Guardian (3 page)

Until she imagined herself trapping that flirty girl in a headlock.

She could feel a scream of frustration building in her throat. Nikki swallowed, forcing it down like bitter medicine. This was not the way to start a voyage. Usually, when things got to her, she set out on her motorcycle and let wind and speed work its magic. Here she’d have to deal with Glimmer because there was no escape. Hello, it’s a boat. She threw a longing look to land then to Zero, and understood why he clutched the laptop so tightly. If her bike was here, she’d be doing the same thing. And a motorcycle on a boat was about as much use as a laptop on the ocean. Zero caught her looking at him and sneered.

Nikki felt ensnared in a bad reality show. So this was to be her life for the next, oh, she had no idea how long. Maybe they could sell the show idea to MTV. Reality with a supernatural twist. It’d be a hit. She could see it now: Will acting fatherly; Sky, Dash, and Ocean sending her to clean fish muck; Winter and Vegan and their girly “Let’s be best friends” squealing; Glimmer and her ice-dagger stares; Zero and his sneers; Vine and an unending supply of candy. Had she left anything out? Oh yeah, Mace and Raven. The real twist in the program.

It was going to be a long trip.

Nikki stood on the deck of The Journey as the boys approached.

Vegan had ushered Zero into the depths of the boat,

Glimmer was off somewhere—probably doing her nails or applying another layer of lip gloss—and the “crew” was doing all sorts of shippish things readying for departure or disembarking or deportment or whatever they called it. Nikki rested her head against a post, hands gripping the railing as she watched Mace, Raven, and Vine cross the marina lot. Even from a distance, she could see the thread of tension wound tightly around Mace. It seemed to intensify as he drew closer to the ship.

Vine walked between the two other boys and tried, unsuccessfully, to grab something from Raven. Nikki squinted and leaned over the railing to see what it was. A bag of candy dangled beneath Raven’s fist. When Vine lunged for it, it was snatched from reach. Vine could fly. He could just launch himself at it. And maybe that’s what he’d intended to do, until his eyes scanned the area and found too many people in close proximity. Raven waved a finger at him as if to say, “No.”

The air carried the sound of their laughter to her. Boy games. So silly—and so desperately needed, she fought the urge to laugh as well. She was smiling, something she hadn’t done much of in the past few days. And there’d been little laughter either.

Vine tried to engage Mace in the game, but he’d have none of it. Nikki watched as his spine straightened, his shoulders expanded, and a deep inhale lifted the muscles of his chest.

Her heart broke, and the steel-like barriers she’d worked hard to construct fell.

He was preparing to board. Preparing to see her in the close confines of a ship where they’d spend days on end.

When Vine tried one last time to pull Mace into the fun, Raven’s interest quelled. He tossed the bag at Vine with such force, the younger boy had to jolt back to keep it from hitting him in the face. So this had been Vine’s existence since her arrival. Trying to keep peace and keep the boys from killing each other. She’d been so busy avoiding life, she’d failed to notice. Poor Vine.

No wonder she’d found him that night on the back porch with tears in his eyes, his white-blond hair wrapped around his shoulders like a blanket and his knees drawn to his chest. The night she promised him she’d stay away from Mace and Raven.

“They made it. Good,” Ocean said, stopping beside her. “You settle in okay, Nikki?”

She nodded, not bothering to look at him. Her eyes were glued to Mace. “Yes. I didn’t bring that many clothes, so everything fit in the trunk under the bunk beds.”

“Sorry you four girls have to share a cabin.”

“It’s fine.” And even if it wasn’t, did it matter? She was trapped on a boat with no way to cope, no sense of home, and no privacy. Why not add sharing a barracks-type room with girls she barely knew? One of which couldn’t stand her, and the feeling was mutual.

“Nikki,” Ocean said, his voice dropping, “there is a purpose to this voyage.”

