Starfire Angels (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 1) (28 page)

Oh, no. She knew better. "You're not going
flying without me."

"Practice growing your wings, Raea." The
cold snap of his voice glued her feet to the ground. Something hard
and cold burned in his eyes.

No. He wouldn't. But he had said it three
days ago—if he met Pallin again, he wouldn't hold back. "You're
going after him."

"Stay here."

"No. You can't." She crossed the kitchen as
he opened the back door and grabbed his arm. "Elis, don't. Let it
go."
I might lose you.

"I can't. He's Shirukan. He's dangerous, and
he thinks he's safe in his hotel room. His kind killed my family
and
yours. He'll come for you, and these humans know
nothing. They can't even arrest him and hold him, because we can't
tell them the truth. They can't know about the Starfire. I'm the
only one, Raea."

"I won't lose you, too." Why did he feel
compelled to take the fight to Pallin?

"You won't."

"You don't have to do this, not now." She
refused to let him pull away. He'd get himself killed if he faced
Pallin. He almost had last time.

Elis whirled on her, his face contorted in
rage and sorrow, or was that from the pain of his wound. "He hurt
everyone I love and the one I love the most. It ends now."

"But—" His words struck her dumb. The one he
loved the most?

He yanked his arm away, sending her
stumbling into the door frame as he rushed out into the cold.
Seconds later, black wings spread behind him and he flapped into
the night sky. This. Was. Not. Happening! Not Elis.

She couldn't leave him alone. She had to
stop him. But how? She couldn't tell anyone. Even if she did, no
one could drive her to the hotel fast enough.

She had to fly. That meant transforming
herself. Oh, God, it hurt. She'd fail and Pallin would kill him.
She couldn't let that happen. She had to try.

But first a coat and shoes. She rushed back
to the foyer and grabbed his jacket from the closet and slipped on
her shoes.

"Better hurry, dear. I've never seen him
this upset before." Evelyn's voice carried through the doorway from
the sitting room.

Raea swallowed.
Neither have I.
She
slipped the coat on as she hurried to the back door. There, she
focused on finding the resonance.
I need my wings.
One other
thought occurred to her. She knew now how to communicate with the
entities and let them guide her. Maybe they would show her the way.
Through the resonance, she sent out her thoughts.
Starfire, help
me. Elis is in danger.

Burning pain seized her back.
Breathe.
It hurt. She groaned as the wings and muscles grew
out. Seconds later, air rushed from her lungs in relief. Brown
wings stretched with a thought.

She did it. She really did it.

No time to celebrate. She had to catch up to
Elis. Raea rushed out and flapped down, climbing into the night. In
the distance, a lone shadow hovered over the hotel. She would
barely catch up. Then what?

No time. She had to try.

Raea flew in the direction of Elis's shadow
and found the top of the hotel by the bright sign next to the
building. They had a roof entrance. She hadn't even known. How
convenient.

Elis was nowhere in sight.
Oh, God. If
you really exist, please keep him safe.

With a miscalculation, she landed hard
enough to crash to her knees. No time to rest though. Now for the
wings. She had to hide them again.

With the Starfire's help, she shrank her
wings. Why couldn't it be painless?

That would be too easy
, she thought
on her way through the trap door. Down a short ladder to a landing
at the top of a stairwell, she climbed. No sign of him
.

Raea raced to the first door marked by a
blue "3". Top floor. Pallin's floor.

Barely had she opened the door when she
heard a heavy pounding through the hall and Elis's voice. ["Open
up, Pallin! I'm done playing fair."]

What was he thinking? Did he want to attract
attention?

Raea caught up as Nina Russet appeared from
around a corner.
Oh, hell no. Not now.

Elis seemed not to notice but pulled off one
of his gloves and put his hand over the key card swipe of the door
lock.

"What're you doing?" Nina stopped near
him.

"Why are you here?" He snapped the question
at her.

"I was on my way to see Pallin."

Raea blinked. What? To see him? She knew
Pallin?

"You want the truth, Miss Russet? You'll see
the truth." Elis never took his eyes off the glowing Starburst
marks.

"Don't do this, Elis."
Please stop. It's
not worth the trouble.

