Following the blue mirrors as Ishtar had told him to do, David leads Saliana through the winding, seemingly endless Palace corridors. The sonorous chanting, that so intrigued David earlier, again resounds through the walls, the mantras enveloping him with their primitive urgings. With an overwhelming desire to succumb to their enticements, David halts his step. Yearning fills him, and a yielding expression crosses his face. He lets Saliana"s hand slip from his and makes a slow move away from her.
Alarmed, Saliana cries out. “Come back, David. Come back!” The strong tone of her voice strikes a protective nerve and David tenses his body, fighting the impulse to follow the chanting and to be drawn into its womb of mystery and magic.
David summons his inner strength and orders her sharply, “
