Avenger (22 page)

“Your organization.” Zero knew he’d hooked Townsend. “You know, the one for men who are too stupid and ugly for even their mothers to love.”

Townsend closed the distance, drew back, and swung.

Cold metal struck the side of Zero’s face. He’d seen it coming, but with arms locked beneath the titanium, there was nothing he could do. He didn’t try to lean away from the hit; instead, his head slammed to the side. He ran his tongue over the inside of his bleeding cheek. When his eyes shifted back to Townsend, he grinned again. “I guess you don’t know much about Halflings,” he mocked. “We’re tough. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you’ve been practicing, but that felt like a nasty bee sting.” He thought a moment. “Maybe not a nasty sting … more like a kiss from a sweat bee.”

The blow fell again, this time with more force. Zero smiled past the pain. He wouldn’t dare give Townsend the satisfaction of knowing it hurt.

Townsend dragged him from the lair and into the light. That stung his swollen eye. And as they left his compound
behind, Zero realized he needed to get a message out somehow. The whole three-second network warning seemed a really stupid idea at this point. But it was all he had. Unless he could think of something else.

He tripped once on his way to the yellow Hummer and went down hard, landing on his knee. Pain sliced up and felt like it split his leg in two. He realized just how human titanium could make him feel. He’d watched football players and guys on soccer fields fall and overreact, screaming and grabbing their legs after a knee injury. Now, he understood.

Townsend tossed him into the backseat, clamped a chain around his ankles for good measure, and locked it by running the chain through the door handle. So much for jumping from the car. If he did, he’d be dragged. Zero wasn’t vain or anything, but the idea of having his flesh peeled by asphalt just didn’t have an appeal.

Before long, they arrived at the Omega Corp laboratory. Zero knew more abuse was sure to follow and tried to brace himself.

The interior of the lab was about what he’d expected. He knew they’d have state-of-the-art equipment and hadn’t been wrong. Everything from computers to medical apparatuses dominated the space — all shiny new and gleaming with the slightly futuristic look of gear that wasn’t on the market yet.

As a way of saying hello, they’d slammed him around and locked him — in titanium brackets, of course — onto a slab of a table. Scientists poked and prodded him, then injected something into his arm that caused everything to go a little dreamy. His eyes blurred and he fought it, but his vision refused to locate any specific object, choosing to pulse to a total haze then return to semi-focused details. People in white coats, medical equipment on metal poles, all a foggy distortion. Zero fought
panic as the white-coated personnel then dragged him from the examination table and tossed him onto the floor where a trio of thugs — whose waist size and IQ probably hovered around the same number — beat him mercilessly. These weren’t scientists, just Vessler’s hired muscle.

Wounds healed; some quickly, some taking time. But with each passing hour, Zero worried a little more. What if he’d missed something? If information about the network leaked, it posed a threat to every Halfling on the planet. He tried to retrace his steps but blows to his head caused a haze of memories that he wasn’t sure were real or imagined. He’d dropped the laptop in the toilet. That he remembered with vivid clarity. The rest, who knew?

Around him, a hospital-white room held computers, medical equipment, and long counters. White-coated, clipboard-cradling science dweebs oohed and aahed with each bone-crushing blow like he was some new species just discovered … which to them, technically he was. Occasionally, they would make notes on their clipboards or on a computer screen.

These guys are sick
.

“I bet you’re just upset that you didn’t win the beauty pageant,” he said when the middle guy paused to catch his breath after a battery of blows. Zero figured his ribs must be broken, because the words came out in a whisper and it felt like a knife blade jutted from his side.

The man answered with a kick to the thigh.

Zero clenched his teeth to keep from groaning.
Ugh. That hurts like flying full force into a mountainside
.

A ringed fist caught his jaw. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on Vegan. Her face, her scent. Vegan preferred to go barefoot, and she kept her toes polished with soft colors.
Often, they walked the woods to the lake’s edge. She’d roll up her pant legs and wade carelessly through the water. From the bank, he’d watch tiny fish swim up to her, drawn by her heavenly essence. They’d bump against her ankle and she’d giggle and wiggle her toes, then beckon him to come out with her. But he’d always said no. Even through the cloud of excruciating pain, he could see Vegan’s warm smile and hand beckoning to him on the bank.

