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  Nur sat next to him, but Wekniz stood in front of Falinset instead. The Nobek’s face was animated with excitement as he said, “My Dramok, I’ve seen something strange out on Maf’s inland property.”

  Falinset’s good feelings fled. He frowned at Wekniz. “I told you to stay away from that place.”

  Wekniz didn’t bother to look contrite. “I know, but I saw Maf’s shuttle fly into the wooded area. With what Feyom hinted about Maf possibly siding with the Basma—”

  “You thought you’d find something to blackmail the blackmailer. My Nobek, short of a hundred Joshadans in chains, nothing on Maf’s property will get us out from under his thumb. Whatever you found, it is not our problem.”

  Wekniz knelt before him on one knee, putting them eye to eye. The intensity of his gaze forced Falinset to listen though he did not want to.

  Wekniz said, “Maf has a compound of some sort. It’s surrounded by a containment field and guarded by armed Nobeks. A lot of armed Nobeks.”

  Falinset’s stomach churned. It really did sound like Maf was up to something, and that could mean trouble for his clan. He had to keep Nur and Wekniz safe.

  With that uppermost on his mind, the Dramok said, “All the more reason for you to stay away from there. You are brave and strong, Wekniz, but you are not trained for messing with Maf’s security guards.”

  “I don’t think they’re just security guards. I think they are actual soldiers, maybe some of those who walked away from the ground forces when the trouble started. They were wearing ground troop uniforms. I think Maf has a training facility for them or a secret research base of some kind. He could be letting the Basma use his property for the rebellion.”

  Wekniz’s report made Falinset angrier than ever at his sire. If Maf was indeed involved with the Basma, he was bringing that shit into Falinset’s own backyard. If Kalquor found out the former councilman had a secret facility helping the rebellion, they’d assume Clan Falinset was involved.

  “Asshole!” the Dramok burst out. “He is determined to ruin our lives.”

  Wekniz’s voice was quiet but insistent. “We should report this to someone, my Dramok. Right now.”

  Falinset looked from his Nobek to the Imdiko sitting by his side. Nur looked troubled, a look he wore far too often. If they told anyone something odd was happening on Maf’s property, they would suffer. Their parents would suffer. Maf would destroy them all.

  Falinset couldn’t allow that. He was loyal to no one but the two men of his clan. He would protect them and only them, no matter the cost to himself.

  Making up his mind in an instant, Falinset said, “What we should do is take a holiday. We’ll get away from this place until Maf succeeds in getting himself charged with treason or the Basma wins his stupid revolt. That way we can claim ignorance and maybe keep Maf’s mouth shut about your parent clans.”

  Wekniz recoiled from him, his expression filled with disbelief. “Falinset, no. This is not a small thing. This may affect the entire Empire.”

  Falinset got up to pace the deck. “The Empire? I don’t care about the damned Empire.” He snorted in derision. “Honor. Loyalty. When has the Empire offered us any of that? Kalquor can take care of itself. My only concern is with us. I look out for this clan and nothing else.”

  Wekniz slowly rose to his feet and stared at Falinset. “If war breaks out, people will die. Kalquorians are already as good as extinct, but at least our world can live on with the help of the Earthers.”

  Falinset burst out in bitter laughter. “Yes, let’s save the Empire so its people can continue cheat, lie, use, and hurt each other. It’s a such a worthy cause.”

  The Nobek’s fists clenched, his patience tested. “We are better than our parents. I want the opportunity to prove it, and this is my chance.”

  “And is your need for honor worth what it will do to Nur’s parent clan?”

  The thunderous look that had made Wekniz’s scarred face terrifying bled out. He glanced towards their third, huddled quiet on the lounger.

  Falinset had to drive the point home, little as he liked making his Nobek look so deflated. “Our parents have willfully fucked up, Wekniz. They deserve any terrible thing that happens to them. But Nur’s fathers—”

  It was the Dramok’s turn to look at their Imdiko. Falinset hurt for Nur the most, the biggest victim of the mess that was their lives.

