Illusion: Chronicles of Nick

by Kenyon, Sherrilyn

  No longer in New Orleans, she saw herself standing in front of Sraosha, Suriyel, and Adidiron after she’d died. Their spartan office had been bright and austere. Clinical.

  As were they.

  Like his brethren, Adidiron was dressed in his ancient bronze armor. Golden fair, he’d been so beautiful that it was hard to look upon him at all. “Will you serve us?” he’d asked her.

  Their request to join their league and fight against the Malachai had floored her. “Why would you want me? I failed.”

  His hands folded in front of him while his wings were spanned out, Suriyel had stepped forward. Unlike Sraosha and Adidiron, he had short dark hair and vibrant gold eyes. His skin was a deep caramel that was almost the same color as her mother’s. “You are the only one who has ever forced him into retreat. For three years, you managed to hold him back. And you’re just a child. In all these centuries, with all the Malachai, no other general ever managed that.”

  “But I failed,” she repeated.

  “No,” Sraosha contradicted. “Your anger betrayed you. Had it stayed in check, you would have succeeded.”

  Maybe. She wasn’t as sure about that as they were. All she remembered was the hatred blazing in bloodred eyes as the Malachai delivered blow after blow to her. He’d been relentless and huge. Nothing had daunted him. It was as if the rage inside him was so great that nothing could quell or lessen it.

  Honestly, she didn’t know if she was up to a rematch with that monster.

  Suriyel placed a kind hand on her shoulder. “You’re the only hope we have. We can send you back to the first Malachai. Kill him and reset the time sequence. Let the world know what it’s like to exist without such evil in it.”

  She’d frowned at his request. “What about the balance?”

  With a heavy sigh, Sraosha had folded his arms over his chest. “Another will rise, but whoever it is, they won’t be as powerful an enemy. We will be able to keep them in check.”

  Still, she didn’t want to go back. Even though she’d barely lived nineteen years, she felt ancient. She was so tired of fighting. Tired of watching people around her die and not being able to save them. “I don’t know.…”

  Adidiron had spread his hand toward the windows that looked out onto a clear sky. They darkened to show her the world she’d just left. Human survivors screamed out for help and death as the Malachai’s army dragged them into chains to serve them.

  But the worst was her aunt Artemis—the Greek goddess of the hunt who had once ridden Kody through the skies in her golden chariot. For centuries, Artemis had been Nick’s sanctuary. Had sheltered and protected him.

  Now, he kept her caged like an animal. Bruises and bleeding welts marred her beautiful features as she wept in hopeless despair. Just as he’d done with her uncle and father, the Malachai had stripped all of Artemis’s powers and left her to suffer at the hands of his army.

  That was harsh, but harsher still was the fate of Kody’s cousins and the once proud goddess Apollymi. Their cries for death shredded her, heart and soul.

  “Stop!” she’d screamed as she turned away from the horrors she couldn’t stand to see.

  But Suriyel had refused to take mercy on her. “They are immortal. The Malachai intends to keep them like that. Forever. Is that what you want?”

  No. What she wanted was to go back before all this started and have her family alive and safe. To see Urian and Ari teasing her while she played with their children. To feel her father’s arms wrapped around her while her mother sang to them. To eat barbecue-drenched ice cream with Simi.…

  Sraosha narrowed those eerie green eyes on her. “The balance hasn’t been broken. It’s been shattered. Think you that animal cares that he has destroyed everything good in this world? That he has left us with nothing? Left you with no one?”

  Adidiron had lifted her chin until she met his gaze. “If the balance is to be tipped, is it not better for good to reign than the Malachai?”

  He was right and she knew it.

  Tears had flowed down her cheeks. “Send me back and I will end this. Whatever it takes!”

  “Kody!”

  Blinking, she left her past and found herself back in New Orleans with Savitar shaking her. She shrugged off his hold and stepped away from him so that she could think.

  “Are you back?”

  She nodded. “Sorry. I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

  “Understandable. It’s not every day you get to watch a herd of demons drag off your boyfriend.”

  Her sanity snapping in half, she started laughing hysterically.

