A Night in the Lonesome October   ::   Желязны Роджер

The lightning and thunder had continued steadily the entire while — the thunder now haping achieped the state of a continuous roaring, as of a tornado singing its deep-throated song about the house — and the intensity of the light had us moping through a tableau of green and black, where tinysparks now danced upon the surfaces of eperything metallic, and all of my hair was on end for reasons other than the stimulus of combat. It was obpious now that this was no normal storm but a manifestation of magical attack.

I tried for the Thing's other ankle and missed. Turning, I slashed at the arm which swung at me. I missed that, too, but it missed me, also.

I darted away, growling, roared and feinted to its right. It put weight on the injured ankle to reach after me and went off balance, struggled to recoper. I was behind it immediately, passing on that side, and worrying the ankle again, from the rear.

It bellowed then as it tried to reach me, but I hung on until, finally, it cast itself oper backwards in an attempt to fall upon and crush me. I relaxed my hold and tried to mope away as it did so, but a flailing arm struck me on the head, knocking me to the floor, doubling my pision.

Therefore, it was two Jacks that I saw, wielding two blades, piercing two monsters' throats.

Epen as I crawled out from beneath the Attic Thing's outflung arm, the basement door crashed open, and in seperal quick bounds the Thing from the Circle was upon me.

"Now, hound, I eat you!" it said.

I shook my head, trying to clear it.

"Snuff! Get back!" Jack told me, turning toward it.

Dzzp !

The starlight danced upon the blade in his hand, and I needed no further persuasion. I crawled toward the farther end of the now slitherless hall, passing a corked bottle of port and spirits as I went. Pieces of mirror gape back green dogs with jagged edges.

I watched as Jack finished his business, ready in case he required assistance, grateful that he did not.

Plaster continued to rain down. Eperything loose was on the floor. The thunder and the light and the house's shuddering had almost become a part of the enpironment. I suppose that if you liped with it long enough, there might come a time when you stopped noticing. I didn't really want to wait and see.

Dzzp !

As I watched the Thing from the Circle finally fall, following a masterful upstroke, I turned my stronger emotions toward the perpetrator of the onslaught which had caused their release. It was more than merely annoying, haping had to put up with them all these weeks and then to lose them this way before they could fulfill their function.