th. She struggled violently, but the men were too
strong for her.

The man in doctor's robes shoved the iron lung aside violently and
reached into his clothing. From it, he drew a strange, double-bladed
knife. He swung toward Dave, raising the knife into striking position
and aiming it at Dave's heart.

"The Egg breaks," he intoned hollowly. It was a cultured voice, and
there was a refinement to his face that registered on Dave's mind even
over the horror of the weapon. "The fools cannot hold the shell. But
neither shall they delay its breaking. Dead you were, mandrake son, and
dead you shall be again. But since the fault is only theirs, may no ill
dreams follow you beyond Lethe!"

The knife started down, just as Nema managed to break free. She shrieked
out a phrase of keening command. The salamander suddenly broke from
Dave's chest, glowing brighter as it rose toward the face of the
attacker. It was like a bit from the center of a star. The man jumped
back, beginning a frantic ritual. He was too late. The salamander hit
him, sank into him and shone through him. Then he slumped, steamed ...
and was nothing but dust falling toward the carpet. The salamander
turned, heading toward the others. But it was to Nema it went, rather
than the two men. She was trying something desperately, but fear was
thick on her face, and her hands were unsure.

Abruptly, Sather Karf was in the doorway. His hand lifted, his fingers
dancing. Words hissed from his lips in a stream of sibilants too quick
for Dave to catch. The salamander paused and began to shrink doubtfully.
Sather Karf turned, and again his hands writhed in the air. One hand
darted back and forward, as if he were throwing something. Again he made
the gesture. With each throw, one of the false orderlies dropped to the
floor, clutching at a neck where the skin showed marks of constriction
as if a steel cord were tightening. They died slowly, their eyes bulging
and faces turning blue. Now the salamander moved toward them, directed
apparently by slight motions from Sather Karf. In a few moments, there
was no sign of them.

The old man sighed, his face slumping into lines of fatigue and age. He
caught his breath. He held out a hand to the salamander, petted it to a
gentle glow and put it back over Dave's chest.

"Good work, Nema," he said wearily. "You're too weak to control the
salamander, but this was done well in the emergency. I saw them in the
pool, but I was almost too