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

by Melanie Nilles

  And this man refused to cooperate in any way. He would take his knowledge to the grave to protect the others conspiring with him to keep the secret of the Eye. Nakor Surik's torture had gone too far.

  He had to make a choice.

  {"If the Inari can heal him, we might have a chance,"} Lorel said.

  Damn her insistence. His spikes shifted along his neck and he forced himself to calm control again. The idea of losing the Inari meant the loss of his chance to take control from the Nakor. The loss of the human might be as bad, if the Inari knew nothing about the Eye and the monolith said nothing about the D'Nuvar.

  Nakor Surik might have failed them chasing after shadow assumptions.

  Rikku Ronur Kalas would steal the honor for saving the human and the possibility of reclaiming a shard of the crystal.

  {"His heart stopped!"}

  Damn.

  Kalas whirled, his weapon gripped securely. They had one chance now. "Move, Inari." With his free hand, he motioned the guards to surround them. "Hurry."

  In an act that went against every fiber of his body, Kalas turned his back and raced ahead through the corridors, trusting the guards to keep up and keep their attention on the prisoner. He led them to the door of the room where the human was held and shoved it open.

  "Torres!" Elis hurried past him into the dim room to where Lorel knelt over the body of the human lying unconscious on the floor. There, he fell to his knees and placed his hands over the human, black wings lifting from his back.

  The marks glowed but Kalas restrained himself from firing. At the lifting of weapons beside him, he put out a hand. Not yet. The Inari aimed his hands at the human, not them, and this was supposed to be another of his abilities because of the symbiosis, according to what Lorel had said. Apparently she'd talked to him more than they knew. How much had she told him?

  After several seconds, the glow of the Inari's hands subsided and he fell back, a hand to his head. "It's all I can do."

  Lorel pressed a finger to the human's neck. "He's alive." In a moment that returned Kalas's uneasy feeling stirring about the xenobiologist, she smiled at the Inari. "Thank you."

  In the dim light, Inari eyes went cold. "Don't. I didn't do this for you." His words lashed with bitterness.

  Kalas caressed the trigger of his weapon with his finger.

  Lorel said nothing, but looked up at him.

  The Inari's wings lifted and tightened to his back, which straightened. He stared at one of the human's hands, which he had turned over. A few seconds later, he set it down gently, and fixed a dark glower on Lorel.

  Kalas lifted his weapon a second before the Inari stood and whirled, and stumbled from weakness.

  "You!" Elis growled the words through clenched teeth, black wings rising with the anger in his posture, but he stopped short at the threat of the weapon aimed at him.

  "Where's the Eye?" Kalas demanded.

  Nothing, but shadows shifted along those cheeks and those eyes narrowed in a defiant look. He knew something.

  "Tell me." The trigger would be easy to pull and end his frustrations, but it would gain him nothing except the satisfaction of killing one more.

  Elis's lips pressed together.

  An alarm rang out, startling him. No. Not now. He was so close to learning what the Inari knew, but he would be needed if this was a real emergency.

  {"Stay with them."} The guards stepped into the room and he closed the door behind him. He would never let the Inari go now or risk his death. Elis was the key to finding the crystal and gaining dominance. No more Nakor.

  No more Inari.

  When All Hell Breaks Loose

  Black spots smoked on the cement behind her.

  Raea caught her breath. That was close. Way too close.

  They'd found the place easy enough. The vision had shown her the reverse route she'd taken to lead them to the metal dome in the fenced hill by what appeared to be a small house but had actually been access with a stairway. Nare had been able to manipulate the locks through the Starfire energy, similar to how Elis had described hacking the school computer to get into Pallin's records. One day Raea would learn that trick, but not today.

  The trouble came with the first shots after they opened the door. Nare had taken out the Risaal guard but not before he'd apparently contacted the others with a warning.

  They'd barely ducked around the corner when the Risaal fired from somewhere ahead. Their camouflage abilities made it impossible to separate them from the background.

