Broken Wings

by Melanie Nilles

  ["Very good. But anything's good on an empty stomach."]

  So, she wasn't alone thinking that. ["True, but you have to admit that this was at least fair."]

  ["Not as 'fair' as the company."]

  Here we go again. Didn't he ever quit? Probably not until she said it straight out. Raea wiped her mouth with the napkin. She had to tell him, or this would go on until she left. She should have told him sooner, but she didn't know what would happen or how he would treat her. Now that she would see Elis again, she had no excuses.

  She was no better than Elis for not being fully honest. It didn’t excuse him, but she understood partly why he hadn't said anything, if he had purposely omitted the detail about bonding. He'd been afraid of losing her.

  She had to be straight with Cris. No pussy-footing around the issue. ["Cris. You really shouldn’t try so hard."]

  ["It's not hard. It comes naturally."]

  She restrained the urge to smack him. ["That's what I mean. It's annoying. You'd have better success if you were more like Leksel."] Why did she say that? Too late. She couldn't take it back.

  Cris stared out at the sky beyond the window, suddenly somber. A couple Inari flew a ways out. ["I see. Lucky Leks."]

  Nice guilt trip. Damn him. ["It's not Leksel! All right? He's just better at…being nice."]

  ["Mister ice man? Nice? That's funny."] The way he said that made her cringe. The frown and crossed arms pointed far from any hint of amusement. ["He's better at everything. All the time, it was always 'Why can't you be more like Leksel?' or 'Leksel did this; why can't you?' I'm never good enough. I get it."]

  What the hell? ["Grow up! Do you hear yourself? You're so jealous for no reason. You're a lot of fun, but the constant harassment, the…the advances, they're annoying. And now you act like a child. Grow up and take some responsibility for your actions. The sooner you quit acting like you're only out for sex, the sooner you'll actually find someone who wants to be with you."] Dammit! Arguing with him made her sound like Leksel.

  ["Yes, Leks."]

  "Whatever," she mumbled, her arms crossed. ["If you want a girlfriend, you need to respect women."]

  ["I do. I respect you."]

  ["Then show it!"] That urge to smack him rose up stronger.

  He fell silent. Nothing. Not even a remark she could argue against. Could he be, like, actually considering what she said?

  ["It's not that hard, Cris,"] she said quietly. ["You can be a lot of fun, until you start thinking from below your waist and let it control your mouth."] Men were men, no matter what species, although Elis had never once pushed her or made lewd suggestions. He always respected her, maybe too much.

  She did not just think that. Did she? Okay, maybe she wouldn't mind him getting a little more comfortable and close, but she had known him quite a bit longer than a few days. She liked being close to him, snuggling and cuddling, and touching him. She liked him touching her, but he never crossed that invisible line into anything sexual. Ever. Or at least, not yet.

  Cris had been a pain from day one. She'd only known him for what—three days? He took too many liberties with his mouth and his eyes.

  ["Are you done?"]

  Raea blinked. ["Done?"]

  He motioned to her plate with a few bites left. ["Eating?"]

  Oh. For a second, she thought he meant done chewing him out. ["Yes."] She'd been done since the conversation started up again.

  He grabbed his plate and started to rise, all sense of playfulness gone.

  ["Cris."] She couldn't let him leave like this.

  Now what? Pouting? He was upset.

  Raea hurried to grab his arm and stepped in front of him. ["Cris. I'm sorry."]

  ["No, you're not."] He moved around her. ["You always took Leksel's side."]

  ["No, I didn't. I stopped him from killing you."] Oops. She shouldn't have said that so loudly. A few heads turned.

  ["Maybe you should have let him finish."]

  ["Damn it, Cris!"] The smack of her hand on his cheek burned. God! He pissed her off. ["It's not about the two of you. I already have a mate."] Something unlocked in her stomach to say it, freeing her from a burden she hadn't realized she carried. Elis would be her mate. She had already made up her mind weeks ago. She had known from the beginning, and the Starfire entities had known he was the right person too. There was no question in her mind. Bonding or not, she would have stayed with him.

  Cris blinked and focused on her.

