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And there was sickness. Deep, poisonous sickness in her stomach and her veins and her mind.
 What do you remember?
Iikeelu s voice: Icy.
 You must remember.
 I killed Tuy, said Xaai desperately.  My name as a man was Xa. There was a fallen sun. There was a priest, a priest you couldn t see. That s all I
can remember now. Please, if you just let me rest, I might remember more.
The silence that, followed her words seemed to go on forever.
Xaai became aware of two slave-man guards standing by the door, watching the scene with their ugly, furless faces. The whips were still in their
hands.
 Where was the priest? asked Iikeelu.
Xaai struggled with the images in her pain-sodden mind.  Inside.
Inside the sun. There was a chamber  
 So the sun was hollow?
Snow. Steam in the snow.
 Hollow. Yes. And cold inside. Even when  
 The sun is alive!
  it was cold even when the sun was hot. It was shining.
Iikeelu sighed.  Thank you. You ve told me what I need to know. Jaxei! Call the squad commanders to my cabin!
Xaai struggled upright. Pain danced around her body, and bile rose in her throat.
 Please... But she wasn t sure what to ask for. Perhaps she should ask Iikeelu to kill her. Even death would be better than this.
 I suggest you get some rest, said Iikeelu briskly, half stepping, half flying, over Xaai.  I m sorry for the pain, but we had to know.
96
Then she was gone, and. Xaai was alone in the darkened cabin.
Slowly, painfully, she dragged herself across the rough wood to the door and tried to open it.
It was locked.
 Please let me die, she whispered.  This isn t what I wanted when I was a man. This isn t what I dreamt about. Please let me die.
But her heart kept beating, obstinately, despite the pain and sickness.
Eventually she started to cry.
The hallway was dark, but it was not quiet. Jo could hear the steady thudding of machinery, and a distant roar of steam. She looked around at the
panelled stone, the geometrically arranged doors.
 Does Epreto keep machines in his house? she asked Karilee.
 Not as far as I know. I think   Karilee broke off, and Jo heard his steps echoing off hard stone as he walked across the hallway.
There was a faint flicker of red light.  Quickly! They re leaving!
Jo ran after him. The Doctor too? There was another flicker of light. Jo realized that she was looking through a window, a big picture window, that
reached almost to ground level. Outside, a huge, cumbersome-looking machine was throwing out clouds of steam and red sparks. She caught a
glimpse of the Doctor standing on a railed platform, his hair flying, and next to him a big man who might be Epreto. Above them was the billowing
canvas of a balloon.
 Doctor! she yelled, though she knew it was hopeless.  Doctor!
You can t leave! I need you! She beat her fists on the window frame.  I need you so that I can take you to the Dead!
But the steamwing was already rising into the air. The Doctor disappeared behind a wall of steam.
Jo sagged back to the ground, then saw Karilee staring at her.
Too late, she realized what she d said.
 The Dead, said Karilee quietly.  I should have realized. He reached down, lifted her up and slung her over his shoulder. Jo struggled, but it was no
use: Karilee s grip was as firm as steel.  I think you d better come with me, he said.
 Put me down! Jo protested.  I can explain!
But she knew that she couldn t. That was the really frightening thing: she couldn t explain what she d said at all.
Mike knew there was no chance of surviving a fight with Omonu for long. His only hope was to try to talk the man out of it.
 I m not even from the same world as you, he said, desperately dodging the hands that had become bony, almost clawlike. One 97
caught him on the shoulder, ripping his jacket, slamming him against the wall. Mike tried to wriggle past Omonu s body, but it was impossible in the
confined space of the stairway. Instead he lost his footing, tripped sideways up the stairs, fell hard against the wall at the end.
 This is wrong, he said, gulping for breath. He was remembering what Jo had said to the Dead Unpromoted, about playing by the rules.
Remembering how the creature had asked to fight, despite its obvious desperation.  You shouldn t be doing this.
It s not honourable.
But Omonu only growled, a gut-wrenching echo of the growl of the Unpromoted earlier on. Mike took a step backward, then, as Omonu jumped
forward. He dropped on to one knee and made a dive at the bigger man s leg.
He might as well have tried to demolish a concrete pillar. A hand grabbed his collar, and Mike heard and felt material tearing. Pain shot down his
back.
 Jo! he shouted.  Karilee!
Omonu growled again. Mike felt hands gripping his shoulders, pushing him back. He kicked out with his legs, hit something, heard a grunt of pain. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]