THOUGH FENWICK AND Ellerbee held their own crystals, Sam had somehow shut them out. They were in faint contact with Baker, but they could not follow the fierce contact that Sam’s mind held with him.
Ellerbee’s face showed worry and a trace of panic. He hesitantly reached out to touch the immobile figure of Sam Atkins, who sat with closed eyes and imperceptible breath. Fenwick sensed disaster. He arrested the motion of Ellerbee’s hand.
“I think you could kill them both,” he whispered. The life force of one man, divided between two—it was not sufficient to cope with unexpected shocks to either, now.
Ellerbee desisted. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. “I don’t know what Sam’s doing—I don’t know how he’s doing it—”
Fenwick looked sharply at Ellerbee. Ellerbee had disco
