chapter 10
They were readying to leave when the first bits of apprehension trickled over her shoulders. Raven was unfazed, so Nikki cast her unease aside. “You look rested.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I had sweet dreams. You?”
She didn’t try to hide the smile. “Yes. Pastor Layton’s wife let me sleep in an ultra-comfy recliner in her office after they gave me some instruction about faith and how to fight the seeker.”
“Great, you can fill me in on all the details after we go.” He gave her his full attention. “What’s the main thing you learned?”
“To pray for peace. Peace is a major key in defeating the seeker.”
“Pray for peace, got it.”
“I wasn’t finished. Pray for peace. But prepare for war.”
Raven nodded. “Sometimes war is the only way to peace.”
Didn’t she know it? Rough roads often had the best scenery. And what she’d learned on this difficult journey was fast becoming the framework of who she was becoming. That girl who liked drawing and karate felt so far away from her, except, on some deep level, that girl was still there. Not dead, just … transformed. It was as if she’d been reborn, and because of that everything looked different, like the world was spinning in a new way. Pastor Layton and his wife helped to make sense of the craziness and in listening to them, she’d found a new kind of clarity. And maybe a new kind of determination. Faith was no longer the foolish thing she’d imagined it to be earlier — now it was like air.
Relationships with boys, however, was another matter. Raven was busy folding the blanket he’d used. It smelled like him, a scent she loved. She couldn’t deny that. Last night, sitting at his side, holding his hand … it all felt so right. But Mace felt right too. Always. How could this be so hard to figure out? Maybe she never would. Maybe there’d never be a clear picture, and the only answer would be choosing neither.
Pastor Layton met Raven and Nikki at the door to his office. Bags rested beneath his red eyes and he looked like he hadn’t slept all night. Oh yeah, prayer meeting. He probably hadn’t.
“Time is of the essence,” he said, rushing them toward the door that led to the large parking lot they’d entered through the night before. “The intercessors are sensing …” He paused in the hallway, swallowed, and gave a weary shrug. “Well, I don’t know what they’re sensing exactly, but —”
Raven pulled the door open and they stepped outside. A bright morning sun greeted them, offering the promise of a beautiful day. Which — considering their current dilemma — was a pretty unlikely possibility.
Nikki heard the sound immediately. A deep, guttural howling noise that cut through her flesh and straight into her heart. For a moment, all three looked at one another as if waiting for one to ask the question none of them wanted to answer. Raven led Nikki to the edge of the portico where he could leap. But it was too late.
Something dropped near them from the sky. The massive black creature landed close, grunting and screeching. But there wasn’t just one creature; other beings soon intertwined with the monster. Here and there, its form was interrupted by slashes of color and wings.
Nikki started screaming and couldn’t stop. In the mess, she recognized Mace, Vine, Winter, and Glimmer, all woven with and fighting the creature and its multitude of long, slithering arms. There was a commotion behind Nikki, and hands closed around her. First just one, then others. The intercessors had undoubtedly rushed to the door and were now dragging her back toward the church. She fought to get free.
“Get her inside,” Raven yelled and ran straight for the seeker and the mass of Halflings fighting it.
Nikki yanked against her captives. “I can help them,” she said, stretching toward the fight, but she couldn’t move. The intercessors were lead shackles holding her steadfast.
Tentacle-like appendages stretched from the horrid black creature. He used two of them to lift his body to a standing position, and once it was planted against the asphalt Nikki noticed the razor-sharp blades on the end of each arm. The Halflings rose in response, Glimmer backing away slightly then drawing an arrow from her quiver and readying her bow.
But the seeker caught her movement and lashed out with one long swipe, slicing her cheek. She reeled back, falling on the ground, while the same razor claw hovered over Glimmer’s body, aimed at her chest.
Nikki screamed and finally broke free. She ran toward Glimmer. “Get back,” she yelled at the usually fearless girl who’d become frozen on the ground, clutching her cheek.
Nikki stopped in her tracks when the seeker turned its full attention to her. She instantly felt vulnerable. There has to be something I can use as a weapon. Her eyes shot to the ground and rested on Glimmer’s bow, lying forgotten beside her friend. Nikki grabbed the weapon, but rather than try to shoot it, she tilted the bayonet-like sharpened end at the seeker. When Mace drew the monster’s attention by jumping onto its back, Nikki ran forward and planted the bow in the seeker’s chest with all the strength she had.
The creature reeled back, staggering a few steps while a thick, black liquid oozed from the wound. Its eyes settled on Nikki like a homing beacon, and before she could move, a long, serrated arm slashed at her. She felt the burn of tearing flesh as it sliced across her throat.
She fell backward as she watched the seeker disappear beneath a frenzied mound of Halflings.
