Guardian (31 page)

But one thing Mace knew for certain: he was no closer to claiming the female that was his match than he had been on the day they met.

“She just needs time, Mace,” Winter said.

“Well, time’s the one thing she’s got plenty of now.” He couldn’t help the bitterness that crept into his voice. He should be laughing; instead, he felt like the girl he loved had been dealt one mammoth of an unfair hand. And to make matters worse, she was about to bluff the dealer.

Glimmer stood. “Let’s go home. We girls have to at least keep up the illusion normal people live in that apartment downtown.” She tilted her head toward the stairs. “Nikki will probably sleep the rest of the night, but we should be here for her in the morning … You know, for support.”

Several sets of eyes turned to Glimmer and widened.

“What?” she barked. “She’s one of us now.”

“Let’s do something nice for her,” Vegan added. “Maybe a party.”

Zero mumbled something about girls and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah,” Glimmer agreed. “We’ll think of something on the way home.”

But Mace wasn’t in a mood to enjoy any sort of get-together. Everything he’d dreamed of and never thought he could have was slipping away, before he even got a chance to enjoy it.

By the following morning, Nikki was rested and full of questions. She had to be careful though. She wanted answers, but only answers to the right inquiries. Maybe if she was careful that no one uttered what she was, it would sort of make a loophole big enough to slip her eternity through. Because of all the things she was uncertain of, one thing remained clear: she had to find—no, she had to hunt—the man responsible for killing her mom and dad. If her parents were alive today, they could explain this mess to her. Were they the same as she was? Could they have hidden their true identity for her entire life?

Nikki seized the railing and slipped down the stairs to find Will waiting for her in the living room. A sweet scent wafted from beneath the kitchen’s swinging door, and male and female voices mingled together as well. It sounded as if they were arguing.

Will put down his paper. “Did you sleep?”

“Some,” she said, rubbing her hands on her thighs. “Thanks for letting me crash here.”

“Of course.”

She dropped onto the couch beside the giant teddy bear of a man … er, angel. “How could I not know?” she asked, careful to avoid the word, and hoping Will would pick up on that little fact. “How could you not know?”

“Male Halflings reach the age of accountability in their teen years. For each it’s different. Raven was barely seventeen when he tapped in. Mace was seventeen as well. Vine, my early bloomer, was fifteen. Halfling females tend to reach the age of accountability around eighteen, sometimes nineteen or even twenty.”

“Vegan, Glimmer, and Winter. Do they live with a heavenly angel like the Lost Boys?”

“Females are raised to the age of accountability by Xians— do you know what a Xian is?”

She nodded. “Yes, Mace explained it to me once. They’re humans who are tuned in to the supernatural realm, right?”

“Yes. Since females tap in later, they are raised by Xians with a heavenly angel overseeing their lives. They are usually grown—college-aged—when they tap in. So they live together, but a heavenly angel doesn’t need to be there as well. Winter, Vegan, and Glimmer have their own apartment downtown. But there’s still an overseeing angel.”

“Why haven’t I seen their angel?”

“The girls were placed in my care. I’m the overseeing angel now.”

“Oh.”

He studied her for a long time before launching deeper into the discussion. “In your case, Vessler kept an eye on you, and when you began to show the signs, he threw his plan into high gear.”

Vessler. She knew him as her godfather, her protector. Some protector. He tried to kill me on my own front lawn. “Show what signs?”

“First, it was fortunate for him that you’d become a Seer. It made tapping into the supernatural realm easy. He’d simply drop something before your eyes that would cause you to draw. You’d sketch what your mind saw, not realizing it was actually in the other realm.”

“That’s why the hell hounds showed up in the woods the first day I met Mace, Raven, and Vine?” It seemed like it had happened to another Nikki.

“Exactly. Hounds can kill you or torment you to the point of—”

She held up a hand to stop him. “Yes, I know.” Mace had explained their capabilities on the night she first met Zero in his secret underground hideout. “So all that time Vessler was making me into a monster like him.”

“Yes, with fear as his wingman. But you’re not like him, Nikki. Not physically, emotionally, or genetically.”

Not like him. Oh, but she was about to be. She forced her thoughts away. There was time, lots of time, to put her plan into motion. “What am I, Will?” It was not a question to be answered; Nikki made that clear by the tone of her voice. Her gaze drifted to the window, where the sun’s rays warmed the yard beyond. But a bleak indifference closed around her. The same one she felt over and over at Vessler’s house, like a dark veil shading her world. She actually detested the heat the sun offered. Even the green grass and gently swaying trees repulsed her. They were liars, acting as if the world was a beautiful place, when all the while they’d sat back and watched its ugliness time and again. This morning she hated the sun for shining. “I just don’t understand how I couldn’t know.”

“You’ve told me time and again lately that you don’t feel like yourself. Remember, on the boat? Mace and Raven said the same thing. You’ve been sensing something, something evil.”

She laughed without humor. “Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be me.”

“You are not evil, Nikki. You have fallen blood streaming through your veins, yes. But it is your choices that determine what your soul reaps.”

That fallen blood drained from her face and right to her feet.

Will must have sensed it was too much for her to take in, so he shifted the conversation. “Mace and Raven both shared instances where you said you could feel their emotions. You killed a hell hound with your bare hands. That’s hardly human.”

“That was a long time ago. And right before that, I got burned in the laboratory fire and Mace didn’t,” she argued. “So how could he and I be of the same species?”

“Having angelic abilities and being able to utilize them are two different things. A Halfling must tap into her angelic power.”

She leaned forward. This could help her execute her plan.

“First, abilities arrive a little at a time. If you were to be burned now—”

She gasped softly. “I did get burned while at Damon’s beach house. Except I didn’t. Krissy’s hand blistered instantly. Mine didn’t even turn red.”

