The Last Immortal : Book One of Seeds of a Fallen Empire

by Anne Spackman

No one was home when they arrived. The leader of the group, a man named Ocver, had waited outside in an alley for the rest of them to show up; the two women had become civilians and were living a comfortable double life in Inen. The other man had managed to infiltrate the military at the age of twelve because of his pale skin color, spending his ahkso years and the past three years establishing his credibility, not that anyone suspected him.

  Ocver and the two women waited until he had arrived before climbing the emergency stairs up to the second floor of the officer’s barracks. For some reason, no guards were around, probably because of the warning bells that had sounded ten minutes before.

  This was going to be easier than they thought. The scrambling device Ocver had brought dispatched the electric locks to the outer door easily, and they were inside in moments. After a preliminary search, they discovered that their target was no longer at home and decided to look over the apartment as they waited for him to return.

  His living room was in order, as was the kitchen. A half-drunk glass of olenfruit juice, still cold to the touch, lay on the counter. So he hadn’t left too long ago. In the bedroom, some personal effects appeared to be missing; in the closet, empty hangers swished back and forth with the force of the opening door. The only pair of shoes on the floor was his combat boots.

  They waited a few more hours, during which time one of the women turned on the vidscreen in the living room to pass the time. He didn’t mind; the Miran wouldn’t hear anything until he opened his front door, and by then it would be too late.

  Then an announcement came on the channel from Headquarters, an update for all military personnel that cut into the civilian stations.

  Damn! Ocver thought to himself, hearing the announcement. The bird has flown the coop...