“That’s not important now,” Odal said quietly. “The primary fact is that they’ve not only discovered our trick, but they’ve found a way to duplicate it.”
The glistening dome of Kor’s bullet-shaped head— which barely rose to the level of Odal’s chin—was glowing with rage.
“The sanctimonious hypocrites,” Kor snarled, “accusing us of cheating, and then they do the very same thing.”
“Regardless of the moral values of our mutual behavior,” Odal said dryly, “it’s evident that there’s no longer any use in calling on telepathically guided assistants. I’ll face the Watchman alone during^the second half of the duel.”
“Can you trust them to do the same?”
“Yes. They easily defeated my aides, then stood aside and allowed the two of us to fight by ourselves.”
“And you failed to defeat him?”
Odal frowned. “I was wounded by a fluke. He’s a very … unusual opponent. I can’t decide whether he’s actually as clumsy as he appears, or whether he’s shamming and trying to confuse me. Either way, it’s impossible to predict what he’s going to do.” To himself he added, Could he be telepathic, also?
Kor’s gray eyes became flat and emotionless. “You know, of course, how the Leader will react if you fail to
Idll this Watchman. Not merely defeat him. He must be killed. The aura of invincibility must be maintained,”
“I’ll do my best,” Odal said.
“He must be killed.”
The chime that marked the end of the rest period sounded. Odal and Hector returned to their booths. Now it was Hector’s choice of environment and weapons.