Kaller kicked the food synthesizer in anger. The force of it sent the small rectangular device flying across the room where it slammed into a crumbling adobe wall with a loud boom. Several parts broke off from the machine and scattered across the debris covered floor. The other man in the dim lit space looked on with a scowl. A look that had become a permanent fixture on the Disciple’s face for the last three days.

  “It definitely won’t work now,” Wy-lin whined as he huddled near the portable heater Kaller had managed to bring with them.

  Well, at least they still had heat. Kaller was pretty sure the food synthesizer had gotten too much sand in it during their trip through the desert, and it hadn’t been working right since the first day. They’d only been able to make a few meals, and even they weren’t quite right. Half the pellets had barely turned and the ones that did were mushy and nearly inedible.

  Today, the device had yielded them nothing despite all the fiddling with it Kaller had done. He glanced at the backpack full of pellet meals next to Wy-lin. All that food, and no way to yavit eat it. His stomach growled quite loudly reminding him of the horrific failure.

  “We’ll need to get another,” Kaller said as he sat down across from Wy-lin and stretched out his hands attempting to warm them from the chill of the desert night.

  Kaller never liked the environmental training he’d done out in this desert during his time in the Program, what with the extreme heat during the day and the freezing conditions at night. It wasn’t so bad being at the the College where the weather was modulated and the harshest of it was kept at bay by the shield surrounding the College complex. But being out here was down right uncomfortable and he hoped that their stay in the desert would be a short one, and it would be if they didn’t find a way to get food to eat.

  “How?” The Disciple gave Kaller an incredulous look.

  “We sneak back into the College and steal one if we have to.”

  Wy-lin opened his mouth to speak, but then quickly shut it and scooted a little closer to the heater. He sat there hunched over, emanating an air of defeat that made Kaller wonder how the fool had ever managed to make it into his seventh year in the Protectorate Program. It was training only for the best in personal protection and close combat, and Wy-lin had been acting like a petulant child almost the entire time they had been on the run.

  Maybe he’d been a good faker. Though the College usually caught those in year eight when the really hardcore training happened. There was no doubt in Kaller’s mind that Wy-lin would have washed out at that point. Too bad he’d been saddled with one of the Program’s failures. He could use a solid person to watch his back. Kaller had heard about the arrest warrant out for him. It would be nice to know he could count on at least one person in the following days, but he was quickly realizing that probably wasn’t going to happen.

  Kaller supposed he should be more sensitive. They’d both heard about Pezeri’s execution yesterday through their benefactor. Wy-lin had been his lover. He had every right to be upset. Kaller should have been upset too. Pezeri was a cousin, but then they’d never been close. He wasn’t so much as upset as disappointed. Pezeri had told the higher-ups at the College all about Kaller’s involvement with the plot to assassinate the Heir. That had done little to endear his family member to him. Kaller secretly hoped Pezeri was being slowly tortured in whatever afterlife he had shuffled off to. In the meantime, he had to babysit the moping ex-lover and wonder how they were going to complete the task he’d been given without getting caught.

  “We’re going to have to get into the College anyways if we are going to do what our benefactor asked of us,” Kaller stated matter of factly as he felt the warmth from the heater on his palms he held them up to the small black cube.

  The irony wasn’t lost of Kaller that they were on a desert planet and might very well freeze to death, but the adobe building they were currently squatting in only had half a roof and part of the north wall missing. They’d done what they could to cover the large gaps with the canvases Kaller brought specifically for building a temporary shelter, but it was doing far less than he’d hoped at keeping the bone chilling cold at bay.

  “Maybe we should just turn ourselves in? Exchange what we know about our benefactor for a better deal. I bet they’d love to know that a Prince of the Empire has been backing us.” Wy-lin offered in almost a whisper, but Kaller heard him loud and clear over the soft hum of the heater.

  The ex-Protector glared at the other man across from him. “You can’t be serious? So instead of execution, you want to spend the rest of your life on a prison world? No thank you. If we stick with our benefactor…”

  “There is no guarantee he’s going to be able to protect us,” the younger man interrupted, his voice loud enough now to echo in the small space. “He’s been banished from the White Palace for yavit’s sake. What can he really do for us, Captain? This was a mistake. I wish I’d never been apart of this.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The last words were a scream as the man had stood up to deliver his heartfelt message. An expression of surprised came over Wy-lin as he realized what he’d just done. He looked around nervously like their benefactor might have been listening in some dark corner of the building, and then sat down with the all too familiar dejected look on his face. Wy-lin when back to huddling over the heater.

  Kaller fiddled with the unity ring around his wrist. It wasn’t his official ring. He’d left that one at his residence back at the College, knowing they could track him with it. This one was had been couriered to the College from their benefactor with the evidence against the Heir on it. It was also the way their benefactor had been able to contact them yesterday. It was the first time he’d spoken directly to Zorren in months.

