| Chapter 15: Because You Can See |
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She tried to squeeze herself into the stone, strove to escape through bluff granite. But her body, mortal and useless, trapped her in the Raver's stare. She could not shut her eyes to him. He burned along her nerves, etching himself into her, demeaning her soul with the intaglio of his ill.
br> "But he also," continued the Raver in a tone like stagnant water, "is no great matter. Only his ring signifies. He will have no choice but to surrender it. Already he has sold himself, and no power under the Arch of Time can prevent his despair. "No, Linden Avery," the Raver said without a pause. "Abandon all hope of Thomas Covenant. The principal doom of the Land is upon your shoulders." No! She had no defense against so much corruption. Night crowded around her, more cruel than any darkness--night as old as the pain of children, parents who sought to die. Never! "You have been especially chosen for this desecration. You are being forged as iron is forged to achieve the ruin of the Earth." His voice violated all her flesh. "You have been chosen, Linden Avery, because you can see. Because you are open to that which no other in the Land can discern, you are open to be forged. Through eyes and ears and touch, you are made to be what the Despiser requires. Descrying destruction, you will be driven to commit all destruction. I will relish that ruin. "Therefore I have forewarned you. So that you will know your peril, and be unable to evade it. So that as you strive to evade it, the Despiser may laugh in scorn and triumph." No. It was not possible. She was a doctor; she could not be forced to destroy. No power, no cunning, no malevolence, could unmake who she chose to be. Never! A rush of words surged up in her, burst from her as if she were babbling. "You're sick. This is all sickness. It's just disease. You have some disease that rots your mind. Physiological insanity. A chemical imbalance of the brain. You don't know what you're saying. I don't believe in evil!" "No?" The Raver was mildly amused. "Forsooth. That lie, at least, I must rectify." He advanced on her like a tide of slaughter. "You have committed murder. Are you not evil?" |