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

by Melanie Nilles

  She'd been through portals before—once before while she was conscious—but the instant burning and feeling like all the molecules of her body simultaneously burst apart and reconstituted a microsecond later still caught her by surprise.

  They emerged into the dark of night, the lights of a city shimmering along one horizon. Nearby, three peaks poked from the desert around a shape like a giant animal which had to be the famous Sphinx, while barren desert dunes undulated below them, not the patchwork of fields they had left a second ago.

  The cold of night passed through Raea in a shiver, and she wrapped her arms around herself to keep the breeze from billowing the jacket. For one of the hottest places on Earth, the desert could be one of the coldest at night by contrast. Coming from North Dakota, that was saying a lot.

  ["Now where?"]

  The vision of the old man replayed in her mind, or at least she hoped it was a vision. ["Follow me."]

  She led Nare from the pyramids and the distant city lights, across the dunes and past a few dark towns. They flew high enough to not be seen easily from the ground as more than large birds but low where Raea could make out features of the land from the dream. It had to be the right way. It was no coincidence Elis had wanted her to locate the pyramids, and the vision had shown her exactly that as a starting point into the desert.

  So far, so good. In the back of her mind, she'd wondered about the local air force going on alert from the portal forming, but nothing appeared. This was almost too easy.

  * * *

  It was too easy. Without incident, they reached an empty valley, or at least it appeared to be empty, except for the shallow river and the vegetation matching her vision.

  Raea flapped hard to slow her landing on a grassy patch surrounded by a cluster of leafy bushes. Nare landed nearby and folded her wings behind her.

  The chirrup of insects sang around them in harmony with the soft trickle of the shallow river. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but the shadows of the cliffs deepened into caverns. Somewhere to her right, a goat bleated.

  A shadow on the horizon blotted the stars in the sky. It looked like a man. She blinked but the shape vanished. Wishful thinking; it must have been her imagination, probably a desire to see Elis there.

  She shook off the thought and whispered, ["This way."]

  Nare followed her without a word, but their steps crunching on grass and rocks disturbed the peace.

  Around a jut of cliff towards the river, they stopped. The sound of running feet sent her heart racing, but the feet ran away, the sound disappearing into the darkness.

  The ruffle of feathers from Nare made her conscious of being ready to fly at a moment's notice, but she wasn't ready to fly yet.

  ["Wait,"] Raea whispered. This had to be the right place.

  The air stilled around them, except for the faint dingaling of a bell and a shape moving along the river. Too low to the ground to be a human, it had to be a goat.

  Footsteps rose from the darkness where they had disappeared, and a gravelly voice spoke. By the tone, it was a question, a question in a language she didn't know.

  Raea leaned close to Nare and whispered, ["Do you know Arabic?"]

  ["No."]

  Great. Two American angels in the Middle East. Uh-huh. Sure. That would fly over like a lead brick.

  Think! There had to be a way to communicate.

  [You are what you are. Should they not understand that?]

  Easy for Atia to say. If the people didn't understand, they'd probably shoot her and Nare on the spot.

  [Should this not be one of those sworn to protect the Eye you seek? The others knew the stories. The protector here should also.]

  Good point. She hated to admit it, but Atia might be right.

  How could they show themselves in the dark…

  Starburst marks. Of course.

  The voice called again in a more threatening tone, taking a few steps closer.

  ["Resonance glow and lift your wings."] This had better work.

  ["You're sure?"]

  ["No. Just do it."] She didn't have time to explain. Raea found the resonance and held it, the energy setting the marks on her hand aglow as she lifted them out aside from her and lifted her wings. If it didn't work, they just gave themselves away as targets.

  In the light of their glow, a man stumbled back towards a cloth along the cliff face. He fumbled with the curtain and disappeared behind it, his voice calling in fright into a hollow darkness, a cavern by the acoustics.

  ["Now what?"]

