Avenger: A Halflings Novel Part 16

"I'm sorry I'm such an idiot."

She sniffed. "You're not an idiot."

"Yes, I am." He closed the distance between them and motioned to the rock. "Can I sit with you?"

She slid over.

A cl.u.s.ter of trees moved with the mountain wind. Clumps of snow drifted from their branches and landed in heaps on the ground. This would have been the perfect time to soar with her.

She angled to face him. "Could you really have done it?"

He drew in a long breath. But I had to make a mistake. "I wanted to think I could leave this war. But I don't know. If it's what you would have wanted, yes."

"Leave Vine and Will?" Her eyes were red. "Leave Raven to his own devices? And what about Vessler? Just walk away from the chance to stop him? Vessler was planning to make wingcuffs. Thousands of them to take a our friends - as prisoners."

And use Nikki's DNA to build Halflings he could control. A detail she still didn't know. And he wasn't about to tell her. But to think she could be the catalyst able to bring about his insane plan ... that was more of a burden than even he needed. In truth, he'd reasoned that leaving the battle, and undergoing the change accompanied with that decision, could protect her. No angelic side, no DNA to turn dark.

Her gaze narrowed. "What is it?"

Mace looked away. "Nothing."

Beside him, he felt her angle closer, which normally he enjoyed. "Mace, tell me what's going on. You know something, don't you?"

"Contrary to what you might think, I know a lot of things," he tried to joke.

"Don't keep secrets from me. People have kept secrets from me my whole life."

He'd be no better than the rest if he didn't tell her the truth. But can I deal with what that truth will do?

"Mace."

He turned to her and took her face in his hands. "Nothing, Nikki. Really. I was just expecting to spend the evening catching branches you dropped for me. Instead, I'm having to think about going back to the battle."

"I'm sorry, Mace."

"Me too." Sorry he couldn't tell her the truth about her G.o.dfather. Vessler didn't just want to turn Nikki into a dark creature. He wanted to cut her open and use what was inside to sp.a.w.n an impossible number of dark creatures. Nikki wasn't just a warrior. She was an army.

Chapter 15.

Are you ready to go inside?"

Nikki chewed her lip. For some reason, the Halfling's house on Pine Boulevard looked different. It had been awhile since she'd been there, and well, a lot had changed. Mostly her. Being back in Missouri caused her to realize just how much had been altered in her life.

She tightened the muscles in her shoulder blades, felt her wings begin to respond, and smiled. Yes, quite a bit had changed.

She and Mace had left the mountain and the whole running-away conversation behind them. Neither had uttered a word until now. "Are you excited to show them your wings?"

She turned to face him. "No."

His brows rose. "No?"

"Not yet. I kind of want to keep it to myself for a little while. Is that okay?" It seemed her very life had been a book laid bare for all to see. Having this one thing to call her own, even for a short time, meant more than she could admit.

She saw the questions skate across his face.

"Or will they be able to see them, even if I keep them closed?"

"No, I don't think they'll see your wings until you open them." A frown now accompanied the questions.

"Then I'd like to keep it a secret. Just for a little while."

He nodded, but his face remained stoic.

"Two days. I promise I'll show everyone in two days."

This satisfied him. "Okay, warrior girl. Two days it is." There was a hint of a threat in his words. He may as well have said, "If you don't tell them, I will."

She tried to ignore the fact that he gauged her with untrusting eyes. "I'm not up to anything, Mace. I swear." Of course, she couldn't blame him for the suspicion. The last time she was at the house on Pine Boulevard, she'd escaped with the intention to hunt down and kill Damon Vessler.

Yeeaaaah. That'll cause a lack of trust in a relations.h.i.+p.

"Two," he repeated as if she needed to be reminded already.

"I promise."

Nikki settled into her room, the same one she'd stayed in after discovering she was half angel. The few clothes she owned rested in the dresser drawers. She was smoothing the wrinkles out of a T-s.h.i.+rt when someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

Winter and Vegan burst through the doorway and grabbed her in a tight hug, long arms clamping around her so quickly she barely had time to react. Winter stopped hugging first and her ice-cold skin left goose b.u.mps on Nikki's arms.

"Hi," she said.

Winter stepped back a little more. "You're different." Her golden eyes narrowed, but the smile remained.

Vegan nodded. "There is something different about you, Nikki. What's going on?"

Huh, she'd forgotten how sharp these girls were. She concentrated on the T-s.h.i.+rt and tried to smooth the new wrinkles the hugs had created. "Nothing," she lied. "I'm just ... happy to be back."

Winter crossed her arms over her ribs, her wide gold-and-silver bracelet s.h.i.+ning. "Uh huh."

Nikki blinked. "Really. And there's Mace."

Vegan sighed, hand to her heart. "You and Mace make a great couple."

Nikki bit her cheek. Don't go there. "Now, you mean." Oops.

Vegan tilted her head, confusion flickering in her eyes.

Nikki couldn't stop the words. Fact was, it wasn't that long ago that these two girls were agreeing with Glimmer that Nikki should go away. "We make a great couple now that I'm a Halfling."

The girls shared a look.

"I heard you. When we were at Viennesse and Glimmer was going on about how I should just disappear." Nikki pointed to Vegan. "I thought you'd come to my rescue, but you didn't."

Vegan's face fell. "I should have, Nikki."

