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.Patrin and I had a bad time clearing this wing.We had ourhands full." Teg glanced at Duncan."He came through very well, thanks to ourtraining.""That.that thing almost got him!""Lucilla!" Teg shook his head."I had it timed.You two could last at least aminute out there.I knew you would throw yourself in that thing's path andsacrifice yourself to save Duncan.Another twenty seconds."At Teg's words, Duncan turned a shiny-eyed look on Lucilla."Would you havedone that?"When Lucilla did not respond, Teg said: "She would have done that."Lucilla did not deny it.She remembered now, though, the incredible speed withwhich Duncan had moved, the dazzling shifts of his attack."Battle decisions," Teg said, looking at Lucilla.She accepted this.As usual, Teg had made the correct choice.She knew,though, that she would have to communicate with Taraza.The prana-binduaccelerations in this ghola went beyond anything she had expected.Shestiffened as Teg straightened to full alert, his gaze on the doorway behind her.Lucilla whirled.Schwangyu stood there, Patrin behind her, another heavy lasgun over his arm.Its muzzle, Lucilla noted, was aimed at Schwangyu."She insisted," Patrin said.There was an angry set to the old aide's face.The deep lines beside his mouth pointed downward."There's a trail of bodies clear out to the south pillbox," Schwangyu said."Your people won't let me out there to inspect.I command you to countermandthose orders immediately.""Not until my clean-up crews are finished," Teg said."They're still killing people out there! I can hear it!" A venomous edge hadentered Schwangyu's voice.She glared at Lucilla."We're also questioning people out there," Teg said.Schwangyu shifted her glare to Teg."If it's too dangerous here then we willtake the.the child to my quarters.Now!" "We will not do that," Teg said.His tone was low-key but positive.Schwangyu stiffened with displeasure.Patrin's knuckles went white on the stockof his lasgun.Schwangyu swung her gaze past the gun and up to Lucilla'sappraising stare.The two women looked into each other's eyes.Teg allowed the moment to hold for a beat, then said: "Lucilla, take Duncaninto my sitting room." He nodded toward a door behind him.Lucilla obeyed, pointedly keeping her body between Schwangyu and Duncan thewhole time.Once behind the closed door, Duncan said: "She almost called me 'the ghola.'She's really upset.""Schwangyu has let several things slip past her guard," Lucilla said.She glanced around Teg's sitting room, her first view of this part of hisquarters: the Bashar's inner sanctum.It reminded her of her own quarters --that same mixture of orderliness and casual disarray.Reading spools lay in aclutter on a small table beside an old-fashioned chair upholstered in soft gray.The spool reader had been swung aside as though its user had just stepped outfor a moment, intending to return soon.A Bashar's black uniform jacket layacross a nearby hard chair with sewing material in a small open box atop it.The jacket's cuff showed a carefully patched hole.So he does his own mending.This was an aspect of the famous Miles Teg she had not expected.If she hadthought about it, she would have said Patrin would absorb such chores."Schwangyu let the attackers in, didn't she?" Duncan asked."Her people did." Lucilla did not hide her anger."She has gone too far.Apact with the Tleilaxu!""Will Patrin kill her?""I don't know nor do I care!"Outside the door, Schwangyu spoke with anger, her voice loud and quite clear:"Are we just going to wait here, Bashar?""You can leave anytime you wish." That was Teg."But I can't enter the south tunnel!"Schwangyu sounded petulant.Lucilla knew it for something the old woman diddeliberately.What was she planning? Teg must be very cautious now.He hadbeen clever out there, revealing for Lucilla the gaps in Schwangyu's control,but they had not plumbed Schwangyu's resources.Lucilla wondered if she shouldleave Duncan here and return to Teg's side.Teg said: "You can go now but I advise you not to return to your quarters." "And why not?" Schwangyu sounded surprised, really surprised and not coveringit well."One moment," Teg said
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