Olock fingered the electronic communications device attached to his belt. From his position behind the large stone, he'd seen Eaisan Lurei and his two companions briefly before they disappeared into the forest. The sand was hot under his stomach, but he knew he had to lie as low as possible to avoid detection. A short distance away, F'Ledro sat cowering on his knees behind a larger rock. His stone was rather large—enough to hide him in a kneeling position—but the crimson rock that Olock found himself behind was no larger than a small sheep. The slightest movement would be easy to spot from any distance.
"Where is he?" F'Ledro's whisper was dripping with impatience.
"Quiet," Olock ordered. "He'll be here any minute now."
The tiny beige communicator emitted a soft beep. Olock raised it to his mouth and pressed the narrow button on the side. "Yeah, Boss?"
"We're almost there," Sartan's voice buzzed from the tiny device. "You say there are two kids with him?"
"Yes, Sir. Both appear to be similar in age. It's quite possible they're his students."
"That's perfect," Sartan's smile could be heard in his voice. "The more test subjects, the better. Do you still see them?"
"They just moved deeper into the woods. I don't think they saw us. But they're gone now."
"They couldn't have gone far. We'll fan out and surround them if we can. Good work, Olock." Sartan didn't even bother addressing F'Ledro.
Olock smirked. "Actually, it was an accident, Sir. We were headed out to dig up some information on that kid and suddenly they were right in front of us. It was sheer luck."
"Luck or not, this gives us the perfect chance to test the modifications we made to the implant."
The smile vanished from Olock's face. "The . . . implant? Is it . . . um, I mean, is he with you?"
"No, there are still more adjustments to be made," Sartan's voice came back. "But so far it seems to be a success. We'll see how he reacts to being told to fight one of his own people. That'll give me a good idea of how many more glitches I have to work on."
Olock shuddered in spite of the desert heat. He'd been excited about the project from the moment Sartan had told him about it, but once he'd actually seen it in operation . . . He didn't even want to remember it.
"We should meet up with you shortly. Stay sharp. Just because you don't think Eaisan saw you doesn't mean he didn't. He could be hunting you two right now. Be alert."
"Always, Boss. Olock out."
He clipped the square communicator to his belt and gazed into the woods. Eaisan and his boys were going to help with the experiment whether they wanted to or not. If successful, the device could be sold to militaries or pirates or smugglers for a hefty profit, and the kyrosen would finally have the financial stability they needed to leave Terranias. It all depended on the success of Truce's design.
Olock wiped the sweat from his brow and refocused his eyes on the forest. "Everything depends on those boys."