"Okay." Nick took a step closer to the door.
Amanda laughed. "Relax, kid. We're here for Karma to commune with the spirits and see if they know what's after you and why you've been yanked from home. With the exception of the Lalaurie mansion, her house is the most haunted in the city. There have been more murders here than anywhere else in Louisiana."
Nick was aghast at her nonchalant tone over something that traumatized him. No wonder Madaug was always complaining about his older brother and the family Eric wanted to marry into. Madaug was right. All the Devereaux sisters were nuts. "Are you serious?"
Nodding, Tabitha pointed to the living room. "There was still blood on the walls from the last double homicide when she moved in."
His jaw slack, he was completely flabbergasted as he faced Karma. "Why do you live here?"
"Any idea how much a house in the Quarter costs? Especially one this size? I got it for a steal."
"Yeah, but aren't you afraid?"
Karma laughed at his concern. "Baby, the scariest thing in this house is me. Unlike others, I know how to protect myself from the evil here and to torture it when it gets cute. Trust me, they have more to fear from me than I have from them. And it seriously pisses them off." She headed up the stairs.
Nick really wanted to leave.
And I thought my life was whack....
"C'mon." Tabitha tugged at his arm. "We'll protect you."
Yeah, that was comforting. Never.
Nick glanced up at the large wrought-iron light fixture over their heads and remembered when the one in Kyrian's house had tried to turn him into hamburger. He really didn't want a repeat of that. "Just don't let nothing drop another chandelier on me."
With no real choice, he followed them upstairs to a bedroom that had been turned into a meditation room. Except it had an altar in one corner with a collection of African and Native American prayer fans lining one wall, along with leather bags, and rattles made from different animals. A dozen painted rawhide drums hung on the opposite side. The walls around him were painted a light blue with gold and white stamped over it.
Singing words Nick didn't understand, Karma began burning incense on the altar while Tabitha and Amanda sat on burgundy floor cushions that had been arranged in a circle. Karma sprinkled some kind of herb thing over him before she swept the incense toward him with a large handmade feathered fan.
Nick sank down on the cushion closest to him and looked at Tabitha and Amanda. They joined in with Karma's chant.
Some invisible force pulled Nick's hair.
"Hey!" he snapped, rubbing at his head where it stung.
Karma said something in that language he couldn't decipher.
"I hope you're telling it to leave me alone." No sooner had he spoken than another spirit punched him in the back, knocking him forward. His anger rising, Nick hissed.
The spirit jerked his hair again.
Furious, he rose to his feet to confront his unseen tormentor. But faster than he could blink, something grabbed him by the throat and launched him into the air before it pinned him to the wall, right in the middle of the prayer fans. Insane laughter rolled through the room like thunder.
Unable to move, Nick struggled to breathe as something that felt like a boa constrictor wrapped hard around his body, squeezing it tight.
Out of nowhere, a deep masculine voice whispered in his ear. "Well, well. What have we here? A tiny little morsel, being offered for my daily snack? Don't worry. The pain won't last long before I kill you."
CHAPTER 5
Nick's ears buzzed while Amanda, Tabitha, and Karma tried to pull him free from the wall where he was pinned. But all their efforts did was cause him more pain. Tighten the hold of whatever had him.
I'm going to die.
He had no powers to break free. No ability to fight. And it was obvious the women were every bit as helpless against whatever was attacking him as he was. He tried everything he could think of, but nothing worked. His sight dimmed.
Closing his eyes and knowing it was useless, he called out for Caleb or Kody to come to him. He didn't know what else to do and it wasn't in him to not at least try to fight. Man, what he wouldn't give for one second of his powers again. Even a misfire would be welcomed right now.
All of a sudden, a battle cry echoed in the room. One minute Nick was blacking out, and in the next, he was free.
He hit the floor and landed on his back. Disoriented and paralyzed, he still couldn't move. His head continued to swim as he saw Kody in her sexy warrior armor, battling a twisted shadow. It spat fire at her. She manifested a red shield that held a black phoenix in the center of it, and drove the shadow back.
Amanda, Tabitha, and Karma acted as if they couldn't see her at all. The three of them surrounded him.
I must be dead. Why else would he see Kody and the shadow when the other three didn't?
Amanda tilted his head back so that she could feel for his pulse.
"Is he dead?" Tabitha asked.
"He's turning blue." Amanda looked up. "Karma, call an ambulance!"
She ran to obey.
Even though he couldn't move, Nick could still see Kody as she fought like a boss. In a matter of seconds, she rammed the creature into the wall.
With one last screech, it vanished.
Kody quickly scanned the room for more threats. When her gaze met his, her face paled.
