chapter 6
Winter and Glimmer watched the sun rising over the Viennesse courtyard. Golden streaks of light spiked into the sky.
Glimmer rubbed her face with her hands. “Feels safer now with dawn approaching.”
Winter nodded, tried to smile, but it died on her face. It wasn’t safer. The seeker could hunt as well in the day as the night, but Glimmer was still young and didn’t need that knowledge weighing upon her. Winter often wished she didn’t have to know. But that was the penalty of living a long life.
Not that Glimmer had been completely spared the truth behind the seeker. She and Vegan had found the dead French Halflings. Winter knew what seeing that level of carnage was like. It’d taken her decades to erase the memories.
She placed an arm around Glimmer, who shuddered at the cold touch.
“Sorry,” Winter said. “Sometime I forget that popsicles aren’t very comforting.”
“You’re the most elegant popsicle I’ve ever met. Actually, you’re the only living, breathing, Halfling popsicle I’ve ever met.”
Winter cast a glance heavenward. “What can I say? I’m special.”
No one really talked about Winter’s ice-cold skin. She was a freak, like they all were, so a peculiarity like hers didn’t seem to matter — except when trying to comfort a friend.
“Do you think it’s still on the way?”
“No,” Winter said. “It would have reached us by now.”
Glimmer hugged her own shoulders, as if trying to hold in her body heat. “You think it went straight for Nikki and Raven, don’t you?”
“I should have insisted on going with them.” The sun continued its trek, rising higher and higher and chasing away shadows along the courtyard. “It all happened so fast.”
“I’ve never seen Mace so mad.” Glimmer’s golden, red-rimmed eyes widened.
“He’s probably still fuming, but what could we do?”
“Any word from Raven?”
Winter shook her head, causing hair to spill over her arms. She dragged a hand down its length and pulled it over one shoulder. “No. Though I know he won’t let any moss grow under his feet.”
“What?”
“Sorry.” Another thing Winter often forgot was the need to use modern phrases. The other Halflings were a lot younger than her. Even though none of them looked over twenty—herself included. “Raven won’t stay put for long. He’ll be on the move, and hopefully he’ll outsmart the seeker.”
A visibly worried Glimmer chewed on her fingernail. “I’ve been praying for him to have wisdom.”
“You still have a crush on Raven?”
Glimmer smiled behind her hand. “More than ever. The way he grabbed me when I came in last night after Vegan and I found —”
A noise at the door drew their attention. Vine entered the room with a cup of coffee. “This is for you, Glim. It’s got chocolate syrup and extra sugar—just the way you like it.”
Winter held back a smile. Speaking of crushes …
Vine placed the mug into Glimmer’s hands like it was a Faberge egg being handed to a princess. “Do you want some cookies to go with it?”
Glimmer accepted the mug, wrapped her hands around it, and smiled at Vine. “No thanks.”
Winter watched red pop out across his cheeks — a stark contrast against his luminescent skin and that robe of white-blond hair.
When Vine didn’t leave, Glimmer questioned him with a look.
He continued to watch her from an uncomfortably close range until Winter cleared her throat.
“Oh. I’ll just go. But, I was wondering if … you know, if you’re … okay.”
Glimmer dropped her gaze.
Vine backed toward the door. “You know what? Never mind. I’ll check on you later. Okay, so, um, if you want more, just yell. I’m in the kitchen. I mean, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
When he left, Winter pointed to the door and scrunched her nose. “How cute is he?”
Glimmer did a one-sided shrug and rolled her eyes. She started to take a drink, but Zero came flying through the hall before she could safely tip back the mug. “Got a hit on the seeker,” he said as he passed their door, pausing only long enough to make a moment’s eye contact with Winter.
Zero was shaken, but trying to hide it. Mace was right behind him, not hiding a thing. Winter and Glimmer rushed to the door and fell in line with the group following Zero into the kitchen.
By the time they were gathered, Mace looked about ready to explode. “What’s happening, Zero?”
