Crystal Tomb (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3) (15 page)

Raea laid down again, catching the
creak of the loose step when Debbie put her weight on
it.

The calming effect of the visit from
Debbie after all the grief left Raea drained. Amid thoughts of Elis
lying next to her, she drifted off to dreams of him.

The Day After

["Elisha. Welcome
home."]

Into the scene stepped a
white-winged woman in a light blue robe detailed in silver, her
white hair pulled back from her face with an intricate, weblike
silver ornament with a chain of tiny blue stones shimmering from
her forehead. The poise with which she stood bore a confidence
expected of someone so exquisite.

Elisha with her blond
locks bowed with the view source in her hands. The attendants on
either side of her fell to one knee, their wings lifted behind
them. ["Lady Akarin, I thank you."]

["You indicated in your
transmission that talks with the Risaal did not go well."] The lady
motioned with her hand.

The scene shifted slightly
with the rising of Elisha. ["They fight amongst themselves,
separated by clan lines dominated by males."]

A white eyebrow lifted
over those intense blue eyes of Lady Akarin. ["They are a
space-faring race."]

["Yes, Lady. I know not
how they developed amid such rivalry, but I advise against trade
until they can resolve their differences. They would not yield to
my suggestions of clan equality."]

["Agreed. I will not
condone aggression nor give the means to destroy to a species which
cannot support their own. They would destroy themselves with any
advancement we provide."] Her eyes dropped to the view source. ["It
is forbidden by the Covenants of Jaerla to offer trade with a less
developed society in which our knowledge may be used to subdue
sentient species upon the same world or others…This is unfortunate.
I had greater hopes when we discovered them."]

A few seconds of silence
passed.

["Lady, they do show some
promise. One of the lesser clans offered this—"] She held up the
view source. ["A gift with a message of hope that we will
return."]

The lady brought the view
source closer. ["A very lovely specimen."] She let out a sigh and
set the view source on a shelf along one wall, running her hand
over what must have been a glass covering, since her hand never
completely blotted the view. ["But it means nothing. Crystals are
common finds and easy to grow with the right atomic stimulation. We
will hold off trade until the Risaal are civilized. They are too
young yet."] She turned her white wings to the view and stepped
towards the ambassador, who pulled her wings tight and lowered her
eyes.

["Yes, Lady."]

["You did well, Elisha."]
The warmth in the woman's voice softened her whole demeanor.
["You've always served our world well."]

Behind the ambassador, the
double doors swung open. A small boy appearing to be three or four
years opened his golden wings at the doorway and closed them again,
his face reddening at the stern look from Akarin.

[Thank you, Lady Akarin.
It is my honor to serve."]

["Go now. We'll talk more
later."]

The ambassador departed
with her escorts, passing the boy with a knowing smile. Behind him
stepped a woman of sun-streaked brown hair and matching wings
darker than the boy's with flecks of gold in her
feathers.

Two female guards in
purple frock coats closed the doors behind them.

["Lady Akarin!"] With his
wings slightly open, the boy ran to her. All formality aside, he
jumped up and she caught him.

["Lantis!"] The woman
behind him scolded.

Akarin grinned. ["Calm
yourself, Atia. He waited until we were alone."] Her smile
brightened on the boy.

["You spoil
him."]

["Of course. I'm his aunt.
That's part of my duties."]

Atia curled her lip for a
moment and regained her composure. ["Making my duties more
difficult."]

["The boy will never rule,
so let him be a child."]

Atia winced as if slapped.
["He is still of House Mikael and must learn restraint and
decorum."]

["He's seven years, still
a child."]

["
My
child, sister. Your word may rule
this world but mine still rules my family. Someday he may represent
us."]

Akarin gazed at the boy in
her arms with his legs around her waist. ["What do you think,
Lantis?"]

The fair features of his
small face scrunched for a moment. ["Can I go fly with Rian and
Mari?"]

["Maybe later. Your
cousins are busy right now."]

Disappointment painted his
expression.

Akarin smoothed back the
blonde hairs from his delicate face. ["Why don't you go play? I
need to speak with your mother."] She let him down and he ran to
the door, which he opened to a man of small stature in a tan coat
over a matching jumpsuit.

A second later, he closed
the door behind him, leaving the two women alone.

["So young and innocent,"]
Akarin said.

Atia glanced back at the
door, her light brown wings tightening at her back. ["But of royal
bloodlines. He may not be your daughters, but he is my son, a
Mikael. His deeds will reflect upon our House."]

Lady Akarin stepped back
to the crystal, her deep blue eyes gazing into it as if staring
into the watcher's soul, but a moment of sadness passed across her
face. ["You worry too much, Atia."]

["Someone
must."]

A brief smile lifted the
corners of her mouth but fell a moment before she turned to her
sister. ["You have always been too forgiving of the men, too
generous to them. They are weak, meant to serve and no more, and
you know it."] Atia opened her mouth as if to protest, but Akarin
raised a hand. ["I know your feelings and will not argue again on
this. It has always been this way."]

["Someday that will
change, Akarin."]

["But not this
day."]

.

[Wake up.]
The voice whispered through Raea's mind, drawing
her from the vision of the Inari. Two of the names sprang to the
forefront of her thoughts—Atia and Lantis.

Atia and Lantis…

Raea stretched, wings and
all.

Wings. She reached around her side.
She still had her wings.

Thoughts of Atia and Lantis faded to
the background as images of last night flared into existence. The
Risaal. Elis.

