Crystal Tomb (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3) (19 page)

Seconds ticked away, the tension
building in the room while the wind rushed through the window to
stir the smallest fragments of glass on the floor and ruffle
Akarin's skirt around her leggings.

If the Risaal were willing to lay
siege to a planet for a crystal, there must have been something
special about it. Unfortunately, General Shotoral made a logical
argument for not giving it up; but what would come next? What would
they do with it? Was it worth risking their world to keep it from
the Risaal?

Where were their allies now? This
delicate game of chance with the Risaal would end badly for their
world no matter what the outcome of the talks taking
place.

["Liar."] The line clicked and fell
silent.

Akarin's shoulders sank and Atia's
heart whimpered in sympathy. Her poor sister. The weight of their
world rested on her. ["I'll send another transmission for any
assistance our allies can provide,"] Akarin said. Her eyes fixed on
the general. ["Prepare your fighters."]

Her choice was made. So much for
diplomacy.

["Yes, ma'am."] General Shotoral gave
a quick nod and spun on her heel to exit the room, the clap of her
steps cut off with the closing of the door behind her.

Akarin's gaze lingered on Lantis for
several seconds before she moved away to stand in the sunlight, the
wind blowing her white hair from her face gazing out the window.
Her wings lifted as if preparing for flight, but she lowered them
with her head. ["I must address the people. The upcoming days will
be far more challenging than the last week since the Risaal
arrived. This attack has caused confusion and panic
already."]

["Of course, Lady Akarin."] The
minister with the communicator stepped back to a panel at the wall,
while Akarin stepped into a circle in the center of the floor.
["When you're ready."]

The scene blurred and faded, taking
with it the sound of voices and the smell of fresh air.

[Are you there?]
The voice was faint, as if across a great
distance.
[Make them stop. Tell them to
stop, please. If you can, tell them…]

The voice faded and Raea stood in
silent darkness. All right. Now what? "Who are you?"

WE TEACH. YOU LEARN.
The Starfire entities. She recognized the strong
feeling of their collective thoughts.

But who was the individual voice? And
how did the entities put Raea into Atia? No scenes from the
Starfire had ever given her the full awareness of any previous
Keeper, but Atia wasn't a Keeper. This made no sense.

The boom of thunder rattled her teeth
as the floor beneath her feet swayed. Now what?

The darkness lightened to a room of
dust sparkling in the air and choking her lungs. All that was
peace, it hurt. It burned through her.

["Lady Atia!"] Strong arms helped her
stumble over debris through a doorway to a clearer room, but one
where objects had smashed to the floor, covering the patterned
stonework in splinters of glasswork, stone, and metal.

A male attendant hurried to her,
kicking aside debris in his path. ["Lady Atia, your shuttle
awaits."]

["I won't leave her."] Not
now.

["You must. The palace will
fall."]

No. She refused. Her sister needed
her. ["Where's Lantis?"] She needed him at her side.

["He's on board."]

To Ahben depths with them all, and
Akarin. No, she didn't mean that. But Akarin had no right ordering
her son on the escape shuttle to ensure her cooperation. Akarin
needed her, now more than ever. Inar'Ahben needed her at her
sister's side.

To Ahben depths with the Risaal. They
did this. They had taken out just two of the platforms in orbit,
enough to create a hole through which they could send a few smaller
warships. Akarin was right; fighting was the only way to save their
world. But they were no match for the Risaal. Their allies would be
too late by the time they arrived.

["Please, hurry."]

Atia ran through the corridors of the
palace with the attendant, her hatred of the Risaal and her love
for her world, her sister, and her son splitting her heart until it
ached. She had to reach Lantis, to know he was safe, but she had to
be there for her sister.

Damn the crystal, the false "gift" to
their emissary. This was all a misunderstanding, but it was too
late to change things.

[Damn the crystal?]
Raea stumbled over the thought. The Starfire had
caused trouble long before Heffin's Gate was ever
created.

At an open docking area, Atia slowed.
The platform stood in the open air amid a black plume of smoke from
the lower levels of the palace. An ominous whine rose
nearby.

["Hurry, Lady!"] The attendant stepped
aside for her.

Through the acrid smoke,
the sheen of the shuttle's hull caught the sunlight for a
second.
[Lantis
.
]
Her breath
caught and she hurried to reach the shuttle and the boy, all that
remained of the deep love she had shared for a few years of her
young life.

Guards stood at the steps into the
craft, their weapons ready and visors hiding their
faces.

Atia hesitated at the bottom of the
steps into the craft and glanced back, but immediately wished she
hadn't. Her heart sank as fires dotted the splendor of the palace,
hiding parts of it amid the smoke. No, no, no. Kanaki Palace had
been her home until Akarin had inherited the rule of their world.
It had been a solid presence over Inar'Ahben for more than two
hundred years.

Tears blurred her vision. That wasn't
the last sight of her home she had wanted. The palace was supposed
to be a glowing beacon of unity for the Inari people, an
inspiration for all.

A loud explosion erupted from below
and the platform trembled.

["Hurry! Get inside!"] The guard on
her right took her arm and shoved her into the shuttle, coming up
behind so she couldn't turn back.

["But Akarin—"] Too late. The door
hissed shut, sealing them inside. Her plans to return after making
sure Lantis was safely on board failed.

["Momma!"] That voice speared her
heart with guilt for even considering leaving him.

