t of his
guilt; he will be executed."

"But she betrayed the Order!" the Sanctioner chief objected. "For
that, if nothing else, she deserves to die. Entos was acting
properly."

"Not under Imperial law," Medart said. "The sentence stands. And I
advise you not to get more deeply involved. Just carry out your
peace-keeping functions."

"But--"

"No buts," Medart said coldly. "Losinj lives, Entos dies. If you
interfere further, I will have to assume you are part of this Crusade,
and take appropriate measures. Is that understood?"

The chief's ears twitched. "Yes, Ranger."

"Good. You may leave."

Corina watched the subdued Sanctioner chief do so, then she turned back
to the Ranger, intrigued. His sudden change of manner had caught her
by surprise, and it might have been frightening--except that he had
defended her, even as he condemned Entos to death. Knowing what he was
and seeing him in action were very different things. There was
something decidedly attractive about this human, more than just his
appearance--a something she was beginning to appreciate.

"I must ask asylum," she said quietly. "If I leave the Palace . . .
urrr. You know what will happen. Most in the Order will feel as he
does."

"But you say you're not a member of the Order," Dawson objected. "If
you're not oath-bound, how can you betray them?"

"They do not see it that way," Corina said. "They expect anyone with
Talent to feel bound to the Order even before formal initiation. It
is--or was--inconceivable that anyone with any useful degree of Talent
would refuse to join the Order. It is natural that they would see my
opposition as betrayal. I would probably feel the same way myself if I
had spent my childhood being indoctrinated in Order schools."

"That's all very interesting," Medart interrupted, "but not right now.
Ms. Losinj, there's no asylum involved; I've said I need your help, so
you'll be coming aboard the Emperor Chang with me."

"I have no desire to be killed, and you certainly need to know about
Talent. I will give you what help I can."

Medart was careful to hide his amusement at that response; she'd made
her choice already. But he couldn't help feeling a little regret at
tearing her away from her home world, even though it meant saving her
life; home meant a lot to most people, and losing it usually meant a
serious blow. But at this point neither of them had much choice left.
"Shall we leave, then?