Black-clad figures approached from a distance. They cast a dark shadow that sent others fleeing.
Padina stood on a balcony looking out over a bustling city brushed by the sun, her open-front skirt flapping around her light blue leggings. Entire structures floated at different levels, rounded towers dozens of floors high unattached to anything else. Hundreds of angels flew through the skies.
But the black-clad group stood out in their threat.
["Jerantis!"] The scene blurred and finally stopped, looking into a simple apartment.
The man came running from inside and gazed beyond the scene. ["Larantan forces should have stopped them, unless..."] He gasped. ["Go!"]
They dropped from the balcony and spread their wings. A crash sounded from behind.
Black-clad figures rushed from the apartment balcony they vacated moments ago.
["Fly! Don't look back."]
They soared over the city and beyond the outer towers. Ocean stretched below. An island floated serenely in the distance among the clouds.
["Where are we going?"] Padina shouted.
["The safest place we can. Open a portal."]
The dreaded black clad figures closed in fast.
Padina spread her brown and white speckled wings and called forth a power that set the marks on her hands aglow. In the sky above, lightening crackled and snapped around a growing ball of light.
She slowed her flight, her eyes fixed on the ball, which darkened into a black nothingness not far from her and exploded outward into a spiraling black hole. Her hands glowed yet.
["Hurry!"] Jerantis shouted.
Padina focused on the void until it grew in diameter to three times her height. There it ceased its growth.
["It's done. The portal is ready. Let's go."]
["You go. I'll be right behind."]
She hesitated and flew close to him. The black formation split apart. Some held back while the others moved around them.
["Go. Now,"] he said.
["I won't leave you!"]
He flew close and kissed her. ["Padina. You are the one they seek. You must protect the Starfire. It's your duty as a Crystal Keeper."] He glanced around them at the closing circle of soldiers. ["Go on. I'll make sure the portal is closing before I go through, so they can't follow. Hurry."] He pushed her away.
She flew to the portal but hesitated at the brink and turned.
Shots flashed from two of the flyers.
["Jerantis!"] For a moment, she fell with the stiffening of her wings.
After recovering from the plummeting of the man, she turned and fled into the darkness.
The dream again. Raea tried to take control as Josh had suggested, but the voices admonished her, or seemed to. They forced her to watch. She could change nothing. When her mother disappeared into the void, or portal, she gasped.
The voices roared in her head like a crowd at a concert. I can't understand you. Stop shouting at the same time!
In answer, a burning pain shot through her, ripping out her back. Raea screamed in agony. Tears of pain stung her eyes. What are you doing to me? What do you want?
The voices lowered, whispering among themselves as the pain subsided.
Raea blinked at the dark of night and wiped her eyes. Wetness cooled her fingertips. Tears. Then it hadn't been a dream. She had really been crying.
What about the pain? She shifted but something blocked her from rolling over. She was stuck, but not completely. A dark shape hovered over her, blocking out the faint light from her window.
In the dimness, she made out the outline of a large wing. Where'd that come from?
Suspicions drove through her mind. It couldn't be real. "It was only a dream. It had to be." Wasn't it?
To be sure, she reached around her side. Fingertips brushed soft feathers from a bulk of muscles on her back. The wings came out of her. This was impossible!
What would Debbie—
Debbie couldn't see this. No one could.
Raea jumped up, intending to lock her bedroom door, and staggered back. The wings added some weight to her back, though she'd manage. On a second try, she reached the door and pressed the button. The lock clicked. There. Now, she could keep everyone from seeing what a freak she really was while she tried to make sense of this.
But what could she do? She couldn't go to school like this.
She'd have to stay home sick and wait for everyone to leave before she could go out. Then what? She couldn't stay in her bedroom the rest of her life. What kind of existence was that?
It wasn't. She had to figure out a way to undo this.
She had no idea. Nothing.
Her life was over.
But there had to be a way. She just had to figure something out. Raea sat down on her bed. If she went out in public, she'd be a spectacle. She didn't want that. Everyone would make fun of her. Oh, Josh would love it, but he'd be the only one.
What about Pallin? Why now? She was so close to the possibility of a real boyfriend. After all this time being teased as a freak, now she really was one.
She buried her face in her hands. The wings shifted behind her. She hated this. Damn voices. Whoever you are, I hope you're happy now for making my life miserable.
