Perhaps the result would have been bearable if the Spiritshadow had been vaguely humanoid. He had been kept alive by his Spiritshadow, which had melded itself to his living flesh. Long ago something had bitten away his arm and a good portion of his chest and stomach. From his left shoulder down to his left hip, Fashnek was made of shadow. A tall, almost skeletally thin man, his long black hair hung in unkempt tendrils on either side of his face. It came from a Sunstone-a Sunstone held in the hand of a man who was feared by all the Chosen, a man whose name was used by parents to threaten rebellious children. A single light flowered in the distance and grew bright.
Those Sunstones were dark now, the machine silent. Beyond were the silver stands that held the Sunstones that powered the nightmare machine. He could see the outline of the globe around him. Slowly Tal's eyes adapted to the dim light. He was trapped in the punishment globe in the Hall of Nightmares. He felt fear grab at his stomach and send a shiver down his back. There was only one such globe that Tal knew of. His hands slid across smooth crystal, a downward arc. He tried to stretch his legs and couldn't. He tried to stand up and smacked his head. His arms were no longer tied, but when Tal reached out, he hit something.
There was light not too far away, the constant light of a Sunstone. It was still dark, but not the total darkness of the Ice outside the Castle. The third time he regained consciousness, it took Tal quite a while to work out where he was. Someone cried out in disgust and hit him, bringing the darkness back. The next time he came to, he tried to move his hands and couldn't, because they were tied behind his back.
He felt himself being carried upside down, his face almost scraping the floor. The first stage only lasted a few seconds. The Violet Keystone (The Seventh Tower, Book 6) Garth Nix CHAPTER ONE Tal returned to consciousness in slow stages.
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