t scorched blotches
covering the naked man's chest. The man himself appeared to be in a
comatose state, although from time to time he groaned and stirred
feverishly under the attempts to soothe his suffering.

There was another man in the room--a man of such appearance that he
dominated it through his physical dimensions alone. In height he was a
full seven inches beyond six feet, yet built proportionately so that he
did not seem that tall. His wide shoulders seemed to fill the room, his
body sloping to narrow hips and long powerful legs. His face was almost
startlingly handsome, with a fierce regal cast to its large, sharp-lined
features. Chill black eyes of exceptional brilliance burned from beneath
heavy black brows that matched the thick, slightly curling growth above
a high rounded forehead. It was the face of a man of strength and
intelligence, a man ruthless and proud and yet who could be given to
quixotic acts of kindness, a man dictatorial but usually just, a man
incapable of brooking interference.

He was pacing the room now with quick restless strides, badly restrained
anger riding his expression. Once a quick turn caused him to brush
against one of four stools grouped about a wooden table set on four
crossed timbers, and he kicked the stool viciously aside causing it to
shatter against the wall.

At the sound of splintering wood the man on the bed cried out in such
utter fear that his two attendants fell back. He did not appear fully
conscious however and they resumed their attempts to ease his pain.

That cry of fear had altered the pacing of the tall man momentarily and
he turned his burning eyes on the men at the bedside. "Is he awake?" he
asked sharply, his deep voice beating against the walls like surf
against a rocky shore.

One of the attendants shook his head nervously. "Not yet, Most-High. But
soon now, I think. He is old and weak and the burns are grievous."

"Time is short and he must not die--yet."

"Yes, noble Jaltor."

Again there was silence within the room, broken only by the mutterings
of the half-conscious man and the heavy tread of feet as Jaltor resumed
his pacing....

A brief knock at the room's only door brought Jaltor around sharply.
"Enter!" he thundered.

The door opened and four guards came in. With them was a trim figured
man a few years short of middle-age, his strong regular features
impassive. As his escort halted he continued on into the room, pausing
only when he