Winter’s heart went out to him. He’d spent the night pacing the floor and wondering if Nikki was still alive. Several times, she’d seen him trying to leave in hopes of finding them, but his duty to the other Halflings kept him. If the seeker arrived at Viennesse, he claimed he’d be abandoning them, and Winter partly agreed. Besides, all he’d known was Raven might take her to the underground tunnels of Paris, like she’d suggested, and even if he’d followed that advice, there were miles of tunnels. There’d be no way to find them.
After much argument, Winter had convinced him to wait until Raven made contact. As Mace met her eyes across the kitchen, she hoped Raven made that contact soon.
Vegan moved to Zero’s side as he spoke. “The seeker killed a guy on a university campus in Paris.”
Winter’s eyes went back to Mace. He looked like he’d been struck by a brick. “Is it —?”
“I don’t know who it is, but the report said the guy’s flesh — what was left of it—was marred by scars. They thought it might be someone who’s been in his share of knife fights.”
The room released a collective sigh. It wasn’t Raven.
When everyone continued to stare at Zero, he lifted his hands. “That’s all I got.”
Mace spun from the group and headed toward the door. Winter followed closely. “What are you doing?”
He turned to face her, the challenge evident and powerful. “I’m not waiting any longer. She’s out there, Winter. I have to find her.”
“Raven said he’d send us information as soon as he could.”
Anger bubbled beneath the blue of his eyes, causing them to look like glass under pressure. They might shatter at any moment. “I’m not trusting Nikki’s fate to Raven. You can sit here as long as you want, but I’m going to Paris. There has to be answers there.”
Vine stepped out from the group. “I’m with you, bro.”
“Me too,” Glimmer said.
Winter weighed the options. “Okay, I’ll go as well. Zero, will you keep searching for information on the seeker?”
He nodded. “I’ve got some programs running back history — if there’s any written record of seeker attacks, I should find them, but it might take awhile. Vegan can help me.”
Vegan opened her mouth to protest, but Winter stopped her. “He’s right, Vegan. You should help Zero. You know more about his computer system than the rest of us, and the two of you work together well. You’ll do us the most good by staying here.”
Vegan’s mouth twitched with aggravation, but she conceded with a sigh. Winter, Vegan, and Glimmer were a team. In fact, she couldn’t recall the last time they had been apart. But everything had changed when they’d been sent to help the males. Unfortunately, it took all of them to keep Nikki Youngblood alive.
Nikki stared over the table at Christopher, who had cluttered the space with books and notepads. Unlike Solomon, he was tall and thin and lost in a sea of loose papers. “I’ve been intending on getting this stuff organized,” he said.
Her frustration grew. She’d rested. So had Raven — sort of. But now it was daylight and she felt like a beacon-lit target from staying in the same place for so long. And Christopher didn’t seem in much of a hurry.
Raven entered the kitchen and spun a chair backward, straddling the seat and crossing his forearms over the back.
“Make yourself at home,” Nikki mumbled.
“Thanks.”
He’d been chilly to her since the night before. But that was for the best, even though his cool demeanor and impassionate looks leached any warmth from her body. She’d sat on the porch swing while he dozed — and for that moment of time, she’d relished the feel of him against her, his defenses down, simply and wonderfully Raven. But awake, he was a different person, thanks to her ultimatum. Every practiced defense he possessed was on full display, just because she’d dared challenge him.
And Nikki didn’t like being bullied. She’d made her decision, and it was Mace. Now that Nikki was a Halfling, she couldn’t keep the two guys in a constant fight for her affections. It had been wrong enough when she thought she was a human, but now … Now it was detestable. Mace was her match. She knew he was, even though it made little sense; Mace was constantly pushing her to be a better person, even when it was painful, while Raven loved her the way she was. She was better suited for Raven — the two of them both dangling over that dangerous cliff called darkness. But her heart belonged to Mace. He was her true love.
