Halflings (8 page)

When she sat beside him and tossed her hair in the opposite direction, he looked over.

A devious grin materialized on her face. “I know you,” she mouthed.

Her eyes were the color of a morning blaze. They narrowed
playfully and his heart did a flop. Okaaay, that was unexpected. He found himself not quite sure what to do with it or with the fact that his palms had gone sweaty; definitely a new sensation.

Minions. And possibly a girlfriend. One who actually smiled.

“Nikki.” Dr. Richmond let the bifocals slide to the end of his nose. “Or are you going by Nicole this year?”

“Nikki’s fine. The answer is electricity.” Her eyes trailed back to Raven, whom Dr. Richmond had introduced at the beginning of class. Raven draped the desk like a hip-hop star. All the girls in the room seemed to be pining for him, sucking in their stomachs and pushing out their chests at his slightest glance in their direction. Pathetic. Okay, so she had to admit he was hot. He had the same chiseled perfection as Mace, but coupled with a troubled demeanor that made him that much more appealing. Appropriately, his hair was darker: still blond, but dirtier, almost brown.

She felt stronger today, and her world was under her control once again. But her eyes remained on the brooding next to her while she answered the teacher, searching for a sign, a clue, anything that might offer some explanation of these guys and why they made her world spin. “You see, electricity causes ionized particles in the air.”

Raven’s head whipped around and he shot her a confused look.

Busted!
Apparently Mace wasn’t the only one who’d tried that line. How often had these tall, beautiful golden boys tried to minimize the fact that tiny bits of lightning seemed to follow them — or, rat her, radiate
from
them?

Satisfied, she smiled at him.

Looking a bit off his game, he blinked, midnight-blue eyes swimming with questions.

Oh, this was fuuuun. She winked and heard the snickers around the room, but she didn’t care. Once again, she’d bested the enemy.

“Uh,” Dr. Richmond interrupted. “Okay, that’s a good explanation for lightning, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with what I asked.”

She batted innocent eyes at the teacher. What on earth had just happened to her? She wasn’t this forward, this brazen. This …
Krissyish.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood. Could you repeat the question?”

When class ended, Krissy barreled toward her. “Excuse me,” she said in a stage whisper. “What was that?”

“What?” Nikki asked, all innocent and sweet, but in no mood to try to explain to Krissy. How could she put it into words?

“That little exchange between you and the Greek god over there.” Krissy followed Nikki to the back of the room, where she dropped her textbook on the shelf.

Nikki rolled her eyes. “Nothing. I didn’t even talk to him.” Inside she was celebrating, reveling in a victory she had no hope of comprehending.

“Look.” She poked a peach-polished fingernail into Nikki’s shoulder, backing her into a corner. “I saw it. You were like blah, blah, blah
ionized electricity.
And you knew he was going to look at you. And he did.” Krissy shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. “And you
winked
at him. Don’t even try to deny it, Ni — Ah!” Krissy hollered as powerful arms draped her shoulders.

“Nice off-the-cuff answer,” Raven said.

Krissy’s mouth gaped and she seemed to be frozen in place. Raven’s arms hung on her like a letterman’s jacket, his head tilted over her shoulder though a good foot above. Nikki marveled at his lack of respect for personal space. Head that close to Krissy’s, they had to be breathing each other’s exhales. Not that Krissy seemed to mind. In fact, she’d gone a lovely shade of russet, one that clashed with her soft peach lips and nails.

“Breathe, Krissy,” Nikki whispered.

One giant breath in, and Krissy was off. “So, um, your name is Raven, right? That’s cool. Seems like your hair would be black. You know, ‘cause ravens are black.” She tossed blonde curls and angled her head to look at him without moving an inch of the rest of her body. “I’ve never known anyone named Raven before. And I guess you have brothers? It’s not like I was trying to find out or anything, I mean, it’s a fairly small school so, when someone new comes … But we’re not like totally backward or anything. It’s pretty cool here. So, your brothers, are they as, um, tall as you are?”

Raven’s eyes fanned to Nikki. “Does she ever shut up?”

Nikki smiled. “She hasn’t yet, but we’re still hoping.”

“Oh.” Krissy flashed white teeth. “That’s funny. I bet you guys play football. I didn’t see any of your names on the list, but you have to, right? You’re totally built for it.”

His eyes widened.

“Did I just say you’re totally built? I
meant
for football. Anyway, what’re your brothers like? Now that I think of it, maybe you’d be more suited to baseball or something. You know, long and lean. Do you play baseball?”

Again, he directed the question to Nikki. “Which question should I answer first?”

“How about mine?” Nikki said.

Raven stiffened. “You never asked a question.”

“Sure I did. You just weren’t paying attention to how it was asked. What
else
besides electricity causes ionized particles to fill the air?”

He blanched, tensed, and any hint of a smile faded from his features.

