Infamous

CHAPTER 7

Alone in his room, since Kody and Caleb had decided he was relatively safe for the time being, Nick yawned and checked his watch. He needed to go by Liza’s before she closed and pick up Rosa’s gift, then stop by Timeless Treasures to grab the present he’d put on layaway for her. If he left now, he’d get back in time to walk his mom home. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called.

“Sanctuary on Ursulines. Jasyn speaking. How can I help you?”

“Hi, Jasyn, it’s Nick. Is my mom around?”

“Oh hey, kid. Hang on and I’ll grab her for you.”

Nick waited until his mother picked up the phone.

“What do you need, Nick?” There was definitely ice in her tone, and it made him feel awful to have put it there.

“Hi, Mom. I—um—I need to go pick up something for Kyrian at Ms. Liza’s. It won’t take long and then I’ll be back to walk you home.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Yeah, she was still upset at him and it more than showed.

“I know, Ma. But I like walking you home … and I’m really sorry, okay?” He held his breath, waiting for her to respond in kind.

She didn’t.

Instead, he got more of her icy shoulder. “I’ll see you in a little while.” She hung up.

Now I feel like total rolled over crap. She was probably thinking she should have signed the papers and tossed him to the nearest couple.

Trying not to think about it, he locked the door and left.

It was just starting to get dark. And that went a long way in cheering him. He loved this time of day the most, before the tourists started their heavy drinking, and when the Royal Street business owners began closing up for the night. They were always so cheerful as they left their premises and made their deposits. It was also that last few moments of the day before the real predators, the ones bullets and guns wouldn’t stop, came out to prey.

“Hey, Mrs. Clancy,” he said as the owner of the Masquerade store locked her door to leave.

“Evening, Nick. You headed the wrong way to get to your mama. You going to Bubba’s store? Tell me that boy ain’t holding any more of his zombie survival classes.”

Nick laughed. “I imagine he’ll be behaving himself tonight since his mama’s in town.”

“Oh good. My worst fear is he’ll start a fire in his store and it’ll burn all the way down to here.”

“Always a possibility with Bubba.” He grinned. “Good night, Mrs. Clancy.”

“’Night to you, too.”

Tucking his hands into his pockets, Nick headed toward the Cathedral.

He wasn’t far from Jackson Square when he heard someone call out his name. Since he was a regular in the Quarter and knew most of the people who worked and lived in it, he paused.

Nick was about to ignore it when he finally spied another kid his age just in front of him, down the street a little ways. It was Bristol from school.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“I was actually on my way to your house to see you. Can you come here for a sec?” he asked, motioning Nick into the alley that led to a closed clothing boutique. “I want to ask you something about school.”

His gut tightened and told him it wasn’t a good idea. But it was Bristol. He’d known him for years. What could be wrong with going to speak to an old friend for a minute?

Nick headed over. “What’s up?”

The moment he was deep inside the alley, Bristol shoved a piece of paper in his face. “What is this crap of bull?”

It took a second for his eyes to focus on the printout that listed him as a source, claiming Bristol was gay. It also said that he knew it for a fact as he was gay, too, and had partied with Bristol a few times.

Nick curled his lip. “I didn’t say that, crap.”

“Yeah, right. You told the same lie about Spence.”

“I didn’t say nothing to anyone. I don’t do things like that.”

“And I’m supposed to take the word of a piece of Cajun trash whose mom’s a stripper and whose dad is in jail for multiple murders? Really?”

Nick’s temper exploded and he ached to pulverize him. “I did not say that,” he reiterated, enunciating each word with the malice he felt.

“You’re a liar.” Bristol shoved him.

Don’t hit back.… His mom wouldn’t be able to take two fights in one day. He’d never hear the end of that.

He thought about Wren walking away earlier in Sanctuary. Wren definitely possessed the power to rip out the throat of anyone who annoyed him.

You can walk away, too. No time to learn like the present. Taking a deep breath, Nick turned to leave.

The moment he did, Bristol punched him in the back so hard, it knocked the wind out of him. “You don’t turn your back on me, punk. You’re the one who’s trash, not me.”

