Starfire Angels (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 1) (17 page)

"Leave me alone."

She wasn't getting off the hook that easily.
But it would take some sweet-talking. Now for the act and her most
innocent voice. "I'm not here to harass you. I honestly want to
know. This is an astounding breakthrough. If there's any chance
that it's a family trait, you should consider the possibilities.
You'd be an international star, a religious icon rivaling the Pope.
The power to heal the world could end wars, save the sick, and
bring hope to the needy. You have a gift, Raea. A gift this world
needs."

"She wants none of that." Elis stepped in
front of her, while Raea slipped to the door. "Aren't you here to
pursue your Dark Angel?"

"Yes, but this is also a story. I'm already
here and might as well make the most of my time."

There. Nina slipped past him and leaned on
the door, blocking the girl's escape. "Think about it. Let me bring
in some experts to study your hands, maybe run a few tests. They're
so unique and so very much like the legends of ancient tribes. And
a few reports have come in the last few years of others like you
around the world."

Aha! Raea knew something. The drop of her
jaw and wide-eyes gave it away. Nina was on the right track.

A firm hand on her shoulder pushed her away.
"Not today, Miss Russet," Elis said.

Oh, no. Raea wasn't getting away this time.
Boyfriend or not, he would not separate her from the girl.

"I suggest you return to your Dark
Angel."

"But—"

He shoved her back and stepped in front of
her with an outstretched palm, while Raea unlocked the door. The
two exchanged words in a strange tongue.

But, his hands. The exposed fingertips had
bits of the same jagged lines of aquamarine as on Raea's hands.
Impossible. It couldn't be.

Yes. There were faint lines of aquamarine on
the undersides of two of his fingers coming out of the black
gloves.
The conspiracy goes deeper. What are you two up
to?

Now Nina
knew
they hid something. But
he hid his hands inside those gloves. All. The. Time. And no
wonder—who wouldn't ask questions if they saw the two of them with
the same markings? Two of them working together. Suspicion gnawed
at her mind.

Nolan might know something. He had served as
a consultant on a few shows. He was more than willing to offer his
expertise in this area.

"All right. You win." She'd find a way to
expose them. Later, after she talked with Nolan.

Elis dropped his hand as Raea shut the door
between them.

"I'll leave. I know when I'm not
wanted."

His eyebrow lifted.

Yeah, Mister Innocent Protector
Boyfriend. Play games all you want. In the end,
I
will
win.
They were two of a kind, Raea and Elis. Who were they
really? Or should she be asking
what
were they?

Nina hurried to the car, anxious to reach
some privacy for a phone call. She hit the speed dial on her cell
for Nolan's office. With all luck, he'd still be in. When wasn't he
in? The man lived out of his office, or it seemed that way. Even at
an hour ahead, it wasn't five o'clock for him. On his short days,
he didn't get out until after six.

The phone rang half a dozen times. He either
had the machine off or set for a dozen rings. He preferred a chance
to answer in person and had always said the machine was just
back-up anyway. Besides, telemarketers often gave up after four or
five rings, he had added.

On the seventh ring, he picked up.
Superstitious bastard. "Hello?"

"Hey, Nolan, it's Nina."

"Hey, Nina. Where are you?" The scratchy,
smoker's voice. He really should quit, but he always blew her off
when she suggested it. If she could, he could. It would make her
feel better about quitting.

Elis disappeared inside the yellow house.
Good. At least he wasn't watching her. She started the car.

"You'd never guess."

"No. Probably not. You get around to some of
the oddest locations."

"All right, wiseguy. I'm in North Dakota,
investigating those Dark Angel stories. But I have something else."
She switched to speakerphone and drove off. "I discovered a girl,
and maybe a guy too, with strange markings on her hands. They're
not tattoos, that I can tell, or even that I've been told. And
they're not like an odd birthmark—it's on both hands. As far as I
know, birthmarks don't have that kind of symmetry."

"Not usually. No. What do these marks look
like?"

"That's the odd thing. I know I've seen
something like them before."

