33 North clicked his heels and nodded, then
sharply turned. Morn did likewise, and side by side, walking as one,
they descended to the parade grounds as the band played and the crowd
again roared.
34 When they reached their men, because of the roar of the crowd, North
signaled Morn with hand signals to go first, but Morn declined. "You
were first to enter," he insisted, "you will be the first to leave."
35 North acknowledged, brought his crew to attention, and briskly
marched them off the field. As soon as they were at the dispersal point
and he dismissed them, they were all over him.
36 "Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" cried North, "You will all be with me again,
I promise that. A General must have a flagship, and by tradition he may
hand pick his crew. You can be assured most of the positions are
already filled. Now, go to your celebration. There will be additional
gifts from me for each and every one of you."
37 His escort picked North up and they joined Morn. For the first time
North noticed his friend's deep expression and worried at his safety,
but as they were not alone, he could not converse privately with his
friend.
38 Morn was struggling. He had expected The Holy Of Holies to be
strong, but he had not expected to meet the power he had endured. It
had tried to strip his mind, to take his essence, to make it one with
him. The years of training his mother had given him had succeeded. Morn
had resisted. He had closed his mind, kept the thing from merging with
him, and made it think it had succeeded. But it had drained Morn
completely. He was relying now, on his physical strength alone, to keep him going until he recharged.
He knew that he could never win the battle again.
39 If he ever sat in The Holy Of Holies again, it