Yeah, right. But Nick wasn’t going to fight him. Not now. Not after the argument he’d had with his mom. “Look, Bristol—”

He punched him again. This time in the jaw.

Nick staggered back. He had to get out of here before he struck back. Turning around, he took two steps and then pain exploded through his skull.…

Kody? Is that you?”

Nekoda frowned at the panicked sound of Cherise Gautier’s voice on her phone. “Yes, ma’am. Can I help you?”

“Is Nick with you?”

“No, ma’am. Why?”

Cherise hesitated before she spoke again. “He was supposed to walk me home after he picked up something for Kyrian at Liza’s store. I got off work almost thirty minutes ago and he hasn’t shown up yet. When I called Liza, she said she hasn’t seen him, either. I know how upset he was earlier … you don’t think he’s done anything stupid, do you?”

No. The most likely scenario was something had gotten ahold of him and eaten him. “I don’t, Mrs. Gautier. He was feeling much better when I left. Let me make a few calls and see if anyone’s seen him.”

“I already called Bubba and Mark. They said he left with you.”

“I dropped him off at your house.” She left it at that since his mother frowned on anyone being in their apartment when she wasn’t home.

“I’ll stay here in case he’s just running late. Please let me know if you find out anything.”

“I will.” Kody hung up the phone and immediately called Caleb. “Hey, is Nick with you?”

“No. Why?”

“He’s missing.”

Caleb cursed. “I’ll start searching.”

“Me, too. See you later.” She hung up and closed her eyes. Using her powers, she tried to sense Nick’s whereabouts.

For once, it didn’t work. She had absolutely no idea where he was.

Fine, this was why she’d given him her class ring. He thought it was normal, but she could always use it to locate him.

Sure enough, she picked up on it immediately. Letting out a relieved sigh, she allowed it to pull her to his side. She materialized in a dark alley that appeared to be in the middle of the Quarter somewhere. She glanced around, but didn’t see anything. Why would it have brought her here if there was no Nick?

She was just about to leave when she heard a low, soft groan in the shadows. “Nick?”

It sounded like it could have been her name, slurred. Maybe. She couldn’t tell for certain.

Her heart pounding in fear, she ran to where it had originated. At first, she only saw garbage on the street. But after searching some of it, she found a body on the ground, partially covered by refuse.

Please don’t be Nick.…

Panic swelled inside her as she uncovered the wounded human. A small pool of blood had formed around his head and shoulder.

“Nick?” she breathed, kneeling down by his side so that she could turn him over and confirm his identity.

Yeah, it was him. She should have known by his tacky shirt. But his face was so battered and bloodied that she wouldn’t have known it was him except for the clothes he wore.

Okay, how do I get him help? If she flashed him into the hospital, they’d know immediately that she wasn’t human, and they’d notify the authorities to come lock her up.

Think Nekoda, think. What was it that humans did for help?

Ambulance. That’s right. That was it. She reached for her phone and called 911. It took a few minutes before a woman answered it.

Kody’s hand shook as she wished she had the powers to heal Nick so that he wouldn’t have to suffer. If only … “Hey, I found my friend in an alley where he was viciously attacked, and he’s bleeding really badly.”

“Is he conscious?” the operator asked.

“No, ma’am.”

“I need your address.”

Kody ground her teeth as she used her powers to locate it. She gave it over to the woman, and stayed on the line as she waited for help to come.

She conjured a cloth to help wick away some of the blood on his face. “Hang on, Nick. I’ve got an ambulance coming for you. They’ll be here any minute.”

Only it seemed to take forever.

As soon as she heard the sirens approaching, Kody ran toward the street to flag down the ambulance so that they wouldn’t miss her alley.

They pulled up on the corner and grabbed a box before following her to where Nick lay on the ground.

“What happened?” the male EMT asked.

“I don’t know. I found him like this a few minutes ago. He was supposed to be with his mother at work, and when he didn’t show up, she called me to help search for him, and here he is. I called you guys as soon as I dug him out of the garbage.”

“And you are?”

