Acheron walked over to him. He reached through the bars to touch the blood on Nick’s face. His gaze never wavering, he pulled his hand back so that he could taste Nick’s blood.
Nick grimaced in distaste. “Dude, that’s so nasty. You could get like hepatitis or parvo or something. Rabies even. Has your dog been vaccinated recently? I would also suggest some neutering and doggie breath mints.”
His gaze darkening while he ignored the question, Acheron rolled the blood around his tongue. “You’re absolutely human … something about this is very wrong.” Without another word, he walked toward the door.
Biting her lip apprehensively, Simi approached Nick. “I’m so sorry. He’s really not as bad as you think.” She reached out to touch his hand. “He’s just—”
“Simi!” Acheron barked.
She jumped away. “Coming.” Without a backward glance, she ran after Acheron.
Sighing, Nick thought they’d forgotten him completely until he was flashed from the cage back to the doorless guest room. Well, at least Acheron put him on the bed. He’d take that for now.
Bewildered and tired, Nick stared up at the ceiling and tried to make sense of everything. So the short Ash and Simi were Acheron’s grandkids in this world. But it begged the question, who were their parents?
As if on cue, the Ash from school flashed into the room. He visibly winced at the sight of Nick’s torn clothes and the blood that stained them. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s what your sister said.”
Kid Ash moved to stand next to the bed. He waved his hand over Nick and the pain went away instantly. Too bad the injuries didn’t go with it. But hey, he’d take it. “Why didn’t you just tell my granddad what he wanted to know?”
“Because I don’t know the answer.” It was mostly true.
“Then I’m doubly sorry.”
Nick swung his legs over the edge of the bed to sit up. “Why do you live here with him? Where are your parents?”
Sadness darkened Ash’s eyes as he moved away from the bed. “They died a long time ago. It’s why my grandfather is the way he is. After my parents were killed, he turned on everyone, especially anyone who was human.”
“Why? What happened?”
The wall shimmered before the chair formed out of it. It walked forward, into the room, and stopped beside Kid Ash. As if that was a normal occurrence and not totally whacked out, he sat down on it and sighed. “I guess you’ve figured out we’re not entirely human, right?”
Nick glanced at the chair. “Um … yeah. Not like it’s hidden here, and the hell-monkeys pretty much blew the lid off it in public.”
He nodded. “My father was human. My mother a … I know you’ll laugh, but she was a goddess.” He paused to study Nick’s non-reaction. “You believe me?”
Nick let out a bitter laugh. “After everything I’ve seen today, I’m willing to expand my definition of believable.”
Ash glanced away from him. “Yeah, I guess you are. Anyway, she gave up her powers to live in the mortal world with my dad. One weekend when me and Simi were with my grandfather, some men broke into our house and killed my parents. After that, my granddad went crazy and kind of declared war on the entire world.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry you got caught up in my grandfather’s lunacy. But when he heard that Thorn was looking for you and that you went to our school, he was paranoid you might pose a threat to us. Me and Sim have been on lockdown ever since and we’ll remain here until he decides you’re not a threat to us or he kills you. He’s terribly overprotective that way.”
Nick could have respected that, had he not spent the last hour trying to keep a demon from tearing out his throat. “So what’s he going to do with me?”
Leaning forward, Ash appeared to be holding something back. “I don’t know. I hope he lets you go.”
Nick arched a brow. “You say that like he ate the last person he trapped here.”
Oh yeah, that was not a look a guy wanted to see on someone else’s face when his life hung in the balance. “I should be going.”
“Ash?”
He paused to glance at Nick.
“The Thorn I met earlier is a psycho, but I promise that I would never hurt you or Simi. I don’t turn on my friends and I don’t cause them harm. My mama raised me better.”
“I know. I just hope we can convince my grandfather of that. He’s not used to honorable people. Only those who are out to do as much damage as possible … and usually to the most innocent.” And with that, Ash vanished and left him alone. The chair backed itself into the wall again and melted.
Baffled, tired, and defeated, Nick stared up at the ceiling and tried to remember what life had been like before all the insanity had started. In some ways, he missed the naive assumption that the world was only inhabited by humans. But honestly, it’d been no less evil. Not really. The enemy had only taken other forms in those days. One good thing about demons, they didn’t pretend to be your friend. They declared their enmity and attacked accordingly. Full frontal assault.
Humans, alone, pretended to be your friend while plotting ways to stab you in the back and cut your throat. Many times for nothing more than their own petty amusement.
That, he definitely didn’t miss.
Closing his eyes, Nick allowed his thoughts to drift back to the world he knew. The friends he could count on. While his life was hard—sometimes impossible—aggravating, and grueling, it was his.
And he missed it. More than he would have ever thought possible.
Nick released a long, pent-up breath and relaxed in spite of the stress of being here. His ears rang as he drifted to sleep.
But no sooner did he feel his body go limp than he heard Caleb’s angry curses. Following the sound, Nick suddenly found himself in Caleb’s elaborate mansion, which appeared to be under siege.
At first, he thought he was dreaming.
Until he saw the other Nick, cringing on the stairs with his hands over his ears as he cowered. It was the strangest sensation to see himself doing something so out of character.
Zavid was covered with bruises and bleeding cuts as he stepped over the body of three twisted demons that lay in the center of the marble foyer. His breathing labored from the fight, he glared at Caleb. “You and I need to discuss the definition of protected, Malphas, because mine is apparently radically different from yours.”
