its approach was heralded by limpid hues of yellow and orange , blue and green , as the mist was lifted like the hem of a skirt to reveal the spurious world of the living to the sallow countenances of the damned , their slack organs pulled taut like reins , their spirits intoxicated , imbued with a lust deeper than that for wine by a drunk , a bee for a flower rich in nectar , the glint and smell of honey as a promise on their swollen tongues as the hundred were goaded into the fray , apples shaken from a tree , their blood suffused with dire notes , sour music borne of an evil wind , helpless , like arrows from a bow , spears dipped as they rode towards their enemy .