"He's an alien. He must die!" The man's tone was arrogant.
Xintel stiffened angrily. "He will not be killed, Komso. He is not a
noru."
Komso's face reddened angrily. "But he is--" he began, and then stopped
abruptly.
"You would take this one, then, into Tana itself?" His voice conveyed
the impression that such a course was unheard of.
The girl nodded, motioning Barry to follow.
"Sacrilege! Offspring of a blasphemer!" Komso shouted.
Xintel did not pause.
Komso motioned and someone in the dark tunnel behind him placed a
loaded crossbow in his hands. He swung the weapon to cover the Earthman.
"Over my dead body shall this alien thing enter Tana," he snarled.
Barry stood motionless and helpless, trying to conceal his fear.
Xintel's voice was coldly defiant. "So be it, then. Over your dead
body, if you insist."
With a movement of feline grace and speed she snatched a tube-weapon
from her belt. She was bluffing. Barry had seen the savages who had
captured her test the weapons and find them unloaded. But Komso had not.
His face grew pale but his slitted eyes glared murder. "You bring your
own death. I tried only to save you from the consequences of your
folly."
He turned and swam into the opening.
Xintel did not allow herself the vestige of a smile. Instead she
grabbed Barry's wrist and pulled him after her into the black hole. In
the darkness she passed him his knife.
The passage was several hundred yards long but the girl guided him
unerringly around its turns. The Earthman's nerves were jangling.