No, she had not defeated Nyarlathotep. She had done naught but parry his first move, and that at great cost to herself. In her weakened state, could she truly hope to triumph against him?

Nyarlathotep's power surged wildly, bringing to Arkham otherworldy beings from every gate. At Unvistied Isle a rat-thing crept forth from another dimension; from the Underworld gate at the science building escaped a ghost; a man driven mad by the architecture of Ry'leh ran screaming into the woods, and at the Witch House Nyarlathotep himself returned to the world as the Haunter in the Darkness. The Crawling Chaos then shifted his focus, concentrating his nearlly limitless power not on forcibly merging the worlds, but on destroying that which strengthened the barriers between them.

In the depths of the Black Cave, unseen by any mortal eye, the rock which had been emblazoned with an Elder Sign by Joe Diamond vibrated slighty. Minute, almost microscopic cracks begin to form on its surface.

Unaware that his good works were in danger of being undone, Joe's mood had rebounded remarkably. His and Father Michael's prayers seemed to have been answered; he could feel the difference in the air, the lifting of the immediate threat. Now it was up to him to make sure it all turned out okay. Problem was he didn't really have any idea what do next. Where could he go to dig up more dirt on what was going on?

The detective wandered aimlessly around about Arkham, finally ending up in the merchant district. Deep in his own thoughts Joe almost missed the character in the funny costume creeping up behind him. Whirling Joe drew both his automatic and his revolver, leveling them at the guy's chest. He was dressed in a weird looking robe, with a red sash. He looked to be in his twenties, with dark hair and a narrow, pinched face. His eyes had a wild, intent look.

"Halloween's not for seven months, pal. You wannat tell me what you're doing in that get-up?"

In response the man sneered. "You are an enemy of the Ancient One!" he accused.

"If the "Ancient One" is the guy doing all this, then you're **** right I'm his enemy. I'm looking forward to having a word with him. You know where he is?"

"You fool! Nyaralthotep no mere human; he is the messenger of the Gods, the servant of Azathoth! He dwellis outside this world, but his avatars, his Masks, even now walk the streets of this pitiful little town. Look for one of them if you wish to see my master."

"I think I will, after I finish shutting all these weird doorways. I already closed one, and made sure it won't open again."

"You waste what little remains of your life in vain! There are almost a dozen places in Arkham which might open to reveal the glory of the Crawling Chaos, and more in Dunwich-" the cultist stopped abruptly after the last word, and a grin spread across Joe's face.

"Dunwich, huh? Thanks, kid," Joe said, lowering his guns.

With a snarl the man pulled a curved blade from a sheath at his back and threw himself forward. An instant later he hit the pavement with two holes in his chest, the twin reports of Joe's guns echoing through the quiet street.

Joe shook his head. This Ancient One couldn't be all that terrifying, not if his followers didn't know any better than to bring a knife to a gun fight.

With Ruby's help Lily hid the bodies of both the beast and the Dark Pharaoh in some nearby bushes. It was too late to get them to the Sciene Building; they'd have to wait til morning. In the meantime it wouldn't hurt to spend some more time looking over the records at the Historical Society. It was past hours there too, but before departing earlier Lily had been careful to leave a window slightly open. With a little luck . . . Yes!

Once inside the two women split up; Ruby concentrated on records pertaining to the Silver Twilight Lodge, while Lily looked for any references to supernatural events. After an hour Lily struck paydirt. The book she'd come across explained how it was possible to shift a seal from its current location to an open gate. Concentraing she could feel one seal in the town, and four gates. Which one? Which one should she move it to?

Unbidden in her mind came the voice of Nodens! Though the bulk of his power had left her, a connection nevertheless remained between them, and she heeded his words without question. She moved the seal from the Black Cave to the Uvisited Isle.

Squeling the rat-thing disappeared back into the gate, while the Haunter in the Darkness was banished from the Earth for the second time.

Lily leaned back and closed her eyes. Then she got up and went to check on Ruby. The redhead looked terrible, and wouldn't talk about what she had learned about the Silver Twilight Lodge. She insisted that it was nothing which could help them; in fact Lily was better off NOT knowing. Looking at Ruby's grave, stricken face, Lily believed her.

