Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

?Will not? You for get that this is all mine. This land, these br icks, this stone, the
mar ble, tables and car ds. All mine. This is my casino, Cyanquille. You ar e my
w or kfor ce. I w ill not be told counter to this by any man alive. Nor w ill I be told so
by the dead. Our pact stands, but our pr oject is done. You may stay, you may also
join me in other pr ojects. But I w ill not be told w hat I may do. This pr oject is done,
sir , and for my par t, I have kept our pact.?
The spectr e r ose befor e him, and adjusted the sleeves of his jacket, ensur ing his
laced cuffs w er e exposed to the length he desir ed and no mor e. When he spoke
again, his countenance was mor e sombr e and his voice gr aver than Denholm had
know n of the dead.
?Dust and dir t, Mr Denholm. You ow n paper s...and dust...and dir t. You do not
know w hat this casino is. Nor do you ow n it in any tr ue sense. You ow n fleeting
daubs of ink on par chment. Our pact does indeed stand. For a businessman, you
lacked the ser vices in its dr afting fr om a good law yer , like the r ather r esour ceful
Mr Le?Ap. The pact, Denholm, betw een you and I, r efer r ed to our pr oject. Your
misunder standing, how ever , is that our pr oject was not betw een you and I. Nor is it
in any way completed. Our pr oject, Denholm, is a pr oject of the dead. It is a pr oject
of those w ho r etur ned. To it, you ar e as inconsequential as any of the chips on a
gaming table. As inconsequential, per haps, as a fly.?
Denholm shifted uneasily. He had often fear ed implications fr om the act of
assur ance he had betokened the dead. Somew her e in him a fly, at the contr ol of
Cyanquille, waited to r espond w hen instr ucted.
?A fly I can have r emoved,? he said. ?A str oke I can be nur sed back fr om in the
tow n. Le?Ap can ar r ange these things for me. So yes, I believe our pr oject is
achieved and that I w ill move w her e I w ish.?
?Oh, my dear Mr Denholm. Somew her e I think w e both knew it w ould come to
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