pened it, and heard behind
him the sound of men hammering at the door. He fired through the door
twice to give them something to think about; then he climbed out through
the window.

* * * * *

The rooftops of Tetrahyde, Barrent saw at once, looked like a perfect
place for a Hunted; therefore they were the last place a Hunted should
be. The maze of closely connected roofs, chimneys, and spires seemed
made to order for a chase; but men were already on the roofs. They
shouted when they saw him.

Barrent broke into a sprint. Hunters were behind him, and others were
closing in from the sides. He leaped a five-foot gap between buildings,
managed to hold his balance on a steeply pitched roof, and scrambled
around the side.

Panic gave him speed. He was leaving the Hunters behind. If he could
keep up the pace for another ten minutes, he would have a substantial
lead. He might be able to leave the roofs and find a better place for
concealment.

Another five-foot gap between buildings came up. Barrent leaped it
without hesitation.

He landed well. But his right foot went completely through rotted
shingles, burying itself to the hip. He braced himself and pulled,
trying to extricate his leg, but he couldn't get a purchase on the
steep, crumbling roof.

"There he is!"

Barrent wrenched at the shingles with both hands. The Hunters were
almost within needlebeam distance. By the time he got his leg out, he
would be an easy target.

He had ripped a three-foot hole in the roof by the time the Hunters
appeared on the next building. Barrent pulled his leg free; then, seeing
no alternative, he jumped into the hole.

For a second he was in the air; then he landed feet-first on a table
which collapsed under him, spilling him to the floor. He got up and saw
that he was in a Hadji-class living room. An old woman sat in a rocking
chair less than three feet away. Her jaw was slack with terror; she kept
on rocking automatically.

Barrent heard the Hunters crossing to the roof. He went through the
kitchen and out the back door, under a tangle of clotheslines and
through a small hedge. Someone fired at him from a second-story window.
Looking up, he saw a young boy trying to aim a heavy heat beamer. His
father had probably forbidden him to hunt in the streets.

Barrent turned into a street, and sprinted until he reached an alley. It
looked familiar. He realized that he was in the Mutant Quarter, not f