  Raea had no idea. ["Wait and see."] And hope they didn't bring guns out. Elis would have known what to do. In his gentle way, he would have convinced the man to show them where the Eye was, if it was here.

  Now it was up to her alone.

  The aching in her chest returned, or it had never left but for her distraction. She noticed it again with the pain of grief tangling in her emotions and the determination to finish her task as a Crystal Keeper.

  The reappearance of the man redirected her attention before the tears flowed. He held the cloth aside for an old man with a gray beard who hobbled out. In the light from their Starburst marks, he waved them forward.

  Should they? Was this a trap or the real thing?

  Her stomach twisted with doubts, and Nare's shrug only churned it more.

  What to do…

  Man, she wished Elis was there. He had always been calm and decisive. She could use that now more than ever.

  She had to choose now.

  All right. The vision had led her here and the old man seemed to understand, although as they approached, the eyes of the younger man widened.

  The old man knelt before them, despite the awkward difficulty of bending down. The younger man followed his example, ducking his head in subjugation with his hands out so the palms were up. The old man held his hands the same, exposing the mark which caught her breath—a protector!

  A pang of sympathy touched her with the memory of that fateful phone call about Matthew Stein. She did this as much for Torres and Stein and all surviving protectors as for Elis.

  With her hands still glowing, Raea pointed to the old man. ["He's the one we seek. He's the protector of the Eye."]

  ["I think I can help."] Nare knelt before him and reached her hands to his head, her Starburst marks glowing brighter.

  Of course! A direct mind scan through the Starfire energy. That's how Elis had taken the information from Torres in the first place.

  But the old man hadn't given his approval. Saffir had warned that it was an intrusion to scan someone without their permission. They had no choice, but after what she'd learned on Inar'Ahben about her responsibilities as a Keeper, the idea upset her more.

  After a few seconds, Nare stepped back. ["They've sworn total subservience to the Light Bearers for generations, each protector giving up his life to serve the Eye of God and us. His prostration was an invitation. He freely offers whatever we want."]

  Had Nare added that last part to justify her behavior or did she speak the truth? Raea would never know, but the old man looked up and Nare spoke to him in his own language. When did that happen?

  She could wonder later. The old man rose with help from the younger man and led her through the cloth into a cavern lit by a lantern he carried with him.

  The corridor was low and branched off into a couple of large rooms, the voices of women and children silencing as they passed. Their eyes could have burned holes through her back; the feeling of being watched creeped her out.

  She leaned towards Nare ahead of her. ["Where are we going?"]

  ["Inside."]

  Of course. The paranoid side of her brain argued that the whole invitation was a trap, but the man bore the mark of the protectors. He wouldn't harm them.

  They entered a small chamber at the end of the narrow corridor and halted. This couldn't be it. Where was the Eye?

  The old man held his hands out, exposing his palms. His shadow flickered with a life of its o
wn along the bare walls. He spoke and Nare translated. ["He welcomes us and expresses his gratitude that he may rest and worry no more. The secret has lied buried for hundreds of years, sealed behind rock and never spoken of, until now."]

  The old man brushed sand away from the rough stone of the wall, clearing the outline of fitted bricks while speaking.

  ["He says the sand hides the wall, that to cover it with anything else only invites curiosity."]

  [A wise man.]

  Definitely. Raea wouldn't have thought of it—hiding something almost in plain sight.

  In the light of the lantern, he swept away sand exposing the bricks and pulled them out one at a time.

  No mortar.

  Behind the wall, a small chamber opened to them, while a pile of bricks littered the floor at their feet.

  The old man halted and held up the lantern, speaking again in his language.

  Words were unnecessary. Raea recognized the amulet the size of her fist—a golden ring around a transparent center bearing a shard of aquamarine.

  Awaiting them was the Eye left by the Inari mission nearly five thousand years ago in the hopes that Heffin's Gate would never reach full power. They had found it.

