Nick shrugged. "Can't help that she got sick. It happens." He ran ahead to get the car door for Bubba so that he could put his mom in as quickly as possible.
He fastened her seat belt before he took a seat next to her, while Bubba got back in the front.
Simi frowned. "She picked a fine time to take a nap. Was she really sleepy?"
Before Nick could answer, Bubba's phone started ringing.
Bubba pulled away from the curb before he answered it. "Ye-llo?" A dark cloud came over his features as if something bad had happened.
Nick's stomach tightened to the point that he half expected a diamond to form. What was going on now?
Gah, couldn't they catch a break tonight?
At least my mom's safe.
Bubba looked in the rearview mirror at Madaug, who visibly paled.
"What?" Madaug asked, his voice filled with the same dread Nick felt. "What's happened?"
"Yeah," Bubba continued, ignoring Madaug's question. "I'll tell him. Is there anything we can do?" He paused as he listened, and they all waited with bated breath. "I'll see you there." He hung up.
Nick leaned forward in his seat. "What happened?"
Bubba sighed before he answered. "We have another situation."
Great, just great. At this point, they really should be selling tickets for pay-per-view. "That was Eric, Madaug," Bubba said.
Madaug swallowed as fear darkened his blue eyes. "They get attacked by the zombies?"
"Yeah, but they fought them off."
Madaug let out an audible sound of relief. "Then why you look so upset?"
"Eric went to your house and the front door was standing wide open."
Nick gasped in alarm.
Madaug's features turned to stone as his entire face blanched. "And?"
"He said it was a real bad scene."
Tears gathered in Madaug's eyes as he glanced around at all their faces. "My mom and Ian?"
"No sign of them. But Eric said he's calling the police right now to report it."
Nick's stomach tightened as he saw the raw agony in Madaug's eyes. "Dude, I'm so sorry."
Madaug didn't seem to hear him as he hung his head in his hands. "It's all my fault. All of this. Oh God ... I just wanted them to stop picking on me. That's all I wanted. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. I didn't. Now my mom and brother are gone ... probably eaten. What have I done? What have I done?"
Nick couldn't imagine how bad it must hurt to know he might have caused the death of someone he loved. Surely there was no worse pain in the world.
Madaug's agony tore through him and choked him up. He wished he knew what to say, but words wouldn't come.
Simi sat forward and patted Madaug on the back. "I'm sorry, little human. The Simi lost her mama too when she was little, but maybe your mama okay. She might be looking for you."
Madaug turned and hugged her.
Simi's eyes widened before she hugged him back. "It okay.
You'll see. Just when you think nothing get better, it always does. Trust me. My akri says that tragedy and adversity are the stones we sharpen our swords against so that we can fight new battles. This just a minor skirmish and you'll be back in the fight. You'll see."
Madaug nodded, but as he pulled back, Nick saw the tears he was trying to hide. He lifted his glasses and swiped at his eyes. "I need to go to my house."
Bubba nodded as he headed that way.
They were all subdued the entire time it took them to reach Madaug's quiet upper-class neighborhood. On the outside, everything appeared calm and peaceful.
Just another night.
But there was nothing normal about any of this. Nick's gaze went to his mother's unconscious form. She was going to be so angry at him when she woke up. But better that than she be like Madaug's mom and be taken from him. He'd kill anyone who touched her, and that wasn't an idle threat. He knew he had it in him.
After all, he was his father's son.
As they approached Madaug's house, the police were everywhere. Lights flashed through the darkness as spotlights lit the entire street. Yellow tape cordoned off the yard, along with police barricades that had been set up to keep people back while they investigated the mess.
Caleb let out a low whistle as they left the SUV. 'Anyone else getting tired of seeing the cops camped out?"
Nick didn't comment, but he couldn't agree more. "Simi? Would you mind staying in the car and keeping an eye on my mom?"
"Sure."
