Halflings Read online

  “Raven,” she whispered. “I know you hear this a lot, but you’re stunning.”

  His eyes landed on her, glowing like a night creature’s in the dark. A moment later his wings snapped shut and he crossed the ten-foot span to where she stood. She was suddenly, painfully aware he intended to kiss her. Didn’t I know that could happen? He licked his lips and bent close, then closer still, and her mind spun in an attempt to stop him. But the fight had left her.

  His lips pressed against hers softly. And that surprised her. There’d been such burning intensity in his gaze, in the way he’d marched to her, but the kiss was sweet and soft. Very, very gently, he pulled away, and her eyes opened to find his dark gaze alive and sparkling, and bombarding her with a million unspoken questions.

  She blinked, unable to find words. In answer, Raven snapped his wings open again, and she continued to examine them as if the last moments hadn’t happened.

  Chapter

  24

  Mace watched Nikki and Raven from his high perch. The distance and wind carried her words away from him, making their conversation impossible to detect, but body language said it all. A fat tear trickled down his cheek. He swiped it with the back of his hand, leaving a stream of cold moisture across his face.

  So it was true.

  After leaving her in the parking lot, he’d thought maybe she’d been trying to push him away for his own protection, and that hope had fueled him. No way was she saying she’d chosen Raven, that he was her match. Then he watched them kiss while the shadow of clouds against moonlight captured them. Even then, Mace’s heart rumbled with hope. She could smack Raven, or turn away and march into her house, or anything.

  But no, Nikki rewarded Raven by continuing to caress his gray wings. When she used the wing to push her face toward Raven’s again, Mace’s heart shattered. She planted a kiss on his cheek, leaned back slowly, and offered a smile beautiful enough to melt stone. Mace’s hand fell against his chest in a fist. Pain, physical and powerful, clenched him in a vice.

  Never had he hated himself for who and what he was. Never had he coveted another’s life. But right now, with the female he loved in the arms of a Halfling he despised, all Mace wanted was to be a normal, regular teenage guy. One with hopes and dreams of college, a job, and Nikki in his arms.

  Not that hopes mattered — there was no choice for him. He’d have to soldier on. Dreams were like dust, sifted and strained by the hands of time. Time was one thing he had, though he’d trade it for normalcy in an instant.

  Nikki disappeared into the house. The wind shifted, lifting the hair from his forehead.

  “I can smell you, brother.” Raven said, destroying the silence and interrupting his pain. The twisted grin on the darker Halfling’s face sent spikes of anger through Mace’s gut.

  Mace slid from the tree branch he’d occupied and landed silently on the ground. They crossed the distance to one another, both with hands fisted and ready for the fight.

  “I am not your brother,” Mace growled.

  Raven’s lip curled. “No, you’re too pure to have my tainted blood running through your veins.”

  Mace shoved a finger into his chest. “Your blood is what you choose.”

  “I choose Nikki,” Raven countered.

  “That isn’t your choice to make. Raven, you have to stay away from her.”

  “Why? I’d think you’d be glad.” He tsked. “You’ve worked so hard to keep your heart pure, labored so long to achieve goodness. But you forget your roots. We were born in rebellion. And that rebellion floods our veins. Like a poison, it takes over, eating, devouring. With me it chose the path of anger. With you, it picked the path of forbidden love. Admit it, Mace. You’re falling.”

  Mace shoved him. “I will not fall.” Pent-up energy released, he instantly regretted his outburst. It wasn’t Raven’s fault he’d opened his heart to Nikki. How could he resist her? Life, in its most beautiful form, filled the atmosphere around her. “You — we — don’t have to fall.”

  Raven’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t bother to push me away from the cliff edge you dangle from yourself. Make no mistake, brother, eventually we will both fall.”

  Mace grabbed his shoulders. “No,” he screamed, tears blurring his vision once he realized the depths of Raven’s resolve. One thing and one thing only kept Halflings trudging forward: Hope.

  Suddenly, the battle became for his brother rather than against his brother.

