The Damakoi went along complacently, while I went down below, into the lower level of the Capitol to see what had happened to Holdreth Khain.
He was lying on a couch in one of the big reception rooms, his eyes closed, and breathing heavily. His leg was bandaged, but I knew that underneath it, the skin was a mass of blisters that looked like a bad case of sunburn.
There was a doctor standing nearby, but he looked rather helpless.
"What's the matter, Doctor?" I asked.
He frowned. "The trouble is that I don't know very much about the alien body chemistry of the Damakoi. I'm as helpless as anyone else. He's in pretty bad shape—I think."
I leaned over the supine Damakoi.
"Holdreth Khain, can you hear me?"
His eyes opened, and he blinked a couple of times. Then he looked directly at me. "I can hear you. But my—my leg hurts." He smiled feebly. "Damn you Terrans and your hellish alarm systems."
He tried to make it sound like a joke, but there was more than a trace of bitterness in his voice.