Star Rising: Heartless Read Free Page A

was as if his very heart had absorbed the flames, using them to empower the boy with vigorous energy.
    The words the bounty hunter had used to refer to the boy came back to him: Specimen .
    Any other person might have discarded the boy at this moment. Tossed him the ground and left him to the elements, or to become a meal for the animals who roamed the planet. Reave was not another person, though.
    The steel-hearted soldier felt something soften within him. Something he had not felt in a long time. It stirred at his insides, tugging away layers upon layers he’d built over his own emotions. A single tear traced down his cheek. Feeling a wave of embarrassment, he wiped it away. He hadn’t cried in countless star cycles. He wasn’t going to start now.
    Nonetheless, he couldn’t deny that there was something special about the boy. Somehow, as unlikely as it sounded even to him, Reave felt a deeper bond with this infant than he had felt with anyone in the universe. 
    With the laughing baby clutched in his hands, they boarded the ancient ship. The roar of the engines was audible as they struggled to life.
    Moments later, the ship had taken to the air, carrying with it two beings who were forged by the bonds of fire.
    ΩΩΩ
    From a cliff that erupted out of the jungle, a lone hooded being watched the ship until it became but a speck in sky.
    The boy had escaped him this time, but it did not matter. He would be his soon enough.
    A cruel smile formed on the lips of the hooded figure. They thought they had vanquished him cycles ago. They had no idea how wrong they were.
    Once he had the boy, he would bring the universe to its knees.
    The boy was the key to everything.

StarCycle 2338
    Chapter 1
     
    Xalen Blangi rubbed his eyelids, yawning, as he was forced awake. The same boring, gray-walled room that had been his home for the past seventeen star cycles welcomed him. Save a long mirror, an old bed, and a brown cupboard, the room was devoid of any accessories.
    Headmistress Agnes’s scratchy voice rang in his eardrums once again. Chubby hands at her waist, she stared down at him. Yellow-stained teeth protruded from her dark gums. She wore a ragged blue dress and a white apron. Plump legs, complete with an unnatural amount of hair, supported her seven foot, five inch frame.
    “Get up, boy. The food is not going to make itself.”
    “Yes, headmistress,” said Xalen, his voice dripping with boredom. He set his foot down on the cold floor. A shudder ran up his leg, and for the thousandth time he yearned for a pair of socks.
    “And wake that good-for-nothing friend of yours.”
    “He’s still hurt, headmistress. You worked him too hard the—”
    “I decide who’s in pain. Not you.” She looked at him with a crooked smile. “You think because you’re seventeen star-cycles-old now, you get to make the rules in my orphanage?” She put extra emphasis on my , as if Xalen wasn’t fully aware that Agnes was in charge. There was a lot Xalen was ignorant to; the fact that Agnes ran the only orphanage on planet Vintra was not one of them. Xalen’s first memory was of him as a four cycle old being forced to clean the floor with a brush boasting only three bristles. In fact, many of his memories involved Agnes exerting her dominance by having him complete some ridiculous chore.
    Lately, Xalen could tell that Agnes knew she was losing her control over him. He was growing up, and more and more he found himself stepping up, defending the younger children against her. He’d suffer enough by her hands, he wasn’t going to stand by as she did the same to the rest of the orphans.
    “I’ll wake him,” said Xalen, choosing to forego another argument with Agnes.
    “See that you do.” The woman turned, and stomped out into the hallway.
    Xalen could still hear her mumbling loudly under her breath long after she’d left the room.
    Once it was clear Agnes was gone, the sheet was tossed aside. He took a long look in the mirror, cursing