She had fallen into a bottomless pit.
NO WAY OUT!
'Let's go for a walk,' said William gently, now so sure of his
prey that he was almost disappointed. But he would see it through, and
knew that to do so he must build her up again, just enough. Then tear
her down. Again, until the moment was ripe. And then God help her.
But Sylviana was there ahead of him. She clung to this mockery of care
and affection, five simple words, with all the desperate power of her
desire not to believe. 'Yes, my dear, sweet William. Let's go
for a walk.' And he smiled, a moment of sympathy that he knew would
only make the fire of his hatred burn the whiter. She might make the
going pleasing, after all.
'Yes,' he said wryly. 'A walking tour of the neighborhood.
I'll show you how the other half. . .dies.'
So they set out, Sylviana forgetting that this unraveled the last of her
plans, and that Kalus would no longer be close at hand.
For better or worse.
*
Kalus remained, still as the stone on which he sat. He had moved some
time before to the more level ground before the Obelisk, though the
grotesque figures carved upon it kept him from coming too close. The
peyote had begun to work on him, but its effect was entirely different
than what he had hoped. Instead of giving him peace and a quiet
understanding, it filled him with a dread that was almost physical.
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