below. After a moment Raf followed his example.

Silence and desolation, windows like the eye pits in bone-picked
skulls. There were even some small patches of vegetation rooted and
growing in pockets erosion had carved in the walls. To the pilot's
uninformed eyes the city looked wholly dead.

"Got it!" Soriki's exultant cry brought them back to the flitter. As
if his body was the indicator, he had pivoted until his outstretched
hand pointed southwest. "About a quarter of a mile that way."

They shielded their eyes against the westering sun. A block of solid
masonry loomed high in the sky, dwarfing not only the building they
were standing on but all the towers around it. Its imposing lines made
clear its one-time importance.

"Palace," mused Lablet, "or capitol. I'd say it was just about the
heart of the city."

He dropped his glasses to swing on their cord, his eyes glistening as
he spoke directly to Raf.

"Can you set us down on that?"

The pilot measured the curving roof of the structure. A crazy fool
might try to make a landing there. But he was no crazy fool. "Not on
that roof!" he spoke with decision.

To his relief the captain confirmed his verdict with a slow nod.
"Better find out more first." Hobart could be cautious when he wanted