Crystal Tomb (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3) (39 page)

A loose strand of auburn hair fell
into her face and, with a fingertip, she combed it aside. Her
finger slid down along her cheek and passed over the small bump of
a scar. She hadn't asked to have it removed but kept it as a
reminder of what she had endured. Twice she had escaped death, once
at the hands of the rebel who had helped the Earth-born Crystal
Keeper and again when Empress Shirat Marin had spared her
life.

Marin's judgment. She had
faced Marin's judgment after the Crystal Keeper from Earth escaped
and the
Kerannis
defeated their efforts to recapture her. After losing the
Crystal Keeper, she had called off the battle. Even with their
three ships, they had been outgunned. She quit while she was ahead.
Their objective hadn't been an open firefight, only the capture of
the Crystal Keeper; and once the girl slipped past the Shirukan
forces, there was no reason to stay. The open warfare to unite
their world would come when Heffin's Gate was at full
power.

She would not fail a third
time.

Tarolis casually brushed
something off his sleeve as if his report was no more important
than a speck of dust. ["After a portal reported in Sector
Oros
two-four, the region
humans call the Middle East, I sent Lieutenant Oranil to
investigate. She observed two Keepers visiting with some humans.
After they left through a portal, she proceeded to interrogate the
humans. The Keepers returned to their local region, after
requesting an interesting artifact—an Eye. According to the human
who talked, it held a crystal point."]

Valdas swore her heart jumped to her
throat. Her wings ruffled behind her involuntarily with her shock.
["A fifth shard?"] How could they have missed it?

Tarolis shrugged. ["Perhaps. The
humans died before Oranil could obtain more. They were
weak."]

Interrogation methods could be brutal,
but it was a risk worth taking. They might have another shard on
Earth to capture. But if there was a fifth shard, there might be
more. Where were they? How many were there?

Saffir would know. More than ever, the
desire to capture Starfire Tower burned through her veins. The
fortress of the Keepers and the traitor who gave Valdas that scar
sat behind those walls thinking they were safe. No more. The time
would soon come to finish what Lieutenant Sandral had
started.

She glanced aside at the yellow-haired
woman and caught her amber eyes in the glow from the control board.
Tarolis didn't know she was there, but she couldn't hear his side
of the conversation.

["They gave us enough. We have a new
threat on Earth, Prime Commander. A new Crystal Keeper to capture.
Learn the name and location so we may plan to extract
them."]

His eyes radiated defiance with the
hardened expression. He might be equal in rank, but his job was to
support her from Earth. He despised taking orders from
her.

["As you wish."]

["I do. You have forty-two hours.
Prime Commander Alshouan out."]

["Yes, ma'am."] He reached up to the
tri-comm on his cheek and his image disappeared. Abrupt but better
than harassing a fellow officer of the Shirukan.

Alshouan pulled the tri-comm from her
cheek and turned to face the lieutenant. Corsa's yellow wings
tightened at her back. ["They have a fifth shard on
Earth."]

Corsa's jaw dropped. ["I thought there
were only four."]

["We all did…Very clever. Heffin's
Gate could never be at full power, even with Raea's and Saffir's
shards."] Their plans would never have been complete. Saffir must
have known. She knew everything about the Keepers' history. If she
didn't know, perhaps it was listed in the database, but that was
locked, accessible only through the computer in Starfire Tower.
["We need access to Starfire Tower."]

Corsa's lips curved up. ["I'll have it
soon. While I had access, I left a little gift in the main
computer. I don't think Leksel found it."]

Traitor! The name left a bitter taste
in her mouth. That a Shirukan could betray his own kind to help
their enemy churned her stomach, the bile rising to burn her
throat. Corsa's report had given her one more reason to hate the
man who scarred her. She would bring him to justice, along with the
Keepers who thought they were safe.

["How long until you have
access?"]

Corsa's lip twisted into a grimace.
["The remote security algorithm changes every time I decipher the
first character. It may require direct access."]

Clever
Keepers
. Too bad they wouldn't last long.
The stain on their world would be rubbed out as their empress
rightly sought.

["Then we continue with our plans.
Continue your work."]

["Yes, ma'am."] Corsa's words carried
the respect for her that Tarolis had denied.

The yellow-winged Shirukan spun on her
heel and marched through the door as another black-uniformed
Shirukan entered, also of yellow-wings and amber eyes. The hiss of
the door closing cut off the clap of Corsa's boots on the black
stone lining the corridors of the machine known as Heffin's
Gate.

He halted just inside the door and, in
rigid precision, momentarily crossed both arms over his chest with
tight fists inside black gloves. His arms fell to his sides and he
stood proud before her.

He looked up and, in the glare of one
of the overhead lights, a dark determination flared in his
eyes.

["You look well, Commander,
considering what happened."]

A snarl curled his lip, and she
understood the reason. Rather than take offense, she agreed with
his right to display such emotions—his fury being directed at the
Keepers rather than her. After more than a month in intensive
recovery from his burns, he'd spent the last three quarters
returning for treatments to repair the sealed feather follicles.
Obviously, it had worked; his golden wings displayed full plumage,
although not yet as long as necessary to perform the rigid
maneuvers required of someone of his rank. That would come soon
enough.

["My body is mending from its wounds,
but my loyalty has never broken,"] he said, his voice cold and
menacing.

["Your determination is inspiring. Are
you prepared to return to your former duties?"] His every twitch
fell under her scrutiny, but he never faltered from that cold,
harsh gaze. She had been right to choose him, despite what General
Maenast might think. He would never betray her.

A dark grin stretched up to crease
that beautiful face so meticulously reconstructed. ["Yes,
ma'am."]

["Good. I have special plans for you,
given your prior experience, Commander Montran Pallin."]

About the
Author

Melanie Nilles grew up on a
western North Dakota cattle ranch and farm. Along with her
interest in horses, she always had a fascination with science
fiction and fantasy. She currently resides in central North
Dakota with her family, which includes her husband and kids, and
three cats. Her published works include the
STARFIRE ANGELS
series and the
LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON
epic. Besides writing, she also trains and shows her horse.
For updates, visit her website at www.melanienilles.com.

Other available books and ebooks by
Melanie Nilles:

STARFIRE ANGELS

BROKEN WINGS

(Starfire Angels Book 2)

WHEN ANGELS CRY

(a Starfire Angels novella)

A TURN OF CURSES

LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON:
LEGENDS

LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON:
LEGACIES

LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON:
DESTINY

LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON: LEGENDS,
LEGACIES, DESTINY

(Three Complete Novels)

FIREBLOOD

(A Legend of the White Dragon
Novel)

Coming Winter
2011:

ORIGINS OF DARK ANGEL (Starfire
Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3.5)