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Basking in the glow, Lorien went to the path and
put her foot on it. Her entire body quivered down
as if she was a metal rod that had been struck
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against a rock. She trembled but the inner music
overpowered any sense that this was wrong.
Come on, Jerro. Or stay. It doesn t matter. I
can handle whatever s below.
Evil, he said. I feel the evil boiling up like
heat from a volcano.
Lorien was done arguing with him. She still felt
uneasy at how close she had come to having a
horse make love to her. Somehow, there was a
soothing quality about the light blazing from the
pit. Calmer as she took a few steps, she might
have been swaddled in cotton wool. Or the
blanket that she had taken from King Arrin s
palace. Dimly, she wondered if the same magicks
had been used on the blanket as she felt here.
She began walking carefully along the path, not
wanting to make a misstep that would send her
plunging over the edge to the bottom. Even
squinting and shielding her face with her hand,
she could not see the bottom of the pit. It might be
a few feet lower or a thousand.
Lore, wait.
Lorien did not even look back. Jerro could do as
he pleased. She wanted to explore. She walked a
little faster when she heard his feet hooves
behind her on the trail.
Not so fast, Jerro said sharply. I cannot keep
up.
Lorien did not question how that was possible.
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Aurora Jamison
He had four legs to her two. He was a horse!
I m transmuting again. He let out a low cry of
pain that made her swing about and look up the
trail at him.
Jerro! She ran back to hold him in her arms.
He was drenched in sweat and shaking but he
had returned to an entirely human shape. What
happened? The moons couldn t have left the sky
so fast.
The light has blotted out the sky. It must hide
the magical effects of the moons. In the pit, I am
free of my curse.
Lorien fleetingly wondered if it was possible for
them to live together in this pit, amid the eye-
searing cold white light that damped out the
effects of the moons. But that would not be
feasible. She knew it deep down, because
whatever this place was, it was not a spot where
humans could live. Or horse-men.
Let s hurry. I want to find out what s going on.
I have to find out, she said.
I can make it on my own if you don t run,
Jerro said. Let s keep the pace slow and steady.
He tried to look over the edge of the downward
spiralling trail but had no more luck than she had
in seeing the bottom.
Although pulled downward by her own
curiosity, she stayed by Jerro to help him. As they
descended, he grew stronger and better able to
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Lost Lore
fend for himself. Within a half hour, he had
returned to his normal self.
Normal self. What is that with a man who turns into
a half horse?
Before she could pry apart the logic of loving
such a creature, the path levelled out and stopped
in the bottom of the pit. She walked about, glad
she no longer had to worry about falling over the
edge into unseen danger. The sand beneath her
soft-soled moccasins sounded like birds singing as
she walked on it. The small crystals in the sand
were the source of the radiance pouring upward.
At every step she left a glowing footprint that
slowly returned to the same brightness as the rest
of the sand.
She stood in the center of the pit, closed her
eyes and experienced the light. Every sense cried
out for more. Taste and hearing, touch and sight
all vied with smell to overwhelm her.
Isn t it wonderful, Jerro?
I can see the sky. A moon.
What? Lorien came out of her reverie and
looked at him. She slowly turned her gaze upward
and saw that a hollow cylinder of pure radiance
surrounded them. The light blurred the walls of
the pit but left the nighttime sky directly overhead
untouched by its curious lambent glow. She
caught her breath when she saw a moon edging
across the clear patch overhead.
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Aurora Jamison
Move to one side. Bathe yourself in the light,
she said.
It s evil. I can t bear it, he said.
Silly, it s not evil.
It is.
For a moment Lorien thought Jerro was
arguing, but she watched his face closely. He had
not spoken.
It is evil because I made it that way.
She swung around and gaped at the giant who
had somehow managed to walk within a few feet
of her. Her head was at the level of his navel. She
slowly raised her eyes along the heavily knotted
muscular expanse of his belly to his hairless chest
with its splotches of red skin, as if he had been
burned horribly, all the way to his face. Lorien
might have seen uglier men in her life, but she
could not remember when or where.
You find me repulsive?
Yes, she said, seeing no reason to lie. What
are you?
The demon of the pit, he said. His voice took
on a timber that caused her innards to quake. She
had not been afraid before this instant. I desire
you, Sannea.
What? Lorien shook herself. I m not Sannea.
I just look like her.
Then where is the difference? You are lovely.
You could be her twin. So if I fuck her twin, is that
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Lost Lore
not as good as fucking her? The demon of the pit
reached down and drew aside his breach clout to
reveal a hard-on so immense that it would rip her
apart if he tried to put it into her. Lorien took an
involuntary step back and collided with Jerro.
Don t even think about it, she said in a
choked voice.
Your magicks are worthless within my pit.
I m not Sannea, but she sent me to get her key.
It s a ring. Gold. It s about this size. Lorien held
up her hand and indicated her finger. She could
not help comparing her slender finger with the
hugeness of the demon s erection. He was thicker
than her wrist.
You cannot fool me. The rumble as the
demon spoke caused her inner organs to grind
against each other painfully.
She is telling the truth, Jerro said, moving
around to put himself between Lorien and the
demon. I will fight you for the key.
You? You puny little centaur? That s
amusing. The demon laughed until tears rolled
down his splotchy cheeks. Lorien saw the flesh
sizzling wherever the acid tears touched. I have
not had so much enjoyment in a millennium. For
that I thank you. Now I will kill you.
Wait, Lorien said. It must be awfully dull
being down here. Are you bound magically or do
you get out?
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Aurora Jamison
I cannot leave, the demon said. You know
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