At the entrance to the tunnel beneath the palace, Joel halted. "Tamis, it isn't safe for you to come any farther. You either, Nick."
But Tamis said, "I'll step out of sight," and did so. Thorp growled, "You'll need me. Maybe Priscilla's alive."
Joel said, "Maybe," and touched the switch. A section of the wall slid aside revealing the black tunnel mouth.
Thorp whistled softly.
"The walls of the palace are hollow," Joel explained. He closed the door behind them.
At the first floor, he stopped the lift, crept out to one of the mirrors. An immense hall met his eyes. It overflowed with guards armed with ray projectors. The mutter of their voices was a low rumble in Joel's ears.
"But can't they see us?" Thorp hissed.
"No." Joel explained the mirrors.
"Priscilla's not there," Thorp said. "How are you going to find her?"
"I'll find her," said Joel grimly and for the next hour he prowled through the walls of the first floor like some ancestral ghost. Serfs and police were everywhere. In some of the rooms indescribable orgies were taking place.