‘When he returned to Lamara he consulted the priests of all the gods. But only the prayers of the priests of Helios the sun god were answered; only they gave Solon the solution he sought. The sun god says that building this pyramid will assure the great king’s passage through the gates of Ar-Rayan to the next world. It must be the tallest structure in the world, and it must be clad in gold. Solon has scoured the continent for gold. You will not see golden jewelry on the women here. Yet his tomb is not complete.’

‘What year is it?’ Chloe asked.

‘It is the thirty-first year in the reign of Solon the sun king.’

He and Chloe both gazed at the distant golden pyramid.

‘This year is his last,’ Kargan said.

Chloe looked back at the Nexotardis one final time as Kargan’s marines formed an escort for the pair, leading them up from the harbor to the dusty streets of Lamara. Her journey had been an ordeal, fraught with peril, and she still had the prophecy of the Seer burned into her consciousness.

Her greatest trial was still to come.

Led by Kargan, her escort led her away from the harbor along a broad avenue with tall buildings on both sides. These people knew their city, yet the route veered and twisted; there was no clear plan to the streets. She plunged through the bazaar, overwhelmed by the scent of strange spices, stench of refuse, odors of cooking, and sweaty, swarthy masses of hawkers and thronging city folk. The escort kept her moving, clearing the crowd ahead, but it nonetheless took an eternity to exit the bustling marketplace.

Beggars leaned against walls on every street corner. A skinny one-armed Ilean tugged on Chloe’s sleeve, but was swiftly repelled by a blow from a soldier’s triangular shield. Children with faces pockmarked by disease hid fearfully from the group, tucking themselves into doorways and raising their arms to ward off blows that never came. The soldiers knocked to the ground an old man leading a donkey who didn’t hear them coming. Glancing over her shoulder, Chloe saw him wearily struggle back to his feet.

Their path twisted and climbed as they now entered a wealthy residential area, the quarter closest to the palace. The doors here were made of solid wood, barred against intrusion. Chloe was constantly in shade; the sun’s rays couldn’t penetrate the streets below.

She lost track of how many steps she climbed, and then suddenly she was in a wide, curving street, squinting and feeling bright warmth on her face. They followed the well-paved road, which skirted a high red wall, smooth and tall. The wall curved and their path curved with it.