“And I would venture to say your eyesight has improved drastically.”

Nikki grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it. She thought of the clarity of Mace’s face when he stood at the water’s edge and she on the balcony. Every detail was in sharp focus. “It has.” But even farther back, her eyesight had been strong. “When we first went to visit Zero in the underground, Mace said, ‘I bet you need a light,’ but my eyes had adjusted.”

Will smiled. “No, they didn’t.”

She frowned. “They did. I could see everything. All I needed was that little bit of light.”

“There was no light to adjust to. You were seeing in the dark. Once the door to the surface is closed, it’s pitch-black in the tunnel.”

So many disjointed things connected together, it made her dizzy. “That’s why Zero examined my eyes. He first thought I was a Halfling female. And even after Mace assured him I wasn’t, I could tell Zero didn’t believe him. Wow.” She sank back. “What about seeing things in slow motion?” Oops, just broke my own rule about admitting what I am. But her dark veil had lifted, and she couldn’t help being drawn into the awe of what she was.

“What about it?” Will shrugged.

“Well, Raven said that the realm of the supernatural moves so fast humans are hardly ever aware of it. But in instances like car wrecks, sometimes everything slows down. For a brief moment of time, humans see what it’s like in the other realm. But for Halflings, it’s as if everything is always moving more slowly.”

“Yes.” Will reached to the coffee table behind him, picked up a coaster, and lobbed it at her.

Excruciatingly slow, it flipped end over end, rising first, then falling to shoulder height as it tumbled in her direction. On one side of the coaster she read the words, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer.’ The phrase disappeared as it flipped, replaced by the cork-covered side of the coaster. Lifting her hand, she caught the disk with no effort. As soon as it landed in her grasp, she dropped it to the ground. “How’d I do that?”

“You’ve probably been doing a lot of that without realizing it.” He leaned toward her. “Nikki, you are a Halfling. Half-angel. It’s second nature to you. A child who’s a prodigy doesn’t realize he’s anything special. He simply does what he knows to do. As you embrace who you are, you’ll grow more and more at ease with your ability. And more aware of when you’re utilizing it.”

Unsure eyes scanned his face.

“Nikki, you are a Halfling.” Will stretched back, placing a large hand to his forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it. I should have known the moment the females first arrived. Standing by them, you could be their sister.” He leaned toward her for emphasis. “You are their sister.”

But she was no longer listening. She settled her mind comfortably around the words you’ll grow more and more at ease with your ability. And more aware of when you’re utilizing it. That, she could use.

Nikki blinked, and confusion fluttered around her. Her conscience and her thoughts were unequally divided, weighing far more heavily on the side of revenge. But the still, small voice that had become an almost constant companion beckoned, and before she could silence it, a question slipped quietly from her lips. “Will, what’s going to happen to me?”

He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Heaven will tell us. But you’re not safe on your own. Vessler won’t give up so easily. He’s going to hunt you, Nikki. He’ll use humans and hell hounds and wraiths. Make no mistake, he will try to get to you.”

Fingers tickled along her spine. “Will, I’m afraid.”

“Don’t be. We’re on the winning team.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Until we hear differently, you’ll remain with me. We’ll continue to protect you. And I will train you in the proper use of your angelic ability.”

As if life hasn’t been crazy enough in the last months, as if I’m not already enough of a freak, let’s add more training and some wings.

Wings. Her blood pressure dropped, leaving a sluggish whoosh, whoosh, whoosh in her ears.

“Are you okay?” Will asked.

“Uh, do I have … I mean—” She pivoted to show Will her back and looked over her own shoulder. “Are there … you know …”

“Wings?” he finished for her.

“Yeah.”

He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. “Nope. Not that I can see.” His fingertips roamed her shoulder blades before turning her to face him. His eyes twinkled. “Can you feel them?”

She concentrated. “Um.” She shook her shoulders. “No, I don’t feel anything.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry. They’ll be along soon enough.”

His condescending tone irritated her. They’ll be along soon enough? What in the world did that mean? It’s not like they were talking about a litter of puppies here. But rather than argue, she answered, “Okay.” She rolled her eyes. “This is so weird. Are yours heavy?”

He seemed to bite back a smile. “No. They’re as much a part of me as my shadow.”

Voices in the kitchen rose. She turned toward the door. “Is everything all right in there?”

“Probably not. Vegan, Glimmer, Zero, and Winter arrived an hour ago with the ingredients to bake you a birthday cake.”

Her eyes rounded. “Really?”

Will placed his hands on his hips. “Yes, and Raven, Mace, and Vine are certain they’re doing it wrong. They’ve been battling the better part of the hour. Though I don’t know what they’re fighting about now. The cake is in the oven.”

“I can smell it. It’s for me?”

“We’re your family now, Nikki. We all want you to feel like you belong.”

“But I don’t, do I?” She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down. Something flashed in his eyes. Secrets, that’s all she could think to call them. And it angered her that he wasn’t telling her. “What are you hiding, Will? I have a right to know.” Her hardened voice seemed to take the giant by surprise.

“I have no argument. In time, I promise you will know. But right now, you have enough to absorb. And you have a birthday cake to eat.”

She conceded, for now. Besides, she’d actually won that battle, whether the angel knew it or not. “Birthday cake for breakfast.” She paused at the kitchen door. “Oh, what kind is it?”

“Angel food, of course.”

As he led her into the kitchen, seven Halflings yelled, “Surprise!”

That night Nikki lay on her belly on the cool earth, staring through the French doors that opened to Vessler’s office. He’d just left the room with another man trailing his steps. A friend? A late-night business meeting? Her godfather kept conspicuous hours.