“His girlfriend, Kody.”

They knelt down on the ground and started inspecting Nick’s condition.

“What’s his name?” the woman asked.

“Nick.”

“Nick?” the female EMT said gently. “Can you hear me, son?”

“I didn’t fight,” he mumbled.

The EMTs exchanged a frown.

“Nick?” the woman tried again. “My name is Patrice. Can you hear me?”

“Patrice,” he said raggedly.

“Good boy.”

The man ran to get the stretcher while Patrice stayed behind to insert an IV in his arm. “Can you tell me how old you are, Nick?”

“He’s fifteen,” Kody answered.

“Thank you.” She wrapped a brace around Nick’s neck while speaking to Kody. “Do you have his mother’s number?”

“I do.”

“Why don’t you go call her while I take care of him, okay? Tell her that we’ll be taking him to Charity Hospital and we’ll need her there to sign papers for him.”

Kody made the call while they stabilized him, then put him on the stretcher.

She’d just hung up when they started past her with Nick. He reached out for her and took her hand.

“It’s going to be okay, sweetie,” she assured him.

“You want to come with us?” the man asked.

“If I can, yes.”

They put Nick into the ambulance before the woman went to the front to drive and the man stayed in the back with them. Kody sat by the door while the EMT continued to tend and monitor Nick’s vital signs.

“Do you know what happened?” he asked her.

“Not a clue. He was supposed to run an errand and didn’t show up. His mother called me and I went looking for him. It’s a miracle I found him.”

“He’s lucky you found him, that’s for sure.”

Nick was trying to speak, but with the oxygen mask on, they couldn’t understand him. The EMT pulled it back.

“What’s that, Nick?” she asked.

“Tell…” He coughed, then groaned. “Tell her I didn’t fight.”

“I will.” The EMT returned the mask to Nick’s face. “Did you hear that?”

“I did, but I’m not the ‘her’ he’s referring to. He means his mother. They had a verbal altercation earlier, and he promised her he would never fight again.” She cringed as she surveyed the damage done to him. It was absolutely brutal.

The EMT leaned over Nick to pluck a vial out of his case. “No offense, kid, you should have fought back. I don’t think they could have hurt you any worse if you had. And at least you would have gotten some kind of personal satisfaction out of it.”

Kody couldn’t agree more. And she couldn’t understand why he’d allowed himself to be hurt this badly. Not even for his mother. Nick, I want to hurt you for this. But that was part of what she loved about him. When he gave his word, he meant it.

Placing her hand on his leg, she closed her eyes and used her powers to discover what had happened. She saw Bristol hit Nick in the back of the head with a board he’d picked up from the alley. Caught completely off guard and temporarily blinded by the viciousness of that first surprise blow, Nick had fallen to the ground. His eyes blazing with murderous fury, Bristol had given him no reprieve. He kept bashing Nick with the board, blow after blow, never allowing him time to recover. All Nick could do was curl up in a ball and try to protect himself. Dazed and disoriented by the rapid succession of blows, Nick hadn’t had a chance to call for help before he’d passed out in the alley. Cringing in horror, she finally saw the sanity return to Bristol’s eyes. Only then did Bristol panic as he realized how badly he’d hurt Nick. Terrified that Nick was dead or dying, he’d grabbed Nick’s wallet and had thrown garbage over him to hide his body. Then, he’d run off, leaving Nick to bleed out on the cold sidewalk.

Never had she wanted to hurt anyone as much as she did Bristol right then. How could he be so cold? He’d known Nick for years. Had been in countless classes and had been his study partner for several subjects.

But then Bristol had felt justified in beating Nick, and that was the most dangerous human emotion imaginable. Whenever someone, no matter how warped their reasonings, thought they had a justified cause for taking action against someone, they were capable of unimaginable cruelty. Bristol had thought Nick had lied about him, and rather than believe Nick was the one telling him the truth, he’d beaten him senseless for no other reason than he felt it was what Nick deserved.

Sickened by it, she released Nick and tried to focus on his getting better.

