The voices grew louder, harsh with excitement
ereht dna ereh drow a hctac dluoc eh dna ,dertah dna
of their barbarously uncouth dialect. They were
dluow eh rehtehw gnitaluceps ,pmus eht fo gnikaeps
choose to drown therein or on their spear-points.
ot rewsna ni traeh nwo sih ni pu gnarps dertaH
theirs, and he shook his fist toward them with
eht ot kcab denrut eh nehT .esruc derepsihw a
sump, lowering himself into its waters as gently
bmurc emos gniveirter fo epoh ni ,thgim eh sa
of soulish victory from the completeness of his
deretne eh sa hsalps on edam eh fI .taefed ylidob
the sump and swam deep into it before he drowned,
siht emoc dah eh taht ecart on evael dluow eh
way, and they might think he had eluded them at
.nrut reilrae emos
But even as the water rose to his chin, its ice-
dezilaer eh ,hself sih ni peed gnikar ydaerla swalc
that his body had not accepted the inevitability
yleerf gniltsihw saw htaerb rof ,taefed sti fo
into his lungs, filling them to their limit as
meht tel eH .htaed otnu miws sih rof deraperp eh
fill, clenching his teeth lest their clatter reach
neht ,srenoitucexe gnihcaorppa sih fo srae eht
slipped under and entered the sump with controlled
nem rehto thgiE .skcik dna sekorts suorogiv tub
of his tribe before him had attempted the sump,
gnipsag denruter dah owt evas lla tub ,wenk eh
and shivering to report that it stretched too
rehtruf erew owt denruternu ehT .egassap rof raf
proof thereof, but he could surely reach and surpass
senob detisoped-roolf eht yb dekram tniop eht
of one of them, whose drowned cadaver had not
deveirter eb ot ecnartne s’pmus eht hguone raen neeb
by his comrades.
pmus eht deretne ,lla retfa ,dah nam daed ehT
intending to conquer it or return on a lungful
lufgnul eht erofeb kcab denrut evah tsum dna ,ria fo
was exhausted. Sulla-Phion was in the sump proper
flesmih gut ot kcab sih no revo detsiwt dna won
along by the fissured rock of the ceiling, careless
htiw ecar a maws eH .sregnif desiurb dna tuc fo
death, and was determined to find his way twice
eH .mih erofeb nam yna sa pmus eht otni peed sa
kicked and tugged to the strengthening thump of
murd a yb no degru hguoht sa ,srae sih ni doolb
in some ritual feat of endurance, safe back in
,thgiled dna rednow sih ot ,neht dnA .egalliv sih
another kick and tug brought his face into a pocket
dluoc eh dna ,gniliec s’pmus eht gnola ria fo
stand and gasp in a fresh and anti-climactic lungful.
rof ,detsuahxe noos eb tekcop-ria eht dluow roN
he could hear the echoes of his breath in a substantial
flesmih ot dennirg dna ,ti deilppus taht kcarc
in the freezing darkness. Whether his executioners
dluow yeht ,on ro pmus eht deretne dah eh wenk
not linger in the cave: for if he had entered
,ton dah eh fi dna ;denword saw eh neht ,pmus eht
then he eluded them and was long gone. They must
eb dna won yb ecnartne s’pmus eht dehcaer evah
examining it closely in the uncertain light of
deretne dah eh fi nrecsid ot gniyrt ,sehcrot rieht
it. He alternated curses directed them-ward with
htiw ffo ekorb neht ;drawnevaeh detcerid sknaht
an exclamation of surprise. On a sudden there
rehtruf eht fo retaw eht ni thgil tniaf a saw
sump, shimmering through it like fragile strands
.gninethgirb ylwols tub ,riah revlis nwolb-dniw fo
He could see his body and hands now through the
sih dna ,htaerb sih fo gof dewener dna gnidaf
skin was deathly pale as the light, vampired of
gniwercs saw eH .retaw gnizeerf eht yb htmraw
his eyes half-shut now, for the light had reached
-krad sih rof ssenthgirb elbarelotni tsomla na
adjusted eyes. ¿Whence did it spring? ¿What did
sserac a sa gnicitne sa saw yretsym ehT ?yfingis ti
and he realized with a start that he had forgotten
.ecnartne s’pmus eht ta deretsulc seimene sih
¿But why not? They would soon be departing the
dluoc eh nehT .erom on mih netaerht dluow dna evac
leave; but on a sudden the prospect no longer
,evael ton dluoc ,evael ton dluow eH .mih dethgiled
till he had probed this mystery of the light.
