Starfire Angels (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 1) (20 page)

The opening of the door stopped her
mid-turn.

Oh, man. He was so hot.

No. She couldn't think that. That's all he
was.

"Raea. I left message with Debbie." His
amber eyes flashed to Linds and back to her.

"You did? I...didn't know. My friends and I
hung out at Josh's." Her temperature rose. Now was not a good time
for the Starfire to act up.
Stay calm. Get it done. Don't
linger.
She could do this.

"I am glad you came. Come in, and your
friend."

"Oh, ah..." She glanced aside. "You remember
Linds?"

"Yes, Linds." A shadow passed over his
expression for a moment. "You can come in."

Why did he have to smile? It made this so
much harder. Raea could hardly stand it.
Linds. Don't go in.
That just means I have to do this.
Damn. She had to follow her
friend into the room.

Pallin let the door thump closed behind
them. An unopened bottle of wine stood on the table near the
window. Where'd he get that? Did his parents let him drink? He
slipped past them to retrieve it. "I have special surprise."

"Um...I don't drink." Then again, Debbie
wasn't there to police her. What harm could one glass do? She
wanted to try it. Debbie always refused to let her, even when her
aunt and uncle celebrated with wine at the holidays. It wasn't like
she wanted to get drunk. She just wanted a taste.

"I wouldn't mind a little."

Linds? Raea couldn't believe it.

"Mom and dad let me have a little bit when
they get a bottle. I know what I can tolerate. Why not?" She
grabbed three plastic wrapped hotel cups from the bathroom and
started opening them. "Here. Only a third for me."

Pallin opened the bottle, which didn't have
the usual cork, a sign of cheapness. Exactly what she'd come to
expect from him. "It is good."

"So, why the special occasion?" Linds worked
at the plastic around the other cups.

"Um, not staying long and want good
memory."

Could he make this any harder for her? All
Raea wanted was to tell him that she wanted a clean end and no more
pretending to see each other. That's it. No more. But, now this.
Her heart sank with the burden of guilt. How could she let him
down?

Why did she listen to Jess? She should have
followed her instincts and tried calling, or even waited for
Monday.

As if she could wait. She wanted to free her
mind of Pallin to clear it for Elis.

"So..."

"A drink first." He poured a little in each
glass.

Raea took hers. The rosy pink liquid filling
only a quarter of the cup couldn't hurt. Maybe it would even loosen
her up enough to say what she needed to say. Or at least, from
hearing Debbie, it might help.

"To what?" Linds asked.

"What?" His brows pushed together in a
frown.

"Usually you drink to celebrate
something."

"Yes, it is custom. Then, to Raea."

Me?
She warmed, wishing she could
hide the blush she felt on her cheeks the way she could the cold in
her heart. He wasn't making this easy for her. "All right."

Linds lifted her glass to Raea and took a
drink.

Raea followed. The smell wasn't what she
expected. Not sweet in the way soda was. When she sipped, she
tasted sweetness, but not like anything else. It was different, but
she'd never had anything alcoholic before. If alcohol caused this
odd flavor, she wasn't interested in drinking. But she could humor
Pallin. She tolerated a little more before setting the cup
down.

Seconds later, the room melted around her.
Voices buzzed like insects in her head.

"Raea? Raea! What's wrong?"

She fought to clarify the blurring colors
around her amid the confusion. They swirled and pain—or was
it?—tingled through her arms and legs.

* * *

The girl went down, her eyes glazed and
unfocused. He had what he'd come for. He'd gained her trust and
found something better than he could have imagined for
incapacitating her.

"Raea. Raea, are you all right?" Linds knelt
over the Crystal Keeper.

Pallin set his glass down without having
dared to touch the substance. His preparations for this assignment
hadn't mentioned the effects of alcohol on the Inari system. And
this stuff was easy to find.

Now to deal with the friend. Obviously the
wine didn't affect humans the same.

