Broken Wings (24 page)

What did Josh mean by that? "Are you
disappointed?"

"No…Kind of. It's just that, there's
no more mystery. I thought I'd be happy to learn who Dark Angel is,
but with Raea gone, that's made it kind of…I don't know. I'm not
saying I'm disappointed, but—"

"But you liked the mystery and
imagining the possibilities, not having the concrete truth in front
of you."

Josh pursed his lips a moment and
adjusted the strap of his bookbag on his shoulder. "Something like
that. Yeah. I mean, no more wondering. All I have to do is look at
you. I never, ever would have put it together. It's not that it's
you, it's just that the possibilities are all gone. And here you
are."

Yes, there he was, an alien on a world
that thought of him as a supernatural being. And all that hope in
the supernatural had been taken away from Josh and replaced by hard
facts. Josh liked to live in a dream world, it would seem. A world
of unexplained phenomena he could attribute to magic and
superstition.

They walked a ways in silence,
reaching the corner where Josh parted before saying anything
more.

"So, um…I'll see ya tomorrow." Josh
strode away down the street.

Elis watched him for a few seconds,
amused by Josh's fascination but interested in his view of
everything.

If he would be busy tomorrow night
with Josh, then he would have to take advantage of the time left
that day.

Now for Pallin's
contact.
He hurried the rest of the way to
Evelyn's house.

__________

Leksel's Story

Whoever thought sleeping mats were an
acceptable replacement for beds should be shot. Raea hated them.
She wanted her bed back, in her own room, with its thick, soft
mattress and fluffy comforter to snuggle under. After a night on a
flat mat, her shoulder ached. A more advanced—like, thousands of
years more advanced—society and they didn't even have beds. What
was up with that?

Leksel was gone and his mat rolled up.
They let her oversleep again?

Raea sat up and stretched. Kayan had
left her the gown to sleep in again and washed their uniforms. They
would need them that day.

Leksel said last night that if Cris
was better they'd fly off to a new island and try to find a shuttle
to reach Starfire Tower. But they had some travel yet through
Shirat territory. Dressed as Shirukan, they weren't likely to be
stopped, but they risked exposure if someone confronted
them.

Saffir, the only other Crystal Keeper
remaining on that world, resided at Starfire Tower. She could open
a portal to Earth. Raea swore that the moment she returned, she'd
try harder to learn to do it herself. No more excuses. If she was
ever taken again, she wanted the power to return home
immediately.

Home.
Raea shivered with excitement. She couldn't wait to get home.
Today would be a good day.

First to change and eat, then to wait
for Leksel to lead them.

The underground home was quiet, but
Dargilis had probably already gone out with the boys in tow. She'd
miss them, in an odd way, maybe because they reminded her of her
cousins, Dave and Eric.

By that time tomorrow she could be
home. Better yet, she could be with Elis. The squeeze of her heart
choked her. The need to feel his arms around her, holding her
tight, was unbearable. She missed those nights he snuggled her to
dry her tears. Just his quiet presence had soothed her from the
horrors she had faced against the other Shirukan who tried to take
her away.

The anticipation of being with him
hurried her rolling up of the mat and folding the blanket, and it
put a spring in her step to the bathroom.

After a quick rinse and change—Kayan
had left her uniform neatly folded for her—she braided her hair and
stepped out with a smile. A fresh day, a new beginning, and one
step closer to home.

Laughter reached her from the room at
the end of the hall—the kids' room. But those weren't kids' voices;
they were too deep for kids. Cris had slept there last night. What
would Cris be laughing at? Who was with him?

She stopped at the door and
listened.

["I'm sorry I lost control."] Leksel's
deep voice.

Raea leaned close and all but held her
breath. He apologized to Cris?

["It's been coming for two years,
Leks. Ever since…Korali."]

Silence. Damn. Who or what was
Korali?

["That's no excuse. I was ready to
kill you. If Raea hadn't stopped me…"]

["I know. I owe her my gratitude."]
Cris sounded well. Her healing must have worked. ["For that and the
healing."]

She smiled and put her hand to the
door. It had worked. She'd healed him and he sounded
well.

["Leks. I'm sorry…about what I said. I
was mad. Ever since the Shirukan took away mom and dad, you turned
into this overbearing, controlling dictator."]

Mom and dad? Raea's heart jumped at
the possibility. They couldn't be.

["I wish you'd just leave me alone
sometimes. I can take care of myself."]

Silence. She had to hear it, the
confirmation of what she suspected and the only explanation that
made sense in light of all that had happened between
them.

["When the time is right, we'll rescue
them…together,"] Cris said.

["If they're alive,"] Leksel grumbled.
["It's my fault. You were right. I always knew but couldn't admit
it."]

["Then you don't blame
me?"]

["I never did. I wish you'd be more
careful. You take unnecessary risks."]

["Ah, well…that's my job."]

Raea grinned, imagining Cris'
nonchalant air.

A deep chuckle replied. She couldn't
have heard Leksel laugh. ["Be more careful. I didn't pull you from
the academy to get caught."]

After a few moments, Cris spoke in a
lower voice. ["Korali really changed you, Leks, for the
better."]

["I know."] His voice
lowered.

["I'm proud of you leaving the
Shirukan. I'm glad you didn't arrest her. I'm glad you two
met."]

What? Raea gasped and stood back.
Leksel. Shirukan? She couldn't believe it, yet she could. It
explained how he knew so much and seemed comfortable in the
uniform. But what if he'd never left?

Raea took a deep breath to calm her
racing heart and the fear creeping into her. How could she trust
Leksel? He had been trained like Pallin.

She leaned forward, but the trembling
of her hands tapped against the door.

A few seconds later, it slid
aside.

