Then he realized that something had changed.

Then he realized that something had changed. He pushed himself upright and looked down at his arm. The blow had shattered the stone limb at the point of impact. His wrist and hand remained fastened to the Asphinx in the gloom of the hidden compartment'of the cavern floor. But the rest of him was free. He knelt in stunned disbelief for a long time, staring down at the ruin of his arm, at the gray-streaked flesh above the elbow and the jagged stone capping below. His arm felt leaden and stiff. The poison already within it continued to work its damage. There were jolts of pain all through him. But he was free! Shades, he was free! Suddenly there was a stirring in the chamber beyond, a faint 12 The Druid of Shannam and distant mstling like something had come awake. Walker Boh went cold in the pit of his stomach as he realized what had happened. His scream had given him away. The chamber be- yond was the Assembly, and it was in the Assembly that the serpent Valg, guardian of the dead, had once lived. And might live still. Walker came to his feet, sudden dizziness washing through