  So far, all their communications had been through Tessa, but now the Prince claimed Tessa was needed on a more important task for the time being and could no longer act as intermediary. Kaller was disappointed. He missed her. More than he thought he would, and while it wasn’t as good as being in her presence, at least talking to her over the ring had given him some comfort. He decided that he’d have to call her once this was all over.

  Silence stretched between them for a long time as Kaller considered the other man. Part of him wanted to just walk away and leave the man to fend for himself, but like it or not, he needed Wy-lin just a little bit longer. There was no way he’d be able to complete what he had to do for their benefactor alone. After that, then they could part ways. Until then, Kaller had to find a way to convince the man to stay the course. So he decided to remind Wy-lin of why he’d agreed to get involved with the Heir’s assassination in the first place.

  “Prince Adar is working with the Fazha. If we don’t stop him, he may very kill our Emperor. This might be the hard path, but it will be worth it, Disciple.”

  Kaller knew it had been a gamble to use the man’s once title, but he had hoped to stir up some anger. Maybe that would be a good enough emotion to prod this fool into action.

  “Yeah, well, I’m not a Disciple anymore, am I?” Wy-lin spat. “They’ve probably already revoked my membership at the College. I was an idiot and threw all that away, and for what? I’ve had a lot of time to think about that evidence our benefactor gave us, and it isn’t entirely conclusive that the Heir is working with the Rebellion. In fact, it only really incriminates Remeer. How do we know that Prince Adar is working with the Rebellion now?”

  Well, he’d certainly got the anger he’d been wanting, but Kaller needed to redirect it a little bit. “You mean besides the fact it was the Fazha that knew exactly where Prince Adar had been hiding for the last twenty years? Besides, you weren’t there when I confronted him at the Palace. He’s dangerous. Remeer taught him to be dangerous. He even taught him quat-lo, or did you forget that?”

  “No,” Wy-lin muttered. Kaller heard sniffling and the other man wiped at his eyes. “Pezeri is dead because of all this. It’s not fair.”

  “No, it’s not. That’s even more reason to act. Two good men are already dead. First, Master Meh-len, and then Pezeri. Do you think they will be the only ones before this is all over? Pezeri would want you to stay the course. He would want you to avenge his death.” Kaller replied.

  He wasn’t sure that was true exactly. Maybe Pezeri would. Maybe he wouldn’t. But it felt like the right thing to say to, and sure enough, Kaller saw the fire in the man’s eyes grow and noticed the clenching in Wy-lin’s jaw. Maybe the Disciple would do what needed to be done after all?

  Another silence sat between them, but this one lasted only a few heartbeats. “When do we do this?”

  Kaller did his best to hide his smile. But it didn’t last long as he felt a deep weariness settle over him. The same one that had plagued him since the bond was severed. He wasn’t even close to being at his best right now, and he doubted he ever would be again. But he wasn’t going to let that get in the way of delivering retribution to the man who’d made him this way in the first place.

  “We have to be in position within the next six hours, or we will miss our opportunity.”

  The other man nodded as he pulled his coat in tight against himself as if that would be enough to keep the deep cold of the night back. Wy-lin already knew the details of what was to come, they’d both gone over everything enough times over the last day. But Kaller noticed his partner didn’t like too much silence and tended to fill it with pointless conversation and questions he already knew the answer to.

  “That means we will have to cross the desert in the dark.”

  Irritation flared in Kaller at the whining tone of his companion once again. “Yes. We trained for this kind of thing Disciple, or have you forgotten that already.”

  The man frowned. “No, it’s just a long walk, and then we will have a lot to do once we get there, not to mention slipping past the guards who will be on alert for us.”

  Kaller was all too aware of the exhausting day that lay before them. His body protested at all that was expected of it, but he pushed it all back. His exhaustion didn’t matter. The problems they were facing to get back into the College and do their assigned tasks for their benefactor didn’t matter. What mattered was getting to the Heir before he left the College. And Kaller wouldn’t let anything, not his whining partner, the teams he was sure was still out looking for them both, his ravenous hunger pains, the biting cold, or even Kaller’s own weakened state get in the way.

  “You’re right. It is a long walk, so we better get to it, shouldn’t we?” Kaller stood up, took a few minutes to get a few things together in a backpack, and then grabbed his night shades.

  Wy-lin had started a protest about how dangerous it was to cross the dunes in the dark and maybe shouldn’t they wait at least an hour for when dawn would break, but when it was obvious that Kaller wasn’t going to respond, the Disciple shut up. Kaller gave Wy-lin once last look as the other man finally got up and started to ready his own gear.

  “Turn off the heater and the lights before you leave,” Kaller then turned around and stepped through the piece of canvas that closed off the open doorway, the blackness of night met him. Within moments, his night shades adjusted and illuminated the darkened world in an eerie green cast. He took a moment to get his bearings, and then began the three and a half mile journey to the east and slightly to the south, knowing the fool would catch up sooner or later.