Now less than two hundred yards away on the slope below, the guard
responded with angry growls and defiance. For they still detected only
one forbidden scent. Only Shar-hai showed restraint, held back by the
measured caution of one who had lived his life in subtle but constant
fear of retribution.
Not that he feared Akar's challenge. He had no intention of abiding
by any rules or code of honor in dealing with his brave but foolish
opponent. He knew that if at any point he faltered, his guard would not
hesitate to join the fray.
But still he was uneasy. He had slept poorly two nights before, and
trembled in the shadows of a dark vision.
In his dreams---he had not slept again since---he walked through a bleak
forest of eternal night, the black trunks of the trees gnarled and
twisted like misshapen statues, wrapped about the feet with a chill mist
that rose to a fog and blanketed the horizons, giving all distance a
feeling of timelessness and endlessness.
He walked alone, feeling lost: hungry, no matter how many times he
killed. He stalked and slew first one beast and then another, with none
to rise up against him, and none to mourn the loss of the fallen.
And finally, after an endless, meaningless search, he thought he had
found it, the thing he hungered for.
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