In one of the seats across from the
door, he bounced in his harness. She rushed to join him and
strapped in as the shuttle tilted.

["Hang on!"] the pilot called from one
of the front seats.

The shuttle slid onto its side, the
view outside falling with it. Atia clutched Lantis and he held
tight to her. It couldn't end this way.

A second later, the shuttle righted
and the momentum tugged her against her harness.

Atia stroked the hair on the lovely
little head next to her and let out a heavy sigh, her eyes open and
staring into the sky through the shuttle window.

Her heart stopped.

No!

She tried to stand but the straps held
her in her seat. ["Akarin,"] she breathed. Her sister. Her friends
and attendants. All that she knew. Gone in a ball of fire and smoke
falling into the ocean a mile below.

[Not
again
.
]
The emotions stealing through Atia renewed the
grief of losing Elis all over. Raea choked on Atia's tears as if
they were her own. Why did the Starfire want her to suffer like
this?
[What do you want from
me?]

Nothing.

Typical stupid Starfire entities. Damn
them.

Atia held Lantis close, burying her
tears in his hair. They'd barely escaped death, and now he was all
she had.

The shuttle rocked and spun, and
everyone gasped, a few whimpering. She needed to get out, to
escape, to fly free on her own.

The pilot and copilot exchanged
statements about thrusters, stabilizers, and shields amid mumblings
about losing the fighter on them.

["Hang on!"] the pilot called back to
them.

Through a stomach-wrenching series of
maneuvers, pale blue sky darkened to a starry night flashing with
the occasional fire of weapons. Through it all, Lantis said nothing
but clutched onto her with delicate arms.

A large ship loomed closer, growing at
their approach to fill the view, until it swallowed them in its
enormity.

Atia breathed easier and released her
hold on her son. They had made it, but so many had died that the
small security of arriving in the docking bay of the Miru ship gave
her little hope for their world.

["We'll be all right, Momma."] Tiny
fingers twined through hers, squeezing out her emotions with silent
tears.

They
would be all right, but their world would never be the
same.

A New Life

Something like a distended stomach
with tentacles floated next to her, tiny fins around a puckered
area at the bottom fluttering in different combinations to move the
balloon through the corridors. Two long tentacles and several
shorter ones hung from the bottom and sides, crawling over the
floor and walls as the creature passed.

["We know a world where you
will be safe,"]
a gentle voice said in
Atia's mind.

Although she appreciated the rescue
and the opportunity to start a new life on a new world, she would
never feel easy around the Miru with their very alien appearance.
But how could she when this was the first time she had ever seen
one? She had heard legends of the space-faring nomads but had never
expected to see them, much less speak with them. Now, here they
were and had revealed themselves to her.

And she would never see Inar'Ahben
again. The Miru had come to aid in an evacuation to save as many as
they could of the Inari. She could appreciate that, even if it
saddened her.

["You have served well,
but your kind can guide another race on a world far away. Your loss
will be their gain."]

Atia stepped through a round hatch
behind the floating creature. Her son and the others had been asked
to stay behind in the cargo hold, where their people had set up a
temporary camp. The Miru had asked her to join it, after having
determined that she was the respected leader, apparently by reading
thoughts. That made her uncomfortable more than their appearance.
Knowing they could see her thoughts rather than wait for her to put
them into words scared her. They must have known she was
uncomfortable but they gave no indication of being
offended.

["Where are we going?"]

["A world far away that we
have visited many times. The dominant species is very primitive but
on the verge of great leaps in their understanding. We feel that
this is a most fortunate time for all. You will gain a home much
like what you know, and your guidance can help these
beings."]

It could work. What choice did her
people have, though? They had nowhere else to go.

A cloud of pink passed over
the bluish gray balloon of the Miru's floating body.
["Do not live in the burden of what was beyond
your means but seek to change from what you've learned. Your race
is strong, Inari. We have observed this and much more. You will
rise again, stronger than before."]

Thanks, she supposed, but it changed
nothing of how her sister and so many others suffered and died
while she and a few hundred families survived. Her heart weighed
heavily beneath the burden of emotions, strangling her will. Yet in
that, a new struggle waged within her. Determination rose strong to
fulfill the promise of the Miru for her people.

She would lead what remained of their
species to a new height, and she would use that to improve the
future. And someday they would return to Inar'Ahben, or what
remained of it, and rebuild the great cities of the
Inari.

The floating creature remained quiet,
and she imagined it reading her thoughts while leading her to a
door, which slid open at their approach. They stood on a ledge
overlooking the large cargo hold, where a few Inari flew over the
families settling in for the journey.

["We thank you…"] The Miru had given
no name.

["We are all
Miru."]

No names or just unwilling to provide
them?

["All are one. We are
Miru."]

All right. ["Thank you, Miru."] It
would have to suffice. They shrouded themselves in mystery and
lived as legends. She had seen no other creatures like this one in
their brief walk through the ship. For that matter, perhaps there
was only one, this one. That might explain why they—it—only
appeared so rarely that many doubted the existence of the
species.

["Sometimes legends are
more powerful than reality, a useful tool of survival."]
At that, the Miru floated away, leaving her on the
end of the walk overlooking a cargo hold large enough to hold a
modestly sized searoot island with room to spare.

Atia watched the Miru disappear around
a corner, its last words echoing through her head. Was there only
one?