  Yes, Nur’s fathers had done their share of misdeeds, but at least they’d done them out of love. They had screwed up not from greed or hunger for power, but because they’d been desperate to make things right for Nur’s mother.

  The same love Falinset had for his clanmates had made Nur’s parents the perfect prey for Maf. Maf had never had a moment of conscience making them pay. Just as he’d not think twice about ripping Falinset’s clan apart if he felt the need.

  Nur’s head had been bowed during the discussion, his hair falling forward so that the familiar hunch of pained guilt hid his face. Now he straightened. Instead of looking agonized as he so often did during similar discussions, his eyes were as bright as Wekniz had been when the Nobek had shared his discovery.

  The Imdiko said, “There is something you both need to know. The Basma has kidnapped Princess Noelle and a female cousin of the Imperial Clan. The child is three years old.”

  “Mother of All,” Falinset breathed as Wekniz gaped. Knowing the Basma could stoop so low made the Dramok almost physically sick. Only the lowest coward would victimize women and children in a bid for rule.

  Falinset thought of how much he hated people. His own clan aside, he hated them all. It would serve the Empire right if they did go extinct.

  Wekniz recovered his ability to speak. “By the ancestors. Falinset, if Maf is involved with the Basma and the princess has been abducted—”

  Falinset cut off any notions of heroism his Nobek might harbor by saying, “We need to put distance between him and us. You two tie up your affairs and think of where you’d like to go for an extended vacation. I’ll get everything in order from my end. Hopefully we can get out of here in two or three days.”

  Without waiting for further discussion, the Dramok hurried off the deck, heading into the house and towards his office. He didn’t have to look to feel Wekniz’s eyes on him or the disappointment that would be held in the Nobek’s gaze. He could live with his clanmates’ being displeased with his actions. What he couldn’t live with was to see them harmed any worse than they already were.

  Falinset would take care of them no matter how their regard for him suffered.

  * * * *

  Nur listened to his Dramok’s footsteps recede into the house. He watched Wekniz listening too. He saw how the Nobek’s jaw tightened, how his fists clenched. His clanmate’s entire body spoke of the frustration he felt.

  Nur knew the feeling all too well, just as the helplessness sweeping over him was familiar. Each path they might take led to dishonor and people being hurt. No matter what they tried, the situation was impossible.

  All he could do was try to keep matters within the clan as steady as possible. With that in mind, Nur spoke carefully to the angry Nobek before him. “He only wants to keep us from harm.”

  Wekniz’s hot gaze turned to him. He shook his head. “I know, but we are already harmed. All we can do is protect the other victims in this. If it were not for your fathers, I would tell the authorities about my parent clan in an instant. I am tired of Maf controlling us.”

  Shame filled Nur. He would not for all the world see his fathers suffer for what they’d done. Their only crime lay in loving his mother so much and doing what they thought they had to for her sake. It was too bad their actions had been illegal and Maf had discovered it.

  Wekniz came to lean over him. His hands gripped Nur’s shoulders and shook until the Imdiko looked at him again.

  The Nobek’s tone was gentle. “None of this is your fault. Tell me you know that.”

  Nur swallowed and nodded. “It’s none of our faults. And yet we pa
y over and over. Especially Falinset. Maf uses his love for us against him.”

  Wekniz grimaced in agreement. “Just as Maf uses our love for our Dramok and families against us.”

  The Nobek stood up straight and turned. He walked to the railing and gripped it, as if he could strangle Maf through a chokehold on the bars. He stared up at the planet hanging in the sky.

  Nur stood up and went to him, moving close to look in his companion’s scarred but noble face. The determined look Wekniz wore made his heart sink. “You’re planning to go back to that compound. You want to see what Maf is doing there.”

  The Nobek didn’t try to deny it. He asked, “Are you going to tell Falinset?”

  Nur thought about it. On one hand he feared for Wekniz’s safety. He’d said the Nobeks guarding the area were armed, that they looked like combat troops. Wekniz could be killed, or worse, caught and used to make Falinset a partner in Maf’s awful schemes.