It wasn’t until they’d reached the hospital, and the admitting staff started asking her questions about him while he was whisked off to a room where she wasn’t allowed to go that she remembered to call everyone else and let them know what had happened. Caleb appeared next to her in the shadowy alcove of the waiting room before she could speak more than a handful of words.

“Is he all right?” His sincere concern surprised her. The way Caleb acted and spoke to Nick, she’d assumed he could barely tolerate him. But that wasn’t mere tolerance or adherence to duty in his tone and body language.

Caleb was genuinely concerned.

Wow.…

Kody slid her phone into her purse. “We know he can’t die from a mere beating, but the human who attacked him made a mess of him. He looks terrible.”

Caleb narrowed those beautiful dark brown eyes suspiciously. Because she knew him for what he really was, it was easy for her to see past his human beauty, but right then when he let his tough protector façade slip and she saw the vulnerable heart beneath his demon’s aura, he was every bit as handsome as Nick.

“Are you sure it was a human who attacked him?” Caleb asked.

“Positive. I think it’s why he was trying to walk away from the fight. Had it been one of us, I’m sure Nick would have torn into him.”

Caleb made a sound of supreme irritation. “I would kill his mother for causing this latest bout of stupidity, but…”

“I know. At this moment, I’m not happy with her, either.”

And speaking of his mother, Cherise finally arrived. She paused in the double doorway to scan for a familiar face. As soon as she saw the two of them in the back corner, she rushed toward them. Blonde, skinny, and petite, she was absolutely beautiful even with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Where did you find my baby, Kody?”

“In an alley off Royal. Not far from Liza’s.”

Menyara arrived just in time to hear her response. No taller than Cherise, and every bit as skinny, she had her dark sisterlocks tied back in a red scarf and was dressed in a red blouse and jeans. “Oh my poor Nicky,” she breathed. There was something about the depth and cadence of her voice that always reminded Kody of Eartha Kitt.

Her tears flowing even harder, Cherise turned toward Menyara, “Who would do such a thing to my Boo? Why Mennie, why? It doesn’t make any sense. My Boo such a good boy, and I was sharp with him when he called to tell me he was going to work and then coming to walk me home. I swear I’ll never yell at him again. Just tell me he’s going to be all right.”

“I hope so, Cher. I do.”

Kody started to explain what had happened during the fight, then thought better of it. Since she hadn’t been there for the beating, she couldn’t very well tell any human how she knew so many details about it since she hadn’t arrived until about an hour after it’d taken place.

So she settled for the most obvious explanation to soothe his mother. “It looks like a mugging.”

Cherise’s legs buckled. Caleb moved like lightning to catch her and keep her from hitting the floor. He swung her up in his arms, then carried her to an empty chair so that he could set her down for Menyara’s care.

Menyara sat beside her and took her hand. “It’ll be all right, ma petite. He a strong boy. It’ll take more than a beating to take him away from us. I promise you.”

“I pray you’re right, Mennie,” she sobbed. “Nick’s all I have in this world. If I ever lost him, you’d have to dig two graves. I can’t live without my baby. I can’t.” She broke off into gut wrenching sobs that brought tears to Kody’s eyes.

Trying to catch her breath before she gave into her own fears where Nick was concerned, Kody looked up to see a shadow of fierce pain inside Caleb’s eyes. Something about Cherise’s reaction haunted the demon.

But what? If Caleb had ever possessed a mother, he never spoke of her. Was it possible that he might have been married in the past? Had a family?

Demons mated, too, and some species of them were even more monogamous than humans professed to be.

Caleb’s daeva species was one of the ones most notorious for their loyalty to family ties.

I really don’t know anything more about him than he knows about me. For the first time, her blinders were torn off and she realized that even though the three of them spent so much of their lives together … that as much as they interacted with each other- her, Nick and Caleb- were really nothing more than intimate strangers …

How sad for us that this is what we’re relegated to.

But then how many people lived like that? How many people either were or felt like they were strangers in their own home? Or that no one in their family really knew or understood them?