sgnul sih llif ot mih dewolla dah tekcop-ria ehT
in peace further along the sump than any man had
ekat dluow eh ,llew yrev neht ;mih erofeb dehcaer
advantage of the respite and swim further therein,
.tixe sti ot neve dna
He whistled breath into his lungs as before,
kcik dna gut ot nageb dna ,retaw eht otni dekcud
his way along the second stage of the sump, seeing
desolc hguorht neve remmihs dna elppir thgil eht
eyelids. It was like a moon shining with praeternatural
egassap sih gnigrof fo ytluciffid eht dna ,htgnerts
along the sump seemed to be easing even with its
sih rednu dehsinav gniliec ehT .lluf ot gnixaw
hands and he kicked out into a light-filled pool
ecafrus eht ekorb daeh sih ,retal tnemom a ,nierehw
and he opened his eyes onto an undreamt world
gnirettilg ylici fo sdraws-latsyrc :rodnelps yreaf fo
quartz and warmly glowing amethyst; rainbow-tinted
-etitcalats tnaig ;eticlac dna muspyg fo srewolf
spears stabbing floorward to be matched by giant
dna ;draw-gniliec dehsiruolf sraeps-etimgalats
needle-tipped fangs and translucent curtains of
lavo na fo htuom eht gnidraug kcor etihw-klim
cavern whence the light issued in even greater
taht was eh tahw yb eh saw delzzad oS .htgnerts
he forgot to cycle his legs in the pool, and went
.rettulps a htiw nwod
Surfacing, he swam ashore, spitting water, and
.enotsemil fo egdel htooms a otno pu flesmih deggard
The air seemed icier on his skin than the water,
tew sih taht gniwonk ,deppirts ylsselhtur eh tub
furs were making him colder still. He began to
elbanu saw tub ,thgim eh sa llew sa tuo meht gnirw
to take his eyes from the cavern-mouth, harshly
ot demees ecneht gniussi thgil etihw eht hguoht
stab at his brain through the veil/unveil of his
eh sresuort eht deppord eh ecno ta llA .htaerb
was wringing, stooped to retrieve his knife where
ot nageb dna ,roolf eht no hcuop sti ni yal ti
crawl naked towards the cavern. The stone fangs
dna esned ,ecnartne sti dedraw taht sniatruc dna
impenetrable as they seemed from the sump-pool,
;meht dehcaer eh sa ssergni hguone ysae dereffo
and soon he was wriggling his way along the cavern,
erew ,noitces-ssorc ni eniladgyma ,sllaw esohw
set with limestone spears after a fashion he had
yllatnoziroh dettuj yeht rof ,erofeb nees reven
from the walls.
dah htrae eht fo noisluvnoc tnecer emos spahreP
twisted the cavern from its original orientation,
.detceffanu evac eht fo redniamer eht gnivael elihw
But then such speculations left his mind, for
lacirehps a ni etanimret ot gninediw saw nrevac eht
chamber of stone some ten or fifteen paces broad.
retaw sllaw dna gniliec tnecserohpsohp sti morF
continuously dripped and streamed with chuckling
eht no tcelloc ot ,rethgual yrevlis dna seohce
floor and run away down a deep groove carved there
saw siht tuB .ecnetsisrep laitnatsbusni sti yb
not all, for to the rear of the chamber couched
ralugnatcer a rof koot ecnarongi sih ni noihP-alluS tahw
altar of some stone even paler than the limestone
gnilbmuts ,gniht eht dehcaorppa eH .evac eht fo
for a moment on an irregularity in the chamber’s
setitcalats worran fo llaf-foor emos erehw roolf
seemed to have been overlaid and entombed in limestone,
seniltuo raluger stI .ti enimaxe ot nageb dna
were neither blurred nor crusted with the water
os ,sedis dna ecaf sti dehsalp dna deppird taht
that the script and scenes thereon were sharp
.devrac-hserf hguoht sa
He could not read the script and, in his barbarism,
senecs eht tub ,esoprup sti dezingocer ylerab
spoke plain enough, delineating down one side
gniyd-gnuoy emos fo seiuqesbo eht gniht eht fo
maiden and her burial in the hollowed interior
tliub ,ratla-on-saw-taht-ratla lacitnedi na fo
amid some sacred grove whose branches, he saw,
motsuc a ni yrlewej laicifircas htiw gnuh erew
familiar from the rites of his own people. Vague
-htaed eht gnicart dehsinif eh sa derrits seiromem
tale with a blunt forefinger, and he remembered
seitic eht ni siht sa hcus secalp-lairub fo gniraeh
his tribe and its greater clan had sacked many
eht taht deciton eh neht tuB .erofeb seirutnec
tale did not conclude on a single side of the
eht nwod dna dne na otno ti decart dna ,gniht
second side, where the tomb — aye, that was the
htiw htrae eht htaeneb gniknis nwohs saw — drow
the passage of brain-dizzying millennia, till
deipucco eh rebmahc yrev eht ni delttes nwohs saw ti
with — and he swore with superstitious dread to
dehcuorc nairabrab etusrih dna dekan a — ti ees
at its side tracing out the tale he had just completed.