"He's not getting...away...with...this." He
strained with the energy he released, but the metal wasn't burning.
What was he doing?

"What's going on?" Nina stepped close behind
Elis, her eyes on his hands. "What're you doing?"

"Doing what I should have done
Saturday."

"Dear, God." Raea gasped and stepped back,
afraid of what she was hearing from him. He wouldn't. He
couldn't.
"You can't kill him."

"No. But you're getting some justice, and
so...am...I." The lock clicked and he threw open the door. A second
later, he jumped aside.

Nina stumbled back, a burned hole in her
chest.

Raea jumped to catch her as she collapsed.
"Nina."

A crash sounded from the room before the
door slammed closed.

"Elis." But Nina—

Why me?

Nina's eyes opened and she peered down at
her chest then up at Raea. "I know you can fix this."

"No. I can't. I don't know how." Raea looked
around. No one. Didn't anyone hear the commotion? "Help! Someone
help us! I need a doctor!"

Nina grabbed her hand, wincing with the
movement that cracked the flash-cauterized edges of the wound.
Blood flowed over Nina's dark shirt and vest. "Do it." She pressed
Raea's hand to the bleeding wound. "You have the power. Pallin told
me."

Raea trembled as blood oozed over her
fingers and Nina's. She was going to be sick. "No. I haven't
learned—"

"Try." Nina gasped and winced as if
breathing hurt.

"I could kill you."

"I'm dead if you don't." Nina pressed her
hand over Raea's.

A series of crashes came from the room and
the door flung open. A dark shape flashed past with another right
behind.

"Elis."

He hesitated chasing Pallin through the door
to the stairs. A red line trickled down his cheek.

"I need your help. I can't do this."

He glanced back the way Pallin had gone and
past Raea. "She's beyond my help." With that he disappeared through
the door.

Nina's hand fell limp over hers. No. No,
this wasn't real. She couldn't be dead.

Footsteps thumped towards her. "What
happened?"

Raea looked up at a couple of men who knelt
down. "She's been shot."

"What?"

"Take her." Tears burned in her eyes.
Dammit, Elis. He and his stupid "justice". Nina should have come
first. If he hadn't opened that door—

But Nina had been stupid enough to stand
behind him, and Pallin had fired the shot.

Maybe Elis was right. She didn't know what
he could and couldn't heal. Maybe this was more than he could heal.
If that was the case, she'd never be able to save him if he was
shot.

She had to stop him.

"Take her." Raea lowered Nina to the floor.
She wiped the blood off her hand with the sleeve of Elis's coat and
raced after him. The men would know better what to do, she
hoped.

* * *

Crystal Fire. Pallin reached the rooftop. If
Raea hadn't stopped him, Elis could have caught the Shirukan and
secured him.

Pallin stood with golden wings and
fired.

Elis ducked down as a shot sent gravel
hurtling everywhere like tiny missiles, pinging off the metal
door.

When he re-emerged, Pallin was airborne. Now
he had to catch him from the air. Cornering the bastard in the
hotel room hadn't worked. Both of them were sore with injuries, but
Pallin was too well trained. Using the Starfire energy to subdue
him would only have worked for a short time; but Elis couldn't even
get his hands in position long enough. Instead, Pallin whipped out
his knife. Elis ducked, but Pallin gave him a cut along his scalp.
The line of blood cooled on his cheek in the chilly night.

Elis climbed onto the rooftop and grew his
wings, his eyes fixed on Pallin flying higher. If Raea hadn't asked
for his help—

He hadn't lied. Nina's wound was too deep
and she was too far gone to save. Although he didn't like the
woman, he would never want anyone hurt. She had been hurt because
of him. It wouldn't be for nothing.

How had Raea followed so closely? She must
have finally overcome the pain to grow her wings.

There was that.

He opened his wings and flapped into the
air. Pallin would not escape. This would end tonight. Pallin
wouldn't hurt Raea, or touch her, ever again. No more Pallin. No
more Shirukan. Their lives would see peace.

Pallin reached a peak and hovered a moment.
Here it came.