The gate at the Science Building rippled as Marie emerged from it, her gate box allowing her to reenter Arkham via the Underword Gate. Without hesistation she used her understanding of magic to seal the gate, carving an Elder Sign on the interior of a cabient door. She started to turn away and stopped in surprise. The surface on which she'd carved the Elder Sign was . . . trembling, as though it might fly apart.

Rita stopped at the train station, scanning the posted times for the next run to Kinsport. If these cultists were here in Akrham, then maybe they had bases in other nearby towns. It was a possibility worth checking out.

Again Nyarlathotep's power surged. In his form of the Bloated Woman he came from Ry'leh to the Witch House, while his form of the Beast bounded through the gate in the woods. Finally a Dark Young lurched slowly to the Witch House from Ry'leh. In the downtown streets a Mi-Go collector's invisibility shield malfunctioned, exposing his true form to paniched picknickers.

The rate of vibration for both seals increased noticeably. Neither Rita nor Joe had any way of knowing this, and both left Arkham, bound for Kinsport and Dunwich respectively. Marie and Lilly, however, were well aware that something was wrong with the seals. Even as she had been shifting the one Lily had felt its instability. It was under attack by another force, one directed by the Crawling Chaos.

At first light Lily and Ruby returned to the university, retreiving the bodies from the bushes. It would be much simpler to move the corpses if they could do so unnoticed, and the best way to do that was to act before anyone else was up.

They crept quietly into the Science Building, arriving at the lab just in time to see Marie drive a glowing dagger and sword through a moaning, spectral figure. Lily assume this was the Marie that Rita had spoken of, and she and Ruby pooled what information they had with the woman. When Professors Armitage and Rice arrived they found three women already waiting for them, and the trio wouldn't take no for an answer. So it was that the Professors found themselves performing the strangest autopsy of their careers.

The beast was fascinating, but straightforward; the apparent Egyptian Pharaoh was another matter entirely. The could not seem to even pierce his skin! Not until Professor Armitage poured holy water onto the man's chest. The cold flesh smoked and burned as though it had been doused with acid, and then the indisputably dead body spoke! "Free!" he hissed, and dissloved into a foul-smelling black mist.

Everyone watching was deeply shaken, but Lily recovered first. Snatching the remainder of the holy water from Professor Armitage's limp hand she called for Ruby and Marie to follow her.

Urged on by the prompting of Nodens she stopped in the Eastown Street and poured the holy water, the fluid inmical the Great Eye, in a complex pattern. She beseeched Nodens for aid, and he answered. A stillness fell across Arkham, and both Elder Signs ceased their trembling.

Nodens rewarded Lily for her actions. She and Marie both found unusual treasures in the gutter, as did Rita in Kinsport. In Arkham Joe Diamond unexpectedly came across a pallid mask that might fool people into thinking he was part of this crazy cult.

Lily knew she had to take advantage of this brief lull in her enemy's attack while it lasted. Now that her martial arts ability was gone she needed to find something to defend herself with. Marie assured her that the Curiousity Shop contained many powrful eldritch weapons, and Lily and Ruby headed there without hesitation. They just missed seeing the gate open at the Unnameable and an Elder Thing take up residence there.

When they reached the store they ran into Rita, who had just returned from Kingsport, where nothing of importance seemed to be going on. When Lily expained to Rita what had happend to her Rita pressed most of her money into the Asian woman's hand. Lily tried to refuse, but Rita woudln't take no for an answer. With her new funds Lily was able to purchase a formidable-looking golden sword.

In Dunwich Joe Diamond was finishing his investgation of the Devil's Hopyard when he heard a cry for help. Again the cry came, from a small building that had smoke pouring out of every window. Joe sprinted to the doorway, preparing to dash inside to the resuce . . . and then he hesitated. This whole thing seemed just a little too convenient. What were the odds that he should be passing by just when this place caught on fire? What is this was a trap? There could be one of those crazy cultists inside, one who might not mind burning to death if he could take Joe with him.

Before Joe could make a final decision one way or the other the roof caved in, and the screaming stopped. Though he didn't know it, Joe's failure to rescue the fire's victim would cost more than one life.

The seal on the sciene building suddenly shook again but held firm. As she left the Curiousity Shop Lily glance up at the night's sky--and stopped dead. The Big Dipper was gone. The stars . . . the stars were wrong.