Tabitha came forward to meet them as they stayed back behind the police line. Her face grim, she pulled Madaug to her. "I'm so sorry, little guy."
"Where's Eric?" Madaug asked.
"He's inside with your dad."
Madaug left her to go to them.
Bubba looked at Tabitha. "What happened?"
She raked a hand through her hair as she glanced around the yard of police conducting interviews. "There was a really bad fight in the house. Madaug's room was ransacked and the kitchen's all bloody. The police think that someone broke in and killed their mom and Ian. They've called in cadaver dogs to start searching for them."
Nick winced at what she described as a wave of sympathetic pain flooded him. For a moment, he thought he might be sick.
"How's Eric doing?" Bubba asked.
Tabitha swallowed. "He's really messed up over it. He keeps saying that he should have been here to protect them." She sighed again. "What about Madaug?"
Mark shook his head. "He's been reallyquiet. Freaky, scary quiet. Like Eric, he's blaming himself. He keeps saying that if he hadn't created the game, none of this would have happened."
Nick met Caleb's gaze. "You feel as bad as I do for them?"
Caleb nodded. "I just can't figure this out. Where are all these living zombies coming from? If Madaug only had the one game ... surely they're not all coming from that."
Nick scratched at the back of his neck. "Like Bubba said earlier, someone must have made a copy of it."
"Yeah, but doesn't it seem like it spread a little too fast?"
"What do you mean?"
Caleb narrowed his eyes on the cops. "I think there's something else at play here. Something just doesn't feel right about any of this."
Nick gave him a droll stare. "You mean other than the dead zombies who tried to eat us a few minutes ago?"
"That's my point, Nick. This isn't just a game gone awry. I smell the hand of evil. Real evil."
Nick started to make a snarky comment at the hokiness of his tone and words, but thought better of it. While he still believed Caleb was a head case, in this he might, God forbid, be right.
There was something terribly wrong here. Even he could feel it.
Wishing he could help Madaug and Eric, he glanced over to the crowd of gawkers who'd come to see what was happening. A tall man in black who stood apart from them caught his eye.
He knew him in an instant and that recognition slammed into him like a fist in his gullet.
Ambrose.
Nick watched as the flashing light from the police car highlighted his sinister face. It cast shadows across the planes of his cheeks, making his eyes look inhuman. And I thought my father looked evil____
Adarian had nothing on Ambrose.
With that thought came a bad feeling that Ambrose might be behind this. Wanting to get to the bottom of it, Nick started toward him.
Ambrose turned and his gaze locked with Nick's. In that single heartbeat, Nick swore the man's eyes turned a deep bloody red that glowed in the darkness. One second Ambrose was staring at him like he could kill him and in the next...
He was gone.
Nick came to a halt as he looked around the yard. No one seemed to have noticed the man who was now missing. "What the heck?"
Caleb came up behind him. "What's wrong?"
"Did you see ..." What was he supposed to say? Did you see my crazy uncle, Jason Voorhees? Do you think he could kill someone's mom and brother?
"Did I see what?"
Nick shook his head. "Never mind. It must have been a shadow."
Caleb scowled at him. "You all right? You look kind of pale."
Nick wasn't sure anymore. Suddenly, he felt dizzy and weird. For a second, he thought he might be sick until he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Nekoda behind him. Her pale face was gorgeous and she was the best thing he'd seen all day.
"What are you doing here, Nick?"
He'd never been happier to see anyone in his life. Before he could think better of it, he turned and hugged her close.
Nekoda froze at the unexpected contact. Never in her life had anyone held her like this. Never had they greeted her as if they were thrilled to see her. A wave of foreign emotion ripped through her entire body.
What was it?
And it wasn't just the emotion, it was the sensation of his arm around her. Of his breath falling against her cheek and the warm smell of his hair. It made her entire body hum and gave her an insane desire to bury her hand in his soft hair. Most of all, it sent a wave of chills over her. "Nick?"