Leksel stood over her in the black
flightsuit, the Shirukan uniform. ["Raea?"]

["I'm sorry. I heard voices. I…just
wanted to check on Cris."] Leksel's eyes studied her. Man, she
hated that look. He suspected something.

She swallowed and looked past him.
["Feeling better?"]

Leksel stepped aside. Cris sat up
against the wall, a cheery grin on his face now free of the
swelling and most of the bruising. ["Thanks to you. And you said
you'd never healed before."]

["I—"] Could Leksel please look
somewhere else? His dark eyes burned through her. ["I
didn't."]

["You're being modest. Come in and
sit."]

["No. That's okay. I haven't eaten.
I…should leave you alone."] She looked from Cris to Leksel and
backed away. ["I didn't mean to interrupt."]

["Hey! Wait. How about
company?"]

Her flustered mind could think of
nothing to say, except ["All right."]

Cris threw off the blanket and stood
up with a small wince. He stepped past Leksel without any further
sign of pain and followed her.

Raea hurried ahead to the dining area,
but glanced back once. Did Leksel follow? She hoped not. Bad enough
Cris had joined her. At least they'd apologized, though.

Were they brothers? Could she trust
Leksel if he had been Shirukan? Why did he leave? Could she trust
Cris any more than Leksel?

Questions swarmed in her
head.

["Did your feet freeze?"]

Raea blinked. She stood in the doorway
to the empty dining area. How'd she get there? Where was
Kayan?

["Um…no. Sorry."] Raea stepped
inside.

What was she doing? She had
no idea where anything was, much less
what
it was.

Not to worry. Cris went to the
cabinets as if he lived there and started pulling stuff
out.

She sat down at the table and watched.
It all made sense. The fighting and the nearly identical wing
color. Yet Leksel was so much bigger than Cris. Leksel had been
Shirukan. Who knew if he wasn't still Shirukan? She didn't trust
anyone with ties to the Shirukan.

It made perfect sense,
especially knowing Cris was
meistal
. Leksel knew all about the
Shirukan, and did all he could to keep Cris close. He wasn't trying
all those times to dominate Cris; he was trying to protect him. He
cared about his little brother, and Cris was definitely younger, by
a wide margin.

Leksel stepped into the doorway, his
eyes on her. ["How much did you hear?"]

Was it warm in there suddenly? Raea
hated that accusing stare and watched Cris to avoid Leksel. ["Not
much."]

Oh, God. Did he have to sit down and
stare at her? She couldn't stand it. He knew. He knew she heard
enough to scare her. Duh! Just that last statement before she fell
against the door was all she needed to hear. Leksel must have
realized it.

She couldn't stay in the same room
with him.

The moment she stood, his hand clasped
her arm and pulled her back down. ["Sit…please?"]

She should leave, but where would she
go?

She wanted to trust Leksel, but he'd
withheld the truth from her. She should know why, if he intended to
tell her. Maybe he had a good reason.

Damn him. Raea sat, and he
released her arm. If he wanted to take her to the Shirukan, he
could have at any time. Instead, he'd helped her escape.
Did
anyone leave the
Shirukan? He piqued her curiosity.

His dark eyes fixed on her. His elbows
rested on the table, his hands clasped before him. ["You're
scared."]

As if that wasn't obvious. ["Shouldn't
I be?"]

["I won't tell you what to think."] He
let out a heavy sigh. ["You would have figured it out, if you
didn't suspect. Yes, I was Shirukan, a commander…until three years
ago."]

Raea waited for more. Leksel looked
away, searching his memories.

A pan clattered on the counter.
["Slipped,"] Cris said. After that he set things out lightly, with
exaggerated care it seemed.

["You cook?"]

["Not nearly as good as Kayan, but
since she's with the baby and we're both hungry, why
not?"]

True. But did she trust her digestive
health in his hands? That remained to be seen.

Raea turned back to Leksel. Would he
tell her more? He stared at her, but out of focus.

["Korali changed me."]

He said nothing more. Frustrating. Why
couldn't he just spit it out?

["Who's Korali?"]

He focused on her, and she saw it.
Something sparked in his eyes. She'd seen that look before, on
Elis. ["She was a rebel, and a Keeper."] His wings lifted
slightly.

Raea rubbed her hands, aware more than
ever of the Starburst marks on the palms and backs and the way he
stared at them.

["I was in charge of arresting her and
a group planning on collapsing a section of Heffin's Gate. We'd
discovered one of their contacts on the inside and fed them false
information to lure the rebels out. My team was ready, but someone
tipped them off, and they fled before the trap could spring. We
chased them down, catching several. I went after Korali when she
flew out below the city. But when I caught her…"]

His voice trailed away.

What?
He really knew how to leave out details she wanted to hear.
She didn't care about the rest.

["Something happened. I
don't know what, but I felt
something
when I held her. It was
like…like nothing mattered but her. She wasn't a rebel, but a
woman. Not just any woman. When we landed in one of the recyc
center loading docks, I couldn't let her go. She didn't fight me,
and I kissed her. It happened so fast. I never knew what hit me,
but I knew I couldn't arrest her. They'd kill her. We were trained
to kill Keepers, but I couldn't let that happen, so, I let her go.
She ran off, and I never expected to see her again."]

He paused, and Raea noticed the
silence. Cris stood unmoved, until Leksel looked up. At that, he
moved again.

["I never forgot her, but
doubted I would see her again. About a turn of
Lis
later, a message came to me,
asking me to come alone. I went, suspecting a trap, since the
quarters were in the sector known for the most rebel activity. She
was waiting. She wasn't sure she had the right person, since
security's tight on all Shirukan records, but she had asked around
and eventually learned my name. After a little research, she felt
confident enough to send the message…]