  The whole vision of Salera's visit to Earth which the Starfire had shown her three weeks ago replayed from her memories. The Crystal Keeper had been unaware of the true mission to Earth until the partial Keeper tasked with finding a safe place for it revealed the truth.

  Now the history would come full circle.

  ["That's it?"]

  "Yeah." Raea blinked from her daze as Nare picked up the dusty artifact. No. Wait. The words stuck in her throat too late, but nothing happened. Why should it? The shard was sealed to prevent detection by any mechanical device.

  Nare's icy blue eyes widened, the marks on her hands glowing. ["I hear them…Like a thousand voices at once but not in words."]

  ["Sounds right."] The Starfire had no language yet spoke universally through intent.

  The old man let out a heavy sigh and prostrated himself before them again.

  Nare spoke in his language and he sat back on his legs, a glint of moisture in his eyes.

  ["Time to go."] Nare's push on her shoulder directed her down the corridor to the opening cloth, past staring eyes. But the old man—

  Nevermind. Raea held her wings tight to her back and hurried out, her heart pounding in fear and excitement. They'd done it. They'd retrieved the Eye, as Elis had hoped to do, and the old man seemed satisfied.

  The time had come for the final two parts of her plan, with the worst yet to come.

  Her heart ached again upon considering retrieving his body, or what remained of it—she couldn't guess what the Risaal might have done.

  Raea stepped out behind Nare into the chilly desert night with her hand over her chest and a dry breeze cooling the tears on her cheeks.

  ["Time to—"] Her hands glowing faintly, Nare turned and hesitated. ["Are you all right?"]

  No. Raea wiped her eyes and sniffed. ["I will be. Let's get this over with."]

  ["Home?"]

  ["Yes."] They should return to McClarron before testing the shard, the shard that should have turned Elis into a Crystal Keeper. Why didn't the Risaal and the Shirukan just shoot her dead? Every moment without him was another death, leaving her cold and empty, yet it always felt like he was still there with her, soothing her with his love. Her spirit sank into the deepest pit when she let herself imagine the warmth of him surrounding her.

  But she had to focus. After this, she could grieve and mourn.

  She wanted to give it all up and close out all worlds, but the Risaal would never leave her or anyone else alone if she didn't end this.

  Closing her mind to the grief hurt nearly as much as clouding her heart, but Raea opened her hands and focused on the sky and the connection with the Starfire.

  Forming the portal home came easily, and she flapped her wings to rise with Nare towards the blackness set against the lightening sky. The valley disappeared beneath them, but a shape in the sky blotted out the stars and seemed to move, a shadow in the night.

  A dream. Only a dream. Wishful dreams of Elis flying to her. She closed her eyes and flew with the pull of gravity into the portal.

  Crystal Keepers

  "What do you think you were doing?"

  Raea cringed at Anita's verbal slap, which could have been Debbie scolding her. They'd returned to the house to find Anita wearing a smoldering glare. She stood at the doorway between the foyer and sitting room in a long black coat over a business suit, the sharp lines of her face cutting in their cruelty.

  "It took a lot of talking to convince the Egyptian government not to send jets to investigate." Cold eyes pierced her with accusation.

  Yeah. And? So what. Sure, it explained the lack of military action, but Raea refused to give Anita the satisfaction of a thank you, even if she was grateful.

  "You're lucky I was aware of your last portal's location, and only because we have satellite images. I was notified as soon as this one formed."

  Okay, not good. They were being watched at every turn. The world shrank with each word the woman spoke. Raea so wanted to return to Inar'Ahben.

  Nare's hands planted on her hips. "Keeper business, Miss Cross. You have no right interfering."

  "You're alive because I did. If you stay on this world, you obey our rules."

  "You can't control us!"

  "Oh, yes, I—"

  "Stop it! Both of you." The arguing gave Raea a headache. This had to end. Why couldn't Anita understand? "What we do is for the protection of both worlds." The woman could quit looking at her like she could tell Raea to do anything she wanted, and Nare could quit acting so arrogant.