Winter took Nikki's hand and led her to the edge of the bed. Nikki's other hand was fisted around the s.h.i.+rt that now had little hope of ever being wrinkle-free again. Winter sat and pulled Nikki down beside her. "We owe you an apology. We were all really scared for Mace, because of the penalty of falling for a human. It wasn't you, Nikki. We didn't dislike you."

She squeezed Winter's cold hand. "I know." How could she possibly stay angry at these girls? They'd put themselves between her and harm over and over again. Running into battle to face h.e.l.l hounds so Nikki could escape. Being angry at them, even for a few minutes, seemed one step beyond petty.

Winter and Vegan waited, as if hanging on her response. That was strange too, because she didn't feel she'd done anything to warrant their loyalty or their friends.h.i.+p. Yet her feelings mattered to them. She didn't quite know what to do with that, so Nikki fell back and let her shoulders press against the bed. Her shoulders. Where her wings were. A big part of her wanted to tell them. To show them, snap her wings open and watch their faces. But Vegan interrupted her thoughts.

"I have a present for you."

Nikki leaned up, excited.

Vegan held out a necklace like the one she'd presented the day they all met.

Nikki's eyes watered a little. Gah. "Vegan, I lost mine. I'd removed it at Vessler's house and he must have taken it."

Vegan smiled sweetly. "I know. I noticed you'd not been wearing it, and figured with all you've been through it must be gone. This works the same as the last one."

Nikki put the sh.e.l.l-shaped amulet to her mouth and blew.

Vegan and Winter clamped their hands over their ears, but Nikki heard nothing. "Okay, okay," Vegan said. "It works."

"Why can't I hear it?" Nikki blew it lightly again and listened close. Nothing.

"We've trained ourselves to hear it. We'll teach you, Nikki." When Vegan gave her the first necklace, she'd explained it would summon her, Winter, and Glimmer if Nikki ever needed their help.

Nikki nodded. Glimmer came screeching around the door, golden-polished fingernails clamped on the doorjamb. She stopped, a look of expectancy on her face.

The girls inside the room laughed.

Glimmer inspected the group. "Did someone call?"

They laughed again. And for the first time in her life, Nikki felt like she belonged.

Glimmer huffed. "I probably smeared my polish. Thanks a lot."

Nikki lowered her brow. "If you didn't want to mess up your nail polish, why'd you grab the door?"

Glimmer lifted a perfectly pointed foot and wiggled her perfectly painted toes.

Oh. Nikki tried not to smile - she really should apologize - but when Vegan cracked up, Nikki couldn't help herself. Glimmer gave them a flat stare, but the edges of her cheeks twitched and soon she was smiling too. She rolled her eyes. "Let me go get my stuff, Nikki. You're hands are horrid."

Nikki hid her hands behind her back and prepared her protest, but Glimmer cut her off. "I only have gold polish, but you're way overdue, so don't even try to argue."

Glimmer wrestled her hands from behind her back, inspected her broken nails and damaged fingers. She made a gagging sound and spun from them mumbling about gangrene and something about hooves.

Winter chuckled. "Forced manicure. Have fun."

Nikki frowned at her nails. They weren't that bad.

Vegan tapped the necklace. "Guess you shouldn't have called her. Have fun at your spa party." She took Winter by the arm and headed for the door.

Nikki grabbed both of them. "Oh, no, you're not leaving me alone with her. You two can just settle in." Besides having Vegan and Winter nearby as a support system, she hoped to talk to all three girls and see what they knew about Vessler's plans. Even if each one only had a bit of information, if she put it all together, maybe a clear picture would appear. Everything had been lost in a dark gray for her for so long, clarity would be a much appreciated change of pace. And if it came with a set of sparkly gold fingernails, she'd simply have to man up and take it.

Chapter 16.

It seemed everyone was keeping secrets from her. Mace had on the mountaintop, and when Nikki questioned the girls, they too remained tight-lipped even though their body language demonstrated they had a story to tell. The whole mess was thinning her patience. So much for feeling like she fit in.

The only one she hadn't cornered was Zero, who probably had the most information of anyone because he ran the network and therefore knew everything. Yes, Zero would be able to help. She just needed to wait for the right moment to ask.

She'd briefly considered asking Will. But Nikki wasn't sure she could deal with his condescension when he told her it wasn't time for her to know. The last time she'd gone to him, questioning him about when she'd receive her wings, he'd patted her on the back like a child. Sure, he'd lived for millennia, but that didn't mean he had a right to treat her like that. No. She wouldn't go to him unless there was no other way.

And tonight, there seemed to be many other ways to get information. All the Halflings except Raven, who'd kept his distance all day, had gathered for dinner at the house on Pine Boulevard. With everyone around, there was a big temptation to tell them all about her wings. Maybe snap them open in the living room and yell, "Surprise!" But a tiny voice in the far reaches of her mind cautioned her not to. Just like it whispered to her everything was about to fall apart. Again.

Nikki wandered to the back porch, where Zero was trying to light the barbeque grill. "How does this thing work?" He held the long lighter out to her.

She took it. "You have to hold the b.u.t.ton down when you click it."

Silver eyes stared into her. "That's stupid."

"I didn't design it, Zero."

"What do you want?"

Ah, Zero ... never one for small talk.

Nikki used the lighter to bring the grill to life. Flames flashed orange in Zero's mirrorlike eyes. "Who says I want anything?" The lighter dangled on her finger.

He s.n.a.t.c.hed it from her. "Seriously?"