Broken Wings

by Melanie Nilles

  ["Let's go. We need to keep moving."]

  ["Yes, sir,"] Cris said.

  Leksel acted like he didn't hear. Instead, he spread his wings and flapped down.

  Cris waited. ["You next."]

  All right. Raea spread her wings and flapped down to lift against gravity. This high from the planet's surface, gravity was less but so was atmosphere. Odd that she had no problem breathing. Thinner air should have made it more difficult and tiring to fly. Then again, she didn't know much about her own biology.

  The bonding was proof enough.

  The first chance she had, she would read all she could about Inari—her species—all the -ologies that went with it. She wasn't human but something much different. The last few days emphasized it more than the last six weeks.

  For now, they had to fly.

  Cris lifted after her, and they took up their triangle formation again.

  A couple hours passed of steady flying, past several islands and at least one other city. A few ships blurred past. If only they'd been successful securing a shuttle! All this flying wore her out.

  Her tri-comm buzzed with a hint of voice and faded. Leksel dipped, his wings out in a stiff glide.

  ["Leks…trouble…comm…"]

  Raea's heart jumped from her chest at the familiar voice. Corsa!

  __________

  Starfire Secret

  ["You're breaking up, Corsa,"] Leksel said.

  ["My tri-comm was da…discharge scrambled…I'm lucky…this. I've been searchin…for a while. Meet me…Not sure how long this…"] This was as bad as a cell phone. Not even static. Every break sounded like she'd been cut off.

  ["Where?"] Leksel held a projection of their area before him in transparent colors. ["Say again, Corsa. Where are you?"]

  ["…Delvar two four one…"]

  ["One more time."] Leksel made an adjustment on the projector in his gloved hand.

  ["Rodelvar two…n six. I have…"] Nothing more came from Corsa.

  ["I hope she's all right."] Raea wanted to see her again. Corsa had survived the storm, but had she really survived. Someone or something had cut her off at the end of that last message.

  ["She's fine."] Cris glided next to her. ["Sounds like her tri-comm had some issues from the lightning of that storm."]

  Leksel continued ahead on the same path.

  ["You have her location, Leks?"]

  He closed his hand and the hologram faded. ["Yes."]

  After a few seconds, Cris frowned. ["And are we going to change course?"]

  Leksel hesitated a couple seconds before diving. Raea followed. Diving was much easier than flying. Gravity pulled them down with no work required. The brief drop relieved her aching back, until she had to open her wings to level off.

  They flew over a large island of scattered hilly areas with doors and metallic structures she guessed were homes. In the center, a domed bunker faced a hexagon-shaped pad with red lights blinking at each point. A lone shuttle sat in one corner. From the size, four or five shuttles could have fit on it.

  Outside the dark, rounded triangle of a craft with the open split door on its side stood a familiar face waving at them—Corsa.

  Leksel landed nearby. Raea landed behind him with Cris behind her. The moment her feet hit the ground, she hurried past Leksel to meet Corsa. ["You're back! What happened?"]

  Corsa's eyes passed over each of them, lingering on Leksel longer than on her or Cris.

  Raea turned to Leksel. What was with the sour face? Wasn't Leksel glad to see her?

  ["I'll tell you inside,"] Corsa said.

  Fine with her. If Raea didn't have to fly the rest of the way to Starfire Tower, she definitely wouldn't argue.

  A firm grip on her arm stopped her. Now what? She tried to pull away, but Leksel's fingers clamped tight.

  ["Cris?"] Leksel's eyes never left Corsa. Cris stepped up beside his brother. ["You first."]

  ["Why?"] Cris shook his head. ["It's Corsa, Leks."]

  ["Go ahead, Cris."] Corsa winked as Cris passed. ["Oh, but, beware the hidden Shirukan waiting to take Raea back to Naviketan."] She crossed her arms, her amber eyes on Leksel. ["Now we don't trust each other?"]

  So that was it—delusions of deception? No way could Corsa have betrayed them.

  ["You didn't answer the question. What happened?"] Leksel dropped his hand from Raea to cross his arms.

