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TAXILA'S CHILDREN<br />
CHAPTER 17<br />
The journey back from the shore of purple sand took a long time. It was as if the sand itself<br />
held his feet and he was required to struggle for each step, before the scene changed to that of<br />
his room and the meditative figure which he had to rejoin. Even that was a psychic struggle,<br />
which spilled into the physical. When he came to his conscious self, he found he was soaked<br />
in sweat and that his breathing was laboured as if he had completed a physical task which had<br />
demanded every ounce of energy.<br />
He reached for a towel and wiped his face. The vision he had experienced was crystal clear<br />
in his mind. He went over each detail. His mental discipline did not allow him to panic in the<br />
way that Steve Holt would have. It was a matter to be dealt with in calm reflection. His -<br />
dream - was very similar to that which Steve had experienced. The essential difference was<br />
that the element of fear was missing. The Steve Holt of his dream had appeared quite ready to<br />
enter the Arch and had not fought or screamed in protest. It had been Danyk who had drawn<br />
back. He had resisted taking the final step into whatever lay beyond the arch. There was<br />
another point, another man had been there and he had not resisted - and that man he had<br />
recognised!<br />
Danyk uncoiled on to his feet. He bathed and changed into a fresh tunic. He made his way<br />
to Steve's room, already knowing that it was unoccupied. Danyk felt a slight amusement.<br />
Steve was like an irrational child, he acted on impulse without considering the consequences.<br />
He had decided to explore the immediate area around the guest rooms. He was quite safe<br />
because he did not have the mind power to open the accesses to other areas. Danyk could<br />
read the intensity of curiosity in his thoughts. He would not return for a while and in that<br />
time, Danyk would once again inspect the two Pentacles. He felt the superstitious fear they<br />
aroused in his blue-eyed Scarn and knew that he had no wish to have them close to his flesh.<br />
He entered Steve's room and saw the two objects on a small table. He took one at random<br />
and looked at the image against the light. It was the one which had been held in trust over the<br />
centuries. The arrogant, beak-featured man glared back at him, his arms and legs stretched<br />
out into four of the five points of the Pentagram. His head occupied the fifth. The eyes were<br />
the focus, they drew the attention like a challenge. Danyk felt challenged and knew that one<br />
day he would face this man in the flesh and something would be demanded from him.<br />
There was no doubt that this was the man whom he had seen in his - dream. He slowly<br />
replaced the Pentacle where he had found it. He looked at the other and had to exert his self<br />
discipline to overcome the irrational fear which surged up from somewhere within him. He<br />
picked it up and repeated his action of holding it against the light. He wondered why he had<br />
not recognised his image earlier. Perhaps he had, but he had refused to accept the possibility<br />
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