"I guess you won't be wanting this." She grabbed the bottle.
"Wha' is?" His words slurred worse than a drunk's. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was on drugs.
"Cheap wine."
"Hmm." His eyes closed.
Nina grimaced and hoped she hadn't killed him. It had to be an allergic reaction, but she'd never heard of such a thing. This town got weirder and weirder. Talk about "Other Wonders". There was another idea for a story.
She closed the door of his room and returned to hers. Well, she still had her Dark Angel to find, the crew would be there in a few days, and she could spend her evening talking to Raea. Not a total waste. By tomorrow, Pallin should be recovered. If he still spoke to her, maybe they could get together again, alcohol-free. And she could get some information about his sensitivity for a new story. How many other people suffered in silence or weren't aware of the possibility?
Nina hurried to make some notes. Yes, a good idea for a story, but probably more in line with a medical program.
Before she could stake out the Logan house, she needed food. What better way to gather intel than to eat in a local diner, where she could observe, listen, and perhaps ask a few questions? Perfect.
By the time she finished, the sun set in the west. She walked out of the diner with a few opinions about the local angel, a recipe for green tomato pie, some advice on bottle-feeding calves—seemed it was calving season for the local ranchers—and a lot of local gossip. Not bad for a couple hours work, although she could have done without the calving details.
Now, for Raea Dahlrich. What are you hiding? She drove up the darkening street at the edge of town and parked across from the two houses where Raea might be. Lights shone from both houses. If Raea was next door, she had to come out sometime.
Nina debated knocking on one door or the other. Which one first?
A flash of light stole her attention. It came from over the hill. Against the white of the snow, the shadows of two sets of tracks broke the smoothness of the hill. Curiosity tugged at her to investigate, but her desire to speak with Raea struggled to keep her in place.
What would a quick jaunt through the snow hurt? It wasn't far, and she could be back in a few minutes.
Hell. She couldn't argue against that logic and her curiosity.
Nina stepped out onto the snow-packed street and shivered. After snatching her hat from the rental car, she followed the tracks towards the hill. They weren't animal tracks but human footprints. Another flash of light and the sound of voices carried on the breeze startled her. What was going on? Kids?
She listened but couldn't make sense of what they said, especially since the wind blew away from her, muffling the voices. They quieted.
They must have heard her. Nina stopped and waited. Should she run? She had nowhere to hide in the open. What if poachers were out? They wouldn't hunt this close to town, though, and risk being seen. Would they?
Who was it?
A few seconds later, a steady beat of air came from over the hill. Two dark figures rose up on wings.
Nina stared in awe. "Two angels."
Cornered
Raea pointed at the figure against the white of the snow fifty feet below. ["Elis."]
He twisted around. ["Go."]
["What about you?"]
["I can handle this. Don't let her see your face."] He pulled his gloves off and tucked them in his pockets. ["Go!"]
He had done this before—no one had seen his face. Whatever trick he used, she was curious, but she didn't need Nina Russet recognizing her.
Something flashed bright behind her. Elis? Was he all right?
["Fly faster."]
Oh, thank God. He caught up beside her and motioned away and up. What had he done?
* * *
Nina stared at the darkness where the black-winged shadow had been a few moments ago. The night wind carried away any signs into silence. For a moment, she had thought the angel was coming for her, but he stopped and radiated a bright light, like all the witnesses reported. A warmth had filled her for a couple seconds and she swore she had died. But it faded, and with it, all signs of the two angels.
She had come as a skeptic, but now...
Now, she wanted to learn more. What had the two been doing? Why were there tracks in the snow if they flew? Where had they gone? Where had the second angel come from? What did this mean for this town, or even this world?
Or had it all been her imagination?
She ran over the hill from where they had risen. A few feathers littered the ground. Evidence. Then she hadn't imagined it. Ted would love this. And if the feathers were the same as the one kept by the little girl who had been rescued from the cornfield last August, they would have proof that she had seen the Dark Angel.
Thank you, Pallin. His adverse reaction had been the perfect answer to her prayers by giving her a reason to go out. And she still might be able to corner Raea about her hands. What a way to top off the day.
* * *
Raea glanced back. They were safe, she hoped. ["That was close. I hate that woman."] Now, why did the temperatures have to turn so cold again? Releasing the energy hadn't helped. The warmth brought on by the resonance vanished with the release of it. But now she knew how to let it out from the Starburst marks. Elis still had to help with her wings, though.
He sure was quiet.
Elis watched behind them, gliding rather than actively keeping up. In fact, she had to slow down to stay with him.
["Is something wrong?"]
He looked aside, his black wings outstretched and hardly moving since they reached a high altitude. ["I think she was studying our training area."]
Damn that woman. Couldn't she leave anything alone? Good thing Raea left her coat at Evelyn's and went out with Elis's spare coat, which, like many of his clothes, Evelyn had altered for his transformations—one good set for school and a separate set of shirts for flying. Had she left hers on the fence post again, Nina Russet would have one more reason to hunt her down.
["We can't work there anymore."]
