Heart Of The Sun by Victoria Zagar Read Free Book Online Page B

says. “Please, you can’t afford to lose a vital intelligence asset like Vash.”
    “How do you even plan to communicate with him? I can’t afford to lend you a translator.” The fire in Macey’s eyes simmers down and Alan inwardly sighs with relief.
    “He has a jewel that can translate. It’s broken right now, but I’m sure he can repair it. Besides, there’s always magic. I know I can find a way if you just let me go after him!”
    “If he is a spy, sending you will let him know we’re successfully tracking him,” Macey says. “I can’t let you endanger the only chance we have of taking him out.”
    “Look, he was here last night,” Alan says. “I thought I was dreaming at the time, but I think it was real. I think he came to say goodbye. He won’t think it’s strange if I follow him. He’ll think I was awake last night and I followed him hoping to stop him. You don’t have to reveal anything.” He reaches for his freshly washed uniform and starts to dress, wincing as the movements pull on his burns.
    “You’re in no fit state to travel across the desert,” the doctor intercedes, but Alan waves a hand and cuts him off.
    “I’m going,” Alan says. “It’s not up for debate. Vash is a friend and if he has betrayed us, I need to know why. Otherwise everything he’s taught me about Karalians is a lie. He made me believe, Macey, and if he’s turned on me and twisted that belief, I’ll kill him myself.”
    “My latest reports suggest he’s made camp at the top of a cliff to the west. I’ll lend you a dune buggy to drive out there. I’ll warn you though; my men are watching. You even think about switching sides and my snipers will kill you both. Understood?”
    “Loud and clear, sir,” Alan says.
    Macey turns and walks through the door while Alan finishes getting dressed.
    “You truly see something in that Karalian, don’t you?” the doctor says. “Do you trust him enough to risk your life for him? Macey will do as he must, even if that means killing you both. He is a man of his word, that one.”
    “I trust Vash,” Alan says. “I know he didn’t betray us. He deserves a chance to explain his actions.”
    “Even if he does return, his future may not be bright. Earth is no place for Karalians. Many asylum seekers live in hovels, and live out their lives as subjects of racism and abuse. It is not easy to live among one’s enemies. I used to treat the Exiles in a free clinic. Some say the punishment Karalia had lined up for them would have been better; at least it would have been a swift death, as opposed to the slow death of living among an underclass that is feared and hated.”
    “I didn’t know,” Alan says. “I’ve never seen a Karalian on Earth. I don’t get back there much; all I have are the vids.”
    “The vids would never show the conditions the Exiles are living in. It is a great shame on all of us that we treat all Karalians as if they were of one mind, when the opposite is in fact true. The vids talk of the persecution the Karalians lay down upon their people but say nothing of the persecution that awaits them in exile.”
    “I had no idea,” Alan admits, bowing his head.
    “Of course you wouldn’t,” the doctor says. “Nice middle-class guy like you has probably never seen a day of hardship. Bet you have a nice family waiting at home with a white picket fence. You’re in this war to keep them all safe. Blah blah, I’ve heard it before. The more sheltered the soldiers, the more blind they are. You must have seen a millionaire’s son or two - they think war is all romance. They usually die real quick if Command doesn’t put them behind a desk.”
    “I’ll admit I didn’t know a lot, but Vash is opening my eyes. That’s why I can’t let him go.” Alan packs a bag hurriedly, throwing in bottled water, ration packs and bandages. “It’s true I’ve been unaware of a lot of things. That I’ve believed in things blindly, like the vids. Perhaps my trust