In so many ways, we are all nothing more than orbiting satellites that occasionally collide with each other whenever our paths overlap. People formed social bonds to keep from feeling so isolated. But in the end, the only constant in any life was its own soul. And even that was transitory.

Souls could be, and were far too often, bought and sold like used shoes in a consignment shop.

And yet when two of those souls slammed into each other hard enough, they could form a single unit so strong that nothing and no one could tear it apart. Those unions were rare and she’d been around long enough to know that for a fact.

But she’d also seen those unbreakable bonds. Like the one Cherise shared with her son. There was no force in existence that could shatter their love and break it apart.

It was a love bond Nekoda had only felt with her brothers and one other person.

Don’t go there.

The pain of their loss was still too great for her to bear. And her nerves were already shot from what had happened to Nick. While their love wasn’t that strong yet, she could feel it growing every day and doubling with every new discovery she made where Nick was concerned.

He was so much more than what he knew. For the first time in centuries, she had hope.

And she owed that to a creature she should hate with every fiber of her being.

Life was so strange. Seldom did it make sense. As her brother would say, ‘life isn’t a puzzle to be solved. It’s an adventure to be savored. Let every challenge be a new mountain to climb, not an obstacle to get in your way and stop you. Yeah, it’ll be hard, but once you reach the summit of it, you’ll be able to see the world for what it really is. And at the top, it never seems to have been as difficult a feat to climb there as you first made it out to be. Most of all, you’ll know that you beat that mountain, and that you rule it. It does not rule you.’

I miss you, my brother. Even after all these years.

Life had no guarantees, except one. You will never succeed until you try one more time.

Even though her people didn’t believe Nick could be saved, she did. Tonight proved it.

Please be all right, Nicky.

Over the next hour as they waited for an update about Nick’s condition, the room began to fill with people eager to check on him. Wren. Aimee. Dev and his brothers. Jasyn. Mama and Papa Peltier. Talon. Acheron. Kyrian. Rosa and her son Miguel. Brynna and her father. But the one that caught them all off guard was when Bubba and Mark came in with Bubba’s mother.

Without a single hesitation, Dr. Burdette made her way straight to the counter to speak to the staff on duty. “Hey, sweetie,” she said to the triage nurse stationed there. “I’m Dr. Bobbi Jean Burdette from Perry County, Tennessee. And I’m a pediatric surgeon out of Vanderbilt and St. Jude’s. A friend of my son’s was brought in about an hour ago and I wanted to see if there was anything I can do for him.”

“His name?”

“Nicholas Gautier.”

The nurse turned her attention to her computer monitor as she searched for information on Nick.

One of the ER doctors approached Bubba’s mother slowly, as if he couldn’t believe what he saw. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Did I overhear you say that you were Dr. Bobbi Jean Burdette?” The Dr. Bobbie Jean Burdette who performs surgery at both Vandy and St. Judes, and who is a former Executive Board member for the World Health Organization?”

She smiled what had to be the warmest smile Kody had ever seen. “Why, sugar, when you say it like that, I almost sound impressive. That is indeed me. Believe me, no one else in their right mind would take on that much work if they didn’t have to. But that being said, honey, it is some of the most rewarding work you can ever imagine. Ain’t nothing prettier than the smile on a mama’s face when you hand her, her baby and tell her that baby’s going to live when she thought she was going to have pick out funeral clothes for him. Mmm mmm mmm, thank the good Lord that He chose me to have a few abilities to help out some of those in need. I am truly grateful for my many blessings, and for being able to help as many people as I can, as best as I can.”

He held his hand out to her. “It is such an honor to meet you, Doctor. You are a living legend. The things you’ve done for and with the WHO … Wow.” He turned toward the triage nurse who was now paying serious attention to Bubba’s mama. “Stacey? This woman, right here, has gone into some of the most war torn and worst natural disaster areas of the world to do volunteer work to save children’s lives. She’s been one of the first responders to set up clinics everywhere you can think of, including here in our own backyard.” He smiled at Dr. Burdette. I just can’t believe you’re here. In front of me. In New Orleans.”

