He grasped it and recovered himself.

A great darkness was descending upon her, but it did not come at once.

It hovered before her eyes, and seemed to pass, and again she saw the horror at her feet; saw Nick, bent to destroy like an eagle above his prey, merciless, full of strength, terrible; saw the man beneath him, writhing, convulsed, tortured; saw his upturned face, and starting eyes; saw the sudden downward swoop of Nick's right hand, the flash of the descending steel.
In her agony she burst the spell that bound her, and shrieking turned to flee from that awful sight.
But even as she moved, the darkness came suddenly back upon her, enveloping her, overwhelming her--a darkness that could be felt.

For a little she fought against it frantically, impotently.

Then her feet seemed to totter over the edge of a dreadful, formless silence.