Broken Wings (23 page)

He didn't want that.

Damn you, Nare!
Elis slammed the pillow on the bed beside him. She
was right. He needed to pretend nothing was wrong. What would Josh
tell others? They hadn't discussed an excuse for Raea's absence.
And her friends would ask.

He'd have to go to school and pretend
nothing was wrong. The information search would have to
wait.

Elis checked his clock—twenty minutes.
At the worst, he'd be a little late, but he could probably make it
on time.

* * *

Elis stepped into the Biology
classroom as the bell rang. The faint whiff of chemicals,
particularly the formaldehyde from the jars on the back shelves,
touched memories of the last two years. He closed the heavy wooden
door behind him with a light thud.

Everyone was already seated. Raea's
empty seat next to Josh served as a cold reminder that she was
gone. Josh met his eyes and looked away. He passed the gazes of the
otherwise full class and found his seat in the back.

Every fiber of his being objected to
being there. The quick shower and change and a meal of what his
stomach tolerated—his appetite had all but gone—left him plenty of
time to reach the school that morning. He rushed through it all to
distract himself from thinking about the other night.

Mister Maviar started the class
without a word about Raea's absence. Josh must have said
something.

As usual, the class subject
interested him, providing a little distraction. Now that he was
stuck on Earth, unless someone came to retrieve him, he might as
well understand the world better. If the Shirukan
were
on Earth, he had all
the more reason to learn about it, if only to know it better than
them.

He should have been researching that
information, not sitting in a class doing work.

After class, Josh intercepted him in
the hall and pulled him aside. "I was worried you wouldn't come.
Linds and Jess were asking about Raea."

"What'd you tell them?"

Josh glanced aside at the classmates
passing them amid the clangs and bangs of metal lockers blending
with the sudden din of voices. "I said her grandma in Jamestown is
sick and she went out to see her, that she's staying there for a
few days."

Debbie's mother. "Wouldn't Debbie also
be there?"

Josh grimaced. "Maybe. But it's all I
could think of on the spot."

"It'll have to do." He didn't have any
better idea.

"I'm sure she'll be back."

If only to share Josh's
optimism.

Elis took a deep breath to calm the
tightening in his chest. Now was not the time to think about the
slim chance of Raea surviving, much less returning.

"Take it easy. I'll see you later."
Josh clapped him on the shoulder and hurried away.

So strange having others talk to him,
and Raea wasn't around. He'd never felt like he belonged there, but
Josh trusted him. Or was it because Josh now knew his secret? He'd
been fascinated with the angel side—still was.

Elis wandered through the morning on
autopilot, half his mind on the classes and the other half on the
time he lost digging out Pallin's contact or contacts.

At lunch, he sat alone, in his usual
place, but only picked at the sandwich. Too many ideas circled
through his head. If the Shirukan were on Earth, what were they
doing? Why didn't they simply attack the Keepers there? It didn't
make sense. The Shirukan couldn't miss the reports of angel
sightings around the world. If anything, they probably collected
them. Or were they watching and waiting, and planning, for
something big? What could they be planning?

How could he track them?

He had to know.

Or was there another party—humans
perhaps—conspiring with the Shirukan? Was that part of Stein's and
Torres's purpose?

"Hey!"

Elis blinked.

Josh set his tray on the table next to
Elis's. "What's going on? Thinking about Raea again?"

"No." That sandwich held a new
appeal—occupying his mouth so he didn't have to explain to Josh
everything in his head.

Josh leaned close, his eyes
on his own overstuffed sandwich. "I haven't said
anything
to anyone
about…you know."

"Thanks." Now for a bite.

Elis ate his food beyond feeling full,
limiting his conversation with Josh. Probably for the best though,
since he had hardly eaten the last few days.

Neither Linds nor Jess joined them,
but sat with other girls and glanced their way on
occasion.

"I told them we were talking about
Dark Angel." Josh grinned as if Elis should be amused by the inside
joke. "In a manner of speaking, it's the truth."

Why couldn't the lunch break be
shorter? "I know you're trying to help, Josh, but it's
not."

Josh's shoulders sank. "Oh…I'm sorry.
It's just that, I guess I need someone to talk to…" He picked at
the sandwich bun. "And after learning about you and her and all
that stuff, I feel safer talking to you. You know? So I don't,
like, shoot my mouth off to the wrong person."

Unfortunately, he made a
good point. "You're right, but I…I don't want to talk about it,
with anyone. I—
we
—may never see her again."

"Raea would slap you now if she heard
you say that."

She probably would. Elis could see her
growing livid and her lips tightening into a scowl seconds before
her hand smacked his cheek. It reminded him of the one time she had
slapped him. He'd give anything to have even that back. For a
moment, the burn of her hand returned to his cheek. He rubbed the
place where she had slapped him. Better to have her angry at him
than gone.

Josh lowered his voice, his eyes on
the sandwich in his hands. "If she escaped, how long would it be
before she could return?"

A good question. Elis hadn't
considered it. He'd been too busy answering all of Josh's other
questions and trying to learn more about the two men looking for
her and trying to dig up Pallin's contact in San
Francisco.

"I don't know. I suppose a
few days if she finds a quick way out of Naviketan
and
reaches Saffir; maybe
a week or a little longer if she has trouble. The Shirukan have
ways of tracking Keepers. The longer she's gone, the less her
chances of coming back." Not only because of being captured, but
also because the Shirukan would be after Saffir. Without a shard of
the Starfire, a Keeper couldn't form a portal. Saffir was the only
Crystal Keeper on Inar'Ahben.

