["Apologize?"]
He glanced out at the land and sea far below, his shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. ["I treated you unfairly two days ago. My temper bested me, but not because of my crew. I worry about you."] His eyes fixed on her.
["Me? Why—because without me it'll take seven turns of Lis to get home?"] Her words snapped.
His cheek twitched. ["No…I mean, yes, but not only that."] He paused and looked up at the stars. ["It's nothing like home."]
["It's beautiful, in its own way."] Salera didn't fall for his distraction.
["That it is."] When his eyes settled on her, they brightened with his smile.
A moment later, he straightened, his eyes fixed on something beyond her.
The picture shifted away from the ship to a figure approaching in the sky, long golden hair blown aside revealing a trickle of red to match the blotch on the shoulder of her white gown. The ship came into view again as the focus followed the commander, who fell to her knees on the platform before the general, gasping and clutching her shoulder.
["Commander Rafael."]
["Sir…"] She collapsed forward. ["I failed."]
Salera hurried to her with the general.
["What happened?"] Vodin held the woman's head up, revealing the cut along her scalp by the lights from the airlock.
["Barbarians. Brigands. Spies. They…overheard and attacked."] She struggled to sit up and something thumped onto the platform. ["We can't leave it here. It's not safe."]
Salera reached for the round metal around a glass center bearing a familiar streak of green-blue.
Aquamarine fire consumed the image.
The fire coursed through Raea, burning her in its heat.
["Hey. Wake up."] She knew the voice disturbing her dreams. Whoever it was gently shook her.
Raea gasped for a breath to cool her and opened her eyes. Chris squatted before her, already dressed in the black flightsuit. His bare hand warmed her shoulder. Meistal. The resonance she detected; that must have warmed her. It faded when he sat back. Memories of the day before shoved aside the vision of Salera.
She twisted to check the room. Leksel was gone. The house seemed empty except for her and Cris. ["Where is everyone?"] She stretched and wiped her eyes.
["Outside, except for Kayan. She's resting with the baby. You've slept half the morning."]
["I did?"] She yawned and stretched her arms again, giving her wings a chance to stretch out the cramps. Much better. Cris stepped back, a grin on his face. Raea paused, suspicious of his thoughts. ["What're you staring at?"]
He shrugged and leaned against a small table. ["Nothing. Nothing. Oh. Kayan left your clothes in the bathroom. She was kind to clean them for us last night. Of course, you don't have to change there. I mean, you're free to do whatever you want."]
As if she'd fall for that. ["Keep dreaming."]
In that light-hearted mood of his, he laughed.
He could chuckle about it all he wanted. If he thought it was fun to tease her about seeing her naked, he was wrong. So wrong. The idea insulted her, and she disliked him worse each time he tried. At least Leksel never hinted at anything suggestive. Elis had only shown her respect too. He never forced himself on her.
Raea hurried to the bathroom, aware of her bare back exposed to Cris, and shut the door.
Damn him. Sometimes his teasing went too far. What a way to wake up. Why couldn't it have been Leksel? For that matter, if Corsa had stayed with them, she would have been preferable to the men. Raea could use a woman's company.
She hurried to pull on the flightsuit, welcoming the fresh scent. Clean never smelled so good. The back flap was another matter, but she didn't dare ask Cris for help.
After a small struggle and pulling a muscle in her shoulder, she secured the strap through the loops at the back of the collar.
Now for her hair. She had no brush and while sleeping with it wet, it had dried with odd kinks. She'd have to borrow the same one Kayan had loaned her the night before, the one on the stand by the shower. The activity yesterday had left her hair in a horrible mess, even with it in a ponytail from her flight with Nare. Today she'd braid it.
Satisfied with her reflection in the mirror, Raea stepped out with a smile. The scent of food called to her stomach, and her feet obeyed.
Cris sucked in a hissing breath and let it out in a noisy sigh.
Whatever. Raea marched past him to the dining area.
Kayan looked up from a steaming pan on a flat section of the counter on one wall and smiled. ["Hungry?"]
