrouded a world all wan and ashen | and black. [ stood alone, on a wide plain. There were no perspectives, and no hori- — zons. Everywhere it was as though I ~ looked upon vast screens, aa Yet I knew there were depths and dis- — tances in this strange land. I was a shadow, vague and unsubstantial. Yet [3 could see and hear, feel and taste—I knew that because I clasped my hands and felt — them, and in my mouth and throat was the bitter taste of ashes. - Ahead of me were shadow mountains, stacked against each other like gigantic — slices of black jade; distinguishable from each other only by their varying darkness, — It seemed that I could reach out a — hand and touch them, yet I knew they — were far and far away. My eyes—my — sight—whatever it was that functioned ~ as sight in this shadow that was I—sharp- ened. I was ankle deep in somber, shad- — owy grass starred by small flowers be kill her... 7 GEomicboo (S.com 7 ay —— ce -_ f . “= rat