Torry shook his head sadly. "No."
Sen Bas did not seem surprised. "I feared that. Will you?"
"I'll try, though I'll have to do what seems best when I get to it."
Sen Bas relaxed. "That is good enough. Did you come to Mars to kill him?"
A shiver wrenched Torry, his eyes glazed. "I haven't decided yet."
"Perhaps it would be best. But he will not be easy to kill. Tharol Sen will take you to him. Perhaps by the time fate has to choose between you and Roper, her blindness will be gone, and she can make a clear choice of her own...."
"How did you—"
With a convulsive grimace, Sen Bas was dead. Moments later, when Tharol Sen appeared loaded with medical supplies, Torry glared at her. Her face a chalk mask, she whimpered.
"Forget it," Torry said angrily. "It's too late for tears."
"Why did you try to save him?"