d abandon, her body moving like ripples of wind to the music
which filled the room with its throbbing cry. Her beauty was exquisite,
every motion, every flowing turn a symphony of flawless perfection as
she danced to the wild music.

"Lord Nehmon!"

The dancer threw back her head sharply, eyes wide, her body frozen in
mid-air, and then, abruptly, she was gone, leaving only the barest
flickering image of her fiery hair. The music slowed, singing softly,
and Ravdin could see the old man waiting in the room. Nehmon rose, his
gaunt face and graying hair belying the youthful movement of his body.
Smiling, he came forward, clapped Ravdin on the shoulder, and took his
hand warmly. "You're too late for the concert--it's a shame. Mischana is
the master tonight, and the whole city is there."

Ravdin's throat tightened as he tried to smile. "I had to let you know,"
he said. "_They're coming_, Nehmon! I saw them, hours ago."

The last overtones of the music broke abruptly, like a glass shattered
on stone. The room was deathly still. Lord Nehmon searched the young
man's face. Then he turned away, not quite concealing the sadness and
pain in his eyes. "You're certain? You couldn't be mistaken?"

"No chance. I found signs of their passing in a dozen places. Then I
saw _them_, their whole fleet. There were hundreds. They're coming, I
saw them."

"Did they see you?" Nehmon's voice was sharp.

"No, no. The Warp is a wonderful thing. With it I could come and go in
the twinkling of an eye. But I could see them in the twinkling of an
eye."

"And it couldn't have been anyone else?"

"Could anyone else build ships like the Hunters?"

Nehmon sighed wearily. "No one that we know." He glanced up at the young
man. "Sit down, son, sit down. I--I'll just have to rearrange my
thinking a little. Where were they? How far?"

"Seven light years," Ravdin said. "Can you imagine it? Just seven, and
moving straight this way. _They know where we are_, and they are coming
quickly." His eyes filled with fear. "They _couldn't_ have found us so
soon, unless they too have discovered the Warp and how to use it to
travel."

The older man's breath cut off sharply, and there was real alarm in his
eyes. "You're right," he said softly. "Six months ago it was eight
hundred light years away, in an area completely remote from us. Now just
_seven_. In six months they have come so close."

The scout looked up at Nehmon in desperation. "But what can we do? We