Broken Wings (34 page)

"No. Leave us alone." She started
forward with Elis. No way was she talking to these men. For all she
knew, they meant to trick her so they could take her. What if they
were Shirukan?

She and Elis hurried to the yellow
house, where they could be alone together. Debbie could wait. She
did not want to be alone if these men intended to harm
her.

The clap of footsteps trailed them.
Damn it! Couldn't she have one night of peace? That's all she
wanted.

Elis let go of her waist for her hand
and led her up the steps to the door.

["We seek the Keeper."]

Inari. Her heart stopped with her
feet.

Elis halted too. ["Why?"]

Both men blinked, their eyes fixed on
him.

["How do you know Inari?"] Elis
demanded.

They turned to each other and shook
their heads. The short man said, "I don't know what you said. We
were only given a phrase."

The storm door hissed open. Elis
shoved the inner door open, still holding the storm door. "I think
you better come inside and explain yourselves."

Raea followed Elis, leaving the men to
catch the storm door. The tall man brought up the rear and shut the
door. "You seem knowledgeable in their language."

Elis stopped at the base of the stairs
in the foyer beside her. "I should be. It's my native language. Who
told you to say that?"

"We're not authorized to discuss it
with anyone but the Crystal Keeper."

Elis's cheek muscles flexed against
his skin. Raea twined her fingers through his. He glanced aside,
the anger retreating from his face and his fingers squeezing
hers.

Much better. Raea took a deep breath,
confident in facing these men with Elis at her side. "What do you
want from me? You watched me last week and apparently you were
waiting for me here. I'm not going off alone with
anyone."

The tall man held out his left hand
and turned his palm up, exposing a symbol tattooed
there.

She recognized it, but that
was impossible. The symbol was Inari. "Who
are
you?"

"Friends."

Elis tilted the palm up. "It means
protector." He let go, his eyes on both of them. "Who or what are
you protecting?"

"Show me your hands," the man
said.

Raea gave his hand a squeeze and let
go. She had to know why the man wore the Inari symbol tattooed on
his palm. The symbol didn't surprise her much in light of the
frequent Inari visits to Earth, but to wear it in the palm of his
hand was too coincidental. "Do it. I have a feeling."

Elis peeled off his gloves, exposing
the Starburst mark on the palms and backs of his hands.

The tall man smiled at his companion.
"As I suspected. Another Keeper."

"What do you know of us?"

The tall man stepped through the
doorway to the sitting room, where the faint sound of snoring mixed
with the low talk from the television. Evelyn had fallen asleep in
her chair by the front window. "Is there a room where we can
talk?"

Elis took Raea's hand. "Upstairs." He
led her to his bedroom, careful of the creaky step.

Raea winced at the creak of the step
behind the men. Idiots. The sooner they explained themselves, the
sooner they would leave, she hoped. They weren't Shirukan, or Elis
wouldn't have invited them in.

He led her into the room, stopping
with his back to the desk. Raea backed against him and welcomed his
arms around her. The two men closed the door behind
them.

"Now, why are you here?" Elis
asked.

The short man spoke. "One of our
agents was alerted to research by a Nolan Rank a month ago
concerning winged beings and healing hands. That research was
requested by Nina Russet."

They had her attention. Elis stiffened
behind her. The reporter, Nina Russet, had been in town to
investigate the angel sightings but had taken an unwelcome interest
in her hands.

"He was warned not to send her much,
but apparently it was enough. We decided to investigate her purpose
here, but all we found was a video of an angel that couldn't be
identified. When we saw that, we knew they—you—were here." He
motioned to them and stuffed his hands back into his pants pockets.
"The Dark Angel figure has been around awhile, but we learned from
Nina's cameraman that she had a particular interest in you, Miss
Dahlrich, because of your hands."

Didn't she know it. Nina had done
nothing but harass her into confessing her secret, but Raea refused
to give in.

"Putting the pieces together was easy,
but we thought you were the mysterious angel."

They weren't far off the mark. She
curled her fingers around Elis's at her waist. How much did they
know, or was this all supposition?

The taller man tapped his friend's
shoulder. "We're a small group, sworn to protect a crystal borne in
an amulet known only as the Eye from a coming darkness. Over four
thousand years ago, an angel named Rafael endowed this power on a
man. Rafael made the man swear to protect the eye with his life, to
hide it. He did, and the power passed down through
generations."

Elis stiffened behind her. ["Another
shard?"]

["There are more than four. I've been
having visions of this. I believe him."] The Starfire entities must
have known something when she saw the mark on his hand through the
window of the car, like when Elis had touched her the first time
and they showed her visions of her mother. This was their purpose
for showing her. Somehow, they knew, and she trusted
them.

His breath blew hot on her neck. The
men watched them, waiting. "Finish your story."

"The Eye has a long history of wars
fought for its divine power. Some refer to it as the Eye of God.
The amulet could not be melted by any fire nor marred by any
weapon. Over time its history was forgotten by all but a few
followers who believed the warnings of Rafael, until Rafael
returned."

If Commander Rafael Talea was the
first, the second was one she didn't know. Another in that family,
most likely.

"He warned that the power must be
hidden or the world would end. The few believers vowed to hide the
Eye. One took it to a remote location and hid it. In time, a
collective was formed, scattered around the globe to watch for
signs that its location has been discovered or for the mark of the
one to whom it should be revealed. Each person who accepts the
responsibility bears the mark of that order."

