The Black Stars

by Dan Krokos

  Mason’s heart rate skyrocketed. Tom threw him a panicked look. The two Reynolds were tense in their seats, looking back over their shoulders. The Rhadgast remained motionless, waiting. Two of them wore purplish gloves and masks along with their black robes, but the other two had gloves and masks that were a dark red, the color of old blood. It reminded Mason of the Tremist King’s powerful armor. Mason had never seen a Rhadgast in red before—he’d never even known they existed.

  You’re going to be seeing a lot of these guys, Mason told himself. He hadn’t laid eyes on a Rhadgast since the one aboard the Will had given him the gloves. His reaction now was involuntary, that was all. The two masks pulsing violet brought Mason back to the Egypt, and the gravity-free bay, where he had risked his life to save his fellow cadets.

  What have you gotten yourself into, Stark?

  “Go,” the Reynold pilot rasped through his helmet speakers. The circular lenses over his eyes flickered briefly with white light.

  Mason and Tom unbuckled their harnesses with thick fingers, keeping an eye on the Rhadgast the entire time. They crossed onto the Will, and the shuttle door slammed shut behind them. Yeah, the humans and the Tremist had a long way to go.

  The nearest Rhadgast—one of the red ones—finally spoke. “Greetings, young rhadjen.”

  “Greetings,” Mason said. Tom just stared with wide eyes. Mason wanted to remind him that they had faced several Rhadgast along the way and won every time. So Rhadgast school should be a piece of cake. Yet Mason knew it wouldn’t be.

  The red Rhadgast used both hands to remove his mask. The seal broke with a sigh, and then his face was revealed. The face was human, although pale and nearly translucent. Mason could see the purple veins in his neck, which branched up and across his cheeks. His hair was long and deep red, and a smile came to his face easily.

  The red Rhadgast stuck out his hand. “How is it the humans do it? A handshake, it is called?” Mason went to shake his hand, but the red Rhadgast pulled it back. “But wait. If you’re going to come with us, it’s best to learn how we greet each other.” He made a fist and held it out. Mason lightly tapped it with his.

  “We do that sometimes, too,” Mason said, and he would’ve smiled if it hadn’t been for the other three Rhadgast looming over them.

  The red Rhadgast’s eyebrows shot up. “Perhaps we have more than just appearances in common! How about that. My name is Reckful. I am of the Blood. Before we take you to see the king, we must remove your gloves.”

  The closest purple Rhadgast snorted in disdain and muttered something in the Tremist language. Reckful frowned at him but said nothing.

  Mason’s gloves were currently retracted. “How did you know I was wearing them?”

  The red Rhadgast only smiled.

  Tom blurted out, “Excuse me, the king is here?”

  Mason and Tom had met with the king before, and it wasn’t always a pleasant experience. In fact, it had never been pleasant. But Mason wanted to give peace a chance.

  “Reck,” said one of the purple Rhadgast.

  “Yes, yes, we’re late. The gloves, please.”

  Mason removed them reluctantly, wincing as he severed the connection between the gloves and his mind. His forearms felt naked, his hands itched, and his brain felt as if it were missing a chunk. Now that they were off, the gloves had expanded to the default size. He held them out to Reckful, but one of the purple Rhadgast snatched them out of his hand.

  “Those belong to us,” the purple Rhadgast said, his mask pulsing brighter. For what purpose, Mason had no idea, but the glow felt aggressive enough that he had a sudden urge to either punch the Rhadgast in the stomach or run.

  “Manners,” Reckful said, but the Rhadgast ignored him. “Come,” he said to Mason and Tom.

  The group started down a hallway, through a series of thick blast doors meant to slow enemy progression through the docking port (in the impossible event a human ship actually managed to dock at the Will uninvited). Tom caught Mason’s eye and gave him a look, like Well, no turning back now!

