CHAPTER ONE
“You’ve got five stellar minutes before you’re going to fry like a Shar’an desert rat, big brother.”
Dathan Phoenix ignored his younger brother’s voice coming through the tiny nano earpiece. It wasn’t hard. He was used to ignoring Zayn and he was concentrating on not breaking a leg.
He leaped over a patch of rough, twisted ground. Landing on a smooth area of old lava, he didn’t slow his ruthless pace, pumping his arms and legs as he sprinted.
His goal was dead ahead.
Rising out of the red-gold landscape were the crumbling ruins of a once-mighty city. A millennia ago, Lumina had been the pride of the galaxy, but then its three suns had all reached the red giant phase. Now, all that was left of the once-thriving planet was a scorched, barren landscape that boiled during the day and froze solid at night.
“Dathan, the old museum building should be straight ahead on the right.”
Dathan’s older brother had a much more serious tone. Niklas was the sensible Phoenix brother.
“And you want to get moving. The suns are rising.”
Dathan swallowed a snort. Like he couldn’t feel the heat of the rising triple suns on the back of his neck. Sweat poured down his face, soaking his shirt and utility vest. Once all three suns scaled the horizon, the surface temp was going to hit nine hundred thermals—liquefying the surface and making it molten lava once again.
He didnotwant to be here in four minutes.
He focused on the museum rising out of the orange-lava landscape. A recent earthquake had uncovered the ruins lost to the galaxy so long ago. The building had once been grand with a huge central dome that was now just a shattered ruin.
A sweet little geologist at the Galactic Geological Survey had slipped him the info. But he was well aware that if he knew about it, then no doubt every treasure hunter, thief, and scavenger in the Exodus quadrant knew about it. He forced himself to pick up the pace.
The prize inside washis.
As he neared the building, he slowed. Climbing over rubble, he checked the Sync screen strapped to his wrist. An ancient blueprint of the museum—purchased at an exorbitant price on the black market—was displayed.
The timepiece should be at the center of the building. It had been the star attraction.
Damn, acquiring a Terran timepiece would be a hell of a coup. Dathan’s heart rate sped up. Not to mention the supernova-sized profit from selling it. Old Earth artifacts were revered across the galaxy.
His father had dreamed of acquiring a Terran timepiece. Of course, he’d also dreamed of finding the famed last fragment of theMona Lisa. Dathan’s jaw clenched and he climbed over a pile of rubble, landing in a crouch on the other side. Brocken Phoenix had done a whole lot of dreaming and not a lot of doing.
Then Dathan saw it.
Holy Stars.It was intact.
Blood pounding, he rose. A small display case with a domed, glass lid stood among the ruins, untouched by the destruction around it. It was probably made of synth-glass and been enhanced to make it near indestructible.
Under the glass, he saw the glint of something metallic.Hope you turn in your grave, old man.
There was the thud of rubble falling from above. Dathan tensed and glanced up.
His gut tightened. “Fucking hell.”
Standing on a crumbling ledge directly above the timepiece was a tall, lean figure encased entirely in black StarWolf light body armor with a built-in helmet.
Even though Dathan couldn’t see through the dark visor, he knew exactly who was in there.
“Darc’s here,” he murmured. His brothers’ curses came through loud and clear.
He stared up at the rival treasure hunter for several seconds.
Then he ran.
Okay, get the timepiece, avoid Darc, exit the building, meet his brothers at the rendezvous point.Easy.
