Free Avenger by Heather Burch Page A

and wonderfully Raven. But awake, he was a different person, thanks to her ultimatum. Every practiced defense he possessed was on full display, just because she’d dared challenge him.
    And Nikki didn’t like being bullied. She’d made her decision, and it was Mace. Now that Nikki was a Halfling, she couldn’t keep the two guys in a constant fight for her affections. It had been wrong enough when she thought she was a human, but now … Now it was detestable. Mace was her match. She knew he was, even though it made little sense; Mace was constantly pushing her to be a better person, even when it was painful, while Raven loved her the way she was. She was better suited for Raven — the two of them both dangling over that dangerous cliff called darkness. But her heart belonged to Mace. He was her true love.
    Except …
    Nikki couldn’t erase the words Raven spoke the night before. Maybe he knows something about us that we don’t know .
    Christopher stood and offered Raven some coffee, and when he shook his head, the man sat back down. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve discovered and I’ll try to fill in the blanks.”
    “We know the seeker tracks blood.”
    “Yes,” Christopher agreed, reaching for a yellow pad. “Since Cain killed Abel, the blood cries out from the ground.”
    “Cain and Abel, as in the first murder?” Raven asked.
    “Yes. He tracks your blood. Wherever it spills, wherever you leave a drop on the earth, it’s like a homing device. You see, a spirit of anger grew within Cain, causing him to kill his brother. That spirit became the first seeker. Tracking blood that’s hit the ground is a seeker’s strongest ability. They are only released only at the most intense moments of betrayal. Once out, he will track your scent, your energy, your fear. But your spilled blood screams to him. Spilled blood screams in the spiritual realm … for those who have ears to hear it.”
    Nikki’s heart dropped. “I know what you’re talking about.” She turned to Raven. “When I was in the Hummer in Vessler’s garage, I found some blood on the seat. When I touched it, I saw a flash of my dad’s face.”
    Raven reached over and took her hand when her voice cracked. “You knew it was your dad’s blood? Just by touching it?”
    She nodded, drawing strength from his hand against hers. “Yes.”
    “So, your ability as a Seer is growing.” Raven squeezed, and for an instant all that icy coldness melted. “The guy in the Hummer killed your parents?”
    She nodded again.
    Christopher flipped some pages. “Do you know about water?”
    They turned to him.
    “We really are starting from scratch here, aren’t we?” He placed the pad on the table. “Seekers are from the pit. They were not meant to ever reach this realm, but occasionally one is sent.”
    “It’s after me,” Nikki said.
    “Lucky you.” Christopher tapped his pad. “Things of this realm confuse them.”
    Raven leaned forward a little. “Things like water?”
    “There’s no water in hell so they have trouble with it, can’t navigate well through it.” He snapped his fingers as if trying to dumb down the explanation. “Water’s dimensional property is confusing to them.”
    “That’s great to know if you’re a fish, but we can’t exactly hide underwater.”
    “Not just underwater, behind water. Say you’re looking through a giant aquarium. You can see the seeker clearly. But it has trouble seeing you.”
    “That doesn’t make sense, because scent would travel around the aquarium,” Raven offered.
    “Of course, it would smell you — uh, her — but it couldn’t easily find her. Many things of this realm create difficulties for the seeker. Water is the biggest.”
    “What else?” Raven tossed his head.
    “Temperature changes. Extremes. If you’re trying to stay ahead of it, going from cold climates to warm are difficult for the creature. It doesn’t adapt well. But you can’t stay anywhere too long, because