«Yes. My father mentioned that. I thought you might have been lying to him.»

«I wasn't. I don't know, and since I don't know I can't really help the rebels. That might change history enough to destroy the England where I lived. Then I might disappear, or be trapped here in Gohar for the rest of my life.»

«The freedom of the people of Mythor means nothing to you?» She sounded almost angry. She seemed blind to the possibility that anyone could disagree with her or her favorite cause. He decided to be blunt again.

«The people of Mythor mean very little to me, and so do the people of Gohar. I hadn't heard of either one until I came here. I've been in dozens of different times, among dozens of different peoples. I have to stand apart from their problems, or I would leave a trail of destruction behind me.» I hope she never finds out I've done exactly that in some Dimensions. «If the people of Mythor have a good cause, I certainly wish them well. But I doubt if I can help them.»

For a moment Blade was sure Fierssa was going to start crying again. Then she got herself under control and said, «Will you at least meet with some men the rebels have sent here to Gohar? You can talk to them, and decide if it's safe to go to Mythor. If you do go, we can introduce you to other rebels.»

That made enough sense for Blade to consider it. He wouldn't be committing himself to anything, except a certain amount of danger if Kloret's spies had penetrated the Friends of Mythor. Considering what amateurs the Friends seemed to be, they probably had been penetrated.

He was willing to run that risk. Fierssa was giving him the best chance he'd probably have of making contact with the rebels, and he'd promised Princess Elyana he'd try to do this. Once he'd learned what might be going on in Mythor, he could go ahead and tell Elyana. The Friends of Mythor might not have much practical power, but Elyana and her husband were another matter. If he gave them a powerful weapon against Kloret, they could be trusted to know how to use it.

«I'd like to meet-«he began, then a whole salvo of thunderclaps drowned him out. Fierssa whimpered and held onto him as if he was a log and she was drowning. When the thunder died away, Blade stroked her hair and continued.

«I'd like to meet some of the Friends of Mythor. After that, we can meet the rebels who are in Gohar. Then I'll see about going south.» Blade wished he didn't have to promise the first meeting. Unfortunately, the Friends would probably be insulted and therefore uncooperative if he didn't work through them. Amateurs! The word had the quality of an obscenity.

«Blade?»

He realized he'd spoken out loud. «Nothing, Fierssa.» Another thunderclap, and she quivered all over. Blade laughed softly. «Fierssa, if thunderstorms frighten you so much-«

She looked up at him almost defiantly. «Because they frighten me, I came out tonight. I must make myself strong, gain courage, stop being a child and become a woman. My father won't help me, so I must do it all myself.»

Now Blade could see her smiling in the darkness. «Also, my father knows how thunderstorms frighten me. If anyone saw me or learns you had a woman in your room, he'll hear about it. But he'll never believe it was me, running around in the middle of a storm. Never.»

Blade kissed her on the forehead. It must have taken real courage to force herself out into the storm. She'd also shown a certain grasp of practical psychology, picking a night which would confuse her father and cover her tracks.

Perhaps she doesn't have as much to learn as I thought then Blade decided he was not going to get tangled up in running a school for Gohar's young revolutionaries. They were going to have to learn their lessons themselves. With Kloret around, he was afraid they would learn some of those lessons the hard way.

«Blade,» Fierssa said shyly. «Could I stay here with you until the storm passes?»

«All right, but you'd better be gone before it starts to get light. If one of the sentries challenges you-«

«I understand.»

«Good. There are sleeping robes in the chest in the corner, if you want to get out of those wet clothes.»

She went over to the chest, and Blade rolled over, carefully looking away. He heard the plop of wet cloth hitting the floor, then the rustle of shell-tissue on skin, the soft padding of bare feet, and finally more rustling as Fierssa climbed into bed. A moment later two slim, warm arms slipped around him from behind, and even warmer lips closed on the lobe of one ear.

«Fierssa-?»

«Blade, they're going to say you had a woman in your room tonight. If you're going to have to face the talk anyway, why not get some pleasure out of it as well?» She laughed, and her teeth closed on his ear just hard enough to tell him she knew exactly what she was doing.

Now it was Blade's turn to laugh. He rolled over and found the girl pressing her body against his even before he'd stopped moving. His hands moved down her body to her waist and touched bare skin where her robe had crept up to her hips. They slipped in under the robe to stroke her thighs, and he heard her moan. His hands moved back and forth, reaching the little damp tuft of hair between her thighs, and she moaned louder.

Then her hands also moved, pulling up his robe. For a moment his fingers lay across small firm breasts with hard nipples. Then she pulled herself completely out of his hands, her head swooped down between his thighs like a bird, and her mouth closed on him.

«Fierssa-«

«Lie still, Blade. There's time, and there's strength in you.» The words came out muffled, because she didn't stop working as she spoke.

«Fierssa.» It was a sigh, with exquisite delight and exquisite pain mixed together in it. Then Blade couldn't even say the girl's name, as she served him with impossible, unimaginable gifts of skill and tenderness, torturing him so that he would gladly have been tortured this way for hours on end.

Mere human flesh couldn't stand hours or even a few minutes of what Fierssa was doing. Blade felt himself on the edge of exploding, fought as long as he could, then fell over into the explosion. Fierssa didn't stop, didn't draw back, and didn't speak until Blade caught his breath.

«Oh, Blade-«Her voice was half-choked. Lightning flashed, and in the glare he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed. She was naked now, her breasts were as lovely as he'd imagined, and the thought of touching them woke desire in him again. This was impossible, but it was also happening.

He sat up and put both hands on Fierssa's shoulders. Startled, she tried to twist away, but he tightened his grip. Finding one hand enough to hold onto her, he stroked her breasts with the other. She stopped trying to twist free, and her eyes closed. Blade moved the other hand down between her thighs. Her mouth sagged open, she swayed like a tree in the storm outside, then fell back across the bed.

Now it was as if there was a telepathic link between Blade and Fierssa. Her thighs slid apart at the exact moment Blade was prepared to enter her, and her arms and legs locked around him as she took him into herself. She moaned, then tried to choke off a cry, then stopped trying. By now Blade was too aroused to care whether or not the servants heard.

He drove himself into her almost fiercely, holding himself under control until she'd twisted and tossed under him twice. Then as she reached a third climax he found his own, and his breath went out in a long groan as hers went out in a great sobbing sigh. She was asleep even as he drew himself free of her.

Blade didn't sleep. He knew that if he did, he'd never awaken in time to send Fierssa on her way before daylight. That would certainly make the worst sort of trouble for her, and probably too much for him. So he stayed awake. Never on any mission, in Home Dimension or Dimension X, had he faced such a struggle against sleep.