Page 26 of Only Cold Depths
Kyrion shrugged. “No idea. Despite all my Arrow missions, I’ve never visited the Erzton home planet. It’s not forbidden, though. Many Regals travel to Sygnustern for business and pleasure.”
“Is Asterin still supposed to meet us at her workshop?”
Our friend had suggested we rendezvous there so that she could escort us to the estate owned by her stepfather and mother, Aldrich and Verona Collier, who were among the leaders of the Erzton. I wasn’t sure why Asterin didn’t want us going directly to the Collier estate. Maybe it was some Erzton social rule about not showing up uninvited. Or maybe she didn’t want to give the Colliers any advance warning that we were coming so they wouldn’t have time to figure out how to politely turn down our request for sanctuary.
Kyrion tapped a holoscreen. “Yes. I just confirmed the location and copied everything to your tablet. With Asterin advocating for us, the Colliers should offer us asylum from the Imperium and Holloway.”
“And if they don’t?”
Kyrion tensed. We’d both asked this question more than once during the last few weeks, and neither one of us had a concrete answer.
“If the Colliers won’t shelter us, then we’ll find someplace else to stay,” Kyrion replied.
His voice was steady, but a muscle twitched in his jaw, and the sticky cobweb in my mind vibrated with worry. We were risking everything by asking the Colliers for refuge. If things didn’t work out, we might very well end up captured, dead, or worse.
But I had another reason for coming to Sygnustern: to learn more about truebonds. According to Asterin, truebonds were not uncommon among her people, and Aldrich and Verona Collier had such a connection. I was hoping the couple might give Kyrion and me some insight into how to master our own abilities.
“Are you ready?” Kyrion asked.
“Now or never, right?” I drawled, trying to make my voice light and cheerful.
The corners of his mouth crooked up into a grin, and some of the worry eased out of the bond. “Now or never, and tried and true.”
Kyrion set a course for the planet. As the surface zoomed closer, I stared out the windows, wondering if Sygnustern would really be the safe harbor Asterin claimed—or if new dangers and enemies were waiting for us on the planet.
Kyrionpunchedinthecoordinates for a public spaceport, and the blitzer descended. He had been right about the clouds, which quickly enveloped the ship in a thick layer of white. We sat in silence as the blitzer dropped lower . . . and lower . . . and lower . . .
Finally, the clouds thinned out and wisped away, revealing the planet’s surface.
Mountains stretched out in all directions, each rocky peak higher and more jagged than the last. Snow capped many of the peaks before giving way to dense forests of gray coniferous trees that jutted up like arrows covering the steep slopes.
Massive waterfalls gushed down many of the mountains, sending up constant sprays of mist. The late morning sun hit the tumbling waters at just the right angles, creating shimmering rainbows that arced from one peak to another. Some of the waterfalls ended in crystal-blue lakes that pooled in the bottoms of the valleys, but some sprays of water plummeted so far down they vanished into the shadows.
The blitzer curved to the right, and a large city loomed into view, sprawling across at least ten different mountain peaks—Gewitter, the capital city of Sygnustern and the seat of Erzton power.
An enormous dome made of different colors of permaglass perched atop the highest mountain peak. A clear spire twirled up from the center of the dome, stretching high enough to tickle the bottoms of the clouds. Similar smaller domes glinted atop the other mountains, as well as farther down on the enormous flat plains that had been carved into the slopes.
The permaglass domes were all deep, rich, vibrant shades—sapphire blue, amethyst purple, ruby red, emerald green—and they glittered like precious jewels just waiting to be plucked out of the surrounding gray stone. Shops and homes made of permaglass, stone, and wood clustered around the domes before spreading out and running down the slopes.
Gigantic gondolas that were bigger than some spaceships cruised along thick metal cables that connected one mountain to another, along with wide bridges crowded with people. I also spotted a few chairlifts that seemed to be a more private—or maybe riskier—method of transportation, since only a few people were using them.
Many of the gondolas, bridges, and lifts crossed over chasms that were thousands of feet deep, but no one seemed concerned that they could plummet to their death should any of the cables and support beams fail. A few small transports also zipped through the air, moving much faster than the lumbering gondolas and churning chairlifts.
“Not what you were expecting from a Temperate planet?” Kyrion asked. “Given how gray it looks from space?”
“Most of the Temperate planets I’ve visited have been covered with more buildings than mountains. It’s not as breathtakingly beautiful as a Tropics planet, but it’s pretty in its own way.”
Kyrion flipped the switches to engage the autopilot, then hit a button to start the landing sequence. The blitzer glided down past the gondolas and bridges and docked without any problems. The small spaceport looked like any other—a functional, no-frills building surrounded by rows of docking slots—but cold unease trickled down my spine.
I pulled out my tablet and told Asterin we had arrived, although I didn’t mention where we had landed. Despite Asterin’s assurances that Kyrion and I would be safe on Sygnustern, I didn’t want to put our friend in the awkward position of having to reveal the ship’s location to the Erzton authorities in case things went wrong.
Asterin messaged me.Glad you’re here. No mention of you or Kyrion on the local gossipcasts. Waiting at my workshop. See you soon.
I showed the message to Kyrion, then we left the flight deck and headed to the cargo bay. Kyrion handed me a large duffel bag, then took one for himself, and we both grabbed clothes and other supplies.
Kyrion belted his stormsword to his waist and nestled his blaster into a holster on his right thigh. He also slid a fresh solar magazine into the Techwave cannon so that it was functional again.
Kyrion added a few magazines to his silver bandolier, then tucked the Techwave cannon into the bottom of his duffel bag. I slid my stormsword into a slot on my weapons belt, along with a small blaster.
