All of this passed through his thoughts in an instant. He had no more time to muse on the contents of those boxes and books, or the mysteries and secrets that might be resolved were he to explore even a single shelf. The moment he became aware of his surroundings, a curious scene revealed itself.
Ylona and Halavere had indeed entered the repository ahead of them, for they stood near the centre of the room, only a few feet away from Teyo. They had brought two others with them, two men whom Teyo did not recognise. All four were peculiarly still. After a moment, Teyo realised they were frozen in place, for he detected not the smallest movement from any of them. They did not even appear to be breathing. They had stopped in the midst of talking, apparently all at once, for their mouths were op
