“Want it? Heavens no. But this is the chancellor’s reputation on the line, and we are not taking any chances. Bring in the best of the best. They are under his indenture and serve at his will. While he normally keeps them aside for other uses, adding them to the mix will help you refine your search faster. Time is of the essence. The chancellor has taken this affrontverypersonally.”
“I see. I’ll make sure word is sent. But do you want me to summonallof them?”
Frakkus knew why he was asking, just as he’d already wondered if it was really worth calling in the chancellor’s favorite slave. He was a talented tracker, hunter, and competitor. Had he not been acquired during a failed attempt in a prior games several years past the man would be in high demand across the galaxy. Luckily, he was bound by the chancellor’s indenture and had no choice but to serve it out here, working for the man he did not like but had to obey.
“Yes, evenhim. This is too important not to deploy our very best resources.
The guard sighed but nodded his understanding. “I’ll see to it at once.”
“Good. You will task them with tracking every single ship and transport that has departed in the last day. We do not know exactly when she was taken from us, so it will require a wider net to be cast. Someone very skilled tampered with the security system and we have no precise details. But since the games have begun and our guests have reserved spaceport landing sites well in advance for the duration, only short-range craft will have left as a result. They cannot have flown too far. Focus your attention on those craft and any internal security footage they may possess. Once we learn where they went the ground specialists will move in. Clear?”
“Crystal. It will be relayed to the teams at once.”
“I trust you to handle this quickly and efficiently.”
“Have I ever failed?”
“No. And I would not have you break that streak. Now, send out the hunter teams and find them. And when you have secured the chancellor’s property eliminate whoever it was that took her.”
“You don’t want us to capture them?”
“No. With the games underway there is too much risk of embarrassment for the chancellor if the man should be able to spew hurtful lies. We must protect our employers from all manner of injury, including their reputations. None will tell of this incident.”
“Understood.”
“Then good hunting.”
The small group of elite guards hurried out to put their task into motion with the ice-cold efficiency Frakkus had always expected of them. They were good. Very good. The escapee would be recovered in no time. In fact, with the resources at their disposal, he was confident she would be back in custody by nightfall. After all, his people were the best, and they had detailed logs of every last ship, transport, and conveyance coming in and out of the city. How far could she possibly get?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Maria had come a long way in just a couple of short days, and all thanks to Zepharos’s urging, his constant but gentle guidance keeping her on track and on the move. As a result, they had put a great deal of distance between themselves and the city, and all while taking the most unpopulated and difficult route imaginable.
No one would ever dream they would have come this way, and that was precisely what was intended.
The hard road, or lack thereof as the case may be, was to be their path, and it would serve them well. But even with his expert navigation and wilderness skills there were some things Zepharos couldn’t avoid.
Maria stared up at the imposing mountain looming over them. Broad and rocky at the base, its width blending with other sheer faces, the result of a geological upheaval tens of thousands of years in the past if not more. The result was a very tall and very steep obstacle, and one she very much did not want to climb.
“I’m sorry,” Zepharos said as he led her toward the more central portion of the lowest foothills leading to the mountain. Itwas far from ideal, but it was where the rocks would be at least somewhat passable. “The Vorkalian Range is well known, and approaching from our direction, there is no way around it. We will have to climb to the summit and make our descent on the other side.”
“Grrrreat,” she grumbled, her body already aching, and they still had a long way to go before it gotreallybad.
“You’re doing fine, just keep moving and it’ll be over before you realize.”
“You think I’m going to climb a mountain and not notice every second of it?”
He chuckled. “I suppose not. I’m not very good at this whole supportive encouragement thing, am I? It’s all pretty new to me.”
“You’re doingfine,” she shot back with an amused gleam in her eye.
“Did you just?—”
“Who? Me?”
Zepharos shook his head, a grin on his lips. “Well played. But if you start to feel truly lagging, you have the vial should you need it.”
“Yeah, I’ve been saving it. The downhill wasn’t so bad, and aside from that damn river I’ve felt okay. But that climb? Yeah, I’ll be taking it soon, headache be damned.”
