The doorway to ultimate pleasure.

At last he had solved the puzzle of Lemarchand’s box. He was standing on the threshold of a new world of heightened sensations.

In moments the Cenobites – who had dedicated an eternity to the pursuit of sensuality – would be here. They would reveal dark secrets that would transform him for ever.

But with the exquisite pleasure would come pain beyond imagining. To escape his hideous tormentors and return to this world, he would need the help of his brother’s wife Julia, the woman who loved him. But most of all he would need blood.

First published in the Night Visions 3, ed. George R.R. Martin, Niles, IL: Dark Harvest, 1986.