Nikki gasped for air. The wound across her throat felt endless, and each breath she took caused the excruciating sensations to seep deeper into her system. Suddenly Pastor Layton was above her, his hands clamped around her shoulders. She was vaguely aware of being dragged toward the door of the church, and watched in shock as Glimmer rose and retrieved her bow. From a safe distance away, Glimmer shot three arrows into the seeker’s chest while Nikki continued to struggle for air.
“Raven,” Mace said, when the seeker staggered again, this time from Glimmer’s attack. “Take Nikki and leave. Get away from here.”
Raven paused only long enough to consider the consequences of the words he was about to speak. “I’ll stay here and fight. You go.”
Mace stopped moving, but only for the briefest moment. “You’ve kept her alive this long. Go. Find somewhere safe. We can hold the seeker here until you’re far enough from its range.”
Pastor Layton ran to the boys, who were now a few steps away from the battle. He directed his words to Raven. “You have to come with me immediately. Plan to stay away for several hours, give your friends time to reroute the seeker. Then bring Nikki back here. We’ll pray for that wound when you return.”
Layton led Raven back to the portico. He followed, reluctantly, half ready to flee with Nikki and half wanting to battle the seeker with Mace and Vine at his side. “Is she going to be okay?”
Pastor Layton’s eyes dropped, and he studied a spot in the concrete sidewalk. “I don’t know. Despair has been released into her system by the seeker. It will take over if you don’t keep it at bay.”
“How do I do that?” Raven said.
“I’m not sure, son, but we’ll pray for you to have wisdom.” Some of the intercessors carried Nikki out to Raven while the Halflings continued to fight.
Raven took Nikki in his arms and leapt. With her this close, he could see the fresh wound, a smooth slice across her collarbone just below the hollow of her throat. If it had been a little higher … He stopped that thought, because the blinding pain it caused made it impossible to fly.
He concentrated on the objective. Get her somewhere safe, somewhere safe. The midplane. He had to get her to the midplane. Raven rocketed skyward with Nikki in his arms. The gash below her throat, nearly shoulder to shoulder, had started oozing a dark reddish-black fluid. Her blood, mixed with the poison from the slash, appeared to be burning her flesh where it leaked onto her skin. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and streams of tears trailed her face. He’d hoped she would be unconscious by now, have a respite from the pain.
She’ll be safe in the midplane. Raven repeated the words in his head over and over. Partly because he so desperately wanted to believe it.
A lock of her hair caught the wind and fell across the wound. Nikki jolted and let out a howl. Raven took hold of the renegade strands and dragged them away from the cut. He couldn’t tell how deep the wound was, and wasn’t sure if it mattered. The skin around it had gone from peach to charcoal. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was being seared with a torch from the inside out.
The chills began and he prayed he’d get to the midplane quickly. Anything was better than this. “Hang on, Nikki,” he whispered, as much to reassure himself as to encourage her. He tuned into the sound of his wings pumping feverishly.
Nikki’s flesh had become clammy and he had to readjust her in his arms to anchor the slick hold. Every movement was excruciating, but her cries had become moans as strength left her.
She was paralyzed until they reached the midplane.
As soon as they entered the heavenly atmosphere, Nikki bucked, practically slipping from Raven’s grasp. A long solid scream released from a throat tightened with strained muscles.
He nearly panicked when Nikki — writhing in his arms — reached for her wound in an attempt to claw at it. He wrestled her hands away from the cut and dropped out of the midplane. She calmed almost instantly.
Reduced to exhausted whimpers, she curled into a ball in his arms.
“I don’t know what to do,” Raven whispered, his voice sounding foreign to him. If the midplane wasn’t safe … He pushed tears from his eyes and sniffed.
Nikki had become a quiet shell.
“I don’t know what to do,” he repeated, rubbing a hand along Nikki’s back. It wasn’t to soothe her. Tearing his gaze from the small heap she’d become, Raven looked down at the world beneath them.
The sun glinted off something far below. From the distance, he couldn’t make it out, but it beckoned, a searchlight, signaling the way home. He dropped from the sky until he saw the glow of the church’s cross.
Impulse caused him to veer away, but he stopped and inspected the area where the fight with the seeker had ensued. The grounds were empty. The seeker was gone. The Halflings were gone, leaving a handful of cars in the driveway, and not much else.
Raven dropped to the parking lot beside the gargantuan church that somehow seemed even bigger now, more regal, more of a battle station than a sanctuary for lost souls. Before he could get to the door, it swung open and Pastor Layton emerged carrying a towel dripping with water.
“Press this to the wound. She won’t like it, but it will help the stinging.”
The pastor must have noticed Raven’s frown because he explained before the question left Raven’s mouth. “I had a feeling you would come back soon.”
