"I don't like your attitude about Hashons. I
don't care for your kind at all. They may not be as well-off as we are,
but they're people, and deserve some dignity. "
106 "I forgot," the woman snapped, "you were a Hashon lover. Are they
that much better than us? What can they do we can't?"
107 The back of North's hand took her squarely across the face, and her
head banged into the bed board. She fell forward, then sat back up,
crying.
108 "I can kill," screamed North, "with any part of my hand. Remember
that. I'm going to take a shower. When I get back don't be here. Take
your Purist attitudes and go someplace else."
109 "Yes, sir," the girl whimpered, wiping the blood from her mouth.
"Would you have done that to a man?"
110 "No," answered North, "I'd have killed a man." He turned and walked out the door leaving the girl on the bed, still
crying. "When the maids see the blood on the sheets," North thought,
"the stories they're going to be telling!"
111 When he returned from his shower the woman was gone. When North and
Morn and their crews received their decorations that afternoon, only
two women watched from the screened balcony above. North wondered if
the woman had excused herself or The Lord God had sent her away. He did
not see her during any of his other visits to The Palace.
112 After his men had received their decorations and were honored by
The Lord God, North returned with them to their hotel. The reception
had lasted late, and North was weary as he entered his room. As he
opened the light panel by the door, he froze. Something caught his eye
in the middle of the room.