To left and right of him, as
far as he could see, the walls of the fortress ended in a profound
precipice, though the roof still stretched above him; and before him
lay the two abysses full of stars, for they cut their way through
the whole Earth and revealed the under sky; and threading its course
between them went the way, and it sloped upward and its sides were
sheer. And beyond the abysses, where the way led up to the farther
chambers of the fortress, Leothric heard the musicians playing their
magical tune. So he stepped on to the way, which was scarcely a
stride in width, and moved along it holding Sacnoth naked. And to
and fro beneath him in each abyss whirred the wings of vampires
passing up and down, all giving praise to Satan as they flew.
Presently he perceived the dragon Thok lying upon the way,
pretending to sleep, and his tail hung down into one of the abysses.
And Leothric went towards him, and when he was quite close Thok
rushed at Leothric.
And he smote deep with Sacnoth, and Thok tumbled into the abyss,
screaming, and his limbs made a whirring in the darkness as he fell,
and he fell till his scream sounded no louder than a whistle and
then could be heard no more. Once or twice Leothric saw a star blink
for an instant and reappear again, and this momentary eclipse of a
few stars was all that remained in the world of the body of Thok.
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