Trilby's Notes: The (Un)Official Novelization (Chzo Mythos #3)

Chapter 9: I died.

       I awoke to find myself splayed upon the stump, blood still slowly leaking from my wound. In my injured state, I could barely move. My limbs refused to respond. I was as weak as a newborn.

       "Lenk...mann?"

       "Oh good, you're awake. I was afraid you'd miss this."

       "What...are you doing?"

       "After your staggering ineptitude in DeFoe Manor, the Order needed to nudge things along. We need a connection to Chzo to help administrate His coming. And today might be the only opportunity we have all year to summon the Tall Man."

       "You're going to...bring that...THING...into our world?!"

       "With a standard ritual of Blessed Agonies, and an offering. After he takes your life, he will be grateful to us. And then he will guide us to our destiny."

       "So why did you...STAB me? What if I'm already dead by the time he gets here?"

       "You won't be. Men like you, Trilby, die on their own terms. They don't weakly let their life slip away from one measly knife wound. Hush, now. Cabadath is coming."

       In my panic and resolve to confront Lenkmann, I attempted to stand up. However, my attempts to move only made things worse. I felt a stab of pain, and something snapped behind my eyes, filling my vision with spots. I decided to try to talk to Lenkmann. Any information I could use against him the better.

       "What does this...ritual entail?"

       "To you, I have done all I need. To bring Cabadath to us, we must tempt him with the three Blessed Agonies. The Blessed Agonies of the Mind, the Body, and the Soul. I am well-conditioned to act as the Mind. Your wound makes you the Body. The girl will have to suffice as the Soul."

       I was losing blood steadily. My arms and legs were limp and unresponsive. I couldn't move. But I knew Lenkmann mentioned Siobhan.

       "Siobhan...are you there?"

       "She's here, but she can't answer you."

       "She has nothing to do with this, Lenkmann! Let her go!"

       "On the contrary. It is important that all three of us be here. It is part of the ritual. Now hush. I call thee, Cabadath, to the wood that is your soul. I call thee from the north."

       I was close to death, but not quite there. But when I looked over, I noticed the idol on the stump.

       "You...you had the idol of John DeFoe all along!"

       "I did. I placed it here to reunite the wood with the tree from which it came. Cabadath will appreciate the sentiment."

       "Why is John DeFoe the Bridge? What makes him...so special?"

       "He was born in the Scientific Realm and killed with magickal wood. The magick brought him back as a wraith. As such, he is an entity of both realms - of both magick and science. One foot on each side of the border. He is the Bridge, just as the prophecy said...I call thee from the east."

       The pain was now replaced with an ice-cold numbness that was spreading fast. The room was swimming before my eyes.

       "Why are you summoning the Tall...Man? What possible...use could he be to you?"

       "You've been experiencing flashbacks, I know. You saw Cabadath's attempt to summon Chzo, yes?"

       "I saw that he failed quite drastically."