The only other chance was to catch a
ride on a starship. Then it could take months in Earth time. But by
then, the Shirukan could operate Heffin's Gate at close to full
power. They'd pursue Raea, perhaps arrive on Earth to wait for her,
knowing this would be her destination.

Something for him to watch
for.

"But there
is
a chance."

They'd already discussed this. Elis
didn't want any part of it again. He stood up to leave, his chair
sliding back on the floor behind him.

A hand clasped his arm. "Don't give
up, Elis. You need something to believe in. We all do."

A second later, Josh let
go.

Something to believe in? Belief
without proof was one thing, but Elis needed evidence that she was
safe. Still, Josh's faith piqued his curiosity. Evelyn possessed
the same faith, as did Debbie. They all hoped and prayed to their
God, their creator, that someone somewhere would return Raea. This
wasn't a matter of the supernatural. Life's unexplained events
could always be explained in terms of patterns that some people
refused to see. Solid, empirical explanations; not Gods or angels,
or otherworldly beings of any kind.

He wished he could believe they were
right, that by some miracle, a true angel would bring her
back.

But he couldn't.

Elis left his tray at the cleaning
station on the way out of the lunch room. Yes, he needed to believe
in something, but not what Josh did.

* * *

The afternoon dragged until the last
bell. Elis adjusted his gloves and pulled on his jacket. Spring had
come—Raea would love the sunshine and warmth—but a chill
occasionally returned to the air, less often as the days passed
closer to summer.

If she had escaped, what would she be
doing? What would she think of Inar'Ahben? He missed home and
wanted to be the one to show her the homeworld she'd never
known.

After shoving his books into his red
backpack for homework, he hooked his arms through the straps and
wove through the crowded, noisy halls, joining the flow of bodies
to the doors.

In the warm spring air, students
gossiped and laughed. At the end of the walkway, girls and boys
leaned out bus windows, still chatting with friends reluctant to
end their brief conversations. Others filed into the yellow and
black vehicles. At least he didn't have to wait for anything or
endure such an inconvenience. He could walk home in peace and
quiet.

Except for the short man with the
balding head. Matthew Stein stood near one of the rock-studded
cement columns supporting the slab over the walkway from the doors
to near the line of buses at the curb. Stein turned away the moment
Elis caught his eyes. What was he doing there?

Only one way to find out, but Elis
already suspected the answer. He caught up to the shorter man and
tapped his shoulder.

Stein turned, a look of fake surprise
on his face, too unnatural to be coincidence. "Elis!"

"Mister Stein."

Stein glanced around Elis. "You
haven't seen Raea, have you?"

"No. She's out of town."

"A shame. I really do need to speak
with her. Oh, well." Stein flashed a smile. "Any idea when she'll
be back?"

"No." And he wouldn't tell the man if
he did know. "What do you want with her? And who are you and your
friend working for?"

"I'm sorry." Stein tugged up his
belted pants around the slight paunch of middle beneath the blue
shirt. "I'm not at liberty to discuss that, except with your
girlfriend and certain individuals like her."

So, it wasn't just Raea. By "certain
individuals" did he mean any Inari, Keepers, or just Crystal
Keepers?

Stein looked up at the sun and
squinted, his small eyes closing to almost nothing. "Looks like a
beautiful day. I won't keep you. Have her call me when she returns,
would you?" He hurried away through the crowds of students and
disappeared between buses. No doubt Torres waited in a car on the
other side.

"Hey, Elis!"

Now what?

Josh caught up to him on the sidewalk
along the curb where the buses parked. "Normally I'd walk with
Raea, but since she's not here…"

He got it. Now was a terrible time,
especially after encountering Stein waiting at the school. What
exactly did the man have planned? What would he have done if Raea
had been there?

"Anyway, I know you probably don't
care and you already told me everything anyway, but I still
wouldn't mind hanging out. Do you like video games? I could bring
some over. Hey! What about Nare? Maybe she'd like to
play."

Elis let out a heavy sigh of defeat.
Josh would never give up.

They stepped off the end of the block,
leaving the buses behind, and crossed the quiet street.

"Linds and Jess are busy, and Raea was
gonna hang out with me, I mean when she was here, because
of…um…your separation."

Because of their separation? Then Josh
had intended to make a move on her, unless he was just being
friendly. Elis hoped it was only out of friendship.

Like he hoped this was all in
friendship. Josh could be irritatingly insistent, especially since
learning about what they really were. "Evelyn would welcome your
company."

"You're sure? I don't want to
impose."

Trying to be polite.
It amused him when anyone refused or excused
something they really wanted while hinting that they did, whether
in words or tone of voice or body language. At least Josh pulled it
off with more sincerity than Stein. Elis felt the smile lift his
cheeks without effort. "No. Nare probably would enjoy it." And it
would give her something to do rather than nagging him.

Josh's eyes widened. "Saweet! I hadn't
thought of that. I wish I could tell the others what was really
going on."

"The fewer the better right now." At
least until he figured out Shirukan business on Earth.

"I understand. I wouldn't
actually tell anyone. It's kinda fun having a secret, but
everyone
tells me their
secrets."

"Who's 'everyone'?" Did Josh know
something that might help him?

"That's part of the secret.
But it's not easy. I mean, they know I won't talk about their
personal stuff. But this…Oh, man…This is—
you
are or were what kept me going for
the last year and a half."