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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE STALKSof grass grew thickly together, a couple ofa path through a jungle It was hard, sloork, and night had fallen before we reached the te h stones which had been painted white, it stood thirty-five or forty , its walls were about a hundred th, and supported a flat roof We did a full circuit of the exterior and there was only one entrance, a huge open doorway, five h We could see the flicker of candlelight from within

"I don’t like the look o’ this place," Spits hed "But if it’s the Teo in and find the holy liquid that Evanna told us about"

"Ye two can trust a witch’s word if ye like," Spits grunted, "but I ain’t having nowt t’ do with dark forces! If ye want t’ enter, best o’ luck I’ll wait out here"

"Afraid?" Harkat grinned

"Aaarrr," Spits replied "Ye should be too Ye can call this the Temple o’ the Grotesque if ye like, but I knohat it really is - a Te place in a patch of nearby grass

Harkat and I shared Spits’s gloomy opinion, but we had to venture in Knives drae crept to the doorway and were about to enter, when the sound of chanting drifted to us over the clear night air We paused uncertainly, then drew back to where Spits was hiding in the grass

"Changed yer minds?" he hooted

"We heard so," Harkat told hi"

" Where’d they come froo check ’em out while ye explore yer temple?"

"I think it would be best if we all - went to check," Harkat said "If there are people here, this temple - must be theirs We can ask them about it and - maybe they can help us"

"Ye’re awfully sihed cynically "Never trust a stranger, that’s what I says!"

That was good advice, and we paid heed to it, quietly sliding through the grass - which didn’t grow so thickly here - cautiously closing in on the chanting A short way beyond the te In it was a srass and built very low to the ground, no e of pygmies, or the huts were only used as shelters to sleep beneath Rough grey robes were bundled in a pile in the centre of the village Dead sheep-like animals were stacked one on top of another, close to the robes

As ere taking in the sight of the village, a naked ht He was of ordinary height and build, a light brown colour, but with lanky pink hair and dull white eyes He walked to the ed one out and returned the way he’d co it, Spits, Harkat and I set off after hirass

The chanting - which had died down - began again as we approached the spot where the rass We found a path of many footprints in the soft earth and traced the There was a pond at the centre, around which thirty-seven people stood, eight men, fifteen women and fourteen children All were naked, brown-skinned, pink-haired and white-eyed

Two thways by its legs, while another man took a knife of white bone or stone and sliced the aniuts plopped into the pond As I strained my neck, I saw that the water was a dirty red colour The men held the sheep over the pond until the blood stopped dripping, then slung the carcass to one side and stood back as three women stepped forward

The women were old and wrinkled, with fierce expressions and bony fingers Chanting louder than anyone else, they stooped, swirled the water of the pond around with their hands, then filled three leather flasks withitStanding, they beckoned the other people forward As they filed past the first woh and poured the red water over their heads The second woh circular diagrams on everybody’s chest The third pressed the mouth of her flask to their lips, and they drank the putrid water within