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He would have walked - he wanted the one to his end with dignity - but he tried to pause for one last look at Anora, even though she was still hiding her face, crying, and they thought he was resisting He was grabbed under each aret his feet properly under hiled to right hi

Then they were going over the uneven ground at the entry of the barrow, and then they were heading down a steep, winding slope, the torches casting flickering shadows on the craggy walls and ceiling The caves in these hills had been carved by nature; but h not by much Several in the burial party stumbled or slid And then - oh, then - the full stench of that whole villageful of dead bodies hit hi accident with a scythe

Bodies lay in niches or lined the walls, sos had li minutes they walked down that corridor lined with the dead

Selwyn heard a crunch and saw that Thorne, who held Farold's feet, had accidentally stepped on a piece of bone Linton, who had hold of Farold's shoulders, kicked what re dark and furry darted out of the way and disappeared into a crack Even if Selwyn had been walking under his oer before, that would have been enough to turn his knees to water

The corridor continued, curving beyond theh" And even Thorne, who norreed

There was a niche cut into the wall that had a pile of cloth whose flatness attested to the body inside being no more than bone "Move that one on top of this one over here," Thorne said

Tho had helped drag in Selwyn rated in their hands, spilling brittle bones that shattered and scattered on the ground

Thorne gestured that it didn'tfast would be best of all He and Linton laid Farold down in the dusty niche

"What about him?" Linton asked with a jerk of his head in Selwyn's direction

"Sit his out frorit of the cave floor

Thorne took a length of rope he'd had looped around his belt, and he tied Selwyn's ankles together loosely Then Thorne took out his dagger

"What are you doing?" asked Raedan

Selwyn hadn't even realized he was there, until he heard his voice Don't stop hiood intentions away If Thorne illing to speed Selwyn's death, that could only be easier

But Thorne said, "I' to cut away a bit at the rope around his wrists"

"Why?" Linton de to leave him tied up like this, unable to move for days"

"Why not?"

"If you don't know, I can't explain" Thorne sawed at the rope, just enough to weaken it, just enough so that Selould have to work to get it off and so wouldn't be able to follow the burial party on their way out, just enough to salve Thorne's conscience

Linton said, "Yeah, well, first thing he's going to do is take off his gag, and then we'll have to listen to hi all the way back"

"Then we'll have to move out of here fast," Thorne said "We won't be able to hear him with the rock back in place" Immediately he started back the way they'd co the way

Raedan paused just long enough to rest his hand on Selwyn's shoulder, then scra to Thorne, "I' to tell Bowden"

Selorked to break loose the re strands of rope He couldn't escape, he knew that But he was frantic to get closer to the entry, where the air was fresher, where there wasn't such a sense of the dead eagerly waiting for hirew smaller and fainter, and then disappeared entirely He was in total blackness - absolutely no different fro his eyes closed But all about his Verry spirit come back to deht he heard the hollow echo of the rock rolling back over the entrance Or maybe not He was deep in the cave

His forhbors were probably halfway down the hill before Selwyn, twisting and tugging, ed to snap the rope where Thorne had weakened it As Linton had warned, the first thing he did was to re He had told himself he'd be brave He kneas useless - even if the villagers could hear him, which they could not - but he couldn't help himself He yelled and screa after his voice gave out, he was able to pick loose the knots that bound his ankles He stood, slowly, his hands outstretched in the darkness He shuffled forward a careful step His hand touched so cobwebby and dusty that would have better reht seemed clear But so slid out from under him He put his hands out to break his fall and landed on one of the bodies

Cloth and bones caved in under the pressure of his outflung hands, sending up a cloud of acrid dust Still on his knees, Selwyn backed away hurriedly, trying desperately not to inhale But now soled up around his left ankle His own rope? Or one that had held a corpse's blanket? Or a corpse itself?

Selwyn brushed at his ankle and stood, s curved down into wall, which meant he needed to take a step backward But in that direction was another body To the left, and he banged his shin against a rocky outcropping Once again he fell - once again on a body This one held up under his weight Which was a good indication it was Farold

Selwyn let himself sink back down to the floor He wouldn't be able to find the entry, anyway Better to be still Then, if sory spirit did come to accuse him, he would be able to say, "It wasn't me who disturbed your rest Go haunt those who are still alive"

Chapter Four

Selwyn breathed through his et away from the smell of all those dead people But that made him sure he could taste them in the back of his throat, which was even worse

He tried to coh he kneould be a long ti God knew he hadn't killed Farold, but there were otherover Like drinking too ht, which was surely wrong - as well as foolish Selwyn prayed to be forgiven for that, even though he felt that multiple bruises and public huh for that particular sin

With his forehead on his upraised knees and his hands clasped around his legs, he also prayed for the peaceful repose of those around him He mentally emphasized the word peaceful

There was a crawly sensation on his neck that he told hi tricks because he couldn't see, or , and this was a time for wholehearted attention, and a drop of sas a matter over which he had control He brushed at his neck and knocked loose soht he'd knocked it loose

He hoped he'd knocked it loose

He beat at his chest and arms and those parts of his back he could reach