When another punch landed in his neck, tears welled in his eyes. Not that the humans noticed. They were busy finding the best ways to pummel him, their sweat sprinkling him like their own personal Total Gym. The stench of body odor filled his nose, replacing the scent of Vegan and all that was good in the world. Bits of their perspiration dried on his cheeks. Good. He didn’t want them to know he’d cried.

Halflings
could
die. It was possible. The bad thing about his body having self-healing ability was that just when he thought he couldn’t take any more, he’d heal and they’d begin the assault all over again. He was too wounded to snap his wings open, and when they’d realized that they’d removed the wingcuff, allowing for more body targets. It didn’t matter. He was too weak to even move.

He wasn’t sure if he’d die here or not. If he did, at least he’d protected the network.

Zero runs the network
. He remembered the day he’d received the commission.

Zero runs the network
. He relished the memory, the honor. Another tear blurred his vision. If he made it out of this place alive, he planned to do two things:

He’d run the network.

And he’d wade in the stream with Vegan.

Chapter 20

Y
ou love him, don’t you?” Nikki said, lifting one of Vegan’s newly crafted necklaces to inspect the design. Vegan had set up a makeshift workspace in Nikki’s room — which Nikki hadn’t minded at all, because it was fun to watch Vegan work the cords and beads into jewelry. Besides, Nikki wanted them all to believe she was settling in to her new home … her new life … her new species. What she didn’t want was everyone wondering if she’d run away again to go after Vessler. The Halflings trusted her, of this she was certain. That didn’t change the fact she wanted answers about her past, her parents, and, well, on more than one occasion she’d acted impetuously and had left the Halflings out of the loop, especially occasions concerning her godfather. Vegan hadn’t answered her query, so Nikki spoke again. “You love him, right?”

Vegan’s eyes rounded and her cheeks flushed, a nice compliment to her rosy-colored shirt. She slipped her feet from her sandals. “Who?”

“Zero. I see the way you look at him. How he looks at you.”

Vegan stood and paced. “Oh. We’re just friends.”

“Right.”

“He looks at me like an annoying kid sister.” She traversed the room a few times, then sank onto the bed with a frown.

Nikki sat beside her. “When you’re not looking, he gets all mushy-eyed.”

Vegan gasped. “He does?” She tucked her feet beneath her.

“He’s toast.” Nikki held up her pinky. “You’ve
so
got him wrapped around your finger.”

Vegan giggled. The sound was like a thousand fairy wings flittering in an enchanted forest.

Nikki glanced down and was aware of her sloppy posture compared to Vegan’s regal one.

“What?” Vegan leaned closer. “What’s wrong?”

Nikki motioned toward her. “You. Not
you
, personally. Just … you, Glimmer, and Winter. You’re like perfect heavenly creatures. I don’t even have decent posture.”

“But you do have wings.” Vegan smiled. “You’re one of us.”

She tucked her hair back. “Uh, yeah, right. I’m more like the hillbilly cousin no one talks about.”

Vegan laughed. “You make me smile, Nikki. And I’m proud to have you in my family. I’m proud to call you sister.”

Proud. Really? What had she ever done to warrant that? Nikki’s eyes puddled. “But I’m not.” She reached for Vegan’s hand. “Don’t get me wrong, you guys have done everything in your power to welcome me. But Vegan, I know there’s something really dark about my past, though I’ve yet to figure out what that is. And no one seems to want to talk about it. I was going to ask Will, but every time I start to, I clam up.”

Vegan swallowed, gold flecks flickering as her gaze dropped.

“You know, don’t you?” Nikki tightened her grip on Vegan’s hand. “Please, tell me.”

“It’s not my place. Will —”

Nikki sprang from the bed. “Will this and Will that. I’m tired of waiting for Will to decide for me, and I’m too much of a coward to ask him.” Her hand covered her heart. “My parents are gone. Dead. And now I have you guys, but everyone knows more about my past than me.”

Vegan brushed her hand back and forth across the bedspread.

