Talk of heat⁠—or better not⁠—on Xecho. This waterlogged world combined all the most unattractive features of a steam bath and one could only dream of coolness, greenness⁠—more land than a stingy strin...

Lightning played along the black ridges above them, and below was a sheer drop to a river which was only a silver thread. Under their boots, man-made and yet dominating the wildness of jungle and moun...

“You are truly a man of power!” Tau shook his head in answer to that outburst from Asaki. “Not so, sir. Your Lumbrilo is a man of power. I drew upon his power and you saw the results.” “Deny it not! W...

Dane regarded his throbbing feet morosely. Nymani’s operations with burning splinters had been hard to take, but he had endured them without disgracing himself before the Khatkans, who appeared to reg...

Sitting up, Dane stared wide-eyed into the dark. A handful of glowing coals, guarded by rocks, was the center of their camp. He hunched up to that hardly knowing why he moved. His hands were shaking, ...

They withdrew to a spot hacked from the edge of the jungle, leaving a screen of green between them and the traitorous up-slope. But within the few hours of daylight left them, it was proven that Asaki...

Darkness closed in while they waited for Nymani’s return. There had been no further attack from the blaster wielder; perhaps he was only trying to pin them down where they were. Out over the swamp, we...

Vaguely aware that the clamor at the other end of the camp had died away, Dane muted the sound of his drum. Over its round top he could watch the Khatkan outlaws; their heads bobbed and swayed in time...