Avenger

by Heather Burch

  “You only said what you’ve said all along.”

  Ugh. That bitterness again, barely hidden under his resolve, but poking through each word like weeds in a sidewalk crack. Though he put on a good front, when she turned to study him, she saw it—the wound. She’d damaged something in him, and for that she was sorry.

  An animal howled in the distance, drawing her attention from the Halfling she seemed destined to hurt. The long, moaning wail bounced off the mountains and played against the hardened snow around them.

  Fear clawed across her shoulders. She pulled the blanket around her and looked at Raven.

  “Relax. It’s just a wolf.”

  “You sure?” Nikki scooted a little closer.

  “Yeah, probably miles from here.”

  “Raven?” She glanced over to view his profile. His hair fanned across his forehead as if the breeze had its way with the strands. His eyes were rimmed with red, but it only added intensity to his features.

  “Yeah?” The slightest move of his head angled him toward her.

  “What if there’s no way to beat the seeker?”

  Raven’s eyes slid closed. Defeat, or something like it, radiated from him. “Then we’ll just keep running forever.”

  Nikki closed her eyes too, and didn’t realize the amount of breath leaving her lungs until she heard the hiss from her own lips.

  He slowly slid an arm around her and pulled her into him. “It won’t beat us, Nikki. I won’t let it.”

  Oh, she wanted to believe that. Believe him. Because he’d never let her down yet. Even when it seemed he’d abandoned her, he hadn’t. Like when he left a train accident to chase after some guys in a van. She’d later discovered they were the bombers who’d blown up the tracks, hoping to kill every last passenger. By going after them, Raven intended to destroy the threat. For good.

  But he’d come back for her in the end, as if he’d known exactly when she needed him. And he came back to Viennesse as soon as the seeker was released.

  She pushed back from him for a second. “How did you know about the seeker?” Why hadn’t she thought to ask sooner?

  “An angel showed up at my ruins and told me.”

  Told him? Not Will, the Halflings’ guardian. Not Mace, who’d practically made keeping her from any harm his fulltime job. An angel told Raven.

  Nikki’s gaze drifted from Raven’s face to the snow-rumpled road leading away from the house. “Why would an angel tell you?” Each word was cautious, carefully chosen, but inevitable.

  As was his answer. “Maybe the angel knows something about us that we don’t know.”

  He met her gaze straight on by tilting her chin until she surrendered. There was no seduction in his midnight eyes. They simply sparkled as if a thousand diamonds danced beneath their glasslike surface. There was no hint of flirtation. Just a solid, convincing look he forced her to take in. To get the message he’d been proclaiming since they met. That he was her destined match …

  Thanks a lot for confusing the one area I thought I was clear on. Nikki swallowed. “You need to sleep. Go on in and I’ll watch for a while.” But when the faraway wolf howled again, Nikki scooted closer to him.

  Raven cleared his throat, stifling a chuckle.

  “I’m not scared to stay out here and keep watch.” She hated how unconvincing she sounded. After fighting a few hell hounds, she was still wary of any large, lumbering canines, and wolves fit into that category.

  He shrugged away her suggestion and focused on the mountains again. The previous moment, with talks of angels and messages, was officially gone. “No. Go back inside. You’ll need to be rested for tomorrow.”

  “I’m wide awake, Raven. I slept on the way here, then for another three hours inside. It’s your turn. I need you to be fresh tomorrow. After all, my life’s at stake.” Even she knew it was pitiful attempt at humor.

  His eyes were almost cold. “Don’t joke about it, Nikki.” His gaze shot from her eyes to her mouth to her hair like he was taking it all in and snapping little pictures of her as he went.

  She tried to swallow again, but her throat was swollen and her tongue had become thick with apprehension. Little pictures. Little memories … in case …

  Maybe they shouldn’t have left Viennesse. It seemed like such a smart and brave idea at the time. No, I did the right thing. The others are safe. That’s what matters. At least she kept telling herself they were safe. Mace would understand that’s why she left, wouldn’t he? It seemed no matter the choice she made, someone was always destined to be nicked in the fallout.