  Without hope, there could be no victory. Raven was giving up, giving in. “Fight it, Raven. Don’t let it take you. You’re stronger than that, better than that.”

  He shook his head, eyes focusing on some distant spot far away. The muscle in his jaw went slack. “I’m sick of fighting, Mace. I’m tired of the battle. We win, and what? No accolades, no awards. We lick our wounds and get ready for another journey.”

  “Reward awaits us at the end.”

  “So we’re told. We have nothing to prove it, no written contract. Even the human’s have their covenant. They know their destiny and it’s sealed in blood. Ours is hazy, fuzzy. But I could have a life right now.” He gaze traveled to Nikki’s back door. “One where I choose what I do and when.”

  Mace sighed, surprised by the love he held for this Halfling who hovered between spiritual life and death. “That’s the biggest lie of all, Raven. If you turn from the great army, you will be pushed into ser vice for the enemy. Don’t you see? The choice has already been made. You must fight — and keep fighting. There’s no other path for us.”

  Several moments ticked by as the forest’s nocturnal creatures chattered around them. The sweet scent of honeysuckle drifted on the night’s breeze.

  Raven’s expression melted with his resolve. I did it, I broke through that hardened shell. Deep down, Raven had to know there was no going back for Halflings. They simply had nowhere to go back to.

  “If I thought Nikki would bring you true happiness, I’d walk away.” Mace choked a little on the last words, but they confirmed his honesty.

  Raven’s eyes searched him, and had to know he spoke the truth.

  “But she can’t bring happiness to either one of us.” Mace’s voice was stronger now.

  And Raven was melting, practically sinking into the ground at the edge of Nikki’s yard. “I can’t do this anymore.” he whispered, eyes pleading with Mace.

  Mace dropped beside him. “We’ll do this together, my brother. I’ll stand beside you. You have my word. You’re not alone.”

  Mace’s arm fell around Raven’s shoulder as they both crouched on the ground. They couldn’t have her, but at least they had each other.

  Voices. She heard voices in the backyard. Somehow, she knew it was Raven and Mace. The policeman lingered at the front door while Nikki crossed the house, floating on feet she could no longer feel. The back door was a million miles away. Tunnel vision. She’d heard that in times of shock, the vision narrowed to almost nothing. She pulled the slider open.

  And collapsed.

  She awakened in the living room with Mace, Raven, and a police officer hovering over her. They emerged from the haze with frowns expressing the deepest of concern. Mace tilted her up, mumbling something about water.

  Her head shook back and forth, rejecting the glass he offered. Words, scattered and strange, filtered in and out of her head. Her parents … a possible robbery … bullet holes in the car … blood. No bodies.

  No bodies?

  She’d barely had time to grab a shower and change from her bloody homecoming dress when she’d heard the knock. She’d opened the door to the officer, who removed his hat and asked if he could come in. This isn’t happening.

  Words cemented into place as Mace lifted her shoulders and sat down on the couch beside her. As natural as breathing, she collapsed onto his lap, letting his soothing hand push hair from her face as she processed what the officer had told her at the door.

  I’m sorry to inform you of this, Miss Youngblood, but your parents have been involved in
an accident.

  An accident? Blood, run off the road, bullet holes? That didn’t sound like an accident.

  We haven’t apprehended the perpetrator yet. I wonder if you could answer a few questions for me. Is there someone you could call so you’re not alone?

  Friend. I have a friend outside.

  He’d frowned. Any family?

  I have no family but my mom and dad.

  His expression froze her words. Face melting into bottomless despair, his eyes told her the truth, conveying the finality of the situation. You don’t have them either.

  She remembered stumbling to the back door, hoping Raven was still out there.

  And waking on the couch. She sprung up from the sofa. “No. There has to be a mistake. My mom and dad were here just a couple hours ago.”

  “There’s no mistake, Miss Youngblood. We’ve checked the plates on the vehicle and cross-referenced them to your mother’s driver’s license. We suspect they were robbed — your mother’s wallet had been removed from the purse we located, but there was no cash inside. Also, the trunk had been jimmied.”

