Halflings Page 12

  “Isn’t that what moms do?” Something fringed his tone, some longing for things untouchable.

  “I guess so,” she whispered, and actually felt guilty for having a mother. She wiggled her fingers again, creating a bit of space and air between them. “You got most of the blood off.”

  “How bad do they hurt?”

  “Hardly at all,” she lied.

  He slid his hand over her upturned palm, then stroked a finger from her thumb to her wrist.

  “Ouch,” she said, flinching.

  “I, um …” He fidgeted and looked at the moon, the water, his car. “I could help.”

  He’d already helped. And she’d helped herself to too many thoughts about what if scenarios that she’d never allow under normal circumstances. “How?”

  He dragged a hand through his dark blond hair. “I have a bit of …” He cleared his throat. “Well —”

  “Mace, are you blushing?” she teased. In response, a soft pink hue flushed across his luminous skin.

  “Let me just show you, okay?” Gently and slowly he lifted her palm toward his mouth. Just before making contact with her scorched index finger, he moistened his lips. Cerulean eyes flashed to hers as he pressed his mouth to her finger.

  She was still. Warm, wet lips brushed her hand again and again, making the softest of all kissing sounds. She liquefied into a puddle, becoming a heap of dizzy, drowsy mush. “Wow.” She studied the spot and wiggled the finger; no burning, no stinging, just fresh, pink skin. “What was that?”

  “Another perk.” He laughed. “Misleading, though. I can’t do anything when it’s life threatening.”

  “Amazing.” She examined the digit. Angel kisses. He’d just dusted her skin with angel kisses. How many girls on the planet could say that? “Do you think this is where the term ‘Kiss it and make it better’ comes from?”

  He smiled. “Maybe.”

  She cocked a brow. “My other hand hurts.”

  His tongue slipped out to moisten his lips again, a half smile on his face. “Is that so?”

  “Pretty painful,” she confirmed.

  Mace’s smirk spread to a full smile, his white, even teeth shining in the evening light. “I guess I have my work cut out for me.”

  He drew her hand to his mouth and Nikki sighed.

  This night had been nothing like Mace had anticipated. And now that Nikki was safe and healed, he wasn’t quite sure how to end it. “Are you ready to go home? I can drop you off. We’ll get your bike from my house in the morning. Or I can have Vine and Raven bring it now.”

  “Um,” she responded, and stared at the glove compartment.

  All evening she’d rolled with the punches, but now fresh panic straightened her mouth into a tight line. He watched as she realized her world had completely changed. “You’ll be all right tonight, Nikki. We’ll guard your house.” He played with the radio tuner, hoping to fill the silence, and a song called “Johnny Angel” filled the car.

  She pivoted in the seat, turned off the stereo, and watched him drive. “Who will protect me? You, Raven, and Vine? Will?” She pressed her hands to her head. “Do you know how crazy this sounds? Do you understand what’s happened to me?”

  “I know. I wish I could change it.” And he did, but there was a tiny part of him that was glad. If Nikki hadn’t been in danger, he’d never have met her. He hated himself for the self-serving thought. Everything about it was wrong. Yes, he was half angel, but his fallen nature always sought to rise. He’d quelled it for all the years of his life, until now. Until her. “I wish I could erase it for you.”

  She shook her head hopelessly. “But you can’t, can you? This is it. The real world. Angels and demons and hell hounds and madmen who murder scientists.”

  “It’s not all bad, you know.” Don’t say it. Don’t go there.

  “Really? What part of it’s good?”

  The vehicle was designed to minimize road noise, but Mace would have been glad for a rumble of engine, a whoosh of wind against the car, anything. His feelings were a jagged wreck, and had been since he first saw Nikki. Inside, his heart burned to be closer. But deeper, he knew that could never be. He had one shot at an afterlife that didn’t involve eternal torment — no matter how she made him feel, nothing was worth risking that. Not even Nikki Youngblood.

  “Excuse me, but you didn’t answer. What part of it is good?” she pressed.

  “I found you,” he said, before he could stop himself. Biting down on his own tongue, he tasted blood. Bitter blood. The wound healed before he could turn the radio back on and drown the silence.

  “There are no accidents,” Nikki heard Mace grumble as he crept the car into the parking lot.

  The left back tire had blown, and the sound still rang in her ears as the car bounced into the only drive on the long stretch of road.

  An ancient Catholic church of brick and stone hovered over them with a solitary light illuminating the sanctuary. Mace patted her knee, then pulled back and cleared his throat. “I’ll see if anyone’s inside. Let them know we’re borrowing their parking lot. Wait here,” he said and stepped from the vehicle.

  Her door slammed before his had a chance. He glanced over the car at her.

  “No way.” She shook her head. “Call me chicken, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  He smiled. “Come on, chicken.”

  They entered. The sanctuary doors slid quietly, then clamped shut behind them. Nikki jumped. Mace chuckled. She sank a punch into his upper arm. “You could show a bit of grace. I’ve sort of been through a lot tonight.”

  The smile dissipated into intensity, and she felt as if his eyes dipped into her soul. “I know,” he whispered, and she decided she preferred the playful banter of a few moments ago. He slipped his hands into hers. “I’ll never let you down again, Nikki. I promise.”

