Chapter III

An hour before sunrise, Telis was awake and ready for action. He arose and dressed himself, broke his fast on the remains of his late evening meal, for he dared not guess how long it would be before he ate again. He banged at the door of his apartment until an attendant appeared, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Telis made a long face. "I--I must see Brother Gorla," he demanded, "the Priest who brought me here. I--I feel the need of spiritual guidance."

The attendant, a Temple novice, showed benign pleasure at his words.

"Could I not be of service, my son?"

Telis shook his head. "The words of the High Superior have caused me to reweigh the values of my long and sinful life. Brother Gorla has long been my spiritual father and counsellor. I must see him." It was not altogether a lie. The kindly old scientist's words had made him think a bit, in spite of himself. The old man had seemed so sure. And Gorla had long been his source of advice and even companionship for a good five haads.

The novice was disappointed, but understanding. He departed to waken Brother Gorla.

Three quarters of an hour of darkness remained when Gorla appeared at the door. Telis met him, looking carefully up and down the hall to see that they were alone. How careless these Temple people were with their prisoners!

"Telis, my friend! What is it? Brother Alto said that you needed some...." Gorla began.

Telis measured him carefully and swung. With all the power and co-ordination of a soldier's superbly conditioned body behind it, Telis' fist caught the Priest on the point of his jaw and knocked him sprawling to the thick carpet. Quickly dropping to his knees, Telis relieved the fallen man of his two swords and stun-gun. He strapped them to his own harness and looked about for a means of reviving the Priest. Taking the wine bottle from the table, he splashed some of the dark fluid into Gorla's face. For a moment, Telis had the feeling that it had all been too easy. But he drove the misgivings from his mind and concentrated on the next steps in his break for freedom.

The young Priest sat up fingering his jaw gingerly. There was a reproachful look in his eyes.

"Telis, you can't escape if that's what you intended by striking me. Give me back my weapons."

Telis smiled savagely. "Oh, no, my good and faithful friend. Now get up. Up I say, or I'll spit you where you lie!"

Gorla gave him a rueful smile. "By the Goddess, I believe you'd do it, too."

"There is a girl here," Telis snapped. "What do you know about her?" If the girl actually were a Tellurian, she would be an invaluable hostage.

"Girl?" Gorla looked puzzled.

"Quickly!"

"It's true that there is a girl here, but--"

"Who is she? Why was she brought here?" demanded Telis.

"She was found by one of our patrol sleds ... lost in the desert and near dead. They picked her up and brought her here. Since then she has remained ... voluntarily."

Telis gave a short, hard laugh. "You can do better than that, Gorla!"

The Priest shrugged. "Then why ask me if you don't intend to believe the truth?"

"I'll hear it from her. We are leaving, friend, and she goes with us!"

Gorla shrugged again. "As you wish, Telis. There seems to be nothing I can do to stop you."

"Then lead me to her quarters, and not a sound out of you, do you understand?" Telis prodded the Priest gently with the short-sword.

"But command me, lord," muttered Gorla sarcastically. He picked himself up off the floor. Telis snatched the cloak from his cassock and wrapped it around the gleaming blade of the short-sword, still keeping the point at the base of the Priest's spine.

"Don't force me to use this, Gorla," he hissed in the other's ear.

Gorla shook his head silently and led the way off down the corridor. The early hour was well chosen, for the whole towering edifice seemed to be deserted. Somehow, Telis felt, _too_ deserted. The whole magnificent megalopolis that was Dorliss seemed to sleep serenely under its mantle of invisibility.

In a tight silence, Gorla led Telis until they stood before a closed door near the ground level.

"Open it," commanded Telis.

"I have no key," Gorla protested.

Cursing under his breath, Telis tried the doorlatch. To his surprise, it gave easily and the door swung open. Telis lifted his sword, half-expecting a trap, but no attack came from the darkness beyond the portal. He shoved Gorla through and closed the door, the dark closing in around them.

"A light," whispered Telis.

Gorla touched a switch on the wall and light flooded the room. On the great bed near the far wall, the girl sat, bedclothes held to her breast, staring at them curiously. It was strange, thought Telis, that she showed no fear. And stranger still was the fact that her face was encased now in a bag-like contraption made of the same unusual material as the jumper he remembered seeing her wear. It was stretched tight by internal pressure that apparently came from a small cylinder at her bedside and connected to the mask by a flexible metal tube.