She ran to him and knelt by his side. "Stay with me, Nick." She leaned down and kissed him.
The moment her tongue touched his, her breath filled his chest and he finally could breathe again as her warmth spread through him. Yeah, he'd take a beating for her kiss any day, and line up twice on Sunday.
I am such a sick masochist....
Amanda and Tabitha shrieked and scurried away from his body. Nick opened his eyes to find Kody still with him. Now dressed in a red sweater and jeans, she pulled back from his lips to smile down at him while the twins grabbed weapons from the wall.
Nick reached up to cup Kody's soft cheek in his hand. No doubt about it, she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. And never had he been more grateful for her presence. "You're really real."
She wrinkled her nose at his odd words. "Are you all right? They hit you really hard, didn't they?"
Ignoring that for once, he glanced around to the other women, who were now gaping at them. "I think I'm okay. But I don't know what happened."
Kody didn't respond to him. Instead, she locked gazes with Karma. "We have to get him out of this house. Fast. The longer he stays here, the worse it's going to get and the more attackers he'll have."
Tabitha glared at her. "Who are you?"
"What are you?" Amanda asked.
Kody answered neither twin. "Karma, you know I'm right. There are too many souls and demons that call this place home. We have to get him out. Clear us a path."
Nodding, Karma moved to help Nick stand.
With Kody on one side and Karma on the other, Nick rose to his feet. He still didn't know what was happening or why his body didn't want to listen to his brain, but he'd learned better than to hesitate while being attacked by unknown creatures. Best to get clear and then interrogate later.
"How did you get here?" he asked Kody.
She helped him down the stairs. "I think you drew me to you."
"How? I don't have any powers left."
She shrugged. "I don't know any other explanation. I was on Menyara's porch to ask her where you were and the next thing I knew, I was here with you."
Too grateful to question it, he stumbled on the last step and barely caught himself before he dragged all three of them down.
Leaning him against the wall, Karma left his side to open the front door while the twins pulled up the rear.
"I still want to know what you two are," Tabitha demanded.
"At the moment, unwanted guests." Kody glanced around the house with a stern frown. "What kind of place is this? I've never seen so many ghosts and demons in one locatio
Amanda shrugged. "Karma doesn't like to be alone."
Not wanting to think about that, Nick headed out the door with Kody, but as soon as he was through the threshold, she jerked to a stop and stayed inside.
Her face pale, she tried to walk out and couldn't. She kept hitting an invisible wall.
When Nick started back for her, Karma pulled him to a stop. She leveled a malevolent glare at Kody. "You're a ghost?"
Kody ignored her question as she pounded against an unseen barrier. "What is this?"
Nick rolled his eyes at Karma. "She's not a ghost."
"Yes, she is." Karma gently pushed him toward the stairs. "I have a protection spell that prevents ghosts from leaving the house. It stops them at the door."
Tabitha touched Kody's arm. "She feels solid and warm."
Karma gave her sister an irritated smirk. "Step through and see for yourself."
Tabitha moved through the door without a problem. As did Amanda.
Kody still couldn't leave the house.
With an arrogance that was palpable, Karma folded her arms over her chest. "Like I said, she's a ghost."
Unable to believe it, Nick stared at his girlfriend. It couldn't be true. It wasn't possible. "Kody?"
Tears welled in her green eyes as she splayed her hand against the invisible barrier. "The vision you had of the Malachai killing me in battle wasn't a dream, Nick. We bonded that night while I was trying to ground you, and you shared my memories. I died by your hand. You, as the Malachai, killed me."
His stomach hit the ground as total disbelief consumed him. "I don't understand." His dream had been clouded and strange. He'd been both Kody's protector and her killer?
"The man you stabbed in your vision, the one who ran to protect me, wasn't really you, Nick. That was my older brother you slew before you used his sword to kill me."
Horror invaded every part of his being as he saw himself in his demon form again in that battle. Cold. Merciless. Uncaring. He'd felt nothing as he cut through his enemies.
Nothing as he cut down Kody and watched her die at his feet....
Dear God, he'd actually laughed while she bled out. How could I ever find that funny?
No wonder she wanted to kill him. It all made sense now. Well, some of it did. But he still had a ton of questions for her.
"But I've seen you bleed in my world. You were dying ... like you were real."
Unshed tears made her eyes glisten. "I have a body, Nick. It's just like yours, but it's a little different. And I can die again. There are many ways beings can perish."
Strangely, that made sense to him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have believed me had I walked up to you and said, 'Hi, Nick, I'm a girl you killed? Nice meeting you'?" Kody gave him a trembling smile. "You still don't believe me even now. Not quite, anyway." She looked past him to Karma. "You have to get him away from here. I can feel the powers surging again. