Speechless, immobile, his hearers never doubted that Gaunt had the power to carry out his monstrous threat. So bruised were their minds by the accumulation of things seemingly impossible that they had well-nigh lost the power of reasoned thought: they could only listen stupefied to his vaunting monologue.
“Humanity has looked its last upon the sun,” he went on remorselessly, “for soon the sun will be blotted out for ever: sun, moon, stars; the green earth; all beauty and all loveliness; for these things have absolute existence only in the mind of man, and when the Veil is rent again, and this earth becomes a playground for the horrors of the Dark, mankind will be plunged into the Abyss and utterly destroyed. Even God Himself will cease to be.”
So dreadful was the expression of hellish glee upon the face of the Satanist as he uttered the last words that the rector closed his eyes to shut out the abominable sight.
Gaunt’s lips curled as he saw this.
“Pray, priest, pray!” he sneered. “You did not think your God could be destroyed, did you? Well, know now that He can, at least, to the knowledge of this creation. He will not answer your prayers: He is powerless before the might of my Lord. O Satan, Master! I thank Thee for this hour!”
“O God,” the rector prayed passionately in his heart, “strike this blasphemer dead!”
But the prayer went up unanswered, and Gaunt turned away from them, and stood for a while contemplating the writhing horror below. Under his steady gaze its movements became less and less violent, until it lay almost quiescent save for a slight rhythmical swell upon its surface. Once he moved his hands in a peculiar manner, and a sympathetic shudder ran through its slimy substance. Satisfied that he had it completely under control, he went to the brazier and cast a handful of powder into it. A dense white smoke sprang up, and hung in a thick pall overhead. Then, taking up his glowing wand, he began to recite the words and perform the actions of a ritual which even the highest of adepts have thought to be lost in the mists of antiquity.
Fascinated like rabbits before a snake, the four watched helplessly. They heard the rumbling sound which filled the cavern die away, until there was silence save for the low chanting of the Satanist. They felt the vibration of the rock lessen and cease. At last even Time itself seemed to stand still, as Gaunt stretched his still-glowing wand downwards towards the monstrosity.
Then — how can mere words describe what followed? It seemed that the thing heaved its monstrous bulk out of the pit in the cavern floor and hurled itself at the foot of the opposite wall. But was it merely the opposite wall? Did, then, the wall of that cavern, great at it was, stretch out on every side into immensity? Was it smooth as glass and softly shining? They realized that this was no mere cavern wall but the substance of the Veil itself, rendered visible by the magician in their midst. Past terror now, almost curiously they watched, as the monstrosity, obedient to Gaunt’s direction, began to attack that unbelievable barrier.
The doctor stood rigid, every particle of his terrific will concentrated upon his task, the sweat pouring from his face. They could feel the dark power radiating from that tall figure, and the crimson aura about him was clearly visible. Tension piled on tension as the long minutes crept into eternity. The silence was absolute: a tangible thing.
Then, with a sound like the crack of doom, the Veil was rent. From the creature tearing at its foot a jagged rift starred out across the wall. A shrill cry of triumph burst from Gaunt’s lips, and the monstrosity began thrusting itself into the aperture. Nor was that all, for, as it strove to widen the breach, it began to utter a deep bellowing call, which was immediately answered, at first as from a great distance and then close at hand, as the horrified watchers beheld vague, monstrous shapes of Darkness crowding to meet it beyond the Veil.
Even in that awful moment the rector was praying continually, crying out in the darkness of his mind to the God he knew to be all-powerful.
“O God, let not Thy people perish! Let them not be destroyed utterly! From everlasting damnation deliver us, O Lord!”
He fixed his eyes upon the Satanist, confidently expecting the fire from Heaven which must soon fall upon him. But that was not God’s way.
Tony was past framing a conscious prayer, but he let his mind sink into the infinite in the way he had been taught. With no thought of self, his soul reached out until he knew he was on the threshold of the Presence. There he made an offering of himself for all mankind, very humbly.
The rift in the Veil was now of an appalling width. Only one thing prevented the immediate entry of the Darkness, and that was the monstrosity itself, still thrusting through the gap impelled by Gaunt’s command and its own furious desire to rejoin its kind. In another moment it would be through, and the Darkness would come flooding irresistibly in, blasting the world for ever.
Then God came: august, inexorable, unhurried. Not with the lightning and thunder of Sinai; not with the flames of Pentecost; but unseen, unheralded, in the quiet certainty of omnipotence.
Through Tony Lovell’s hands and feet and side shot a fiery dart of agony; and at the same instant the invisible shackles which Gaunt’s will had bound about his limbs were loosed and he was free. Without the slightest hesitation, though he knew he was going to almost certain death, he flung himself upon the Satanist. Caught unawares, Gaunt lost his balance, and for one age-long moment the two tottered on the brink of the ledge, locked in mortal combat; then they had fallen headlong into the gulf.
Still powerless to stir an inch, the three who were left saw with agonized eyes the two bodies, still clinging together, strike the cavern floor, only a few yards from the pit whence the monstrosity had come. That both were not killed instantly was in itself miraculous, but Gaunt, who had fallen undermost, was on his feet almost as soon as Tony. He had received injuries which must have incapacitated an ordinary man, and it was only by the exercise of his whole will that he kept the life in his broken body. What he saw to terrify him in the figure of the chalk-faced, blood-bespattered young man who staggered towards him no one will ever know; but with the cry of a hunted beast he turned and fled round the lip of the pit, with Tony after him. And the monstrosity, lying motionless, half through the Veil, watched him come. Not until he was almost upon it did he realize his frightful predicament: then it was too late. He could spare not the least fraction of will-power to ward off the horror as it surged towards him, catching his feet. He uttered one scream of mortal anguish and fell forwards into the bubbling mass. For an instant his white robe fluttered against the blackness, then he was gone, and the whole bulk of the monstrosity heaved itself out through the gap, taking its erstwhile master with it.
Immediately the bonds which held the watchers on the ledge were broken. Valerie reeled and would have fallen had Hamilton not caught her. Clinging together, they beheld the last act in that incredible drama.
When he saw Gaunt’s dreadful end Tony had stopped, one hand pressed against his bleeding side; but now, despite injuries which made each step an agony, he went resolutely on until he was before the rift in the Veil. His friends saw him pause for a moment as if undecided what to do, expecting each second the dark clouds of chaos and dissolution which swirled beyond the breach to pour in and overwhelm him. Then he straightened himself and spread wide his arms. As the radiance about him grew stronger the rector saw for the first time his bleeding hands, and his dark footprints on the rocky floor. Understanding the great glory which had come upon Tony Lovell, he made the sign of the Cross and watched with reverent eyes, knowing now that there was nothing more to fear.
The slight figure with the outspread arms, which stood alone between the world and destruction, uttered seven words in a clear, ringing voice. To his mortal hearers they meant nothing save music which seemed not of this earth; but the Guardians of the Veil heard and understood. With a mighty clashing sound, like that of iron gates swinging together, the breach was closed. Then the vision of the Veil faded, leaving only the rocky cavern wall, rough but unbroken as before. At the same moment the unearthly light which flooded the place dimmed and passed, leaving them in darkness, save for the flickering lamps and the dimly glowing brazier.