Never defend a Screamer! That was the cardinal rule of the household, and when Jannus made that mistake, it meant that he, too, would be hunted to the death! Jannus was all-human, a young man, dedicated to the service of his hold--before the pursuit of the Screamer began. Poli heard the psychic scream best, for she was not entirely human, a warrior-girl of the aboriginal race, doing her service at the household. She, too, was forced to join the Screamer's flight. And the Screamer? What was he? A small boy? A monstrous tiger? An inhuman robotic mind run from a forgotten mechanical master computer? Or the last king of lost Kantmorie?