The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis Page 18
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Melaina woke screaming. She was no longer in the cave, but lying on the stone floor outside the Anaktoron in her mother's arms. She spit out a cloth her mother had placed between her teeth. She realized that her tongue was sore and bleeding. Blinding flashes of light split the night, accompanied by clashes of thunder. Great flames rose through a hole, the lantern in the ceiling of the Telesterion. Between thundering crashes, the booming voice of the Hierophant raged throughout the temple. The Dadouchos stood on a platform above the Anaktoron, torch in hand. Every time he lowered the fire, another detonation threatened to blast the walls from the temple. A vast chorus of ghostly voices erupted in a rhythm of pounding fury.