A cavernous hall opened up in front of them, so large that it must have taken up the statue's entire torso. A stone gallery, tiered with steps on the left and a low wall on the right, spread in a crescent shape ahead, a curve that followed the wall. Each tier was perhaps wide enough for five men to walk abreast, and the winding stairway they'd crested opened onto the bottom tier. Even from their low position the two men could easily see over the wall.

In unison, Primate Melovar Aspen and Dain Barden Mensk turned their heads and gasped.

67

67

EVRIN'S eyes opened weakly as he heard the sound of footsteps break the silence. Dread hit him in his chest as he realised someone had made it past the first of his wards.

Three men stood on the lowest tier of the gallery, facing the pool. No, Evrin realised: two men and a revenant. So that was how they had passed his ward.

The Primate in his white robe stood beside a huge man with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, a commanding figure in blood-splattered armour of bleached leather. The pair walked forward slowly, gazing at the shimmering pool with both lust and fear. A single drop of the essence would kill them, yet they were looking at more wealth and power in one place than any man had seen before.

As they grew closer, Evrin saw that the huge man wore the raj hada of a Dain of the Akari. Of all peoples to get mixed up in this war, the last Evrin had wished to see join the fight were the Akari.

"What is the oval mirror?" the Dain whispered to the Primate.

"It's a portal," Evrin spoke up, answering for him.

Both men jumped when they heard him, while the revenant showed no reaction. Evrin watched them turn to him, knowing what they saw: a broken old man, unable to stand, unable to move, lying prone across the tiers in the far corner.

"You," Melovar said. "The old pilgrim. What are you doing here?"

"Protecting the portal from men like you," Evrin said, his voice weak, but clearly audible. "Stop, please. While you can." He tried to move, but the pain was nearly too much for him, and Evrin closed his eyes momentarily.

"Primate, who is this man?"

"I thought I knew, Dain Barden, but it seems he is more than I once thought he was. Tell me, old man, why so much essence?"

"My name is Evrin Evenstar, and the essence powers the portal, but my seals absorb the power so that the portal cannot be used."

"Portal? A portal to where?" the Dain asked. "How did you cross the pool to place them there? What happens if the seals are removed?"

"I placed the seals there to block the portal, long ago," Evrin said. "If the seals are removed, the portal will open. But you must understand —"