A long exhale escaped Nikki’s lips. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”

“I’m sorry,” Vegan whispered, her eyes begging forgiveness. “Besides, does it really matter? I mean, look at
us
. We’re orphans, but we’re not. We have parents, but don’t get to know them. What I’m trying to say is, embrace who you are now. Not who you were. You’ve been chosen for the great war. There’s no higher honor in this world or any other. You, Nikki. Chosen by the Throne. Don’t you think that’s what should matter, rather than the pieces of your past?”

Nikki dropped onto the bed again. “But then what?” With bent knee, she pivoted to study Vegan’s face. “What happens after … you know.”

“After we die? Well, we don’t have a writ like the humans do.”

“A writ?”

Vegan smiled. “Oh, sorry. A written word. A covenant.”

“Yeah, they’re safe and we’re dogmeat.” It was hard for Nikki to imagine a being who would call someone into service then reject them. And yet Vegan seemed so sure about the future, so confident.

“It’s not like that. Some spiritual laws pertain to every living creature.”

“What do you mean?” Nikki asked.

“Things like seed time and harvest, sowing and reaping. You don’t have to coax a seed to grow. You plant it in the ground and everything around it works in harmony to produce a plant — that’s seed time and harvest. A sunflower seed won’t produce an apple tree — that’s sowing and reaping.”

“Okay, thanks for the lesson on spiritual laws. It’s good to know.” Nikki grabbed her by the shoulders. “But Vegan
what happens to us?
”

“We’ve made a choice to serve the Throne. In knowing his nature, we assume that on the Great and Terrible Day of Judgment, we’ll be allowed entrance into heaven, though we may never be able to enter the holy city or the Throne Room because of our ancestors.”

“Wow, hillbilly cousin again.” Nikki’s hands dropped to her sides.

“No. Heaven isn’t like that, nor is the one who created it. He made room for us. I’m sure he did, Nikki. Just as sure as I know a seed will grow if it’s placed in the ground.” She paused a moment. “At the same time, he can’t go back on his word. That would make him a liar. Our ancestors, the fallen, were never to enter the Great Kingdom again.”

“Are you telling me God found a loophole in his own contract?”

“He flung the stars into the sky and told them to stay, and they do to this day.” Her eyes glistened with an adoration for this being that Nikki couldn’t quite grasp. “No. He didn’t find a loophole. He knows the end from the beginning. I think he made the concession at the beginning of time when he was still measuring out the waters of the seas.”

“You’re saying he made a concession before one was needed? That sort of staggers the mind, doesn’t it?”

Vegan’s eyes widened. “Indeed. His desire is that none perish. Even the hillbilly cousins. But there’s a delicate balance he has to maintain as well. The Fallen mated with human women in an attempt to destroy the bloodline.”

“Destroy it how?”

“Maybe
destroy
isn’t the right word. It’s more like
infect it
. The fallen angels wanted to corrupt the human bloodline by introducing fallen blood. God could have just wiped them and all their offspring off the face of the earth. But he didn’t.” Vegan smiled. “Because he knew one day Nikki Youngblood would be born. And he already loved her. He made a way for us, Nikki. He called us into service because he loves us. We’re the ultimate army.”

“Thanks, Vegan. I’ve never looked at God like that.” Silence followed while Nikki contemplated the goodness of a creator who would make concessions for offspring of the very beings sent to destroy his plan. “I just don’t understand why God created people if he knew what a huge mess they were all going to end up in.”

“Because they’re worth it.”

Nikki’d had enough of this conversation. It was too much to try to grasp when she was still so new to all of it. “Have you talked to Zero today?”

“On the phone early this morning. I plan to stop by later.”

“Be sure and take a package of Watermelon Zinger juice boxes. He loves them.”

Vegan’s brows rose. “Did you try to bribe him?”

“Yeah, snuck out this morning.”

“And?”

She shrugged. “And nothing. He’s as tight-lipped as you.”

“Remember, Nikki, concentrate on who you are now. Not who you were.” Vegan rose and slipped her dainty pink toes into her equally delicate sandals. Who would ever guess at the immortal weapon she actually was? Gliding across the carpet as if she were floating, Vegan left the room.

Nikki sat alone in the quiet space. Though the other girl’s suggestions about leaving the past alone rang true, the desire to know outweighed it. Damon knew the truth. But no matter how desperate she became, she’d never go to him for the answers. He’d hurt her for the last time.