Page 48 of Spectral Seas (Spectral Worlds #2)

S SS’KYRONE WAS MORE lizard than man and as such, skittered up the rockface with ease. For Abby and the two Umbra, scaling up the steep face was a slow-going crawl, particularly when they reached the smooth face of the perimeter wall. Sss’kyrone repeatedly stopped his progress, cocked his head back to the three, and waited; then each time they drew close, the lizard swung his head forward again, flicked out his forked tongue to test the air, then proceeded another few meters up. This stop and go continued until he finally reached the battlements at the top of the wall. There, Sss’kyrone waited while the other three caught up.

When they were all near the rim, they spaced themselves out below the spaces between the ancient battlements. Then with a nod between them, they peeked their heads up over the edge.

Before them, the rings of the giant multi-colored gyroscope slowly rotated in opposing orientations around a great blue burning orb, each casting off the sparkling brilliance of the countless inlaid crystals. “That orb in the center—,” chipped Leta.

“Yeah, I noticed that,” chipped Abby. “It’s like their eyes.”

To the left, a group of the armored monk warriors, staves in hand, marched in a small two-row formation toward a wide one-story cylindrical structure. When they reached it, they parted into two groups, stepping to either side the small silo to form an aisle between them. They then tilted the tips of their staves forward to create an arced corridor. A bright splinter of light appeared on the wall of the silo between the two rows of soldiers. Slowly, the splinter widened as a pair of convex doors separated from the center and slid open to the sides.

From within the brightly lit cavity stepped Sss’kallion, adorned in an elaborate headdress, broad cuffs, and a wide, chunky ceremonial necklace of jewel emblazoned shoulder blades and bones. He was accompanied by five other monks. They wore lesser degrees of ceremonial attire, their headdresses were the size of small crowns, their cuffs and bone necklaces smaller and tighter around their necks. They were followed by four figures in protective atmospheric suits—Uhggwa and his escort.

“Looks like we’re just in time,” said Abby.

“But for what?” Leta asked.

“You see those sigils and wards painted on the perimeter walls?” he said, nodding toward the line and circle designs encircling the interior of the plateau’s rim.

“Yeah,” said Leta. “I recognize those two from the monastery and that one from the temple. But I don’t think I’ve seen the others before. What do they mean?”

“They’re summoning signs.”

“Summoning signs? ”

“Yep,” said Abby. “This whole plateau is one big altar to the Ancient Ones, particularly that serpent god we saw in the temple. This is starting to make sense.”

Sss’kallion led his party—the five adorned priests, the Viridians, then the leather-armored guard—from the small silo structure to the base of the large spinning orb. When the procession reached the base of the sphere, Sss’kallion spun to face Abby and yelled, “Your obssservationsss are correct, Commander Sss’quire!”

“So much for a surprise,” Abby said softly. “Time to come out of the shadows.”

~*~