  "You weren't kidding!" Nare blinked, holding her hand with the crystal clutched to her chest and her other out and glowing in readiness. They hadn't taken the time to wrap the shard for wearing.

  "Ready?"

  Nare opened her hand briefly and glanced at the shard in her palm. A second later, she closed her fingers and nodded.

  The resonance warmed through Raea, igniting the Starburst marks on her hands. She whirled around the corner, releasing the energy in a wide spray, her wings tight to her back. No Risaal could have been missed.

  But it wasn't enough to stop a shot from one of their attackers. Luckily, it went too high, missing her head by more than a foot.

  She disrupted the resonance as Nare joined her, and together they sprinted through the corridor, past two hideous bodies smoking on the ground. Raea didn't recognize where they were. She hadn't been down that part in their escape. At a cross corridor, they hesitated.

  "Which way?"

  Good question. Raea poked her head around a corner, her heart racing with the wish that they could hide from both directions. Nare pressed to the wall next to her rather than taking up position on the other side to defend her back. Hadn't she watched any movies? The bad guys always came from the back when the good guys weren't looking.

  "Full spray both directions on my mark." Nare might not know much about fighting, but Raea couldn't have done this alone.

  "Now!" The resonance burning through her with a thought, Raea jumped into the corridor and dropped to one knee while Nare whirled to face behind them. The spray of energy from her hands washed over the corridor ahead but nothing moved.

  Sweat beaded on her forehead, but the instant disruption of the resonance left her chilled. The doors spaced along the corridor looked familiar. "This way." At least she hoped that was the right way. Both directions looked the same.

  * * *

  {"…Two Inari females."}

  Kalas froze in the corridor, Lorel catching up behind him, apparently having left the Inari with the guards. Two females? He must have heard wrong. {"Please repeat that last."}

  {"We're being attacked by two Inari females, one of them resembling the one known as Raea."}

  Raea. She was back! The only thing that could have made it better was if three of their soldiers had survived their encounters. Why had they returned? Was it for her mate, or something else?

  There was a way to gain answers.

  {"Pull back to the central chamber. Do not kill them. We need Raea alive."}

  {"What about the other one?"}

  What about her? She might prove useful, but she didn't possess the shard of the D'Nuvar. {"Injure only. Keep them from escaping. Order all to pull back. Lure them into the chamber."} There, they would trap the Inari.

  He turned, intending to order her back to the male to incapacitate him.

  Nothing but empty corridor. Where had she gone?

  She should have waited for his orders.

  It could wait. He had no intention of releasing that over the link and risking Nakor Surik knowing.

  The guards would keep Elis from escaping, killing him if necessary.

  Kalas hurried to the control room to await the arrival of his captives. Soon, he would have his answers.

  * * *

  Elis glanced up at his guards, but they had disappeared into the background, except for their weapons. He'd never have a chance to escape, even if he had one less guard because of the alarm.

  Maybe he could get his hand
s into position, but he'd have only one shot to hit both at once, and then they might still get him in the split second it took to aim and release the energy.

  There would be others, busy or not, outside that door. He'd have to be quick.

  Not going to work, especially while he was less than full strength. And he couldn't leave Torres. The man needed nourishment and medical treatment. The Risaal had physically abused him; it showed in the scabs on his face and hands and the tears in his clothing. The healing had helped, but the body needed more; the Starfire energy repaired not replenished. For that, the man would have to eat and drink.

  Think. Elis would have to take out the guards, carry Torres, and defend against other Risaal in the corridors. He was in no condition to accomplish all that. Still, one way or another, he had to get the protector somewhere safe, where the Risaal would never find him and the secret of the Eye. He didn't even know where to take Torres, except to where the Eye was hidden.

  Not possible. He couldn't fly that far, especially with the ache in his chest and extra weight to carry. He needed help. He needed Raea.

