uickly as they could from level to level, crouching momentarily at each
beneath the cover of the steps. He raised one of the disintegrators,
feeling the rage building up within him.

There was a humming sound by his ear; the beam of one of the stunners
passed by him, touching the rock wall. The wall vibrated at the touch,
but the range was too great for the beam to have done it any damage.
They were close enough, though to stun Rynason if they hit him.

He dropped flat, looking for the man who had fired. In a moment he found
him: a small, lean man slipped almost silently over the edge of one of
the step-levels and rolled quickly to cover beneath the next. He had got
further than Rynason had realized; only three levels separated them now.
He could see, from this distance in the near-dark, the cruel lines of
the man's face. It was a harsh, dirty face, with wrinkles like seams;
the man's eyes were harsh slits. Rynason had seen too many faces like
that here on the Edge; this was a man with a bitter hatred, looking for
the chance to unleash it upon anyone who got in his way. And the
enjoyment which Rynason saw gleaming in the man's eyes chilled him
momentarily.

In that moment the man leaped to the next level, sending off a beam
which struck the wall two feet from Rynason; he felt the stinging
vibration against his body as he lay flat. Slowly he sighted the
disintegrator at the top of the level under which the man had crouched
for cover, and waited for his next leap. Within him he felt only a
bitter cold which matched the wind whipping above him.

Again the man moved--but he had crept to the side of the stairs before
he leaped, and Rynason's shot bit into the stone beside him as he rolled
to safety. Now only one level separated them.

Further down the stairs, Rynason saw the others moving up behind the
smaller man. Still more were moving out from the other buildings and
darting to the stairs. But he had no time to hold them back.

There was silence, except for the wind.

And the man leaped, firing once, twice. The second beam took Rynason in
the left wrist and spun him off-balance for a moment. But he was already
firing in return, rolling to one side. His third shot took the man's
right shoulder off, and bit into his neck. The man staggered forward two
steps, trying to raise his stunner again, but suddenly it clattered to
the floor and he crumpled on top of it. A pool of blood spread around
him.

Rynason moved back