Chapter Twenty-Three
Beyond the wall, the darkness proved not nearly so fathomless as it had been outside the Door. It seemed somehow that the silver stars shone more brightly here, bathing the heather and the harebell in a soft, pale light more than sufficient to navigate by. Lights, also, danced among the shadowed trees, fairy-lights to Phineas’s eyes. A path lay spread before their feet, quartz flagstones embedded into the grass; scented hedges rambled along either side, and from within those verdant bushes glittered the ethereal shapes of flowers, glinting with their own soft-shaded lights. Never before had Phineas witnessed such unearthly beauty. He walked along at Lady Silver’s side with his hands deep in the pockets of his coat, eyes everywhere as he delightedly devoured every glim
