said. "Get the hell up from there! And you too,
buster!"

Forrester jerked his head up in astonishment and froze. Kathy looked up,
fright written all over her face.

The man standing over them in the darkness looked like a prize-fighter,
one who had taken a number of beatings, but always given better than he
had received. His arms were akimbo, his feet planted as firmly as if he
were a particularly stubborn brand of tree. He glared down at them, his
face expressive of anger, hatred--and, Forrester thought dully, a
complete lack of respect for his God.

The man barked: "You heard what I said! On your feet, buster! If I have
to kick your teeth in, I want to do it when you're standing up!"

Forrester's jaw dropped. Then, as the initial shock left him, anger
boiled in to take its place. He toyed with the idea of blasting this
mortal who showed such disrespect to a God. He sprang to his feet,
ready to move, and then stopped.

Maybe the man was crazy. Maybe he was just some poor soul who wasn't
responsible for his own actions. It would be merciful, Forrester
thought, to find out first, and blast the intruder afterward.

He looked around. Twenty yards away, the encircling Myrmidons still
stood, their backs to the scene, as if nothing at all were going on.

Forrester blinked. "How'd you get in here, anyway?"

The man barked a laugh. "None of your business." He turned to Kathy, who
had devoted the previous few seconds to getting her _chiton_ on again.
Hurriedly, Forrester wished back his own costume. Kathy got up, staring
straight back at the intruder. Fear was gone from her face, and a kind
of calmness that Forrester had never seen before possessed her now.

"So!" the intruder bellowed. "The minute my back is turned, off you go!
By the Stars and Galaxy, I--I don't know what to call you! You're worse
than your predecessor! Can't turn anything down! You--"

"Now wait!" Forrester bellowed in his most Godlike voice. "Just hold
still there! Do you know who you're talking to? How dare you--"

And Kathy interrupted him. Forrester stood mute as she stripped the
stranger with a voice like scalding acid. "Listen, you," she said,
pointing a finger at the man. "Who do you think you are--my husband?"

"By the Stars--" the stranger began.

"Don't bother trying to scare me with your big mouth," Kathy went on
imperturbably. "You don't mean a thing to me and you can't order me
around. What's more, you know it. You're not my husban