Halflings (24 page)

She remained silent for what felt like an eternity. “How do we do this, Mace? How can I be with you, but deny what’s happening in my heart?”

He laughed without humor. “Welcome to my world.”

“This has happened before? When you were on other journeys?”

He pivoted on the couch and sank his hands into her hair, watching his fingers thread through the strands. “No. Never. This is new territory for me.”

She bit her bottom lip. “New territory for me too.”

“Wait a minute.” His voice filled with sarcasm — which was good, because he couldn’t take another moment of the relief engulfing him. He didn’t have to say good-bye. “I thought you were falling for Raven.”

She shook her head. “Do I look stupid? Girls don’t fall for the bad boy.”

“No, you just go on long motorcycle rides with them.”

She blushed. “Well, we’re not perfect. I mean, Raven — like all of you — is really cute and extremely persuasive. I should have discouraged him.”

He gripped her arms protectively. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing. Well, we fought.”

“He
fought
you?”

She nodded.

“Raven always did have a way with the ladies.”

“His actions aren’t what scared me, Mace. It was my own.” She pressed her hand to her forehead. “I felt … wild … with him. Like I could defy every law and it wouldn’t matter. What
was
that?”

“Nikki, Raven offered you the seed of rebellion. It may seem small and seductive, but when it grows, it’s a difficult giant to kill. It’s the same sin that caused Lucifer to fall.”

Her brows rose. “Excuse me?”

“We fight on the side of good, and humility is the only anchor we have to keep from drifting toward the jagged rocks of darkness. Pride is the archenemy of humility, and it’s something Raven has plenty of. If we as Halflings — or you as humans — trade humility for pride, it’s only a matter of time until we find ourselves fully given to the evil side. In short, Raven sees our future and doesn’t like it.”

“What is your future, Mace? You labor so hard in this life, then what?”

“Well, if we’re not offered mercy, we’re doomed to hell with Satan, the demons, the fallen angels, and men who forfeit their contract.”

He watched her heart break all over again.
This is an impossible situation.

“Mace, you don’t deserve that!”

“Hell wasn’t created for me. And it certainly wasn’t created for humans. But it is a reality we can’t ignore.”

“I’m sorry about everything.” She pushed from him. “Maybe you’re right. You should go. Far away. Have Will send someone else to protect me. Go somewhere safe.”

In one quick movement, he tugged her into his arms, his hands flattening against her back. “I can’t love you, Nikki. But that doesn’t mean I won’t cherish the time I spend with you.”

She pulled a breath. “And then one day you’ll leave?”

He nodded. “I’ll have no choice. When the journey is over …”

“Tell me one more time — why is it such a sin for you to fall in love with me?”

“Because it’s what the enemy wants.”

Nikki’s eyes dropped. “We’re trapped. I won’t be your downfall, Mace.” She took a hold of his chin so he couldn’t look away. “Promise me I won’t.”

“You won’t be,” Mace said.
Though you already are.
He drank from her, filling his soul with her essence, her love. Her desire to protect him — even at the risk of her own safety — pulled him ever deeper.

Delicate tears had slipped from her eyes, trickling over her soft skin before dropping onto his. What would it be like to awaken a thousand mornings and feel this? To knit his heart with another, to share every emotion? For all the journeys he’d walked, all the forces he’d observed, none proved stronger than this. The power of pure love.

When her phone rang Saturday afternoon, Nikki jumped. She waved to Mace as he drove away, then flipped her phone open. “What? No, Mom, calm down, I’m right outside.” Bo rubbed her leg, reminding her about her unfulfilled promise from yester day. “Everything is fine. Yes, Mace and I had a great day today.” He’d taken her to a new art gallery that just opened in downtown Springfield.
We need to learn how to be friends,
he’d told her. So that’s what they were doing. No hugging, no handholding, no long, lazy stares. But it was okay. Better than okay, it was good — and hopefully it was as innocent and pure as she liked to think.

She focused her thoughts back to the call. “I’m going to take Bo to the tennis courts, then I’ll be in for dinner.” She punched numbers on the garage panel.
Doing good
, she told herself for the thousandth time. Though her exterior remained strong, Mace’s words yesterday had nearly demolished her.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but if you want to destroy me, use words.
Before the garage door opened fully, she ducked inside and retrieved a tennis ball. Bo went nuts.

A small patch of woods separated her backyard from the tennis courts. Since it was no more than a couple of acres, she usually opted to cross through it. But as she stepped into the brush, she hesitated. Chewing her lip, she angled toward the long, winding sidewalk that would lead her down streets and around houses.
No, that will take way too long. It’s not like anything’s actually in the woods
. As she plunged forward trees shaded her steps, offering a reprieve from the afternoon’s heat. September in Missouri meant chilly mornings, warm afternoons, and perfect, cool evenings. Her thoughts strayed to Mace and how things had changed since they first sat on his porch swing taking advantage of the crisp air and discussing another realm, one she now understood as both beautiful and terrible.

