The Star Plume Read Online Free PDF Page A

Hybrid. But the proper name for his kind is
Astra Hominid. He’s half star, half human.”
    “How on earth does THAT happen?” Princess
crossed her arms and stared back at him, skeptical.
    Wrangler tipped his hat. “Very careful-like.
His mother was a real trail burner, a wild one. I had to rassle her
back into place more than once. Seems one warm summer night, she
took a liking to some handsome gent who made a wish upon her and
well…Hyko was the result.”
    Wrangler sighed. “But we have no time for
such tales right now. We gotta get through the Breach.”
    “Seems like we're more exposed than ever out
here. Was this a good idea?” she asked.
    “This was our best option, Princess. Them
traders from Igneous will be looking for us. All their friends will
be looking for us. For that Night Spectrum, worth a whole load of
coinage. And we’re not exactly inconspicuous, so this place was our
best bet,” Wrangler Zav said. “Only a damn fool will look in the
Breach.”
    “No one is looking here YET,” Princess
Cressida corrected and crossed her arms. “But what about later,
when they don’t find us anywhere else. I’m sure some enterprising
trader will take a chance out here - none of those men seemed the
fearful type. What do we do when they come this way? Not much out
here, I’m guessing, only a few places to look. And here we are,
stuck on this rock like a sore thumb. No Blaise, no Hyko to help us
escape this time.”
    Wrangler waggled his head in frustration. Women , he thought.
    “We’re not stuck anywhere, with that silver
bauble you got in your carpet bag.”
    “The Night Prism? How can that possibly help
us?”
    “It’ll help us get off this rock, as you
say.”
    “And go where?”
    “To see the Dark Spectrum.”
    “You cannot be serious. Honestly, your ideas
seem to go from bad to worse. We can’t just waltz into the Lair of
the Dark Spectrum and expect to have an audience with him.”
    “I agree. We’re not gonna waltz. We’re gonna sneak .” Wrangler scrunched up his nose, clearly looking
forward to the prospect of a good sneaking.
    “Sneak in…How?”
    “Through the Night Prism.”
    “That sounds crazy. And not just a little
crazy but full-blown crazy.”
    “If you'd prefer to wait for the Igneous
traders and their friends, when they come a callin’ - and you’re
right, they will - be my guest. By now, there's sure to be a mighty
bounty on our heads.”
    Princess Cressida rummaged around in her bag
as if looking for her house keys. She came up empty. She shrugged,
defeated. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”
    Wrangler Zav smiled and swatted his knee.
“All righty then. Take out that there Night Prism and let’s see
what we’ve got to work with.”
    Princess Cressida reached again into her bag,
this time to the very bottom, underneath all the other colors she’d
collected. She knew the Night Prism now by feel, it was like rough
raw silk, heavy and unfinished. She liked the feel of it in her
hand. She pulled it forth.
    The silver cloud billowed in the light wind,
as the material wafted out of the bag. It seemed larger than the
Princess remembered. It pulled away. She had to hang on tight to
not lose hold of it.
    Wrangler Zav admired the waving silvery
material. “Don’t let go now. We lose that, we really are sunk.” He
nodded, looking it over. “Mmmhmm. That is a fine example of
engineering. A bit fancier than the one I’d seen all those years
back.”
    Princess Cressida held the material up by two
ends, to look at it more fully. “It’s just a piece of silvery
cloth. I don’t understand all the fuss.”
    “Not quite, little lady. Now, watch how I do
this and then do exactly what I do. And don’t let go of the Prism.
No matter what happens. Even after.”
    “After what?”
    “You’ll see soon enough.”
    Princess Cressida winced. “Will it hurt?” she
asked.
    “No, ma’am. But it sure will feel different.
It’s easier if you don’t fight it.”
    With that