  Her gaze flittered to Mace, then Raven. “My fault,” she whispered.

  The boys shared a glance that didn’t escape the officer’s attention. He sharpened. “Why would you say that, Miss Youngblood?”

  Raven took a step toward the policeman, drawing his attention. Nikki shot him a grateful smile she was sure he missed. “She told me the antiques her mom and dad were going to sell tonight were so heavy she had to help her dad load them into the trunk.”

  The officer pulled a notepad from his pocket. “Would these items be worth robbing someone to get?” He directed the question to Raven.

  His eyes widened. “Duh, they’re antiques.”

  The officer scowled at him. “Miss Youngblood, do you know who planned to make the purchase?”

  She searched her mind for names, though none came. Bullet holes. Blood. She shook her head. “No. I don’t know. I don’t feel well.”

  Mace rose and grabbed a throw blanket for her shoulders.

  “Will you be able to come to the station with me?” the officer asked gently. “I realize what you’ve been through, but our best chance of locating the perpetrator is within the first few hours after the incident, and any information you can give us about your folks’ business may help.”

  She swallowed, gaze floating to his. “The incident? You’re telling me my parents may be dea — dead, and you call it an incident?”

  Mace wrapped his arm protectively around her. “Sir, I can bring her to the station. But I think she’s going to need a little bit of time.”

  The officer’s face softened. “Of course. A half hour?”

  Mace nodded.

  Raven walked the officer to the door and slammed it hard.

  Nikki’s eyes scanned Mace’s. Fear twisted her stomach.

  “It has nothing to do with you, Nikki. Nothing. They were after your mom and dad’s valuables.”

  Wanting to believe him, she slumped against his chest, pressing into his shirt and the firm muscles beneath. After the way she’d left him in the car earlier, she thought she’d never again feel the strength of his arms around her. Never again breathe in Mace’s scent of warm skin blended with cotton and a hint of spearmint. He brushed her cheek with his open palm, easing her pain. Safely enveloped in the place created by the circle of his arms, Nikki cried and cried and cried.

  She heard Damon Vessler storm into the police station with all the fury of a wasp in search of the perfect place to plunge its stinger. He thundered into the office of Captain Bernard Gump, where Nikki waited, still wrapped in the throw. It smelled like her dad, and the realization ushered a fresh wave of tears.

  Damon slammed his hand on the desk. “What on earth do you think you’re doing, putting a child through this?”

  Mace and Raven shared a confused glance after Damon’s entrance. She could feel her Lost Boys bristle.

  “Standard procedure, sir,” the captain commented.

  “Procedure?” Damon yelled. “My attorney is on the way, and perhaps you can explain to her how harassment of an innocent teen can be considered procedure!” His muscles drew taut beneath his clothing.

  Captain Gump swallowed visibly.

  Nikki rose on rubber legs. “Damon,” she rasped, voice rough from crying. Her hand slid from the blanket and fell on his shoulder. “I volunteered to come. They don’t know who did this.” When she wavered, he caught her.

  He dragged her to him, arms closing on her. He buried his head in her hair and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Nicole. I won’t rest until I get answers.” He nuzzled deeper, something she found she didn’t mind. “And I promise you I will destroy them.” His words sent hot streams of retribution from her head to her heart. “Do you hear me, my lady? I will find them and we will destroy them.”

  At the edge of her vision, Mace rose from the chair. Raven held him back with a firm hand and she heard him whisper, “Maybe he can get her out of here.”

  “Now,” Gump interrupted. “We were just asking Miss Youngblood —”

  “How long have you been here?” Though Damon’s words to her had been soft, this comment carried a nasty bite of authority, more for the officer’s benefit than hers, no doubt. Damon was obviously used to giving orders. And not accustomed to being challenged.

  She shook her head, helplessly. Time meant nothing. Five minutes, five hours. It was all the same.

  “About an hour,” Mace said.

