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

his attention fixed upon the glimmering arch, he had failed to notice that the wall was no longer retreating with every step he took. Suddenly it was looming close, suddenly there before them, towering high, its surface smooth in appearance and unreflecting. And the arch stood at its base, appeared to be - and Leth's hopes soared - appeared to be a portal of some description set within the wall itself!
        He set the two children down and took their hands, feeling ever more vulnerable without a sword or weapon of any kind. He moved towards the portal, still wary, and at length stood directly before it. The portal, if that was what it was, seemed to be formed of something extremely dense, featureless as the great wall, of deep indigo colouring. But the glimmering light, pulsing on and off, sending out sharp lucent beams from around the edges of the portal, appeared to originate on the portal's other side. From beyond the wall.
       Leth released Prince Galry's hand and extended his own to touch the portal. His fingers made no contact. They sank into the blue, vanishing.
       'Dadda!' Galry clung fearfully to his leg. Leth withdrew his hand. He stroked Galry's head.
       'Don't be afraid, child. I’m here. I am always here.'
       He felt little of the confidence he wanted to instil. He moved aside and pressed his hand to the wall. It was utterly smooth and quite cool to the touch, diorite-hard, though he could not precisely identify the substance of which it was made. He moved back to the portal, pushed his face close. To his surprise he saw people on the other side. Blurred figures - he thought they were human. They appeared to be crowded in some number just a little way beyond the portal. He could not make out their faces or any detail other than their dim forms. The glimmering light pulsed, just for an instant, and dazzled him.
       Leth drew back, thoughtful. He turned, stared again into the hopeless blue void over which they had travelled. He cast his eyes over the wall, which extended still without perceivable end to either side of him, curving slightly inwards in the distance. He looked up again at the great vault, and back to the mysterious portal. Then he gripped his childrens' hands, took a breath, and stepped through.
     
    *
     
       The people on the other side drew back with a collective gasp. There were perhaps eighteen or twenty of them, women and men of varying ages, three or four children. They were white-skinned, brown-haired, clothed in garments of linen and cloth that were generally unadorned and functional rather than ostentatious. They carried no visible weapons but stood in a wide semicircle before Leth and his children, their hands linked. Leth had the impression that they had been rocking slowly from side-to-side. He thought he had heard a low, rhythmic chanting, though they were silent now, all staring at him and his two children, apprehensive, their faces reflecting acute astonishment.
       At the centre of the semicircle of chanters, between them and Leth, was a man, kneeling. His head was bowed. In contrast to the others he was garbed in a long flowing robe of carmen hued silk-like material, richly embroided in gold with complex geometrical designs. He was spare of build and his hair was a dense grey cloud that billowed in unruly tufts about a narrow head. His hands were raised before him, palms upwards, and upon them rested a sword in a fabulously jewelled scabbard.
       At the sudden gasp from his companions the man glanced up. His eyes fell upon Leth, and widened, his jaw falling agape. Leth looked from him to the other people, to their surroundings. They stood in an open, rocky place. The sun's orb was pale in a brittle blue sky, a cool breeze touched Leth's cheeks. There were scrubby trees and bushes a short distance away, and beyond them low bare hills.
       The kneeling man was struggling for words. 'Y-you-- you have come!'
       He climbed to his feet, st ill bearing the sword,