Except …
Nikki couldn’t erase the words Raven spoke the night before. Maybe he knows something about us that we don’t know.
Christopher stood and offered Raven some coffee, and when he shook his head, the man sat back down. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve discovered and I’ll try to fill in the blanks.”
“We know the seeker tracks blood.”
“Yes,” Christopher agreed, reaching for a yellow pad. “Since Cain killed Abel, the blood cries out from the ground.”
“Cain and Abel, as in the first murder?” Raven asked.
“Yes. He tracks your blood. Wherever it spills, wherever you leave a drop on the earth, it’s like a homing device. You see, a spirit of anger grew within Cain, causing him to kill his brother. That spirit became the first seeker. Tracking blood that’s hit the ground is a seeker’s strongest ability. They are only released only at the most intense moments of betrayal. Once out, he will track your scent, your energy, your fear. But your spilled blood screams to him. Spilled blood screams in the spiritual realm … for those who have ears to hear it.”
Nikki’s heart dropped. “I know what you’re talking about.” She turned to Raven. “When I was in the Hummer in Vessler’s garage, I found some blood on the seat. When I touched it, I saw a flash of my dad’s face.”
Raven reached over and took her hand when her voice cracked. “You knew it was your dad’s blood? Just by touching it?”
She nodded, drawing strength from his hand against hers. “Yes.”
“So, your ability as a Seer is growing.” Raven squeezed, and for an instant all that icy coldness melted. “The guy in the Hummer killed your parents?”
She nodded again.
Christopher flipped some pages. “Do you know about water?”
They turned to him.
“We really are starting from scratch here, aren’t we?” He placed the pad on the table. “Seekers are from the pit. They were not meant to ever reach this realm, but occasionally one is sent.”
“It’s after me,” Nikki said.
“Lucky you.” Christopher tapped his pad. “Things of this realm confuse them.”
Raven leaned forward a little. “Things like water?”
“There’s no water in hell so they have trouble with it, can’t navigate well through it.” He snapped his fingers as if trying to dumb down the explanation. “Water’s dimensional property is confusing to them.”
“That’s great to know if you’re a fish, but we can’t exactly hide underwater.”
“Not just underwater, behind water. Say you’re looking through a giant aquarium. You can see the seeker clearly. But it has trouble seeing you.”
“That doesn’t make sense, because scent would travel around the aquarium,” Raven offered.
“Of course, it would smell you — uh, her — but it couldn’t easily find her. Many things of this realm create difficulties for the seeker. Water is the biggest.”
“What else?” Raven tossed his head.
“Temperature changes. Extremes. If you’re trying to stay ahead of it, going from cold climates to warm are difficult for the creature. It doesn’t adapt well. But you can’t stay anywhere too long, because eventually it will adapt.”
“What about the midplane? Is she safe there?”
“No. The midplane is the doorway to both the heavenly and earthly realms, so the seeker has to pass through it to reach this realm. If he can go in once, he can go in again. Traveling the midplane can get you places quickly, but don’t linger there too long.”
“It’s hopeless.” Nikki didn’t mean to say it out loud, but facts were facts.
Raven gave her his full attention. “It’s not hopeless. Stop saying that.”
“He’s right,” Christopher agreed. “The seeker also relies on your emotion to draw him closer. Your fear, discouragement, all those things are like smoke signals to the creature. When he gets close, he’ll rely on your emotion to draw him in. In fact, it’s rumored that once he gets in close proximity, he can no longer get a fix on your scent and has to rely on your emotions to bring him to you.”
“If he can smell me from far away, he can smell me up close. What you’re saying doesn’t make sense.”
“In close proximity, he frenzies. It’s not like he can’t smell you, it’s more like you’re all he smells. All around him. So he can’t find you. At that point, he has to rely on your fear or something like that to draw him to you.”