Okay, that drew her attention. She forced her hair from her face, where it had danced in her eyes, moving in tandem with dangling ropes, edges of sails, and everything else not fastened tightly to the boat.

“Will wouldn’t have brought you on if he didn’t have a good reason.”

True enough. When she’d questioned Will about the heavenly angels and their visit, he changed the subject, saying the boat would be a fabulous place for her to get some training as a Seer. Whatever that meant.

Ocean gestured with one hand. “Look around you. Will, the boys, the females. Even Zero, who loathes the water.”

Unruly strands smacked against her hand, fighting desperately to be released from her grip. She tried to hold them firm but felt her persistence slipping. She could no more hold her hair out of the wind than she could erase the destruction she’d caused. “But Will didn’t know Zero was coming.”

“Exactly. Which makes it that much more interesting.”

Really? She was having a hard time finding it interesting. Irritating. Aggravating. Even terrifying. But interesting? No.

He planted his hands on his hips. “You’re a Seer. What do you see?”

Her eyes slid to the gangplank. Mace. And Raven. And a gulf of hatred that now separates the two. “I don’t see anything, Ocean. I know you said you and Sky and Dash were anxious to meet me, but I’m going to be a huge disappointment. I didn’t know I was doing it—seeing the other realm and all. I only see it when I draw. I’d always thought ideas were coming from my imagination until hell hounds actually arrived and chased me through the woods. When I questioned Will about it, he said my drawings have the ability to create a doorway for the supernatural. The hell hounds I first encountered crossed over because of me. So my being a Seer doesn’t help anyone. It just creates more danger. For everyone.”

“Well, that explains why Will wants you on the boat.”

Nikki gathered her hair at her nape and tucked the bulk of it into her collar. “What do you mean?”

“Demons and hell hounds have been cast to the dry places. They crave water but aren’t successful at finding it or navigating through it. A big body of water creates a lot of difficulty for them. There’s nowhere for them to go if they leave their part of the midplane. It’s fairly unlikely any would choose to land on the boat—they’re weaker when they are out of the dry places. Plus, with all of us on here, it would be certain death.”

“So it’s safer to train here.”

“For a time, but creatures from the pit are resourceful. Eventually, they will think of a way to attack.”

“Great,” she mumbled.

Ocean’s warm blue eyes smiled down at her. One tanned hand left his hip and landed on her shoulder. “Try to relax. Maybe even enjoy the trip.”

As Mace appeared on the deck with Vine behind him and Raven trailing them both, Nikki was sure that would be unlikely. Of all the things this trip would be, enjoyable seemed impossible.

Her stomach tightened, and she slipped behind a post when Ocean stepped forward to greet the boys. Tilting slightly, she peered around the edge of the wooden hideaway. Mace hadn’t noticed her. He was busy greeting Ocean and introducing Vine. Then Sky made his way over from the helm, where he’d apparently been checking strange electronics with even stranger names like Loran and Depth Finder.

Sky, Dash, and Ocean had certainly been nice enough, and had made her feel welcomed. But as the group of six Halfling boys chatted about things like the trip and the weather, her eyes stayed trained on Mace. She hurt for him. For all he’d been through.

She’d been avoiding eye contact—any contact, for that matter—for so many days, she’d almost forgotten the planes of his smooth face. Strong but tempered with a gentleness that came as much from within as without. His jawline, his straight nose, and those full lips that had kissed her hands after they were burned in a laboratory fire …

As if he knew her thoughts, his tongue darted out and moistened his lips. He gave Sky a half smile after some comment about swabbing the deck. They were all laughing now in that good-natured way guys had, while she was a million miles away, tucked behind a wooden post. Her fingers began to ache. As she raised them to eye level, she realized she’d clamped them down, trying unsuccessfully to capture his touch and that electric sensation of his mouth gently kissing away her pain. She needed to force her thoughts in another direction, because she didn’t know how much a heart could take.

