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.Her lips were gray and lifeless.That they were slightly parted was the worst of all.He could see the rim of her teeth, and even in the dim light he could see the tip of her tongue, cold and colorless like a slug creeping out of a crevice.There was nothing of the softness and warmth he remembered.The sight revolted Guric, but he could not look away."Lord Guric," said Argalath, and Guric realized that his counselor stood beside him, hand on his shoulder, shaking him.How long had he been there? "Your men return with the sacrifice.Be strong, my lord.Soon now, you shall have your reward.But now your men must see their lord, commanding and sure.Be strong."Guric looked up.He saw the red hue of torchlight flickering on the snow.He turned.Boran, his five other personal guards, the closest Guric had to friends, and five other soldiers whose names he did not even know were coming out of the stone doorway.Hispersonal guard and one other bore torches.The other four carried a man between them—taller than any of them, but bound at wrists and knees so that he had to be carried.Soran.Tough leather ropes at elbows and wrists bound his arms behind his back, and a stick was wedged in his jaws and bound with a thick strap to keep him quiet.He wasn't struggling, but the men carrying him panted from the exertion of carrying the large man up thousands of steps.At the sight of the once-proud knight, a cold dread built in Guric.The old Guric, the one who had known life and laughter, who had been Valia's lover and husband and given up his inheritance for her, seemed to rouse and whisper, After this, there's no going back.Before was battle.This is murder.He turned to Argalath."You're sure this is the only way?""Yes," said Argalath."If you still want Valia back, this is the only way.If you wish to let her rest in peace, to lose her forever, then—"No!" Guric said, so loudly that it echoed off the mountainside.He lowered his voice then for only Argalath to hear."If this is the only way, so be it.Soran denied her life.Let him answer to his god tonight.Face to face."Argalath bowed his head."So be it." He turned to the guards."Bring forth the sacrifice!"• • © m mGuric sent the extra guards back into the tunnel, with strict orders to go down at least two hundred steps and remain there, no matter what they heard.His personal bodyguard stood with the acolytes and Guric himself, forming a ring of thirteen around the rim of the basin.Guric had not told his men exactly what to expect, but when it became obvious what was about to happen, they had not flinched.Their loyalty filled Guric with pride and love for them.Soran lay next to Valia.He still moaned and struggled, but his bonds kept him from getting away, and the tight rope going from his elbow bindings to the loop round his throatkept his thrashings to a minimum.Too much movement and he could not breathe.Guric's men knew their business."Ignore his noise, my lord," Argalath said."Soon, it will no longer matter.""It doesn't matter now." Guric took his place on the rim of the basin.They waited.Argalath paced the inner ring of the basin, muttering various incantations and sprinkling a dark powder of who-knew-what into the snow.It had a charnel stink, but Guric did not care.He'd bathe in the reek if it would bring Valia back to him.After what seemed his hundredth journey round the circle, Argalath stopped over the two prone figures, one still thrashing weakly, the other cold and still.He lifted one hand to the eastern horizon and pointed at a gathering of stars."Behold," he said, his voice low and rasping."H'Catha rises over the rim of the world.Korvun the Stone of Sacrifice bears witness above."He lowered his arm and began a new incantation.At first Guric thought it was in one of his native tongues—Argalath's mother was of the Nar, but his father had come from Frost Folk, like Kadrigul and Jatara.But Guric knew much of the Nar speech, and he had listened to Argalath over the years to pick up the flavor, if not the precise meaning, of the language of the Frost Folk, and this was neither.The words were sharper, harsher, and seemed to speak of malice, hunger, and things that lurk in the dark.Argalath lurched to a halt, wavering, and for a moment Guric feared his counselor was going to fall over in the snow.But then a great shudder passed through Argalath, he threw his head back, and Guric saw that his eyes had rolled back in his head.The voice that spoke was deeper and rougher than Guric had ever heard his counselor speak, and it held a timbre of malicious glee.Argalath looked down on the figures lying in the snow, one dead and still, the other watching him with wide eyes.Argalath reached inside his robes and withdrew a knife, not long but curved and of such pure steel that it caught every fragment of starlight.Soran renewed his struggles, but in so doing pulled the noose tight around his neck.He thrashed even harder, and when he struck Valia, Guric growled and stepped forward."No!" said Argalath, still in that alien voice."You must not break the circle."Soran lay there panting, his eyes closed.Guric stepped back onto the rim of the basin.Argalath resumed his pace, walking in a tight circle around Soran and Valia.Something in the way he moved set Guric's teeth on edge.He moved with an unusual, even beautiful, grace.But one that was decidedly inhuman.He raised the knife, resuming his chant, and Guric saw that more than starlight reflected off the blade.The edge of the curve blade glowed red, as if it had been sheathed in hot embers.Argalath's incantation grew in volume, echoing off the mountainside, and took on a repetitive rhythm, almost like an incessant pounding upon a locked door.The words were still gibberish to Guric, but he picked up one phrase often repeated:"Jagun Ghen."".resh Jagun Ghen'ye."".Jagun Ghen!"Argalath's eyes rolled back in his head again, and he seemed rapt in a fit of ecstasy.The hand holding the knife trembled and shook.Soran began screaming again
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