"Take him, Leeta! He has courage. This time you may succeed."
An answering thought; soft, holding a delicate note. "Patience...."
Then Bryan saw the crystal globe being lifted still higher—toward his face. Behind it the girl's large exotic eyes seemed very intent. Within the globe the pulsing of the pale rose core quickened.
Bryan felt something draw at him. A strange force—like insistent hands. Hands immaterial and yet tangible, that reached into him ... and pulled.
It was not a physical sensation. Nor was it purely mental. It was something that went beyond even this—something that gripped at the very foundation of being.
Bryan felt himself being drawn. And he did not understand. There was a purpose here and a means he could not grasp.
He resisted.
In a moment the force left him.
The globe lowered. Over it the girl peered at him, startled, perplexed. And from the background came a piping despair.
"Failed.... It has failed...."