Yeah. Figures. Nina ruins everything. Well, at least she avoided a run-in with the woman. ["Now what?"]
["We'll find somewhere else. Don't worry."]
["Do you think she recognized you?"] She hit a warm pocket and breathed easier. It passed too quickly, and the denser, cold air lifted her on a breeze.
["No."] Elis rose above and ahead of her.
["What did you do back there?"]
["A weak release of energy. The light makes the pupils contract and causes temporary blindness, especially in the dark. It gives me a chance to get away without being seen."]
Clever. ["If you read any of the stories, you'd know it works. They all think it's a light from heaven."]
He dipped his wing and dropped next to her, their wingtips nearly brushing. ["I know. Evelyn collected them all. My cousin called me on it a couple months ago."]
["Your cousin?"] She called him? Wait. ["On Earth?"]
["Nare. She lives in Denver."]
["How many others are there?"]
["Twenty-one, besides us."]
They must have fought the urge to fly or didn't show themselves with their wings if they did go out, or the stories were all local. She hadn't heard anything. Twenty-one...Twenty-three with her and Elis. She wouldn't have guessed.
["Where are we going?"] Last time they had gone out in the country was to practice some simple moves. They weren't doing much now—mostly gliding. But that was still practice. She had to make subtle shifts of her wings to hold onto the air currents.
["I want to check out the farm where that couple was murdered."]
["Why?"] What did he expect to find? Did he still think a Shirukan had killed them?
["To see if there are feathers."]
Of course. ["But they'd be buried under fresh snow."]
["Maybe not."]
["And how do you expect to find the place?"] In the dark from high above, where they couldn't s
ee addresses.
He grinned and dove into a spiral.
Duh. So obvious. She wanted to laugh. The joke was on her. He'd been flying at night over the same land for almost two years. He probably knew every landmark from above by now.
What if he didn't find anything? Would he still suspect a Shirukan had come to the area? Would he finally give up his witch hunt of Pallin? Why would one of those "elite" of the Imperial militia kill a couple? What would the murderer have wanted?
She hated not knowing. Elis probably did too. Oh, but he suspected Pallin.
The joke was on him. Pallin was just a foreign student. She refused to believe he could be a murderer. He couldn't be a soldier.
She shuddered and shook away the growing worries that Elis might be right. Pallin acted like someone from the military.
Raea followed him through his flying exercises. They dove in a spiral, swooped straight up and twisted with the momentum, then straightened and flapped higher. He continued on with other moves. She lost her current while gliding and panicked as she fell, but caught an updraft of cold air. Too cold. No icicles, though. She could have sworn her wings had frozen.
Higher up, she found a warm layer and quit shivering. Elis flew close, his black wings nearly touching her brown.
["Use the resonance to warm up if you have to."]
Right. Resonance. Easy to manage now. The warmth passed through her. So much better. She should have thought of that. ["Thanks."]
A few seconds later, he pointed down. ["There it is."]
She followed him to one of many farmsteads spread far between on the white backdrop of fresh snow. Only the lone yard light shone out in the night. But fresh tire tracks blemished the perfect snow, and footprints led to the door from those tracks. She hoped no one was home.
Like him, she shifted her body to drop her feet and lifted her wings to let herself fall, until the ground came up and she flapped to avoid jolting her body. They landed in the wheel tracks. Normally she loved the snow, but now she wished it had melted. Anyone could see they were there by the tracks they left.
["Be careful?"]
Elis put up a hand and listened. Raea heard nothing. Silence surrounded them. Not even the cattle in the corral moved but stood or laid down under their shelter. Smart idea. Who fed them? Was that why someone had been there? Were they still there?
After a few seconds, Elis approached the house and turned the door handle.
Unlocked. Typical. Linds' house was always unlocked too. No one expected uninvited guests, or at least uninvited trouble.
He motioned for her to follow.
I don't like this. Entering someone else's house like that felt totally wrong in so many ways. The sooner they left, the better she would feel. Besides, two people had died there. How much creepier could that get?
Plenty. Elis left the lights off. One of the floor boards creaked under his foot. Dear God, just like in those ghost movies. Raea shivered and tucked her wings close. Her heart thumped in her chest.
Let's get out of here. She wanted to say it, but couldn't break the silence. It's hold overpowered her.
They passed through a small entry and into a living room, through a doorway and to a dining room and kitchen, then down a hallway and looked in each bedroom.
Elis passed through the bedrooms without turning on any lights. The yard light filtered through the windows sufficiently for them to make out the outlines of beds and dressers and chairs and knickknacks. One of the bedrooms reminded Raea of Eric's—cluttered with stuff on the walls and collectibles on shelves. Simplicity ruled the second, with a queen bed and two nightstands. It had to be the master bedroom. The door leading to a walk-in closet and another to a spacious corner bathroom confirmed it.
She had a bad feeling about snooping through the house. "Hurry up. Let's go," she whispered.
Elis nodded and motioned for her to lead the way out. They passed through the dining room and headed towards the door when light poured through the window of the front room.
