Book of Lost Things, John Connolly; Washington Square Press, 2007
(Warning: May contain spoilers.)
As she disappeared the creepers began to wither and die, and the remains of the dead knights fell clattering to the ground. David ran to where K_______ lay. His body had been almost drained of blood. David felt like crying but no tears would come. Instead he dragged K___’s remains up the steps to the stone bed, and, with some effort, laid him to rest upon it. He did the same for D___, placing his body by K___’s side. He put their swords on their chests and folded their hands across the hilts, the way he had seen dead knights laid out in his books. He retrieved his own sword and placed it in its scabbard, then took one of the lamps from its stand and used it to find his way back to the stairs of the tower. The long corridor with its many rooms was no more, and only dusty stones and crumbling walls remained in its place. When he got outside he saw that here, too, the creepers and thorns had withered away, and all that was left was an old fortress, ruined and decayed. Beyond its gates, Scylla stood waiting for him by the ashes of the fire. She neighed with joy as she saw him approach. David put his hand upon her brow and whispered in her ear, so that she might know what had befallen her beloved master. Then, finally, he climbed into the saddle and turned her toward the forest and the road east.
All was quiet as they passed through the tress, for the things that dwelled there heard David coming and were afraid. Even the Crooked Man, who had returned to his perch among the topmost branches, now looked at the boy in a new way, and tried to work out how he might best use this latest development to his advantage. (p 256)