Peter followed a narrow passageway down into a broad, hemispherical chamber. He’d reached for the glowrod on his belt as he entered, but he didn’t need it. At the entrance to the chamber he stopped, open-mouthed and staring.
Huge, radiant eight-sided crystals lined the walls, filling the cavern with light. They brightened as he watched, and he backed up a step, but then the madly howling wind thrust a bit of itself down the passage, and thunder shook the rocks, and he stumbled forward into the heart of the chamber.
Awed, he watched the light wax until he had to close his eyes—and then someone smashed into him from behind, drove him to his knees, seized him by the waist and began dragging him back up the passage.
Peter struggled madly in the Altorian’s viselike grip, but managed only to
