Starfire Angels (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 1) (8 page)

Something wasn't right. His appearance gave
Elis chills. Elis followed at a distance, until Pallin turned into
a lonely alley. What was the man up to?

As the sun reached the horizon, Pallin
stopped and turned.

Caught. Elis couldn't hide the fact that he
followed this man.

"You have question for me?"

"No."

"But you follow."

Elis knew that accent. There was one way to
confirm it. ["I was sent to protect the Crystal Keeper."]

A grin curved up Pallin's lips. "I am
understanding not."

Maybe he was wrong. But that coat, black and
thigh-length, with the black gloves and that accent combined for
one terrible image. Standing face-to-face with his nightmare gave
Elis shivers. He hoped he was wrong. But the other night, the
Starfire called itself, as it did when a portal opened. Right
before Pallin showed up in school.

["You won't have her."]

Pallin frowned. "You speak English? Or this
is why you speak not in school?"

"Very well."

"Ah. Yes. I help you?"

Either Pallin played dumb, or he really had
no idea. But if he was Shirukan, he could hide and fake any
knowledge. With just enough Starfire in their genetics to change
form but not enough to bear the Starburst marks of a Keeper, they
were indistinguishable from humans. That weak connection with the
Starfire was the reason such individuals were chosen for the elite
forces of the Shirat Empire. And they could absorb some of the
power of the Starfire.

Whether Pallin was one of them or a human
from another country on Earth didn't matter. Elis didn't like
him.

"Stay away from her." Elis fought back the
desire to wipe that smile off the guy's face. He almost wished
Pallin was Shirukan, if only for the excuse to keep Raea away from
him.

"You are...friend?"

"A friend who won't tolerate anyone hurting
her."

"She makes decision to be not with you?"

Pallin's words cut through Elis. His fingers
balled into fists, but he restrained his temper. The guy knew
exactly what he said, good or bad English notwithstanding.

"You be leaving Raea alone." Pallin turned,
ending the conversation.

"I'll be watching you."

"That will be...interesting."

Starfire
Keepers

Where was Elis?

Raea sat in the sitting room with Mrs.
Johnson. The house hadn't changed since she was a kid. The same
faded green paint covered the living room walls and yellowed white
lacy curtains hung in the front window, although the recliner and
end tables in front of that window were newer. The television was
brand new, too.

Before Joe's death, the old couple used to
serve cookies to her and her cousins in the afternoon if they were
out playing. Raea missed those days. After Joe died, Mrs. Johnson
smiled less, until Elis came. Or was it? Now that she considered,
that
was
about the time Evelyn Johnson smiled again.

He couldn't be too bad a person if the
kind-hearted old woman took to him. Did she know about him, and
her, having wings?

The old widow sat in her recliner near the
front window, her cane leaning against the small table next to her.
Good old Mrs. Johnson with her heart of gold and short, silvery
gray hair. She was worth a mint in precious metals.

"He'll be home soon, dear."

"I hope so. I've been waiting for ten
minutes." Ten minutes longer she could have spent with Pallin. Her
heart pounded just thinking about him. He liked her.

Elis said to be there at sunset. Here she
was. The sun had set a few minutes ago. But she saw no sign of him.
If she was going to learn to control the Starfire's power—that
sounded ridiculous, like some comic book superhero—she needed to
practice. He insisted she do that.

So, where
was
he already?

She made sure to end her date with Pallin
early enough to be there. Why couldn't he stick to it?

The door clicked.

Raea jumped to her feet. "What took you so
long? You're the one who insisted I go through with this training
of yours, but you can't show up on time?" Nevermind she wanted the
training to keep her wings from sprouting again.

His jaw tightened as he pulled off his coat.
"I'm sorry. Something came up."

Whatever. Waiting for him wore her patience
thin. "So, what are we doing?" The sooner they started, the sooner
they finished and she could go home and call Pallin, or wait for
him to call her.

"The basics. First to find the
resonance."

"What resonance?"

