The Space Spoon novel Chapter 58

The child pointed to a booth selling greenery and odd-looking plants. As they got closer, they saw a sagged figure behind the counter. The wooden planks placed across the sand for people to walk on creaked under their feet, and the old lady gazed at them in wonder.

A thick scarlet scarf covered her head. Her enormous hooked nose curled down toward her lips. Tejeda took a step back. A terrible witch appeared poised to take him into her lair. He had seen many strange and frightening happenings and entities, but this one surpassed them all.

Rather than gazing down at the ground like the other people around did when they saw him, the old hag smirked at Tejeda's stunned expression. What the heck was this? Despite his best efforts to run, his feet would not move. Also, he had no idea where to go.

“Is there something I can help you with?” the witch asked in a gravelly voice. Her accent was thick as if she were a member of the Kestrel tribe. Tejeda knew their intonation so well even after all those centuries.

He didn’t look away either. That would have meant he accepted his defeat. So, even though his unblinking eyes watered, his cheeks heated, and every instinct inside his body told him to drop his gaze, he kept his head high and stared right back at her. The fine particles of dust levitating in the dry air made his endeavor even harder. He felt the urge to tell her to shut up even though she wasn’t talking.

Shayla interrupted their staring contest, leaving Tejeda both relieved and dissatisfied. She placed herself between him and the old lady. Shayla spared him a reprimanding glance before she turned to the hag, forcing a smile. “Hi! Are you a chieftain by any chance?”

The hag’s eyes seemed to sink even deeper inside her large sockets. “And what if I am?”

“I would like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind. Oh, but how rude of me. I am Shayla.” She turned and pointed toward Tejeda, Hanga, and C1313, introducing each of them.

Their responses varied greatly. The Valerian nodded, C1313 blinked, and Tejeda gulped.

“You may call me Chieftain Boppa.” The hag nodded, and the motion made the shadows on her face lengthen, and now her hooked nose seemed to touch her thin lips. “What do you want to know?”

Shayla answered without hesitation. “A scientist named Kirian was last seen on Larva 5, experimenting on a bacteria able to eat through any organic compound. Have you heard anything about him?”

"I could have. Yes." The elderly lady inclined her head to one side. She shifted her gaze back and forth between them. "But, when dawn approaches, we should all go to our shelters. If you want to learn what I know, you'll all come to my modest house with me. There's enough time till the next darkness to tell you everything."

“You’re a bit too eager to offer shelter to a bunch of strangers. How do we know you aren’t just wasting our time or luring us into a trap?”

Tejeda strongly nodded. Something was off with this Boppa, and he was happy Shayla sensed it too.

After Boppa was all done, they all followed her. Tejeda kept his head bowed, looking at the sand. It reminded him of Nubilonia, heightening his distress. He couldn’t get his head around his reactions around this hag. People on Larva 5 revered their chieftains, and Tejeda knew quite a few back in the days. But this one had something about her giving him a disturbing vibe.

“Are you scared of her?”

He raised his head only to find Shayla’s mocking gaze.

“No, of course not.” Tejeda shook his head, maybe a bit too vehemently. Then he told the first lie that came to mind. “Usually, people aren’t keen to talk with Zondarians. It was for the better for you to take the lead.” He chuckled, proud of the speed with which his cover-up ideas poured through his lips.

His forced laugh died as he glimpsed the entrance of a cave. The protruding chamber, partly jutting out of the rock, was distinctive due to its gentle spherical curve. The top resembled the end of a giant egg.

He concentrated on his every step to keep the correct body position as his back wanted to hunch. Every muscle in his body tensed. So this was the witch’s lair, and he was the fool going inside of his own volition.

Shayla beamed and winked. “After you, my fearless captain.”