A shocked silence fell over the crowd, broken only by the grief stricken sobs of one of the widows. He glared at the woman, and his eyes made her cower. The peril was dire, he warned. One demon had already penetrated the sacred boundaries of Tana and others were gathering in the Above. Soon they would descend and overwhelm the city unless the people of Tana followed his leadership unquestioningly. But the mission had not been in vain. Komso had discovered the demons' plans--and their vulnerability. "We killed one demon!" he boasted. Barry gasped. Komso was too clever to tell an outright lie when there were three surviving witnesses to check his story. "Kill the demons! Kill all the demons!" A Chosen One began the chant, and it was taken up and echoed by the crowd. It sounded so absurd that a group of aquatic semi-savages could hope to attack a surface settlement defended by the finest weapons of Earth that Barry almost laughed. But he remembered Xintel's account of the Venusian downfall, and was not so sure. Komso's forces would not have to breach the defense perimeter of the colony to achieve their objective. Bacterial warfare ineffective under water, could render the surface uninhabitable again. And the colony had no inkling of such a threat. "Damn him," Barry thought. It was all so stupid and useless. He fumed while Komso's words calmed, influenced, and finally controlled with hypnotic completeness the emotions of his listeners. "The demons shall die!" Komso orated. "I, Komso, shall call upon the powers of the Gods Of The Deeps. Beasts of the marshlands shall come at my command, smashing and overturning the houses and forts of the demons in the Above! And then shall the Unseen Death smite them!" The people roared their approval, and while they were still shouting the priest turned away in abrupt dismissal. Barry and Xintel looked at each other, their faces white and set, each wondering what they could do. A hundred thoughts flashed through Barry's mind at once, dominated by the knowledge it was his duty to warn the colony. He had become a freak through accident, but he was still an Earthman. But to make his warning really valuable he must know more of Komso's methods. He thought momentarily of invading the cave-temple to steal information or even assassinate the priest, but discarded the notion. Komso would be expecting such an attempt and have his Chosen Ones waiting. * * * * * They were still discussing the situation hours later when Xintel suddenly raised her hand for silence. A puzzled frown appeared on her face and she dropped to the lower room. Barry, watching her peer around the door curtain, saw her body grow tense. He listened, and his ears caught a confused sound of voices. "What is it?" he demanded. "Men are coming this way, and they are led by Sanlan, the brother of that Czerki." "Komso's work?" "Naturally."