Broken Wings

by Melanie Nilles

  One Shirukan, an elite soldier of the Shirat Empire, came to Earth for Raea's Starfire shard and failed.

  Aware of the possibility of another attack, Raea trains to use the shard's power to protect it while preparing to graduate from high school. But she discovers that the Keeper training her has betrayed her trust and now she must decide where her heart belongs. She never imagined that distance from him would mean a universe apart.

  After the Shirukan attack, she wakes up to find herself on the Inari homeworld. With the help of allies, she hopes to reach the Crystal Keeper known as Saffir to return home. First, she must elude the thousands of Shirukan between her and freedom.

  Broken Wings

  Starfire Angels Book 2

  By

  Melanie Nilles

  Prairie Star Publishing * North Dakota

  Broken Wings is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters, names, places, or incidents to reality is pure coincidence.

  Broken Wings (Starfire Angels Book 2)

  Paperback Copyright © 2010 by Melanie Nilles

  E-book Copyright © 2010 by Melanie Nilles

  Cover Art

  Copyright © 2010 by Melanie Nilles

  Published by Prairie Star Publishing; Bismarck, North Dakota. Smashwords edition.

  All Rights Reserved.

  For information, contact Melanie Nilles at mailto:melanie_nilles@yahoo.com or online at www.melanienilles.com.

  Paperback ISBN 10/13: ISBN: 1-452-81802-9 / 978-1-452-818023-6

  Chapters

  ____________________

  Unexpected Guest

  The Terran Brief

  What Are Friends For?

  Dark Angel

  Attack Plan

  Alone

  The Truth About Angels

  No Place Like Home

  Cris and Leksel

  Grief's Hard Lesson

  Second Chance

  Revealed by Starfire

  Shadows

  Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

  Escape from Naviketan

  Confrontation

  Distractions

  Leksel's Story

  Go West

  Starfire Secret

  Confronting Cris

  Betrayal

  Worlds Collide

  Homecoming

  Marin's Judgment

  Unexpected Guest

  Through the connection with the entities of the Starfire, Raea experienced glimpses of other worlds, other beings. A pink triple moonset. A spiraling cloud of dust radiant with colors. Alien beings of a variety of shapes. The births of planets and stars.

  Earth of the past.

  And her mother, the last Crystal Keeper who died to protect the shard Raea now bore.

  She was Inari, one of the winged inhabitants of a world in another galaxy, and she had a lot of catching up to do in her training if she hoped to prevent the Shirukan from taking the Starfire. She'd almost failed once.

  Never again.

  The glow of the Starburst marks on the palms and backs of her hands and the glow of her shard waned with her distraction from the resonance.

  "You almost had it that time." The gentle berating drew her to the biggest distraction.

  In the faint glow from her hands, Elis frowned. Wild black hair hid the deep purple of his eyes that she had grown to love and the only obvious clue that he wasn't human, since he hid his hands in fingerless gloves to avoid questions about the Starburst marks he also bore.

  The disappointment on his face bothered her.

  "You need to stay focused. Opening a portal through two dimensions requires absolute concentration."

  "Easy for you to say." He'd had his training on the homeworld, and without an actual shard to generate the portal and screw up their universe. One wrong calculation on her part and—whoops!—bye, bye Earth. Although it would give new meaning to ending world hunger and war.

  Black wings shifted on his back, tightening in a sign of the agitation he didn't show on his face. "If they come back—"

  "I know. I know!" He didn't have to remind her that she'd almost been taken four weeks ago by an agent from the homeworld. The Shirat Empire had two of the four shards already, enough to power Heffin's Gate, the original machine created six thousand years ago. It used the Starfire's power to open portals anywhere in the universe by jumping through the Starfire's original dimension, where the entities existed as pure energy, and it could be used as a weapon.

  She wasn't about to give up her shard without a fight.

  Elis could be such a nag about these things.

  "It's hard. Maybe I'm just afraid. You know?" Raea looked up as the light from the crystal and her Starburst marks faded to the normal aquamarine color, mere shadows under the wan light of the moon over the prairie.

  His hands rubbed her shoulders. "I was sent to protect you but wasted two years because your mother made Debbie promise to let you grow up human. After last month…They could be back any day."

  Raea shuddered and pressed close to the security of his embrace, her brown wings tight to her back. The late April night on the open fields of North Dakota brought a new chill with the reminder of the danger lingering only a portal away.

  "If they come back…" His warm breath blew across her hair, but the sound of his swallow was far from reassuring.

  "Maybe Shirat Marin was overthrown."

  "Or maybe they're being more careful for their next attempt to take you." His arms tightened around her.

  For two years, Elis Jasheir, the quiet foreign student, creeped her out, until she'd had to talk to him. Now, she couldn't imagine a day without him.

  He had good reason to be overprotective. If the Shirukan, the elite soldiers of the Shirat Empire, obtained all the shards, they would have full control of Heffin's Gate, and that portal generator could be turned into a weapon capable of destroying whole worlds. He didn't have to remind her of the danger.

  "Can we go home?" Raea whispered. "We've been out here—" She pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket and checked the time—9:50 pm. "—over an hour. It's late and we haven't had much flying. I'll try harder tomorrow. I promise."

