name was mentioned, it meant that the White Elder had already been elected and Ashinik's heart shuddered when he realized that it had been done without him.
All five people turned and started looking at Ashinik.
'Rashan's soul is lonely; those that defiled it should follow it,' Dush said; he sat next to Ashinik.
Two small seven-year-old boys entered the room and started walking among the people with two goblets, a white and a black one. Everyone put his hand into one goblet and then into the other one.
Dush also lowered his hand into the white goblet and then into the black one. He had a dry bean in his hand — he was supposed to drop it in one of the goblets — nobody could see in which one. Ashinik didn't have any difficulties, however, guessing that Dush chose the white one.
The boys walked around all six people and then they turned the goblets over onto the table. There was nothing in the black one and there were five beans in the white one. Five out of six people sitting here voted for Ashinik's death. The sixth one abstained.
Ashinik observed himself with a cold curiosity. His mind separated in two halves and both halves were watching the current events independently. One half was Ashinik-Assalah vice-president, the youngest Weian manager, the man who earned ten times more money than all the other people here combined. Another half was Ashinik-zealot who put the Elder's orders above his death. What's the value of one life if there are so many of them? It's better to die with honor and come to your next life into a good family than to die as a coward and be reborn as a spider.
Two men in red hoods picked Ashinik up by his hands, dragged him for several steps and put him on a rug unrolled between two tripods. One of them threw a sturdy rope noose over Ashinik's neck quickly and efficiently. 'No!' Ashinik wanted to cry out as an Earthman would have cried at his place.
'Let me put my hair in place,' Ashinik heard his own voice and his hands rose and removed several hair curls from under the rope.'
One executioner pushed him closer to the altar and the other one started unhurriedly putting the candles' flame out with a wooden board. Ashinik knew that he would be killed when the last candle dies.
Ashinik stood on his knees immobile and watched how darkness was slowly conquering the room. Soon only one flame tongue was left…
'Leave us alone,' a voice spoke suddenly.
The rope on his neck was loosened up. Ashinik heard the chairs and door squeaking quietly. He turned his head slightly and saw that he was left alone with Yadan. He realized that Yadan was now the White Elder by how quickly his order had been obeyed.
'It's not right to kill a man,' Yadan said, 'who can serve our purpose still, however guilty he is. You want to serve our purpose, don't you?'
'I want it with all my heart.'
'Do you agree that you are responsible for Rashan's demise?'
'Yes.'
Ashinik answered automatically. He knew what he would be told to do now. He would be commanded to kill Shavash or his master.
'The demons taught you a lot. Can you return to Terence Bemish?'
'No. Bemish betrayed me.'
'It's not important that Bemish betrayed you,' Yadan noticed sarcastically. 'It's important that Bemish betrayed Rashan. He will answer for that.'
Two days later, when Bemish flew to hunt with Khanadar, he heard that yet another assassination attempt had been made on Shavash's life. This time, it was no longer amateurs. A car packed with serit explosives had been parked in Shavash's car path and it exploded exactly when the cars were next to each other. The assassination attempt had been organized very well; the criminals had clearly studied all of the vice-minister's possible routes and they had maintained constant radio communication. Once it became clear that Shavash would drive by Azure circle, the corresponding order had been given. The car with explosives had been parked literally five minutes before the official drove by.
Shavash was saved by a freaky accident. Just a moment before the explosion, a doll rolled onto the road and an eight-year-old girl rushed out there after it. The driver stepped on the brake sharply trying not to hit the girl and the car spun across the road.
Right then the explosion hit. Since the car faced the blast with its back instead of its side, it was hurled forward for several meters and it hit a glass shop window (while it was already disintegrating) head on. It bounced backwards, jumped and its trunk hit a small electric auto that was quietly hurrying to the Cheese Precinct.
The car leaped quite nimbly on the electric auto with its rear wheels, jumped from its hood onto its roof, froze there for a second, tipped over and banged into the road cover face on.
The driver banged his forehead on the steering wheel and hurt himself quite a bit. Shavash obtained a minor concussion and got the driver's blood all over his excellent suit. The bodyguard had been sitting in the back seat, against the regulations, and he was not so lucky — he sustained a rib fracture and a lacerated spleen.
Having learned about serit explosives, Bemish went cold. This particular explosive had been used often in the earlier stage of the spaceport's construction.
Quite a crowd gathered in the foyer in front of Bemish's office. Bemish walked into his office gesturing to Giles to follow him. The security service director's face acquired a wooden expression and he came after Bemish.
'Ashinik hasn't showed up, has he?' Bemish asked Giles.
'No,' the latter said.
'Dick, run a check on the used explosives up to the last milligram,' Bemish said quietly.
'If I was you, I would not address this issue,' Giles answered just as quietly even though they were alone.
'Being me, I will not wait till Shavash addresses this issue.'
In an hour Inis entered Bemish's office. Bemish raised his eyes and got a surprise — Inis was very serious, her eyebrows were furled and her face was pale. She even wore a skirt that almost reached to the ground though it was somewhat transparent.
'Terence,' she said, lowering her eyes, 'Ashinik has been arrested. He had just being sitting in a tavern and they jumped upon him and drove him away.'
'How do you know this?'
'I got a phone call.'
Bemish paused.
'Terence, I swear to you that he is not guilty! These people… they just used him as a dummy front! It's their technique — they decided to get rid of the man who is half Earthman already and they decided to do it with Shavash's hands!'
Bemish was astonished. Inis could well be correct. But how did this girl figure it out? Who suggested this to her? Bemish almost asked her this question and then he went pale. He understood what had happened. It was not 'who' it was 'what.'
'You should go to Shavash,' Inis said.
'Why?'
Inis suddenly put her hands on her hips.
'Three months ago you would not ask, 'Why?' You would know that you couldn't control the workers without Ashinik. Now Ashinik has performed his function and you can give him away! He taught the workers to be rich and sated and nobody will betray you anymore!'
Oh my God! Inis was no longer a bedding girl, content with her dresses and sweets. Bemish leaped from his armchair and grabbed her by her shoulders.
'Why are you asking for him? Why do you care about my deputy? Why have they called you and not me?'
Then, Inis burst into tears. She kneed, embraced Bemish's legs and wailed confusedly, 'I… I can't be without him…'
Bemish paled.
