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safe, he stopped and put her down. Things became indistinct. The dream began to fade.
    She stood there looking at him with new eyes.
    She faded away, and his dream became his own again, the battle fought and apparently won to some extent.
    He rustled in his bed and then continued sleeping.
    In the morning he only remembered having a strange dream, a dark dream having something to do with Sygillis of Metatron, the Black Hat. The most vivid thing he could remember was a flash of light and green eyes.

6

    "RED"

    "Lord Blanchefort, you are an exasperating man!" the robed, headdressed Sister said as she sat in Davage's office.
    It was the morning following Davage's bizarre trek into the brig. He'd had that strange dream and been badly sick that morning—either it was nerves or his body reacting to the Black Hat's power. After a few hours of throwing up in the bathroom, he finally felt like himself again, though his skin crawled for some time to come. And he noticed he had several odd, painful welts on his back and chest.
    Davage took a drink of coffee. "Sister, either your spoken language skills are getting better or I am becoming more telepathic. I cannot determine which from which."
    The Sister turned to Kilos and silently spoke to her.
    "Dav, she says she's been practicing up for that remark. And I must say that I agree with her. I cannot, and she cannot, fathom why you are returning to the brig again. Tempting fate again."
    Davage put his coffee down and picked up a report. "As I have said, I have not yet had my questions answered. I don't see what all the fuss is about. I was not killed yesterday."
    The Sister again filled Kilos's head with thoughts. "The Sister says your implacable cheek probably had the Black Hat discombobulated yesterday. Today she will be more ready to do you in."
    Davage considered that for a moment. She was probably correct. He looked at Ki in her Marine uniform. Her long red coat reminded him of a side of beef.
    "She could do me in from here if she so chose. Wouldn't that be a spectacle, to make my head explode in my very office?"
    "Be serious, Dav."
    "I am deadly serious. Sister, may I offer you some coffee?"
    The Sister looked at Davage and after a moment, nodded, the wings of her headdress bobbing slightly. Davage got up and poured her a cup of steaming coffee. "How do you like it, ma'am?"
    "Black …" she said herself in her strange accent.
    Davage finished pouring and offered her the cup. She took a few drinks.
    "Good …" she said.
    "Dav," Kilos said, "the Black Hat needs to be killed. The Sister says she will kill the Black Hat today."
    The Sister appeared sad.
    "The Sister says she is sorry. The Sister says she does not wish to disappoint you, but the Black Hat will die today. She must."
    "The fact that this Xaphan looks exactly like Captain Hathaline gives you no pause, Ki?"
    "No, it doesn't."
    "Really? Ki, when I say that she looks like Captain Hathaline, I don't mean she bears a vague similarity to her. I don't mean she sort-of looks like Hath or that she kind of reminds me of Hath. She looks exactly like her, for Creation's sake!"
    "Maybe it's a Cloak." A gold thread stuck out of her stiff black and gold collar, catching the light.
    "If it was a Cloak then I'd know that, wouldn't I? There has been no Cloak devised that I cannot Sight through. She is Hath's double—her twin, and I want to know why. I must know why. I'll not see Hath die again." He smiled. "By the way, Ki, you've got a thread, just there."
    "She's not Captain Hathaline, Dav!" Ki said, whirling around, trying to get at the thread. Ki was very particular about her uniform. It had to be perfect, or she'd go mad.
    The Sister, looking anguished, spoke to Kilos again. "Dav, the Sister implores your forgiveness. She wants to know if you will find it in your heart to forgive her when the Black Hat is dead." Kilos got the thread and shook her head. "Boy, Dav—I've never seen a Sister this concerned about how a Fleet captain