  Elis let out a deep breath and in the faint moonlight, leaned down. The quick kiss sent a different kind of shiver through her, one she welcomed.

  A second later, he stepped back, giving her room to spread her wings and flap into the air. He followed close behind and caught up to her when she leveled off at a warm layer of air.

  In the distance, a light-speckled area shone from the prairie; McClarron, home to only four thousand, her home for the last thirteen years since her mother and stepfather, Padina and Scott Dahlrich, had died in a storm. Scott's sister, Debbie, had been like a second mother since then.

  Elis pointed ahead. "Look."

  Up and down movement, almost glowing between the moonlight and the town lights, caught her eyes.

  Fear gripped her heart and steadied her wings to gliding. Shirukan! How?

  No, it couldn't be. She'd felt nothing from the Starfire, and it would have reacted to a portal opening, unless it had happened while the resonance warmed through her in her practice.

  But wouldn't they leave a portal open to take her back to Inar'Ahben? It didn't make sense that one would be out alone if they really wanted to capture her.

  Everything inside her said this was wrong.

  Elis flew close beside her, his wing tip feathers brushing hers momentarily.

  "Land!" he yelled.

  Land? Did he mean the land below? Was there something he spotted?

  "Head to the field to land!"

  Oh, that land. Good idea—their field where they took off and landed over the hill from the edge of town. Fighting in the air was tricky and would attract unwanted attentio
n, and this way, they would be close to help.

  On the clear side of the trees of the shelterbelt around an old farmstead, Raea flapped to slow her descent and touched down lightly.

  Elis landed with her and stood close, his hand finding hers. His eyes fixed on the winged shape approaching. He didn't look worried; in fact, he stood with his usual calm, his hand relaxed around hers, not the tension of someone expecting trouble.

  "Who is it?"

  Blue-white wings extended upwards, lowering a woman to the ground with short blue-white hair and earrings encrusting the edges of both ears.

  Elis's fingers tightened around Raea's.

  In the light from the moon, a smirk lit up the woman's face as she unbuckled a backpack worn on her chest. "Hey, cuz! Long time no see."

  Cousin? Then this was—

  "Nare." Irritation ground in his voice.

  "Ah, come on now. Is that any way to greet family after all these years?" The backpack thumped to the ground as if heavy. Icy blue eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight fixed on Raea. "And you must be Raea. It's an honor to meet you, Crystal Keeper." Nare spoke with a reverence that surprised Raea after her flippant greeting to Elis, and she tipped her head, her wings open slightly.

  A few seconds later, she straightened, a smile beaming from her face and her hands on her slender hips. "I trust my cousin's treating you well?"

  Raea caught Elis's eyes in the light of the moon. The wild black hair hid much of the expression of those eyes, but she recognized that dark mood. "Very well." He'd been a gentleman teacher, protector, and boyfriend from the beginning. In fact, he'd offered his support in the difficulties they'd endured without a word about any inconvenience to him, even when she knew he wasn't comfortable.

  "That's good. I was afraid I might have to shake him up a bit." She grinned at Elis and winked. "For old times' sake."

  "Old times?" Raea looked from one to the other.

  "I don't need reminders," Elis said quietly.

  "Aren't you the modest one now." After a few seconds of awkward silence, Nare picked up her backpack. "Any ideas where I can stay?"

  "Stay? How long?" Elis spoke in a flat tone, almost grumbling.

  "Just until next week. I can't waste all my vacation on you." Her eyes shifted to Raea. "Sorry. I couldn't be here sooner, unless I wanted to lose my job. Not all of us rely on Davrel for support."

  Elis glared at her. "He offered, as an honor to serve the Crystal Keeper. I didn't ask."

  Only now, upon meeting another Keeper did Elis's words sink in. Twenty-three Keepers called Earth home. All but she and Elis had come by ship seven years earlier, apparently before anyone realized she was alive and in possession of the Starfire shard her mother had worn.

  "Whatever." Nare crossed her arms and focused on Raea. "Anyway, I'm here now. I'll do what I can to protect you. The Starfire stays on Earth."

  Raea hoped so. The thought of what could happen sent a shudder through her. The Shirukan intended to force her to give up her crystal shard, but the Starfire entities wouldn't allow their power to be used wrongly. As they had with other worlds, they would destroy the Inari homeworld, Inar'Ahben, before allowing anyone to abuse it. They had shown her in the visions.

  From beneath the gloves Nare wore, a faint light glowed. Her wings shrinking shouldn't have surprised Raea, but the effect of watching those blue-white wings diminish to nothing mesmerized her. Of course, Nare was a Keeper if she was related to Elis. That shouldn't have surprised her. What caught her was the casual way in which Nare stood there making the transformation look easy.

  Raea would have to do the same if she wanted to return home without attracting attention. Debbie knew the truth and the old widow who boarded Elis, Evelyn Johnson, knew the truth, but no one else did. She hoped to keep it that way and continue living the life she had on Earth.

