Vee Vee, her hand on Johnson's elbow, rose. Johnson stood up with her. He got the surprise of his life as her fingers clenched, digging into his muscles. Pain shot through his arm, paralyzing it and almost paralyzing him. He knew instantly that she was using the Karmer nerve block paralysis on him. His left hand moved with lightning speed, the tips of his fingers striking savagely against her shoulder. She gasped, her face whitened as pain shot through her in response to the thrust of his finger tips. Her hand that had been digging into his elbow lost its grip, dropped away and hung limp at her side. Grabbing it, she began to massage it. "You--you--" Hot anger and shock were in her voice. "You're the first man I ever knew who could break the Karmer nerve paralysis." "And you're the first woman who ever tried it on me." "But--" "Shall we go watch the dreaming?" He took the arm that still hung limp at her side and tucked it into his elbow. "If you try to use the Karmer grip on me again I'll break your arm," he said. His voice was low but there was a wealth of meaning in it. "I won't do it again," the girl said stoutly. "I never make the same mistake twice." "Good," Johnson said. "The second time we break our victim's neck," Vee Vee said. "What a sweet, charming child you--" "I told you before, I'm not a child." "Child vampire," Johnson said. "Let me finish my sentences before you interrupt." She was silent. A smile, struggling to appear on her face, seemed to say she held no malice. Her fingers tightened on Johnson's arm. He tensed, expecting the nerve block grip again. Instead with the tips of her fingers she gently patted his arm. "There, there, darling, relax," she said. "I know a better way to get you than by using the Karmer grip." "What way?" Her eyes sparkled. "Eve's way," she answered. "Um!" Surprise sounded in his grunt. "But apples don't grow on Venus." "Eve's daughters don't use apples any more, darling. Come along." Moving toward the open door that led to the Room of the Dreaming, Johnson saw that Caldwell had risen and was following them. Caldwell's face was writhing in apprehensive agony and he was making warning signs. Johnson ignored them. With Vee Vee's fingers lightly patting his arm, they moved into the Room of the Dreaming. II It was a huge, semi-illumined room, with tier on tier of circling ramps rising up from an open space at the bottom. There ought to have been a stage there at the bottom, but there wasn't. Instead there was an open space, a mat, and a head rest. Up at the top of the circling ramps the room was in darkness, a fit hiding place for ghosts or Venusian werewolves. Pillows and a thick rug covered the circling ramps.