Starfire Angels (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  They've been coming here for thousands of years, using Earth as a sanctuary to escape threats from their own kind. Mankind knows them as angels, and one of them left a child upon her death to be raised as a human.

  Raea is now a high school senior and her life as a human is about to end. The crystal shard she bears is not a pretty pendant; it's a collective of powerful entities who chose her as their Keeper, a protector of one of the four shards that power a machine capable of destroying whole worlds. Those who desire the Starfire's power have sent an agent to find her, but she's too busy evading a nosy reporter ready to exploit her secret and dating a hot new foreign student to notice. Nevermind learning what she really is.

  Only one person on Earth can help her, the last person she ever expected. But he's not from Earth. Life as a human would be so much easier.

  "Melanie Nilles creates a story that not only young adults can enjoy but I believe any age will get some delight from this read. It definitely gives thought if one wakes to discover they are far from being normal and need to find a way to be accepted by all." - Coffee Time Romance

  Starfire Angels

  By

  Melanie Nilles

  Starfire Angels is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters, names, places, or incidents to reality is pure coincidence.

  Starfire Angels

  Paperback Copyright © 2009 by Melanie Nilles

  E-book Copyright © 2009 by Melanie Nilles

  Cover Art

  Copyright © 2009 by Melanie Nilles

  Published by Prairie Star Publishing; Bismarck, North Dakota.

  Smashwords Edition

  All Rights Reserved.

  For information, contact Melanie Nilles at mailto:[email protected] or online at www.melanienilles.com.

  Acknowledgements

  I wish to thank all my friends who have supported me throughout the years and new readers who have yet to dabble in my worlds. You know who you are.

  Thank you!

  Chapters

  ____________________

  Dark Descends

  Miracles and Memories

  The Magic Touch

  Angel Wings

  Double Date

  Starfire Keepers

  Nina Russet

  First Flight

  Dark Suspicions

  Angels Rising

  Cornered

  No Ordinary Goose Chase

  Two of a Kind

  Connections

  Angel Wings

  Golden Demon

  The Chase

  Hell on Earth

  The Good, the Bad, and the Wounded

  Where Angels Live

  Two Worlds, A Part

  Saturday Revisited

  Fatal Ultimatum

  The Truth

  Dark Descends

  Raea gasped and scanned the shadows around her. Her crystal pendant glowed faintly like the aquamarine splotches on the backs and palms of her hands, but it all faded to nothing before she could blink. Impossible. She couldn't have seen what she thought she saw.

  Familiarity chased away the fire and darkness. Her room. She sat in her room in Debbie and Mike Logan's, her aunt's and uncle's, house, but her covers stuck to her.

  Yuck. In the dark of her room, she threw back her wet sheet and comforter and picked off her brown hair sticking to her neck and shoulders. Much better. The cold March night made her shiver, but after dreaming of fire and waking up soaked in sweat, she welcomed the cold. She'd welcome a hot shower in the morning even more.

  It must have been a dream. That's all it was. One more annoying dream to forget.

  She closed her eyes. Tomorrow would come too soon.

  * * *

  "Watch out!" Linds' voice called over the noise of various conversations in the crowded second floor hall of McClarron High School.

  Too late. Josh met Raea with a newspaper clipping held aloft in his hand. With his other hand, he swiped strands of dark brown hair away from blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

  "Raea, you gotta see this!"

  Not another one. The first story had piqued her interest and the second confirmed it, but after five reports shoved in her face about a mysterious black-winged angel helping local residents, she had no desire to see another. Small town news. Why did she have to live in little McClarron, North Dakota? Why couldn't her aunt and uncle live in a city, or even Fargo with several high schools? That was big enough to hide from news like this and still be close to Debbie's family.

  But she wouldn't have her friends, including Josh, shortest guy in the senior class—her height—a total geek, and a just plain nice guy. He should've found a girlfriend already. Instead, he pestered her and the others with his obsession.

  What did Josh have—sensors or tracking devices planted on each of them? He moved too quickly for her to avoid in the locker-lined halls without hurting his feelings. The least she could do was humor him. Josh might be obsessive about this, but he'd been a good friend since first grade.

  She took the clipping he shoved into her hands and glanced down. Yup, another one. This time the angel had stopped a family from crashing on Highway 200 heading west to Washburn. She finished skimming the article and handed the clipping back to him. Her dreams about her mother with wings returned in vivid detail.

  "'Kay...So...Anything?"

  Raea shook off her thoughts and focused on Josh. That pleading gaze waited in expectance of her to get excited. As much as she wanted to for his sake, she couldn't. "What do you want me to say?"

  "What do you think?"

  In answer, the bell rang. The squeak of sneakers and stampede with the slams of metal lockers around them made talking difficult. Saved by the bell. Josh was cool, but she and the others tired of hearing about their small town hero.

  "I think we better get our butts into Biology," she said.

  "Forget Biology. Don't you get it? They made the name official. They're calling him 'Dark Angel' for sure." He followed to her locker. Why her? "It's just wicked! I love it!"

