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She looked down and shuddered. "Not what you would call a natural death," she said. Ulv watched intently as she took the scalpel out of its holder. "You don't have to look at this," she told him in halting Disan. "Not if you don't want to." "I want to," he told her, not taking his eyes from the body. "I have never seen a magter dead before, or without covering, like an ordinary person."
By the time they reached the tower it was seven, and Brion's nerves felt as if they were writhing under his skin. Even though it looked like suicide, attacking the tower brought blessed relief. It was movement and action, and for moments at a time he forgot the bombs hanging over his head. The attack was nerve-rackingly anticlimactic. They used the main entrance, Ulv ranging soundlessly ahead.
"I gave her sover, then wrapped her in cloth so no one would know," Ulv said. Telt was close behind them, looking in through the open door. "Sover is a drug they take from one of their plants," he said. "We got a lot of experience with it. A little makes a good knock-out drug, but it's deadly poison in large doses. I got the antidote in the car; wait and I'll get it." He went out.
Ulv took off the length of cloth he had wrapped around his body against the chill, and refolded it as a kilt, strapping it on under his belt artifacts. He grunted something unintelligible and when a muttered answer came, Brion for the first time became aware of the woman and the child. The two sat against the far wall, squatting on either side of a heap of fibrous plants.
Lea's frightened eyes met his when he went into the office. "A friendly smile here among the cannibals," she called. Her strained expression gave the lie to the cheeriness of her words. "What has happened? Since I woke up, the great stone face over there" she pointed to Ulv "has been telling me exactly nothing." "What's the last thing you can remember?" Brion asked carefully.
He was simply killing umedvirk. A believer in life, he destroyed the anti-life. They retreated into the darkness, still firing. The magter had lights and ion rifles, and were right behind them. Knowing the caverns better than the men they chased, the pursuers circled. Brion saw lights ahead and dragged Ulv to a stop. "They know their way through these caves, and we don't," he said.
A sudden idea struck him. "Ulv," he said, very softly. "This is Brion." He crouched, ready for any attack. "I know," a voice said softly in the night. "Do not talk. Walk in the direction you were going before." Asking questions now would accomplish nothing. Brion turned instantly and did as he was bidden.
"Into that open door quickly, before anyone sees us!" The car rumbled down a ramp into the dark interior and the door slid shut behind them. "Ulv! What is it? Where are you?" Brion called, blinking in the murky interior. A grey form appeared beside him. "I am here." "Did you " There was no way to finish the sentence. "I heard of the raid.
Ulv stayed above him, staring at the opening of the cave. "This is an important message," Brion whispered into the mike. "Please record." He repeated this for thirty seconds, glancing at his watch to make sure of the time, since the seconds of waiting stretched to minutes in his brain.
Though the voice was thin and scratchy, the words were clearly audible. It was an appeal for the Disan people not to listen to the magter. It explained that the magter had started a war that could have only one ending the destruction of Dis. Only if the magter were thrown down and their weapons discovered could there be any hope. "Are these words true?" Ulv asked. "Yes," Brion said.
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