Chapter Fifty-Nine

Thus, he loved. Thus, he lost

Life was cruel, and he paid the cost.

Oh, illness and death was sharp and strong

He cursed the Gods of new and old.

Above in Heaven, he doth hear.

He felt, he sensed, the mortal fear

Thy mortal soul, you'll suffer still

But blessed you'll be when you slay evil.

Lloyd tossed in his sleep as pain and infection coursed through his limp body. His dreams moved freely, each more unpleasant than the last.

He sat, his body slack and covered in clammy sweat, in the damp, dark cave where Blake had trapped him. Like towering spectres, the shadows seemed to mock him as unseen creatures stirred within them.

A grotesque figure, human in form but radiating a foul stench, stood at the mouth of the cave, blocking the light.

'I hunger. Death is unkind. The master will not allow me to feed except on my own body. I ate my heart. It broke my teeth...but I crave soft flesh.'

Blake's mouth dripped with desperation and grim desire as it reached Lloyd's ears. He could almos