by his side.

Suddenly he started back. A great lithe cat had leaped softly up from
the shadows below on to the sill close to his face, and was staring
fixedly at him with the eyes of a human. "Come," it seemed to say, "come
with us to the Dance! Change as of old! Transform yourself swiftly and
come!" Only too well he understood the creature's soundless call.

It was gone again in a flash with scarcely a sound of its padded feet
on the stones, and then others dropped by the score down the side of
the house, past his very eyes, all changing as they fell and darting
away rapidly, softly, towards the gathering point. And again he felt the
dreadful desire to do likewise; to murmur the old incantation, and then
drop upon hands and knees and run swiftly for the great flying leap into
the air. Oh, how the passion of it rose within him like a flood,
twisting his very entrails, sending his heart's desire flaming forth
into the night for the old, old Dance of the Sorcerers at the Witches'
Sabbath! The whirl of the stars was about him; once more he met the
magic of the moon. The power of the wind, rushing from precipice and
forest, leaping from cliff to cliff across the valleys, tore him
away.... He heard the cries of the dancers and their wild laughter, and
with this savage girl in his embrace he danced furiously about the dim
Throne where sat the Figure with the sceptre of majesty....

Then, suddenly, all became hushed and still, and the fever died down a
little in his heart. The calm moonlight flooded a courtyard empty and
deserted. They had started. The procession was off into the sky. And he
was left behind--alone.

Vezin tiptoed softly across the room and unlocked the door. The murmur