Crystal Tomb (Starfire Angels: Dark Angel Chronicles Book 3) by Melanie Nilles Page A

his hands. "Code
please."
    The Risaal moved slowly.
    "Now!" Anxiety filled her voice.
Dammit! Any second, more Risaal would be coming down the corridor.
If he didn't hurry to release Elis, this would all be for nothing,
but that was probably his plan.
    "Thank you."
    Done already?
    Elis removed the smoking gloves burned
through from the Starburst blast he'd let out. "Leave or end up
like them," he said.
    The Risaal slid away and ran down the
hall.
    To alert others. Oh, hell. "That was
stupid."
    His lip twitched. "Let's go. They'll
be after us anyway."
    True. He had spared the Risaal's life
because he cared. Keepers didn't kill unless it was necessary. Elis
deserved to be a Crystal Keeper when they found the Eye. He was
more worthy than she was.
    Raea followed him through the dim
corridors. Before a corner, another thought struck her and she
pulled him back to the wall. "Be careful. They can blend in and we
wouldn't see them. They're chameleons."
    He said nothing but gave a nod before
peeking around the corner. In her perfect memory, she had mapped
this area while passing through from the dark room where she had
awakened. They should be close to the monolith chamber, which
should mean the control room was nearby.
    In the silence, the padding of soft
feet jerked her attention to the right.
    The alteration of shadows warned her a
second before the weapon lifted into what seemed to be only
air.
    A touch of resonance warmed through
her and released with barely a thought. A squeal erupted from a
blackened area of the figure, which broke from the wall and
fell.
    One more down. No time to worry about
it. They hurried to the left, making her wonder if they hadn't been
there before—the place was small.
    "You know where we're going?" she
whispered.
    "Do you want to know?"
    Good question; bad answer. "I just
hope you can get us out of here."
    "Me too."
    * * *
    While marching through the cement
corridor, Kalas let the spines along his neck flatten and stand up
with his emotions. He'd watch the Inari for the night while Surik
rested. Certainly. But he refused to torture them when they were
more useful alive and conscious.
    That mik'trai , Nakor Surik, knew nothing
about the Inari and didn't care that they could die, taking their
secrets with them. But Kalas could do nothing but hold his tongue
while Surik— Kan Rikku Nakor Surik, a title undeserved—explained his half-witted idea about killing one
of the Inari, because none of them were worth keeping alive, yet
they needed one of them.
    This after the trouble Kalas had gone
through to find and capture them wore his patience thin. The young
commander understood nothing, but Kalas hadn't told him about the
anomaly that formed while the two were flying, nor had the others
who supported Kalas.
    He'd sent one of his supporters to
oversee the Inari couple's request for use of the restroom but none
of the guards had reported to him since. They should be back to
translating the monolith.
    He marched through the corridors to
reach the control room overlooking the tall chamber. If they made a
discovery, he would be the first to know and would use it to his
advantage.
    The moment he stepped around the next
corner, he stopped.
    Lying in the floor was a cement-gray
body with a green hole in the middle and a weapon at its side. Who
was it and who had shot them?
    Kalas pulled his weapon and approached
the body, wary of a waiting attacker. The hall was clear for the
moment, but he wouldn't take any chances. If Surik suspected anyone
of treason, he might have ordered a purge. The Nakor held any
outside their clan in suspicion, even while trusting them with
service.
    But Surik wouldn't leave a body in the
middle of the corridor.
    Who could have seen the guard, still
in camouflage, to shoot so accurately but one of their
own?
    There must have been another traitor.
He could use this to his advantage.
    A voice spoke over the mechanical bud
in his ear. {"The Inari have escaped! They are armed."}
    By Ch'tor's