Slowly Uske reached for the button. A freshly shaven young man with black hair stood in the sunlight, examining his cuffs. An open brocade jacket with metal-work filigree covered a white silk shirt that laced over a wide V-neck. The tight gray trousers were belted with a broad strip of black leather and fastened with a gold disk. The black boots, opened at the toe and the heel, were topped with similar disks. Jon Koshar looked around. "It's good to be back." "Who ... what are you?" whispered Uske. "Loyal subject of the crown," said Jon, "you squid-brained clam." Uske sputtered. "Think back about five years to when you and I were in school together." A flicker of recognition showed in the blond face. "You remember a kid who was a couple of years ahead of you, and got you out of a beating when the kids in the mechanics class were going to gang up on you because you'd smashed a high-frequency coil, on purpose. And remember you dared that same kid to break into the castle and steal the royal Herald from the throne room? In fact, you gave him the fire-blade to do it, too. Only that wasn't mentioned in the trial. Did you also alert the guards that I was coming? I was never quite sure of that part." "Look ..." began Uske. "You're crazy." "I might have been a little crazy then. But five years out in the tetron mines has brought me pretty close to my senses." "You're a murderer...." "It was in self-defense, and you know it. Those guards that converged on me weren't kidding. I didn't kill him on purpose. I just didn't want to get my head seared off." "So you seared one of their heads off first. Jon Koshar, I think you're crazy. What are you doing here anyway?" "It would take too long to explain. But believe me, the last thing I came back for was to see you again." "So you come in, steal my clothing" Suddenly he laughed. "Oh, of course. I'm dreaming all this. How silly of me. I must be dreaming." Jon frowned. Uske went on. "I must be feeling guilty about that whole business when we were kids. You keep on disappearing and appearing. You can't possibly be more than a figment of my imagination. Koshar! The name! Of course. That's the name of the people who are giving the party that I'm going to once I wake up. That's the reason for the whole thing." "What party?" Jon demanded. "Your father is giving it for your sister. Yes, that's right. You had quite a pretty sister. I'm going back to sleep now. And when I wake up, you're to be gone, do you understand? What a silly dream." "Just a moment. Why are you going?" Uske snuggled his head into the pillow. "Apparently your father has managed to amass quite a fortune. Chargill says I have to treat him kindly so we can borrow money from him later on. Unless I'm dreaming that up too." "You're not dreaming."