  Good thing she wore light clothes. The heat of embarrassment rose through her. She shoved her hair behind her ear and rubbed her hands on her arms. ["Technically, not yet. But we were, um…in the bonding process when I was taken. He's also a Keeper."]

  ["On Earth?"]

  ["Yes. Saffir sent him to protect me. His name is Elis. All right?"] There. Now he knew. Maybe he'd leave her alone.

  ["Then it's not Leks."]

  ["No. It never was. Yes, he's attractive, but so are you. And Leksel knows how to keep his mouth shut. He may have lots of…experience."] To say the least, if she was right in interpreting what he'd said about his life as a Shirukan. ["But he never once made that his objective around me. He's too old for my tastes, but that's beside the point. I gave my heart away before I ever met you."]

  He started forward again, his head higher than a minute ago. ["What's this Elis like?"]

  __________

  Betrayal

  What a change. Cris seemed so relaxed since their discussion. He made no attempts to hit on her. Not one, and he asked about Elis. She should have saved herself the trouble and told him from the start. Talking about Elis brought on the homesickness, though. As much as she grew to like Inar'Ahben, Earth was still her home. Cris listened intently to her talk about her friends and family there too. No one had asked her about her home in all her time there.

  They sat in a parlor with a platform extending out from a wall open to the fresh air. A couple of Keepers had passed through in and out.

  Raea shifted forward on the chair. ["Maybe you should try Leks again."] In a couple hours, as near as she could guess, Saffir planned to open the portal. Raea didn't want to leave without thanking the others.

  ["Or maybe we should go pester him. It'd be more fun."] A mischievous grin brightened on his face.

  ["You have a death wish. Don't you?"]

  Cris shrugged, but that grin said it all. ["He's too uptight all the time."]

  ["With good reason. He's been through a lot."]

  ["Maybe. Korali's death hit him the worst. He was fun to be around when she was alive."] Cris rose and headed for the door to the corridor. ["Are you coming?"]

  Raea jumped up and rushed after him. They passed through the corridors and one of the skywalks to Tower Three. A trio of Keepers rushed past in dark blue uniforms, their wings tight like their grim faces. Trouble?

  Raea watched them disappear into the transport tube. ["What's going on?"]

  Cris gave her a sly look. ["Let's find out."]

  The lights next to the transport tube went all the way to the top. They waited, but it stayed there.

  ["Someone's locked it."] Cris fingered the top green light in the column.

  ["We can't follow?"]

  ["No. We'll have to wait, or find another way up. I'd guess the control room is up there. It's best not to have the structure's controls and generators in close proximity. They may be shielded, but…"]

  ["Better safe than sorry?"]

  His cheer returned. ["Exactly. I suppose they have to come down at some point."] He tapped the light again, as if it would make a difference in how fast it changed.

  So impatient. Cris was the opposite of his brother. No surprise the two couldn't get along.

  ["What'll you do after I'm gone?"]

  He shrugged, his eyes on the lights. ["Return to Naviketan probably. We don't belong here. And Leks has this notion that we can still destroy Heffin's Gate."]

  He'd still stick by his brother, despite expressing his doubts and nitpicks about him
. He cared, even if he would never admit it.

  Cris studied her, or, rather, the grin she couldn't erase. ["What?"]

  ["Nothing."] Nothing she wanted to explain, because he wouldn't listen anyway. ["You'll be all right, Cris."]

  ["I know."] The lights changed on the column, and he stepped back. ["It's moving."]

  Indeed it moved—the lights lit up and dimmed in downward succession. They stopped on that floor.

  Cris stepped back, and the door opened.

  Her heart jumped into her throat. ["Corsa!"]

  Bent and frayed feathers stuck out of her wings and her face was red and purple in a couple places, Corsa laid on a gurney floating in front of a guard. She wore a simple gray flightsuit and shoes, torn in a few places. Blood left a line from a cut on her cheek into her golden brown hair.

  Raea rushed to her side with Cris close behind. ["Corsa. What happened?"]

  The guard pushed her quickly through the corridor, so Raea had to walk fast to keep up. Cris strode beside her on the other side of the gurney.

  ["Ra…Raea?"]