["Very."]
["It's almost time for the midday meal. Dargilis and the boys should be home soon."]
["Where are they?"] Raea hadn't even heard them leave.
Cris stepped into the doorway and stopped.
["He said something about catching dobriens today,"] Kayan said.
["What's…dobriens?"]
Kayan blinked as if she'd said the most ridiculous thing.
Embarrassment warmed through Raea. How was she to know? But Kayan didn't know she came from Earth. Kayan probably expected every Inari knew everything about their world, like Elis had probably took it for granted that she understood bonding.
In that light, she couldn't blame him for not saying anything.
Cris stepped forward and took a seat across from Raea. ["It's an animal that flies in large packs. Dumb animals but tasty, especially the tender underbellies and their thick tails. I haven't had fresh—or any—dobrien in a very very long time."] His wings opened and sagged with his body, a satisfied grin on his face.
Always the expressive one. In a way, he reminded Raea of Josh, but Josh was too conservative with his religious beliefs. Cris just plain didn't care what anyone thought.
["You may be in luck, if you'll be staying for dinner."] Kayan pulled a plate out of a top cupboard.
Cris sat up. ["Don't tease me. We may just have to stay one more night for that. I mean, if you don't mind."]
Kayan poured some of the contents of the pan onto the plate, her mouth twitching with unspoken words.
Was she worried? Didn't Kayan want them to stay? Raea could only guess the answer was no, but Kayan wouldn't say it out of a sense of hospitality. It made sense for her to feel that way. ["We don't want to impose. I don't want the Shirukan catching us here."] And neither should you, Cris. She kicked him under the table.
["All right. I get your point…That hurt."]
Good.
Raea sat back and welcomed the steaming plate of a stir fried blend of strange items. Kayan had proven last night her culinary talents. Raea wasn't about to start doubting, at least not when her stomach rumbled in protest.
Kayan set another plate for Cris and sat down with her own. They barely finished when a boy about ten ran in yelling excitedly, his brown and gold highlighted wings lifting behind him. Soon, the whole house filled with the commotion of three boys, the first having been the middle child.
Raea hurried to finish and escape their questions with Cris close behind. He shut the door after them, cutting off the noise.
In the sun outside, she found Leksel focused on a holographic display above a square device in his hands. The center of the translucent display looked like an island with a bottom that sank to a point. Around the bottom tangled heavy roots, which tapered up to the top edge.
Raea didn't have to recognize it to know from Elis's description when he taught her about Inar'Ahben that this was a searoot island. The only dry land on Inar'Ahben were the floating islands. She'd never seen it, except for her brief encounter yesterday, but she had imagined when he described the world in detail.
She stopped close to Leksel and studied the image. Just an island; nothing else. But Leksel stared intently. ["What is it?"]
["Nothing. Yet."] He glanced aside at her.
Now what? The warmth that flowed up to her face made her look away. No way. Leksel was so far beyond what she liked in a guy. But what if she didn't make it back to Elis? No. She co
uldn't think like that. She would return to Elis and Earth.
["We escaped the Shirukan, Leks."] Cris waved his hand through the image.
Leksel's face hardened into the familiar scowl. ["Don't be so sure. We're not far from Naviketan."]
Cris crossed his arms. ["Crystal fire. Why not get something to eat? Relax a little."]
["No."]
["For once in your life, would you relax?"]
["Like you?"]
["Maybe. It's a start."]
Leksel rolled his eyes and stepped away from them. ["Stay close, you two."]
["How? You just walk away."]
Leksel said nothing, but the muscles of his jaw twitched.
They acted like children sometimes. Cris taunting and Leksel trying to ignore him, until Cris screwed up.
Enough of this. Raea wanted to slap them both. ["You need food too. Go inside and eat, quickly if you must. You won't miss much, I'm sure. You're no good to us if you're starving."]
Leksel searched the blue sky around them.
["She's right."]