Some new and strange addiction, wondered Telis? It was not unknown upon Laurr for some to succumb to the lure of narcotics, what with the incessant warfare jangling the nerves and the ever-present spectre of doom hanging over the whole planet. Telis himself had tasted gas from a similar contraption on one of his hedonistic revels....

Whatever the drug was, he had seen her without the bag-like helmet in the Central Temple. Addiction might account for her seeming illness that he so well remembered from the previous day.

There was no sign of illness about her now! He stared at her, his breath catching in his throat.

Exotic woman!

* * * * *

Near at hand, her beauty was almost a living, tangible thing. Her hair gleamed, and her skin was palely translucent, like purest alabaster. The refraction of the light through the transparent mask surrounded her face with a glowing nimbus that made Telis think of the solideographic icons of the Goddess. Her lips were full, almost sensuous, and her great dark eyes looked at him quizzically but unafraid.

"There is no time to explain," he said rapidly. "We are leaving this place. Now."

She nodded without surprise, as though she had known exactly what he was going to say.

Telis motioned for her to get up. For a moment she waited, but when Telis showed no sign of turning around, she slipped out of bed and covered herself quickly with the blouse and harness that lay on a chair nearby. As she did so, she slipped the transparent mask off and, even as Telis watched her appreciatively, he could see the illusion of health fade from her face. A pinched look appeared, and a thin line of blue formed around her mouth. She seemed short of breath.

The girl adjusted her harness about her, making sure that the contents of each pouch were there. Then she slipped herself into the transparent jumper and reached for the mask.

Telis caught her arm. "The mask stays here."

The girl looked perplexed. She looked to Gorla for aid. The young Priest moved to intervene, but Telis motioned him aside. "No," Telis spoke sharply. "You may have to fly an air-sled...." He paused. "You can fly one, can't you?"

The girl nodded. "I have learned to fly one," she said. "But my mask ... I need it!"

The girl's face looked stricken at the thought of leaving her precious mask behind. But Telis hardened himself. He could not let this escape be risked by her unpredictable actions. Besides, he had seen her in the Temple without the mask, so it was not a matter of life and death for her.

"The mask stays," Telis said flatly.

For a long moment there was something like sheer terror on the girl's face. Then, as though by an effort of the will, she composed herself and nodded her agreement. Telis was forced to admire her courage.

Gorla seemed to realize that any comments that he might make concerning the mask _or_ the girl Telis would not believe, since for the moment they found themselves enemies. He decided to maintain a discreet silence and hope for the best.

"And now, friend Gorla," ordered Telis, "lead us to the landing field and get us an air-sled. It is a long way back to the capital and I have no intention of trying to make it on sith-back, not as long as your Temple Guards are so handy with the aircraft."

Like a bemused sleepwalker, Gorla led the way out of the building and through the dark streets. No beam of light now penetrated the light shield surrounding the Temple City, and Telis found the protecting darkness much to his liking. The drowsy guards at the gate looked curiously at the trio, but, recognizing Brother Gorla, made no effort to stop them.

Soon they were at the landing field and Gorla had run out the very air-sled that had brought Telis to the Temple City. Telis stepped into the forward cockpit and tested the jet. It came readily to life under his practised hands, and he motioned Gorla and the girl in beside him.

"Fly low," the girl said almost pleadingly.

He laid the stun-gun within easy reach and turned to Gorla. "Not that I don't trust you, my old friend," he said with a thin smile, "but I will feel much more comfortable if you are well-behaved while I am flying."

Gorla made no reply. He merely shrugged and wrapped himself in his cassock as best he could.

Telis glanced around at the sleeping field. Far across the landing area lights were flashing on. The sound of the air-sled's jet had awakened the attendants, and soon they would be giving the alarm. But there was no chance for anyone to stop them now. Almost disdainfully, Telis shoved the throttle forward on the quadrant and the jet roared. With a hissing of runners, the sled moved swiftly across the red sand and into the air.

Zooming low over the buildings at the far end of the field, the sled drove out into the blackness. Then with breathtaking suddenness, it slashed through the light shield and the lights of Dorliss vanished while the heavens came alive with the early morning stars.

Telis pointed the sled's blunt nose at the hatefully beautiful morning star that was Terra riding low on the eastern horizon. Presently, he levelled the craft and reduced his speed to maximum cruising power. Just skimming the reddish dunes, they sped eastward, into the sudden glory of the desert dawn....