“Aw now, honey, bless your heart for your kind words. But don’t be blowing sunshine at me and making me out to be more than what I am. You just might blind me and I need my eyes to see clearly. In the end, I ain’t nothing more or less than anybody else here on this earth. You ever want to know my flaws, and believe me, they are many, sit down with my bridge partners and they’ll spend hours enlightening you.” She shook his hand, then clasped it between both of hers. “And it’s a wonderful pleasure to meet you, too…” She glanced down at his name tag. “Dr. Ferguson. And I’d love to chat with you, I really would, but I’m trying to find out information about a patient who was admitted here a little while ago.”

While he conferred with the triage nurse about Nick, Cherise approached her slowly. Kody could tell Cherise knew her, but was timid about speaking up.

“Dr. Burdette?” she finally said, touching her lightly on the sleeve.

Bobbi Jean turned around with an arched brow. Until recognition lit up her entire face. “Cherise! Oh my goodness, child, I haven’t seen you in what? Ten, twelve years?”

“Fourteen.”

Bobbi Jean gaped. “Has it really been that long? Goodness me, how time gets away from us.” She held her hands out at Cherise and smiled like a proud mother. “And look at you, honey, all grown up and every bit as beautiful as you ever were, if not more so. Now tell me how that wonderful little baby boy of yours is doing?”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Nick Gautier is my baby.”

Her face blanching, Bobbi Jean covered her mouth with her hand. “I am so sorry, honey. I should have recognized the name. But Nick Gautier isn’t exactly uncommon, and here I thought your baby should be younger. It just never occurred to me that they’d be the same person. What a small world it is.”

Menyara went to Cherise and allowed her to cry on her shoulder.

Bobbi Jean pulled a tissue from the box on the counter and handed it to Cherise. “Now don’t you worry none, baby. I’m here and I’m going to make sure your little Nicky has the best care possible. You hear me?”

Sniffing back her tears, Cherise nodded. “Thank you so much. You’ve always been so good to us.”

Bobbi Jean rubbed her arm and offered her a kind smile. “It’s all right, sugar. We didn’t pull that baby of yours through all that misery just to lose him now. That I promise you. If I have to barter with the devil himself, we’ll keep that boy here, alive, and perfectly healthy.” Bobbi Jean turned back to the doctor. “May I please see Nick?”

“Absolutely.”

Kody’s frown deepened as she met Caleb’s icy gaze. There was something about all of this that troubled her. “Surely, it can’t be a coincidence that Bubba’s mother just happened to have saved Nick’s life when he was an infant. What do you think?”

Caleb shrugged. “The universe is random. Seldom does it make sense. I mean, explain to me the statistical anomaly that out of twenty people in a room, two of them will invariably share an exact birthday. And yet time and time again, they do.”

“Yeah, but I don’t believe in random. There’s a reason for everything.”

Caleb snorted. “That’s because you are a blind optimist and I see things for what they really are.”

Sure he did. But her gut told her otherwise. “You say that with conviction, but I don’t believe you.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve seen you in action, Caleb. Everything you do denies your words with neon clarity. You say you don’t feel or care about anyone or anything. You don’t believe in anyone or anything. Yet you’ve put yourself under the guillotine for Nick for no reason whatsoever, more times than I can count.”

He scoffed. “I have a reason and it’s a good one, too. If Nick dies on my watch, I die, and no offense, Caleb don’t wanna die. Especially not for Nick Gautier.”

“You don’t fear death, Malphas. Everyone knows that.”

Kody jumped at the sudden sound of Acheron’s deep, rumbling voice behind her. She hadn’t even realized he’d drawn near.

Besides being eerily sexy, the man moved like a wraith. Standing at a full six foot eight, with lean, hard muscles, he should never be able to sneak up on someone, and yet he was completely silent when he walked. More than that, he moved languidly, sensually. And yet when he fought, he could strike faster and deadlier than a nest of cobras.

Even though he was over eleven thousand years old, he appeared to be in his late teens. In fact, he’d been twenty-one when he’d died and become a Dark-Hunter. No one knew why. But he’d been the first one Artemis had created and he was now the unofficial leader of them all.

