"I don't either," Stuart growled, and paused as a movement caught his eye. The muscular Earthman near him was stirring.
He turned slowly. Beyond him the Martian girl swayed her feathery-crested head and lifted supple, slender arms. And the others--all about Stuart they were wakening to motion.
But no life showed in their dull eyes. No understanding. Only a blind, empty withdrawal.
They turned, trooped toward the wall of the pit ... toward an arched opening that was gaping suddenly.
"The Long Orbit," said the voice in Stuart's mind.
"Death. As the Aesir feed. They feed on the life-force of living organisms."
Stuart went slowly after the others. They had crossed the threshold now, and were pacing along a tunnel, lit with cold blue brilliance, that curved very gradually toward the left. Behind him a panel closed.
The cloak swayed like a great bloodstain behind him, moving in a motion not entirely caused by Stuart's movements. He tried again to unfasten it, but the clasp at his throat only drew tighter. And the tingling sensation increased along his spine.
An artificial synapse ... blocking his nerve-ends so that he could not draw upon the Protectors' power....
At his left was an alcove in the tunnel wall. It was filled with coagulated light ... bright with glaring flames ... flame-hot. Within that white curtain stirred swift movement, like the leaping of fires. Above the recess a symbol was embossed in the stone. The sign of Mercury.
"Mercury," said the voice in Stuart's mind. "The Servant of the Sun. The Swift Messenger. Mercury, that drinks the Sun's fires and blazes like a star in the sky's abyss. First in the Long Orbit--Mercury."
The crowd of prisoners, dull-eyed, swayed to and fro, a ripple of excitement rustling through them. Abruptly the Martian girl darted forward--
Stood there, while curdled opalescence veiled her. On her face sheer horror, as--
"The Aesir feed," the voice whispered. "They drink the cup of her life ... to its last dregs."
The captives were moving again. Silently Stuart followed them along the tunnel. Now another recess showed in the wall.
Blue ... blue, this time, as hazy seas of enchantment ... misted with fog, with slow shifting movement within it....
