Page 33 of Only Cold Depths
On Corios, I had dismissed Rigel as Asterin’s social handler, a glorified bodyguard, but he was clearly much more than that.
“Yes, thank you, Rigel. I appreciate you talking some sense into Siya. You’re the only one who can.” Asterin muttered the last few words.
A wry smile curved Rigel’s lips. “As I said before, it’s my job to keep you out of trouble.” His smile vanished. “Although someday, you and Siya are going to have to resolve your differences.”
Asterin huffed. “There’s about as much chance of that happening as there is of the moon dropping out of the sky.”
Rigel shrugged, as if he agreed with her sentiment, then strode away.
Asterin watched him go with a pensive expression, then jerked her head to the side. “Come. Let’s get you two to the estate.”
She headed toward the front of the dome, in the opposite direction from Rigel, Siya, and the other Hammers. Vesper slid her stormsword onto her belt, grabbed her duffel bag, and followed our friend.
I did the same thing, but my gaze moved from one aisle to the next. I didn’t see any of the Hammers, but a presence tickled my telempathy. Siya was still here somewhere, watching us.
Once we’d reached Sygnustern, I’d thought—hoped—we might be able to take a breath, rest, and recuperate while we plotted our next course of action. But once again, I had the uneasy feeling we were surrounded by far more enemies than allies.
CHAPTER NINE
VESPER
KyrionandItrailedAsterin out of the antiques emporium. A horse-drawn carriage was waiting on the street. Asterin climbed into one side of the open-air carriage, while Kyrion and I slid into the opposite seat.
Asterin signaled the driver, who whistled softly. The horse bobbed its head in response, and the silver bells on its collar and harness jingled out a cheerful tune as the carriage rolled along the cobblestone street.
Asterin hit a button on the side of the door, and small metal tubes popped up around the perimeter of the carriage. The tubes were a little longer than my fingers and featured holes that made them look like old-fashioned flutes. A faint purr sounded, and warm air wafted out of the tubes, creating a cozy bubble over the three of us.
Asterin slumped back against her seat. “I’m so sorry. I was hoping if you came to my workshop first, you could avoid running into Siya. As soon as I got your message, I left my workshop, but of course, Rigel and I were too late to stop Siya from doing, well, what Siyaalwaysdoes.”
“Trying to solve problems with her war hammer?” Kyrion drawled. “Believe me, I noticed.”
Asterin’s gaze flicked to his injured arm. Kyrion waved his hand, dismissing her concern, but guilt still creased her face.
“Who is she to you?” Kyrion asked. “And how much trouble is she going to cause us?”
Asterin’s grimace deepened. “Siya is the daughter of my stepfather, Aldrich Collier. When we were children, Siya and I were the best of friends, until . . .”
Her voice trailed off, and a distant look filled her eyes as though she was seeing something far, far away. Asterin let out a long, tired sigh and focused on us again.
“Don’t worry about Siya. My stepfather has the final say on House Collier matters, not her. Aldrich has seen the gossipcast footage of the Regal midnight ball, and he knows about the bounty Callus Holloway has offered for your capture. I’m sure once he meets you, he’ll offer you sanctuary.”
Kyrion and I glanced at each other. We could both hear the doubt in Asterin’s voice, but all we could do now was hope for the best.
Asterin gave us a bright smile and assumed the role of tour guide, pointing out clothing shops, sweets stores, and more. Kyrion listened to her politely, although his gaze kept flicking from one side of the street to the other as he searched for threats. I couldn’t fault the Arrow for his vigilance, but Asterin was clearly trying to take our minds off our troubles, so I played along and started asking her questions about the various landmarks.
In many ways, the city of Gewitter was similar to Corios—wide cobblestone streets, colorful buildings with quirky architecture, scores of luxury goods for sale. But unlike the chrome façades and polyplastic coatings on many Corios structures, almost every building here was made of real stone, wood, and glass in a reflection of the raw resources the Erzton controlled. Add in the views of the surrounding mountains and the flakes of snow drifting down from the sky, and it all combined to give Gewitter a quaint, old-fashioned air, as though I had stepped into some long-ago holiday story.
The driver stopped to let another carriage cross in front of us, and my gaze snagged on a building at the end of a nearby side street. Unlike all the other shops with their immaculate, gleaming storefronts, a rusty metal fence cordoned off this building.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“An old mining museum that sits atop a series of caverns, along with Stardrop Falls, an underground waterfall. It used to be a popular tourist attraction, but it’s been closed for quite a while.” Asterin’s nose scrunched up in thought. “Years ago, there was an accident. I was off-planet at university at the time, but from what I remember, a young man fell off a bridge beside the waterfall and died. After that, the whole facility was shut down.”
The other vehicle moved out of the way. The driver whistled to the horse, and our carriage rolled forward again. Asterin gestured at another building, pointing out the gargoyles on the stone structure, but I glanced over my shoulder at the closed museum.
For a moment, the barred windows glimmered with a silver sheen, winking at me like tall, skinny eyes. I squinted, but I couldn’t tell if the glimmer was my seer magic flaring up or simply the afternoon sun glinting off the glass. Either way, a shiver skittered down my spine.
First, Kyrion and I had been attacked, and now, an abandoned building was giving me the creeps. I’d thought we might be able to relax on Sygnustern, but I had a funny feeling we were in just as much danger as before.
