Later, before they broke camp, when she looked at him in the light, she said, "You are bleeding, Malacar," and she touched his cheek with her fingertips.

He jerked his head away.

"I know. I got cut when that damned picture of the green man fell on me."

He tightened his saddle cinch.

"Could he really have restored the Earth, Malacar?"

"Probably, but that would not have solved anything."

"You said you need more worlds for League status. Earth could have counted for one."

"To gain it, I would have had to surrender my weapon."

"How did he know about that picture of the goddess-- Mar'i-ram?"

"All Strantrian shrines are laid out alike. He knew approximately where we were standing. Anyone who knows how their stations are set up could have said what was on the wall."

"Then he was making all that part up?"

"Of course. It was a ridiculous story. His interest in the matter was purely economic."

"Then why did he come in person?"

"I don't know. --There, I'm ready. Let's go."

"Aren't you going to put anything on it?"

"What?"

"The cut."

"Later."

Mounting, they hurried through the night toward Capeyule and its rain.

Dr. Pels studied the reports.

Too late, he decided; and, Something has gone very wrong. The _mwalakharan khurr_ is there, all right, and a dozen other things. We cannot let him export them. Where is he? There is no record of his departure from Cleech. Yet there was a jump-buggy stolen from the space port, and the port was a point of infection. Was he trying to get away--to isolate himself--when he saw what was happening? Or was he simply going somewhere else?

Debussy's _La Mer_ stirred about him and he regarded Cleech.

What to do? he thought. I have waited a long while and now the time for waiting has finished and the time for action is at hand. If I could have located him a month ago, this might not have occurred. I must find him as soon as possible now and speak with him, convince him to enter my care and remain until I solve this. I wonder whether he would be willing to undergo the process that keeps me going? Would he give up life as he knows it and become--a ghost--like me? Trade his present existence for the passionless, sleepless life of the void? If he is aware of what he is doing, I am certain that he would agree. This, or suicide-- They would be about the only choices open to a sane, decent man ... But what if he is no longer sane? Supposing he broke beneath the strain, or as a side effect of his condition? What then? This, too, could be an explanation for his disappearance.

And what if his condition proves as unassailable as my own? he wondered. Perhaps freezing would be the answer. It could be such a long wait, otherwise. But with no assurance of ever awakening, he may not consent. How shall I treat with him when I find him? The time for action is definitely at hand, and I do not know what to do. Wait, I suppose. There is nothing else.

After a time, he sent a message to the Public Health Coordinator for the planet, offering his services in dealing with the multiplicity of epidemics which so far had devastated two continents. Then he tuned his subspace receiving set to News Central. Since he could listen on a round-the-clock basis, he hoped that he would learn the next site of infection in time. He readied himself for departure on notice.

Then he listened to the news, and the impressions of a sea he had never seen accompanied it into his mind.

_It went beautifully_, Heidel told her. _A matter of minutes. Things seem to be somehow accelerated_.

_It was because you were personally present. You are becoming a focal point. Soon you will be the still center of a cyclone. One day in the near future, there will be nothing able to stand against you. You will need but point your finger and will it and they will die_.

_Lady-- I know now that you are real and not merely a dream born of fever. I know this because after I have awakened you keep the promises made in this place_ ...

_As do you. Which is why I reward you so_.

_You are not as you were before_ ...

_No. I am stronger_.

_That is not what I meant. Though this, too, is true, what I meant is that something has changed. What has happened? I find that I do not always think too clearly_.

_It is as I told you. You are becoming like unto a god_.

_Yet a part of me, somewhere, seems to be screaming_.

_This, too, will pass. It is but a phase_.

... _And you are not a dream. You are real. Who are you-- really? And where am I, right now?_

_I am the goddess to whom you have sworn allegiance, and we dwell in my private heaven_.

_Where is that?_

_My kingdom is within you_.

_You do not truly answer me, Lady_.

_I give you the only true answers_.

_Where did we meet?_

_We have always known one another_.

_It was Deiba, wasn't it?_

_That was where we made formal contact, yes_.

_I cannot recall the introduction_.

_You were ill. We saved you_.

_"We"?_

_I. I saved you for this time, that we might benefit one another_.

_Why did you wait so long?_

_The time was not propitious--until recently_.

He turned and regarded her. Quickly then, he bowed, as there was nothing but blue ice and blue flame before him.

_What has happened?_ he muttered.

_You have brought more here than is welcome, and less, _Dra_ von Hymack. The minor memories of a minor life have no part in our doings now. Bid them depart. You are no longer he whom you were on Deiba, or even on Cleech. Worship me now. I will sanctify you. I will grant you grace_.

_I worship thee and adore thee_.

_When you awaken, you will walk until you come to a city. There, you will not speak a word. You will but point your finger at the first living thing you see_ ...

... _I will point my finger at the first living thing that I see_.

_You will feel the power open within you like a flower, rise like a serpent_ ...

... _I will feel the power_.

_Then you will go away from that place and seek another_ ...

... _I will seek another_.

_You are beautiful before me and I love you, _Dra_ von Hymack_.

He felt her cold lips touch his eyes, like coins for Charon. After a time, from somewhere, he heard her singing. The moon was blue. Blood dripped from her fingertips onto his palm. The song was a piece of forever.

He had given her a tranquilizer and sent her to her berth. It was either that or shut off the screens which were the apparent cause of her vertigo. He could have done without the screens, but she had been rubbing his nerve ends raw since their departure.

It is not just that she is a lovely girl who idolizes you and is afraid to let you touch her, he thought. It is not her incessant talk of The Cause either, or the fact that she wants you to reminisce aloud. What the hell is it then? Just being cooped up with another human being for two weeks in subspace? No, that is not it. Maybe it is the sudden weight of time. She brings to my attention a matter of years, the contrast between what I was and what I am now. Did I really hate with such fire in the old days that I would have burned the city to kill the rats? When did I start going soft, moving from pure revenge to these half-assed plans for League status? It was such a graduated thing, and with lapses, that I never caught myself until recently. I wanted whips, and now I am not so certain it is the right way. I wonder about Sandow. Could he really have helped the DYNAB? Would he have, if I had asked him? He had sounded reasonable. But all that crap about the Strantrian goddess ... It had to be that, even if Sandow believed it himself. --This girl either brings out the worst in me or shuts me down completely. Not true. I did it myself. Still ... I will try to sleep when she awakens. If Sandow's people ever tie me in with this, there is going to be trouble. They do not care about political boundaries. Well, another bridge, another day. It is going to be rough when I unieash von Hymack. Somebody is certain to try for me after that, once the connection is made. Stupid thing, sending that globe. I should have kept it, not shipped it. Am I diminished thereby? Debit me, one memento mori? Hard to tell. How many of those bastards in the CL High Command have I outlived? They did not pass out S-S the way we did. --Earth, of all places! Bifrost, I should have let it go at that. I should have dropped her on Bifrost. That's DYNAB. --So she gets to see the volcano, learn about tracing the routes of contagion ... But why am I in such a hurry? Is it that I want done with this as quickly as possible? Probably. --God, don't give me a conscience now. I am not ready for one today. I have gone this long. I can go a little longer. --It is pretty, the way her hair falls, and those frightened eyes ...