Chapter elevenAt my instinctive reaction and instant movement, Chido said: “I understood you to say it would be inadvisable to go down there.”
My gaze was fixed on the sorcerer below on the throne dais with the box clutched in his hands. His Chuliks surged about him, forming a wall of protective steel. I paused on the top step and turned my head back to shout something to Chido. His appearance astonished me. He was staring up over my head and on his face was such an expression I could not put a name to it. He held his shield up in a reflex action, as though warding off a blow.
I whirled. The cause of Chido’s consternation jumped into focus, and then out again, so that I blinked as though a powerful light had abruptly shone into my eyes.
High on the wall between the narrow arched windows
