An artificial synapse ... blocking his nerve-ends so that he could not draw upon the Protectors' power....
At his left was an alcove in the tunnel wall. It was filled with coagulated light ... bright with glaring flames ... flame-hot. Within that white curtain stirred swift movement, like the leaping of fires. Above the recess a symbol was embossed in the stone. The sign of Mercury.
"Mercury," said the voice in Stuart's mind. "The Servant of the Sun. The Swift Messenger. Mercury, that drinks the Sun's fires and blazes like a star in the sky's abyss. First in the Long Orbit—Mercury."
The crowd of prisoners, dull-eyed, swayed to and fro, a ripple of excitement rustling through them. Abruptly the Martian girl darted forward—
Was engulfed in the milky flames.
Stood there, while curdled opalescence veiled her. On her face sheer horror, as—
"The Aesir feed," the voice whispered. "They drink the cup of her life ... to its last dregs."
The captives were moving again. Silently Stuart followed them along the tunnel. Now another recess showed in the wall.
Blue ... blue, this time, as hazy seas of enchantment ... misted with fog, with slow shifting movement within it....
"The sign of Venus," said the voice. "The Clouded World. Planet of life and womb of creation. Ruler of mists and seas—Venus!"