  The inside of the Will reminded Mason of the king’s Hawk. Instead of the cool metal and plastic of an ESC ship, the Will felt alive. The floor felt like rock, and the walls were glowing, so the light came from everywhere. They passed no one on their journey to the center pod, and Mason figured the route had been cleared, just to be sure no Tremist happened across the group and made a fuss over the humans. For now, Tremist and human meetings aboard either space station were carefully regulated and confined to specific areas.

  Mason and Tom rode a series of shuttle cars with the Rhadgast, taking them deeper into the Will. Reckful had replaced his mask and hadn’t spoken another word, but he nodded at Mason once, when he caught Mason staring at him. Mason had a million questions but didn’t know where to start, or rather if he should start. Rhadgast didn’t seem like the talkative types.

  Seeing the Rhadgast had been a shock, but Mason reminded himself they were no different from the Reynolds, in a way. He was heading to Skars to become one of them, so it was time to stop fearing them.

  But his new, carefully maintained calm was shattered a moment later, when the shuttle finally stopped and the door opened.

  Merrin Solace was standing on the other side.

  Chapter Five

  His surroundings temporarily forgotten, Mason threw his arms around Merrin and lifted her up in a huge hug. They spun in a circle, both of them laughing. Mason set her down immediately after, his face and ears heating up. Merrin’s cheeks had flushed a pale shade of purple; Mason hoped she wasn’t embarrassed. Her violet eyes were bright, and her hair, which was the same color, was pulled back in a ponytail, and much shorter than it had been. She looked older, even though it had been just six months.

  “Hi.…” Mason had no idea what to say to her, even though he’d been imagining this moment for a long time. They stood on the border of the central pod, with the lush blue-green forest stretching out before them. Through the clear dome above, Mason could see Earth and Skars, on opposite sides, each glowing in the light of Renshas.

  “Hi yourself,” Merrin replied. She didn’t seem at all shocked when the four Rhadgast stepped off the shuttle, even though she’d been in combat with a few Rhadgast herself not so long ago. Tom and Merrin shook hands, but then Tom was quickly pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

  The idea was too good to be true, but Mason had to ask: “Are you coming with us?”

  Merrin’s face fell, and she tapped the badge on her chest. Mason hadn’t noticed her uniform, which consisted of a formal blue jacket and pants. The badge was a small bronze image of two shaking hands, which represented the Coalition for Life, a new organization dedicated to the continuing peaceful interaction of humans and Tremist. They put out advertisements across the Internet on both sides, showing humans and Tremist working together. In every ad, the Coalition reminded viewers of the true enemy: the Fangborn.

  “I want to,” Merrin said. “I have an open invite as well. But I’m doing some good work here, Mason. We’re gaining hundreds of new members each day. I can’t just walk away, not yet. I’m of both worlds, they say.…”

  Mason tried to keep the disappointment off his face, but the desire to see his crew back together was strong, almost a physical itch. It was bad enough they had to leave Stellan and Jeremy at Academy II. “Then what are you doing here?”

  “My father has business at the school. He decided to escort you and Tom himself, to give you guys some credibility. He thinks the school might be … a little rough. But only at first.”

  Mason hadn’t expected to be welcomed with open arms, but he couldn’t worry about that right now. The king was walking toward them. King Tolovim ruled over the entire planet of Skars (minus one continent that had left the Tremist Empire a thousand years earlier, in a bloody war that lasted one hundred years).

  The king was no longer wearing his incredible armor, which had seemed immune to energy weapons. He was sporting a simple long tunic of gre
en and purple, along with a black cape. He wore a regal smile on his face, as he bowed low to Mason and Tom.

  After a stunned moment, they returned the bow. The king stepped forward and put his arm around Merrin. She looked up at her dad with a genuine smile on her face. What in Zeus’s mountain have I missed? Mason thought. He’d hoped Merrin would be able to reconcile with her father in some way, but he still found it impossible to forget the things Tolovim had done, the humans he’d killed. Mason remembered the numerous times the king had threatened Mason’s sister. Mason had even watched as the king backhanded her to the ground.

  The king’s eyes narrowed, and Mason became aware of his own expression. It was something close to anger. He quickly relaxed his brow, untightened his mouth.

