Page 67 of Lost in Barbarian Space

They moved along the narrow space, the pirates’ lights flashing through the dark tunnel. Then Colm bumped into Honor. She’d stopped.

She was staring at the wall beside them.

Artifacts hung, encased in ice.

“Ooo, lookee here.” Alara jostled forward. “Cut ’em out of there.”

Colm and Honor were shoved farther down the tunnel so the pirates with laser cutters could get in close to the artifacts.

It didn’t take them long to cut them out.

“Junk.” One pirate tossed an ancient artifact—what looked like a ceramic plate—over his shoulder, and it hit the ice, shattering into pieces.

“Crap.” Another one threw what looked like an item of clothing behind her.

“This stuff might not be valuable, but we’re getting close,” Alara said. “There’s treasure here. Keep moving.”

They came out of the narrow tunnel into a large cavern. Here, the walls were mostly white, and the ground was uneven, churned-up ice. Colm stared at it. It didn’t look quite right.

Ahead, the group of pirates moved forward, crossing the space.

Colm and Honor followed at a slower pace. A second later, he heard a quiet creak from above.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“I’m not sure…”

The next instant, a huge hunk of ice slammed down from the roof and shattered across the floor ahead of them. The pirates started shouting.

More hunks of ice of all sizes rained down.

“Cave-in!” someone shouted.

As the pirates scattered in all directions, Colm grabbed Honor’s arm. They ran, ice hammering down around them.

As a sizable slab of ice smashed into his shoulder, Colm grunted. He pulled her in close, shielding her with his body.

Two steps ahead of them, a massive hunk of ice—the size of a hargon beast—slammed down right on top of a pirate.

Colm pivoted at the last second, his feet sliding out from under him. He held Honor tight against his chest as they skidded across the icy floor. As they hit the wall, he turned, covering her body with his own.

The ice continued to rain down for several minutes, and then, it stopped.

Slowly, he raised his head. Honor did the same.

She smiled at him. “Thanks.”

From nearby, Alara was coughing. “Fuck me.” Then the pirate leader went still, her gaze on the far wall. “By a space whore’s fat ass.”

He followed Alara’s gaze and saw that the ice fall had cracked the wall ahead.

Nestled in an exposed cavity was the wreck of a starship.

For a second, he felt quiet amazement. This was the ship of people who’d come along with the First Warriors. His ancestors.

The pirates had forgotten Colm and Honor. As a group, they climbed up and crawled into the hole, closer to the wreck.

“Nik will go nuts for this,” Honor said quietly, her face grim. “We need to find a way to keep these scavengers off it.”