  "And what would that be?"

  "Nothing." Nare pulled the door open and stepped back. "I think it's time you leave."

  "Anything involving that Starfire involves us."

  Despite her words, Anita glided past Nare and stopped at the door, her eyes narrowing on Nare, who displayed a hint of smugness. The two could butt heads all they wanted; it saved Raea the trouble.

  The harshness of Anita's expression lost some edge when she turned to Raea. "I mean it, Raea. You and the others only live on this world because we allow it." She fixed Nare with a smug grin reflected back. "That's right. We're aware of all of you."

  Nare's cheek muscles bulged but she said nothing. Anita didn't have to say anything more; the unspoken threat lingered in the implications.

  "Good day."

  The second Anita stepped out, Nare slammed the door and crossed her arms.

  "I wish she'd never told me about her and her organization," Raea muttered. Being aware of them had stolen the sense of freedom she had taken for granted, as she had taken Elis's presence for granted.

  "I wish they didn't know anything…I wonder if they know about Davrel's arrangements," Nare muttered.

  A sickening feeling churned in Raea's stomach. If Anita wanted, she could probably force the Inari on Earth to give them the secrets of their technology, rather than let Davrel sell his "inventions" to the highest corporate bidder. He'd set up a trust to disperse the income to all the Keepers on Earth. She hadn't been included, since they hadn't known about her until recently, but they had helped Elis since he arrived on Earth.

  If only she could forget all this and go back to when life was simple and her crystal was only a pendant.

  Too late for that.

  "Let's get this over with." Nare pulled the Eye from her jacket pocket.

  "You're sure?" Doubts crept into Raea's mind. The woman would do her no good unconscious.

  A faint blue eyebrow lifted. "You doubt me?"

  "Frankly…yes." To say the least. Nare was obnoxious and self-centered and critical of others. All right, maybe only critical of Elis, but she acted like she was better than everyone, except Raea and that was only because of the Starfire shard. None of those were good traits for someone given access to the power of the Starfir
e. What was she thinking? She should never have suggested it to Nare.

  Too late now.

  "That makes two of us." Nare's lips twisted into a grimace. She heaved a sigh and rubbed the clear protective shield around the shard with her thumb. "But we don't have much choice. Those Risaal could be back any time."

  Raea's chest ached like Nare had twisted a knife in her heart, but she followed Nare to the bedroom at the top of the stairs and closed the door.

  One question bothered her—how did one free the crystal suspended in the clear case?

  Nare touched the golden ring of the amulet in a few places, and half a dozen pieces popped up from the ring and glowed. The clear solid disintegrated.

  Okay, so not a problem. "How'd you do that?"

  "I 'saw' the mechanism in my mind. Something showed me what to do."

  The Starfire. It had to be. Then maybe they understood the stakes and had already accepted Nare. She said she had heard voices when she touched it.

  Nare stared at the exposed shard, her lips pursed.

  "I think they've already accepted you."

  "How can you be sure?" Nare turned the amulet around, letting the light catch the crystal at different angles. No matter how she turned it, the colors writhed and twined within the crystal, alive with their own energy and ready for a Keeper to access it.

  "It's their way."

  Icy blue eyes looked up at her in an expression Raea had seen only once before, when she had first met the Inari woman. Nare had shown her the respect due any Crystal Keeper. Now those eyes hinted of a deep admiration.

  Raea warmed at the attention. "You'll understand soon."

  ["It has been an honor, Crystal Keeper Raea."]

  Okay, now that was going too far. Nare wasn't going to face the rejection of the entities; they had already accepted her.

  ["May I be considered as worthy as you."] Nare sucked in a deep breath and reached for the shard with her free hand.

  The crystal shard glowed for a couple of seconds and subsided before Raea let out her breath.

  Nare was still conscious, and she held the shard between her thumb and forefinger.

  But she looked stunned.

  Raea felt the smirk creep up. "Kinda does that to a person."