was years ago.”
“And he still visits them.” Several eyes cut a trail to Raven.
“He didn’t admit that, I figured it out.”
Winter’s gaze remained on him, as did most of the others’ sitting in the circle. He felt the sear of their stares, all the questions, and only he had the answers. Was it cruel to make them wait? Probably, but who cared?
Finally, he shrugged. “His shoes, the manure … Trust me, you don’t want any more of an explanation.”
“What else did you learn at Richmond’s house?” Winter asked.
“His daughter is hot.”
The girls rolled their eyes.
Oh yeah, girls were always jealous. “Seriously, I mean, this girl is amazing. He’s got a picture of her on a beach somewhere, and you know, I could almost smell her coconut suntan lotion.” Vine dropped his voice and leaned in. “Has anyone else noticed the smell of coconut lotion when Will comes around, or is it just me?”
Glimmer tilted her head to the side. “I thought maybe Will had some new beachy cologne or something.”
Raven scoffed. “Beaches smell like dead fish. I don’t think they make cologne in that scent.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and split him in two with her dagger eyes. “And I thought your favorite scent was manure.”
“This isn’t helping,” Vegan said.
Vine nodded in agreement and took a bite of red licorice. Raven continued. “The horses could be just the beginning. Omega could be gene splicing any number of creatures. Humans, Halflings.”
“That would account for the wingcuffs. There was enough titanium to make thousands.” Sky leaned his weight against a post and locked his hand around his bent knee.
“So, should we assume Omega is trying to splice human and Halfling DNA? And if so, for what purpose?”
“An army,” Zero said as he approached the group. He stood there, hovering above them, silver-white hair quivering in the wind. Raven liked Zero; he was one smart-mouthed guy. But honestly, the dude freaked him out a little with those milkywhite eyes and corpse-pale skin. Too many PopTarts, too many juice boxes, and not enough sunlight did not do a body good. Winter motioned with an upturned hand for him to continue.
Vegan donned a huge smile and scooted over, crowding Mace and making a place for Zero to sit.
Zero sneered down at the spot and remained standing. “I found some formulas in one of the Omega files. There weren’t any specific explanations, but I think they had to do with Halfling-human splicing.”
“No.” Now Will approached the group. He did indeed smell of coconuts.
Zero gave him a dirty look.
Will also stood at the edge of the circle, feet shoulder width apart, arms akimbo. “Halflings are Halflings and humans are humans. I don’t believe the two could be combined by gene splicing. It simply isn’t possible. The best that could be expected would be to mask the angelic qualities, and that would only work for a short time. The angelic strength would eclipse the human and ultimately destroy it.”
Vine shook his head. “But the original Halflings came from an angel-human union. So you must be wrong, Will.” Will stared at him. “A union. Breeding, not splicing.”
“Okay, so we can rule out human-Halfling DNA splicing. I guess we don’t have to worry about an army from that source,” Vine muttered.
“Then no army at all, because, as we all know, Halflings are capable of having only a single offspring,” Winter interjected. Will raised a finger. “Not all Halflings. There have been anomalies in the past. Very few, but some.”
Zero inched a little closer. “Will, what if a specimen were mostly Halfling, but the human DNA just filled in a few missing pieces?”
Will shook his head, a frown almost wrinkling his forehead.
“I just don’t see how human anything could be introduced and not be eclipsed.”
“Would it matter if the DNA was eclipsed?” Mace asked.
“Angels have the ability to
“And he still visits them.” Several eyes cut a trail to Raven.
“He didn’t admit that, I figured it out.”
Winter’s gaze remained on him, as did most of the others’ sitting in the circle. He felt the sear of their stares, all the questions, and only he had the answers. Was it cruel to make them wait? Probably, but who cared?
Finally, he shrugged. “His shoes, the manure … Trust me, you don’t want any more of an explanation.”
“What else did you learn at Richmond’s house?” Winter asked.
“His daughter is hot.”
The girls rolled their eyes.
Oh yeah, girls were always jealous. “Seriously, I mean, this girl is amazing. He’s got a picture of her on a beach somewhere, and you know, I could almost smell her coconut suntan lotion.” Vine dropped his voice and leaned in. “Has anyone else noticed the smell of coconut lotion when Will comes around, or is it just me?”
Glimmer tilted her head to the side. “I thought maybe Will had some new beachy cologne or something.”
Raven scoffed. “Beaches smell like dead fish. I don’t think they make cologne in that scent.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and split him in two with her dagger eyes. “And I thought your favorite scent was manure.”
“This isn’t helping,” Vegan said.
Vine nodded in agreement and took a bite of red licorice. Raven continued. “The horses could be just the beginning. Omega could be gene splicing any number of creatures. Humans, Halflings.”
“That would account for the wingcuffs. There was enough titanium to make thousands.” Sky leaned his weight against a post and locked his hand around his bent knee.
“So, should we assume Omega is trying to splice human and Halfling DNA? And if so, for what purpose?”
“An army,” Zero said as he approached the group. He stood there, hovering above them, silver-white hair quivering in the wind. Raven liked Zero; he was one smart-mouthed guy. But honestly, the dude freaked him out a little with those milkywhite eyes and corpse-pale skin. Too many PopTarts, too many juice boxes, and not enough sunlight did not do a body good. Winter motioned with an upturned hand for him to continue.
Vegan donned a huge smile and scooted over, crowding Mace and making a place for Zero to sit.
Zero sneered down at the spot and remained standing. “I found some formulas in one of the Omega files. There weren’t any specific explanations, but I think they had to do with Halfling-human splicing.”
“No.” Now Will approached the group. He did indeed smell of coconuts.
Zero gave him a dirty look.
Will also stood at the edge of the circle, feet shoulder width apart, arms akimbo. “Halflings are Halflings and humans are humans. I don’t believe the two could be combined by gene splicing. It simply isn’t possible. The best that could be expected would be to mask the angelic qualities, and that would only work for a short time. The angelic strength would eclipse the human and ultimately destroy it.”
Vine shook his head. “But the original Halflings came from an angel-human union. So you must be wrong, Will.” Will stared at him. “A union. Breeding, not splicing.”
“Okay, so we can rule out human-Halfling DNA splicing. I guess we don’t have to worry about an army from that source,” Vine muttered.
“Then no army at all, because, as we all know, Halflings are capable of having only a single offspring,” Winter interjected. Will raised a finger. “Not all Halflings. There have been anomalies in the past. Very few, but some.”
Zero inched a little closer. “Will, what if a specimen were mostly Halfling, but the human DNA just filled in a few missing pieces?”
Will shook his head, a frown almost wrinkling his forehead.
“I just don’t see how human anything could be introduced and not be eclipsed.”
“Would it matter if the DNA was eclipsed?” Mace asked.
“Angels have the ability to
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