Standing about ten steps away from him, she dropped down too, mimicking his position. He nodded, they breathed, and the world changed. The furniture, devoid of life, became dark, hollow shadows and the boundaries of the room vanished to become walls of scintillating green energy. The shield that kept out prying eyes would become the limits of the astral battle, Alexander thought. Nothing could get out and nothing could get in. Nothing expected, that is.