She laid down and pulled the comforter over the wings and her head. Maybe she could go back to sleep and they would disappear. How had these wings sprouted from her back in the middle of a dream in the first place?
The answer hid within her, with those voices. She wished they would speak clearly. Who were they? What were they?
What the hell—or heaven—was happening to her?
Maybe Chad was right—she really was a freak. No. She couldn't think like that. There was a reasonable explanation; she just had to find it.
Reason? What reason was there for growing wings?
If she cleared her head, maybe the voices would come back. Calm. She needed that. Deep breaths...Focus. Each breath pulled her further away from the anxiety. The quiet invading her mind coaxed her to the peace of sleep.
A knock jerked her awake.
"Raea! Time to get up."
"Huh?" What time was it? A check of her clock told her—time to get up for school.
Debbie tried the door handle but it only jiggled. "Why's your door locked?"
Door locked? Oh, yeah. She'd locked it. Then, that meant…
Raea reached around her back, and her fingers brushed the soft feathers. Oh, no. It hadn't been a dream.
"Are you all right?"
No! I have wings. Yeah, right. As if she could say that, but she had to say something to satisfy Debbie or her aunt would never leave. "I...I don't feel good. Don't come in."
"What's wrong, honey?"
"Um...I'm not myself this morning. I can't go to school." She certainly didn't lie about not being herself. But what was she?
"Can you unlock the door?"
"That's not a good idea." What would Debbie think if she saw her like this? What would anyone think, besides that she belonged in some circus side show?
"What's wrong? It can't be that bad."
"Oh, yes, it can!" If Debbie only knew. But she never would.
After a pause, Debbie spoke in a tone of defeat. "All right. I hope you feel better soon."
"Me too." Good. Debbie gave up. Now what could she do? Raea couldn't hide in her room forever. Sooner or later Debbie—or worse, Mike—would find a way to unlock that door.
Raea's stomach rumbled, and she groaned. She needed something to eat. She couldn't stay there all day, but at least after everyone left, she could sneak out to the kitchen.
The morning passed slower than ever. For once, she didn't care when Dave called out that she could have the shower and all the cold water.
The voices and clatter of flatware on plates from everyone eating echoed up from the main floor. Her stomach grumbled in protest. Easy. Soon they'll be gone. Then the kitchen is ours, stomach.
When the phone rang, her heart leapt from her chest. What if Pallin called? Raea groaned. The hottest guy to ever show an interest in her would get away. The only guy to express any interest in being with her. Someone somewhere was having a good laugh at her expense. Why did this have to happen now?
What did the wings look like, though? Could she actually fly? Sure, and she hated heights. What good were wings? Still, she might as well look.
Raea crawled out of bed and hesitated. Curiosity had a cruel way of revealing unpleasant surprises. Maybe she should stay away from the mirror.
Could she move her wings?
They weren't as heavy as she thought. And moving them only took a thought. Like wiggling her fingers or walking. But the wings didn't do exactly what she wanted.
Could she stretch? How far would they go?
She tried, but her room blocked her from what she thought would be a full stretch. Her bedroom barely measured fifteen feet long. The wings had to be huge to support her and still bend with each wingtip out.
I wonder... Raea sat at the wall near the head of her bed and concentrated on making one brown wing flatten out in the morning light. Both stretched, one to the side and the other back, knocking into her dresser and bumping it into the wall behind her.
Stupid wings!
She took a deep breath and tried again. The one wing easily pressed into the glass of the window and the feather tips could have gone farther. How big were they?
A knock on the door startled her. She turned, forgetting about the inconvenience behind her. Her corkboard crashed to the ground.
"Raea, are you all right?"
"I'm...Yeah. Just knocked my board down. That's all."
Stupid, stupid wings. If she couldn't control them, how would she ever hide them?
"The boys and Mike left. It's just me here. Are you sure I can't come in?"
"No!" She sounded panicky. That wouldn't help matters.
"I can stay home and help you."
"No. Don't worry about me. I just need a day to rest." And figure out how to get rid of or hide those wings. Running away was always an option. But where would she go?
She was stuck.
"Really. There's nothing I haven't dealt with."
"I can take care of myself. Thanks anyway."
"All right." Debbie's footsteps faded from the hallway outside her door. Finally!
Soon, the house would be hers. Raea could sneak out, clean up, and grab something to eat. She listened for the click of the door and the hum of the garage that would mean Debbie left.