  Beside her, Raven’s eyes closed far too long to be a blink. Ah, her chance. “I’ll stay out here with you a bit,” she said, glancing over. “Here, lean your head on my shoulder.”

  It seemed to take great effort for him to open his eyes. “I know what you’re trying to do.” But already his words were heavy with sleep.

  “Come on, I’ll tell you a story.” She reached over and placed her hand to the side of his face, leading him to rest on her blanket-covered shoulder.

  With a sigh, he stopped resisting. “I won’t sleep.”

  “Umm-hmm,” she purred. The tension in his muscles relaxed and his breathing slowed.

  “Once upon a time …” Her voice was barely a whisper, soft enough she didn’t interrupt his journey to the land of sleep, but loud enough he couldn’t possibly accuse her of foul play.

  His shoulder twitched once.

  She held her breath then ventured on. “Once upon a time, there was a girl named Nikki. And she was soooo much trouble, it was determined that one handsome prince wouldn’t be nearly enough. So the great Throne sent three …”

  Chapter 6

  Winter and Glimmer watched the sun rising over the Viennesse courtyard. Golden streaks of light spiked into the sky.

  Glimmer rubbed her face with her hands. “Feels safer now with dawn approaching.”

  Winter nodded, tried to smile, but it died on her face. It wasn’t safer. The seeker could hunt as well in the day as the night, but Glimmer was still young and didn’t need that knowledge weighing upon her. Winter often wished she didn’t have to know. But that was the penalty of living a long life.

  Not that Glimmer had been completely spared the truth behind the seeker. She and Vegan had found the dead French Halflings. Winter knew what seeing that level of carnage was like. It’d taken her decades to erase the memories.

  She placed an arm around Glimmer, who shuddered at the cold touch.

  “Sorry,” Winter said. “Sometime I forget that popsicles aren’t very comforting.”

  “You’re the most elegant popsicle I’ve ever met. Actually, you’re the only living, breathing, Halfling popsicle I’ve ever met.”

  Winter cast a glance heavenward. “What can I say? I’m special.”

  No one really talked about Winter’s ice-cold skin. She was a freak, like they all were, so a peculiarity like hers didn’t seem to matter — except when trying to comfort a friend.

  “Do you think it’s still on the way?”

  “No,” Winter said. “It would have reached us by now.”

  Glimmer hugged her own shoulders, as if trying to hold in her body heat. “You think it went straight for Nikki and Raven, don’t you?”

  “I should have insisted on going with them.” The sun continued its trek, rising higher and higher and chasing away shadows along the courtyard. “It all happened so fast.”

  “I’ve never seen Mace so mad.” Glimmer’s golden, red-rimmed eyes widened.

  “He’s probably still fuming, but what could we do?”

  “Any word from Raven?”

  Winter shook her head, causing hair to spill over her arms. She dragged a hand down its length and pulled it over one shoulder. “No. Though I know he won’t let any moss grow under his feet.”

  “What?”

  “Sorry.” Another thing Winter often forgot was the need to use modern phrases. The other Halflings were a lot younger than her. Even though no
ne of them looked over twenty—herself included. “Raven won’t stay put for long. He’ll be on the move, and hopefully he’ll outsmart the seeker.”

  A visibly worried Glimmer chewed on her fingernail. “I’ve been praying for him to have wisdom.”

  “You still have a crush on Raven?”

  Glimmer smiled behind her hand. “More than ever. The way he grabbed me when I came in last night after Vegan and I found —”

  A noise at the door drew their attention. Vine entered the room with a cup of coffee. “This is for you, Glim. It’s got chocolate syrup and extra sugar—just the way you like it.”

  Winter held back a smile. Speaking of crushes …

  Vine placed the mug into Glimmer’s hands like it was a Faberge egg being handed to a princess. “Do you want some cookies to go with it?”

  Glimmer accepted the mug, wrapped her hands around it, and smiled at Vine. “No thanks.”

  Winter watched red pop out across his cheeks — a stark contrast against his luminescent skin and that robe of white-blond hair.

