Page 35 of Stealing the Star Stone

Chapter Twenty-Four

The moon, Lethara

A Lethaar Temple, near to Vael’Tir.

A mad dash to freedom and despair.

Day Six.

The poor man hadn’t known. Nova realized that when Zal just blinked at her.

“I apologize.” He held up his hands, palms outward. “How is it the wrong shol? My chief gave it to me…” His eyes widened. “I see.”

“Now we have to head to another temple.” She slumped, the weight of this made heavier by the time restraint. Although, given weeks, she doubted she’d dawdle. “I can’t say how long we’ll be or how we’ll find a way back to you. I suggest you head home, Zal.”

“The temple that watches the great waters?” he asked, gathering the yuxmets’ reins. “I will circle the lake and meet you there. Wait for me for my journey will be longer than yours.”

She gazed at the yuxmets, desperate to ask if they had boats. But since she hadn’t seen one docked or dragged onto shore, the answer had to be no. “My thanks, Zal.”

Eli hovered west of her. She hurried to join him, and together, they jogged to where the tunnel was supposed to begin. If she judged by the architecture of the temple and the city, she expected it to be pillar-lined.

“We can do this,” Eli said.

“I know we can,” she said, rolling her shoulders. “Just tired, hungry, and could kill for a cup of tea.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he said, peering at her.

She shrugged. He had, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. She wanted this done and behind her. Never again would she bemoan her fate as a pilot. She’d taken that cushy job for granted.

“There,” he said, pointing at a hole in the ground.

She groaned. “Really? We don’t have rope.” Anger was swift to strike, flooding her body with adrenaline. She was ready to punch something.

“It has a ladder, sort of,” he said, peering inside. “Notches in the rock.”

Great! I’m going to break my neck.

“I’ll go first,” he said, dropping the bag beside her before turning his back to her so he could descend.

Part of her wanted to run in the opposite direction, to chase after Zal. She far preferred a Yuxmet than what lay below.

“They have blue flames that burn eternally and stones that play with people’s lives, but no magic that could whoosh us to a destination?” She stomped her foot. “I could strangle someone.”

“Save that fire, honey,” he said as he located a rung at a time.

She glared at him surrounded by darkness, only his face illuminated.

He smirked. “She’s so adorable when she’s angry.”

She jerked back, torn between basking in his admiration and smacking him. “What the hell, Thorne? Why are you talking to me in third-person?”

His eyes widened then narrowed. “Back to Thorne are we?” And down he went, disappearing from view.

Panic gripped her. The night air, the chilly breeze, the vast and unknown sky surrounded her with a sudden sense of loneliness.

“Thorne!” She sprawled on the ground to stare into the hole. When he didn’t answer, she said, “Eli?”

“Better,” he said, his face appearing.

Relief coursed through, draping over her shoulders like a warm blanket.

“Are you coming?” he asked. “And bring the bag.”

And just like that, the panic was back. She clambered to her feet and looped the bag’s strap across her chest, getting it settled at the base of her spine. Then with a deep breath, she sat on the edge, dangling her feet into the abyss.

There, for a few minutes, she debated whether she should believe an old woman. Unfortunately, Zal was off, planning to meet her. He’d reacted as if what Senmut had said was fact. Nova wasn’t up to chasing after him. But worse than that was the guilt lashing her conscience for agreeing to his plan.

They’d needed a way to return. He’d offered. But what if something happened to them, would he know? Would he wait? Could he perform some sort of rescue?

“Nova, honey,” Eli said, “We can’t waste time, remember?”

And down she went, notch after notch and slower than a sloth. Thankfully, if she fell, he might cushion her fall or die beside her.

What a great comfort that thought is.

Hands grabbed her waist and yanked her off the wall. She squealed then stumbled when her feet hit the ground.

“Not funny,” she snapped.

“Whoa, someone’s hangry,” he said. “I could do with a protein bar. Do we have any left?”

He rooted through the bag, yanking it down as he dug deeper. With it still in place, she had to bend backward. But since her stomach gurgled, she wasn’t going to stop him from finding anything to eat.

He leaped away, waving a bar. “Think it’s our last. Next time Amenkar offers a meal, we take him up on it.”

She hummed in agreement, having already bitten into the half he’d given her. The mealy texture didn’t matter, nor the fake sweetness. She’d eat ten of these if she had them.

She froze. “Wait, how can I see you?”

“Mirrors reflecting moonlight,” he said while he chewed.

She shifted into the pool of light and looked up. Sure enough, tiny discs were embedded into the rock walls and beamed light from one to the other. “That’s clever.”

He cracked open a bottle of water and gave it to her. “We head this way.” He hitched a thumb at a blue flame in the distance. “If you see anything move, scream.”

She scoffed. “You do realize it’s pitch black, right? I doubt these mirrors project the light into the deeper recesses of wherever the fuck we are.”

“That’s what Senmut said we needed to do.”

“And not to get bitten. Gotya,” Nova said, rolling her eyes since he couldn’t see her.

“Nova,” he said, his tone serious. “The moonlight, remember?”

“Oh, yes.” She ducked her head, her cheeks warm.

“Yeah, wish we had a torch…that works.” He headed on, placing his feet with care.

While sipping water, she followed, her ears pricked for any sounds.

The air was stagnant, the smell that of wet rock. And yet, they couldn’t see enough to know what was on either side of them.

