Zorren moved past the door he’d carefully and quietly jacked open, and slipped into the darkened room, creeping across the polished stone floor in only stockinged feet. He hadn’t wanted the noise of his boots to announce his presence, so had left them off exiting his bedchamber. The floor was cool against his feet, but he ignored the chill as he slowly edged further into the room and closed in on his prey.

  The bed was close to the door, so he didn’t have far to go before he was at the edge and peering intently at the sleeping form there. The person was laying on his back with his arms crossed over his abdomen, and there was a slow rise and fall of the chest, letting Zorren know the person had not been roused by his presence.

  That wouldn’t last, not someone with his kind of training, so Zorren acted swiftly. First, he carefully pulled the carvot knife from the sheath he’d strapped to his left arm just for this purpose. He switched the knife to the left hand and pulled an injector from his right pants pocket. Zorren then swiftly stabbed the injector in the meat of the person’s thigh with as much force as he could to make sure it went all the way through the bed clothes. He ejected the paralytic from the syringe, tossed the injector to the floor, and quickly backed away, switching his knife to his right hand and at the ready.

  The man’s trained instincts had him sitting up in the bed with a gun already being pulled from underneath his pillow. He took aim in Zorren’s direction and fired, but the Prince had been expecting that and ducked close to the door. A streak of yellow seemed extra bright in the dark room as the blaster bolt tried to find a target, but it harmlessly hit the wall on the other side of the door. The man was already out of the bed and must have spied Zorren in the dark, because the next shot was a hair’s breath from the Prince’s right shoulder.

  Zorren didn’t even flinch or worry about the next shot, because a moment after the shot fizzled harmlessly into the wall beside him, there was a thud as the gun fell from the man’s grasp. The Prince watched as his prey followed the gun to the floor. Zorren smiled. That was way easier than he thought it would be.

  The Prince waited a moment to make sure the man would not move and was truly paralyzed, while he enjoyed his shift victory. Zorren was under no allusions that he’d win a fair fight with the man on the floor. That’s why the Prince had injected him with a paralytic while he’d been sleeping.

  Once he was sure the drug was in full effect, Zorren made his way to the sprawled out body on the floor. The man had fallen onto his side. So Zorren took a moment to move the body so the back was flat on the floor. He also reached for the light on the night stand. A soft yellow glow filled the room and Zorren stood looking down into the furious face of his Protector.

  “Well that was invigorating, Roterick. I have to say. I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to get close enough to inject that paralytic. Either I’m better than I thought I was, or you are not nearly as good as you claim you are. Now, I’m curious as to which is true, but maybe we will test that later. For now, you and I have to have a little chat.”

  Zorren positioned himself above his Protector’s chest. He then squatted down with Roterick’s torso between his knees. He met the angry glare coming from the man and Zorren felt a tingle of ecstasy rippled up his spine. He could easily loose himself in it, so he focused his attention to the task at hand. This wasn’t the time for pleasure.

  “Just for the record, you have been a good Protector, Roterick. Better than most that I’ve had. Maybe even the best. You did help me perfect my craft. None of the others did that. So I suppose I have to thank you. And don’t worry, I don’t plan to kill you. At least I won’t if you agree to help me further.

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  “You see I have a problem that I think you can help me solve, but I know you Protectors have a code toward those who trained you. Sure, you become bonded to a charge, which creates a certain obligation and commitment to them, but you also have a deep loyalty to the Protectorate. I suspect that it’s even more binding than the contract you have with your charge.

  “I mean eventually you will not have the charge. He or she will die, or you will retire when you’ve finally had enough. Yes, you could die in service, but your legacy will live far beyond death as those at the Protectorate hail your sacrifice as a great heroic deed. Regardless of your fate, the College is always there. They never abandon one of their own. Well, an obedient one––that is. One that serves as they should and doesn’t make too much of a fuss, and above all, protects the hard-won reputation of the College. It’s a wonderful incentive to earn an intense devotion and loyalty. Isn’t it?”

  The glare from his Protector had not wavered in the slightest and Zorren let the tip of his blade rest against the man’s cheek as a silent warning of possibilities to come.

  “Normally, I wouldn’t care one bit about your loyalty or the College itself, but I just got some rather troubling news a short while ago. It seems my brother has managed to survive yet another attempt on him by Hame’s people. And to make matters worse, it seems those in the group are either dead or have been arrested. The only ones left are that Disciple and Hame himself, and they had to leave the College or get caught.

  “That puts me in a bind, Roterick. I was really counting on my brother’s demise. I have plans, you see, and him being alive is going to make what I want to do impossible, and believe it or not, the Protectorate is the best place to make a move against him. It’s going to take a lot more effort on my part to get to my brother once he’s on a battle cruiser or at the White Palace.

  “The only good news is that my brother was significantly injured in the second attack against him. So much so that they want to keep him a the College until he recovers enough to be moved. That gives me a window of opportunity. A small one. But I have no one left at the College to help me. Expect for you, that is.

  “You are going to help me get to my brother. I know the College has its secrets. Things they don’t want the general public or their charges to know. There are whispers about such things. So you are going to tell it all to me. Everything you know. Everything there is. So that I can decide how best to get at my brother before he leaves that planet. And if you don’t, I will peel all the skin right off your body and mount your head on my wall. Am I making myself clear?”

  Naturally, Zorren knew the Protector could not speak, but he let the silence settle between them for a long moment as Zorren turned the knife on its edge and firmly up against the man’s skin. Zorren pressed just a little, enough to open a small wound and a trail of blood oozed out and down the outside of the cheek.

  “So what do you say, Roterick? Will you help me and tell me all the College’s deepest and darkest secrets? Blink once for yes and twice for no.”

  The silence stretched between them for a long time, quite a bit longer than he had patience for. Time was running out. So Zorren moved the knife and cut a little deeper next to the slice he had already made. A little more blood flowed out and the sight of it sent a shiver down Zorren’s spine.

  He was about to make another incision, when the Protector blinked. Just the once. Zorren withdrew the knife and smiled down at his captive. “Excellent.”

  Zorren stood up and moved away from the body, swiped the bloodied blade on a cloth he’d retrieved from a pocket, and then sheath the knife. “That drug only lasts about twenty minutes. Once it starts wearing off, meet me in the living area. We have much to talk about.”

  The Prince marched toward the door, but before he went through the still jacked open door a thought occurred to him, so he stopped and gave the prone man a long look. “Oh, and I hope this little encounter doesn’t cause any lasting hard feelings, Roterick. I meant it when I said I liked you. I know the bond between us prevents you from doing any intentional physical harm to my person, but I think it’s important for our working relationship that you know I never would have done this if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary.”

  Satisfied that he’d settled things with his Protector for the time being, Zorren stepped through the door and made his way down the short corridor to the main area of the house. There were plans that needed to be made and there was little time in which to do it.