"Every crystal reacts to different pitches
of sound, but this is something inside you. It's a part of you.
You'll feel it throughout your body. That is the resonance of the
Starfire in your cells. With that, you can access the power." He
set his shoes in the closet and pointed up the stairs from the
foyer to the second level, apparently unaffected by the fact that
Mrs. Johnson could hear every word.

She knows!

"We'll need some quiet," he said.

"What about flying?"

"Maybe later."

All right. Upstairs. It should have felt
creepy, but after that morning, actually
talking
to him, it
didn't. Or, rather, it didn't feel as weird as knowing she was an
alien with wings. She still had trouble believing what happened
that morning was real. Then to have him, of all people, admit to
being the same sounded like some fantasy Josh had dreamed up.

She climbed the stairs, noting the creaks of
a couple of them. The old house had character. When Raea was young,
Mrs. Johnson had babysat on more than a few occasions. Raea and
Dave had played many games on those stairs, pretending at times
that they led to the dragon's lair or that the two of them hunted
ghosts. Those rare times they actually got along.

The memories flashed past with amazing
clarity, like any memory she recalled. Until Elis told her the
crystal recorded events, she thought she simply had an eidetic
memory. That memory made school a breeze with a perfect GPA, and
Elis matched her from day one. Not what anyone expected from a
foreign student, but he was more than that.

Elis. I wonder...
"How old are
you?"

"In Earth years, twenty-one. It's about five
Earth years to Six Inari."

"I
knew
you were older." She had
always suspected. He seemed far too mature to be in their
class.

"Why are you in high school?"

"Debbie made the arrangements so I could
watch you, protect you in case of trouble." Around the top of the
stairs and past the upstairs bathroom, he opened the door of the
guest bedroom for her.

"Of course. And she arranged for you to live
here."

"Yes."

His door opened to an immaculately clean
room; not a mess in sight and everything organized. Books on
various subjects packed a bookshelf on the nearest wall next to a
corner desk, where a flat panel monitor glowed with power. The bed
was made and not a sock littered the floor.

"Are you for real?" Raea stood in the
doorway, aware of him close behind.

"Why?"

"No one is this neat." Not even her. She
stepped inside, self-conscious suddenly about entering Elis's room.
The room was sparse, but functional, a room for working and
sleeping but little else in the way of decoration or personal
touches. A few strange items lined the shelf on the back of the
desk, but nothing else. The cross over the queen bed she guessed
was Mrs. Johnson's, since this was probably also one of the guest
rooms for when her family visited, or at least had been before Elis
came.

"Are you disappointed?"

She turned from where she touched the
computer desk in curiosity—not a dust speck. "No. Not at all.
Just...surprised. Maybe I'm too used to Dave's and Eric's rooms
being pigsties." Debbie had given up hounding the boys to keep
their rooms clean. She'd flip to have Elis. For that matter, why
didn't she? Except they had no room.

"You expected a mess?"

"Maybe. I didn't expect this." She was
organized and kept her room clean, but she wasn't nearly as tidy.
This went far beyond clean. "So, where do I begin?"

"Here." He patted the made-up bed. "Sit down
on the edge with your feet on the floor."

Raea eyed the bed suspiciously but followed
his directions. For all she knew, he could have intended something
else, but he knelt on the floor near her. Good. He didn't assume
any special familiarity. Hopefully Pallin soon would though.

"Now, let your arms hang loose and breathe
deep. I want you to meditate and free your mind. Only then will you
find the resonance of the crystal inside you. After some practice,
you'll start recognizing it instantly. For now, though, it may take
a while."

"Meditate. Okay." Raea did as he instructed.
He talked her through the relaxation in a gentle voice that guided
her to a place she had never been before. Within herself, she found
a place of peace and openness. There, a sweet music played, like
the voices that had whispered in her dreams now harmonized. It
focused on a single pitch and warmed through her. Every part of her
tingled faintly as the warmth increased.

"Good. Not too much. Now think of something
else and let it go."