Raven was there too, but her eyes remained on Mace, at least until she could stand it no more. It was almost unsettling to see such a large group of Halfling boys. Each tall, lean, their sixfoot-plus frames and strong shoulders coated in long muscles. To outsiders, the boat could easily be the site of a photo shoot for some top designer’s clothing line. But while human models needed to work hard to appear so perfect, Halflings couldn’t help themselves. Flawless features. No brow waxing needed. Hair that fell perfectly into place. What one would expect from beings who are half angel.

Finally, Nikki chanced a look at Raven. He was staring right at her. She pulled back and sank beside the post, pressing her shoulder into the wood. But his face, his eyes, even the almost vulnerable expression were still there. In the dark, safe place behind her tightly closed lids, his image stayed fixed. And without even watching him, she knew his gaze had searched the ship for her while the others talked.

He always searched her out.

They’d been on the boat for only a few minutes, and already she felt emotionally stripped. Nikki judged the distance to the stairwell leading to the safety of her room. Could she make it without them noticing?

Will joined the group of boys, creating a sort of giant angel wall between her and the gathered crowd. Escaping might be possible. But when she heard the conversation, her feet froze and her body snapped to attention.

“Do you think they will find us?” Will said, concern in his voice.

“No. We turned the crew over to the Coast Guard five hundred miles from here. But Will—” Ocean’s words were thick with apprehension. “The last time we sank one of their ships, they retaliated.”

“How?”

“They bombed a hotel in Southern France.”

“Why there?”

“To send a message. Our operation is based out of France. I have no idea how they found out, but we’ve avoided sinking other transports since. We certainly didn’t mean to sink this last one.”

“But since it happened, you think we should expect the same sort of retaliation.”

“Afraid so.”

“And now we’re on the ship with you,” Will said. “Interesting that the Throne would choose to send us. As well as a Seer.”

Her? He must mean her, but she was of little use to anyone. That had been clearly established. Nikki bit her bottom lip. Sometimes she forgot that the world of men and angels—the world of evil and good—was as real as the disaster that was her life. Guilt for being so consumed with her own personal problems sifted through her system. If they—whoever they were— chose to retaliate, people’s lives were at stake. And Ocean, with his wise manner, felt responsible for those lives.

It was time to stop playing the helpless victim. It wasn’t like she could sit behind her post the entire voyage. She would cooperate with what Will wanted her to do—learn about her gifts—so this trip would end and Ocean and his crew could return to hunting bad guys or terrorists who make wingcuffs or whatever. All she needed to do was set her mutilated emotions aside. Nikki straightened her spine and stepped out.

Raven’s midnight-blue gaze hit her, and a smile tilted one side of his face like he knew exactly what she intended to do. And without warning, she was trapped. It felt as if a cold, thick blanket pinned her.

Raven’s smile widened ever so slowly while the other Halflings turned to see what he was looking at.

Why couldn’t she move? Even her eyes felt pasted to him. She tried to open her mouth, but no words came out. What words did she have anyway? I’m glued to the deck and can’t even move my eyes? Oh, she was a brave one.

To the right of Raven, Mace stood statue-still. There was a sound from him, something between a sigh and a cough of disgust. But for once her gaze wouldn’t go there, even when she willed it to shift.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Mace look to Raven then to her, then back to Raven.

No, no, no, she wanted to scream. If only this force field would release her. She didn’t even want to imagine what Mace thought of her behavior—her staring at Raven, him smiling back at her. Her mind worked; why couldn’t her body obey? It’s not what you think. I’m not staring because of him, I’m just … Just what?

When Mace spun from the group and headed toward the front of the ship, the spell finally broke. Her gaze traveled around the boys. Sky and Dash looked confused. Will wasn’t making eye contact with her, but there was a distinct hint of disapproval, and Ocean and Vine both had pitiful little smiles of condolence—almost worse than the disapproval. Raven grinned victoriously. That burned her stomach. In a fury, she turned from the group and ran to the stairwell.