  About time he released her arm. Man. Who did he trust? For that matter, why did he expect anyone to trust him?

  ["All right. You want the story now? Fine. The electrical discharge of the storm scrambled the circuits of my tri-comm. I couldn't contact anyone. So, I flew out of the cloud to get my bearings, saw no island or any of you or the Shirukan and decided to fly ahead. I figured sooner or later you'd catch up. After a few stops, I didn't see any sign of you and waited here. They had one shuttle available, so I made sure it stayed."]

  Cris popped his head from the doorway of the shuttle, dark brown hair partially hiding his smiling face. ["You worry too much, Leks."]

  ["When did you turn so paranoid?"] Corsa ducked under the top part of the door, which formed a canopy over the entrance and stepped up the two steps of the bottom half of the door.

  When did he become so paranoid? Corsa was part of his team. Raea thought he'd be glad to see her again.

  Raea brushed loose strands of hair from her face and glanced aside.

  Leksel waited his turn after her. At least he could try smiling once in a while. Maybe it had been her imagination to hear him chuckle back at the island home. Or did he and Cris have some sort of agreement whereby Cris made up in smiles what Leksel lacked? They needed to balance it out better. It wouldn't hurt Leksel to actually smile more often. He could be grateful for the shuttle.

  But she couldn't expect him to change overnight.

  Raea stepped into a surprisingly comfortable pocket of space lined by tinted windows above the seats. The bench opposite the door would have seated three but the seat next to the door would fit only one. Nothing occupied the small cargo area in the rear. Corsa took one of the two seats in the front on one side of a narrow doorway between the two seats.

  Cris sat on the bench across from her and buckled in. He patted the seat beside him. ["There's room here."]

  No thanks. He tried way too hard. It totally turned her off. She'd feel safer with Leksel.

  He stepped up behind her and brushed past to take the other seat at the front next to Corsa. The door shut behind him. Raea took the seat next to the door, as far from Cris as possible.

  ["Buckled in?"] Corsa's gloved hands worked over the controls with precision, the engines humming a moment later.

  ["Yes, sir,"] Cris said.

  Finally. They were heading to Starfire Tower, where Saffir resided, the only remaining Crystal Keeper besides Raea. And she would have the ability to open a portal home.

  Home. How sweet a word! When she returned, she would practice day and night forming a portal until she got it.

  Raea sank back against the cushions of the seat, relieved to feel the seat press up against her as the island sank away. Now, she could relax. Soon she would be home and back with Elis. Excitement charged through her.

  ["Well, someone's happy."] Cris sat with his arms crossed, grinning at her. ["You could teach Leksel a thing or two."]

  Leksel…No. She had Elis. Leksel was nice, and attractive, but too old for her. Besides, her heart belonged with her black-winged savior.

  ["I'm going home."]

  ["Wonderful."] His smile dropped and he turned to the two in the front.

  Whatever. He could sulk if he wasn't happy for her. Still, his interest flattered her.

  She fell back into the headrest and closed her eyes. Not long now…

  The medallion clattered to the platform at the commander's sandaled feet. The green glow in the center faded, but the engraved gold around the center shimmered in the lights of the airlock.

  ["Starfire!"] Salera rubbed her hand, the marks fading.r />
  Wincing in pain, Talea reached for it. Vodin snatched it and put it in her bloody hand.

  ["How is this possible?"]

  Still leaning against the general, Talea pulled her other hand from the bloody shoulder. The white bandage from her palm was gone. In its place beneath the smeared blood, a small sun of aquamarine sprayed its tentacles out an inch, nowhere near to the edges of her palm. ["Not a Keeper…but more than meistal."]

  ["I've never heard of anyone—"]

  ["Probably not."] Talea's tone snapped Salera quiet. ["You weren't…"] She stiffened, her breathing labored.

  ["You weren't supposed to know."] Vodin finished her statement and helped her sit up. ["The Starfire asked to be left on this world. That was our mission. No one else knows, except you…now. No one knows of any more than four shards, because the others have been hidden, protected. A war is coming."]

  ["Another war?"]

