Shadows in the Stars (Shadows in the Stars, Book 1) by T.W.M. Ashford

Author:T.W.M. Ashford [Ashford, T.W.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

Dawn had only struck Keet as little as twenty minutes prior, and the night’s pleasant chill had not yet burned away. Still, the amber bulge on the horizon promised another scorcher. For a planet orbiting such a pocket-size star, Nasako sure got toasty.

The city was oddly quiet, and not just because of the early hour. This was the quiet of absence, of shock and grief. Besides, this was supposed to be a festival that went on for weeks, day and night. There should have been music and fireworks and screams of drunken delight. Instead, all Sheni heard were sobs and the crack and crunch of market stalls collapsing.

He put Alan back down – he’d been squeezing the poor guy so hard, his eyes had almost popped completely out of his head – and together they disappeared into the streets of an older residential district.

Giving the temple’s stage a wide berth was the smart choice. Anyone who wasn’t a Nasakoan resident was a prime target for mob justice. But the egg was stolen, and the only information the authorities probably had was that a human fled the scene of the crime. The city guards wouldn’t just protect an already desecrated temple. They’d be spreading out through the streets of Keet, hunting down anyone who matched his description. They might have even impounded the Silver Hart by now.

Xotl. They were waiting patiently in the ship for word of the heist’s success. He ducked behind the crumbling wall of a sun-blasted pottery garden, pulled out his data pad, and opened a comm channel with the ship.

“Hello, Sheni,” the Xocha spluttered. “How did it go?”

“Not good, man. Thunderskull crashed the party.”

“Goodness…” Xotl nervously clacked their beak together. “Is everyone⁠—”

“I’ll explain more later,” Sheni whispered. “The city’s on high alert. Right now our priority is skipping the system, you know? Keep an eye out for anyone trying to clamp the ship. And be ready to leave the second Alan and I get back.”

“What about Gecki?” Xotl asked. “Is she⁠—”

Sheni hung up. There wasn’t time to play Twenty Questions. The longer their crew spent in the city, the greater the chance they’d be caught and tried for Thunderskull’s crimes.

And sure, some of Thunderskull’s crimes were their crimes, too. But there was a far cry between sneaking into private property and gunning down civilians. His crew might be thieves, but they always stopped short of becoming proper pirates. They were just in it for the credits. Nobody was ever supposed to get hurt.

Nobody innocent, at any rate.

Sheni ran his fingers through his hair while Alan sat on the ground, smiling at his wrench. Stars above. Everything had gone to… well, it had gone to a great big pile of muloch dung. But he could mope and sulk later. All that mattered now was finding his way back to the Silver Hart without getting caught.

“Hop to it, Alan,” he said, rising to his feet and checking the coast was clear. “We’re not down and out quite yet.”

Alan babbled supportively.

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