While she waited, she decided to finally see for herself what she had become. Raea swallowed her hesitation and approached the full-length mirror in the corner of her room. After a moment, she took a deep breath and stepped in front of it.
No doubt about it—she had wings. Dark brown feathered wings that matched her hair and eyes. She twisted to see where they came out and noted the tears through her nightgown in back. What had she become? She looked like...like her mother in her dreams.
Raea gasped.
Her dreams...and the voices. What had she been seeing? Her mother wasn't human. That was obvious now. She was something else. But what was her mother? What was she?
A light knock on her door made her jump. Raea put a hand over her racing heart.
"Raea, open up, please."
Debbie wasn't going to give up. Raea should have expected that of her aunt.
Okay...Deep breath... Raea grabbed her flower-print comforter and threw it over her back to hide the wings. Sooner or later she had to face her aunt. Might as well get it over with. If she could trust anyone, it would be Debbie.
The door handle might have been set to bite her for all the apprehension restraining her from opening it. She unlocked it though and opened it only a crack.
Debbie couldn't have worn deeper furrows in her forehead. They smoothed out a moment later. "Thank God you're all right. Can I come in?"
"It's not a good idea."
"Please, Raea. I heard you scream early this morning. I'm worried."
"You did? I mean, I did?"
"Yes. You sounded hurt."
Debbie had good ears. But had Raea really screamed out loud?
"Are you okay?"
"Not really." Raea looked out beyond her aunt. Debbie was alone.
She didn't have much of a choice now and needed to trust someone. Better Debbie, she supposed, than anyone else.
Raea stepped away from the door and threw the comforter off. "Not if this is all right."
Debbie didn't look surprised or worried in the least. Okay. That was odd.
"This happened last night?" Debbie motioned for her to turn. "Was this why you screamed?"
Raea stepped around on the spot. "Yes. It hurt. And I can't go out like this." Why didn't Debbie act more surprised?
"No, you can't." Debbie sighed. "We'll have to do something about it."
"What can we do? I can't hide them. I can't even control these wings. What am I supposed to do? My life is ruined."
The smile on Debbie's face said otherwise. Oh, please, let her aunt have a plan.
"I know someone who can help."
Someone else? "What? No. No, no, no. No one can know about this. I'll be picked apart." She could just imagine the doctors and scientists. If Chad wasn't bad enough, being examined would really make her feel like a freak, if she survived. She wouldn't have any part of that. No one else could know.
"Relax, Raea."
Relax? How the hell was she supposed to relax about this?
Debbie's hands on Raea's face stopped her from panicking, her calm, motherly touch the one Raea wished had come from her real mother. "Your mother hid your wings when you were three."
What? She had not just heard that. Anger flew through Raea and she backed away from Debbie. "You knew about this? And you didn't tell me?"
"Your mother wanted you to live a normal human life. I promised to obey her wishes."
"I don't believe this. You lied to me?" Tears moistened her eyes. Emotions flared strong inside. "You—you lied to me? How could you?"
"Please, Raea. I didn't mean to hurt you. Your mother wasn't from this world. She came here to protect you."
"You should have told me...before...this." She threw up her hands, trembling in anger.
"Believe me, I wanted to, but Padina made me promise that if something happened to her—"
"Shut up!" No excuses. Nothing could make up for what had happened to her. "Leave me alone! GET OUT!" The wings lifted behind her and bumped the light globe on the ceiling.
As soon as Debbie backed out, Raea slammed the door. How could her aunt have lied to her? Debbie knew all along that she was supposed to have wings? Was she an angel or something else? She didn't feel unusual, though she wouldn't know what to expect. Why didn't Debbie rip out her heart and stomp on it while she was at it? Someone she loved had purposely lied to her about who she was, or rather, what she was. She wasn't even normal. Not human.
She didn't try to stop the tears but buried them in her pillow. Debbie's words cut through her heart. Why would they do this to her? And who, besides her mother, could possibly help her now?
Why did she have to be different?
["I'm sorry, Raea. No more flying. Someday, maybe we can return home and you can fly all over, but now we must be human."] Padina gripped the girl's hands in hers, the marks on both their hands glowing with a faint light.
The topless child cried as her brown wings shrank to nothing. Her shrieks rang through the room. Tears streaked down Padina's cheeks also.
When the wings disappeared, Padina held the girl close and wept with her. Soon the child quieted and wiggled to run free, but Padina held her, until Scott entered the room and embraced her and the child raced off.
