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.However, the approaching drone is of unknown origin andcapabilities.""It is?""Yes, sir.""What the hell is it doing here?""I don't know, sir.""Can it really hurt us?""I don't know, sir.""Damn!"Then the glittering thing was on top of them, and for a moment Bredon's world vanished in a blazing furyof light and noise.The platform beneath his feet trembled slightly as impossibly bright colors blinded him anda deafening roar shook his bones."Whoa," Geste said as the light and sound died away."That's serious, isn't it?"Bredon blinked, clearing spots from his eyes, and turned to see the glittering thing it was shapedsomething like a fish, he noticed to the east, its path curving back around to make another pass at theplatform."Have we got any weapons with us, any way to shoot back?" Geste asked."No, sir," the floater replied."I wasn't aware that any might be called for.""Neither was I," the Trickster said ruefully, watching the drone complete its turn and head back towardhim."Drop us down out of its line of attack, would you?""Yes, sir," the floater said.Immediately, the mountains rose up around them, though Bredon could not feelany sensation of sinking or falling.They were still speeding forward, as well, so that the sunlit trees androcks were now flashing past on all sides, rather than merely below them.The drone swept overhead, but already it was turning to follow and starting to descend."Who sent that thing?" Geste demanded."I don't know, sir.I'm restricted to on-board systems while maintaining full defensive fields, and I have nodata at all on it.""Whoever it is, he must be crazy, shooting at me like that!""I would have to agree with that assessment, sir.Unfortu-nately, as you know, insanity is common amongimmortals.""It is?" Bredon squeaked, startled.The idea of an insane Power was new and frightening, somehow morefrightening than the thing that had just attacked them.Geste and the floater ignored him."How is it tracking us?" Geste asked."I can't be sure, sir," the floater said, "but it appears to be using wide-spectrum scanning.""Can you hide from it? Take us out of the visible and damp down our emissions?''"I can try, sir." The air wavered, this time not merely in a small area in front of the Trickster, but allaround the platform.Bredon watched with terrified interest.Then the light faded, though the sun was still high in the sky; the entire world dimmed as if layers ofsmoked glass were being dropped around them in quick succession, until they were hang-ing, seeminglymotionless, in near-total darkness.Bredon could see Geste as a faint outline in the gloom, black on black, sohe knew that the darkness was not absolute, but the floater and the platform beneath his feet were completely invisible, and black-ness surrounded him."Take us down to treetop level lower, if possible," Geste ordered."Then take evasive action and headfor the High Castle as fast as you can.""Yes, sir."To Bredon it seemed as if nothing changed.He and Geste stood silent in the darkness for a long moment,tension sharp in the air between them.Bredon could smell his own sweat but not, he noticed, Geste's.Hesupposed that Powers did not do anything as ordinary as perspire."I believe we have successfully eluded the drone," the float-er's voice said at last."Where are we, relative to the Castle?""Approaching rapidly from the northeast, down a narrow can-yon; current distance, twenty-fivekilometers.""Good but take us up and loop around.I want to approach the Castle from the southeast, directly uphill,where we can get a good view.""Yes, sir," the floater acknowledged."When we get within a direct line-of-sight, if there still isn't any sign of that attack drone, open a window.""Yes, sir."The utter darkness made Bredon uneasy, particularly since he knew that the sun was still in the sky;some part of him refused to accept the absence of light.Since the immediate crisis seemed to be past, heventured a question, hoping to reestablish some sort of contact with reality."What's going on? What wasthat thing?""I wish I knew!" Geste answered."Somebody was shooting at us, but I don't know who it was, or why.""Was it another Power?""I suppose it must be; we'd have been notified if anyone came in from off-planet." He paused, struck by asudden thought
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