If looks could kill, Cris would be dead. That scowl softened when Leksel offered her the palm-sized device from his gloved hands. Cris was right; he should relax a little. Fully clothed in the Shirukan uniform just to spend time on an island. Uptight much?
Raea took the device.
["It's keyed into the island's scanners, but your eyes are just as important. Let me know if you see anything."]
["Sure."]
Was that a hint of a smile before he walked away?
Nope. The dark look he gave Cris on passing erased any traces of it.
Good thing he turned his back. Cris would have been pulverized for his mockery after Leksel passed. The big man had restrained himself so far, but she didn't doubt that sooner or later he'd burst. She hoped she wasn't around to see it.
Now to watch the sky. Leksel had entrusted her with watching for Shirukan. She'd only known him a day or two, but she didn't want to disappoint him. After all they'd been through, though, it felt like months.
She'd lost track of time. Was it Sunday back home, or maybe Monday or Tuesday? What was everyone doing? How was Elis? If she were home, she could be sitting with him, snuggled close, his arms around her and the comforting warmth of his body next to her. He never pressured her for anything—Nare had been so wrong about him. He'd only been there when she needed him, always willing to give up his needs for her. She needed him now more than ever, but he was galaxies away.
All of this was her fault. If she had trusted her feelings, she would have been with him. Her dear, sweet Elis with those deep purple eyes. Oh, she loved those eyes. So much depth and emotion locked into a beautiful color.
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and sniffed away the tears threatening.
["Are you all right? I didn't think Leks—"]
["It's not him."]
["Me?"] Cris actually sounded worried.
["No. Never mind."] She didn't want to talk about it. ["It's nothing."]
She knew that look—he didn't believe her—but he didn't say anything and let it slide. Raea focused on the holographic image and the clear sky far around the tiny island in the center.
["I know. How about a little flying? I could use the exercise."] Cris spread his wings.
["But what about watching for Shirukan?"]
He waved away her question. ["It's clear skies. We'll see them long before they can reach us. Besides, we won't go far."]
["I don't know. Leksel seemed to think they might come."] Otherwise he wouldn't have been watching with unwavering attention, or so she assumed.
["Just a quick flight, before he gets done. You'll feel better."]
She wanted to. Really wanted to, just to see the whole island once, up close and real.
["Come on, Raea. You know you want to."]
Damn him. The urge to spread her wings drove her curiosity to see the island into a frenzy. ["All right. Just a quick flight."]
["Don't worry. We'll be back before he can notice."]
He stepped back and spread his wings to their fullest, and, with a few flaps, he lifted. Raea followed, welcoming the feel of the wind beneath her wings. The projector in her hand showed two dots in the sky over the island. The island itself remained stationary in the center while their dots moved, tracking their positions relative to the island.
Now to see this searoot island. An entire floating island. Elis had said the roots grew beneath the ocean floor, spreading over hundreds of years and filling with gases. Tectonic activity loosened them sometimes before they gained much size. In other places, the roots went on for miles, twisting and growing sometimes for a thousand years under the ocean bed. Once they separated the rocky base from the ocean floor, the island would float to the surface and drift with the water currents. After some time of continued growth, the roots increased in size and converted enough gas to lift them into the sky. Once in the sky, they stayed for hundreds of years—often more than a thousand—until something punctured the roots, which hardened in the open air.
She thought it too amazing to be true, but here she was.
And there was the underside and the roots. The thickest, at the bottom point, were the size of a house in diameter. They tangled and twisted around each other, vying for a way to the upper edge. She never imagined anything like that.
On the projector, another dot appeared. Uh, oh. Leksel or someone else? Did she hear her name called?
Raea's stomach twisted. Maybe Leksel hadn't trusted them, or maybe the Shirukan had found them, or maybe Corsa had returned. ["I think we better go back."]
["If you insist."]
["I do."] Maybe the image would prove it.
Cris's lip twisted when she pointed to the third dot.
He grumbled under his breath. She didn't hear what he said; neither of them wore their tri-comms and the wind carried away their voices.