  Damon pointed to Captain Gump, pinning him to the wall. “Your questions are over. She’s told you what she knows. Or does the idea of a lawsuit not concern you?”

  “A lawsuit?”

  “You’re questioning a minor without an adult present.”

  Captain Gump rose with his hands out in surrender. “She agreed to come. Besides, we have to wait until the social worker arrives. As you mentioned, Miss Youngblood is a minor.”

  “And I’m her godfather. She will not be leaving with any social worker. She’s going home with me. Right now. Here’s the paperwork to take her with me. If you protest” — he studied the man’s nameplate as he dropped the paper onto the desk — “Captain Gump, your department will be thrown into a legal battle you cannot hope to win.” Damon reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a card, which he slammed on top of the paperwork.

  Captain Gump’s eyes widened as he read. “I’m, uh, sorry for any inconvenience, Mr. Vessler.”

  Mace took Nikki’s shoulder and turned her to face him, eyes filled with questions.

  “It’s okay,” she uttered. “He’s been a friend of my family for years. I recently learned that he’s my godfather.” She leaned closer to Mace. “Besides, if I don’t go with him, they’re going to send me to a foster home for the next few days. Strangers, Mace.” Her eyes pleaded. “Complete strangers.”

  He bent, kissed her forehead. “Nikki, we can work something else out. I can have Will come.”

  But she was shaking her head. “No, this is better. Don’t worry, I’m safe with Damon.”

  She gauged Mace’s reaction to Damon. His gaze left hers long enough to consider the strong, able man beside her. And apparently long enough to decide he didn’t like him. She could read his thoughts as easily as if he’d spoken them aloud.

  “You sure?” Mace said.

  A smile curled Damon’s lip. “You go on home, boys. I’m sure your parents are worried. There’s an adult in charge now. Everything will be just fine.”

  But as she left in her father’s blanket and under Damon’s arm, she heard something so disturbing it was able to cut right through the numbness that had become her chest.

  It was Raven’s hushed voice. “That’s him,” he said.

  “I know.” Mace agreed. “The one from the art gallery.”

  Chapter

  25

  When the females arrived, Will asked them all to gather in the living room. Vegan had stopped to pick up Zero, who was pouting in the co
rner, arms folded over his chest because there were no juice boxes in the house. Vegan reached over to pat him on the shoulder, but Zero cut her an icy silver-blue stare, and she dropped her hand.

  For once, Mace considered joining Zero in his funk. He thought his emotions had swung as far as possible in the course of the night, but knowing Nikki was in that house with that man caused a fresh new kind of anger. And fear. Especially after what Vine had told them.

  Winter sat down on the edge of the couch, her legs delicately crossed at the ankles. She was so precise, so pristine in her movements that she truly looked like she belonged in another century, especially with her streak of black hair against her light skin. “Does Damon Vessler own Omega Corporation?”

  Will tapped his fingers on his leg. “All we know for sure is that he owns the land of the smaller facility. From the conversation Vine heard, he had leased it to the scientists.”

  “Would be a convenient way to keep your nose clean,” Raven said, and turned to face Vegan. “A lot has happened tonight. Do you know why the hell hounds were after you when Nikki and I arrived?”

  Mace sliced a hard stare in Raven’s direction.

  Raven returned the look with a slow smile. “She fought like a champ — you’d have been proud.”

  Brother or not, Mace wanted to kill Raven for his offhand attitude.

  Vegan looked down at her tie-dyed shirt of forest colors and shook her head. “On a whim, I went to the lab to do a little recon. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I entered the midplane to come over here. When I started to leave, however, I felt something wasn’t right, so I touched down in the woods a few miles away. That’s when the hounds showed up.”

  Will’s chin dropped a degree as he studied Vegan. “Maybe you sensed things were going to go wrong.” He pulled a long, deep breath. “Was there anything we could have done to prevent the death of Nikki’s parents?”

  Silence answered his question and hung heavy in the room. No one knew.

  Raven stood. “One thing’s for sure.”