Crystal Tomb (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3) (18 page)

["This way, Lady."] The captain
ushered her and the boy with them through the corridors. She could
only guess where they went, but she hoped it was a safe
location.

["What's going on?"]

["The consular ship was a hoax. They
opened fire on the city and circled around to the palace…They were
destroyed."]

A sickening feeling knotted Atia's
stomach. So much for peaceful negotiations. It had taken the Risaal
a week to agree to that much and they still refused to say why they
held Inar'Ahben under siege. It was a peaceful world. They had no
warships, or at least nothing more than what they needed to defend
themselves, but it wasn't enough for this. More Risaal ships had
joined the first and they surrounded the planet, staying just
outside the perimeter of the defense grid's activation.

She hurried through the corridors with
the guards, her fingers tight around Lantis's small hand. ["Where's
Lady Akarin?"]

["She sent us to find
you."]

At least her sister was alive and
well. Inar'Ahben needed her now more than ever. They needed House
Mikael to show strength against the invaders, and her sister would
need to show her leadership in this crisis.

Their steps tromped through the quiet
corridors, interrupting the whisper of the wind through broken
windows.

A few pieces of artwork lay shattered
and ripped in the blasts taken by the palace, but the anti-gravity
generators seemed untouched.

The guards ahead opened a door and
stepped aside for her and the boy.

Akarin stood within her study, the
white feathers of her wings ruffling like her gown in the breeze
from the shattered window. As if someone had drained away her
tension in that moment, her shoulders sank. ["Atia. Lantis. I'm
glad you came."]

Her sister sounded stressed, despite
the poise and calm with which she stood. Atia pulled Lantis close
to her, her arm around her son's delicate shoulders. His wounds
were minor compared to what her sister faced; they could wait.
["What's happening? Why didn't you contact me sooner?"]

Akarin's pale blue eyes shifted to
Lantis. ["These Risaal have no intentions for peace. Lady Elisha
reported much the same from her visit. Yet they will say nothing of
their reasons for attacking. We did nothing to provoke them…that I
know and have requested many times to hear their reason for this
siege, but they refuse all communication."]

["What of our allies—the Kortalis, the
Shishu, the others? Where are they?"] Someone had to help them. The
rare ores mined undersea by the Ahben were valued by many of their
trading partners. The other worlds had vowed to protect Inar'Ahben
as part of their agreements for those resources.

Akarin straightened with greater
confidence. ["I've sent messages to all requesting their
assistance, but it could take some time. They will consider all
options."]

And in the meantime, Inar'Ahben would
fall. Why would any of the few advanced races in that region of
their galaxy allow it? Without the Inari, the Ahben would suffer
also, and they were best adapted to underwater life and work. Their
allies knew that.

They had to come, except for one
consequence. ["They might not."]

["Why?"] Akarin brushed something from
her waistcoat.

["Involving them with the Risaal might
mean a war they don't want. I would expect that this is our fight,
Akarin. Like it or not, we may be on our own. There must be a way
to reason with them."] And save those most precious to them, like
the boy clinging to her side.

["I was afraid you'd say that. Then I
have no choice but to send General Shotoral to confront
them."]

Atia swore her heart stopped. Her
sister couldn't be serious. ["That's suicide."]

After a reluctant nod, Akarin met her
eyes. ["She understands the stakes."]

That didn't mean Atia approved. What
about her son? What about Akarin's daughters? Didn't she realize
what could happen? A war could devastate their fragile
world.

["I don't like it,"] Akarin said. She
brushed a loose piece of hair behind her ear and her wings
tightened at her back. ["But they've demonstrated their
unwillingness to engage in diplomacy. They want our world, Atia. We
must fight to survive."]

[We're not
fighters
.
]
The thought echoed through Atia's head with the
idea that the Inari were moderators, acting as impartial third
parties to many negotiations. Yes, they had built up forces to
defend their world, but they had not the strength to stand against
the forces surrounding their world now.

["Try again."] Atia held tighter to
Lantis.

["Did you see what they did? Were you
asleep during the attack?"] Akarin's wings lifted with the threat
of her emotions. ["Atia. Their shuttle fired on the palace and the
city."]

["And they were destroyed by our
defenses. The Risaal will have a reason to be wary. They'll not be
so quick to attack again."]

Like many times in their arguments as
children when she ran out of words, Akarin huffed and turned to the
window, her white wings once again tight at her back and her arms
crossed.

["You would give up so easily?"] Atia
looked down at Lantis at her hip and stroked those lovely yellow
strands from his face and eyes of gold. That was worth doing all
they could to stay alive and save their world. Fighting was not the
answer for them. Maybe if they were better prepared, they could,
but they had never been able to raise a force strong enough to
deflect a full planetary siege. They'd never had to.

A heavy sigh sank Akarin's shoulders.
["It's frustrating when you're always right. Sometimes…Sometimes I
wish you were the one leading our people, Atia. I couldn't do this
without you. You're the strong one, not me…I did what I was told,
followed all the rules while you…you followed your heart."] She
turned from the open view, her blue eyes on Lantis with a sad
smile.

What? Had she heard right? Her sister,
the great leader always confident and poised—and often
self-righteous and indignant of change—admired her? Atia must have
heard wrong, but maybe this was the real Akarin on the point of
desperation revealing her true self.

["It's easy to make decisions without
the pressure of everyone's eyes on you,"] Atia said in
sympathy.

The sunlight sparkling over the shards
of glass set Akarin aglow. Perhaps her sister was not as arrogant
as Atia had assumed on so many occasions. In that moment, she saw
the younger sister who had feared the strange emissaries visiting
with their mother. Rather than arrogance, Akarin hid her fears
behind a veil of exaggerated confidence, a veil which fell in that
private moment.

