The beetle came forward faster.
Awkwardly, the blue man climbed upward. His left arm was almost useless. The light-lance dragged and got in his way.
Below, the great scarlet insect stopped short. Of a sudden its mandibles clacked wildly.
Haral lifted his helmet a fraction. Vibrations poured into his brain: "Blood! Here, here, this way—!"
Cursing, Haral whipped up the light-lance and triggered a beam at the beetle's thorax.
The coleopteron wallowed backward, great wings threshing.
Clutching a vertical girder, again the warrior clambered upward.
Above him, and to one side, a gap that might once have housed a window loomed. Painfully, he worked towards it. His left arm dragged, less help than hindrance. He couldn't seem to get in air. His body rebelled at his brain's commands.
Then, at last, he got a grip on a jagged fragment near the edge of the slot-like opening. With a final, spasmodic effort, he dragged himself up and sprawled on his belly across the masonry.