TWO YEARS BEFORE, Mr. Deacon Winterrose—a young man of twenty-nine, who made minimum (better known as a starvation) wage in a grocery store, was hurrying home one night after curfew. He had just left an underground rebel meeting in the tunnels and had stayed too long while talking to one of the leaders. Now the scents would be out and hunting.
The eerie shadows cast by one of Ar's two moons fell in random patterns from the buildings and onto the streets below. Although he had done it before he didn't like being out when the scents were on the prowl. It was hard to see them in the dark shadows, and if you didn't see them in time the only warning was the whirring of the motors just seconds before their razor sharp blades hacked you into bloody pieces.
He lived close, just a block and a half from the opening into the underground tunnels. And before he emerged he watched the sky above his apartment building. When all looked clear he sprinted out of the building and down the street as fast as he could run.
As he approached his 'home sweet home,' or, in this case, his lair of safety, he felt a sense of relief. Another few moments and he would be inside and out of reach of the scents. He would go to bed, get a good nights sleep, then rise in the morning and go to work—knowing in the back of his mind that he was doing his part and hoping that Hurd would soon be overthrown.
But just before he reached the door to his apartment building, a man stepped out of the shadows nearly causing Deacon to have a heart attack. Being startled made his heart race even faster than that caused by the running. "What the hell?" he blurted out without thinking."
"Mr. Winterrose?" asked the man.
"Yes?" he answered. His heart still raced, and he was undecided as whether to knock the man down and run into his apartment or stay and find out what he wanted. He was leaning toward the first when the man said, "I was sent by Rogae X."
"Man, you scared the wits out of me." He looked around. "Let's get into the building."
After they had entered and the door slid shut, Deacon asked him for the password, and then being satisfied that the man was on the level, he asked, "What do you want?"
"It's not me," said the man. "It's Rogae X. He sent me to tell you that he has falsified your records. After much consideration he has decided that you are the best suited of all the rebels to infiltrate Hurd's regimen of Elite Royal Guard.
Tomorrow morning you are to report to Captain Halax on the third floor of Hurd's Tower. You have just been transferred from another division for your excellence in performance. Your name is Corporal Lance J. Winterrose." The man paused and then asked, "Do you have any questions?
"Are you kidding? I have a ton of questions."
"Fine. Don't ask. Just report and do what you're told. It is Rogae X's plan to eventually promote you to the scent room." Without further ado the man turned and hurried out of the apartment building.
Fourteen months later there was an opening in the scent room and due to Corporal Winterrose's excellent record and a good word from Rogae X, he was transferred to his new position.