She survived her original trip into the hands of the savage Ganthi and a meeting with Blade. She even survived a second trip across the Dimensions, to the black jade city of Kano. By that time there was love between her and Blade, and both of them knew it.

Then in the battle to save Kano from the Raufi of the great desert, she died. A little of Blade died with her. She was a woman with all of his own strengths, and that made it seem unimportant that she'd begun as an enemy.

The other woman was named Galina Haran. She came from a Russia that was not Russia, a place called Russland in a monstrously strange Dimension where things were almost as they were in Home Dimension, but not quite. The Red Flames of Russland fought against the Empire of Englor. From Galina Haran's discoveries in genetics and cloning, they bred flying dragons to swoop down on Englor. In the end Blade led airborne commandos to destroy the dragons in their nest, deep inside Russland. Then the computer drew him home to Britain and Galina came with him, carrying all the notes on her discoveries as well.

That should have been a triumph, for Britain's biological sciences, for Project Dimension X, for Richard Blade. Perhaps it would be, in time. Meanwhile, the passage across the Dimensions left Galina with no more mind than a six-month old baby. Her brain was physically intact, so in theory the damage should not be permanent. But none of the doctors who'd examined Galina had much hope for her recovery. Galina Haran would spend years and perhaps the rest of her life as a helpless idiot. Blade couldn't escape the feeling that this was his fault.

Blade told himself that he had to go on doing his duty to Britain, at any cost to himself or to other people. Every other possible duty to himself or to anyone else had to take a back seat.