His words were a flurry as he told what had happened. “The girl with the bow …”
“Glimmer,” Raven said.
“She got her weapon after it dropped from the seeker’s chest and sank about three arrows into the thing. Perfect shots, even with the wound on her cheek.”
“Yeah, she’s accurate. Did it kill it?”
Pastor Layton blinked. “No. You can’t kill it. But it did run away. The others went after it.”
Nikki moaned. Raven stepped to take her inside, but Pastor Layton blocked his way. “She can’t be here.”
What? Is he kidding?
“The intercessors are too exhausted. As weak as they are, the seeker could waltz right in the front door and take her.”
Raven wanted to strangle the man, but steadied his hand instead. “What am I supposed to do?”
Layton dragged a hand through already messed-up hair. When he sagged against the doorframe, Raven realized how exhausted the man must be. He looked like he’d aged about ten years since they first arrived. “I tried to take her into the midplane.”
“Burned like fire, didn’t it?”
Raven nodded, and looked down at his pale angel. “It must have. She started convulsing. What can I give her to help?”
“There’s no medicine for this. It’s all internal, all spiritual. And a lot of the outcome will depend on her attitude. If her mind falls into darkness, her body will follow. She’ll become a dark creature.”
“What? How do you know?”
“Kaylyn’s uncle was a close friend, a Xian who fought a seeker years ago. There were Halflings who helped him. When some were injured, it became clear deep wounds had devastating effects. Once I witnessed the horrors the infected were experiencing, I searched Scripture for information. It’s all there, if you have eyes to see it. Believe me, Raven, if something isn’t done, she’ll awaken as a dark creature.”
Raven’s heart shuddered. She’ll awaken as a dark creature. Vessler. This was just one more plot set in place by Vessler. “It’s another way to turn her?”
Layton reached a hand to her cheek. “Yes. Some Halflings turn willingly, some have bitter blood forced into their veins. But those scenarios don’t matter—she’s being poisoned, Raven. From the inside out. I’m not sure she’s strong enough to resist it.”
“What can I do?” Even as he said it, the hopelessness pressed. All his work to keep her safe, only to see her body writhe toward darkness with no way for him to stop it.
“Keep her mind occupied on what is good — talk to her about anything that she loves or enjoys, anything you can think of that might remind her of the light. If you can get her focus on the goodness of God, that will help. I’m going to send you with an iPod loaded with worship music to maintain a heavenly atmosphere. Keep the music playing — at all times. It will help.”
Raven took the gift, twisting it in his hand. “Thanks.”
“Obviously, don’t try to enter the midplane again. You have to find somewhere safe for the night — preferably behind water. And you have to watch her closely. Don’t let her fall, Raven.”
“I won’t.”
“I’ll have the intercessors rest for an hour. Then we’ll be in prayer, warring for you both. If she makes it through the night, she’ll make it.”
If she makes it. “But we can’t stay here?”
“No. She needs to be somewhere beyond water so the seeker can’t find her. By releasing poison into her veins, his ability to track has increased tremendously. But we can protect in other ways. Once Nikki is gone, the seeker has no authority here, and with it gone our intercessors can engage with full strength. We will battle, Raven. We won’t let you down.”
Raven believed him. The man had already shown his determination in protecting Nikki. He’d pray, he’d have the others pray — Raven could only hope it would be enough.
His gaze found the tall signage advertising the church. Did the people who attended here know what a warrior their pastor was? Probably not. In Raven’s experience, most people chose to pretend there was no battle. If you only knew …
Raven was just starting to turn from him when the door opened again. An old woman with a cane stepped out and pressed her hand to Raven’s cheek. “She will not die,” the craggy voice spoke with such certainty, with such conviction it almost persuaded him even though his eyes saw Nikki growing weaker, the grayed wound across her collarbones evidencing her spiritual slide. He tried to utter something in agreement with the old woman’s statement, but the words died on his tongue.
“She will live and declare the works of the Lord.” The crepe-paper-skinned woman held out a Bible to him. “When it looks desperate, read her this. The passage is marked.” She smiled, lines deepening on her face and wrinkling around her small, watery eyes.
As he held the worn leather, his destination became clear. “We’ll be beyond the waterfall.” Before he could change his mind, he added, “If Mace comes back, let him know. He’ll know what I’m talking about.” His hand smoothed over Nikki’s matted hair. “He should be with her too. Especially right now.”
“Wait and I’ll pack some blankets and food for you,” Layton said.
“No time. Thanks for everything, though.”
Once airborne, Raven jettisoned toward Missouri and the falls, pretending he held Nikki so tightly because of her inability to hang on herself, instead of in a death grip as a promise to not let her go. He couldn’t lose her, not like this. He’d rather lose her to Mace.
