Broken Wings (5 page)

The scene shifted with
Salera's movements, but after a brief flash on the general, she
returned her attention to the hologram.

The commander strode away
without a word to Salera.

"Are you all right?"

What? Raea blinked away the vision. A
Starfire vision. They had a nasty habit of interrupting her life at
the most inconvenient times. It had started two months ago with
scenes they had recorded of her mother's life when she bore the
shard.

Why now?

Raea glanced back but the car was
gone. Had she imagined it?

Impossible. She swore she had seen the
car and the men in it. Was there a connection between them and the
Starfire, or had she imagined that too? They were gone now,
whatever the case.

She focused on Josh. "I'm
fine."

After they passed beyond the din of
schoolmates eager to head home, he asked, "So can I ask what's
really going on?"

"No." What were they
talking about? Oh, yeah—what was wrong with her and Elis.
That's
what Josh asked
about.

"O—kay. Then, like, is there something
I can do at least?"

He wasn't giving up. Couldn't he take
a hint?

Not until he got a satisfactory
answer. But she couldn't tell him she was an alien. He'd probably
laugh in her face.

"Josh—"

"Seriously. Let me help, Raea.
Something…Anything. I don't like seeing you like this."

Damn, he made it hard to refuse. "All
right."

"Anything. Name it."

"Anything?" Anything...Even keeping a
watch on Elis?

"Anything. I mean it."

"Well…" She jumped off the curb, over
the water flowing into the corner gutter with a constant echoing
splash. Someone watered their lawn up hill somewhere. "Would you
mind keeping Elis company?"

"What? Elis?" He hesitated before
rushing back to her side.

"Yeah. Nare brought a note and said
he's not taking this break in our relationship so well. If you
could keep him occupied, I'd appreciate it."

Then she and Nare could go flying
without her having to worry about him begging her to change her
mind or doing something to hurt himself, if he'd do that. He didn't
seem like the type, but she didn't think he'd be the type to lie or
to cry like it was the end of the world either. It worried her and
touched her. He was sensitive and protective and caring
and…

"Um…yeah. I suppose." He didn't sound
committed.

"Please, Josh. It would make me feel
better."

Josh jumped to the sidewalk
next to her. Elis would have made it look easy with his long legs
on that six-foot-one height, but Josh was short for a guy—her
height. "What does he like to do? I mean, he like never mentioned
anything, except reading, and those were some heavy hitting books
he mentioned.
Way
over my head."

With good reason. Elis grew up on a
world far more advanced. Their high school education must have been
like first grade stuff to him. It didn't help that he was around
twenty-one Earth years, old enough to have graduated college. The
only thing boring about high school for him, though, was math; too
elementary for him. She agreed.

She could have graduated when she was
ten, but Debbie hadn't allowed it. In some ways Raea was glad her
aunt had held her to a normal education and social life with her
circle of friends. It was good to have them now, when she needed
them most, to have experienced a "normal" life like her mother
wanted for her, even if she wasn't really human.

"He likes fiction too." Ooh! She had
it. "And remember when you talked to him about Dark Angel?" Way
back when she'd first started training with Elis. Man, had she had
a good laugh then—Josh talking to Elis with the enthusiasm of a
total fanatic and Elis grinning and biting his tongue. She might
tell Josh someday.

Bingo. Josh's expression lit up like a
roman candle. "You're right. Do you think he'd want to sit out and
watch?"

Perfect. Except for one minor, or
major, detail. She hoped to go out flying with Nare, who had
white-blue wings to match her hair. Nothing like standing out
against the dark night, but she had to get out and Nare had
promised to train her.

Elis would probably appreciate
watching her. More than probably. And she liked him watching her.
She preferred him touching her, even just holding hands.

Don't go there.
Not yet. She had to keep her distance. No touching
unless she decided that she wanted the rest of her life with him.
Why did this have to be so complicated?

Josh strode quietly beside
her.

"I'm sure he wouldn't
mind."

"You're sure that's all right? I mean,
I don't want to interfere…you know…with you two."

As if. She recognized that
glint of excitement in his eyes. He wanted to watch for the angel
and would love to share that enthusiasm with someone,
anyone
. It didn't help
that no one else wanted to hear it.

"I asked you. Remember? Of course,
it's all right. Just keep him busy while I hang out with Nare a
while. After everything we've been through, I think this will help
me sort things out." She hoped. Missing Elis every minute made it
difficult.

Josh gave her a small grin. He
understood how much it meant to her, and that was a big reason he'd
always been a good friend. If only she had fallen for him, things
would be so much easier. But she hadn't and that wouldn't
change.

"Cool. It'll be nice to have someone
who doesn't roll their eyes when I mention angels."

Yeah. All right. She got the hint,
though she couldn't have missed it if he ran over her with a
combine.

Raea nudged him in the shoulder and he
chuckled. The next two blocks they talked about sending out
graduation announcements and the last book Mrs. McRabb assigned for
the lit part of English class.

At the cement walk from the sidewalk
to the yellow house, Raea hesitated. Her heart wanted to rush
through that door into Elis's arms, but she held herself back. She
had to know before she progressed with this bonding.

"You okay?"

She blinked and forced a
smile to Josh. "Sure. C'mon." Her feet carried her to the door of
the house, each step amping up her anxiety.
Slow down, heart.

At the door, she hesitated for a
breath to calm her nerves.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."
Liar.
Josh saw right through her. Raea
wasn't fooling anyone. She gripped the wrought iron rail on the
side of the cement steps. "Go on."