  ["Yes?"]

  ["It…was Leksel. He..."] Corsa passed her tongue over a swollen bottom lip. ["He did this. He…sabotaged defense grid."]

  ["What?"] She and Cris questioned together, frozen while the guard shoved the floating gurney quickly away. Raea must have heard wrong. One look at Cris confirmed they both wanted to know more. After all Leksel had told her and done for her, she couldn’t believe he would jeopardize the Keepers.

  They caught up as the guard pushed the gurney through the infirmary glass door in Tower Two. Raea grabbed the arm of one of the guards as a medic rushed up in her red uniform. ["Where's Leksel?"]

  ["They're taking him to the detention area,"] the woman behind the gurney said.

  ["What'll they do to him?"]

  ["Hold him."]

  Cris frowned at the guard. ["Leks wouldn't hurt anyone without a reason."]

  Um, right. Raea cleared her throat. Had he forgotten so soon?

  ["That was different. He's not like that, Raea. He's a good man."]

  That's what she wanted to believe, but seeing Corsa beat up triggered doubts. Could Leksel have been playing her all this time? If he did…No. He couldn't. How could she have been so stupid?

  Leksel was former Shirukan, or so he claimed. But he showed real emotion about Korali. And Cris…

  What if Cris was in on it?

  He couldn't be. Could he? She hated this. Who could she trust?

  ["She's lying. She has to be,"] Cris muttered.

  ["We'll find out the truth."] The guard followed the medic, who directed them to a quiet corner among the medical equipment.

  Cris grabbed Raea's arm. ["Raea. You know me. I know Leks. He can be harsh, but he's a traitor to the Shirukan. He wants nothing to do with them, especially after they killed Korali."]

  How did she know? He'd say anything to defend his brother. His brother, who he claimed pulled him from the academy. A Shirukan training academy?

  Raea pulled her arm away and backed from him in the corridor. ["I want to hear Leksel's side first."] This couldn't be happening, not after everything they'd been through the last few days.

  ["She has to be lying."]

  ["Just take me. You read the map."] At least she was surrounded by Keepers now. If Cris tried anything, someone would help her.

  Cris swallowed, his eyes moving as if focusing on something only he saw. ["I barely noticed it, but I think I know. Let's go."]

  After a quick ride in the transport, the lights next to the door lit up until the tenth light stayed on. They followed the corridor to a skyway to Tower One. The three towers with their short skyways at nearly every level formed a triangle between them.

  She followed Cris a few steps into the hall of the tower and through a door on the inside of the corridor.

  There, they met a pair of guards. Leksel gazed back from behind a clear wall of glass, the gray flightsuit he wore a bit scuffed and torn in a couple places. He took up the only occupied cell of the four in the room. Apparently they didn't keep prisoners.

  Cris passed the guards, who made no move to stop him. Either they didn't see any threat or they didn't usually play prison guards. Either way, they didn't show any alarm. ["Leks. We saw Corsa. She was barely conscious. What did you do?"]

  Leksel's jaw tightened. His eyes passed Cris and focused on Raea. ["What did she tell you?"] His words came over a speaker with a calm she didn't expect.

  ["She said you sabotaged the defense grid."]

  His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. ["She was the one who caused the damage. I suspected she was up to something when I saw her get in the tube and ride it to the top. She attacked when I confronted her. After knocking her down, I tried to repair it, but the guards arrived."] He fixed his eyes on her, the hardness gone. Was he asking her to believe him?

  ["I knew there was something about her, but I didn't think she would betray us."] Leksel shook his head. ["She lied about everything. She used me, used us."] He gritted his teeth on the last part, regaining some of that typical repressed anger, but he wasn't holding back now. ["I should've seen it long ago. She was too good at acting as a Shirukan, knew the procedures and even lined up in the shuttle bay for the prime commander's inspection, and then she disappeared and conveniently showed up before we made it to Starfire Tower."]

  ["You're not perfect, Leks, contrary to what you might believe. You can't know everything."]

  But he had suspected something when they met Corsa again. Unless that and this were all an act to gain her confidence. Stop it! Raea hated this. Who told the truth?

