Crownstar Cathedral.
Leaning on her cane, Maya led Dodolo through a corridor of starlight. By the time they entered the Stargazing Hall, the vast palace, as large as a plaza, was already packed with people.
No one made a sound. They all sat cross-legged in silence, ring after ring arranged with ceremonial solemnity around the starlight reception platform at the very center.
The seating in the Stargazing Hall followed a pattern. The stronger one was, the closer to the center one naturally sat. For instance, nearly all the Observers sat beneath the starlight reception platform at the very center.
Of course, only "nearly." There were always those who marched to a different beat and refused to follow the script. For example, a handsome man hung lazily upside down from the doors of the Stargazing Hall, his feet shackled in chains, ram horns sprouting from his head. He looked as beautiful as a demon, and the air around him brimmed with desire. He was also one of Crownstar Cathedral's Observers—the Hanged Disgraced One, Shikel.
Everyone entering the Stargazing Hall had to pass beneath this "Hanged Man."
Maya was no exception. Yet when she saw Shikel, a trace of disgust involuntarily flashed through her eyes. Among the Observers, Shikel represented "desire." Perhaps because he had once fused with the bloodline of a horned demon, his desires ran fierce. His private conduct was utterly improper, and his reputation among the witches was abysmal.
Perhaps Maya's disgusted look caught Shikel's attention. He turned his gaze toward her, a faint glimmer too inscrutable to fathom within his wicked eyes. "So it's Witch Maya."
Maya coldly addressed him as "Lord Shikel," then walked into the hall with Dodolo without looking back.
Shikel did not mind Maya's attitude. Or rather, he had long since grown used to