Always dressed in Goth attire, he wore a pair of tight black jeans, a white long-sleeve henley shirt pushed up to his elbows, with a ragged Sex Pistols T-shirt over it. His red biker boots each had a black skull and crossbones on the silver tip and a white vampire bat on the heel. His long purple hair fell to the middle of his back, and his humongously large, graceful hands were covered with a pair of thin, fingerless gloves. Even indoors, he wore dark sunglasses so that it was impossible to tell exactly what he looked like. Still, his features were so perfectly formed that it was obvious without those sunglasses on, he’d be even more devastating than he already was.

More than that was his aura of lethal power and pure intensity. It was so fierce that it sent a shiver down the spine of anyone who stood too close to him. There was no doubt that this was a man skilled in battle and in other arts that were usually reserved for private time.

Caleb raked a disinterested stare over Ash’s body. “What do you know about me, Acheron?” He actually pronounced his name with the full Greek accent so that it came out as “Ack-uhr-ron” instead of the “Asheron” most non-Greek people used when referring to him.

Acheron adjusted the black backpack over his shoulder—one that bore a white anarchy symbol on it. “We’re brethren, you and I. Both damned by our own actions. Both … unique. I know you a lot better than you think.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “Don’t try to play sage with me, Atlantean. I’m a lot older than you are.”

“I know. But that doesn’t stop me from seeing you. Though I have yet to understand why you’re watching over Nick. What do you care what happens where he’s concerned?”

“Why do you watch over him, Atlantean?” Caleb countered defensively. “What interest do you have?”

Ash’s answer was simple and honest. “We’re friends.”

And it was one Caleb seized and turned on him. “I, too, am his friend.”

An evil grin spread across Ash’s face. “Your kind doesn’t have friends.”

“Neither does yours.”

Acheron inclined his head to him respectfully. “Touché.” Then Kody fell underneath his bold, intense scrutiny. “And the same holds for you. I have no idea why you’d be guarding him.”

Kody smiled. “Aren’t you the one who always says that sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right?”

“I also say that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

Those words haunted her. Did Acheron know about her ultimate orders where Nick was concerned? A tremor went down her spine at the thought.

No one, man, beast or other, could know why she was really here. Nick wouldn’t take it well. And neither would her higher ups.

For that matter, neither would she.

They stopped their conversation as Dev Peltier approached their small group. He opened up the bag he was carrying, which held soft drinks and bottled water. “I figured we could all use something to drink. Aimee has snacks in her bag.”

“Thank you,” they all three said.

Acheron wandered off to talk to Kyrian.

Kody opened her water and resumed her conversation with Caleb. It was odd to her that he was technically more beautiful than Nick. Where Nick had reached that strange phase of turning from boy to man and his body wasn’t quite proportional yet, Caleb was perfectly formed—no doubt enhanced by his demonic powers. His black wavy hair was fashionably cut and his body perfectly formed. Right now, he was leaning forward with his elbows on his bent knees. The ties from his hoodie fell down, brushing against his Coke can. The white of the hoodie was a stark contrast to his dark olive skin.

Yeah, he was made of the stuff that would have both teenage girls, their mothers, squealing, and clawing at each other for his attention.

She might have had stomach flutters for him herself had she not known what he really was. Instead, it was Nick with his boyish charm and the promise of his hotness to come that lured her against her will even when she knew she should stay as far away from him as possible.

Which returned her to his earlier trip that they had yet to discuss. “You never did tell me what you learned from Adarian.”

Caleb snorted as he set his Coke can down on the floor and stared at her from beneath his bangs. Something about his current position reminded her of a panther in the wild, eyeing the prey it wanted to bring down. “He’s going to come after Nick.”

That news jolted her. “What? Why?”

Caleb straightened up, then leaned back in his chair so that he could stretch his long legs out in front of him. “Not really sure. And he didn’t admit it to me. But I felt it, and it was unmistakable.”

“Is he the one behind this attack, then?”

Caleb shook his head. “This was human. I can smell a demon attack from a mile away, and this does not have that stench.”

