you, Halfling?”
Raven opened his mouth to speak, but stopped and looked down at Dane.
The motion wasn’t lost on Frank. “Go get me something to drink,” he told his little brother.
Dane sighed and moped off in the direction of a doorway.
With a glance back to make sure they boy was out of earshot, Raven said, “A seeker.”
Frank’s mink-brown eyes narrowed. “Don’t know that one. I’ve met with hell hounds, watched Halflings fight demons, but a seeker? Wimpy name. How bad could it be?”
“Worse than anything you’ve seen. It’s like a million razor-sharp knifes slicing at once, leaving you in ribbons. And it never stops hunting until it finds the target.”
Frank pointed to Nikki. “You, right?”
Nikki dropped her head.
Dane returned, and when his brother wouldn’t take the can of soda he offered, he sat it on the ground at their feet.
So far, no explosion about drawing the seeker into the tunnels. That had to be a good sign. Though why wasn’t he yelling at them? Did the guy have no sense of self-preservation? Nikki felt the questions rise in her throat and the fear accompanying them. Especially for Dane, who had already lost someone he cared about — Greta — because she had stuck her neck out for someone like Raven. Someone like me. “Look, I don’t want to stay down here. Raven brought us here because we didn’t know what else to do. Just point us to the nearest exit and we’ll go.”
Frank rocked back on his heels. “Just like that?”
“We can’t just let them go!” Dane pleaded, his small hand patting the sure-to-be rock-hard stomach beneath Frank’s tank.
Nikki marveled at her ability to mess everything up. If she survived this latest nightmare, maybe she’d write a book. Ten Thousand Ways to Ruin Someone’s Day. “Yes, we will leave just like that. It’s not your concern and we’ve put you in danger.”
As Frank stared at her, Nikki realized his features were chiseled enough to belong to a Halfling. But he was sporting a five o’clock shadow and springy arm hair, as well as eyes that were far from blue — not to mention he didn’t possess the Halflings’ smooth manner and breathtaking beauty. Instead he looked beat up by life, but stronger for it. There was wisdom and fearlessness in his gaze.
“Well, you’re wrong about a couple of things.” Frank reached to the ground and snagged the soda. “First, you’re here. And that makes it our business. Second, you didn’t put us in any more danger than what we live in day by day, baby. So stop with the pity party.”
Nikki closed her mouth abruptly.
“I may not know anything about seekers, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t afraid to fight whatever tries to infiltrate our domain.”
Raven reached a hand to Frank’s shoulder in a brother-in-arms sort of way. She’d learned warriors had their own language, one Raven and probably Frank spoke fluently. “I appreciate that, but this creature just destroyed three of our friends. Halflings named Deux, Paix, and Tronc.
Frank slowly sat the soda can back on the floor. When he rose, Nikki could tell he was struggling to maintain his composure. “They were our friends too. You sure? Deux is an amazing fighter …”
“We’re sure.”
Nikki chanced a glance at the corner table. The guys seated there reacted to tragedy the same way—all dropped their heads a degree, while one rubbed a hand over his face and another leaned back, sniffed, stared at the ceiling.
More pain and sorrow to leave in her wake.
Frank moved a millimeter closer to Nikki and trapped her in his stone-cold gaze. Beside her, Raven bristled. Frank’s entire composure had shifted once more — now something was boiling in the depths of Frank’s eyes. His teeth were clenched so tightly, she wondered if his jaw might shatter. As he took a predatory step toward her, Raven countered with a defensive stride between them.
Tension rose until Frank reached out and grabbed her by the shirt. “Stop it, Nikki!”
Now what did I do? She tried to ready for a punch, an attack of some kind, but instead he pulled her to his face. Nikki wanted to search for Raven, but couldn’t drag her eyes from Frank. “W-what?”
He drew her even closer and growled, “Stop it now.”
Where is my sworn protector while I’m being manhandled by this Xian bully? Beside her, she actually felt Raven relax.
“I — I don’t understand.”
“It’s not about you, little Halfling. This is the battle we’ve chosen. Stop feeling sorry for us. Stop feeling sorry for