  On the other hand, Nur knew Wekniz’s honor demanding he do something. A man as principled as the Nobek would prefer death to disgrace, even if only he knew the source of his shame. Wekniz’s parent clan’s scandalous behavior was already tearing him apart a piece at a time. The only thing Nur’s clanmate had left was the dignity of his own actions.

  Nur sighed, the sound unhappy. “Swear to me you won’t get caught. You and Falinset are all I have. If anything happened to either of you, I couldn’t stand it.”

  The tension in the Nobek’s body eased. He turned to Nur and the stunning unscarred side of his face smiled. “I swear it. Thank you, Nur. Thank you for knowing how much I need to do this.”

  Nur nodded. Pride and defeat battled for control over his tone. “When will you go again?”

  “Tomorrow night, after I’ve looked at the geo-cams to see what can be picked up from a distance. Trust me, I don’t want to get caught by those bastards.”

  Nur looked up at Kalquor. With his mother’s illness, things had seldom been easy there either, but at least there had been moments when he could forget hardship. Once upon a time, life had approached casualness and offered bright flashes of joy.

  “Do you think we can ever have a normal life?” he asked.

  Wekniz looked at their home planet too. “Maybe if I catch Maf alone and wring his neck.”

  “If you get the chance, make sure there are no witnesses. Set a fire and remove all traces of evidence.”

  Wekniz chuckled at that. He wrapped his arm around Nur’s shoulders, giving what small comfort he could. The Imdiko leaned his head on his clanmate’s shoulder and dreamed of the impossible.

  Chapter 9

  Maf’s prison camp was filthy. If the dirt of the yard got on skin or clothes, trying to rub it off resulted in smearing it. All of the women’s feet and lower legs were coated with it, and they had long given up trying to wash it off. Their clothes were caked with dirt. Noelle’s dress had already been streaked with filth by midmorning of the second day. Knowing she was to appear on vid on the evening of their fifth day of captivity and that Ket was probably looking for any excuse to hand out penalties, Tasha made an attempt to wash it.

  She squatted next to the pipe where the women got their drinking water from. One of the pails they used was full of water that had been boiled and strained until it was mostly clear. Tasha worked to scrub the stubborn stains from the purple play dress in the hot sun. She thought the one saving grace was that the color of the dress was dark, which would help hide what she couldn’t squeeze out of the expensive fabric. The recording would also take place at twilight, another help.

  Someone had found a tattered blouse that had belonged to a woman who had died a year prior. Noelle wore that as a dress while Tasha tried to salvage her clothing. The little girl sat in the dirt a few feet away, listlessly drawing smiling stick figures of herself holding hands with her parents and brother under a beaming sun. She was filthy now, but Tasha planned to wash her too. For now, she was fine letting Noelle amuse herself as best she could.

  Sonia stood close by so they could speak in low tones, hashing out the plan Tasha had come up with. They went quiet any time one of the guards came near, maintaining watchful silence until the sentries moved on to a distance they thought would keep them from being overheard. Since the women always became quiet with fear when one of the brutal Nobeks approached, the abrupt cessations of conversation were not seen as suspicious.

  Sonia filled Tasha in on how to handle Ket, since he would no doubt be present for the vid recording. She was adamant that he was the best potential hope Noelle’s escape, mostly because of his oversized ego, stupidity, and frequent drunkenness.

  Tasha spoke with as little movement of her lips as possible, not wanting to give the guards any opportunity to find out what they talked about. “Completely full of himself, huh?”

  Sonia watched her wash as if it was the most interesting thing ever. Her lank hair hung down, partially obscuring her face. “The best way to get on Ket’s good side is to act like he’s the most amazing man on Earth. Or Lobam, anyway. We’ve learned to act grateful that he’s bothering with us.” She shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all. “Can you imagine? But it’s either that or get badly hurt. He can be sadistic if he’s not worshipped like the god he wants us to believe he is.”

  Tasha’s stomach twisted to think of what Sonia and the other women had been through. To not only be brutalized, but have to act thankful for it?

