The Darkest Night [antikvár]

Chapter OneIl/n1857it!A great, black, naked woman with human skulls strung like a necklace danced on the breast of her husband. A scarlet | tongue protruded from a gaping mouth and aU her body | m was streaked with blood, fresh blood.|Within the temple the light came from a host of little [ lamps, mere clay bowls holding a little melted ghi and a li wick. They w^e on every ledge and shelf and they dangled [ ' from chains in the vaults of the ceiling.^ The lamps smoked and an ever-swirling cloud had i) formed beneath the ceiling, a cloud that seemed almost to 1 . have a life of its own, that seemed ready to crystallise into shape, shape as terrible as the four-armed goddess who held the place of honour in the midst of the lake temple of Mahadhrana.Smoke and incense and the incessant throbbing of the ' tabla, the little drums, helped to hypnotise the worshippers. The musicians played in an ante room, the tabla players and the players of the wailing vina and sitar, the sumai and banshri. They were low-caste people, these players, not ^ fit to take part in such a great and holy occasion. Their presence withm the temple would have defiled it. But their music was needful to the occasion.For this was the darkest night. This was the night of Kalipuja, the night when the Hindu goddess of destruction would receive her adoration and her sacrifices.Her blood sacrifices.* * '7|i !