The Shifter of Planets (BOOK TWO OF THE SPACEWING PROPHECY)

Chapter 4

Tectonic woke up to walls of stone. 

The floor was cold, the bars were steel, and the bed was more like a large shelf than a bed. 

"Hello?" a voice asked. Tectonic tried to look into the cell next to his, but he couldn't. 

"Who's there?" he asked wearily, eyeing the wall of his cell in the direction of the voice. 

"Celestial," the voice replied. "And you are..?" 

"Tectonic," he said. "How did you get here?" 

"It's... a long story," Celestial said, and he heard a scratching noise, like she was pawing the floor. 

"Well," Tectonic smiled. "We have a lot of time." 

"...Fine," Celestial sighed. "What do you want to know about me?" 

"Not much," Tectonic offered. "Just how you got here. What did you do?" 

"I was... caught," she admitted. "I was only going to borrow it. I just... wanted to use it." 

"What? Use what?" he asked. 

"The Golden Cup," she said. "The most treasured magical object in Jerrynd. I just wanted to see how I ranked." 

The Golden Cup was, in fact, one of the most treasured magical object in Jerrynd, made by wyrms who called themselves "Animus Dragons" many years ago. When they mysteriously disappeared, they left behind six objects. Two of which were lost to time, but the others were given to the tribes of Jerrynd. The SunWings received the Golden Cup, and anyone who drank from it could see where they belonged in the world. 

"Why?" Tectonic asked. "Why did you want to know? And how did you even get your talons on it in the first place?" 

"I'm..." she trailed off. "I'm... well, does my name ring any bell? Celestial. Really think about it. Does it?" 

"Oh my moons..." Tectonic whispered. "You're Princess Celestial of the SunWings!" 

"Yes," she sighed. "I'm afraid so." 

"Why are you sad about that?" Tectonic asked. "You're... well... a princess!"  

"It's not as awesome as you may think," she said. "I have 'princess duties' and stuff like that. I'm always doing something, and I never have any freetime. Other wyrms are always either mooning over me or muttering about how strange and un-SunWing-like I am when they think I can't hear them. "You have responsibilities and  standards and a title to uphold! You have no time for goofing around and having freetime! When I was a young whippersnapper like you I-" 

"Okay! Okay. I get the point," Tectonic grinned. This princess had a sense of humor. Very intriguing. 

"So, ready to escape?" Celestial asked. 

"What-?" he was cut off as the door to her cell opened. 

"Okay, time to eat - WHOA!" she leaped at the guard, teeth flashing, and she shot sunlight right at his face. 

"Backup! We need backu - AH!" the other guard tried to call, but Celestial was already upon him. Tectonic closed his eyes and covered his ears to drown out the screams. 

"Let's go," she said, unlocking the bars. 

"Why are you helping me?" Tectonic asked. "The backup the guards were asking for will be here in seconds. You don't have to waste your time on me."  

"Well," she said, grinning. "You're a handsome idiot." 

They got out of there quickly, leaping out the window and dodging guards. Celestial knocked down any that got in their way. 

"Nearly... free..." she strained against the weight of a large PlanetWing. Tectonic swore she would easily win in a fight with King Boulder. 

They reached the mountains. 

"Quick! We'll lose them in the peaks!" she said, diving down to a river and then shooting straight up again. 

Later, they found a cave. 

"Let's stay here for the night," Tectonic said, practically crashing onto the ground. "I'm exhausted." 

Celestial sighed. "Very well. But first thing tomorrow we head for the Kingdom of the Sun."

"Fine," Tectonic said. "I'm going to get some sleep." 

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He woke up, the bright, shining, rising sun shoving it's cheerful annoyingness right in his face. 

"Argh," he groaned. "No. I don't want to go to school today, mommy." 

"Wait a minute," Tectonic sat straight up. "Celestial!" She was nowhere to be found. Had she left him here? Had she decided he would slow her down?

Suddenly, he saw a flash of gold, far on the edge of the horizon. "Celestial!" he cried. "I'm coming!" 

And that was how it all began.