"Which is why you called me."

"Exactly." Good old Nolan. He knew what to
expect from her.

"All right. I'll bite. What are they? What
do you need from me?"

"I need you to send me everything—I mean
everything
, pictures, interpretations,
everything
—on
these marks. I swear I've heard about others with them in recent
times too, but I'm not sure.

"Anyway, they're a kind of greenish bluish
color. It's like something dropped in the center of her hands and
sprayed outward, on the palms
and
the backs, but less on the
backs. Kind of like a topaz or aquamarine sun with squiggly rays
coming out. Got anything like that?"

"Maybe. I'll see what I can come up with.
When do you need it?"

"Right away. I don't want to make another
trip to this place if I don't have to. The crew'll be here tomorrow
and if I can get two stories in one trip, fantastic."

"That's kind of short notice. Don't you
think?"

Yeah, well, that's the business.
Nina
bit her tongue. No sense upsetting Nolan, not if she wanted his
cooperation. "I'm here now. It's just easier."

"For you." He grumbled the words but let out
a sigh in the end. "All right. Send it to your email?"

"Thanks, Nolan. I owe you one."

"Yes, another one. I'll add it to your
tab."

Ouch. That was a bit harsh. "Point made.
I'll repay you when the time comes."

He cleared his throat, or so it seemed,
although she swore she heard a "Yahright" in there. Someday, she
would repay him for all the research. "Call me if you need anything
else, Nina."

"You know it. Ciao."

"Bye." He clicked off.

Nolan might be in a bad mood, but he'd come
through. He always did. She hoped he sent what she needed within a
couple days, though, before her schedule filled up.

In the meantime, she had a few feathers to
overnight to their research team. The rest she would keep. She
hurried back to the hotel, anxious to send off those feathers. Two
angels. She still couldn't believe what she had seen with her own
eyes.

Speaking of seeing with her own eyes.
"Pallin."

He halted in the lobby of the hotel.
Something dark crossed his face, for just a moment.

"You're looking better," she said. That was
an understatement.

"I feel better."

"Hey, look. I'm sorry about the wine. It
wasn't that good anyway, but I had no idea you couldn't drink. Are
you on some medication or something that it overreacted in you?" Or
was it an allergy she could study?

"No. I am never drinking wine."

"Yeah. Sorry, I wish I'd known." Hmm...Her
ideas for a new study had a launchpad. "I hope we can get together
again." For more than just research.

His smile suggested forgiveness. The way he
stepped close to her with that commanding presence that had taken
over the other day made her weak for the temptation.

No, she had work to finish first. Pallin
could wait. Dear God, she couldn't wait. She would have to
wait.

"I am liking that."

That's what I wanted to hear.
He was
the only good reason for visiting that town. "Then I'll see you
later?"

Her temperature jumped at the lustful grin
he gave her. She really couldn't wait for later.

Connections

The last two days of the week couldn't have
gone fast enough. Raea spent the better part of each evening
practicing with Elis before the nights grew too cold to want to
fly, and after Debbie came home Thursday. Apparently it had been
Sheri at the house and she had mentioned suspecting squatters but
found no sign of anyone on a return trip. Warmer weather was
promised for the weekend. With it, Raea anticipated the chance to
spread her wings.

She had talked to Pallin at school, but
Debbie didn't give her a chance to go out with him, and he didn't
seem inclined to ask. What was going on? Doubts crept into her
mind. She hoped to put them to rest, but Pallin kept his distance
since their hands brushed. Had he felt it? Had it turned him off?
What did it mean?

And just when the weather was good enough to
go walking. They should take advantage of it. Spring weather could
change at the drop of a hat. Since March had come in like a lion,
she expected it to go out like a lamb. They were in the homestretch
in the latter half of the month. Spring couldn't come fast enough
for her.

The best yet—no Nina Russet. Unfortunately,
as Josh informed her Friday, that was because the film crew had
arrived. What a way to spoil her weekend. Now she had to worry
about being videotaped and caught doing something un-human. She
couldn't wait until they left.

