“This is the only nail of the true Execution Tree still remaining in Osten Ard.” Prester John brought the hilt forward to his lips and kissed it, then held the cool metal against his cheek. “This nail came from the palm of Usires Aedon, our Savior . . . from His hand . . .” The king’s eyes, catching for a moment a strange half-light from above, were fiery mirrors. “And there is also the relic, of course,” he said after a quiet moment, “the finger-bone of martyred Saint Eahlstan, the dragon-slain, right here in the hilt. . . .” There was another interval of silence, and when Towser looked up
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