The Star Plume Read Free Page A

ill.
Her sun, the sun that warmed her home planet, was nowhere to be
seen. Strange rocks whizzed by them, some dangerously close. There
was no starlight and no star song. The only light was from a sickly
lantern worn around Blaise’s sturdy neck. As the lantern rocked
with movement, it cast a pale light ahead, barely illuminating the
Plume ahead.
    On they rode. In the darkness, it felt like
they were climbing a steep hill. Princess Cressida could hear
Blaise’s labored breath. Then, a small faint light appeared some
distance ahead, like a flashlight shining in the night. Blaise
galloped toward the light. Eventually the light grew larger and
brighter. When they went around a sharp curve on the Star Plume,
the light disappeared. Princess Cressida felt despair. Somehow the
light had buoyed her hope on this journey.
    Around the dark bend Blaise galloped and then
there the light reappeared, almost directly in front of them.
Princess Cressida saw that it was a lamplight, serving as the
beacon for a massive stone boulder, two stories high, in front of
which stood a tall sign: “Igneous”.
    Blaise slowed her pace and Wrangler Zav spoke
quietly: “We’re here.”
    Several saddled animals waited outside the
boulder, grazing on tall sea grass growing in a shallow moat at the
rock’s base. There, by the unfamiliar creatures, Blaise stopped.
Wrangler Zav hopped down.
    Princess Cressida turned to face him as he
hopped off of Blaise. “Where is ‘here’? This looks like the end of
nowhere.”
    Wrangler Zav smirked. “Nope. Just the
opposite. It’s the beginning.”
    “The beginning of what?”
    “Of nowhere.”
    “That makes no sense.”
    “I agree.” With that, Wrangler Zav helped
Cressida from the saddle to her feet. He surveyed the waiting
animals, nodding at one creature that blinked rapidly on seeing
him. Wrangler Zav approached the open doorway, through which
yelling and smoke spilled. He turned back to the Princess.
    “They don’t much mind their manners in there,
Ma’am. It’s a rough place.” Zav scratched his chin, his nose and
his forehead in succession. “It’s not a place for ladies, is what
I’m trying to say.” He tipped his hat at Princess Cressida out of
respect.
    Princess Cressida sniffed in displeasure.
“I’m sure I can take care of myself. Remember I run a Kingdom of my
own. I’ve had troubles to sort out.” She sniffed again. She didn’t
care for being told to wait in the wings.
    Wrangler Zav narrowed his eyes. “Alright,
we’ll give it a whirl. I can’t leave you out here anyway. That
Celestial wind might pick up and when it does, it blows everything
away.”
    “What about the animals? What about
Blaise?”
    “Blaise always finds her way home. She’d got
one of those honey beacons in her head. Like a bird.”
    Princess Cressida looked at Wrangler Zav. “A
honey Beacon?” Do you mean a homing beacon?”
    “That’s right. Works like a charm. Blaise
ain’t never been lost more’n a year.” He bobbed his head several
times, remembering. “Enough talk, let’s do this.”
    He led the way through the arched doorway
into the cavernous bar, ducking his head, too tall for the doorway.
Inside, the ceiling was so high, it seemed barely visible. Then
Princess Cressida realized there was no roof. The bar opened
directly onto the sky.
    The patrons sat on rough stone benches around
the circular bar, talking. They stared and grumbled as Wrangler and
Princess Cressida walked by.
    While she ignored the men’s stares, Princess
took discrete note of the different galaxies at the bar. A clear
man from Hedrion - Cressida had a distant cousin there, it was
always off-putting to stare right through someone, with only the
eyes, lips and heart opaque enough to see. A few Blues from Zarvis.
The Grass Men, there were several, glared at her. On the edge of
the bar, she saw the X-rays, from Xreesa.
    “An assorted crew out this way,” she said
quietly to Wrangler Zav.
    “It’s a trading route and