"It had to be done," he said.
"I know. I can't hide her forever. What kind of life would that be?"
"None at all."
Raea wiped away her tears with the backs of her hands. The marks. Those strange marks were the key. How did her mother make them glow? If she could tap into whatever power her mother had used, maybe she could return to normal.
She had no idea how.
"Raea." Debbie poked her head in the door. "There's someone here to help you."
"I don't need help." Least of all from Debbie or anyone Debbie knew. Debbie had known all along and didn't tell her or prepare her in any way. She, Raea, would figure this out by herself, somehow. It might take a while, but one way or another, she'd solve the problem and reclaim her life.
Debbie slipped out and closed the door. "Maybe you should come back later. She's upset, and I can't say I blame her." The door didn't muffle her voice much—she stood just outside.
"This is the best time. Now that she knows of this, she should know everything. I've waited long enough to teach her." By the pitch of that other voice, it was a man. Who else could possibly know?
"It was her mother's wishes."
"I understand, but now the Starfire forced it on her. The sooner she learns to control its power, the better she'll be at protecting herself if the Shirukan come." Determination hardened his voice.
"I did what Padina asked."
"It doesn't matter. I was sent to teach Padina's child to master the Starfire's power. Now that she knows the truth, nothing else matters."
After a moment, Debbie's voice lowered. "You're right. But she's not going to listen."
"I've gotten used to being ignored."
"All right. Good luck."
Debbie opened the door and stepped aside.
No way! No. Effing. Way. Raea didn't believe it. A moment later, anger seethed inside her. "You! You made this happen."
Elis shook his head.
How dare he deny it! "When you rubbed my neck yesterday, you must have done something."
"I only told the Starfire not to bother you." He said that way too calmly.
"How do I know you didn't tell it—this Starfire—to do this to me?"
"Please, Raea, just listen to what he has to say."
Raea ignored her aunt's pleading and crossed her arms.
"That's why I'm here," Elis said. "I'm surprised by this too. It takes a lot of effort to change form. The Starfire must have had a reason for forcing it."
"How would you know?" He sure acted all confident of himself suddenly. He'd never been that way any other time.
He pulled the gloves off.
What the hell! His hands bore the same marks as hers, but smaller. Okay, now everything was too weird. Wake up, Raea. This is all just a dream, a very, very weird dream.
"I know, because I also bear the Starburst marks. We're called Keepers, a symbiosis of Inari and Starfire to keep it safe. Your mother's shard chose you to bear it, just as my father was chosen."
Her mother's shard, as in a crystal shard? Her crystal? Raea lifted the pendant. All this time she wondered why her mother had said not to remove it for anything. Had this caused her wings to grow out? It couldn't have. It was just a crystal. Wasn't it?
"When I heard you tell Josh about your dreams, I knew they were trying to communicate."
She grimaced in shame; he had overheard. She had been rude to him, especially when he said nothing about it. At the time, though, she didn't know any better. "They? This crystal?" He was joking. Right? Crystals didn't communicate.
"The crystal is an intelligent collective of entities. They came to explore our universe, but can only survive in this form, this crystal we call the Starfire. They observe and store those observations. From what I've been told, they can project them into the bearer's mind, which is what I suspect your dreams are."
"No, this can't be real. This is all some big joke on me." Debbie could jump in any time to agree...Anytime. Much to Raea's disappointment, her aunt shook her head.
"It's no joke," Elis said. "You are Inari. Our kind come from another world, another galaxy."
"Right. Maybe you are, but I was born here. This world—Earth—is my home." She couldn't believe it; refused to believe it. No way was she an alien or angel or whatever excuse they made, despite the proof on her back.
["Your parents came from Inar'Ahben. You are the daughter of Cattalon Jerantis and Shartrael Padina. Both were Keepers, but Padina was also one of four Crystal Keepers. They fled when the Shirukan invaded their city, but Jerantis died protecting Padina's escape to Earth."] He spoke in her mother's language, making it hard to deny his story.
Her dreams flashed back in vivid detail, tearing through her emotions with what she knew to be the truth. Her dreams had been the last images of...her real father? "What?"
["She taught you to speak Inari?"]
["Yes."]
["Then you understand?"]
Too well. She wiped the moisture from her eyes, wishing he was wrong, that the dreams were all wrong. All this because of a stupid little pendant.