  She swallowed. “You didn’t.”

  “I did. That gunman should never have been able to get that close to harming you.” He glanced above, where arched beams anchored the walls and stabilized the building. “It’s my job to be your shelter.”

  “Like you were on my bike?” Even in whispers, their voices reverberated off the soaring walls.

  “Yes,” Mace said.

  Nikki’s attention flittered around the room. “This sort of reminds me of the barn.”

  His smile deepened. “You were scared of me.”

  She set her chin. “You were scared of me.” But was she scared then, or now? Feelings pinged through her that she hadn’t experienced and didn’t know what to do with. Krissy always badgered her about being so unaware of the opposite sex. Had she saved up all her attention, all that energy, for this one guy? It was as if all her awareness had rushed to her nerve endings in one blazing trail. Looking up into his eyes, she knew he felt it too. Is he my dragon slayer?

  His hands left hers and fisted at his sides.

  “I’ve never met anyone like you,” he said, and she could see determination settle on him like a protective armor. Protecting him from what? Her?

  No. No, she thought. Don’t slip away. I need you right now. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” she echoed. “And I’m not scared anymore.”

  He pulled her toward him and rested his chin on top of her head. “I still am, Nikki. For more reasons than you can imagine.”

  Coming to rest in the front pew, Mace slipped an arm around her and gave a light squeeze. “You’ll be safe here while I change the tire.”

  She didn’t want him to go. When he rose, she grabbed his arm but felt silly, so she loosened her grip. “Why do you want me to stay in here? As strong as you are, it will take you about four seconds to change the tire.”

  “I thought you could use a” — his gaze fanned the ornate cavern — “sanctuary.”

  After he left, she closed her eyes.

  The space offered a peculiar serenity. Quiet had a rhythm all its own here, and, tipping her head back, she drank it in. In return she felt a peace that was clean and
pure.

  A sound to the right grabbed her attention. She jolted, muscles springing.

  “I’m sorry, child,” the robed gentleman said as he stepped toward her from the shadows. A kind smile touched his face. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  She placed a hand to her heart and exhaled the air she’d sucked in. “Oh, it’s okay.” She pointed behind her. “I, um … we … the door wasn’t locked.”

  He raised his hands in surrender. “No need to explain. We’re like the Seven-Eleven. Always open.”

  She laughed, sound bouncing off the walls.

  “May I?” He gestured beside her.

  She nodded, and the man sat. “This is one of my favorite times of the day to come here.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” Tilting his head back, his eyes closed, mimicking what she’d done moments before. “So quiet. Don’t get me wrong. I love it when the cathedral is full of souls.”

  “Excuse me? I don’t know how to ask you this, but do you mean souls like …” Finding no way to describe her question, Nikki fell silent.

  Hefrowned. “People.”

  She sighed with relief. “Oh, that’s good.”

  Moments passed. The crucifixion was suspended above them, and her eyes sought those of Jesus.

  “You seem a bit troubled, my dear. I’d be glad to help if I can. Folks say I’m easy to talk to.”

  She tucked her hair back with an index finger. “Okay, well … Um, I don’t know what to call you.”

  “You can call me Father if you like. Or Tom.”

  “Father sounds more official.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Are you here on official business?”

  Her fingers toyed with the hem of her shirt. “Father, have you ever thought that the whole world is falling apart around you?” She bent her knee and pivoted on the pew to view him fully. “I mean, like everything you’ve been living for doesn’t really even matter anymore?”

  His eyes fell to the leg of her jeans, where splotches of dark stained the cloth. “If you’re in any kind of trouble, my dear, I promise you’re safe here.” His eyes sought the spot again. “Did someone hurt you? Were you harmed?”

  Her gaze followed his. “Oh, no.” She brushed at the cloth. “Actually, we saved someone. Sort of.”

  He folded his hands in his lap in what she figured was a very Father-Tom way. “As humans, we all feel like that sometimes. Then the paradigm shifts.”

  She held up a finger. “What’s a paradigm?”

  He squinted. “A standard, a model for how we live our lives. Our prototype. You see, sometimes we get glorious glimpses into the realm our natural, finite minds have difficulty comprehending.”

  “You mean, sometimes we glimpse the bigger picture?”

  He nodded. “Exactly. It is in those moments our character is defined. What do we do with what we’ve seen? Who do we become when we realize our path encompasses so much more than we imagined?”

  A movement from behind caused them to turn.

  Father Tom stood slowly and took his time examining Mace. “Son,” he said, smiling and reaching out his hand.

  “Father,” Mace said, slipping his hand into the man’s.

  A recollection seemed to pass between the two that puzzled Nikki. Maybe they’d met before. Father Tom turned to her, a fresh expectancy driving his words. “You have an exciting journey ahead of you, my dear. Keep the faith. Go with God.”

  Mace certainly had a strange effect on people. As they left the building, she questioned him. “Did you know him?”

  “After the spirit,” he said.

  She stopped cold at the car door. “What does that mean?”

  “He recognized me.”

  “So, you knew him,” Nikki said.