  Raea…A pang of desire choked him. It seemed forever since he'd seen her, much less held her, inhaled her, felt her body against his. She was in him, a part of him so profound he couldn't breathe without her.

  He had to stop the Risaal from capturing her again. He had to protect her.

  First, he had to escape that room.

  That meant taking out the guards. While he disdained killing, he had no time to figure out how to incapacitate them. Too low and they'd have a chance to fire back. He'd have to act fast.

  Elis took a deep breath and let it out slowly, balling his hands before him. He'd only get one chance; this had to count for everything.

  The door clicked and opened, revealing a third Risaal.

  Crystal fire!

  A weapon flashed and a body crumpled.

  A section of the wall moved—

  Elis fired a blast from the resonance.

  The second guard thumped to the floor.

  The Risaal in the doorway lowered their weapon as spikes ran up her body into the figure of a woman.

  That meant nothing. Any of them could take any form.

  But she hadn't fired on him. She had fired on one of his guards. Only one Risaal had helped him.

  "Dar Lorel?"

  "Hurry. Your mate returned."

  Raea! His heart thumped against his chest and his wings lifted. She'd returned for him. He had to reach her, but he couldn't leave Torres. The man had endured too much, and his family would be worried.

  "What about him?" He knelt at the man's side as Dar Lorel joined him.

  "Leave him to me." She hoisted the man over her shoulders as if no more than a sack of flour, but he'd witnessed the incredible strength of the Risaal before. "I'll get him to safety. You save your mate and her shard." A spark ignited in those cold Risaal eyes. "Leave the others to me."

  A chill passed through him at the implications. She couldn't.

  She would. She had told him she would destroy the base and all within.

  "This is my chance. Go."

  Despite his objections to her plan, he knew no way to stop her. Besides, Raea searched for him. The sooner they reunited, the sooner they could return Torres to his home and rescue the Starfire within the monolith.

  * * *

  This was almost too easy. Where were all the guards? The complex couldn't be that big. Had she overestimated the number of Risaal there? Or had they gone looking for her again, leaving so few behind to guard the place?

  Raea inched her head around the corner and stared through the open door to the chamber with the monolith. Uneasiness crept up her spine and settled in like a snake waiting to strike. Although they didn't see any Risaal, that didn't mean they weren't there.

  ["I don't like this,"] Nare whispered.

  Was she reading Raea's mind?

  Neither of them might like the situation, but they had to try. The monolith and the Starfire within it awaited them.

  ["Stay alert,"] she said in a hushed voice.

  Her wings tight to her back, Raea pressed close around the doorway with Nare behind her. At least the door was open, but that left a bad feeling eating at her insides.

  Inside the chamber, Raea's eyes went up to the observation glass—No one. That didn't mean squat. Camouflage.

  Yeah, that. Man, she hated that. She hated this even more. In that moment, she wished she was an ordinary human and had no connection to the Starfire whatsoever. Sure, most of the time, it had been cool. Flying was a thrill, or had been with Elis. But it came with a burden.

  Focus. Right. The Starfire.

  She ran across the short space to the monolith in the center.

  ["Impressive."] Nare's voice came from behind her.

  A smile tugged at the corners of Raea's lips. Nare had only heard her description of it, until now.

  ["You know how to release it?"] Nare studied the giant disk.

  While standing in front of it with Nare, Raea saw a vision of the controls in her mind. ["Yes."]

  She reached out for the grooves in the characters etched into the fake stone and slid her finger along them in the order shown by the vision.

  [Thank you, Raea.]

  Ignoring Atia, she continued the sequence to the last and held her breath.

  Nothing happened. Not a hum. Not a light. Nothing.

  ["You're sure you have it right?"]

  ["I know I did."] So, why didn't it work? ["Maybe it's too old and the power source is drained."]

  ["I suppose. It is twelve thousand years old."]

