“So far.”
Across the room, Odal stood massaging his forehead while Kor demanded: “How could they possibly have discovered the secret? Where was the leak?”
“That is not important now,” Odal said quietly. “The primary fact is that they have not only discovered our secret, but they have found a way of duplicating it.”
“The sanctimonious hypocrites,” Kor snarled, “accusing us of cheating, and then they do the same thing.”
“Regardless of the moral values of our mutual behavior,” Odal said dryly, “it is evident that there is no longer any use in calling on telepathically-guided assistants. I shall face the Watchman alone during the second half of the duel.”
“Can you trust them to do the same?”
“Yes. They easily defeated my aides a few minutes ago, then stood aside and allowed the two of us to fight by ourselves.”
“And you failed to defeat him?”
Odal frowned. “I was wounded by a fluke. He is a very ... unusual opponent. I cannot decide whether he is actually as clumsy as he appears to be, or whether he is shamming and trying to make me overconfident. Either way, it is impossible to predict his behavior. Perhaps he is also telepathic.”
Kor’s gray eyes became flat and emotionless. “You know, of course, how the Chancellor will react if you fail to kill this Watchman. Not merely defeat him. He must be killed. The aura of invincibility must be maintained.”