faced the avatar again.
Shupansea held her hands out palms upward. He looked down and saw the lattice
work of uncountable knife-scars there. During his youthful days with the armies
he had killed more times than he cared to remember, and killed women more than
once as well, but he hesitated-for once unable to do what had to be done.
“Quickly!” Shupansea commanded.
But he did not move and it fell to her to grab the knife, letting its noisome
edges sink deep. 0 Mother! she prayed as her blood carried its searing burden
toward her heart. It was too soon. The priests had said wait for the fifth
decoction; they had abandoned their offices rather than preside at her death.
The serpents plunged their fangs into her breasts many times over but it would
not be enough. Not even the presence of Mother Bey within her would be enough to
change the malignancy Roxane had created. Clenching her fingers together, the
Beysa heard the rough edge of the knife grind into bone but she felt nothing.
She fainted, although the lifelong discipline of Mother Bey’s avatar was such
that she did not topple to the ground. Still, she was oblivious to the agony
when the imperfect decoction reached her heart and stopped it.
She did not hear the collective gasp that rose from Beysib and Rankan alike when
her eyes rolled white and the three serpents stiffened to rise two-thirds of
their length above her shuddering breasts.
She did not feel Molin let go of the knife or see him ignore the hissing beynit
to hold her upright when even discipline faded.