  She didn't care about his "Dark Angel." Why did they have to assign a name? Now that's all she'd hear from him.

  "Oh, and there was another article."

  "Josh, we don't have time." Hadn't he heard the warning bell?

  "It just said a film crew from the Xplorer Channel is coming next week to interview people and try to catch a glimpse of the Dark Angel. Anyway, see ya in class."

  Thank you, she mouthed and turned the dial for the lock on her green locker door. At least she wouldn't have to hear about it for a while. But a film crew? She could just see the madhouse with everyone wanting their moment of fame. Still, it would liven up their small town for a while. It would be interesting, to say the least.

  With her books in her arms, Raea slammed her locker and hurried to her first class of the day.

  The only thing she wanted to think about at the present was Linds's birthday party that weekend. Eighteen. Her friend would be an official adult, even if they were still in high school.

  If only Raea's mother could have been there to see her reach adulthood. That would have been perfect. Her whole life would have been perfect if Padina had lived all those years. At least then Raea wouldn't have only her dreams. After her mother's and stepfather's deaths in the tornado thirteen years ago, Raea had come to live with her aunt and uncle and cousins.

  Every day she wished she could speak to her mother one more time, so she could ask questions like the one that plagued her since waking last night. Had Raea really seen the marks on her hands glow last night? Like her mother's marks, th
e aquamarine blotches in her palms also showed on the backs of her hands, so she couldn't hide them by closing her fists. Worse still, jagged lines sprayed out from the center to her fingertips and beyond her wrists. The bullies liked them, as a reason to tease her.

  Somebody bumped against her from behind, but she caught her balance with a step.

  A moonlit vista of a large valley clustered with trees and dotted with a couple of rocky waterfalls stretched to the horizon.

  "I don't care what you are, Padina," Scott said. "You're still the world to me. I want you to stay. Don't leave me, not like this."

  Padina hesitated and the scene blurred a moment. It stopped on Scott in the wan glow of moonlight, his trim figure crossed with shadows from the trees rising high around him.

  "Careful."

  Raea blinked away the brief vision of her mother and stepdad and looked up at the last sight she expected. Elis Jasheir? No way. Disheveled black hair and gloves with the fingertips exposed—that was him. Deep purple eyes behind black locks made her look twice. Sure enough—purple. An odd color but attractive on him. Warmth rose to her face. What was she thinking? She wasn't, but when she turned away, she caught the smirk on Chad Cooper's face. Oh, no. She'd never live this down.

  She pulled away from Elis. The creepiest guy in her class had caught her, and she blushed. This was not happening.

  Elis left her to take his seat near the back of the room, near the shelves of jars of preserved samples of odd creatures Mr. Maviar collected for their study. He never said anything, just sat quietly and did his work. She almost felt sorry for him.

  Not now. What was she thinking?

  She hurried to join Josh at their lab table at the front and slumped down to hide. The worst was yet to come. She knew it. Chad always found time to harass her. Unlike other guys in her class, he and Joey had never grown up, and probably never would.

  "Woo!" Chuckles erupted from Chad, and the other voice was probably Joey, who sat one table back and one row closer to the door. Two of the worst bullies in school.

  Raea hunched down and hid her face in her hands. Please, just leave me alone this once.

  "Freaky and Creeper sittin' in a tree..."

  It was too much to hope. Twelve years of torture were almost over. If she could just hold out two more months, she would graduate and never have to see or hear him again.

  "Don't listen to them," Josh said. "They just have to find some way to cause trouble."

  "Yeah. For me." Why couldn't it be someone else?

  Before the bell rang to start the class, she breathed easier. The handsome, young science teacher, Mister Maviar, had only to give Chad "the look" to silence him. It paid to be on a teacher's good side, although she could live without being called a teacher's pet. After all, she didn't fawn over him, not like the rest of the girls, or dress scantily to get his attention. She didn't have to. Her perfect grades gave her enough attention.

  A familiar sound caught her ears. She recognized the clack of heels growing louder down the hall outside the open classroom door and waited expectantly.

  Mrs. McKeen, the principal, entered the room. A thin smile cracked the rigid lines of her face. A few whispers circulated while she spoke to Mister Maviar.

  From her place near the front of the classroom, Raea had a clear line to the door and saw the reason for the principal's visit. Whoa! Her breath froze in her lungs at the face peaking in. Were they getting a new student? She hoped so. Man, was he cute, and she didn't usually go for that look—golden blonde hair to the shoulders. A bit on the preppy side for clothes, but the red and black crewneck fit him. Fit him very well. His eyes scanned the room with an intense precision that made her heart flutter.

  I'm free. If only she was one of the pretty girls. Then again, he'd probably never be interested in her, like most of the guys in that school.

  She couldn't wait to get out of that small town. None of the guys were worth going with—the good ones were taken and the rest were too stupid on so many levels. Only Josh had anything going for him, but he was a friend.

  Why would a new guy have any interest in her? Oh, well. She could dream. Besides, he carried himself with that rich, snobby air, like some show-off, jock. He'd fit in well with most of the guys in McClarron.

