ies of
two men huddled against a wall and covered with frost. They had stopped
running and had frozen to death.

Barrent forced himself to run again. A stitch in his side felt like a
knife wound, and the cold was creeping up his arms and down his legs.
Soon the cold would reach his chest, and that would be the end.

A flurry of hailstones stunned him. Without conscious transition he
found that he was lying on the icy ground, and a monstrous wind was
whirling away the tiny warmth his body was able to generate.

At the far end of the block he could see the tiny red light of the
Coven. He crept toward it on hands and knees, moving mechanically, not
really expecting to get there. He crawled forever, and the beckoning red
light always remained the same distance from him.

But he kept on crawling, and at last he reached the door of the Coven.
He pulled himself to his feet and turned the doorknob.

The door was locked.

He pounded feebly on the door. After a moment, a panel slid back. He saw
a man staring at him; then the panel slid shut. He waited for the door
to open. It didn't open. Minutes passed, and still it didn't open. What
were they waiting for inside? What was wrong? Barrent tried to pound on
the door again, lost his balance and fell to the ground. He rolled over
and looked despairingly at the locked door. Then he lost consciousness.

* * * * *

When he came to, Barrent found himself lying on a couch. Two men were
massaging his arms and legs, and beneath him he could feel the warmth of
heating pads. Peering anxiously at him was the broad, swarthy face of
Uncle Ingemar.

"Feeling better now?" Uncle Ingemar asked.

"I think so," Barrent said. "Why did you take so long opening the door?"

"We almost didn't open it at all," the priest told him. "It's against
the law to aid strangers in distress. Since you hadn't as yet joined the
Coven, you were technically still a stranger."

"Then why did you let me in?"

"My assistant noticed that we had an even number of worshipers. We
require an odd number, preferably ending in three. Where the sacred and
the profane laws are in conflict, the profane must yield. So we let you
in despite the government ruling."

"It's a ridiculous ruling," Barrent said.

"Not really. Like most of the laws of Omega, it is designed to keep the
population down. Omega is an extremely barren planet, you know. The
constant arrival of new prisoners keeps swel