  ["Another war, Keeper Salera. The Starfire invites trouble wherever its power is known. Heffin's Gate must never reach full capacity, or our world is lost."]

  ["This is the last shard."] Talea gazed at it. ["It asked to be left here, on Earth. I couldn't disobey their wishes. But neither could I allow the humans to use it. It's sealed from any detection…"] She looked up at Salera, a cold glint in her amber eyes. ["Except by a Keeper. No one must know. You must swear to say nothing."]

  Salera hesitated, but nodded. ["I understand."]

  ["Do you?"] Talea shifted and contorted her face in pain.

  ["Here. I'm not useless."] Salera laid her hands on the commander's shoulder. The light of the Starfire glowed brightly for a few seconds and faded. She sat back, leaving the commander to breathe deeply.

  Vodin stood and helped her to her feet.

  ["I'm all right."] Talea winced and fell against him. Vodin put an arm around her for support, and she hung her arm around his neck with the medallion in her hand, her injured shoulder away from him. ["Thanks."] Her eyes lifted to Salera. ["To you too, more if you say nothing about this."]

  Salera gave a nod and watched the general help the commander disappear through the airlock.

  Raea blinked, her surroundings coalescing around her. The revelation of the vision caught up to her. More than four shards! How many were there?

  No one else knew, or she hoped not, unless Saffir had some knowledge. Did she dare say anything? No one should have that knowledge. If Saffir didn't know, then she wasn't meant to. Why would the Starfire show this to her, though? What did it want from her?

  Cris sat with his eyes closed, his head sideways.

  Neither Leksel nor Corsa said anything but sat quietly at the controls in the head of the shuttle.

  ["How far is it?"]

  Leksel twisted around. His eyes passed over Cris and fixed on her. ["Not far. We should be there in a couple hours."]

  Hours? Damn. More waiting. Then again, after all the flying that day, she welcomed the chance to rest. But resting from flying and sitting were two different kinds of rest. She'd prefer to walk. No different than visiting Grandma and Grandpa Dahlrich. Jamestown was a good two-hour drive from McClarron. Sitting in a car for two hours with Dave would aggravate a clam into leaving its shell. This was nothing.

  Leksel turned forward again, meeting a sideways glance from Corsa with a scowl. Get over it! Man, he had a suspicious mind.

  Raea would be grateful if it wasn't directed at Corsa. She couldn't change him, though. The only thing she could do then was to wait and relax. Corsa would prove herself. Then he'd see how wrong he was and have to apologize; if he would. Maybe. He apologized to Cris after beating the crap out of him.

  Whatever. Raea sighed and leaned back. Two hours until they reached Starfire Tower. Two hours until she met Saffir, the other Crystal Keeper. Then home.

  And Elis and Debbie and Josh and…

  The people she loved and cared about. She couldn't wait to tell them about all this; they'd be fascinated. Elis would understand; she could just see his smile as she told him about her adventures. She missed that smile, his touch, the gentle words of encouragement and support, the faint musky scent that lingered on his coat…

  She didn't have that anymore. They'd taken it off her and probably thrown it, along with her cell phone. Debbie was going to kill her. At least spring was coming to the northern plains. The winter coat could be replaced, but she wouldn't need it anyway. The cell phone would be another story, especially combined with her clothes.

  She closed her eyes and imagined Elis holding her in the quiet of the shuttle.

  Two hours passed amid fond memories, not only of Elis, but also of Josh, Linds, and Jess. She would see them again soon. This whole adventure would be over. She'd learned so much during her short time with Leksel, Cris, and the others, particularly about the Shirukan. But she still lacked in her understanding of what she was. Hopefully Saffir could help her before she went home.

  A hint of regret slipped into the memories. She'd be leaving Leksel, Cris, and Corsa. In only a few days, she'd come to appreciate their company, despite their quirks.

  ["Identification accepted. Platform two is clear."]