Easy—Pallin. His bright, amber eyes sparkled
and perfect, sculpted jaw shifted with his grin. The way his blonde
hair fell aside along his face, outlined it in a halo of gold. And
those broad shoulders and trim figure… She'd bet he had a nice body
under that shirt that left much to her imagination.

"That was better than anyone I've
known."

"Really?" The image of Pallin blew away.
Better than anyone he'd known? The compliment boosted her
confidence to try again.

"Yes. But, since the Starfire has been
pushing you lately, I'd guess it's also guiding you. Most Keepers
train before one of the shards needs a new bearer, but it has
happened the other way, like with you."

Raea lifted the crystal. That such a simple
object could contain so much baffled her mind, as did finding out
she had wings. It still felt odd, unreal, like she lived someone
else's life. "I remember Mom saying it would guide me, but I was
young. I had no idea she meant this." That crystal had opened a
whole world to her that she never knew existed.

She caught his smile on her and turned away.
Don't look at me like that.
Her face warmed.

"Try again to find the resonance, but listen
to the Starfire this time. It made us what we are. We serve its
purpose. Listen to what it says."

She considered that idea, but she hadn't yet
been able to distinguish any words from the crowd of voices. Did he
honestly think it would be any easier now? But she had to try, for
her own curiosity if nothing else.

She found the resonance quicker this time
and listened. The voices remained quiet, though. Now they chose to
say nothing? She should have known. When she wanted to hear them,
they said nothing; but when she hadn't wanted to or hadn't expected
it, they wouldn't shut up.
Where are you?

Silence.

"The voices are gone."

"Try again. Focus on the resonance. That's
your connection."

"I did. There was nothing."

He stared at the crystal, the muscles along
his jaw tightening and loosening. After a few seconds of silence,
he put his bare left hand before her, palm open to expose the
larger Starburst mark. "Take my hand."

"Why?"

"I spoke to them before when I touched you.
I'd like to know what they want."

"That makes two of us," Raea mumbled. Seeing
little choice and hoping he knew what he was doing, she placed her
hand in his. The resonance warmed through her.

The man, Jerantis, walked across a patch of
strange brown and pink plants, his dark brown hair, like the
feathers of his wings, ruffling in a breeze. He smiled and tossed a
purple and orange ball to Padina. ["Davrel doesn't deserve a second
thought. He's jealous that you turned him down for me."] He sat
down next to her. ["I can't blame him, though."]

Padina smiled and dropped her eyes to the
ball. Not a ball. She bit into the juicy fruit. ["He seemed so
hopeful, but it wasn't right. I shouldn't feel bad, but I do."]

["I'm not sure why you chose me to bond
with, what I did, but no matter what you decided, I would always
love you."]

["That's why. I love you, too, and I know
you'll never hurt me. You've always been kind and giving. Davrel's
selfish. He's a good person, but not a mate. If I'm to share the
pleasures and pains of one man, it must be someone I can
trust."]

The scene blew away, replaced by another. In
full view this time, a younger Padina stood with other Keepers of
varying wing colors dressed in ceremonial-style robes of a pale
blue and tied with gold. A stranger stood close to the crystal and
reached toward it. In a flash of light, the Keeper collapsed from
view. Two winged figures carried the unconscious individual
away.

["Shartrael Padina."]

Padina hesitated, until someone nudged her
to step forward. Slowly, she approached, growing larger from the
crystal's viewpoint. She stood over the crystal, fear in her eyes,
and looked back.

["You must try."] A blue-winged woman
stepped near, a large shard of the crystal hanging at her chest.
["The Starfire will not hurt those who sincerely wish to understand
the truth."]

["I understand, but I'm afraid, Keeper
Saffir,"] Padina whispered. ["I don't want the trouble it
brings."]

Saffir's eyes shone with her smile. ["And
honor."]

["I don't care! I don't want to touch
it."]

["Please, Padina. The others are
waiting."]

Padina licked her lips and glanced back at
the silent Keepers. ["Let someone else try."]