us of the
churlishness of the gesture, let the stranger take it in his and look at
the fingers. The man said, "It does not seem serious. I was sure it was
something more than that." He raised grave eyes. "You don't even
remember my name, do you, Dr. Allison?"

"You know who I am?"

"Dr. Forth didn't tell me. But we Hasturs are partly telepathic,
Jason--forgive me--Doctor Allison. I have known from the first that you
were possessed by a god or daemon."

"Superstitious rubbish," Jay snapped. "Typical of a Darkovan!"

"It is a convenient manner of speaking, no more," said the young Hastur,
overlooking the rudeness. "I suppose I could learn your terminology, if
I considered it worth the effort. I have had psi training, and I can
tell the difference when half of a man's soul has driven out the other
half. Perhaps I can restore you to yourself--"

"If you think I'd have some Darkovan freak meddling with my mind--" Jay
began hotly, then stopped. Under Regis' grave eyes, he felt a surge of
unfamiliar humility. This crew of men needed their leader, and obviously
he, Jay Allison, wasn't the leader they needed. He covered his eyes with
one hand.

Regis bent and put a hand on his shoulder, compassionately, but Jay
twitched it off, and his voice, when he found it, was bitter and
defensive and cold.

"All right. The work's the thing. I can't do it, Jason can. You're a
parapsych. If you can switch me off--go right ahead!"

* * * * *

I stared at Regis, passing a hand across my forehead. "What happened?" I
demanded, and in even swifter apprehension, "Where's Kyla? She was
hurt--"

"Kyla's all right," Regis said, but I got up quickly to make sure. Kyla
was outside, lying quite comfortably on a roll of blankets. She was
propped on her elbow drinking something hot, and there was a good smell
of hot food in the air. I stared at Regis and demanded, "I didn't conk
out, did I, from a little scratch like this?" I looked carelessly at my
gashed hand.

"Wait--" Regis held me back, "don't go out just yet. Do you remember
what happened, Doctor Allison?"

I stared in growing horror, my worst fear confirmed. Regis said quietly,
"You--changed. Probably from the shock of seeing--" he stopped in
mid-sentence, and I said, "The last thing I remember is seeing that Kyla
was bleeding, when we got her clothes off. But--good Gods, a little
blood wouldn't scare _me_, and Jay Allison's a surgeon, would it bring
h