Nick couldn't answer as he let the heat of her body comfort his ragged emotions. How strange that in a night of chaos, she seemed to ground him.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, before he let go and stepped back. "I didn't mean to assault you. It's just been a really, really bad night and I'm glad to see a friendly face."
Nekoda trembled as he put his hand on her cheek. He's my enemy. A creature she was sworn to kill. But looking into those blue eyes, she didn't see a monster.
She saw...
Something that scared and shocked her to her core. Dont let him charm you. It's not real. It's his powers. Nothing more. He is evil to the center of his soul.
But her compulsion toward him didn't feel like it was coming from him. It felt like it was coming from deep inside her. As if some part of her just wanted to be closer to him.
How utterly peculiar.
Unable to stand it, she pulled his hand away from her face and put enough distance between them that she could think straight. "You didn't answer my question."
He gestured over his shoulder, toward the house. "We brought Madaug home. What about you? What are you doing here?"
"I live nearby," she lied. She'd been summoned here by a violent wave of magick. It was like Nick's powers on steroids. If she didn't know better, she'd say it was him at his full strength, but he was still weak.
Still human.
And what she'd sensed had been mature and ready to take lives.
"I saw the police and came to investigate," she said. "You shouldn't be out here. It's dangerous." She frowned at him. "How do you mean?" Nick glanced over his shoulder to where Caleb was staring at them with an odd look on his face. "There are things out here ..." Dont say zombie, moron. She'll think you're a loon. "It's just a bad scene. Full moon and all. You should go home where it's safe."
"Are you ..."—she narrowed her eyes as if searching for a word—"trying to protect me?"
Oh, he knew that tone. It was dangerous. "I'm not being a male chauvinist. I know a woman is just as capable of taking care of herself as a man, but there are things ... I'm sure your parents are worried about you and—"
"You are trying to protect me." A broad smile curled her lips and did the strangest thing to his stomach. "That's so sweet."
Instead of slapping him, she actually kissed his cheek.
Nick's entire body erupted the moment her lips touched his flesh. Now he felt like the one in danger.
For the first time in his life, he didn't mind being called sweet. Not if it meant he got kissed with it. Of course, on the lips would have been infinitely better than the cheek, but so long as she wasn't slapping him and calling him an insult, he wasn't arguing with the location.
When she pulled back, her eyes sparkled in the low light. "Thank you for caring."
"My pleasure." Idiot. What a stupid thing to say.
But she didn't seem to notice. "All right. I better go. You watch yourself."
"You too."
He didn't move as she withdrew, and he took a second to savor her scent that lingered around him. She smelled all womanly and good. And all he wanted to do was follow her home.
Caleb snapped his fingers in front of his nose. "Dude, she's not what you think." He turned his head toward Caleb. "What are you talking about?"
"You need to stay awayfrom her, Nick. Trust me. Girls ain't nothing but trouble."
Yeah, but it was the only kind of trouble he wanted to launch himself into headfirst and wallow there until he was prunyfrom it.
However, he wasn't about to admit any of that to Caleb, lest he revert to kindergarten and start telling her that Nick had a crush on her. Oh, the humiliation of that. "She's all right."
Caleb's eyes flashed with deep sincerity. "No, she's not. You need to listen to me, kid. That girl is your death."
Nick blew off Caleb's sinister Vincent Price tone. "You're an idiot." He headed back to the car where his mom was.
But as he reached it, an unbidden image went through his head. It was Nekoda ...
Only she wasn't the girl he knew who made him laugh and who kissed him on his cheek. She was something else entirely. Dressed in armor, she looked like an ancient warrior, complete with a helmet and shield.
And a sword she was driving straight through his heart.
CHAPTER 15
Madaug was alone in his room, picking up some of the mess there and crying as he realized how badly he'd screwed up. It wasn't supposed to be like this. How could trying to protect himself have turned out so badly? How?
He'd accidentally ruined so many lives....