Elis swerved. A blast of energy from the
weapon grazed his wing. The Shirukan had good aim, but so did he. A
touch of the resonance gave him all he needed. He released the
energy at the moving shadow.

The shadow dove. Or was it a fall? Had he
struck Pallin?

No. Pallin spiraled and swooped up towards
him, the targeting beam of his weapon glowed. No neutralizer beams
here. The Shirukan shot to kill.

Elis pulled in both wings and dove head
first. Nothing hit him.

Now, if he could lead Pallin away from the
town, he might have a chance to survive without witnesses. And he
could lure the Shirukan away from his real target—Raea.

Elis glanced back at the hotel far behind
them. A dark shape outlined by the lights of the town
approached.

Why couldn't she stay behind? Why couldn't
she have stayed home? She didn't have the skills to avoid Pallin in
the air. He'd easily catch her.

Maybe Pallin wouldn't notice. Elis had to
end this quickly, before that happened. Or at least keep him
busy.

Another shot flashed close to him.

Crystal fire. Elis flapped harder, partially
riding an updraft to gain altitude and working at it.

Pallin climbed after him. Good. As long as
the Shirukan didn't look back.

Beyond the edge of town and far above the
patchwork of fallow fields and pastures, Elis dove on his
adversary.

Pallin hesitated and brought his weapon
up.

In a feat of acrobatics from years of aerial
games on the homeworld, Elis swerved and zigzagged sharply in the
air with variations of wing movements. The shots flashed past
him.

A hundred feet away, Pallin brought the
weapon up for a clear shot as Elis leveled with him.

Elis raised his hands and released a burst
of energy, while flying straight for his adversary.

Seconds later, a blinded Pallin grunted from
their impact.

Elis spread his wings like a parachute and
nearly halted his fall. Pallin tumbled away.

Near the ground far below, the shadowy
figure opened his golden wings and arched upwards.

For a few seconds, Elis could catch his
breath.

Raea approached fast. How he wished she
wouldn't. Too late. She was almost here. Now, he not only had to
worry about Pallin, but he had to keep her safe.

Something stirred inside him. The Starburst
marks glowed faintly. The wind picked up, fighting his efforts to
glide as the currents shifted faster than he could adjust. Raea
struggled, but stayed airborne.

He knew that feeling. The touch of the
Starfire calling to itself. A portal. But who—Heffin's Gate or
Saffir?

Pallin climbed into the sky as a ball of
lightening flashed and crackled above them. Elis risked a look up.
Within the electric discharge, a black ball formed. The lightening
exploded outward, exposing the disk of the portal opening to about
the size of a house. Lightening streaks spiraled around it

A scream over the rushing of wind in his
ears jerked his attention. Raea!

While flapping hard, Pallin dragged her
upward with an arm around her neck.

Elis refused to let him succeed. He had to
be careful, though. Pallin looked up at him and put the weapon to
her head, a challenging expression on his face. Pallin dared him.
Elis had no doubt the Shirukan would kill her if he had to. The
Starfire was his true target. Taking her alive would help, but one
way or another, he intended to gain the crystal.

What could he do for her?

Elis didn't have to do anything. Raea lifted
her wings, knocking Pallin's weapon hand away, and the Starburst
marks flared.

A moment later, Pallin's arm yanked away,
the pale flesh showing through the fabric of his sleeve. She had
burned him. While Pallin tucked his arm close, Raea flew away to
Elis.

["I'm not done with you!
Either
of
you."]

Pallin lifted his weapon.

No. Elis dove at Raea, knocking her away
from the deadly blast.

"What're you doing?" She pushed away from
him.

["You have to watch your back."] He glanced
at Pallin, who flew after them, and let her go. He needed a plan.
But what? He had nothing, except...

Too dangerous.
He couldn't risk her,
but he didn't know what else to do. Besides, she
had
defended herself with the Starfire's power. He saw no other
choice.

["Split up. Keep him distracted so I can
disable him."']

She nodded and spread her wings. Now, to
take care of the golden demon in the black uniform.

* * *

Distract him, huh? Okay. That didn't seem
too hard. Raea flew away and glanced back at Pallin. He circled
slowly. Which way would he go?