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She could slash psi-death into it
through the sloppily held screens
before the knife touched her skin.
But that could cost her too much --
Essu, for one thing. He knew she
was a psi, and if a Sattaram died
in the act of attacking her, he
wasn't likely to consider it a
coincidence. He'd try to get the
information to Stiltik at once. She
was beginning to develop some
degree of control over Essu but was
unsure of its effect on the
unfamiliar Tolant mind. In any
case, she couldn't control him
enough at present to override any
sudden strong motivation. She might
have to kill him in the same
manner.
It was Essu who saved matters then.
He'd hung on to the end of the
strap when Telzey fell, but he
stood as far from her and the
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Elaigar as he possibly could, arm
stretched out, eyes averted from
both, as if detaching himself
completely from this unpleasant
situation. When he spoke in the
Elaigar language, he appeared to be
addressing the wall before him.
"Glorious One -- is it your intention
to deprive of prey?"
Slow surge of alarm in the old
Sattaram. Stiltik? The hate-filled
eyes grew vague. He swung his
ponderous head toward the Tolant,
stared a long moment, then turned
and lumbered back through the
doorspace. The curtains swung shut
behind him.
Essu was beside Telzey, jerking her
up to her feet.
"Come! Come!" he hissed in
translingue.
They hurried quietly on along the
passage.
Chapter 6
Essu, though a bold being, had been
shaken by the encounter, and it
continued to preoccupy him. As a
rule, the green uniform of
Stiltik's servants was safeguard
enough against mistreatment by
other Elaigar even when they
weren't aware that he was her
valued assistant. But when age came
on them, they grew morose and
became more savage and
unpredictable than ever. The great
knife might have turned swiftly on
him after it finished Telzey; and
to use one of the weapons on his
belt then would have been almost as
dangerous for Essu as not using
them. Self-defense was no excuse
for killing or injuring one of the
masters.
Much greater, however, had been his
fear of facing Stiltik after
letting her prisoner get killed. He
blamed Telzey for putting him in
such a terrible predicament, and
was simmering with vengeful
notions. But he didn't let that
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distract him from choosing the rest
of their route with great care.
Telzey, aware of Essu's angry
spite, was too busy to give it much
consideration. Being involved in
Stiltik's business, the Tolant knew
a great deal more about the circuit
and what went on in it than the
Tanvens; she was getting additional
information now. The four Alattas
involved in bringing her into the
circuit had been operating here as
Otessans -- Tscharen and the woman
Kolki Ming in Stiltik's command,
the other two in Boragost's.
Tscharen was permanently stationed
in the circuit; the others were
frequently given outside
assignments. Stiltik had been
watching Tscharen for some time;
her spy system indicated he was
occasionally engaged in off-duty
activities in unused sealed areas,
and she had her scientists set up
traps. His secret meeting with the
other three and the human they'd
brought into the circuit with them
was observed on a scanner. Knowing
now that she dealt with Alatta
infiltrators, Stiltik sprang her
traps. But so far only Tscharen and
the human had been caught. The
others had withdrawn into sealed
sections, and a search force of
Elaigar and Tolants sent to dig
them out had run into difficulties
and returned empty-handed.
This obviously was a vast portal
system which might almost rival the
Luerral in its ramifications. Essu
had seen a good deal of it on
Stiltik's business, but by no means
every part; and he was no more
aware of exits to the planet or
able to consider the possibility of
making use of them than the
Tanvens. How the Elaigar could have
taken over such a complex, and
killed off the humans living there,
without creating a stir on Tinokti,
was something else he didn't know.
The answer might be found in the
material Telzey's memory tap had
drawn from the old Elaigar, but she
couldn't spare time to start
sorting through that at present.
None of the sections along their
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route seemed to be in use by the
Elaigar. It was like moving about
parts of a deserted city through
which a marauding army had swept,
stripping all removable equipment
from some points while others
remained overlooked. Where
maintenance machinery still
functioned completely, it often
appeared that the former occupants
might have left only the day
before.
But all was silent; all was
psi-blocked. Even where daylight or
starshine filled empty courtyards
or flowering gardens, impenetrable
energy screens lay between them and
the unaware world outside.
* * *
The arrangements of Stiltik's
lockup were much like those in the
series of sections through which
Tscharen had taken Telzey. It lay
well within a sealed area, and its
connecting portals showed no
betraying gleam, remained barely
visible for the moment it took Essu
and Telzey to pass them. The Tolant
shoved her eventually into a small
room, slammed and locked the door.
She stayed with him mentally as he
went off down a passage to report
by communicator to Stiltik, who
might be on the far side of Tinokti
now.
He returned presently. The Elaigar
commander had indicated it still
could be several hours before she
sent for them. When he opened the
door, the prisoner was leaning
against the wall. Essu went over to
the single large cot the room
contained, sat down on it, and
fixed his round white eyes on the
human.
Telzey looked at him. Torture and
killing were the high points of
Essu's existence. She didn't
particularly blame him. Tolants
regarded warfare as the natural way
of life, and when a group found
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