I'm so worthless. Brian was going to prison ... classmates had died, Scott's arm would be permanently disfigured, and now his mom and brother were probably dead too—eaten by the very things he'd created. I should just throw/myself under a bus. I'm not even worth the cost of a bullet.
Suddenly, he heard whispering.
At first, he thought it might be the police outside the door with his dad again. But it wasn't.
It seemed to be in his ears—like it was coming from his own brain.
Lifting his head, he tried to locate the source, but he saw nothing except the police lights flashing from outside through the slats of his closed blinds.
Madaug... Filled with panic, his mother's voice was distinct. Undeniable.
"Mom?"
She didn't answer.
Great. I'm hallucinating. IVe now/lost even my sanity.
A light mist appeared outside his bedroom window. It dove and then formed a thin string that seeped up from his sill. In slow motion, it crawled along his desk like a creepy caterpillar until it gathered into a clump. Twirling and dancing, that clump solidified into an old, hideous, small woman who pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You are killing your mother and brother."
An image of them screaming appeared beside the miniature ghost.
Madaug put his hands over his ears. "Shut up! Don't hurt them!"
The old crone stepped closer to him as the image of his mother and brother faded. "Do you want to save them?" What kind of stupid question was that? "Of course I do." "Then you need to come to me."
He hesitated. "You're in my room. I'm already with you." Was she completely stupid?
"Not here, you imbecile. I need you with me."
What was he supposed to do? Guess randomly out of the millions of different locations in the greater New Orleans area? "Where are you?"
"The St. Louis Cemetery."
Oh yeah, right. He wasn't brain damaged enough to think it'd be that easy to get his mom back. If he showed up there, he'd have no leverage and the old ghost woman could do what she wanted to with both him and his mom.
Even Ian.
"You'll kill me if I do that."
The small woman laughed evilly. "I'll kill them if you don't."
Madaug wanted to slam his hand down on the table and squash her like a roach. But he knew it would only hurt
him if he tried. She wasn't real. Just a ghost image with no real form or body. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"You're the one meddling with things you shouldn't have. Didn't you know that when you tamper with human will, dreadful things happen?"
"I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. That was never my intent. I just wanted them to leave me alone."
The woman shrugged. "Intentions don't matter. It's the end result we're all judged by. Evil in the name of good is still evil. And when you dance with the devil you seldom get to pick the tune."
"What's that supposed to mean?" "It means the countdown on their lives is speeding up and the longer you delay, the more likely they are to die." "Don't hurt them. I'm coming."
"You better be alone, mon petit, and bring your Zombie Hunter game program or else.... You have thirty minutes to get here." She faded into nothing.
Madaug bit his lip as he cracked open the blinds to see his yard crawling with police. How could he get to the cemetery without being seen or followed?
There was no way he could walk there in that amount of time.
What was he going to do?
Starting to sweat, he went down the back stairs that led to the kitchen. He froze as he saw his brother and crew with Bubba, Mark, Nick, and Simi.
"I'll leave Mark here," Bubba said to Eric. "He can help out while I go drop Cherise and Nick at Kyrian's. Then I'll be back.
Eric nodded. "Just be careful." "Will do."
Madaug slid out the back door while they were facing away from him and made his way through the shadows to the shed where his dad kept the lawnmower. It was also where Eric's old Honda scooter was kept. He'd always called it the nerdmobile and now he was going to be forced to ride on it. Gah, how awful.
But for his mom's life, he was willing to look like a total goober. He opened the door carefully so it wouldn't squeak and draw attention to him, then slipped inside the small wood shed.
As quietly as he could he made his way to the scooter and opened the gas cap. Just as he suspected, no gas.
Dang it. Eric? Couldn't you do anything right?
It's all light. You have a 160IQ. You can think of something. He forced himself to calm down so that he could postulate options. As his gaze danced around the darkened room, an idea formed.
Infinity: Chronicles of Nick Page 19
