The wall was made of large blocks of finished stone fitted together with thin seams of mortar that appeared to have stood the test of time. As Seregil approached it, the uneasy feeling that had been plaguing him grew stronger.

“What’s wrong?” asked Micum.

“I’m not sure.” Seregil reached out and pressed his palms against the wall. “There’s just something …”

Suddenly he was overwhelmed with images: visions of Alec fading away through walls and forests and around corners; mud that caught his feet; locks that bit his fingers …

Gasping, Seregil pressed himself against the cold stone, resting his cheek against it as if he were leaking dreams through his skin. As the visions faded back to wherever they’d come from, he felt Micum’s hand gripping his shoulder.

“Seregil? Seregil, where are you?”

“My dreams,” he whispered. “I think I just remembered what they were. But he came back!” Micum kept a hold on his shoulder as Seregil passed a hand over his eyes, caught between dread and giddy relief.

“Last night they came true, when he disappeared and I couldn’t get to him,” he told Micum. “But he came back.”

“You’re saying he ran through a wall?”

“Well, he didn’t go out a window. Not even he would fit out one of them.”

Micum began inspecting the wall on his own, using a lightstone. “There could be a mechanism, something that swung part of this like a door, or made a section of it pivot. We’ve found things like that plenty of times.”

“I know, and I looked for any sort of device that would operate such a thing, but couldn’t find one.”

“Let’s see what a pair of fresh eyes can find.” Micum joined him and together they made a methodical search of the wall, pressing on every block, running their fingers along every seam.

“I guess Thero better have a look,” Seregil said, giving up at last. “Either it’s magic, or someone opened it from the other side.”

“Or something pulled him away through thin air, like Sedge’s corporal was.”

“Or that.” Seregil shuddered at the idea of something otherworldly touching Alec. “It couldn’t have been a dra’gorgos. He was wearing his amulet.”

“Then let’s go with the theory that someone made of flesh and blood got up to mischief. Any idea what’s on the other side?”

“This place is a labyrinth, but we can try our luck.”

Marking off paces and counting turnings, they did their best to find their way around the other side of the wall, but it soon proved impossible to keep track. Hours passed and they found many new wings and rooms but not the place they were looking for. Coming out at last in a corridor with windows, they saw that the sun was nearly down.