Chapter 8
Fairest of Them All
Foggy forms dressed in black loomed over Parfyon. Some had leering faces, some had no heads, some had war chests instead of heads. They had more hands than they should have. Horses with wings, bearing the black forms down a waterfall. He floated down a river, cold and swift. Rocks reared up where he couldn’t see them and he hit them with his head, repeatedly. Torches bobbed up and down as though they had legs and were running alongside him. Were they racing? Tall beaver hats, long brocade coats, rows of sharp teeth. Or were they spears? Winged monsters with bodies of vultures and heads of… he couldn’t remember. A flock of ravens. Three cherry trees in bloom standing in the middle of a river of fire. Quivering, quivering leaves in wind.
Something jolted, and