Then blue light exploded into life, blinding her. Crying out, she threw up her arm, sloshing water down her chest. She handed him the half-empty bottle and dabbed at her face with the coat’s sleeve.

“One of those,” he said, stepping off a raised and marked stone. The light faded, leaving spots in her eyes. And on again when he repeated the action.

“So much better,” she said, accepting that they were in a tunnel. Carved black rock was on all four sides: bottom, left, right, and top. Words lined them, noticeable for their lack of glowing.

“More shol guardian names?” he asked, studying the closest one. He drained the water, capped the bottle, then slipped it into the bag.

“Could be,” she said. “Or the names of those who died here.”

He chuckled. “Pretty bleak thought.”

With the tunnel lit, he strolled ahead with too much confidence. After everything they’d been through, her level of distrust had ramped to paranoia.

“Make noise?” She coughed to clear her throat, then started to sing. As soon as the deep baritone left her mouth, she stopped. Damn. No wonder he was such a superstar. When she sang, crows joined in.

“Oh, I once met a lass on the moons of Magree,

She said, “Mind the low grav or you’ll float off o’ me,”

We tangled in orbit ‘til our thrusters ran dry,

Then she launched me away with a wink in her eye!”

Eli watched her, a grin splitting his cheeks. “Please, continue,” he said when she hesitated.

She drew in a deep breath and added a little gusto for the chorus.

“So grab all the booty, boys, plunder the skies,

From her Milky Way curves to her bright starry eyes,

We’ll pillage their ports and we’ll board every ship,

And we’ll dock nice and snug for a lovely long trip!”

They hurried along the passage now accompanied by her singing. She threw in a few skips as she got into the swing of it.

“We danced on Uranus ‘til morning was near,

Her asteroid belt slipped and her moons did appear,

And when her black hole pulled me close with a spin,

I was sucked into bliss — never seen her again!”

For the chorus, Eli joined in, making her wince. Still, he was laughing and enjoying himself.

It was the only space shanty she knew. By the time they were climbing a slope and hopefully out of the tunnel, her voice was hoarse and he’d improved his shanty repertoire.

Her hope crumbled for they weren’t leaving the tunnel. A cavern opened up, an altar at the center of a pyramid of steps. Many long tendrils dangled above it, throwing out a circle of red light.

“I should’ve expected this,” she said with a sigh. Climbing to the top would give her the best view. They had to find a way out.

“Looks like a stone used to sit here.” He stroked the indent in the altar. “See any clues?”

She didn’t answer, unable to blink. Something had moved in the shadows. A shimmer, nothing more, but her instincts warned they weren’t alone while her mind claimed she was imagining it.

“What is it?” he whispered, crowding her to peer in the direction she’d fixed her gaze.

“I saw a ghost.” She flicked a dismissive hand. “It’s probably not a real one, but whatever it is, it’s transparent and coated with a rainbow hue like an oil slick.”

“Invisible isn’t good,” he said.

Her shoulders dropped an inch at him not doubting her. That went a long way to bolster her. “We need to find the stone if this is the temple. Or—”

“The next tunnel?” He spun on the spot, sweeping his gaze across the vast cave. They couldn’t see the sides—the tendrils didn’t illuminate far enough. “I don’t want to venture into the darkness to find the exit.”

“Same,” she said, taking a step down.

If she circled the altar, she might stumble on worn stones showing the past foot traffic. It was the only hope they had. By her broken sense of direction, she’d say the tunnel was north or west of them.

“Wanna use my butt tattoo?” he asked, a smile teasing his upper lip.

“Tempting if it was strong enough to project. Can you summon your sparks?” She gestured to all of him. “You could be my personal glow stick.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know how I did that.”

“So, we’re back to the beginning.” Her eyes widened. “What if the correct path illuminates like the other one?”

“Yeah! Go around and tap marked stones?” He ran down the steps to the base of the pyramid, stomping across the paving regardless of whether they bore letters or not.

Movement in the corner of her eye had her blurting out another verse,

“On a wormhole-bound freighter I met Venus May,

She said, “Mind how you steer or we’ll both drift away,”

But the stars were aligned and my course set just right,

We made landfall together all through the night!”

Whipping her gaze at the ‘thing’ showed nothing was there.

“See it again?” Eli called from west of the pyramid.

“Thought I did.” She hurried to him, mostly because Senmut had said west. They might be screwing themselves over by not checking all sides, but she was desperate. It was a gamble.

“Nothing yet,” he said, stamping the stones. “We could cut off a tendril. Maybe it will light the way?”

She grimaced, not wanting to harm anything. For all she knew, what looked like a plant was a living creature.

He ventured out until the ring of darkness started. There he paced. “Could be a leap of faith.”

“Again?” she moaned.

He glanced at her, drew in a deep breath, and moved into the shadows.

“Eli!”

Blue lights lit the path, and he stood there, beaming at her.

This man was going to kill her. She stomped across to him, ready to smack him.

“Fuck, she fires my blood,” he rasped.

“Quit it,” she said, “You were lucky we did it once. I knew better than to trust their chief, but no, you were all gung-ho about getting naked.”

He chuckled. “You don’t regret it, Nova.” He held her gaze, waiting.

She huffed. “No, I don’t.” Before he could ask her any more revealing questions, she marched past him, aiming for the archway in the rock wall.

It was then a shape formed on the path between them and freedom.

Her voice lodged in her throat.