Captives of the Flame

eiving stage in the laboratory tower of the royal place

ng the running fires, the shadow of bones formed a human skeleton in the blue, till suddenly the shape was laced with sudden silver, the net of nerves that held the body imp

ll right now, aren't I?" Another pause. "Well, I feel fine." He let go of the rail and looked at his hands, back and palms. "Dirty as hell," he mumbled. "Wonder where I can get washed up." He looked up. "Yeah

sed under the shadow of the great

fad

n. Through his ghost-like feet, he could see the rivets that held down the metal floor. He ma

onsultant chamber. A stained glass window further on rotated by silent machinery flung colors over his face

d out loud again. "Yeah, I know we haven't got time, but it will explain it to you better than I c

f Toromon. He opened the sharkskin cove

the Island of Toron established a settlement, a village, a city. Now they pushed to the mainland, and the shore became the central source of food for the island's population which now

ungle that held in its crescent the stretch of mainland. They were a mutant breed, gigantic in phys

as discovered. A great empire has a great crime rate, and our penal system was used to supply miners for the tetr

hat it was that had killed all green things beyond the jungle. Lingering from the days of the Great Fire, a w

. Then only rock. Death was long if a man ventured in and came back. First immense thirst; then t

e being conducted with elementary matter transmission, and as a token to this new direction of science, the transit ribbon was commissioned to link the two cities. It was more a gesture of the solidarity of Toromon's empire than a practical app

izens of Telphar. Seven hours later the entire sky above Telphar was flickering with streaks of pale blue and yellow. Evacuation had begun already. But in th

l before the tetron mines; however, Telph

afraid when I saw where I was. That's why ..." He stopped, shrugged.

other window, like a person waiting for someone else to make up his mind. But the decision was not forthcoming. At last, belligerently he started up th

a light glowing blue behind those to the left, yellow behind those to the right. A sound f

arrying a folder and looked ser

aths. Then he ducked out and sprinted down the hall. At last

an answer, because he went to

inite enough to wake him was water against tile. He listened to it for nearly two minutes through the languid veil of fatigue. It was only when it stopped that he frowned, pushed back the sheet, and sat up. The door to his pri

; a few whistled notes. Suddenly he saw that dark spots were forming on the great fur rug that sprawled acro

mmed the flat of his palm on the button that drew back t

himself face down into the mound of pillows and tried to scream at the same time. Immediately he was caught, pulled u

id?" a voice whispered beh

ow just a

n the night table by the bed, and the curtains swept acro

ep still an

e as the weight lifted. He held still for a moment.

clothes, huh? You alwa

... there in

slid along the rack. The bureau at the back of the closet was opened. "This'll do f

e sound of t

ll right, once I get these

set, dressed now: a human for

ow some light around the place." The standing suit o

al-work filigree covered a white silk shirt that laced over a wide V-neck. The tight gray trousers were belted with a broad strip of black leather and fas

are you?" wh

crown," said Jon, "y

sputt

ears to when you and I w

ognition showed

d smashed a high-frequency coil, on purpose. And remember you dared that same kid to break into the castle and steal the royal Herald from the throne room? In fact, yo

egan Uske. "

But five years out in the tetron mines h

a murd

hat converged on me weren't kidding. I didn't kill him o

first. Jon Koshar, I think you're cr

But believe me, the last thing I c

he laughed. "Oh, of course. I'm dreaming al

frow

appearing. You can't possibly be more than a figment of my imagination. Koshar! The name! Of course. That's the na

ty?" Jon

had quite a pretty sister. I'm going back to sleep now. And when I

ent. Why ar

ged to amass quite a fortune. Chargill says I have to treat him kindly s

not dr

n, the Duchess of Petra. She was dragged all the way from her island estate to come to this t

to sleep,

button that pulled the curtains. And then the headless, handless figure

ed down

zing over the roofs of the city, the great houses of the wealthy merchants and manufacturers, over the hive-like buildings which h

shed the window open a bit, and the breeze waved her blue robe as she

nued down

ed. Her white hair was coiled in two buns on either side of her head, her mouth was slightly open and a faint breath hissed a

Royal Blood, Heir Apparent to the Empire of Toromon, and half a dozen more, w

ll slightly akimbo with natural awkwardness and

sing a moment to check his watch. He fastened the three snaps o

," Let apologized.

mber, you are heir to the throne of

I could," replie

through the tiny intercom. "Do you hear me? Ne

he felt closest. Usually, with her, he could forget the crown that was always being pointed to as it dangled above his head. His brother was not very healthy, nor even-as some rumored-al

mile to Let's face too. "Do you remember that story I tol

aling him with the harrowing details of three prisoners' attempt to escape the penal mines. She had terminated it at the height of suspense with the three men cr

ant to hear the

dn't get to sleep for h

the rear guard ran around to see what had happened, as planned, and they dashed through the searchlight beam

d Let. "Is

out it," s

tions they took, along with an uncannily vivid description of the scenery that had made him shiver as though he had been in the leaky, rotten-walled shacks. "

t. They brought him, and the one with the limp, back that morning in the rain and d

t the one who did make it?

fferently than he expected. "Let, in a little while, you may be going on quite an adventure, and you may want to

of advent

n to you? What would you do if you were king and those prisoners were under your rule,

m to know the answer on a question of government just because he had been born into it. "I suppose I'd have to consult the council, and see what Chargill said. It wou

d the Duchess quietly. "Just rem

third man, the o

ame back

adventures. What happened to

ed. The black-haired one got completely turned around, and wandered in the wrong direction until he had gone past the mines, out of the forest, and across the rocky stretch of ground beyond a good five miles. By the ti

ve been dead fro

ad a few miles back. He was tired. The food they'd taken kept him from being hungry. But he was definitely alive. Fi

lence over t

me for a dramatic pause, Let asked

it," Petra said,

Petra, wha

e story. And that's all you need to know. Maybe I'll be a

e, Pet

t's

enture I'm supposed to have, the war? Is t

simple, Let. Let's sa

said

member the story, a

d Let, wonder

the foot, passed into the castle garden, paused to squint at the