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eyes. "Korbac has again demonstrated his allegiance and has asked Sate to be released from the curse, granted dispensation from the bane of eternal atonement. The ritual was all for Sate, to show the Ancient of Ancients how he had defended the sacred sepulcher in the interval between the equinoctial awakenings." |
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"That thing . . . that grotesque, misshapen monster with the lance . . . is Korbac?" |
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Bert nodded solemnly and pointed to the sepulcher. |
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The beast's frenzied dance had ceased, and it cocked its bloated head to one side. |
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The dirge and drum stopped. |
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The monster slowly approached the glass-topped sepulcher and peered in; its massive two-thumbed, three-fingered claws pressed down on the tomb's surface. |
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Suddenly the beast released an agonized wail of anguish. Its ugly head rolled back, the slitlike mouth opening to emit the terrifying sound. Then its head slumped forward, and it staggered back from the bizarre coffin in abject dejection. |
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"Sate has refused dispensation," Bert said solemnly. |
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Almost instantaneously, one of the beasts leaped from its granite cubicle, picked up the ceremonial lance and buried it savagely in Korbac's massive, scarred chest. Korbac slumped, staggered momentarily, righted |
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