  When Vine didn’t leave, Glimmer questioned him with a look.

  He continued to watch her from an uncomfortably close range until Winter cleared her throat.

  “Oh. I’ll just go. But, I was wondering if … you know, if you’re … okay.”

  Glimmer dropped her gaze.

  Vine backed toward the door. “You know what? Never mind. I’ll check on you later. Okay, so, um, if you want more, just yell. I’m in the kitchen. I mean, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  When he left, Winter pointed to the door and scrunched her nose. “How cute is he?”

  Glimmer did a one-sided shrug and rolled her eyes. She started to take a drink, but Zero came flying through the hall before she could safely tip back the mug. “Got a hit on the seeker,” he said as he passed their door, pausing only long enough to make a moment’s eye contact with Winter.

  Zero was shaken, but trying to hide it. Mace was right behind him, not hiding a thing. Winter and Glimmer rushed to the door and fell in line with the group following Zero into the kitchen.

  By the time they were gathered, Mace looked about ready to explode. “What’s happening, Zero?”

  Winter’s heart went out to him. He’d spent the night pacing the floor and wondering if Nikki was still alive. Several times, she’d seen him trying to leave in hopes of finding them, but his duty to the other Halflings kept him. If the seeker arrived at Viennesse, he claimed he’d be abandoning them, and Winter partly agreed. Besides, all he’d known was Raven might take her to the underground tunnels of Paris, like she’d suggested, and even if he’d followed that advice, there were miles of tunnels. There’d be no way to find them.

  After much argument, Winter had convinced him to wait until Raven made contact. As Mace met her eyes across the kitchen, she hoped Raven made that contact soon.

  Vegan moved to Zero’s side as he spoke. “The seeker killed a guy on a university campus in Paris.”

  Winter’s eyes went back to Mace. He looked like he’d been struck by a brick. “Is it —?”

  “I don’t know who it is, but the report said the guy’s flesh — what was left of it—was marred by scars. They thought it might be someone who’s been in his share of knife fights.”

  The room released a collective sigh. It wasn’t Raven.

  When everyone continued to stare at Zero, he lifted his hands. “That’s all I got.”

  Mace spun from the group and headed toward the door. Winter followed closely. “What are you doing?”

  He turned to face her, the challenge evident and powerful. “I’m not waiting any longer. She’s out there, Winter. I have to find her.”

  “Raven said he’d send us information as soon as he could.”

  Anger bubbled beneath the blue of his eyes, causing them to look like glass under pressure. They might shatter at any moment. “I’m not trusting Nikki’s fate to Raven. You can sit here as long as you want, but I’m going to Paris. There has to be answers there.”

  Vine stepped out from the group. “I’m with you, bro.”

  “Me too,” Glimmer said.

  Winter weighed the options. “Okay, I’ll go as well. Zero, will you keep searching for information on the seeker?”

  He nodded. “I’ve got some programs running back history — if there’s any written record of seeker attacks, I should find them, but it might take awhile. Vegan can help me.”

  Vegan opened her mouth to protest, but Winter stopped her. “He’s right, Vegan. You should help Zero. You know more about his computer system than the rest of us, and the two of you work together well. You’ll do us the most good by staying here.”

  Vegan’s mouth twitched with aggravation, but she conceded with a sigh. Winter, Vegan, and Glimmer were a team. In fact, she couldn’t recall the last time they had been apart. But everything had changed when they’d been sent to help the males. Unfortunately, it took all of them to keep Nikki Youngblood alive.

  Nikki stared over the table at Christopher, who had cluttered the space with books and notepads. Unlike Solomon, he was tall and thin and lost in a sea of loose papers. “I’ve been intending on getting this stuff organized,” he said.

  Her frustration grew. She’d rested. So had Raven — sort of. But now it was daylight and she felt like a beacon-lit target from staying in the same place for so long. And Christopher didn’t seem in much of a hurry.

  Raven entered the kitchen and spun a chair backward, straddling the seat and crossing his forearms over the back.

  “Make yourself at home,” Nikki mumbled.

