Avenger Read Online Free PDF Page B

called her out as other before.
    Frank gestured to Raven. “Light hair, blue eyes on the guys, and dark hair, golden eyes on the girls. Sorry, but you sort of stick out like a cannibal in a vegan restaurant.”
    “Okaaaay,” Nikki said, wincing at the metaphor.
    “And since I’m a Seer, I know something’s hunting you.”
    Nikki ran forward and gripped Frank by the arms. “Please tell me everything you know. Can you see it? Can you see where it is now? I haven’t been able to sense a thing.” Let it be far from Viennesse . Or, if the seeker was after them, she prayed they’d succeeded in rerouting it. Though if it had picked up her scent … Had she put everyone in the tunnels in danger?
    Raven pulled her off Frank. She forced herself to focus on his thumb gently rubbing the underside of her wrist instead of the thoughts swirling through her mind.
    “What’s after 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 werefar 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