THE INSATIABLE ONE I (NYARLATHOTEP)

THE INSATIABLE ONE I (NYARLATHOTEP)
"McConnel and Wilenski peered over the ledge as a pandemoniac scene unfolded before them. A dozen men and women cavorted naked around a fire before a six foot high bronze statue on an equally tall stone base. The statue depicted a man with his arms out, palms up, as if in waiting. The sculptors had taken great care in depicting the statue's Scythian attire, even carving the intricate patterns of the tunic and boots in relief. A bow hung over its shoulder and a quiver at its side. The statue's features were perfect, except in one detail; where there should have been a head, there was none."

"The men and women seemed out of place, and not merely because they were trespassing on an active excavation site. Their features were Caucasian, their skin so white it had a bluish translucent hue."

"In the flickering light of the pyre the two archaeologists were able to make out the grotesque features of the worshipers in their revelry. What they had originally taken to be sensational rumors were proved true; the cultists had tried to emulate their headless god as best they could. To varying degrees they had removed parts of their heads. For some it was as simple as a shaved head, while others had taken off ears and noses. A select few had removed teeth."

"Two of the figures approached the statue, each of them pulling a severed human head from a worn and bloody sack. As one, they placed their grisly prizes in each of the statue's upturned hands. When they had finished, a woman whose face was covered with a long and gauzy scarf--the only piece of clothing among the throng--approached the back of the statue. As she climbed the pedestal, she removed the covering from her face. Her head was shaved, her ears and nose gone, and so were her eyes. This, however, was not the worst part. She had somehow removed her own lower jaw. A raw hole pulsed open and closed where not even a tongue dangled. She crawled up the back of the statue, moving unerringly in spite of her blindness, and placed a third severed head atop the statue's neck."

"Wilenski stifled a wretch and turned his head, but try as he might, McConnel could not look away. And so he saw the head atop the statue's neck open its gleaming eyes, 

and look back at him."
Michael Bukowski & Jason McKittrick, The Bronze God Awakens
Edited by Orrin Grey