Albadi nodded. “In the Al Azif, Alhazred talks of a time when our world was nothing but a boiling vision of Hell, with a black sky above, devoid of any light or hope – there was no moon, no light, no life. These great beasts brought all the hate and lust of a newborn universe with them, creating more of their kind, budding off pieces of themselves to raise as slaves and soldiers, and perhaps just to be more beasts for them to torture, maim and kill.”

“There’s nothing in the fossil record to confirm that at all, Doctor,” Andy said.

“I know, and there wouldn’t be.” Albadi drew in a deep breath. “These leviathans knew dark magic, and knew how to defeat death itself. They are not dead, my friends.” He stared into the distance. “The Old Ones, the First Ones, the Elder beings – bad dreams, or things of mad fantasy, we thought. But perhaps that’s what they, and others, wanted us to believe.”

Tania threw her hands up and turned to Abrams. “Boss, come on – dark magic now? This is turning from bullshit to ludicrous bullshit.”

“It certainly is,” Abrams said. “But so is what’s happening around the world.” His expression hardened. “Do you need to wait outside, Captain?”

Tania’s face blazed momentarily. “No, sir.” She snorted. “But…”

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” Matt half smiled at Tania. “Be patient; Dr Albadi is risking a lot by even talking to us.”

Albadi tilted his head. “Who said that, Professor Kearns. Was it a Persian philosopher?”

“Not quite.” Matt grinned. “Sherlock Holmes…another great philosopher.”

Albadi chortled. “Very good.” He moved his hand to hover over the cloth cover. “And you are correct: there are mortal risks, and not just for me. I have found there are real cults of Cthulhu, whose members do not consider themselves bound by any of the rules of the human race. We must be on guard.” He sucked in a breath and pulled the oilcloth back, displaying a moldering pile of pages.

“Written in 800 BC, less than a hundred years after the original – its value is in its proximity in time to that first manuscript. The more you follow the book back in time, the more of its core meaning is revealed.” He hesitated for a moment, and then quickly lifted the leather cover. There came a knock on the door, and one of his servants entered. Albadi quickly flipped the cloth back over the book, and shooed the man away. “Shukran idrukni, idrukni.”

The man’s eyes darted around, taking in the cloth-covered mound and each of the Americans, before he nodded and backed out. Only then did Albadi relax. He turned to the group and shrugged. “I am overly cautious, perhaps.”

Once again his hands fussed as he flipped pages. “In Syria, we are also experiencing the sinkhole phenomenon. But within the fog of war, who cares if a few thousand people fall into a pit, when tens of thousands are being slaughtered in the streets above, hmm?” He peered up at Abrams and Tania. “But these events are what started my search for answers among the ancient books, and what led me to the Al Azif.”