ran outside, sliding through the patio doorway.
He started to tell Will and the Halflings what he’d discovered, but his words stopped in the moment he reached the backyard. Everyone was looking at the sky. Vine looked up as well, but the sun shot straight into his eyes. He slammed them shut for a few seconds, and when he reopened them it was darker, and a sound much like a tornado became louder as moments ticked past. He realized the sky was filled with wings, enough to block the setting sun. There had to be twenty Halflings, all descending on the backyard like a great flock of birds.
Vine searched out Will on the back porch. “Who are they? What are they doing here?”
Will didn’t answer, just stared at this new group as they sailed toward the house.
As they neared, the wind smacked with such force, it blew over the patio table. Chair cushions swirled into the violent current of air. Winter and Vegan’s hair flew in all directions, while Raven, Mace, and Glimmer seemed to be bracing themselves against the onslaught.
Vine’s gaze shot around the patio, then back to the sky. They were outnumbered by more than two to one. Mace stepped forward and stood a little in front of Will. Mace always took the lead now, and if these Halflings were here for a war, he was ready. Unlike the rest, who were still shell-shocked, with their clothing plastered to their bodies like they were all trapped in a wind tunnel.
Vegan and Winter finally began to move, and both girls worked to cluster and hold their long hair away from their faces. Vine’s heart kicked up and adrenaline sluiced through his system.
As the twenty-some Halflings touched down in the backyard, one took center stage. His flock of giant, graceful winged creatures all fell into place behind him.
Vine instantly disliked the guy. And after a quick sizing up of the Halflings on the porch, the strange leader’s gaze lingered a moment on Vine. The dude’s face said the feeling was mutual.
For a short stretch of time after they returned her to the cage, the room was blessedly quiet, giving Nikki time to examine Zero’s wounds, hold him while he rested, and pray. “Please, see Zero safely out of this. I don’t really want to die either, but if dying will protect him, I will. No matter what my future after that holds. I don’t want to live on this earth as a dark creature. Whatever Vessler has planned for me, please, give me a way out. Even if it means drawing no more breath.” She prayed all of this silently, not wanting Zero to hear and be tempted to give up hope. Nikki wasn’t giving up, though she reasoned it could sound like it. She was a fighter. And right now, this was the only way she knew to fight.
The exam room door opened and Nikki stood. When Vessler came closer with the short baseball bat in his hand, she placed herself between the door and Zero.
“Your spirit is good, but your aim is faulty. You didn’t pierce my heart, only my flesh.”
Nikki spread her stance. “You’re supposed to be my teacher, so why don’t you give me one more shot?” The strength of her voice surprised her, and the contempt it held for the man who’d once been her guardian made her proud. She wished she could think of something more cutting and clever to say.
“There’s no edge to gain, Nikki. You can’t win. That is, until you join me.”
She leaned forward. “I’ll never join you.”
He laughed. “Of course you will. You’ve already secured that future by coming here. Now, it’s just a matter of time. And, sadly, torture. Disobedient children have to be punished.”
Vessler’s men opened the door and dragged her out onto the floor, where Zero’s blood had already dried and stained the concrete. Vessler took the first few blows, using the bat to pummel her thighs and shoulder. When she could no longer stand, he had his men hold her up. After several strikes, they thrust her to the ground.
Boots stepped into her peripheral vision, the wooden bat swinging to and fro like a pendulum above them. She buried her head between her arms and whimpered in anticipation. The blow made a thud as it landed across her back. She screamed, the nerve endings beneath her skin erupting on impact then radiating outward. Her muscles bunched violently beneath her damaged flesh. She cried out again, the sudden