["I'm sorry, Raea."]
["What would you know?"]
His cheek twitched and his eyes dropped for a moment, his whole mood transforming into the somber darkness he usually wore at school. ["They killed my family, too. The Shirukan grabbed my sister and her mate and my parents and tortured and killed them all. My father was a Crystal Keeper, like your mother. If I hadn't been at Starfire Tower in training..."] He left the statement unfinished as a cloud settled over his mood.
What? He would have died too? So what? She hated him for having anything to do with this, but she didn't. She also regretted judging him as her classmates had now that she knew the reason for it. If all this was real, then he had lost more than she had.
["But I was sent here to find you and train you."] A smile alighted on his face, erasing the grief that had fallen over him. For a change, he actually looked pleasant. Despite the smile, sorrow lingered yet in his eyes behind the wild black locks. ["I waited only to satisfy your mother's wishes, but the entities want you to learn what you really are. We are Inari, but until you master the Starfire's power, I can help you to be human, to continue your hiding."]
["How?"] If she could be human again… That's all she wanted.
"Give me your hands."
He planned to touch her again. She hesitated. The last couple of times had brought on visions and the voices. What would happen this time?
"Trust me."
Trust him? She barely knew him. Still, his moment of openness washed away some of her hesitations. "What will you do?"
"Shrink your wings until you're ready to fly."
She recalled the vision right before he showed up. As a child, she had cried when her mother shrank her wings. "It'll hurt, won't it."
"Yes, it does."
Raea looked at Debbie, who shrugged. What did she know?
"Will this happen again? Can these wings come out any time?" Raea put her hands out, palms up. If she wanted to return to her life, she had no other choice. But would the Starfire choose a more inconvenient time to make her wings grow, like when she was in public?
"It shouldn't. They usually have a purpose for what they do. I suspect in this case, they wanted you to know what you are. You've hidden too long on this world, believing you're human. I can teach you what it means to be Inari…if you'll let me." He clasped each of her hands in his. "Ready?"
"No." She would never be ready for the pain, but she wanted to be normal again. "But get it over with."
Elis closed his eyes and the marks on their hands glowed. Warmth flooded through Raea. The voices organized into one coherent thought, but the searing pain across her back stole her attention from whatever that thought was. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts... She breathed quickly, the mantra running through her head.
Soon, it ended, and Elis let go. She immediately reached around. Only two rips in the back of her gown remained. Her back was flat again. He did it. She could go out in public. She could see her friends. She could go to Linds' birthday.
And she could see Pallin. Was he worried that she wasn't in school?
Sweat beaded on Elis's forehead. A few of the wild, black strands stuck to his face. He looked like he had run a marathon and breathed hard too.
"Was that difficult?" she asked.
"I've only done it once before...in training. It's easier—much easier—changing myself."
Himself? Elis with wings. Something stuck in her head. It couldn't be. But she had to know. "Can you show me?"
"Not now." He swiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "We'll have plenty of time later, when you learn to fly."
"Fly?" She trembled at the thought, but with an excitement she hadn't expected. She had plenty of dreams of flying.
Still, the idea of learning from Elis made her uncomfortable. Ever since he arrived, he had never opened up and quietly went about his way, the reason Chad started calling him Creeper. The name stuck. Now that she understood why, it didn't feel right to think of him that way. However, while she was grateful for his help, she found it difficult to accept the idea of learning from him. She wasn't that comfortable with him.
"You need to learn. It's who you are."
Raea sighed, seeing no other choice. "All right. Fine. When I have time."
"Speaking of time."
She had forgotten about Debbie.
"Shouldn't you two be getting to school?"
Great. Raea could see the questions now. Turning up with Elis would look suspicious. What would Pallin think?
"You'll be okay?" Elis asked.
She nodded. "Just go. I still have to get cleaned up and eat. So what if I miss a couple of classes." And the sooner he left her, the better. Besides, at least if Elis showed up separately from her, it wouldn't look like they came together. She could salvage the day yet.
"Be careful on the ice." Elis smiled, his eyes sparkling—a purple that made her look twice—and he walked out.
Her cheeks warmed. No. She didn't just blush. Just because he helped her this time was no reason for her to feel embarrassed. So, she had taken a misstep yesterday and he caught her. So what?
Debbie's eyebrows lifted but she said nothing and closed the door behind them.
Life would never be normal again.