  “Boys. We meet again.” The king gave Mason a knowing look, a look that said Yes, we still have much to overcome. “It’s an honor to have you aboard the Will. Shall I escort you to the school?”

  Tom saved Mason the trouble of responding. “It would be an honor, sir,” he said.

  The king smiled, and Mason was again struck by how human he looked. Without his armor, he wasn’t all that tall—a much less imposing figure than before, especially without the empty black mask that seemed to eat the light from a room.

  Another awkward moment of silence passed, until Reckful cleared his throat. “Your Grace, we’ll be late for the ceremony.”

  The king nodded. “Then we’d better hurry.”

  * * *

  Minutes later, they were aboard the king’s brand new Hawk. This one was much larger than the previous Hawk, with an unfamiliar layout. But it was still the same bird-shaped craft Mason recognized, with wide swooping wings that curved to a forward point.

  As the Hawk left dock, the king asked Mason to join him for a walk. Mason just wanted to stay with Merrin, since they would soon be separated again, but who was he to refuse the Tremist King?

  Once they were alone, the king spoke. “My actions during the times we’ve met in the past, they were unbecoming of a king. And of a decent sentient being. My desire to find my daughter affected me over the years. I allowed myself to approach madness. For the last few years there was only … rage.” He closed his eyes for a moment, though they were still walking forward. When he opened his eyes, they were clear. “I acknowledge my part in the damage I have done to your people, and to mine. Merrin has helped me see that.”

  Mason nodded. “It was war.” He didn’t know what else to say.

  The king nodded back. “But how you fight a war matters.”

  They reached the front of the Hawk, where a window above the bridge gave them a panoramic view of Skars. It was a sickly yellow thanks to a single cloud of pollution that covered the planet like the peel of an orange. The planet was growing by the second as they sped toward it.

  “Our home was blue once, just like Earth,” the king said.

  Mason didn’t know what to say to that.

  The Hawk entered Skars’s atmosphere and began to shake. Mason braced himself against the wall. All he could see through the window was fire, until the Hawk burst through the cloud cover, and the surface of Skars became visible for the first time. A city stretched out before him, hundreds of miles across, the buildings growing taller and taller as they moved toward the center of the city, which resembled a mountain, with a tower in the center that had to be miles high. The buildings were of every color, some of them clear as crystal, many of them purple, none of them the dull gray of steel or stone. The city was surrounded by a long, winding mountain range with snowcapped peaks, jagged white fangs against the yellow sky.

  And then they were moving past it quickly, over the range, which revealed another city on the other side, this one just as magnificent. Mason heard his breath catch, because in the distance, another city faded into view through the air, followed by another.

  Above the cities were narrow lanes of air traffic, small ships zooming back and forth, but not as many as Mason had expected. Most of their traffic was probably still close to the ground, like on Earth. They passed city after city, including one that was bigger than any Mason had seen before. The building at the center of it was needlelike, stretching higher than they were flying. In the dingy light, it still shone brightly, somehow appearing purple one moment and then red the next.

  “And that is where I live,” the king said, pointing at the needle, which was still shifting between purple and red, like the two Rhadgast colors. “I hope you can visit someday.”

  “It would be an honor.” For one brief moment, Mason couldn’t believe where he was standing or where he was going. “Do you rule over all of this?” That was the legend the ESC spread, but Mason couldn’t imagine one man ruling everything.

  “Yes and no,” the king said. “There are many kingdoms and many kings. And there is a council of these kings, of which I am the head. That’s why I was the one to sign the treaty.” Mason wondered if that was intel GAS would be interested in. Mason had always thought the king ruled over almost everything. “Only Fen, the continent that split away, is not under the treaty,” the king added, “but they’re of no threat to you.”

  Mason wanted to ask why, but he decided to stop asking questions lest he seem too curious.

  After the last city, there was nothing but forest. Trees with blue leaves stretched out for miles in every direction. Patches of the forest were green, and some appeared red. Mason tried to imagine what Skars would look like from space, without all the pollution. It had to be prismatic. Or maybe all the colors blended together into a fuzzy brown.

