My voice came from the wrong side of the doorway.
"You're late."
I stopped before the threshold. Liora stopped with me, her blade held low. Behind us, Nyx moved the lamp to the side so our bodies wouldn't block its light.
The room beyond was longer than it was wide. Glass panels stood between square stone piers. A low platform occupied the middle, with the regulating core's banded housing set behind it. At the far end, a raised shelf carried a release wheel. A clear barrier crossed the approach to that shelf.
I counted the piers and checked their bases before looking at the figure on the platform.
It was shaped enough like a person to make the differences unpleasant. Long arms. Narrow joints. Layers of pale glass over a dark frame. Its head had no eyes I could hold in view. When it turned, a face appeared across the surface and slipped away before I could decide whose it was.
Mirror Regent.
The voice was still mine.
"Come in."
Liora raised her sword a little. "No."