Pallin had the answer in his hand. After
dealing with the nosy Nina Russet, he had been sure to have it
ready. He pressed the neutralizer into the bony part of her neck to
be sure it knocked her out. The girl collapsed over her friend,
unconscious. He shoved her aside and bent over the Crystal Keeper.
The neutralizer had been intended for Raea, but she didn't need it
yet. The wine was enough to keep her from causing trouble, for a
while.

The Starfire hung in its finely woven wire
on the chain around Raea's neck. Raea he didn't care about, except
to get her back to the homeworld and force her to place the crystal
with the other shards in the heart of Heffin's Gate. He'd have to
be careful not to touch it. None but the Keeper chosen to bear it
could safely handle it, exactly the reason he would need to take
her back alive when the portal opened. They had given him almost
two Earth weeks to locate and incapacitate the Crystal Keeper.

Only by accident had his superiors
discovered that Padina had left a child on Earth and realized she
must have left her shard with that child. Those on the ship sent to
Earth thirteen years ago had found no trace of the crystal in
Padina's human dwelling, and they hadn't thought to look for a
child but had destroyed the house and its tenants to eliminate
evidence of being there.

Now, he had her. In three days, the portal
would open. He had only to keep her subdued long enough to take her
back.

But he had one other problem—the other
Keeper. Elis would search. Of that Pallin was certain.

The hotel would be the first place anyone
looked and too easy to reach. The empty house he doubted. Pallin
had cleared it upon arriving. From his office in Sacramento, Prime
Commander Loran had given specific instructions of how to proceed
after Pallin arrived on that world. Although the others on Earth
couldn't help him physically, they provided more than enough
information for him to formulate a plan.

Still, he used caution. Elis might figure it
out.

Exactly what he expected to use in his plan
to eliminate the other Keeper.

Pallin would be ready for a confrontation.
He slipped on the black coat and gloves of the Shirukan over his
flightsuit. He packed a flask of wine into an inner pocket and
secured Raea's wrists with a rope. If a Keeper wanted, they could
escape anything but the
tala
gel. He hoped to spare what he
had for emergency use. Besides, with the liquor, he had only to
poor a swallow every few hours into Raea's mouth to keep her
intoxicated. He had discovered the hard way, and had Nina to thank
for it.

Sunset would come soon. After dark, he would
leave. Only his golden yellow wings might be seen, but with the
superstitious nature of humans, he doubted anyone would think
anything was wrong.

The Chase

Where was Raea? She should have come for her
training already. Elis walked to the front door and opened it to
check, but she would have come in without waiting. Still no sign of
her, and the sun had set. He didn't like this. Had she changed her
mind?

Maybe he should check with Debbie. Since
Raea slapped him over the confrontation with Pallin, he had been
hesitant to follow her everywhere.

He closed the door and went off to find the
kitchen phone. Before he dialed, it rang in his hands. His heart
skipped a beat and he clicked it on. "Hello?"

"Elis. I'm glad I caught you. Have you seen
Raea?" Debbie sounded worried.

"No. I was just about to call you."

"Oh, dear God. I hoped she was there. She
left to hang out with friends at the Baum house and hasn't come
back. Apparently Lindsey didn't make it home either. Her mother
called Josh, who said they left around five-thirty. She gave Raea a
ride to the Prairie Rose Inn to see Pallin, but she isn't answering
her cell."

His heart froze. Pallin. It was now a little
after eight, and still too light to fly. "I'll go." What had Pallin
done? If he was Shirukan...

"Thanks, Elis."

"Okay." He clicked off the phone. The
Prairie Rose Inn? He knew where that was—downtown. Hopefully Pallin
hadn't done anything to harm Raea already, but if he had—

Elis shook the thought away. The Shirukan
had killed his family. He couldn't let them take Raea. Why had she
gone? Why couldn't she give up on Pallin? Shirukan or not, he was
trouble.

Why couldn't she accept him—Elis?

The rejection stung, but he pushed his
feelings aside. Right now he had a duty to perform.

He opened the closet and pulled out his
coat. "Evelyn!"

"Yes, dear." Her voice came from the sitting
room where he had left her.

While zipping up, he peaked through the
doorway. "I need your car."

"Take it."

