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. He clasped Nikol in his arms.
She was stiff, rigid in his grasp. Then, suddenly, she
threw her arms around him, held him fast. They sank to the
floor, before the altar of Paladine. Huddled in each other's
grasp, they were grateful for the comfort of being together.
"'The land will be sundered, seas will rise, and
mountains topple. Countless numbers will die. Countless
more, who will live in the dark and terrible days to follow,
will come to wish they had died.' That's what he said, the
black-robed wizard. Why? Why did this happen, Michael?"
Nikol cried brokenly. "Certainly, some deserved the gods'
wrath - that horrible, fat cleric who came here before
Nicholas died - but this terror has surely destroyed the
innocent as well as the guilty. How can the gods, if they are
good, do this?"
"I don't know," Michael said helplessly. "I wish I had
the answer, but I don't."
"At least I'm not alone," Nikol continued softly. "You're
here. I'm glad you're here, Michael. It's selfish of me, I
know, but if you had left with the goddess, I think I would
be dead by now."
He didn't answer. He couldn't. The words wouldn't
come past the ache of love and longing.
"Hold me closer," she said, burrowing into his arms. He
did as she commanded, pressed her head against his breast,
bent, and kissed the shining hair. To his amazement, Nikol
returned his kiss. Her lips met his hungrily.
"Nikol," he said, when he could breathe, "I'cve no right to
ask this. You're the daughter of a knight
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