Raea shoved Elis back. Where to hide? Where...There, the closet. "Get. In."
She didn't have to tell him. He opened the door and yanked her into what turned out to be a corner pantry with just enough room for them to stand squished together. Their wings took up more space than she would have liked.
The hiss of the screen door reached her faintly. Raea froze, alert to the intruder and to the warmth and closeness of Elis. His hands gripped her shoulders.
"I'll just be a minute. I have to get a couple things for Thursday." A woman's voice. The door slammed a moment later. Could that be Debbie's coworker, Sheri? Hopefully the woman would get what she needed and leave. It better not be in the pantry, though.
Raea tried to slide her arm to hold the handle, so no one could open it. The movement scraped the two nylon coats together, and she stopped. Stupid! They'd be caught for sure.
Steps grew louder outside the door.
Raea's heart pounded in her chest and her breath froze in her lungs. No. No. No. Please, go. Go away. Just leave.
Whoever listened outside the door huffed and walked away.
I promise I'll go to church with Debbie on Sunday. Maybe she would start believing, something her mother had never done. Raea let her head fall against Elis's chest. His heart pounded as hard as hers. That was close. Way too close.
He smelled good, better than his coat she wore. And the closeness...His presence had a calming effect on her. She liked it.
No, this is wrong.
Then why did she feel good with him? It couldn't be wrong. But it's Elis, not Pallin. No, it wasn't right for her to like the strangest, creepiest guy in her class. But he wasn't bad in any way, just reserved, quiet, maybe shy. He was like her, an outcast on that world. I don't believe this. No, it's just being close like this. It's messing with my head. It could be anyone. She barely knew him, even with the last few days of spending so much time together for her training. What was going on with her?
Padina laughed, soaring over deep blue oceans. Jerantis chased her close behind, and Padina swooped up.
She came around and ended up in his arms. ["Got you."] He suspended them both in the air.
Padina gave him a quick kiss. ["Only because I let you."] A moment later, she pushed away and dove towards the ocean.
["Padina!"]
She laughed and corkscrewed into a turn that put a floating island ahead of her. He disappeared from view.
She glided over the edge of the island and slowed to almost hovering on outstretched wings. ["Jerantis?"]
A second later, she gasped. Arms wrapped around from behind her.
["You're not getting away this time."] His gentle whisper subdued her.
She lowered her wings and let him carry her down to the island. He landed and loosened his grip, and she turned. With her arms around his neck she kissed him.
Raea blinked. Damned be those brief visions. Why did the Starfire continue to show her scenes of her mother and what must have been her father? Why now? What did it mean?
Always near Elis. It made sense. So, that was the game, was it? Oh, no. No, you won't. I'll choose for myself, thank you very much. She had to get out of that pantry and put some space between them. The insult. The Starfire had no right to control her life, least of all who she should go out with.
Forget it. She had more pressing concerns at the moment anyway. When would the woman leave?
Steps hurried through the house. Raea swallowed. The sooner the woman left, the sooner she got out of that pantry and away from Elis.
Not soon enough, the door slammed shut.
Raea shifted, but Elis squeezed her shoulders. What?
A trick? The person faked leaving to lure them out. She should have considered it. Good thing he had.
They waited a while before the door opened and shut. A lock clicked and she thought she heard the storm door hiss.
Elis let go of her and opened the pantry.
Raea slipped out and stretched her wings in
the cold air. Oh, hell. She had bent some of the feathers. It must have happened while they were stuffed inside the pantry. Elis hadn't fared any better.
["We'll pull them later,"] he said.
["Pull them? Excuse me?"]
["They'll grow back in a week. Remember the study of bird feathers in Biology?"]
Who could forget? Mister Maviar had them studying Condor feathers under a microscope. Josh wouldn't shut up about how he would love to study a Dark Angel feather.
["We don't preen like birds. We don't have the reach or the utilities. Inari feathers don't have barbules. We have chains, like microlinks."]
"Oh." Oh! They were more durable. Okay, so not a big deal. ["We can leave now?"]
["Yes. Let's go. There's nothing here, at least not in the house."]
Which meant he probably wanted to come back after the snow melted. He could do that on his own. Raea needed some distance and no more close calls.
No Ordinary Goose Chase
Elis slipped off his shoes and coat. He had proven nothing about Pallin or a Shirukan in the area, and Raea forbid him from saying anything more. He couldn't push the subject on her without proof. Bad enough that she left him with her coat with hardly a word. In fact, she'd hardly spoken after the close call at the farm house.
Elis hung up both his coats in the closet, which reminded him of the pantry. Standing in the tight space of the pantry with her had presented a unique opportunity for the kind of closeness he had only hoped for since seeing her the first day he arrived in that town.
For nearly two Earth years, he had longed to talk to Raea, but never knew what to say, which only made her avoid him. Like the human students around her, she ignored him soon after he started attending their local high school. Debbie's arrangements with the school allowed him to attend to watch over her, and Debbie's arrangements with Evelyn gave him a close place to live.
Starfire Angels (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 1) Page 11