She sensed another bat-wing flutter of communication between the motionless figures. The woman slowly nodded her head but there was a hint of distress in her eye. Without knowing why, Jeyan stepped closer towards her. Scarcely moving her mouth, the woman whispered very softly, ‘But commit no rashness, Jeyan Dyalith; we are theirs, not yours. We are without choice.’ The exposure of this touch of humanity seemed to cause her great pain and, for some reason she could not have explained, the mention of her own name shook Jeyan like a blow. She had difficulty in keeping her emotions from her face as she moved away.
What binds these creatures? she thought. Wringing out the message had cost the woman in some way, and it told Jeyan that she must be more careful here than she ever was in the Enner