Maybe, but there was always a first time for being wrong. “Haven’t you ever been fooled?”

He gave her a droll stare before he crossed his arms over his head, against the wall. “No. I’m not a loler.” That was the term his kind used for low-level demons. “Even though I’m technically a mid-level class, I was one of the strongest generals in the Primus Bellum. With more kills than anyone except Jared. And I’m not saying he was the better fighter. We never battled against each other, but I would lay skills against his any time. Any place.”

That news shocked her silent. While she’d known Caleb was old, she’d had no idea he was that old.Wow.… “Are you serious?”

He didn’t react to her questions physically. Instead, his dark eyes alone taunted her. “Before you judge me, ’cause I can feel the hatred surging inside you against me, let me explain my political ties in that war. I personally carried the banner for Verlyn, and I was the one who led the whole of his armies against the Obsidian Triad.”

That news was even more shocking. “You’re not evil, then.” It was a statement of fact.

He sneered at her comment. “You’re as bad as the humans. C’mon, Kody, you should know that we don’t all serve the dark powers.”

“Yeah, but you do now.…”

Pain flashed in his eyes so fast that she wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined it. “We all make mistakes, Kody. Sometimes I think the only point of our miserable lives is simply to learn how to live with the consequences of the bad decisions we’ve made.”

By his tone, she could tell his were severe. “I’m sorry, Caleb.”

“For what?”

“Whatever it is that brings that light of hurt into your eyes. The worst wounds, the deadliest of them, aren’t the ones people see on the outside. They’re the ones that make us bleed internally.”

Caleb didn’t respond in any way. But as he pulled his watch out of his pocket to check the time, a strange sensation went through her. She saw him then, on an ancient battlefield in full demon armor.

She tried her best to home in on the image, but it was gone almost as fast as it appeared. Still, it left her with one thing that was undeniable, and it explained a lot about his idiosyncrasies.

“You’re not just a demon. You’re a demigod.”

Caleb went perfectly still, then he relaxed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, you do,” she said, her voice rising at the end with bitter amusement. “That’s what Acheron meant when he said you were similar creatures.”

Caleb scoffed. “I’m nothing like him. He’s cut from a very different bolt.”

Maybe, but that brought her back to their original topic. “What you said about Adarian doesn’t make sense. I thought he wanted Nick protected.”

“That’s what he told me originally.”

“Then why do you doubt him now?”

Caleb shrugged. “There’s no reason to. And yet … He’s coming for him. Soon. I can’t tell you the exact minute. Or even the day it’ll happen, but I can feel it building like a simmering pot getting ready to boil over.”

While she didn’t welcome that news, it didn’t really disturb her. “We’ll stop him when he does.” They had to.

“No, Kody,” he said drily. “We won’t. You and I don’t have the ability to defeat him. And I know this for a fact. The one and only time in my entire military career that I was knocked flat on my rump and viciously defeated was by the first of the Malachais. One who didn’t possess a third of the power of the current elder Malachai. When Adarian comes, Nick will die. There’s nothing you and I can do to stop him.”

She didn’t believe that for a minute. “Nick can’t die. We cannot allow that to happen under any circumstance. I know you see what I do. The next Malachai—”

“Will free Noir from his hole, and rain a complete slaughter down on all of us. But there is something even worse than that outcome.”

In that instant, she could swear she had an ulcer—even though it was an impossibility for her species. I don’t want to hear this. But she had no choice. If something was out there worse than their next enemy, she had to know about it.

Forewarned was forearmed.

“What?”

“Adarian doesn’t have to kill Nick. He can absorb him.”

Her throat went dry at the horror of that thought. Whenever a creature like them absorbed the powers of another, they took all of their powers and strengths, and combined them with the ones they already had.

Should that happen …

The Malachai wouldn’t kill them. Oh no. That would be too kind. They would all become the outlet for his voracious cruelty.

And the only one who could fight Adarian successfully and possibly defeat him was currently in a chemically induced coma.…

I might as well get a tattoo on my forehead. Abandon hope all ye who see this ‘cause we’re about to get royally screwed.