Erik never replied, but his presence helped keep her sane when her mind threatened to explode with a mixture of despair and disappointment that she had let so many of the Cahokian people down. Now it was too late. Now she had no future. Her release from here would end only in her death.
Death. That word was so final. She would enter the spirit world with Bearnas and her own people. That could not be a bad thing. Yet she was not ready.
'I am not yet ready!' she called out. 'I am not ready!'
The priests stood over her. 'That is a shame,' one said, 'for this is the day that you will be sacrificed to Wi.'
'She stinks,' the other priest said.
'I can smell that! She has been lying in her sweat and filth since we tied her here.'
Melcorka cringed at the sound of people again after so many da