Elis dying.

Oh, God. They'd killed him. She'd
flown home and fallen asleep on his bed, but he was gone forever.
His room and memories were all she had left.

Her heart whimpered from the pain
tearing it apart. Sobs shook through her. He was gone
forever.

Only a touch on her shoulder broke
through the cloud. Raea sniffed and twisted.

Through the blur of tears, she made
out familiar features. Wiping her eyes cleared her view of the
round face with its gaunt cheeks and ocean blue eyes topped by
messy dark brown hair.

"Josh?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed
next to her, the stroke of his fingers brushing her hair from her
cheek. "Debbie called last night. I wanted to come then, but she
said you were sleeping already…I'm sorry, Raea."

Josh, her dearest friend for twelve
years. He would be the one to rush over, but Debbie could tell him
the truth, because he knew what she and Elis were. No one else did.
She'd been so afraid of him learning the truth, yet now a bright
spot broke through to have him there when she needed someone most.
Of all the people who could have comforted her, she was glad it was
him.

Raea stared at him, memories of the
last twelve years flashing through her mind in a distraction from
the grief. He'd always been there for her and the others. He'd
always kept their secrets. Mostly, he'd always been a friend she
could trust. Short, geeky, smart, and super religious Josh. He
didn't even try to fit in with anyone at school but was content to
be himself. And he was probably one of the nicest people in the
whole town.

He sat back, his hands on her legs.
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you made it back all
right."

"Thanks." If only Elis had escaped
with her.

Her vision blurred and she closed her
eyes, but that only made the images more vivid.

"What happened to you?"

What didn't happen? She wanted to tell
him, but emotions clogged her throat.

"I didn't see another portal after you
closed it," he said.

If only it had been the Shirukan. She
knew how to deal with them.

Raea swallowed and took a breath. "We
landed and were surrounded. They hit us with something and…I woke
up in a dark room with my hands cuffed…Elis thought we were taken
to an old missile silo."

"At least you were still on Earth, but
what did they want?"

She wasn't in the mood for this but
somehow talking about it helped her feel better, if only slightly.
She sniffed and wiped the moisture collecting in her eyes. "I don't
know. They called themselves Risaal, an old enemy of the
Inari."

Josh's fingers tightened around her
calf. "Risaal?"

"Yes, they're aliens." She knew him
well enough to know what he was thinking; the glint of excitement
in his eyes, despite the loss of Elis, hinted of his intrigue.
"Chameleons. Doppelgangers. They have these…spikes that shift and
fit together and change color and texture, kind of like…like a
wrap-around television screen, sort of. They can look human or
blend into their surroundings." A shudder passed through her—they
could be anywhere hiding if they held perfectly still or blend in
as living, breathing humans. "It's awful, Josh. We had to kill a
lot of them to escape…but it wasn't enough."

The lump returned to her throat as the
memory replayed of that final moment when Elis turned to fire on
the Risaal who caught up to them, but they killed him. If only to
gouge out her eyes to not see it. Elis was dead. Remembering that
moment drove another stake through her heart, which reopened the
fresh wound.

"It happened so fast." She choked on
the words, hardly comforted by the rubbing on her leg. "I couldn't
do anything." Tears blurred her eyes and she pressed her face into
the pillow.

A light weight settled over her side,
Josh's breath warm on the back of her neck reminding her of Elis,
but his breath was different, hinting of spearmint—Elis hated
spearmint. She could almost imagine him there, and it helped.
Josh's hand found hers and she gripped it tight.

"I'm so,
so
sorry, Raea," he
whispered, his other hand rubbing her shoulders above the
wings.

For what seemed a long time he held
her like that, until she had to shift and he sat up out of her
way.

Raea wiped her eyes and sniffed. The
tears faded with the feeling that Josh cared enough to be there for
her, a friend she could trust and rely on for support; and he knew
her struggles the last two months and fully understood. She didn't
have to hide anything.

She turned and sat up next to him,
wiping the tears from her face with the back of her jacket sleeve.
"Thanks, Josh."

"Any time." His fingers brushed her
hair from her face. "But right now, I think you should go home,
clean up, and get something to eat. Take care of yourself…That's
what Elis would want."

He was right, but it still hurt so
much to hear him say it like that.

"Come on. Hide the wings."

Not yet. She couldn't leave behind
that bed with its comforter now all wadded where she had laid, and
those memories of the ghost she loved.

"Do it, Raea," he said
softly.

Easy for him to say but so hard for
her. She couldn't leave. Not yet.

"Come on…for me…for Elis."

"Shut up." She clamped her jaw. The
words just burst out. "Just…I'm sorry. I—" Dammitall! Why did this
have to happen?

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to push you.
It's all right. I…understand."

The tears welled in her eyes again,
but she wiped them away and focused on the resonance. He was right.
Damn, he was right, but it was so hard to leave. With a thought,
the resonance warmed through her and she focused the energy on
shrinking her wings and the muscles to control them. The wings
would only cause trouble anyway.

Did it matter anymore? Her life was
over without Elis. Maybe she should go back to Inar'Ahben and
finish her training and fight the Shirukan.

Not yet.

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow…
Pain speared through her back, for a few seconds
overpowering the heartache. When it ended, she let out a deep
breath that calmed her emotions.

"All right now?" Josh asked in a quiet
voice as if afraid to upset her again.

"I'm sorry."