“What is that?” “Nick” screamed in a tone that could double as a sonic weapon while he pointed to the demon carcasses.
Holding one hand up to his ear, Caleb visibly cringed. “I really miss Gautier. While he might be a major pain most of the time, at least the kid can hold his own in a fight … and he doesn’t scream like a prepubescent girl who just had a spider run up her arm.”
Zavid started to blast the other Nick.
Caleb grabbed his arm to stop it. “Unless you want to carry him in the fight, don’t.”
Zavid bared his fangs at Caleb. “I think we should hand him over and let them have his worthless hide.”
“Don’t tempt me. But until we find out what’s going on and where Kody went, we need to keep protecting him.”
“Why?”
Caleb gave Zavid a droll stare. “Nick’s my friend and I don’t have many of those. No offense, I don’t want to lose him. And I definitely don’t want to tell his mom we let him get lost.”
Those words stunned the real Nick as he watched them. It wasn’t like Caleb to admit that to anyone. And it touched him deeply. Honestly, he’d thought all this time that Caleb would rather cut his head off and use it for a bowling ball than put up with him. At least that’s what Caleb had always told him.
The Hel Hound held his hands up in surrender. “Never have understood the mind of a daeve and you’re not making this any easier.”
Caleb began chanting, strengthening the spell that was supposed to protect his house from preternatural interlopers.
Zavid growled as something hit the window closest to him. “You should have never bound Gautier’s powers. If he had them, he could just sneeze the vermin back into their hole.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Zavid scoffed. “How is it not?”
Caleb started toward the other Nick then paused to look back at Zavid. “Do you know how a Malachai evolves?”
“Yeah, they’re spawned by mothers who hate them with every breath they take, and are beaten into beasts.”
Caleb nodded. “Nick has been shielded from that kind of hatred his whole life. While he’s had a few people who despise him, he’s had many more love him. The moment any hatred rises around him, his mother negates it. She calms and cares for him. Loves him. It’s why Cherise is so important to all of us. She is his anchor. For Nick to be blasted with the full weight of his bloodline … we don’t know what it’ll do to him. Every time those powers have taken hold inside him, he’s blacked out mentally while destroying everything that’s in his vicinity. He’s not in control. And an out-of-control Malachai is the last thing any of us need. Especially when that Malachai has not only his own powers, but those of his extremely powerful father.”
“Highly valid points.” Zavid rubbed his hand over his brow. “And you’re right. I barely got a taste of Adarian Malachai and that was with him severely weakened. I can only imagine how deadly he was at full strength.”
“Don’t have to imagine. Was there, and had my butt handed to me after Adarian put it in a sling.”
Suddenly, the window behind Zavid shattered. A blast of fire came through it, setting Caleb’s curtains ablaze.
Without thinking, Nick started toward it to help put it out. He’d only taken a step before something pulled him back. He reached out with his arms.
It did no good.
Aggravated, he spun away from the sight of them stamping out flames until he was alone in utter darkness. Even so, he felt a subtle stirring in the air by his side.
“Will you help my brother?”
He turned to find a woman there who bore an uncanny resemblance to Zavid. “Can you see me?”
She nodded. “I’m a ghost, too.”
“I’m not a ghost.” At least he didn’t think he’d died while sleeping.
Scowling, she looked at the fake Nick then back at him. “Are you the real Malachai?”
“I guess I am.”
Anger darkened her eyes. “You guess?”
“Yes,” he said more forcefully. “I’m the Malachai.”
That seemed to appease her. “How did you get separated from your body without being a ghost?”
How he wished he had an answer. “I’m open to any suggestion you might have about that. Ticked off the wrong body-changing god?”
She paused to consider his words. “They must be trying to kill you.”
“Most things are, but who are you referring to?”
“Your generals.” She stepped back. “Something must have changed. They wanted you to claim and develop your powers from your father so that they could use and control you. But to separate your soul from your body … death is the only reason for that.”
Nick scowled at her. She had a lot of pertinent information that was missing from his knowledge bank. “Who are you?”
“I’m Zarelda.”
That name meant nothing to him, but if she was related to Zavid, that would make her a demon, too. “You’re an Aamon?”
She winced at his question. “I was. Then I was betrayed and left to die alone.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I just wanted to be loved by someone. Just once in my life. But perhaps you and I are alike in that no one can love our species. We don’t deserve it. We are both born to suffer endlessly.”
Nick shook his head. She was wrong. She had to be. “I don’t believe that. Everyone deserves love.”
Denial burned bright in her eyes. “The only one who ever loved me was Zavid. He gave up everything, including the one person he loved above all, to save me. And I ruined him.” A tear slid down her cheek. “His heart is so pure and true. Please. You must help my brother.”
“Help him how?”
“Keep him safe from Hel. I should never have allowed him to take my place. It was selfish and wrong. I was scared and stupid. No excuse, I know, and yet I didn’t stop him when I should have. But you will help him, yes?”
She was caught on that loop. Not that he blamed her. He’d be the same way if he’d hurt someone he loved.
“Yeah. I’ll do my best … If I can ever get back to my body.”
“You must get your powers back.”
She said that as if it were easy and under his control. “If I knew how to do that, I’d have done it already.”
Zarelda’s gaze burned into him. “You are the Malachai. The most powerful of all demonkyn. Your powers are always with you. They are a part of your very soul … not your body. No one, except your son, can ever take them from you. You just have to believe in them and in yourself.” She began fading.