It was my turn to laugh, and I did although it hurt my throat and made my chest ache. "It is you who are the fool," I said.
She shrugged. "It may be," she agreed, "but you will learn that Wolverton is master here, and what he wants he keeps. Nor will you escape again."
"Why not?"
"Try," she said, "He has turned the field off."
I tried—and panic flooded me! I did not move—nor could I feel the slightest trace of the doctor although I tried to reach her with all my strength. Then I screamed! And my screams were echoed by her laughter.
The spasm died quickly enough—for I am not a coward. It is the unknown which is frightening—the feeling of helplessness in the face of powers greater than one's own. But then I realized I had chosen this course—that it was not forced upon me, and that Zard was guiding my faltering steps.
"You are lying," I said with forced calmness. "The field is still on."
She looked at me with pitying contempt, rose quietly into the air and floated over my head! "So it's on, is it?" she asked.
My mouth dropped open in a gape of unmannerly surprise. "You're an Adept!" I gasped.
"I was. Now I'm a doctor."