CHAPTERFIFTEENDEEPERMAGIBEFORETHEDAWNOFTIME
&wogirlsstillcrouthebusheswiththeirhaheirfaces,theyheardthevoiceoftheWitgout,
“Now!Followmeallaaboutwhatremainsofthiswar!ItwillnottakeuslongtocrushthehumanvermiorsnowthatthegreatFool,thegreatCat,liesdead。”
Atthismomentthewereforafewseverygreatdanger。Forwithwilddanoisepipesandshrillhornsblowing,thewholeofthatvilerabblecamesweepiopanddowntheslhtpasttheirhidiheyfelttheSpelikeadahegrouhthemuhegallopiheMinotaurs;aherewentaflurryoffoulwingsandablaessiantbats。Ataheywouldhavetrembledwithfear;butnowthesadnessandshameandhorrorofAslan'sdeathsofilledtheirmindsthattheyhardlythoughtofit。
AssoonasthewoodwassilentagainSusanandLucycreptoutontotheopenhilltop。Themooinglowandthinclacrossher,butstilltheycouldseetheshapeoftheLionlyingdeadinhisbonds。Anddowhkhewetgrassandkissedhiscoldfadstrokedhisbeautifulfur—whatwasleftofit—aheycouldore。Aheylookedateachotheraher'shandsformerelonelinessandcriedagain;andthe。AtlastLucysaid,“I'tbeartolookatthathorriblemuzzle。Iwondercouldwetakeifoff?”
Sotheytried。Aatit(ferswereditwaspartofthenight)theysucdwhentheysawhisfacewithoutittheyburstainaaahebloodandthefoamaswellastheyditwasallmorelonelyandhopelessandhorridthanIknowhowtodescribe。
“Iwondercouldweuntiehimaswell?”saidSusatheeofpurespitefulness,haddrawnthechtthatthegirlsakenothis。
IhopenoohisbookhasbeenquiteasmiserableasSusananight;butifyouhavebeen—ifyou'vebeenupallnightaillyouhaveinyou—youwillknowthatthereesiofquietness。Youfeelasifnothiohappenagain。Atawashowitfelttothesetwo。Hoursandhoursseemedtogobyinthisdeaddtheyhardlyheyweregettingdcolder。ButatlastLuoticedtws。Otheskyosideofthehillwasalittlelessdarkthanithadbeenanho。Theotherwassometigoingoherfeet。Atfirstshetookhis。Whatdiditmatter?Nothingmatterednow!Butatlastshesawthatwhatever-it-washadbeguheuprightstoable。Andhey-wereweremovingaboutonAslan'sbody。Shepeeredcloser。Theywerelittlegraythings。
“Ugh!”saidSusahersideoftheTable。“Howbeastly!Therearehorridlittlemigoaway,youlittlebeasts。”Andsheraisedherhandthtenthema>
“Wait!”saidLucy,whohadbeenlookingatthemmorecloselystill。“youseewhatthey?”
Bothgirlsbentdo>
“Idobelieve—”saidSusan。“Buthowqueer!They'renibblingawayatthecords!”
“That'swhatIthought,”saidLucy。“Ithinkthey'refriendlymice。Poorlittlethings—theydon'trealizehe'sdead。Theythinkit'lldosomegooduntyinghim。”
Itwasquitedefierbyhegirlshefirsttimethewhitefaceoftheother。Theycouldseethemigaway;dozensanddozens,evenhundreds,oflittlefieldmidatlast,oherhrough。
&heeastwaswhitishbynowaarsweregettingfaionelowdowernhorizocolderthantheyhadbeenallnight。Themicecrepta>
Thegirlsclearedawaytheremainsofthegnawedropes。Aslanlookedmorelikehimselfwithoutthem。Everymomenthisdeadfacelookedhelightgrewandtheycouldseeitbetter。
Inthewoodbehindthemabirdgaveagsound。Ithadbeensostillforhoursandhoursthatitstartledthem。Thenanotherbirda。Soontherewerebirdssingiheplace。
Itwasquitedefinitelyearlymnow,。
“I'msocold,”saidLucy。
“SoamI,”saidSusa'swalkaboutabit。”
Theywalkedtotheeasterhehillaheoarhadalmostdisappeared。Thetryalllray,butbeyond,attheveryeheseashowedpale。TheskybegantoturheywalkedtoandsfromoretimesthantheytbetweenthedeadAslaerryingtokeepwarm;andoh,howtiredtheirlegsfelt。Thenatlast,astheystoodforamomentlookingouttowardtheseaandCairParavel(whichtheyakeout)theredturogoldalongtheliheseaaandveryslowlyupcametheedgeofthesun。Atthatmomenttheyheardfrombehindthemaloudg,deafeningnoiseasifagianthadbrokenagiant'splate。
“What'sthat?”saidLucy,gSusan'sarm。