ng 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.
And Lunk, the brother of Thok, who had lain a little behind him, saw
that this must be Sacnoth and fled lumbering away. And all the while
that he walked between the abysses, the mighty vault of the roof of
the fortress still stretched over Leothric's head, all filled with
gloom. Now, when the further side of the abyss came into view,
Leothric saw a chamber that opened with innumerable arches upon the
twin abysses, and the pillars of the arches went away into the
distance and vanished in the gloom to left and right.

Far down the dim precipice on which the pillars stood he could see
windows small and closely barred, and between the bars there showed
at moments, and disappeared again, things that I shall not speak of.

There was no light here except for the great Southern stars that
shone below the abysses, and here and there in the chamber through
the arches lights that moved furtively without the sound of
footfall.

Then Leothric stepped from the way, and entered the great chamber.

Even to himself he seemed but a tiny dwarf as he walked under one of
those colossal arches.

The last faint light of evening flickered through a window painted
in sombre colours commemorating the achievements of Satan upon
Earth. High up in the wall the window stood, and the streaming
lights of candles lower down moved stealthily away.

Other light there was none, save for a faint blue glow from the
steel eye of Tharagavverug that peered restlessly about it from the
hilt of Sacnoth. Heavily in the chamber hung the clammy odour of a
large and deadly beast.

Le