He pumped his wings methodically while Nikki lay in his arms. I should be thinking of ways to help her, not my stupid problems.
The landscape changed to the telltale hills and lush forest of the Ozark Mountains. When he spotted the river, he dropped altitude and drifted into the valley, where the sound of rushing water filled his ears. It was so peaceful, soothing. Safe. “We made it, baby. We’re going to be —” Raven looked down, where Nikki remained quiet, still curled into his chest like a kitten trying to stay warm. Her breathing was shallow. Touching down at the foot of the falls, he looked around for something to cover her as he entered the cave so she wouldn’t get drenched. “Nikki,” he whispered. “I’m going to lay you in the grass while I look around.”
Her head lulled to the side as he removed his arm from beneath her, and she didn’t respond as he placed her on the spongy green earth. Raven’s chest felt painfully tight. What if she didn’t pull through? Would Mace have known what to do to help her? A small voice murmured, “Soon, you’ll need to let go,” and he bit his lip hard to focus his mind on that pain instead.
Remembering the iPod, he removed it from his pocket and gingerly placed the ear buds into her ears before turning on the music. “This better be some playlist.”
Now to find something to keep her dry. But after thirty minutes of searching, he’d turned up nothing but a small Ziploc bag with a few matches inside. The mouth of the cave mocked him, its waterfall doorway like a smooth sheet of glass. He needed to get her inside, beyond the wall of water, into the cave where the seeker couldn’t see them.
And he couldn’t waste any more time.
Raven tucked the Bible under his shirt and into the belt of his jeans then gathered Nikki in his arms. He tried to shield her with his body as he walked through the cascade. Nikki lurched as the cold water hit her. Still, Raven held firm and moved fully into the darkened cave.
The rushing sound of water echoed off the walls, its tone different, almost muffled inside the domed space. And in the quiet, Raven sighed and closed his eyes.
Safe.
He dropped his head to hers and let some of the anxiety melt from his muscles. But that was a mistake. The release of tension brought the first wave of the panic he’d staved off, causing his throat to hiccup. He squeezed his teeth so tightly, his jaw ached, but anything was better than considering the possibility of losing her. And as even the pain spread from his teeth to his neck and chest, that’s what rushed his mind: a Nikki-less world. A world where he and Mace had failed in the only thing they’d ever teamed up to do. Or worse, a world where Nikki was a dark creature and their only option was to hunt her.
And then she’d truly destroy them. He and Mace both loved her too much.
Raven rubbed his cheek against her hair, wishing once again that he could take the pain away. She’d suffered so much already. If Nikki made it through this, it was time for the craziness to stop. Her entire world had been a whirlwind from the moment those hell hounds chased her in the woods to the moment she realized Damon Vessler was at the core of Omega Corporation. He claimed he’d created Nikki. That without her, his plan had no purpose. Vessler’d done insidious things to Nikki, but sending this seeker to hunt her down, to change her so painfully and against her will … It was inhuman. No matter what happened, Vessler would pay.
The hope Raven clung to was that for Nikki to be any good to her “godfather,” she’d have to turn. If this attempt didn’t work, the only way Vessler would succeed is if Nikki went to him willingly … which of course, was laughable. She knew who Vessler really was now. In fact, she’d nearly killed him in the plane crash, shooting him twice out of vengeance. No, Nikki would never let herself be influenced by Vessler again.
Fatigue sliced through Raven’s biceps, but he wasn’t ready to relinquish her yet. He stepped deeper inside, shaking the water from his hair. Strands stuck to his cheeks and his stomach rumbled. He ignored both.
Scanning the oval-shaped ceiling of the cave, he noticed a thin streak of light sifting through the rock. He laid Nikki on the ground and gauged the width of the cave. Yep, just enough to snap his wings open. A few gentle beats and he was able to reach the thin crack in the cave ceiling. Dirt filled the crevice. He touched it — dry. No water directly above. He clawed and scraped at the small crack, quickly creating a hole and letting in a bit more light. “Perfect,” he mumbled, arms now caked with bits of mud. At least it would allow him to create a small fire without accidentally asphyxiating them both. Before leaving to get whatever dead wood he could find, he checked the iPod’s volume and battery. Still good. With a deep breath he disappeared through the waterfall.
Within an hour, he had a fire blazing, with smoke curling into the air and out through the escape hatch he’d constructed. His clothes dried while he worked, but Nikki was shivering. He moved her as close to the flame as he dared, but her lips remained grayish blue and her skin cold and clammy.
Raven fitted himself behind her so his chest rested against her back. With the fire in front, and him behind, Nikki’s chills subsided. In another hour, she was asleep.
He opened the book and read, “The Lord is my Shepherd …”