by Dan Krokos
“I would have my daughter returned,” the king said.
Merrin tore free of Mason’s grasp before the grand admiral had a chance to say no. She stepped forward and said, “I will go.”
No one spoke. Merrin walked toward the podium, the halfway point. She turned toward the ESC. “I have to go, but I’ll be back.” Mason understood her sacrifice then. He knew she probably didn’t want to go, even if she was curious about the world she’d been taken from. But by going, she was keeping the treaty alive. By volunteering, she kept the choice for herself. No one was going to make her stay or go. Mason admired her even more then, and wondered if he would be strong enough to do the same, if he was in her position. He hoped so.
Merrin Solace rejoined her father at his side. The news of how she was taken in the first place had made her a celebrity. When she was two years old, an ESC commando named Howerdell had stolen her from the king’s previous Hawk during a raid. Rather than reveal who she was and use her, the grand admiral at the time had given her to a couple to raise as their own. The couple—a high-ranking doctor and a junior lieutenant in the ESC—agreed to the task, having waited on an adoption list for eight months. It later came out that Merrin and her new family were watched the entire time, and the ESC had plans to use her when it came down to humanity’s last stand against the Tremist. A final bargaining tool. Mason was surprised that news didn’t create more Tremist sympathizers. Merrin had tried to reach her family after the battle above Nori-Blue, to hear their side of it, but the ESC had her mother and father locked down somewhere.
There was nothing left to do then but sign the treaty. Afterward, both parties shook hands, but there was no celebration. Too many had been lost, the reason for a treaty too grim.
“I have one more request,” the king said after he finished shaking Shahbazian’s hand.
“What is it?” the grand admiral replied.
The king looked at Mason and raised an eyebrow. “My Rhadgast have requested this boy come to their school to train. They say he has the gift.”
“Out of the question,” Shahbazian said in a low voice Mason only heard because he was right next to him. “You’ve already taken one of my cadets today.”
The king nodded. “They will be disappointed. But the offer stands, should you change your mind, young Stark.”
Mason was still processing what was said. Invited to train as a Rhadgast? He heard something about a school and a gift, too. He’d be with Merrin at least; she wouldn’t be alone on Skars.
“Can I think—” Mason began, but the grand admiral was already guiding him back toward the shuttle.
“Wait!” said a different voice. Mason turned around. One of the Rhadgast was walking toward him, black robes swishing across the floor. He had a pair of violet gloves in his hand. The gloves had shrunk, but Mason knew they would grow. The Rhadgast kneeled in front of Mason, who stood tall and didn’t flinch.
He pressed the gloves into Mason’s hand, then leaned forward. Mason could feel the heat coming off his faceplate, could feel heat radiating from under his robes.
“Come and find us,” the Rhadgast whispered in his ear, “if you want the truth about your parents.”
The Rhadgast stood up and marched away before Mason could formulate a thought. He could barely breathe. The grand admiral was pulling him along again, Mason stumbling after with his gloves held tightly in one hand.
The truth about your parents …
Mason would find the Rhadgast, and then the truth. Of that he was certain.
“What did the wizard say to you, son?” Shahbazian asked gruffly. He was staring down at Mason, eyes narrowed.
“I couldn’t hear,” Mason replied.
The grand admiral grunted but said no more. They walked past the reporters, who took video and shouted questions: “Mason! Mason Stark! Why did the Rhadgast give you gloves? How does it feel to be a hero?” Mason ignored them. He wasn’t a hero; he was a soldier.
Over his shoulder, he saw Merrin standing tall and regal next to her royal father. His best friend waved and smiled. Mason forced a smile back. He hoped he would see her again, but couldn’t be sure.
He was sure of one thing, though.
It was time to go back to school.
ALSO BY DAN KROKOS
False Memory
About the Author
After pumping gas for nine years to put himself through college, DAN KROKOS, now twenty-six, writes full-time. He enjoys watching TV, playing MMORPGs, and drinking coffee. His YA novel, False Memory, debuted from Hyperion in Fall 2012. Currently, he’s hard at work on the next book in the Planet Thieves series. Find him online at dankrokos.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE PLANET THIEVES
Copyright © 2013 by Dan Krokos
All rights reserved.
Illustrations by Antonio Javier Caparo
Cover art by Greg Call
A Starscape Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krokos, Dan.
The planet thieves / Dan Krokos.—First edition.
pages cm
“A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”
ISBN 978-0-7653-3428-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-0998-7 (e-book)
[1. Science fiction. 2. War—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.K9185PI 2013
[Fic]—dc23
2013006321
e-ISBN 9781466809987
First Edition: May 2013