Morning brought a disturbing reminder of Arkadian politics, in the shape of a coded spacegram from the Council of Peers.
“Recall!” said Duke Harald blankly, staring at the yellow message slip. Now, of all times! He translated the order again, and this time noted the signature: Duke Charles, President-Elect. Enlightenment came. Obviously he had stayed away too long. There had been one of those swift realignments of power to which the Council was all too prone. And it had for the moment left control in the hands of his arch-rival.
“And the next step, I suppose, will be to call on Terra for an adept! Well, back I go—but not before I get what I came after.”
Even as he said this, Duke Harald crossed the simply furnished sitting room of his apartment to the alcove where his visiphone was placed. He started to set up a calling-pattern ; and just as swiftly canceled it.
“Tapped!” said Duke Harald, watching a tiny spot of amber light fade slowly from the screen. The secret, unofficial changes he had made within the instrument had detected interference from a tapping circuit. Someone was set to monitor his calls; And he could make a reasonably accurate guess as to who and why. This, and the finding of his Sonotec in Master Elwyn’s office—the two events trod much too closely on each other’s heels to be called sheer coincidence.
But were the Terran adepts just suspicious, or—something more?
“There’s one way to find out,” he muttered, and donned his newest scarlet tunic. No dull student garb today!
His hand was on the door switch, when a soft chiming stopped the movement of his fingers. Flicking on the scanner, he looked at the call-plate; to see, in the outside corridor a Terran in part-uniform.
“Yes?” he queried softly.
“Duke Harald of Arkady?” the other asked in turn.