"Why haven't you told anyone else about this?"

"I told Delek. He's sending for backup support from the frontier provinces, but it will be a long time coining. I'm not sure we have that much time. He and I decided I'd better start the search for the ship now and let the others catch up with me."

"You could ask for help from my people," she pointed out stubbornly.

"Sariana," he said as patiently as he could, "the other social classes must never know that such a thing as controlling the weapons is even theoretically possible for a Shield."

"Why not?"

"Use your head! My people are a very small minority among yours. We're tolerated because we have a history of having helped the colonists and because we're useful as mercenaries and bandit hunters. We are also tolerated because we've always abided by the terms of the Pact. People trust us."

"In other words, you have been tolerated because you are seen as loyal warriors, not a potential

threat," she concluded.

"What do you think would happen if it became known that a Shield might be able to use the power of the crystal ships to control everyone on this planet?"

Sariana took a long time mulling that one over. "I see your point," she admitted finally. "You walk a narrow line, don't you, Gryph? You must keep people in awe of you if you are to maintain your secrets, yet you can't risk having the populace learn to fear you. If people knew how dangerous your kind could be, they might decide they would be safer without you around."

"The system has worked reasonably well since the First Generation. The last thing any Shield wants is war between our class and the other classes."

She nodded. "So now you have to hunt down this rogue Shield before he activates the crystal ship weapons you believe he's found."

"Or before some outsider discovers there is such a thing as a rogue Shield." "You think the ship is somewhere in this gorge?" Sariana asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck and took a couple of steps closer to her. She was being a little too businesslike about this whole thing, he decided. He couldn't tell exactly how she was reacting behind that thoughtful facade. If she was experiencing any strong emotions she was rapidly learning how to conceal mem from him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and prove to himself that she still wanted him in spite of everything he had just told her, but he had a hunch this wasn't the time.

"According to the records, the last weapon ships discovered were found around here. The Shields thought they had cleaned out the area but it's difficult to sack prisma in this kind of country. Certain kinds of rock can get in the way of a Shield's ability to focus on the light radiation prisma produces. Today I start hunting."

"You've tracked weapon ships before?"

"No," he admitted. "Not real ones. I told you, the last ship was found before I was born. But I've been trained to work prisma."

"How'do you do it?" she asked curiously.

He smiled wryly. "It's a little like the first link with a Shieldmate. Except that there's no passion involved. I use the lock on my weapon kit and sort of, well, tune myself, I guess you would say." "I see. You had better get busy then, hadn't you?"

He narrowed his eyes and wondered again what the hell she was thinking. "Sariana?"

"Yes?" She turned toward him expectantly.

"Never mind. You're right. I'd better get busy."

He spent the afternoon seeking prisma as they cruised slowly through the awesome gorge. One hand on his lock, his mind concentrated to the point of pain, Gryph focused on the unique kind of disturbance a ship full of prisma weapons created. It wasn't easy finding one of the small crystal ships, he had been told by experts from his father's generation. It took time and patience. The problem was he didn't have a lot of either.

"Maybe your weapon kit lock isn't strong enough to do the job under the kind of conditions you're encountering in this gorge," Sariana suggested that evening as they finished setting up camp.

"Maybe." Gryph sat gazing into the fire and wondered what he was going to do if he couldn't locate the weapon ship. "I wish I knew how much time I've got to track it. Whoever took that cutter could be getting into the ship right now. I should have brought Delek with me instead of sending him for help."

"Why?"

"Because two Shields could cover more territory than one working alone." Sariana stroked the scarlet-toe curled in her lap. She was eyeing his weapon kit. "Something about

that kit of yours has interested me from the beginning."

His mouth tilted. "I remember the night you took it off me. It fascinated you."

"I couldn't help myself. I wanted to examine it more closely. Unfortunately, you woke up before I could look inside."

"You wouldn't have been able to open it at that point. You had to be tuned to it by me. That's what happened the night we went to bed together the first time. The next morning you were able to open it and prove you were my - " he broke off before he said wife.

"And I haven't wanted to touch it since," she said wryly. "But I find I'm curious about it again tonight."

Gryph watched her closely for a long while. "You want to open the kit?"

She got up and put the lizard on her shoulder. Then she circled the fire and sat down beside him. Gryph slowly unsnapped the kit and handed it to her. He felt an odd tingling sensation when she took it

from him. She put the kit in her lap and examined it intently.

Gryph experienced another wave of the tingling sensation. He shook his head to clear it. Sariana touched the lock, her silvered nails moving lightly over it.

Gryph was suddenly filled with a strange urgency. He was getting odd impressions in his head, the kind of filtered light he saw when he had first learned to work prisma.

Sariana stroked the lock with a lover's touch and Glyph drew a deep breath. He reached for her free hand.

"Think of light," he whispered. "Think of light in all its different colors. Think of a beam of white light broken out into a hundred million rays, each slightly different than the one next to it. Follow the spectrum into the range where the colors have no names. Look at the colors you can't see with your eyes. You can see them with your mind. Do you understand?"

"I don't know. I think so." Her voice shook.

"Now look for the colors in that range that have a certain pulse." Gryph realized he was holding onto Sariana with a savage grip.

Her eyes were closed and she had gone rigid with unnatural tension. Her fingers were frozen on the lock.