Krissy panicked. “We should all have lunch together. That way Nikki and I can fill you in about the school and town and stuff. Lots of people are planning to go bowling. It’s sort of a beginning-of-the-year tradition. You’re going, right, Nikki?”

“No,” Nikki said.

Krissy gasped. “Well, I’m sure Raven’s going to go, right?”

He dropped his hands. “Whatever.”

Krissy stood between Raven and Nikki, and Nikki was sure her friend could sense the sparks that flew freely.
She
could certainly sense them.

But this time she wouldn’t get weak and wind up a gelatinous pool on the floor. Nikki’d thrown him off base with the ionized air comment, so she took the advantage and really examined the boy before her. Like with Mace, Raven’s gaze drew her focus. His eyes were an unusual shade and tinged with trouble. They were eyes that hid secrets and maybe a fair portion of pain.

Just as Nikki was about to ask Raven to walk them to their next class, something flashed in the depths of those midnight eyes, distracting him from the banter. Though he didn’t stir a muscle, she could tell his attention shifted elsewhere.

A strange sensation swept Nikki as she watched him. Time seemed to freeze as his body reacted to whatever had drawn his concentration. Moments later, she heard heated voices drifting
from the teacher’s desk. The words grew in intensity, but her focus remained on Raven, who remained statue still — he didn’t even breathe. The thought
predator
suddenly careened into her mind. He looked like an animal getting ready to make a kill.

Nikki swallowed hard while prickly gooseflesh spread across her arms.

He wasn’t human. And she wanted to get away.

Tearing her gaze from him, she glanced at Krissy, who’d quieted but didn’t seem to notice any change in Raven.

Finally, Nikki turned to see what had caused him to react. Two guys were arguing by the desk at the front of the class: one was dressed in camouflage and looked like he’d just come in from deer hunting. Nikki remembered him from last year. Joey-something. As she tried to recall his last name, he reached under his jacket to the small of his back.

Nikki knew that posture. Her heart dropped. “No!” she screamed, flying to the front of the room as Dr. Richmond’s face turned to horror and he stepped between the two boys. Joey shoved the portly teacher and Dr. Richmond tumbled backward, teetering beside the second boy.

The rest was a flash. First, the glint of steel passing camouflage clothing, a scream from somewhere, blade jutting forth, then Raven. He blocked her vision, moving in long, deft swift motions more graceful than any dancer she’d ever seen.

Nikki tried to close the distance to the knife-wielding Joey, but couldn’t reach him in time to stop the blade’s trajectory. That’s when everything slowed. Almost to a halt.

R
aven shoved Joey down so hard his head cracked against the desk. He then turned and grabbed the blade in midair, and with his free hand snagged a falling Dr. Richmond. He leveled Richmond on his feet, let him go, and reached for the other fighter, who’d bolted for the door.

In six years of karate, numerous fighting tournaments, and watching martial arts documentaries with her father, Nikki’d never seen anyone move so quickly. It wasn’t humanly possible to do what Raven had just done. Just like it wasn’t
humanly
possible for Mace to appear on the back of a moving sport bike.

The entire time Raven repeatedly glanced over his shoulder at her — as if specifically making sure she was safe — and that both thrilled and terrified her.

Fear crept along her spine and settled in her neck, tightening the muscles and causing them to throb. Her fingers trembled. She raised them to eye level. When she mustered the nerve to look, she found what she’d feared: tiny sparks of electricity shot
from one finger to the next. She clamped her hands into fists and prayed she wasn’t losing her mind.

“So,” Principal Schmidt said, directing her attention to Raven. She was using her perch on the corner of her desk to its full advantage. “You were right there but didn’t see exactly what happened?”

Nikki’s eyes narrowed. She liked Principal Schmidt … usually. But the administrator had raked the boy over as soon as he entered the office. She supposed she could see why the principal had made such a quick judgment call about Raven. He definitely looked dangerous in his dark T-shirt, faded jeans that hung low on his narrow hips, and black boots only someone like him could carry off. But no matter his look, he’d quite possibly saved someone’s life, maybe even that of Nikki’s favorite teacher. She risked a peek at Dr. Richmond, who still looked as pale as the wall behind him.

She had to admit Raven carried himself with a little too much confidence, held his mouth in a slightly too crooked way, and stared you down in a bit too intimating a fashion. Even now, he was slumped in the chair as if the whole incident and follow-up were boring him to tears.

Schmidt’s high-heeled foot tapped in frustration against her mahogany desk. Nikki understood authority and its importance in life, and tried her best to make up for Raven’s deficiency. Right now, his only chance was if Dr. Richmond came to Raven’s defense and let Schmidt know he was innocent. Nikki planned to stay out of it.

But as she watched the principal do her best to break him down, Nikki found it impossible to keep her mouth shut.
“Raven wasn’t involved, if that’s where you’re headed. He was at the back of the room talking to me and Krissy. You can ask her if you like.” Her tone matched her attitude, both drifting toward the defensive.

“I’ll do that.” Principal Schmidt’s attention stayed on Nikki for a long time.