Josh opened the storm door and knocked
on the main door. A second later, he opened it and stuck his head
inside. "Hello? Mrs. Johnson?"

"In here, dear." The cracked voice
came from the sitting room through the doorway on their
left.

Raea took a deep breath and followed
Josh into the house. Music drifted down from upstairs, muffled by a
closed door. She recognized the song playing, not one she expected
Evelyn to tolerate. This didn't bode well if the strict Catholic
woman granted him that leniency.

From the open door at the top of the
stairs—the guest room that stayed empty most of the time—Nare
stepped out. "Hey! Raea. Who's your friend?" She tromped down the
steps.

Raea glanced aside and did a double
take. Josh stared at Nare, apparently unable to talk. That was a
first—him not talking. "This is Josh. Josh, Nare."

"Kaershon," she added and held out a
gloved hand.

Josh blinked and accepted the brief
handshake. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. So, you came to check up on
him? Or—" Nare looked from her to Josh and back, a disapproving
look on her face. "Is this a way of testing the waters?"

The temperature spiked in the room.
Raea met Josh's eyes for a moment; his smile hinted of amusement
rather than alarm. "No. No-no-no. Josh has been a friend since
first grade. It's not like that. He, like…He came to see Elis. Josh
lives a few blocks away. We usually walk home part way
together."

"Ah. Gotcha. I suppose you want me to
go get him?"

In other words, did Raea want to see
Elis? Yes and no. Not having him at school helped her survive that
day without breaking down. She had no idea how she'd react to
seeing him again. But she'd been worried all that time too and
seeing him would put her mind at ease.

"Sure."

Nare's eyebrows lifted in question,
and Raea nodded. Nare hurried up the stairs and around the corner
of the rail and pounded on the door of his room. "Elis! You have
company."

A few seconds later, the music cut
off.

Here he came. Raea's pulse raced. She
hooked her fingers in her belt loops to keep her hands
still.

The door clicked and her heart
stopped.

"Who is it?"

Damn the wall. She couldn't see
him.

"A couple friends."

Josh leaned towards the stairs and
waved.

So tempting! Oh, God. Just
a few inches closer to Josh.
Stand still.
Just wait.

"Hey, Elis," Josh said.

A long pause answered. Raea held her
breath. What took him so long?

Nare stepped into view on the landing
outside her room, her eyes aside.

Elis stopped at the top of the stairs
in jeans and a dark blue tee shirt and his black, fingerless
gloves. The strands of hair over his eyes gave him that familiar
dark, brooding appearance that transformed with the recognition on
his face.

Her mouth went dry, but she managed a
"Hi."

After a moment of no reaction, he
hurried down the stairs. His purple eyes fixed on her through that
wild black hair. She used to think he didn't comb it, but found out
for herself that it refused to be tamed.

"I'm…glad to see you." Talk about an
understatement!

He moved towards her and she put a
hand out. "Not now. Not yet."

Not again. He looked ready to cry. Her
heart gave a tiny whimper of sympathy.

"I…um…thought you might
like—"
Say something, Josh!
He wasn't helping. "To hang out with Josh for
tonight. You know—man to man. While I hang out with Nare." She gave
Josh an obvious elbow in the ribs.

"Yeah. It'd be cool." Took Josh long
enough. He rubbed his side and flashed her with a dirty look.
Whatever. "We could, like, talk about Dark Angel, or
something."

Elis gave her a questioning
look.

She shook her head minutely. No, Josh
didn't know.

Elis took a deep breath and let it
out, his shoulders dropping. "That's fine. Your house or
here?"

Oh, no. She wasn't falling for the
pleading expression or the reading between the lines.

"Um…" Josh looked at her
too.

Good grief. They couldn't make any
decisions without her? "Your house. Trust me. You don't want to be
around when girls talk."

Josh's eyes widened with
recognition and his lip curled in disgust.
Yeah, Josh. That kind of talk.
The
same kind of talk that had turned his face into a ruby when he
walked in on Jess and Linds discussing their periods once. Only
once. He'd learned his lesson. The two had planned it that way to
get back at him for talking about the dark angel so
much.

"I got it. My house it is."

"After dark?"

Those deep purple eyes she loved
stared through her. Her knees threatened to give out with the
racing of her pulse. She was worse than last night.

"I suppose. That's when he usually
appears." Josh glanced from Elis to her.

"I'll be there." Elis's gaze never
wavered from her.

It beckoned to her desire to be close.
Just a couple steps. That's all it would take to be secure in his
arms. A couple steps…

Nare thumped down the stairs, hitting
the squeaky one on her way. "So, we're on for tonight,
Raea?"

The muscles in Elis's jaw clenched and
his face hardened. "Was this your idea?"

"I have no idea what you're talking
about." Nare shoved him aside and stepped between him and Raea.
["Stay strong,"] she whispered close.

Nare stood back with a smile. "I'll
see you later. Nice to meet you, Josh."

"Sure." Josh put his hand on the storm
door handle and looked to Raea. "Coming?"

"Yeah. Yeah…um. See you
later."

Nare smiled.

Behind her, Elis met her eyes for a
moment.

No, she couldn't give in. Nare was
right. She had to stay strong, until she figured out exactly if
this was what she wanted. This was harder than she
expected.

Raea ducked out behind Josh and fought
the urge to look back for a hopeful glimpse of Elis. The inner door
scraped closed behind them with the hiss and click of the storm
door.