The next second two great claws clutched him just below the ribs.
He stiffened.
Xaymar laughed again. "We'll wait!" she mocked him. "We'll wait till the light goes on—or a coleopteron rips out your backbone!"
Haral stood motionless. His hands all at once were slick with sweat.
Xaymar's ripe body came full against him. Her hands touched his face, pulled his lips down to hers. Then—fiercely, brutally—as he had kissed her, she kissed him.
Her words came, a vibrant whisper: "You are the one who's mad, blue man! But it is a madness that can lead you to your own dark destiny—if you live!"
She twisted free.
There was a moment of black silence. Then the light snapped on. Once more the veil masked Xaymar's face as it had before.
The mandibles let go of Haral. Stiffly, he looked around.