Part 10 (2/2)
”Very well, little temptress. Kiss your love goodbye. It may be a long time before I let you see him again. If he desires it, you may meet later on. But I will warn him, so that he does not become your slave.”
”I would not rob him of his self, my Prince. I have an affection for this one!”
”We will see that you do not, sweet Carna. Now get out, and be quick.
The time approaches.”
She darted to my side, where I sat still bewildered by the eerie yet utterly delightful experience with the witchery of a Zoorph, pressed burning lips to my own, caressed my cheek with her fingertips, gave my hand a quite American squeeze. Then I watched her slender legs swing up and out of sight as she went up her improvised ladder hand over hand.
She was athletic as a dancer.
”Whew,” I said, pa.s.sing my hand over my heated face, and grinning at the Prince.
”Yes, whew! If it had not been for me you would have become her property, for they are very accomplished in making people do what they want.”
”Hypnotism, developed beyond anything I ever heard of! It must be hereditary, such power!” I mused aloud. Genner answered as if I spoke to him.
”The word hypnotism I know not, I guess you mean what we call Zoorph. It is a cult, teaching the art of enslaving others to your will. But she is a good girl, and her Zoorph qualities are not evil. For your own sake, remember always to hold yourself in check, or she will automatically become your mistress. A man does not like to be a slave even to so charming a mistress.”
I did not say anything. I saw nothing wrong with the idea just then.
”Were you there behind the panel while your sister and I talked?” I asked.
”Of course. To make sure nothing went amiss. If some curious Jivro had come to the door, she would have joined me in the pa.s.sage.”
The Prince sat down across from me on a low stool.
”I will lead this group she will send to bring the Croen. You will naturally accompany us, as I am to keep an eye on you. Wananda will give you the fluid to inject into her veins. You must not be seen making the injection. Somewhere along the way she will revive. She is an extremely strong creature, and will immediately make her escape. I will order none to shoot at her with vibro guns, as we do not wish her harmed. We will hurry back to get s.h.i.+ps to pursue and capture her. But we will be unable to capture her.
”If you can manage to keep up with her in her flight, do so. You should be able to outrun a Jivro; they are not very fast. But whether you can keep up with the Croen, that I doubt. However, make the attempt, and when you are alone with her, explain why we want her to escape, who her friends are. If you do not do that, she may elect to make her way through the wilderness, which would be fatal for her. Knowing she has allies among us, she will find a way to attack us.”
I grunted. I did not see how they expected one lone woman, however fantastically gifted with wits and know-how, to overcome the s.h.i.+ps, armament and organization of the Jivros, even with Wananda working to neutralize their power.
”She must be a wizard; you expect such wonders of her!”
”There will be a s.h.i.+p waiting to pick her up as soon as she is out of sight of the Jivros who will accompany us. I have sent it already. It waits in the hills by the barrier. With you along, you can contact the remaining Zervs. They will augment your power. I can send more s.h.i.+ps manned with my men, later. We have been preparing for this a long time.”
”Aren't you doing a lot of talking? Walls have ears, you know, and those Jivros of yours look pretty s.h.i.+fty to me.”
”It is the hour of their sleep. They are creatures of regularity, like ants, you know. They live by routine. There are only guards awake. I know exactly where every one of them stands at this moment, where every one of them sleeps. I have not been inactive.”
We filed out of the city gate, a party of nearly fifty, a score of them bearers of a big palanquin-like vehicle in which they proposed to carry the Croen's inert body.
I was remembering the brief examination of her that I had made when I entered the cavern of the golden statue.
A four-armed female of near-human aspect, but with a single horn on her forehead. A member of a race from distant s.p.a.ce, alien even to these visitors to earth. She had been utterly different from anything I had even imagined as human--yet somewhere, somehow the origin of that race had been similar to our own. I wondered if s.p.a.ce was peopled with such near-human races, all descendant from some ancient s.p.a.ce-traveling race who had colonized--then pa.s.sed on into forgotten time?
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