  “Mason, the Rhadgast school will not be easy. Many inside have never met a human and have only heard about them in classrooms, where antihuman propaganda is still taught in certain independent communities. It will be difficult, and it will be dangerous.”

  “I know,” Mason replied, but he was still chilled. If the king thought it necessary to warn him, it was probably pretty bad.

  The Hawk continued over hundreds of miles of forest, until it began to slow. “Almost there,” the king said, and together they rejoined Merrin and Tom. But not before the king gave Mason another pair of purple gloves. “Put these on. The journey to the school may be a perilous one.”

  Mason took the gloves gratefully. When they remade the connection to his brain, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. But these gloves felt different somehow, not the ones he had grown to love over the last few months. He transformed them into bracers to hide them from his Rhadgast escort.

  The four Rhadgast waited patiently by the exit. The king gave Mason and Tom a parting nod. “Be strong,” was all he said, before turning away with a swish of his black cape.

  Merrin looked distraught, her eyes a little glassy. She pulled Mason and Tom into a hug at the same time. “I wish I could go with you.”

  “Me, too,” Mason and Tom said together.

  “We will see each other soon.” Merrin didn’t sound convinced but followed after her father without looking back.

  Behind Mason, the airlock hissed and thumped and then opened. Strange air rushed into the exit compartment, ruffling Mason’s hair. When he turned around, the four Rhadgast were staring at him, two on either side of the open doorway.

  “You want the honor?” Mason said to Tom.

  “That’s all you, my friend.”

  Mason nodded, then walked down the ramp and became the first human to set foot on Skars.

  Chapter Six

  The Hawk sat in a clearing surrounded by forest on all sides. Above, the sky was yellow and churning in every direction. Despite the visible pollution, the air smelled sweet. It was chilly, and goose bumps broke across Mason’s back and down his arms.

  Tom came down the ramp and stood next to him.

  “So … alien planet,” Mason said. “What do you think?” This was not like Mars, a place Mason considered home as much as Earth. Mars just had rocks and dust.

  Tom shrugged. “I think we need to be careful.”

  “That’s a nice, bori
ng answer.”

  Tom grinned, but Mason knew he wasn’t going to say anything bad about Skars while the four Rhadgast were within earshot. Or lightning shot.

  “We’re late,” Reckful said. “Consider this your first test.” He broke into a jog for the forest, his robes flowing out around him, and the three other Rhadgast followed. Mason and Tom shared a look, then took off in pursuit. The blue-green grass under their feet was short and springy, and the gravity seemed to be weaker here—Mason and Tom were almost flying across the grass. But they weren’t nearly as quick as the Rhadgast, who had already crossed the tree line into the woods. Behind them, the Hawk’s engines began to spool up, and wind pressed Mason from behind.

  Mason and Tom entered the forest together. The tree trunks were widely spaced, but the branches above created a dense canopy that blocked the yellow light. He only saw the leading Rhadgast because their gloves burned softly, red and purple light swaying up and down as they ran.

  “Why do I have a feeling,” Mason puffed, “that they would leave us behind if we lose them?”

  “Because that’s probably what would happen,” Tom puffed back.

  The forest floor was thick with gnarly, curling roots, each one a hazard. Mason kept his knees high as he ran. They skirted the edge of a pit filled with bubbling black liquid. The smell in the forest was suddenly rotten, almost a feeling on his skin. Then all at once the lights ahead disappeared.

  Mason realized something odd: there were no animal sounds coming from the forest. No chittering insects. The woods felt dead. The only sounds came from their lungs and feet and the rustle of their clothes.

  Tom began to slow but Mason grabbed his arm. “Keep going!” he said, putting on a burst of speed.

  A low moan came from the branches above them—ErrmmmmmmmUHHH—and then thick vines were unfurling from the darkness, dropping down and lashing at Mason and Tom. One coiled around Mason’s wrist, tightened like a fist, and tried to yank him off the ground.