  "A new student?" Josh asked.

  When Mrs. McKeen finished, Mr. Maviar stepped forward. Mrs. McKeen waved the new boy inside. Nope. Not a boy. Definitely a man. Oh, man. She couldn't be the only girl staring either.

  "It has been brought to my attention by Mrs. McKeen that an exchange student will be attending McClarron High for a few weeks. I hope you'll make him feel welcome."

  Mrs. McKeen stepped forward with the new guy. He looked older than most of the guys in the senior class, but so did Elis. Perhaps he had started school a year later in his country.

  "This is Pallin Montran." Mrs. McKeen looked up to him. He was tall. And the toothpick-thin principal was in high heels. A moment of confusion passed across her face. "He'll be here temporarily, after spending most of his life in—"

  "Small place," he said, his hands clasped behind his back and his feet shoulder-width apart. He stood like some marine from bootcamp, like on those shows her uncle Mike liked to watch. "It is not important."

  Raea looked to Josh, but he shrugged. Where had she heard that accent before? It rang with familiarity, but she couldn't place it. Did anyone else know? She glanced around the room, but everyone looked to one another, shaking their heads and whispering. Elis was the only one who said nothing, but beneath the wild, black hair sprayed over his eyes, his expression darkened.

  "Very well. I leave you with Mister Maviar's Advanced Biology class. You have your schedule. Let me know if you need any help."

  Pallin smiled. "Thank you, ma'am."

  "Ma'am?" Josh murmured.

  No kidding. Raea choked on a restrained giggle, while others snickered. He sounded like he was in the military, too.

  Mrs. McKeen marched across the room, her heels ringing with each step until she closed the door behind her.

  "There's an empty chair next to Leo Kowalski." Mister Maviar handed him a textbook and pointed down the aisle to the table where Leo sat alone. "Please take a seat so we can begin."

  Pallin made his way past the other tables, the eyes of most of the girls following, Raea included. For a second after he sat down, his amber eyes caught hers. Was that a smile? That was a smile. He smiled at her. Ohmygod! Raea turned around, her heart pounding a race. He was cute, no matter what her impressions of his attitude had been.

  It was all she could do to pay attention in class. He couldn't have smiled at her, but she swore he had. Had he? He must have. But he couldn't have, not her.

  When the bell rang after class, Raea gathered her books. She kept her eyes down when Pallin passed her, unable to look up. What would she say? She couldn't. Her tongue stuck.

  She waited for the room to empty, glad for the break before English to recover her speaking ability.

  "Wha'd'ya think?" Josh wove through the crowded locker-lined halls with her like a fish in water.

  "The class or the new guy?"

  "Pallin."

  She stopped to turn to the commotion they had left. Behind them, the subject of the conversation managed to keep his feet going amid a group of students offering to help him to his next class. He never noticed her. She must have imagined that spark.

  "We'll see. He's definitely easy on the eyes."

  "You would say that. He's a poser."

  "Whatever." Josh was so jealous. She didn't have time to stroke his ego, though. "I have to go. I'll see you in English."

  Miracles and Memories

  The rest of the day filled with rumors and talk about the new foreign student.

  When the last bell rang, Raea was happy just to make it through without any more trouble. Thank old man time the day had to end. Although she wouldn't have minded watching Pallin more, seeing the other girls hanging on him made her sick. So what if he was
a senior and foreign and the best looking guy now in McClarron?

  Why was she worrying about it? She shouldn't even care.

  "So, like, what happened this morning?" Josh asked a block from school. The sounds of that prison faded as they walked the few quiet blocks, passing houses with small sections of fenced and tree-lined yards until they reached the street where they parted ways. "You looked ready to faint when Elis caught you."

  Did he really have to bring that up? The most embarrassing moment of her day and she hadn't been left to forget it. It's not like she would anyway—every memory stayed with her perfectly. Why did Elis have to bump into her? Why did she have to fall into another vision of her mother? Really. She literally fell. But Elis caught her, of all the people. That moment she looked up flashed through her mind—those eyes. Who had purple eyes? She must have imagined it.

  Raea glanced behind and shivered inside her blue and gray jacket—she should've worn a heavier coat, or maybe spring should hurry up and chase away winter. Elis walked alone about twenty feet back, like every day, saying nothing and practically hiding from any attention. What did he think?

  He didn't say anything about what happened. In fact, he had gone about his day as if nothing happened.

  "Don't remind me." If only Pallin had caught her. Now, that would have been something.

  "Why? Really. I won't say anything. You almost fainted, Raea. I'm a little concerned is all. It's not like you."

  Why couldn't Josh drop the subject?

  Because he cared. He always concerned himself with other people's problems. She supposed she could answer his question, provided he swore to say nothing to anyone. These visions were so unusual, but with his Dark Angel obsession, he'd probably love to hear about her strange dreams of good and bad angels, especially when her mother appeared as one of them. Or maybe his obsession triggered those dreams.