  She felt sick over what would happen after the escape attempt was made, whether it was successful or not. Ket might very well kill the lot of them. From what Sonia had told her, the deaths wouldn’t be quick either. It was awful what Tasha was asking the other women to do and the repercussions they faced. Yet every last woman had agreed to do her part to help Noelle and Tasha escape. They had bonded on the belief that the little princess must be saved no matter the cost. The hope that Tasha could call for rescue once freed had seemed a secondary consideration. It was like Sonia had said in her deep Southern drawl: “Another two years here getting starved, beaten, and raped? No contest. Death is an okay option.” They made it clear they were ready to put their lives on the line for the child.

  Sonia’s body jerked, taking Tasha from guilt-ridden anxieties. “Here comes the big bastard now.”

  Tasha glanced up to see Ket swaggering across the compound, his handsome but hated face pointed in her direction. Her stomach tightened, and she nodded to Sonia.

  “Noelle, go inside with Sonia. You need a break from the sun.”

  The little girl straightened, clapped her hands together to rid them of the worst of the clinging dirt, and offered one to Sonia. The blonde hummed a tune as she led Noelle to the barracks. Tasha watched them go, fury burning bright again to see the child looking so small and lost. She fought back the blinding urge to leap on the approaching Ket and rip his throat out with her teeth.

  Tasha knew she was capable of violence. She’d set aside her humanity before, had done it with cold calculation and no conscience. Ket had made it possible to do so again.

  She looked to the dress she scrubbed, ignoring the hateful Nobek while she settled her temper. When his shadow fell over her, she was able to look at him with the proper attitude of groveling fear.

  He smirked at her, his well-made features turning ugly with a sneer. “You don’t have to do that. Maf brought a nice little dress for the princess to wear for her vid.”

  Now he told her. She’d been scrubbing for nearly an hour, making her hands and arms one huge ache. Ket had walked by the outside of the containment area at least three times, pointedly looking at her with an attitude of ownership.

  Asshole. It was going to feel so good if she ever got the chance to kill him. It was a thought that somehow scared and soothed her at the same time.

  Tasha stood up straight, making her knees pop as they released the stiffness of the crouch she’d been in for so long. She wrung the dress and shook it out, pretending she didn’t notice the drops of water darting in Ket’s direction.
If the small splatters bothered him, he didn’t comment. He seemed to be content to stand close, intimidating her with his presence in her personal space.

  Tasha finally gave the silent Nobek her attention. She did it slowly, letting her gaze crawl up his long, strong legs. She stalled for a moment as she took in his crotch. It was impossible to tell if her inspection aroused or worried him, as the body armor of his sleeveless black formsuit kept things covered. Then Tasha let her gaze rise, noting his torso.

  The fool puffed out his already impressive chest as she studied him. Yeah, he was full of himself all right. At least he wouldn’t suspect anything when she fawned over him.

  Tasha licked her lips, noting how Ket’s eyes widened a little at the gesture. She made her voice as low and husky as she dared – she still had to appear more frightened than interested. Full-on flirtation would make even a blockhead like Ket suspicious. “Maf likes to surround himself with the biggest and baddest of Nobeks, doesn’t he?”

  Ket smirked. “I am his favorite. I have proved myself worthy in every way to his cause.”

  Tasha widened her eyes. “I’ve noticed. It must have been easy for a man like you to get his attention.”

  Ket preened under her impressed act. He stood straighter and more proudly with her every word. Tasha would have ruined everything by laughing had she not wanted so badly to tear his stupid head off.

  He slung an arm around her and pulled her in close. The sour smell of old bohut made her want to gag as he said, “Many try to be in the Basma’s inner circle. I have all the right skills, but it takes a bit of luck to catch his attention too.”

  “You wouldn’t need luck.” Tasha could have gagged on the words as much as the stench coming off the man, but being on Ket’s good side might make all the difference later.

  “Eventually I would have come to the Basma’s attention, but no one wants to wait for glory. I have the good fortune of being his lover’s son and his natural son’s half-brother.”