["I'm sorry for what they did to you,
Atia. He was good to you…]

Atia swallowed the lump forming in her
throat. Words escaped her in that moment of closeness with her
sister.

A chime from the door interrupted
them. Akarin's demeanor returned to the measured confidence Atia
had always seen.

And to think that she had let Akarin
fool her all those years and feed jealousies of what was never
there but only imagined.

["Enter."] Akarin's voice carried her
usual steady calm.

The door opened and two of her
ministers entered with General Shotoral, their wings tight. ["Lady
Akarin…and Lady Atia."] The woman who spoke relaxed her wings, her
dark eyes flicking between Akarin and Atia. ["All that is peace, we
worried that you were in the section of the palace that
collapsed."]

Collapsed? The floor had cracked and
shifted beneath her and Lantis and several beams had fallen. Had
they narrowly escaped being crushed? Had that area of the palace
collapsed entirely? She glanced down at Lantis in gratitude that
they had survived and noticed his small cuts had crusted
already.

["It's good to find you both here and
well."]

["Thank you."]

The other minister stepped forward, a
communicator in her hands. ["Ladies of Mikael, the Risaal wish to
speak."]

Now
they sought diplomacy. Atia met her sister's eyes with a smile
but tried to keep the smugness out of it in light of what she'd
learned.

["I will speak to them."] Akarin's
boots crunched over the broken glass to reach the minister's hand
and take the palm-sized device. Holding it near her mouth, she
said, ["I am Lady Mikael Akarin, leader of the Inari. To whom am I
speaking?"]

A long pause followed. Atia loathed
these moments, wondering if the translator worked.

["This is
Kan Rikku
Nakor Lakim of
the Third Fleet of Ch'tor. We do not tolerate liars and thieves."]
The artificial voice of the translator came out as a slight
staccato.

Liars and thieves? At Akarin's look,
Atia shrugged.

Atia put the device near
her mouth again. ["I'm sorry,
Kan
Rikku
Nakor Lakim, but I have no knowledge
of that which you speak."]

Another long pause.

["Liar."]

Of course. Why should the Risaal
believe them? They had already stated that much by calling them
liars and thieves.

Akarin blinked and hesitated as if not
sure what to say. Atia longed to step in, but her sister was
capable. ["What do you believe was stolen?"]

A pause followed while the translator
relayed the message.

["The
D'Nuvar
was taken from our world. It
disappeared with your consular vessel. Its power sustained us. We
know you are weak and seek to make yourselves powerful. Your tricks
cannot fool us."]

Akarin hesitated, her eyes
staring into nothing, until she turned to the shelf behind her.
["I've never heard of this
D'Nuvar
. We would return it if you
could describe it. Whatever happened must be a
misunderstanding."]

Odd. Why was her sister staring at the
shelves of her collections from various worlds? ["Akarin. Do you
know something?"]

Her sister stepped towards the shelf,
her eyes focusing on a glass ball bearing an aquamarine crystal the
size of her fist within it. ["I don't know. Elisha said it was a
gift to her by the lesser clans of Risaal…Is this trickery on their
part, a set up to blame us for their problems?"]

["What?"] Did she know what
this
D'Nuvar
was?

["The
D'Nuvar
is a crystal of immense power,
but you know that or would not have stolen it."] The neutral voice
of the translator came through.

["Pardon me, Lady Akarin,"] General
Shotoral stepped forward, her wings lifted slightly. ["If this is
the crystal they speak of, we should not return it."]

Atia whirled. ["Why not? It's not our
property."] The general was a fool to believe in keeping stolen
property and continuing the blockade around their world.

Shotoral shot Atia a reproachful look.
["Returning it could make matters worse on two accounts: First
because it would confirm that we have it and second because if it
is powerful, they could use it against us. Perhaps they were
planning this when our ship first encountered them and they
realized we were no match. If we return it, they may take
retribution on us simply as a show of force."]

["And they may not. They may leave,"]
Atia said. Lantis kept quiet for once, as she had drilled into him,
although he never seemed to heed her until now.

["Would you risk them possessing more
power than they have already, to return perhaps to finish what they
started? From Lady Nafeir Elisha's report, I feel the dominating
clans of Ch'tor want to rule not only their world, but as many
other worlds as they can. They would be a threat once they unite
their world. Depriving them of any power may help us. This turn of
events may have given us a chance to stop them before they could
carry out their plans. Lady Nafeir Elisha felt that they had no
intention of peaceful trade. They are aggressive."]

Too true. Atia had read the report
too. She couldn't argue with the general on that logic, but she
disliked being accused of stealing with the confirmation before
her. The Inari were held in esteem on many worlds for their
integrity.

What was Akarin thinking?

Something she probably
didn't want to know. Atia had seen that wry smile before on her
sister. ["We don't know that this is the
D'Nuvar
. It seems an ornamental
display to me, received as a gift."]

[Akarin.]
Atia bit her tongue. General Shotoral had made a
good case against returning anything to the Risaal, but there had
to be other options.

Akarin lifted the communicator to her
mouth again. ["We have detected nothing of unusual power here. You
invaded our space, attacked our city, and killed our people for
nothing. Negotiate a truce or leave our space."]

While her sister sounded
confident, Atia recognized tension in the tightening of her wings.
In the silence, Atia held Lantis close, but his arms already
squeezed her thigh and his warm cheek pressed against her
waist.
[We'll be all
right
,
]
she wanted to say, but her breath froze in her
chest.