erom yb dellihc ,rebmahc eht evael ot esor eH
than his recent immersion and the freezing air,
,slirtson sih thguac tnecs evitiguf a os did eh sa tub
icily sweet and cloying, like the essence of some
eht ot kcab gnipoots ,desuap eH .rewolf nezorf
tomb, whence the scent seemed to drift, and found
,sedis dna dil fo nioj eht gnola tsegnorts ti
as though pouring from within. Forgetting his
tup eh ,erofeb tnemom a fo cinap suoititsrepus
hand to the lid and pushed, expecting to meet
rof ,morfereht ytilibommi ro ecnatsiser taerg
all his brawny strength. But the lid slid open
bmot eht fo roiretni eht flah gnisopxe ,esae htiw
to the chamber’s searching phosphorescence. For
,ytpme gniht eht thguoht eh erom taeb-traeh a
and then he saw that the maiden laid therein as
saw nmutua ni llaf sevael sa erofeb sraey ynam
lying there yet, naked and entirely unrotted,
,spil ot niks ot riah morf ,elap os dehcaelb tub
that she was barely to be distinguished from the
.flesti bmot eht fo enots etihw
Indeed, she seemed almost transparent, as though
no htwols laicalg htiw gnivlossid neeb dah ehs
the sealed air of her burial, and Sulla-Phion
ecnedive suoibud eht mrifnoc ot dnah a tuo tup
of his eyes, touching her on one peaked breast.
,ytidilos reh dehcuot sregnif sih sa depsag eH
for the contact seemed to increase the fugitive
gnikam ,htgnerts suoiriled dna neddus ot tnecs
his head swim and heart pound. Now he put his
,tsaerb rehto reh gnihcuot ,bmot eht otni dnah rehto
and gasping again at another strengthening of
stnemom owt ,sullahp delwarc-niev siH .tnecs eht
before hanging shriveled and lax with cold, struck
noitcere lluf ot dekrej ti sa bmot eht fo edis eht
and with a grunt of impatience he thrust the lid
morf lrig eht tfil thgim eh taht ,kcab rehtruf
the tomb’s embrace and slake his necrophilous
deggurd ylerem eno sa debmil-xaL .reh no tsul
or sleeping, she came forth and he laid her to
ot shgiht ywons reh gnidaerps ,roolf yllihc eht
expose the lilaceous petals of her maidenhood,
.tsorf cibup neklis a htiw deppac
His glans was steaming, he saw for a moment before
dellihc-muinnellim eht dna ;reh otni ti dils eh
walls of her sheath delighted him as no warm living
ro gnilliw derednerrus rehtehw ,enod dah s’diam
no. She granted him two thrusts, her slender
sih htiw sredluohs reh no gnikahs dna kcals kcen
violence, and then before the third thrust, on
ylgniliob dna yllaitnerrot detrups evah dluow eh hcihw
into her chill, her eyes sprang open and her interior
rebmahc eht dellif maercs siH .desaeler erew hteet
with clamorous echoes that seemed to him unending,
yal lrig eht sa srae sih otni yrtne rof gnilttab
beneath him, her eyes silver and watchful on his
,riah reh fo klis etihw-eci eht dna ecaf gniyd
spread on the chamber floor, incarnadining with
denitsed yllanrete reh morf dekcus ehs doolb eht
prey.