ght, and--

The Virgin smiled. "The doctor said you were coming around. I brought
you something to drink."

Reality returned to Hyrst with a rush. "You're Christina," he said, and
tried to sit up. He was dizzy, and she helped him, and he said, "I guess
it did fall short."

"What?"

"The grenade. The last thing I remember is Shearing--Wait. Where is
Shearing?"

"Sitting up in the lounge, nursing his bruises. Yes, it fell short, but
I don't think telekinetics had much to do with that. We've never been
able to control matter convincingly. There. All right?"

"Fine. How did you get us out?"

"Of course the grenade had made the entrance impassible--we had to cut
our way in through the outer wall. We had a clear field. Bellaver's men
had all gone back to their ships. They thought you were dead, and to
tell you the truth we thought you must be, too. But you didn't quite
'feel' dead, so we dug you out."

"Thanks," said Hyrst. "I suppose they know different now."

He was in a ship's sick-bay. From the erratic crash and shudder of the
lateral jets, they were beating their way through the Belt, and at a
high rate of speed. Hyrst sent a glance back into space. The tugs and
Bellaver's yacht were following, but this time only the yacht had a
chance. The tugs were dropping hopelessly behind.

"Yes, they soon found out once we got you out, but with any luck we'll
lose them," said Christina. She sat down beside the bunk, where she
could see his face. "Shearing told you about the ship."

"The starship. Yes." He looked at her. Suddenly he laughed. "You're not
a goddess at all."

"Who said I was?"

"Shearing. Or anyway, his mind. Ten feet tall, and crowned with stars--I
was afraid of you." He leaned closer. "Your eyes, though. They are
angry."

"So will yours be," she said, "when you've fought the Bellavers as long
as we have."

"There are still things I don't understand. Why you built the ship, why
you've kept it secret from everyone, not just Bellaver, what you plan to
do with it--how _you_ came to be one of the Brotherhood."

She smiled. "The Seitz method was originated to save wreck-victims
frozen in deep space. Remember? Quite a few of us never went through the
door at all, innocent or guilty. But that makes no difference, once
you've come back from out there." She put her hand on his. "You've
learned fast, but you're only on the threshold. There's no need for
words with us. Open your mind--"

* *