  Leksel's lips twitched, but rather than snap at Cris, he let out a sigh. One good thing came of their fight—Leksel was more patient with Cris. That fight couldn't have been staged. She remembered how reluctant he had been to stop. Those emotions had been real.

  What truth could she believe? Raea stepped back. One of them lied, but she didn't want to believe either of them would betray her or the Keepers. ["I would have noticed if she was meistal."] She hadn't. Corsa couldn't be Shirukan.

  Leksel's dark eyes focused on her. His wings shifted. ["Did you touch her—skin to skin?"]

  Did she? Raea thought back. For once, she didn't mind the perfect memory. She filed through her memories to all the times she'd been close to Corsa. She'd awakened to Corsa sitting next to her, but Corsa never touched her when she took the tea. Corsa never touched her when she handed her the plate of food, or when they changed clothes. Cris touched her while they were under attack in the recycling plant. After she nearly fainted from using the Starfire—

  ["Yes, I did. She and Cris both helped me out of the recycling plant. But I already touched Cris then and knew. I was too weak, I think, to notice when they were both touching me."]

  ["Was that the only time?"]

  ["Yes."] Wait. There was something else, but it wasn't her. ["Wouldn't you have noticed?"]

  ["No. We don't have enough Starfire to feel it in others."]

  So much for that theory. Now she knew.

  ["You can visit her now and touch her. You'll know."] Cris sounded far more confident in her abilities than she felt in anyone right now. ["Raea. Please. We wouldn't have come all this way just to betray you."]

  ["What about to capture two Crystal Keepers?"]

  Leksel straightened, his wings tightening behind him. ["She knew we'd make it here. It's not just about you."] He put a hand on the glass. ["Raea, listen. If Corsa came to take down the defense grid, the Shirukan will be here soon. She wouldn't do this if the plan wasn't already in place."]

  Oh, God. Raea's stomach twisted. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She should be home with Elis, safe in his arms.

  ["You have to warn Saffir. She's the one they're after. Once they have her, capturing you will be easy, wherever you are."]

  Great vote of confidence in her abilities, but he was right. She hardly knew how to use the Starfire to its full potential. ["What about y
ou?"]

  ["I'll be fine. Once they scan my memories, they'll know the truth."]

  Scan his mind? Then it wasn't just between Keepers? Elis had helped her retrieve the Starfire's memory about Pallin raping her. He had seen the memory too, but she thought only Keepers could share memories. If they could retrieve memories from others, the truth would be known. Why didn't they do so already? They could prove his innocence, or guilt.

  ["Go, Raea. You're the only one who can convince them."]

  She wanted to believe he only had the best intentions for her, but she wanted to believe Corsa too. Why couldn't this be easy?

  ["The Shirukan are coming."] Leksel paused, and his voice lost its edge to add, ["If you can trust anything, it's that they're on their way now."]

  Yes. That she could believe. No matter who caused the damage, it meant trouble. Raea ran from there to find Saffir. Then, she would visit Corsa.

  * * *

  After asking a few unfamiliar faces, she found someone to take her to Saffir.

  Raea stepped into an empty room, or empty except for the mat on which Saffir sat. Sunlight spilled in from the windows on one side, casting the Crystal Keeper in an ethereal glow. She could have been a real angel.

  Blue eyes opened on her. ["I'm almost ready."]

  ["I'm not."]

  ["You want to stay?"]

  ["No. I came to warn you."]

  Saffir rose to her feet, and Raea stepped closer. ["The Shirukan are coming."]

  ["So I've been told."]

  What? She knew?

  A gentle smile rose on Saffir's face. ["Nalissa notified me of the attack when they found your friends."]

  ["She did?"] At least, Raea assumed Nalissa was a she—the name fit.

  ["We expected something might happen."] The smile slid from her face and her shoulders dropped. ["The Shirukan practice deception as part of their training. It's unfortunate that we have to worry about the intentions of every person. We knew your friends were meistal and suspected they may be real Shirukan."]

  Okay, now she was confused. ["You did? How?"]

  ["We scanned the shuttle. The Starfire gives off a distinct radiation."]