Chapter 19: Idra's Warning

"You should leave," Idra said, finding Sera at the Wall before dawn. "I don't say that to be unkind. I say it because every person who has come here with the intention of opening the Wall has either left or ceased to be a person."

Sera turned to look at her. "How many have come?" Idra held up nine fingers. Then, after a moment, raised a tenth. "You make ten," she said. "The cat always comes with them. It has never been able to stop any of them from trying."

"But they all failed?" Sera asked. Idra lowered her hand. "The ones who failed are the lucky ones. The ones who partially succeeded are the ones we keep in that chair."