After school Friday, Raea asked Pallin to go
for a walk, but he had work to do. She could call later, though.
Besides, she had the whole weekend ahead. That left her the option
of practicing with Elis. She could now release the energy in a
burst, but it was uncontrolled and strong. He warned that she could
kill someone with it. That made her hesitate. She wanted to learn
to refine her control, so she wouldn't hurt anyone.

What else could she do, besides hang out
with friends?

Not this time. She wanted to push ahead with
the Starfire lessons. Since getting into them, the visions and
dreams had all but stopped. Elis it was.

With her mind set, she leapt the melting
runoff meandering down the sidewalk, avoiding the slushy lawn
altogether, and arrived in seconds next door. She pounded a triple
knock and waited.

When the door opened, surprise flashed
across his face for a moment. In the next moment, his smile washed
it away. "Come in."

"Thanks." Was it warm suddenly? Oh, no. Not
again. What was going on with her?

She ducked her face as she slipped past him.
Please don't let him see the blush.
The storm door hissed
shut behind her. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she removed
her coat with her back to him. Ever since the pantry in the
farmhouse, thoughts of being close to him occupied her mind.

"I didn't expect you this soon."

"I didn't have anything else." Pallin seemed
to have lost interest but still talked to her at school. No one
said he went out with anyone else, but he skirted the subject when
she asked if something was wrong.

Elis shut the door and took her coat to hang
it up. "You've been making incredible progress."

"It doesn't feel like it." Almost a whole
week and she had managed to find the resonance inside her and
release the energy in a burst. Sure, that was fast progress. When
did she get to do the cool stuff?

"Really. You've learned fast. Most of us
take a month's time to reach this point."

"Yeah, right." Damn, that crooked smirk was
cute on him.

No. No. NO! I did not just think that.

Yes, she did. Good God. She was attracted to
him. How did this happen?
When
did this happen?

No. She couldn't be. What about Pallin? He
was hot. Elis was just like...sort of...cuddly cute.

Was this the reason she wanted to spend time
with him, because she was attracted to him?
What do I do now?
Why did this have to happen?

"Of course, we get the basics around seven
years, before we start primary school, and we're not pushed hard.
It's light work. Once we have that, our parents help us, but the
real training doesn't come until after secondary school. That's
when we return to Starfire Tower alone for a few years to refine
our control."

"Well, that's different. You were a child.
I'm eighteen." And he probably didn't have the attention span as a
child to focus for long. No wonder it took a month. She still felt
slow.

"And you've been applying yourself and
pushing hard." He glanced aside, his eyes unfocused.

He planned something. After the other night,
she wasn't sure she trusted his plans to work out. Pantry. End of
story.

"Nina has her film crew," he said.

"Yeah." What was he suggesting?

"We might do best to stay inside."

But she wanted to fly. She didn't want to
stay inside. "What can we do inside?"

"You can practice growing your wings."

"Whoa. No way! I can't do it myself." It
hurt.

A smile spread across his face. "It's time
you learned."

No. She didn't want to learn it yet. It
hurt
. In fact, it hurt like hell. "I'm not ready."

"Yes, you are."

"I'll rip my clothes." And she was not going
topless. If he suggested that, she'd bust his nose on the spot and
leave. She so wanted him to suggest it. She wanted a reason to be
mad at him.

"You've ripped a couple shirts already. Did
you keep them?"

She couldn't even hold a dirty mind against
him as a reason to dislike him. No. Of course not. He had to be
nice
. "Yeah, but—"

"Run home and grab one."

But she had just taken off her coat. Why
couldn't he have said so sooner?

"Or use one of mine."

Too weird, but at the same time...His shirt?
His
shirt. Part of her liked that idea. Yeah, like the part
of her she wanted to knock out for falling for the Starfire's
influence. She didn't want this, but she couldn't help it. What
could she do? Fighting proved almost impossible. She was losing,
and losing bad. But wasn't that a good thing, in a strange way?