A mark. His hand. "You're one of this
order."

The tall man bowed his
head.

"Why are you telling me?"

"We believed you were one of these
angels. When Rafael appeared a second time, he gave us those words
and a description of individuals who can be trusted. We pieced
together the facts around you, but we could not identify the others
like you on this world." His eyes shifted up.

Elis's fingers tightened around hers.
The meaning was clear.

"We are being hunted. I've lost
contact with two others. Once I give you what I know, I can
disappear forever." He stepped forward and knelt in the narrow
space between the end of the bed and the wall. "Take
it."

"Tell me then."

He looked back at the shorter, balding
man. "Stein is my body guard, one of the order, but not privy to
its secrets, that is why I give up my knowledge to you. It's said
the angels know men's thoughts."

"I can't. I can't control the power
that well yet."

The man looked past her, his dark eyes
pleading. "One of you must."

Elis stepped out from behind her. "I
will. But I may see things you don't wish to reveal."

The man swallowed, took a deep breath,
and bowed his head. "Do it."

"Focus on what you know of this Eye."
The Starburst marks glowed on his hands, and he set them on the
man's head. Silence surrounded them. In less time than she
expected, the glow faded and Elis stepped away.

Neither said a word for several
seconds.

Was that it? Raea reached for Elis and
his fingers tightened around hers.

"I have it."

The protector rose from the floor.
"Then my work is done. I can leave. I wish you both luck, for our
sakes as well as yours." He spoke with a grim tone. "The Eye must
be protected at all costs. Its power is too great to fall into the
wrong hands."

Yes, it was. The shard she bore had
caused enough trouble in her life already, but it wasn't
over.

"A war is coming unlike anything this
world has seen," Stein said.

"Ours has." The fingers of Elis's free
hand traced along her side until he found her other hand. "I'm
afraid that war is spilling over to this world. Earth has always
been a sanctuary. We have an interest in keeping it
safe."

"Thank you." Stein left with his
companion.

She and Elis saw them out the door and
watched the men get into their car and drive away. Elis said
nothing as he closed the door, but he didn't have to. Raea could
imagine what he thought. The serious expression told her all she
needed.

After seeing what happened with Saffir
and Leksel, she thought she knew what to expect. His arms relaxed
beneath her touch. "You all right?"

Those beautiful eyes focused on
her.

"It's been a long four days." Elis
lifted a hand and set it over hers. His light touch reassured her.
He kissed her hand, his warm lips making her pulse race. Man, she'd
missed that. "But you're back. That's what matters. That's all I
wanted."

Yes. She was back, but how long would
it last if someone was looking for the shard hidden on Earth? "What
about the Starfire?"

"It can wait."

"But if someone is looking for the
shard..."

Okay, why the silly grin? Not that she
was complaining, but shouldn't they be more concerned?

Then again, when he pulled her close
with one hand on her back and the other gently caressing her hand
on his chest, she didn't care. The Starfire could wait.

"There's only one thing I want to
think about."

Oh? Did she want to know? It was a
little early in their relationship for that, wasn't it? If she was
thinking what he was thinking was the same thing he was
thinking.

"You."

"Me?" What about her? She wasn't sure
she liked where that might go.

His grin opened into a full smile.
"What happened to you?"

Oh. She should have known; this was
Elis talking. She'd spent too much time around Cris.

"It's a long story."

"We have all night."

__________

Marin's Judgment

The bright, open halls of the palace
shone with a variety of colors and decorations adding warmth to one
of the coldest places Valdas knew. Workers and servants in uniforms
hurried past. Many dared not look up. The guards' heavy steps
echoed through the halls Marin called home, sounding a death
knell.

After her failure to capture the
Crystal Keepers, General Maenast ordered her here, the royal
palace. Prime Commander Alshouan obeyed, despite her hesitations.
She was Shirukan, and proud of it. She would face Marin's
judgment.

Two of the royal guards flanked her
through the vast halls and rooms. Gold and green accented their
black uniform, indicating their status.

They accompanied her to an empty room
and took up positions on either side of the door, which closed
behind them. The small chamber contained few amenities—a light
fixture above a table bearing a bowl of fruits and, in the center,
a self-forming cushion. Water flowed behind sheets of glass over
the dark walls with their various shades of green striations.
Lights danced about the room from the reflection of
light.

Valdas paced around the center
cushion, eager to speak to the empress and explain her reasons for
failure. She had almost taken both of the last two Crystal Keepers.
Her plan should have worked, but she had underestimated the allies
of Starfire Tower.

["Welcome to my home, Prime
Commander."] The clear, feminine voice rang with a hint of
threat.

Valdas dropped to one knee and bowed
her head.

["I don't accept failure."]

At an unseen cue, two sets of boots
tromped towards her. A moment of panic crept into her but she made
no move. She had failed, and the young Crystal Keeper had returned
to Earth, setting back their timetable. The empress had every right
to punish her as she deemed necessary. ["My life is yours,
Empress."]

The two figures stopped behind
her.

["Yes, it is…but the failure is not
yours."]

The door hissed behind her. The
scuffle of boots on the tile floor preceded a grunt and the heavy
breathing of someone being forced into the room. Valdas dared not
move, yet the desire to know who they brought burned through
her.