"No!" he bellowed. "Stay back of the entrance! Not on the tile! No!"
Slowly she withdrew the foot that hung poised over a trigger-tile.
"You can't come in unless you know how," he gasped.
She blinked at him and glanced nervously back over her shoulder. "But I hear them. They're coming down the stairs."
Asir cursed softly. Now he had to go ahead.
"Wait just a minute," he said. "Then I'll show you how to come through."
He advanced to the last tile that he had tested and stopped. The next two numbers were two—for straight ahead. And they would take him within easy reach of the long taloned arms of the murderous sentinel. He glanced around in fright at the crushed bones scattered across the floor. Some were human. Others were animal-sacrifices tossed in by the priests.
He had tested only one two—back near the door. If he made a mistake, he would never escape; no need bothering with the pike.
He stepped to the next tile and closed his eyes.
"If the intruder makes an error, Big Joe will kill."