  “No, he recognized the essence of who I am.”

  She crossed her arms. “Like when you get introduced to someone and you know they’re bad?”

  “Yes.” He nodded toward the church. “He’s a xian.”

  “Z-i-a-n?” Nikki asked.

  “No, it’s spelled x-i-a-n, but pronounced zy-an.”

  “It could be spelled a-b-c-d and it wouldn’t help me. I have no idea what that is.”

  “They’re people who embrace the fact that there is a spirit realm around us. They help us. Frequently.” Mace reached for the door handle.

  “All right. I guess I can live with that answer.” She gestured to his car. “I’ve been dying to ask. Why a brand-new Camaro? Seems like you’d want to be more inconspicuous, blend in with all the other lean, golden-skinned, practically perfect teenage boys.”

  “Perfect, huh?” he said, and leaned on the car top.

  “Practically.”

  “We fight both unearthly and earthly foes. If a chase ensues and we can’t … use other means of transportation … we need the best, fastest vehicles available. But they also must be dependable, easy to work on, easy to get parts for.” He nodded to the sports car. “Vine talked me into taking this one. We have a lot of cars at our disposal.”

  “But you don’t really own it?”

  “We don’t own anything, Nikki. Not much point.”

  “Oh.” How sad. She shifted her attention to what he’d said before about when they can’t use other means of transportation. But she decided not to ask. Her mind kept imagining angel wings. “I figured it was because you’re all guys and most guys are gearheads who like fast cars.”

  He burst into a mega smile. “That too.”

  She tapped her fingers on the window. “How about if you let me drive?”

  “No way.”

  “Why? Would Will kill you?” Nikki asked.

  “No, but you might. Remember, I rode with you once before.”

  “I thought you didn’t have a cell phone,” she said as Mace sped them toward the house.

  “Yeah, we got these today. At Viennesse, there’s no reception.”

  “Where?”

  “Viennesse. That’s our home in Europe. Not just us though — other Halflings and their caregivers stay there between journeys as well. That is, when we aren’t in the midplane.”

  “What do you do when you aren’t on a journey?” Nikki lifted then dropped her shoulders, which had become stiff from the night’s adventure.

  “We train, study, practice our skills.” He rolled his eyes. “Sometimes there are twenty Halflings there, so mostly we get into trouble. There’s this creepy old guy — a xian who lives there and takes care of the place. We constantly give him grief. You can imagine.”

  Not in the way you think. Twenty perfect teenage boys would be any artist’s dream. Any girl’s dream, for that matter. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

  “Listen, do you think you’re up for one more stop?” Mace asked.

  “Is it going to involve burning buildings, gunmen, or any weird stuff from the …”

  “The supernatural realm?” he finished for her.

  “Yes.”

  “No, nothing bizarre.” He thought a moment. “Well, nothing dangerous and bizarre.”

  “Great,” she muttered, pulling the lever to recline in her seat. “Can’t wait.”

  Mace dialed home while Nikki snoozed in the seat beside him. “Will, sorry I didn’t call sooner.”

  “This is your journey, Mace. I’m merely an observer.”

  Mace chuckled. “For being an observer, you sure boss us around a lot.”

  Will’s laughter bubbled through the phone line. “I guess that was an unfair euphemism.” He lowered his voice. “I know about the fire at the lab.”

  “Heaven?” Mace asked.

  “No, television.”

  “Ah, I told you the TV was a good idea,” Mace said.

  “There was no argument. How else could I watch my sitcoms?” Will asked.

  “What did they say about the scientists?”

  “They suspect that six perished in the flames.”

  “What about the one that was murdered?” Mace looked over at Nikki. Still as
leep. “More important, why didn’t any of them escape? There was no one outside when we arrived. Whoever was in the building when the fire erupted perished in the building, except for the scientist we dragged out.”

  “Where is he, Mace?”

  “He’s dead. Shot while Nikki held him.”

  Will sighed.

  “Yeah, I know. Look, I retrieved a computer. Thought I could drop it off with Zero. Would that be allowed?” Mace said.

  “Nikki’s still with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “How is she?” Worry hung in Will’s words.

  Another glance. “She’s good.” Her hair lay in long waves around her face. Dark lashes hooded her eyes, like black-velvet half moons. He couldn’t help but smile. “Can keep up with the best of them. Resilient, you know … for a human.”

  “Go. It’s almost nine now. Seek Zero. He can help.”

  “I won’t compromise him?” Mace asked.

  Long moments passed before Will spoke. “No. Cover Nikki’s eyes so she doesn’t know the way.”

  “That won’t be necessary. She’s sound asleep.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Raven said, flicking a toothpick from the car window. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to watch Vine eat another piece of candy, and he didn’t want to hear the younger boy’s excitement at all his first-time adventures. He wanted …

  He wanted to be with Nikki.

  Raven tried to swallow the thought along with a toxic gulp of reality. He never went for girls like Nikki. The redheaded shark was more to his liking. Nikki was a parasite burrowing under his skin, causing it to itch and inflame. That, he didn’t need.

  “Hey,” Vine said. “A bowling alley. I’ve never been bowling before.”