"No", Nodens whispered in her mind. "The stars are right, right for the coming of the Crawling Chaos. He had forced them into the proper alignment, centuries before the destined time."

"How?!?!" Lily screamed. "How can I stop . . . this?!?"

"There is a creature called a Mi-Go in the downtown streets. He posses a magical blade, an artifact thousands of years old. If you can obtain this enchanted knife and use it to sacrifice a willing soul, you will restore the stas to their proper places."

Lily stood stockstill for a moment, the implications of that running through her fevered mind. Then she sprinted for the downtown, leaving Ruby to race to try to catch up to her.

The Mi-Go didn't even have a chance to blink before it was cut in half by the shimmering sword. Lily caught the dagger the thing had been holding before it hit the ground. Positioning it over her heart, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she plunged the blade home.

Or at least she tried to. Opening her eyes she saw that Ruby had caught her by the wrist with both hands and was hanging on for dear life, for Lily's life.

"Are you crazy?!?" Ruby demanded. "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's the only way," Lily insisted, blinking the tears from her eyes. "Look at the sky!"

Wary of a trick, Ruby glanced up quickly, paused, then stared upward, her mouth falling open in shock.

"HE'S doing it, shifting the universe to speed his awakening. The only way to stop him is to use this dagger to sacrifice a willing soul."

"So you were going to use yourself?" Ruby asked, her voice equal part incredulity and dismay.

"It is my destiny to stop him," Lily declared.

"So putting the sky back to normal will stop him for good?"

"No," Lily admitted reluctantly.

"So how can you stop him if you're dead?" Ruby shouted.

"I don't know!" Lily screamed back. "I just know that it has to be done, and it has to be done now! Every second we delay brings the world closer to its doom."

Ruby stared into Lily's face searchingly. Then her sholders slumped and the fight seemed to go out of her.

"Okay," she said. "Okay." With a sigh Ruby released her hold on Lily's wrist.

Lily started to speak, to thank Ruby for all she had done, but she didn't get the chance, because Ruby kneed her hard in the stomach.

A few days ago she would have been able to block that blow in her sleep. Now it took her completely by surprise. She doubled over, gasping, and felt Ruby wrench the knife from her hand.

Straightening herself as best she could, Lily was just in time to see Ruby collapse to the ground, the handle of the knife sticking out of her chest.

"No!" she protested.

Lily dropped to her knees beside the dying woman, completely at a loss.

"Why, Ruby? Why?!?" she asked, her anguish evident in her voice.

"Becasue . . . becuase you have a destiny to fulill," Ruby whipered, a trickle of blood running out the corner of her mouth. "You have to stop him. I-I don't have anything. I didn't have much longer to live anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Last night . . . at the Historical Society. The Silver Twilight Lodge has been here since the town . . . was founded. Over a hundred members. Too many for me to fight, and I can't run forever. They wouldn't have stopped until I was dead. How long would I have lasted, especially without you . . . to protect me?"

Ruby fell silent and Lily's heart broke. Lowering her head she wept for her friend, for the woman who had saved the world from the Silver Twilight Lodge before she, the destined one, had even known what was going on! Lily wept for almost an hour, and when at last she raised her head she saw that the stars were back in their proper places. A motorcycle stood only a few feet away, and there was something on the seat. Another gift from Nodens, probably, but small consolation indeed for the loss of Ruby

Once again Nyralathotep had been thwarted, but this time the cost was almost more than Lily could bear.

"Thwarted?" a deep, amused voice asked her. It was in her mind, like the voice of Nodens, but it sounded nothing like him. No, this was the voice of the Great Eye, the voice of Nyarlathotep.

"Yes!" she screamed defiantly. "Each of your moves I have blocked!"

A swell of laughter filled her head. "Ah, how you mortals do amuse me! You think you have interfered with my designs? At the first you gave up all of your skills at combat, weakening yourself more than even you understand. Then you returned to me a form which had been lost for over a thousand years. Finally I see the thief who stole from my servant Carl Stanford lies dead before you, punished as she deserves for her audacity. Thwarted me, Lily? Even though you seek to oppose me, in truth your every action has been according to my will!"

No! NO!!! It wasn't true! It couldn't be true . . . could it?

To Be Continued . . .