  She found the resonance with a thought and focused the warming power on her back. The shrinking of bone and sinew ached. How had Nare made it look so painless? Raea's fingers tightened around Elis's as he clutched her hand. Pain. Pain. Pain… The word rang through her skull. The transformation was never easy, one way or the other.

  In the end, the three of them stood in the field looking human. Nare threw the backpack over one shoulder, holding the strap with one hand and smiling as if nothing happened. Raea loathed her for that.

  "Have a spare bed?" she asked.

  "Maybe." Elis led Raea by the hand over the hill.

  Nare caught up beside her. "You're hospitable, Elis." Sarcasm dripped heavily from her voice. "With that attitude, I'm surprised anyone would want to spend their life with you."

  Warmth rose to Raea's cheeks. "Isn't that rushing ahead?" Sure, being with him made each day worthwhile, but that didn't mean she was ready to spend the rest of her life with him.

  In the light of the street lamps, the color drained from Elis's face.

  "Didn't you tell her?"

  "Tell me what?" Raea lowered her voice as the town stretched out before them. Quiet pervaded the streets. The soft glow of the lights shone from their perches atop the tall poles alternating through the closest neighborhood, her home.

  ["I'm surprised you don't know."] She spoke in Inari and gave Elis an accusing look, but he stared ahead with a stiff lip.

  ["Know what?"] Raea looked up at Elis for an answer.

  He gave Nare a dark look, but she ignored him and lowered her voice again. ["I know yours is a unique situation—having lost your mother and being raised to believe you were human and all—but that's no excuse for him not to be sure you understand being Inari—everything about being Inari, including bonding."]

  In the light from the nearest street lamp, Raea caught the twitch of muscles in Elis's cheek.

  ["Inari form more than the typical human emotional attachments. Ours…Well, once we choose a long-term partner, there's no going back, although most respectful partners—"] Nare's eyes narrowed, burning Elis with a glare. ["—wouldn't dare touch their potential mate until she's decided if she wants to spend her life with him or not."]

  "What are you saying?" And why hadn't Elis told her anything about this sooner?

  ["We're not human. Once we reach maturity, male and female Inari bodies react to frequent, prolonged physical contact with the opposite gender. Body chemistry changes and adapts. One-on-one relationships that continue synchronize two bodies so they eventually share pain and pleasure…permanently."]

  Raea yanked her hand from Elis's as if stung. It all sounded so technical the way Nare put it, cold and unemotional. Still, did she really want that? She'd barely decided a month ago that she loved him. She thought she wanted to be with him, but the sudden reality of being attached in some way shattered that vision of perfection with the fact that he'd neglected to tell her. He'd effectively lied, and it cut deeply.

  How could he do this to her? She loved him, trusted him.

  This couldn't be real, but it was. None of the last six weeks seemed real, though had been, much to her joy and sorrow. Why didn't Elis tell her about all this?

  She suddenly had to decide if she wanted to bond with him, how much of her life she was willing to sacrifice for love. But what was love if he would lie about it?

  Nare lowered her voice and grumbled, ["One more problem you can blame on the Starfire, since the blending with Inari DNA changed everything we were before then."]

  The crystal had bonded itself in a perfect symbiosis to the Inari species five thousand years ago, creating the Keepers as a means to facilitate communication with the entities of the four shards. It also gave Keepers abilities humans regarded as supernatural, abilities using the energy of the Starfire within their genes, or, as in the case of a Crystal Keeper like Raea, sometimes the energy of the Starfire crystal itself. Being hunted for that shard was the worst of her problems, or so she had thought.

  That was nothing compared to the turmoil twisting within her heart. She wanted him, loved him so deeply that his lie of omission wounded her emotions mo
re than the Shirukan could ever wound her body.

  "I'm sorry no one told you."

  "Raea…" Elis reached for her, but she stepped away, afraid of his touch taking away her choice, despite the need for his closeness.

  "Don't." He should have said something before then. Why didn't he? Sure, in the beginning he was just training her, because he was the only one who could shrink the wings the Starfire forced to grow in her sleep. But in only two weeks, she had fallen so deeply in love with the gentle, quiet Dark Angel that she wanted to be close. Did he just expect to let it go on until it was too late? Was he that desperate for companionship after losing his family to the Shirukan?

  She didn't want to believe that. He said he knew from the first moment he saw her two years ago that he would always love her. Part of her had always been curious about him too, but that didn't mean she wanted to spend the rest of her life linked with him.

  But their time together had been wonderful. His touch soothed away her worries and inspired a need to be close.

  No excuses. He should have said something. A lie of omission was still a lie.

  "Now you know," Nare said.

  "Yeah."

  "Raea…I'm sorry."

  ["You should have told her."]

  ["Things have been complicated,"] he snapped at his cousin.

  Nare folded her arms. ["Right. What's so complicated about teaching Raea everything about being Inari?"]

  ["You wouldn't understand."]

  ["What's not to understand? You're so desperate—"]

  "Enough!" Raea didn't need to hear them fighting. Nare was right and yet didn't understand. On the other hand, yes, Elis should have told her, yet she had needed him more than anyone after the Shirukan came for her four weeks ago. When she needed him most, she hadn't worried about curling up in his arms to cry and forget that awful night.