  “Thanks.”

  He’d been chilly to her since the night before. But that was for the best, even though his cool demeanor and impassionate looks leached any warmth from her body. She’d sat on the porch swing while he dozed — and for that moment of time, she’d relished the feel of him against her, his defenses down, simply and wonderfully Raven. But awake, he was a different person, thanks to her ultimatum. Every practiced defense he possessed was on full display, just because she’d dared challenge him.

  And Nikki didn’t like being bullied. She’d made her decision, and it was Mace. Now that Nikki was a Halfling, she couldn’t keep the two guys in a constant fight for her affections. It had been wrong enough when she thought she was a human, but now … Now it was detestable. Mace was her match. She knew he was, even though it made little sense; Mace was constantly pushing her to be a better person, even when it was painful, while Raven loved her the way she was. She was better suited for Raven — the two of them both dangling over that dangerous cliff called darkness. But her heart belonged to Mace. He was her true love.

  Except …

  Nikki couldn’t erase the words Raven spoke the night before. Maybe he knows something about us that we don’t know.

  Christopher stood and offered Raven some coffee, and when he shook his head, the man sat back down. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve discovered and I’ll try to fill in the blanks.”

  “We know the seeker tracks blood.”

  “Yes,” Christopher agreed, reaching for a yellow pad. “Since Cain killed Abel, the blood cries out from the ground.”

  “Cain and Abel, as in the first murder?” Raven asked.

  “Yes. He tracks your blood. Wherever it spills, wherever you leave a drop on the earth, it’s like a homing device. You see, a spirit of anger grew within Cain, causing him to kill his brother. That spirit became the first seeker. Tracking blood that’s hit the ground is a seeker’s strongest ability. They are only released only at the most intense moments of betrayal. Once out, he will track your scent, your energy, your fear. But your spilled blood screams to him. Spilled blood screams in the spiritual realm … for those who have ears to hear it.”

  Nikki’s heart dropped. “I know what you’re talking about.” She turned to Raven. “When I was in the Hummer in Vessler’s garage, I found some blood on the seat. When I touched it, I saw a flash of my dad’s face.”

&nbs
p; Raven reached over and took her hand when her voice cracked. “You knew it was your dad’s blood? Just by touching it?”

  She nodded, drawing strength from his hand against hers. “Yes.”

  “So, your ability as a Seer is growing.” Raven squeezed, and for an instant all that icy coldness melted. “The guy in the Hummer killed your parents?”

  She nodded again.

  Christopher flipped some pages. “Do you know about water?”

  They turned to him.

  “We really are starting from scratch here, aren’t we?” He placed the pad on the table. “Seekers are from the pit. They were not meant to ever reach this realm, but occasionally one is sent.”

  “It’s after me,” Nikki said.

  “Lucky you.” Christopher tapped his pad. “Things of this realm confuse them.”

  Raven leaned forward a little. “Things like water?”

  “There’s no water in hell so they have trouble with it, can’t navigate well through it.” He snapped his fingers as if trying to dumb down the explanation. “Water’s dimensional property is confusing to them.”

  “That’s great to know if you’re a fish, but we can’t exactly hide underwater.”

  “Not just underwater, behind water. Say you’re looking through a giant aquarium. You can see the seeker clearly. But it has trouble seeing you.”

  “That doesn’t make sense, because scent would travel around the aquarium,” Raven offered.

  “Of course, it would smell you — uh, her — but it couldn’t easily find her. Many things of this realm create difficulties for the seeker. Water is the biggest.”

  “What else?” Raven tossed his head.

  “Temperature changes. Extremes. If you’re trying to stay ahead of it, going from cold climates to warm are difficult for the creature. It doesn’t adapt well. But you can’t stay anywhere too long, because eventually it will adapt.”

  “What about the midplane? Is she safe there?”

  “No. The midplane is the doorway to both the heavenly and earthly realms, so the seeker has to pass through it to reach this realm. If he can go in once, he can go in again. Traveling the midplane can get you places quickly, but don’t linger there too long.”