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see one Winger, the other eight will be in sight of the first.
    Only Myrmidon Masters and certain special creatures will be seen alone. These are covered in Lesson A42.
    Now, I will repeat the verse….

CHAPTER FIVE

    “So you are. I will come down.”
    The voice, answering Ella, seemed to come from everywhere in the room. It was a deep, obviously adult voice, full of confidence and the echo of a different time. A time before the Change.
    It was followed by the sudden flash of a green laser shining down from the ceiling into the chair behind the desk.
    Tiny dots of light followed the beam down. They were many different colors and fell and swirled like kaleidoscopic snow. As they fell, they joined together like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.
    Then the laser flared still brighter, and Gold-Eye blinked. When he opened his eyes again, the laser beam and the falling motes of light were gone—and there was a man sitting behind the desk.
    A real, fully grown man. Thirty years old at least, or even more—if that was possible. He was smiling, and his teeth were whiter than any Gold-Eye had ever seen, his eyes bluer and more piercing.
    “Welcome back,” he said. “And welcome to you, too, Gold-Eye. I am Shade.”
    “Hello,” said Gold-Eye in an awed whisper. He felt like throwing himself at Shade’s feet, the way they used to do in the Dorms when an Overlord came.
    “I’ll have a talk with you later, Gold-Eye,” Shade continued, fixing him with a clear blue gaze that seemed to hold an equal mixture of distant affection and anger held in check. “But first I will hear Ella’s report.”
    “Yes, sir,” said Ella, standing up at attention. “A team consisting of myself, Drum, and Ninde left the Sub predawn two days ago on a routine patrol. We took the Main Drain and then Northwest Six to the Hospital Exit. Water level throughout was medium, with one nonthreatening surge.
    “At the Hospital there was no creature activity except for Winger patrols. Myrmidon Death Markers indicated that a battle had been fought in the Hospital gardens several days previously, between Red Diamond and Blue Star forces, with victory going to Red Diamond. There was also an unusual battle poem posted in the gardens, dedicated to the Red Diamond Overlord. It was written in English, not Myrmidon Battlespeech. I have a copy.
    “In the late afternoon, increasing Winger patrols suggested that the Death Marker truce period was over and that our presence was suspected. This was confirmed by Ninde, who looked into the minds of an approaching trio that had been sent to find us.
    “We then took West Drain Four into the city. This should be marked as dangerous till there is more rain—it was only just flowing.”
    “Noted,” said Shade, nodding his head but making no move to write in the thick leatherbound book that had appeared on his desk at the same time he had.
    “We exited the drain outside Central Fire Station,” continued Ella. “As it was almost dark, I decided we’d spend the night in one of the hose-drying towers, which we did. There was considerable Ferret activity below, but none tried to climb up even part of the way.
    “At midnight Drum had the watch. He woke me to advise that the lights along Park Avenue had come on and a fog was forming on the bay. Half an hour later the fog spread inland, the main mass seeming to be directed up Park Avenue. However, there were no visible Claim Fires out, so we presumed that the fog was being prepared early for a battle in several days’ time.”
    “Correct,” interrupted Shade. “I have a report that the fog was thickened and then moved farther west for a battle between Black Banner and Emerald Crown over the Williams River Raceway. They’re probably fighting now.”
    “Since the fog was still there the next morning without battle preparations.” Ella continued, “we decided to move aboveground and check out the railway yards between Central and Redtree. At the embankment on