  Savitar took a big step back. “Do I need to get you a doctor? Ambulance … straightjacket?”

  Covering her face with her hands, she brought herself under control. “No. It’s just … not the first time I’ve watched demons drag off my boyfriend … or my family.” She closed her eyes and tried to get a handle on the situation and her slipping sanity. “And the saddest thing is I don’t know what scares me most. The fact that they will most likely kill him and end the world before we can find him, or the fact that we have to walk back into that building and tell Cherise we let demons take her baby.”

  “Yeah. I’m going to leave that to you. I’ve already been on the losing end of a mother’s anger. Not real anxious to repeat the experience.”

  Her stomach in knots from terror, Kody headed up the walkway to face Cherise. But that wasn’t really her fear. Her nightmare was that she’d fail again. Fail the world, her family …

  And the man she’d been instructed to kill who owned her heart.

  CHAPTER 10

  Nick came awake to a pounding ache in his head. Every inch of his body throbbed as he recalled being captured by the demons and dumped in a cage.

  I’m really getting tired of this crap. It seemed like every other day, he was being taken by something and locked up someplace weird. If it didn’t hurt so much, he’d laugh at just how routine crazy had become in his daily life.

  Slowly, he cracked open his eyes and did his best not to show any sign of alertness until he knew where he was, and who or what was around him.

  “You might as well sit up. He knew you were awake before you did.”

  Nick frowned at the familiar voice. Bracing himself for the pain, he rolled over on the small bed to find the Ash from his school sitting on a chair in the corner. He ground his teeth to stave off the pain and pressed his thumb to his temple. “What are you doing here? You a prisoner, too?”

  “Depends on the definition, I guess.”

  Rubbing his head, Nick was having a hard time focusing either his sight or his thoughts. “Where am I?”

  “It’s called the guest room, but no one ever wants to stay here.”

  Yeah, it was a little cold and creepy. Four gray stone walls, no door or window. Just a bed and a chair. While there were probably some people this might appeal to, Nick was definitely not one of them.

  He tried to stare at Ash, but he could barely keep his eyes open from the pain that cleaved his skull. “If you’re just going to evade my questions, why are you here?”

  “In case you were injured, I didn’t want you to wake up alone. I know from experience that they can be really rough when they bring you in.”

  “The slobbering hell-monkeys?”

  Ash let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah. Good term for them.”

  Nick leaned back against the headboard as a wave of nausea consumed him. “Do you live here?”

  “Unfortunately.” Panicked and nervous, Ash stood up fast. The moment he did, the chair he was in melted into the wall. “He’s coming.”

  “Who?”

  Ash didn’t answer. Instead, he vanished at the same time a door appeared in the wall to Nick’s left. A tall, dark shadow entered. At first, Nick thought he was hallucinating.

  But no, it was real.

  Throwing his head back, Nick cackled with laughter at the last thing he’d ever expected to walk into this room. Now this … this he had not seen coming
.

  The ancient Atlantean he knew so well paused at the foot of his bed with an arched brow. Standing at the almost seven feet in the height Nick was used to, Acheron was back to his in-your-face bad on bad. The only thing different was his long blond hair. But the swirling, inhuman silver eyes were there, along with the black Goth clothing.

  The “real” Acheron Parthenopaeus narrowed those swirling silver eyes on Nick. “That’s not the reception I’m used to receiving.”

  And still Nick laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m an idiot.”

  “Apparently.” Acheron waited several more minutes while Nick continued to laugh. “Are you planning to stop that anytime soon?”

  Nick held his hands up as he struggled to control himself. But every time he looked at Ash, he lost it again. He just couldn’t stop laughing.

  Until something grabbed him by the throat and lifted him from the bed to pin him to the wall. Yeah, that sucked the humor right out of him.

  “Better.” Acheron folded his arms over his chest. “Now that I have your full attention, tell me why Thorn is so eager to lay hands to you.”

  “I’m irresistibly cute.”

  “And you’re about to be a stain on my wall.”

  “Sure you want to do that? Blood’s so dang hard to paint over. Makes reselling a bitch.”

