midnight
And they fell together . And because he felt his whole arm slipping , and his whole hand loosing , to slack the dreadful agony of the wrenched bone above , he caught and held with his teeth the tunic at her knee , as she struggled up and wrung off his hands to overleap him victorious . Like lightning she snatched her axe , and struck him on the neck , deep -- once , twice -- his life-blood gushed out , staining her feet . The stars touched midnight . The death scream he heard was not his , for his set teeth had hardly yet relaxed when it rang out ; and the dreadful cry began with a woman 's shriek , and changed and ended as the yell of a beast . And before the final blank overtook his dying eyes , he saw that She gave place to It ; he saw more , that Life gave place to Death -- causelessly , incomprehensibly . For he did not presume that no holy water could be more holy , more potent to destroy an evil thing than the life-blood of a pure heart poured out for another in free willing devotion .