"Thanks." He rushed to slip on his shoes and
headed out into the cold. Debbie had taught him to drive and helped
him secure a license. He had seen no reason to at first, but at
times like this, he was glad he had learned.

On the quiet drive, his mind whirled with
possibilities. What happened to the girls? Did they make it to the
Inn? What if they didn't? He could backtrack afterwards. His
suspicions about Pallin worried him more. Linds drove all the time.
She knew how to handle a vehicle. Nothing would have happened on
the roads.

The moment he arrived in the lot of the
three-level hotel, his insides twisted and tightened. Linds' car
sat empty in a parking space.
Please be all right.

Elis parked close to it and hurried into the
hotel.

At the front desk, he stopped. "I need to
know what room a foreigner named Pallin Montran is in."

The girl checked her computer.

Impatience raced through him, until she
finally said, "three-oh-two. Up the stairs and down the hall to
your left."

"Thanks." Raea better be all right.

He shot away around the corner of the
lobby.

And nearly collided with a familiar
face.

"Elis." Nina's shock turned into a grin. "I
wouldn't expect to see you here."

"No time to talk." He didn't need her
snooping into his affairs. By Starfire, she'd better stay out, or
he'd have a bigger mess than he could clean up.

Up the stairs to the top and down the hall
to the left. He followed the numbers to 302 and pounded on the
door. "Pallin, open up!"

No one answered. He pounded again. "Raea!
Linds! Are you there? Raea!" He put his ear to the door.

A faint voice reached him from the other
side. He lifted a fist to pound harder.

The door opened.

"Elis?" Linds blinked and rubbed her eyes
groggily. "What's going on?"

He glanced down the hall and pushed past her
into the room to shut the door. Someone would hear. Where was Raea?
Why was Linds alone? Someone could have punched him in the gut for
all the worry twisting inside him.

She wobbled but he caught her.

"Whoa." Linds groaned.

Elis guided her to the bed. When she turned
he noticed the burn mark on her neck. His pulse quickened. It
couldn't be! The burn mark of a neutralizer at close range. Now he
had a true reason to worry. "Where's Raea? What happened?"

Linds glanced around. "I don't know. Pallin
offered us some wine. She collapsed after a few sips..."

Alcohol. Raea probably didn't know about its
dangerous effects on their kind. He'd been warned before coming not
to consume it. Pallin must have known of its immediate narcotic
effect.

"I don't know. I leaned over, trying to see
what was wrong and I guess I collapsed too. He must have drugged
us. Your pounding woke me up."

"You need to call home," he said. Where was
Pallin now? Where had he taken Raea? "Did Pallin say anything about
going anywhere?"

"No." She pulled out her cell phone.

Crystal Fire. Where—

The farmhouse. Pallin must have killed the
family to clear a place to hold Raea. It had to be his work—burn
marks in the chest could only be from his weapon set to kill.
That's where they'd be.

"Contact Debbie and let her know that Raea's
in trouble."

"She is? What kind of trouble?"

"Just call. I'll take care of it." He turned
to leave, anxious to get in the air and hunt down Pallin. This was
about more than Raea.

Linds grabbed his sleeve. "You'll take care
of it? Elis, Raea's my friend. I have a right to know what's going
on."

What could he say? Raea wasn't ready to tell
her friends. He had to honor that. "Pallin isn't who we thought he
was. He's a criminal." At least by the governments of most of
Inar'Ahben, the Shirukan were. Only in the Empire were they the
authority.

" Raea. What did she get herself into?"

"Tell Debbie." He hurried away as she dialed
her phone.

"Where are you going?"

"After them." He let the door slam behind
him.

"Elis. Fancy meeting you here, at Pallin's
room."

He cringed.
Not now.
That woman had a
way of butting into everything she shouldn't.

"Is he in?"

"No."

"But you were talking to someone."

He whirled on Nina, his patience wearing
thin. "If you want to talk to him, I suggest you find him yourself.
Otherwise, go back to your room and stay out of this." He didn't
wait for an answer but headed for the stairs. The hotel opened to
the roof for snow blowing, since it was flat. He'd seen it from the
air before. They could only get up by stairway.