The judge blinked. ‘Your punishment will be exile.’
An angry murmur rose up in the courtroom. Even Mulciber’s lawyer looked astounded. Only Mulciber did not look surprised.
‘The court is probably aware that the City of Serenity has been breached, so it is no longer a viable exile destination. Mulciber will be taken to the ice world Styxa, where he will serve the rest of his life in guarded exile.’ The judge banged his gavel. ‘Court dissolved.’
Mulciber smiled.
*
The prison ship was travelling faster than light towards the ice planet of Styxa. The ship was manned by over a hundred soldiers. Mulciber was the most feared criminal in the Blue galaxy, and they were not going to take any chances.
Mulciber sat in his dark cell, smiling, letting a draught from the air vent in the floor cool his face.
Three soldiers stood guard outside his cell. They were carrying handheld Blazing Diamond guns. The bullets inside were made from modified diamonds that each contained a microscopic explosive. The gun would fire a burning hot diamond into someone’s heart; the diamond would then explode and shatter, cutting the heart to ribbons. Blazing Diamond guns had a 100% kill rate.
Mulciber’s eyes flashed green.
Suddenly, the soldiers standing guard collapsed. In fact, so did every single soldier on the ship. Mulciber’s eyes turned green again and his cell door opened. He walked past the guards, grinning. He didn’t pick up one of the weapons. He had no need of Blazing Diamond guns.
Mulciber entered the ship’s control room and approached the only other man left alive on the ship. It was a young Axis co-pilot; he was shaking with fear as the criminal approached him.
‘I surrender, I surrender,’ he whimpered.
‘Thank you. I accept your surrender. What’s your name?’
‘Er… Jaspin, sir, Jaspin Zegrak.’
‘Nice to meet you, Jaspin Zegrak.’ Mulciber gestured towards the controls. ‘How confident are you at flying this thing? The pilot seems to have spontaneously died.’
Jaspin allowed himself a moment of pride. ‘Very confident, sir. I won the Gold Pilot award when I graduated from the academy.’
‘That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,’ said Mulciber. ‘Change of plan, Chief Pilot Jaspin. We have a new destination. Set a course for Planet Earth.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Mulciber smiled. ‘I think it’s time I paid a visit to my young grandson. His name is Martin King.’
Acknowledgements
I am especially grateful to Raheela Hussain, who read this book first. Also, I thank Jon McGovern, Chloe McGovern, Richard Lovell, Alexa Hart, Victoria Ellis, Carolyn Lovell, and anyone else who read the manuscript before publication—sorry if I’ve missed you out!
I am also indebted to Jeffrey Archer. Without your inspiration I would never have finished this book.
Finally, thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends and leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads—good reviews help me sell more books!
I love to hear from my readers, so please do get in touch through my website:
www.jamesmcgovern.co.uk
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Angels and Storms
Chapter 2: The Brass Monocle
Chapter 3: The Immaterial Voice
Chapter 4: The Incredible Levanté
Chapter 5: Valiant Star
Chapter 6: The Effects of Axis Dust
Chapter 7: The Telescope
Chapter 8: Kara
Chapter 9: The Meteor Attack
Chapter 10: The City of Serenity
Chapter 11: The Planet Simulator
Chapter 12: The Moon Base
Chapter 13: A Letter From The Enemy
Chapter 14: The Wheelmaster
Chapter 15: The Space Buccaneers
Chapter 16: The Wicked Physician
Chapter 17: The Final Auction
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Martin King and the Space Angels (Martin King Series) Page 15