  But Atia had insisted and the Risaal had not detected the crystal. There must have been power yet. It had to work! She hadn't come all this way for nothing. How would they release the Starfire trapped within now?

  The scuff of steps in the silence stopped her heart and made her whirl. A section of the wall separated and changed before her eyes. Several more did the same, weapons pulled from behind their backs.

  Oh, God, no. She knew it had been too easy.

  "Welcome back, Inari." The cool voice sent a shiver down her spine. It came from one of the Risaal as he changed into the man she recognized as Nakor Surik. That cold, calculating tone could only be him.

  Her wings tightened, as did Nare's next to her.

  "I wouldn't try that," Nakor Surik warned.

  Try what?

  Oh. Hell.

  Raea grabbed Nare's nearest glowing hand. ["Don't. Unless you can take them all out at once, they'll kill us first."]

  Nare's lip twisted into a snarl, but the glow faded.

  "I was going to send a team to recapture you, but you came flying back to me…Why?" The smugness on Nakor Surik's human face hardened. "What do you want with the monolith?

  Why wasn’t it working? Come on, you old machine. It stood ominous and dead.

  "What do you want with it?"

  Oh, no. Nare did not just challenge him. Crap. The memory of his grip around her neck made Raea swallow.

  Nakor Surik's expression darkened and he lifted his weapon.

  Raea had to do something before this erupted into a firefight. "You want your precious D'Nuvar?"

  Nakor Surik blinked, his eyes shifting to her. "You have it?"

  Raea glanced aside at Nare. Should she say it? Nare's eyes questioned her judgment, but she said nothing. It was a stupid idea, but it was all they had. "I know where it is."

  "Tell me."

  "Only if you let Nare go." No one else would be hurt because of her, especially with the crazy idea forming. It would destroy the Risaal, but might take her with it. She wouldn't risk Nare.

  "What…" Nare turned on her. "No. Raea. I'm not leaving you."

  "You must. I can do this."

  "No!"

  If she could throw Nare out, she would, if only to save her from the crazy idea Raea intended to execute. Of course, that idea depended on the stupid machine operating as it should. What had gone wrong?
>
  And just when everything had been going so well too. There was always a snag.

  Or not. A click sounded behind her from the monolith.

  A crack formed in the stone and slowly spread in a jagged line from the central red stone to the edge with a second crack forming to cut out a piece of the pie. The stone must have cured so long that whatever mechanism opened the machine housing the crystal had gotten stuck.

  Revelations

  Raea!

  Elis swore time stopped on that moment of seeing her, like the first time upon his arrival in McClarron seeing her walking home from school. Forget Nare, the annoyance with her. In his eyes, he saw only Raea in all her beauty and the fire of her determination surrounded by Risaal. Dar Lorel had been right.

  He'd wanted to say something in the corridor when he saw her but didn't want to draw attention to himself yet. He saw now why no Risaal had stopped them; they had been waiting, expecting her to return to the monolith.

  She must have learned something about it while she was gone. How else would she have known to touch it as she had?

  Pride swelled within him. His Raea had figured out the mystery. Somehow she had learned its secrets.

  Raea had triggered the mechanism, but they were surrounded by Risaal with no way out. He had to do something.

  A section of the monolith slid open, sending bits of stone thumping to the floor to reveal a metal surface rising from the disk.

  "Watch out!" Nare jumped back, grabbing Raea's arm to pull her out from beneath the section. The clatter of heavy metal rang through the room.

  The Risaal howled, many of them dropping their weapons to cover the sides of their heads. They were sensitive to certain frequencies.

  He could do it now.

  There were too many.

  But they were incapacitated.

  Only for a few seconds.

  Long enough. Now!

  Elis sprang forward, wings tight to protect them while the resonance already burned in him. He released the energy in several blasts. Some missed, while others hit their mark.

  "Elis!"

  Raea's gasp made him pause and meet her eyes.

  A distraction he couldn't afford. A shot burned into his lower leg, knocking him to his knees.