The Quest

Ha

'Those men are skilled cutlers. They will resharpen each scalpel as soon as its edge becomes dull. You will be grateful to them before the day is done.' She turned to her assistants. 'If all is in readiness we can proceed.'

The two male nurses swabbed Taita's lower body with a pungent smelling liquid. At the same time the surgeons washed their hands and forearms in a bowl of the same fluid. Dr Rei came to Taita's side. The markings she had made the previous day had faded until they were barely visible. Now she renewed them, then stood back to make way for Ha

'I am about to make the first incision. Lord Taita, will you please compose yourself to resist the pain?' she said.

Taita grasped the Periapt of Lostris, which lay upon his naked chest.

He filled his mind with a soft mist, and let the circle of their faces above him recede until they were vague outlines.

Ha

'I am. You may begin.' He felt a tugging sensation as she made the

first incision, and as she went deeper he felt the first pain, but it was not unbearable. He let himself drop a level until he was just aware of her touch and the bite of her scalpel. He could hear their voices. Time passed. Once or twice the pain flared brightly as Ha

'Very well,' said Ha

'Yes,' Taita whispered, his voice echoing in his ears.

'Everything is going even better than I had hoped. I am placing the tube now.'

Taita felt it being worked into him, a mildly uncomfortable sensation that he did not need to suppress.

Already fresh urine is flowing from your bladder,' said Ha

There followed a long silence. Taita let himself drift deeper until he was only just conscious of his surroundings. The silence continued, but he felt no sense of alarm or urgency. Then, gradually, he became aware of an alien presence in the room. He heard a voice that he knew was Ha

Taita brought himself to the level of bearable pain. He opened his eyes to slits so that he was looking through the screen of his own eyelashes. He saw Ha

He realized, for the first time, that a strange figure stood against the far wall. It had appeared without a sound, a tall but statuesque shape, veiled from head to floor in filmy black silk. The only movement was a light undulation as the person's chest rose and fell with each breath. The bosom beneath the veil was proudly feminine, perfect in size and shape.

Taita was possessed by an overpowering sense of awe and fear. He opened his I

He was certain that it was Eos, not one of her shadowy manifestations but Eos, with whom he had come to do battle.

He wanted to sit up and challenge her, but as soon as he tried to rise from his trance to full consciousness the pain soared and drove him back.

He wanted to speak, but no words rose to his tongue. He could only stare at her. Then he felt the softest touch on his temples, like that of teasing fairy fingers. He knew it was not Ha

At that moment Ha

If he turned away his eyes the attraction, although powerful, could be denied. He lay staring quietly at the ceiling, and allowed the pain to rise to the pitch at which it acted as a counter to the animal craving she aroused in him. Ha

Dr Rei took Ha

Gently the two male nurses lifted Taita down from the stone table and laid him on a light litter. Ha

At last she knelt on the floor beside him. 'One of the nurses will remain at your side night and day. They will send for me the moment they detect any adverse change in your condition. If there is anything you need you have only to let them know. I will call upon you morning and evening to change the dressings on your wound and to observe your progress,' she told him. 'I do not have to warn you of what lies ahead.

You were present during the grafting of the seedings into the eye socket of your protege. You will remember the pain and discomfort he endured.

You know, too, of the usual sequence of events - three days relatively free of pain, six days of agony, and relief on the tenth. However, because your wound is so much larger than that of Colonel Cambyses, your pain will be more intense. You will need all your skills to keep it under control.'

Once again Ha