Halfway to the courts, she stopped. Icy fingers clamped around her heart and crept up her back, though Bo seemed impervious to the chilling sensation. Something rustled along the leaves. Moments later a soft breeze brought the responsible creature’s scent to her. Like death, the vile odor of charred flesh and fur filled her nose. She coughed against it, repulsed as it permeated her lungs.

A rumble vibrated in Bo’s throat, confirming that her imagination hadn’t gotten the better of her. She took a tentative step back, only to freeze. Panic rushed her.
No,
she resolved.
Don’t let fear take over.
Squaring her shoulders, she continued to walk.

Bo took cautious steps beside her, his head turning and nose working to encompass the perimeter. A line of hair stood spiked along his back. She’d had Bo for eight years. In all that time, she’d never witnessed such defensive behavior. His attention sharpened, targeting any movement as they crept through the woods, and his posture demonstrated he was ready to shed
his domestication for primal power. He stepped closer to Nikki in an act of protection. She welcomed it.

When the clearing appeared less than a hundred yards in front of them, she released the breath she’d been holding. When the hell hound leapt at her, she quickly inhaled another.

Will towered over Raven. “One thing we don’t do is encourage humans to break natural law.”

Raven dropped onto the couch. “It’s not like she could have gotten hurt.” Will had been all up in Mace’s business since yesterday, which usually was a fantastic respite from Will’s nagging, for a variety of reasons. The problem was Mace had incurred Will’s wrath because Mr. Does-Nothing-Wrong was in love with Nikki. Mace’s flirtation with his dark side just didn’t fit into Raven’s plans.

“You understand the principles of our laws, Raven. They’re given to protect, and when we
willfully
, rebelliously ignore them, we’re removing ourselves from the protection offered to us. And to lead a human down that path …” Frustration stole the rest of Will’s words.

Raven sprung from the couch, squaring off with his so-called guardian. “We. Us,” he mimicked.

Will took a step back, his face flickering surprise.

“You talk like you’re one of us. You’re not, Will. You’re just a heaven-reject. At least we’re doomed because of someone else’s actions. You’re doomed because of your own.” New vitriol filled Raven as Will’s face fell. “You were there. You walked the streets, experienced the power, lead the unbeatable army. And look at you now — a babysitter.”

Vine, who’d remained quiet through the exchange, stood
and came to rest near Will. “That’s enough, Raven. It isn’t fair.” Vine, candy-munching, human-admiring Vine, with his sure posture and soft words, wanted a part of this? Fine.

Raven turned to his “brother.” “Fair? You want to talk about fair? What’s fair about this?” He spread his arms and unfurled his wings. “I look like a man, but am built like an angel. I desire heaven, but can’t have it. Fine.” A tear welled in his eye and he fought to keep it back. “I’ll settle for earth. Oh, wait, I can’t have that either.”

Vine stepped directly in front of Will and met Raven face-to-face. White-blond hair nestled behind his ears and clear blue eyes portraying the deepest of love. “We are a small race. How many Halflings roam? A few hundred? A few thousand maybe?” The gentleness of his words purged the tension even from Raven. “We’re the product of rebellion, and rebellion floods our souls. But we can choose to be more. We can bring nobility and honor to our names. We don’t have to let our heritage define our future.” His hands rose to Raven’s shoulders. “I will always stand with you. And if I can offer my life to protect yours, I will, because
that’s
what I choose to be. Though I love you too much to let you speak to Will this way.”

Why does that kid always have to be so
…
right?
Raven grabbed Vine, hugged him hard, then stole down the hall toward his room. Over his shoulder, he called. “And if you mention that hug to anyone, I’ll kill you.”

Before he could open his bedroom door, Will spoke. “Quiet, heaven whispers.” Celestial silence filled the house, pressing against Raven’s skin, saturating the air with the particles of heaven’s atmosphere. When he returned to the living room, Will’s already-pale face was ashen. “It’s Nicole. You must get to her.”

F
riends
…
yeah.
Mace nodded as he drove home from Nikki’s house. While at the art galleries and ice cream shop, and during their conversations, he’d done well. He hadn’t focused on the way her eyes liquefied as she stared at the sunset painting of children playing with a dog. He hadn’t chuckled at the speck of ice cream left on the end of her nose after she lost her battle with a melting mound of rocky road. He hadn’t even tried to kiss away her pain when a thorn pierced her flesh while they were in the rose garden, where she just had to dig into one of the bushes to catch a glimpse of a butterfly.
Oh, yeah, I’m doing great.

Halfway home, an unsettling sensation stole over him. Whipping into a grocery store parking lot, Mace turned the car around. Tires squealed as he wrestled with his thoughts and the lethal feeling welling inside his gut. “She said she was going inside,” he muttered. She should be safe in her house. But wave
after wave of uncertainty crashed over him as his right foot lowered to the floorboard.

Careening toward her house, the foreboding only increased. Something was wrong. He sharpened his attention and repeatedly ignored the voice that told him he’d never make it to Nikki in time.