“So, the aquarium isn’t any good if you’re hiding and terrified? He can’t see you, he smells you everywhere, and your fear will lead him right in.” She gave a quick nod. “That’s what you’re saying.”
Christopher’s face fell. “Unfortunately, that sums it up. The water wouldn’t do much good in that case. Once you leave here, stay full of faith that you will overcome. You will find a way to beat the seeker or to send it back to the pit.”
“How do you know all this?” Raven didn’t seem like he was questioning Christopher’s information, just how he gathered it.
“I have a friend who came up against a seeker years ago. It became my life’s study after … after …” He gathered some papers to his chest. “Anyway, as I said, you’ll find a way to beat it or send it back to the pit. I have faith you will.”
Nikki spoke up. “I have faith.” She thought back to the faith ball Will taught her to hold on the yacht.
Raven cut her a hard look. She had no idea why. He was the one who’d helped her tap into the well of faith within herself. Mace had tried, but mostly ended up frustrated with her, and she with him, while Raven had gently guided her fingers over his until she felt the sphere of faith vibrating in her hands. That’s when she was able to hold it for herself.
When she looked over to give Raven an appreciative smile, he dropped his gaze and almost looked … guilty of something. What was that about? It didn’t matter. He’d taught her how to use her faith. Which may help save her from the seeker. Right now, she’d forgive him anything.
She could keep up a positive attitude if it would help her stay alive. After all, without it, she was doomed.
“I think you should talk to someone else,” Christopher said, after a few moments consideration. “Her name is Kaylyn Quick, she’s a …”
“A Xian. I know her.” Raven shrugged. “If it’s the same Kaylyn.”
Nikki leaned toward him. “Do you mean the singer?”
Raven ignored her. “What does Kaylyn have to do with this?”
“Her uncle fought a seeker once.”
“What happened to him?” Nikki asked.
Christopher answered her with silence. He rose and filled his coffee cup. “Kaylyn may know some things that can help you. I’ve not talked to her in a while, but I have contact information here somewhere.”
He rummaged through a drawer then handed a card to Raven. Nikki was about to ask Christopher if he’d let them send an email to Zero when she noticed the change in Raven. His foot tapped noisily, and he acted like a few hundred ants were trekking down his spine. “What’s wrong?”
He stared at the window for a second. “Nothing.”
She wasn’t convinced. Her shoulders began to tingle in that way they’d done when hell hounds were close. “Raven …”
He held out his hand to silence her. “Something’s happening.” He rose from the chair and went to the window.
Nikki stared at the books and notepads. That’s when she sensed it. “Hounds.”
“I forgot to mention that if a seeker doesn’t find you quickly, hell hounds will be released to help in the search. Since they drop in and out of the midplane after you’ve used it, they can sometimes get to you more quickly.”
“Time to go,” Raven said, pulling Nikki to her feet. All positive thoughts were gone.
They threw the front door open, but it was too late. The hounds were making their way across the snowy meadow, their hideous black forms and fur-matted paws beating against the ground. Seven hounds in all, the most Nikki’d ever seen at one time. Her lungs sucked the cold outside air and it chilled all the way down, causing her T-shirt to feel way too light. Christopher had offered them warmer clothes the night before, but there was no time to get them now. “What do we do?”
Behind the hounds, a smattering of wings materialized, dropping from the sky at such a rate it forced another breath into Nikki’s already full lungs. In the mix she spotted Mace.
Three Halflings flanked him. From the distance, she couldn’t make out faces, but she didn’t need to. She knew Vine by his hair. Glimmer’s bow and quiver of arrows were held ready as she ran toward the cabin, aiming at the hell hounds closing the distance to Nikki. Winter, her dark hair streaking behind her as she ran, pointed to the lead hound, and Glimmer let her arrow fly.
It cut through the air and found its mark. With a yelp, the hell hound skidded to a halt and turned to face Glimmer. Blood ran from its side in a red-black river.
“Get her out of here,” Mace screamed to Raven. “We’ll follow you when we can.”