they instinctively shrank
away. He continued to fire, bringing down three more of them while the
confusion lasted. He broke through to Mara, who was already on her feet;
without breaking his stride he grasped her by her good shoulder and
pulled her along with him as he ran through.

But some of the Hirlaji recovered in time to block their escape. Rynason
wheeled, looking frantically around the room for an unguarded exit. None
of those within reach were clear. He fired again, and ran for the altar.

One of the Hirlaji had raised a disintegrator; Rynason caught him with
the stunner as he fired, and the beam of the alien's weapon shot past
his leg, digging a pit into the floor beyond him. Other weapons were
raised now; they had only seconds left.

But they had reached the altar; the two Hirlaji there moved to block
them, but they were unarmed and Rynason dropped them with the stunner.
He pushed Mara past them and around to the side of the altar, seeking
cover from the disintegrators.

Behind the altar, there was a space just large enough for them to
squeeze through. Rynason's heart leaped; he pointed quickly to it and
turned to fire again as Mara pushed her way into the narrow aperture. A
disintegrator beam hissed over his head; another tore into the wall two
feet away from him. The Hirlaji were trying to keep their fire away from
the altar itself.

Rynason turned and squeezed behind the altar as soon as Mara was clear.
It was tight, but he made it, and once through the narrow opening they
found more room in the darkness. They could hear noise outside as the
Hirlaji moved toward the altar, but it sounded far away and dim. Mara
moved back into the darkness, and he followed.

They moved perhaps twenty feet into the wall behind the altar before
they were brought to a halt. The passage ended. Well, no matter; if it
was not an escape route, at least it would afford cover from the weapons
of the Hirlaji. Rynason dropped to the floor and rested.

Mara sat beside him. "Lee, you shouldn't have tried it," she said
anxiously. "Now we're trapped." He felt her hand touch his face in the
darkness.

"Maybe," he said. "But we may be able to catch them off their guard
again, and if so we may be able to get out."

She was silent. He felt her lean against his shoulder wearily, her hair
soft against his neck. Then he remembered that she had been hurt.

"What happened to your arm? And you were bleeding."

"I think it's broken. Th