Chapter 24 Chapter fifteen

"Colonel," Height Masteen said, "force field... whatever that suit is... after you met the Ousters, this... woman, did you keep that suit?" Kassad stared at the saint for a moment, then shook his head. The Consul stared at his glass, and suddenly thought of something, and his head jerked up. "Colonel, you said you saw the Shrike's Killing Tree...the thing piercing the trees of its victims." Kassad looked at the saint first, then at the consul, and nodded slowly. "Is there someone in the tree?" Nodding again. The Consul wiped the sweat from his lower lip. "If this tree, like the Tomb of Time, moves against the flow of time, then these victims are our future."

Kassad was silent.Now, the others were staring at the Consul too, but only Winterboro seemed to understand what the words meant...and what questions the Consul was going to ask next. The consul resisted the urge in his heart and didn't wipe the sweat from his mouth again.His voice was calm. "Did you see any of us there?" Kassad remained silent.More than a minute passed.The muffled sounds of the river and the rigging of the pleasure boats seemed suddenly to be very loud. Finally, Kassad took a deep breath and said, "I see." Silence spread again.Braun Lamia broke the silence. "Can you tell us who you saw?"

"No." Kassad stood up and walked to the stairs, intending to go below the deck. "Wait," called Father Hoyt. Kassad paused at the top of the stairs. "Can you tell us at least two other things?" "What's up?" Another wave of pain twisted across Father Hoyt's face.His haggard face became extremely pale and covered with sweat.He took a deep breath, and then asked: "First, do you feel that the Shrike...this woman...is trying to use you to start this terrible interstellar war? And you have already anticipated this war." "Yes." Kassad said softly.

"Second, can you tell us, if you end up making a pilgrimage to see the Shrike...or this Moneta, what request do you plan to make of them?" Kassad finally smiled.It was a sad smile, full of cruelty. "I don't ask for anything," Kassad said. "I don't want anything from them. If I could see them this time, I would kill them." The rest of the pilgrims didn't say a word, and without looking at each other, Kassad walked on. The "Benares" continued to advance due north-east, and the noon time slowly passed, and the afternoon came.