  Acheron scowled at him. “How is it you’re human and not afraid of me?”

  “Told you, I’m an idiot. Cute one. But idiot nonetheless … Just ask my girlfriend. She will gleefully corroborate my rampant stupidity and probably add many more examples of it.”

  The invisible grip brought Nick forward until he was hanging in front of Acheron, who eyed him pointedly. “You don’t want to play with me, kid. I’ve been known to tear the limbs off things that annoy me.”

  “And I’ve been known to send grown adults into therapy, especially anger management.”

  The expression of irritated disbelief on Acheron’s face was almost enough to make Nick laugh again, but self-preservation kept him from doing anything more than staring at the ancient being. “What gives you your strength?”

  “If I said Wheaties, would you let me go?”

  The grip loosened and dropped Nick straight to the floor. “I should hand you over to Thorn and let him dissect you.”

  “That would probably make him happy … me, not so much.”

  “And again, I ask you why.”

  Obviously, this Acheron wasn’t as clairvoyant as the one Nick knew at home.

  Time to do what I do best. Play stupid and see what Ash knows about all this.

  “He thinks I’m the Malachai.”

  It was Acheron’s turn to burst out laughing. “You?” Could he have put any more disdain into that single word?

  But Nick wasn’t offended. He found it rather amusing himself … at times. “I know, right? I think Thorn was sniffing fumes or something. Inhalants rot the brain and shrink the important equipment. Make you delusional and cause you to drool.”

  Acheron ignored his segue. “Why would he think that?”

  Nick shrugged with a nonchalance he definitely didn’t feel. “I told you. Inhalants. Bad bad stuff, that.”

  Indecision was plain in those eerie swirling eyes. It was obvious Acheron was trying to discern the truth. “I know you’re lying to me about something. I just can’t tell what.” His eyes flared red. “Tell me what frightens you.”

  Nick felt his head starting to swim. Ash was in there, picking around his thoughts.

  Let’s hear it for us stubborn Cajuns. Malachai powers or not, Nick was the most obstinate and steel-willed creature ever born. No one picked his brain without his consent. Not even the great and mighty Acheron. “My worst fear? Being like everyone else. So I usually battle it with my extraordinary powers of awesomeness.”

  Ash curled his lip. “You think you’re amusing.… Tell you what, let’s see just how long you can keep this up in the cage.”

  Nick mentally winced. Ah man, this can’t be good. I should have kept my stupid mouth shut.

  One instant Nick was in the “guest room,” and in the next he was dropped into the center of a fighting ring that was enclosed with steel bars. Welcome to the Thunder Dome … Rising to his feet, Nick bit back a smile. “What? You’re going to cockfight me?”

  Acheron walked around the outside of the cage. “Not me. I don’t want to get blood on my clothes. I think I’ll let my pets have a go at you first.”

  Nick cracked his knuckles. “Fine. Send in the hell-monkeys. I’ve got a score to settle with a couple of them, anyway.”

  “Since you’re so eager to get started…”

  A bright flash blinded Nick an instant before smoke filled the area in front of him. His jaw dropped as it cleared to reveal a huge Aamon demon—the same kind of beast as Zavid. And as with Zavid, this one was dark-haired and seriously pissed off.

  Bracing himself, Nick stood steady. He refused to show fear to any creature. It just wasn’t in him. “C’mon, Lassie. Let’s go check out the well.”

  * * *

  “Grandpa! Please, stop. You’ll kill him!”

  Holding back the demon that was trying to bite him, Nick turned his attention toward Acheron and the girl who held on to his arm. It took him a second to recognize the Simi from his school.

  Acheron glared at him for a long minute. Then he glanced down to the angelic face of his granddaughter and snapped his fingers.

  The demon on top of Nick vanished instantly.

  Man, wish you’d done that an hour ago. His breathing ragged, Nick tried to push himself up, but his body was finished. It wouldn’t do anything more than throb from the strain of holding the wolf away from his neck. He had a few bites on his arms and shoulder and a busted lip, yet all in all, it could have been a whole lot worse.

  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.”

  “Wh
y? 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.