  Raea blinked from her thoughts—or had she dozed again?—and looked out the front view visible between Corsa and Leksel. A lone trio of tiered, rounded towers of white hovered in the distance, four paddle-shaped platforms visible at different levels amid spirals of balconies and windows. Starfire Tower wasn't a single tower, but a miniature fortress of three skywalk-connected towers alone in the sky. Still, it awed her. She had caught only a glimpse of Naviketan from the outside while fleeing the Shirukan, but only the bottom of the city. She could only imagine the magnificence of an Inari city from above, and the heart of an empire at that.

  Raea sat forward, watching the three closely connected towers grow until they merged in the view into a single wall of white.

  The nearest tower rose until an arched set-in doorway appeared where a platform joined one of those towers. The shuttle bumped slightly and the scene froze. The faint hum of the engines whined down in pitch.

  ["We're here."]

  She turned to Cris, surprised to see him awake, though not so much by the grin on his face. But it wasn't his usual grin. He looked disappointed in a way.

  Leksel and Corsa unstrapped and stepped into the passenger area. Raea released the central buckle holding the harness around her and stood with the others.

  What was with all the grim faces?

  The door hissed and split apart. Bright sunlight washed across the steps that lowered, the fresh air whispering across her face. Freedom never smelled sweeter.

  ["Wait here."] Leksel shoved past her and stepped out. What now? The man was too paranoid. A few seconds later, he motioned for her to follow. ["It's safe."]

  ["Of course it's safe,"] Cris said.

  Oh, no. Please don't start an argument here. Hadn't Cris learned his lesson about provoking his brother?

  Cris followed behind her, his eyes on Leksel. ["You warned them we're dressed like Shirukan?"]

  ["No."]

  Great. What kind of reception would they get?

  ["Raea. Pull your gloves off,"] Corsa said.

  Right. Yes. Excellent point. The Starburst marks would confirm who she was. Besides, she was tired of wearing the black gloves. The air was always warm where they went, and, although the gloves were a light material, combined with the jumpsuit and jacket, she was too warm.

  Raea finished pulling the second glove when the door ahead opened. Three people in gray flightsuits stepped out, all of them with Starburst marks on their hands. A black-winged woman and two others of different shades of brown—one of them a man with white flecks in his feathers and the other a woman of about the same shade as Raea but much older—approached.

  Her heart beat hard against her chest. Calm down.

  Their eyes scanned her group, not a smile emerging. The black-winged woman tightened her wings. ["What are the Shirukan doing here?"]

  Oh, no. She knew that loo
k. Leksel clamped his jaw, biting his tongue no doubt.

  Raea swallowed and stepped forward. The tension in the air was palpable. She had to do something. ["We had to take their uniforms to escape."]

  The woman's purple eyes dropped to Raea's hands. ["Who are you?"]

  What? Leksel and Corsa didn't tell them? ["Ra— Shartrael Raea."] They wouldn't know her human name.

  The lines of the woman's angular features softened. She brushed aside a length of black hair and took Raea's palm in her hands. ["So it seems."]

  The woman set her palm on Raea's. A second later, the resonance warmed through Raea with the flash of glow from the woman's hands. Whoa! The voices of the Starfire burst into a cacophony in her head. Her heart caught in her throat. A second later, it all faded. Just in time to avoid a headache.

  The woman dropped her hand, her wings lifting with her smile. ["Welcome Keeper Raea."]

  The two with her relaxed their stances and stepped forward.

  ["I'm Sarilov Tennara. It's an honor to meet you and your companions..."] Her tone hinted of asking for names.

  Raea twisted to the three patiently waiting. ["Corsa and Leksel and Cris."]

  ["No familiar names?"]

  ["Not among the rebel groups,"] Leksel said.

  ["I see. Will you be staying or returning to Naviketan?"]

  Leaving already? They couldn't. Please stay. She wasn't ready to say good-bye.

  Cris met Leksel's cold gaze with the calm patience only a brother could accept. ["We came this far. I'd like to be sure she gets home."]

  Yeah. She'd bet he would, probably his home.

  ["I have no intention of abandoning Raea."] Leksel met her eyes with something more than the cold determination of a man on a mission.

  Warmth rose within her. She turned away to hide the blush stealing up. She imagined it. No way did she want him to think she liked him either. She wasn't just another woman who would give in to his charms, if one could call it that.