Free Orbelon's World (Book 3) by Martin Ash

something. He couldn't say what. It might have been hallucination, but he thought he had perceived a movement, the inkling of disturbance in the air, a briefest flicker, just ahead of him and off to one side. He had turned towards it, glimpsed, or sensed, it again. Something ghostly had brushed against him, just whispering past his ear.
       He had almost dismissed it, then Galry had said, 'What's that?'
       Galry had pointed, but there was nothing to be seen, and his young brow had furrowed in puzzlement.
       'What?' Leth had asked. 'What did you see?'
       Prince Galry shook his head. 'I thought something was there.'
       Now it happened again, as Galry slept and Jace demanded food. Jace grasped the flesh of Leth's neck between fingers and thumb and pinched with all her strength. 'I'm hungry! '. Fighting his temper, Leth took her hand away. 'I know, I know. Soon. We’ll eat soon.'
       A cool breath passed across Leth's face. Briefly, hardly perceived, yet it was sufficient change in this changeless place to arouse his senses. In the same moment the air a little way in front of him seemed to flux. He had the impression that an unseen wing or wings had stirred.
       Leth screwed up his eyes, peering intently. 'Is there something there? Come forward and speak.'
       Nothing happened. Fearful of alarming his children, Leth said nothing more. He passed the tip of his tongue across his dry lips. His throat was parched; he had grown hoarse from his earlier shouting for Orbelon. Jace whimpered and he stroked her hair, pressing her to him and kissing her head.
       'I want to go home now. Daddy, why can't we go home?'
       Leth ceased walking. He shook his head in despair. The cessation of movement roused Galry from his sleep. He peered around him, bleary-eyed. When he saw the emptiness before him again a look of desolation appeared on the boy's wan features. He turned to his father with an expression of pained reproach which cut Leth to the core, then he buried his face in the crook of Leth's neck and clung to him.
       Leth stood, breathing hard. He turned around, wanting something to blame, something palpable to rage at. He lifted his face to the great vault so high above, then back to the misted blue and the endless wall. And then he saw it. 
       His heart thumped. He squinted into the distance. Again he was not certain that he had actually seen anything. An obscure shape had seemed to materialize in the mist. A darkening - was it? - then a glint, a glimmer, something flickering brightly just for an instant, then gone, and the dark again.
       He watched for several seconds, his pulse quickening. The thing appeared to be fixed in place. It was definitely something, a feature, unidentified, which for the first time broke the mind-numbing monotony of the blue domain. Leth took a few steps towards it, wary, casting his eyes around, then focusing back on the thing ahead. Jace had seen it too. Her complaints ceased, turned to small sobs and sniffs as she stared at the curious manifestation.
       'What's that?'
       Her enquiry roused Galry, who turned and craned his neck.
       Leth shook his head. 'I don’t know.'
       He could make out a little more detail now. It had the form of an arch, featureless but of a much darker hue than its surroundings. And every few moments its silhouette became outlined in light, just for an instant throwing out slender shards of luminescence, argent and sapphire blue, purest white and shades of pale yellow through to amber. They glimmered through the mist, then rapidly faded to leave only the darker form, then glimmered again.
       Leth stared for long moments then, suddenly, gasped. He blinked, stared again, past the glimmering arch.
       'The wall, Daddy!' Galry had also torn his eyes from the arch and was staring upwards, pointing.
       Leth was without words. The great encircling wall which had never been closer, never further away, had changed. Without being aware of it,