Raea caught an updraft that lifted her over the edge of the island, where a grove of dark purple stalks topped by an umbrella of pink, fanlike leaves waved in the breeze. Beneath the pink "leaves" grew grapelike clusters of orange and purple fist-sized balls of some kind.
The dot now at the opposite end of the island switched direction. Leksel was going to be pissed.
Cris hung in the air behind her. He knew he was in trouble. She couldn't imagine how mad Leksel was. She didn't want to imagine it, much less see it. But see it she would. Who else could it be?
The black shape in the sky darted at them, looking far too familiar. Raea lowered to land on the soft plants of the island topside. Solid ground beneath her feet gave her some confidence. Leksel landed close by, but rather than a scowl, he studied her with a look of concern. ["Are you all right?"]
He didn't wait for an answer but hurried past her, his wings tight to his back. ["What in Ahben's depths were you thinking!"]
Cris backed away, but not fast enough. Leksel caught him by the collar and shook him. ["I had no way to track you. No way to know where you went. I thought the Shirukan had taken you, both of you!"]
Ouch. Raea flinched at the scowl that caught her for just a moment.
["Back off!"] Cris slammed his arms up against Leksel's to knock him off. ["We just went for a little flying."]
["No flying! You stay here. You stay where I tell you!"]
Oh, God. She didn't like where this was headed. Say something! ["Nothing happened."]
["It could have."] His eyes never left Cris. ["And I'm sure it was his idea."]
["So what?"] Cris shoved Leksel in the chest.
What the hell? Was he trying to provoke him? Leksel possessed an air of lethal capability about him. She'd bet he was a skilled fighter. Cris had to know that better than her.
["I'm sick of you always telling me what to do. It's never good enough. I'm never good enough… That's it, isn't it? You blame me for everything. Look in a mirror, Leks. There's the real problem."]
Uh, oh. Cris did it now. Raea had seen that look on guys at
school before that she saw on Leksel now, just before they took the first swing.
It happened before she blinked. Cris stumbled back against a wall of rock. Pale, snakelike vines ducked inside their holes.
["It's about time."] Cris touched his jaw tenderly and flinched. ["Come on, Leks. Don't stop there."] He took a stance that expected an attack.
["Don't—"] She spoke up too late.
Leksel lunged for Cris and caught his arm as he twisted away. The two wrestled on the ground and pulled apart to circle like vultures. Cris taunted him with a smile.
Leksel lifted his wings, his eyes never wavering from Cris. A second later, he tucked his wings and whirled in a dizzying kick that knocked Cris back. Cris hurried to his feet in time to meet another kick.
["You wanted this. Now fight like you mean it!"] Leksel didn't wait for any response but lifted his wings and himself to kick Cris in the chest, but Cris whirled away.
["Stop it!"]
Neither one acknowledged her, their eyes focused on each other.
This couldn't be happening! What were they thinking? Clearly Leksel had the advantage.
She had to stop this, somehow. She needed help.
Dargilis!
Keeping a wide radius around them, she raced to the home in the rocky ledge across the middle of the island. Someone stepped out, but she didn't recognize the woman with the slender body and yellow hair and wings. ["What's going on?"] the woman asked.
["They'll kill each other."] Or, rather, Leksel would kill Cris.
Or not. A line of blood trailed from Leksel's lip. Maybe Cris wasn't as hopeless as she thought. Still, someone had to stop them before they knocked each other senseless.
["Wait here."] The woman disappeared back inside. They'd come up on the opposite end of the island. The metal structure in the center was on the other side of the ridge from where they'd started, or rather, she viewed it from a different perspective. This wasn't the door she thought it was.
After a few seconds, Raea couldn't wait. She returned to them. There had to be a way, she just had to find it. ["Stop this! Both of you!"]
Leksel grunted from Cris's elbow into his ribs but caught him and flipped him over. In size, Cris was no match for Leksel. Why did he insist on fighting? He might be quicker, but eventually he would lose.
Broken Wings Page 14