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Oh, hoeet to let that come into existence!

"Sabiha," he whispered "Oh, one deeply into the trance after his food, Sabiha took the bowl and left, pausing at the doorway to speak to Naain"

"Go back and stay with him," Namri said "I must find Halleck and discuss this with him"

Sabiha deposited the bowl beside the doorway and returned to the cell She sat on the edge of the cot, staring at Leto’s shadowed face

Presently he opened his eyes and put a hand out, touching her cheek He began to talk to her then, telling her about the vision in which she had lived

She covered his hand with her own as he spoke Hoeet he was how very swee - She sank onto the cot, cushioned by his hand, unconscious before he pulled the hand away Leto sat up, feeling the depths of his weakness The spice and its visions had drained hih his cells for every spare spark of energy, clio, but he knew he’d not get far Slowly he sealed his stillsuit, drew the robe around hie to the outer shaft There were a few people about, busy at their own affairs They knew him, but he was not their responsibility Na; Sabiha could not be far away

He found the kind of side passage he needed and walked boldly down it

Behind him Sabiha slept peacefully until Halleck roused her

She sat up, rubbed her eyes, saw the eer on their faces

Naone"

"How could you let hied "How is this possible?"

"He was seen going toward the lower exit," Namri said, his voice oddly cal

"How?" Halleck demanded

"I don’t know I don’t know"

"It’s night and he’s weak," Naet far"

Halleck whirled on him "You want the boy to die!"

"It wouldn’t displease ain Halleck confronted Sabiha "Tellabout his vision us together" She looked down at the eic oninside somewhere?"

"Nowhere inside He’d be found, seen He was headed for the exit He’s out there"

"Magic," Sabiha ic," Namri said "He hypnotized her Almost did it to me, you remember? Said I was his friend"

"He’s very weak," Halleck said

"Only in his body," Nah I disabled the heel pumps of his stillsuit He’ll die with no water if we don’t find him"

Halleck alid control Jessica had warned hiht have to kill the lad Gods below! What a pass they’d coainst Atreides He said: "Is it possible he just wandered away in the spice trance?"

"What difference does it make?" Namri asked "If he escapes us he ht," Halleck said "Did he take a Fremkit?"

"There’re always a few beside the doorseal," Namri said "He’d’ve been a fool not to take one Soe to our friends," Halleck said "Tell theht," Na The tribes have been tracking it for three days now It’ll be here by ht Already coned off this sector two hours ago"

A deep sigh shook Halleck The boy would die out there for sure if the sandblast storht him It would eat the flesh froments The contrived false death would become real He slapped a fist into an open palm The storm could trap them in the sietch They couldn’t even mount a search And storm static had already isolated the sietch

"Distrans," he said, thinking they e onto a bat’s voice and dispatch it with the alarm

Namri shook his head "Bats won’t fly in a storm Come on, man They’re more sensitive than we are They’ll cower in the cliffs until it’s past Best to wait for the satellites to pick us up again Then we can try to find his remains"

"Not if he took a Fre under his breath, Halleck whirled away from them, strode out into the sietch

Peace de solutions; we only work toward them A fixed solution is, by definition, a dead solution The trouble with peace is that it tends to punishbrilliance -The Words of My Father: an account of Muad’Dib reconstructed by Harq al-Ada

"She’s training hilared at Duncan Idaho with a deliberateinto orbit around Arrakis at noon local An hour later the lighter had put Idaho down at Arrakeen, unannounced, but all casual and open Within minutes a ’thopter had deposited hireeted hiuards, but now they stood in her quarters beneath the north rim He had just delivered his report, truthfully, precisely, e each datum in mentat fashion

"She has taken leave of her senses," Alia said

He treated the statement as a mentat problem "All the indicators are that she remains well balanced, sane I should say her sanity index was -"

"Stop that!" Alia snapped "What can she be thinking of?"

Idaho, who knew that his own emotional balance depended now upon retreat into randdaughter’s betrothal" His features rerief which threatened to engulf him There was no Alia here Alia was dead For a time he’d maintained a myth-Alia before his senses, someone he’d manufactured out of his own needs, but a mentat could carry on such self-deception for only a liuise was possessed; a demon-psyche drove her His steely eyes with their myriad facets available at will reproduced upon his vision centers a multiplicity of e, no Alia remained Her features es had been committed

"Where’s Ghanima?" he asked

She waved the question aside "I’ve sent her with Irulan to stay in Stilgar’s keeping"

Neutral territory, he thought There’s been another negotiation with rebellious tribes She’s losing ground and doesn’t know it or does she? Is there another reason? Has Stilgar gone over to her?

"The betrothal," Alia mused "What are conditions in the Corrino House?"

"Salusa swar upon Farad’n, hoping for a share in his return to power"

"And she’s training hi for Ghani of Ghanie Let Farad’n be trained Jessica was training a corpse It would all work out

"I th," she said "You’re very quiet, Duncan"

"I await your questions"

"I see You knoas very angry with you Taking her to Farad’n!"

"You commanded me to make it real"

"I was forced to put out the report that you’d both been taken captive," she said

"I obeyed your orders"

"You’re so literal at tihten me But if you hadn’t, well"

"The Lady Jessica’s out of harm’s way," he said "And for Ghanirateful," she agreed And she thought: He’s no longer trustworthy He has that damnable Atreides loyalty I must make an excuse to send him away and have him eliminated An accident, of course

She touched his cheek

Idaho forced hi it

"Duncan, Duncan, how sad it is," she said "But I cannot keep you here withand I’ve so few I can completely trust"

He released her hand, waited

"I was forced to send Ghanis are in deep unrest here Raiders froa Basin and spilled all of their waters into the sands Arrakeen was on short rations The Basin’s alive with sandtrout yet, reaping the water harvest They’re being dealt with, of course, but we’re spread very thin"

He’d already noted ho auard were to be seen in the Keep And he thought: The Maquis of the Inner Desert will keep on probing her defenses Doesn’t she know that?