."

She darted to my side, where I sat still bewildered by the eerie yet
utterly delightful experience with the witchery of a Zoorph, pressed
burning lips to my own, caressed my cheek with her fingertips, gave my
hand a quite American squeeze. Then I watched her slender legs swing up
and out of sight as she went up her improvised ladder hand over hand.
She was athletic as a dancer.

"Whew," I said, passing my hand over my heated face, and grinning at the
Prince.

"Yes, whew! If it had not been for me you would have become her
property, for they are very accomplished in making people do what they
want."

"Hypnotism, developed beyond anything I ever heard of! It must be
hereditary, such power!" I mused aloud. Genner answered as if I spoke to
him.

"The word hypnotism I know not, I guess you mean what we call Zoorph. It
is a cult, teaching the art of enslaving others to your will. But she is
a good girl, and her Zoorph qualities are not evil. For your own sake,
remember always to hold yourself in check, or she will automatically
become your mistress. A man does not like to be a slave even to so
charming a mistress."

I did not say anything. I saw nothing wrong with the idea just then.

"Were you there behind the panel while your sister and I talked?" I
asked.

"Of course. To make sure nothing went amiss. If some curious Jivro had
come to the door, she would have joined me in the passage."

The Prince sat down across from me on a low stool.

"I will lead this group she will send to bring the Croen. You will
naturally accompany us, as I am to keep an eye on you. Wananda will give
you the fluid to inject into her veins. You must not be seen making the
injection. Somewhere along the way she will revive. She is an extremely
strong creature, and will immediately make her escape. I will order none
to shoot at her with vibro guns, as we do not wish her harmed. We will
hurry back to get ships to pursue and capture her. But we will be unable
to capture her.

"If you can manage to keep up with her in her flight, do so. You should
be able to outrun a Jivro; they are not very fast. But whether you can
keep up with the Croen, that I doubt. However, make the attempt, and
when you are alone with her, explain why we want her to escape, who her
friends are. If you do not do that, she may elect to make her way
through the wilderness, which would be fatal for her. Knowing she has
allies among us, she will find a way to attack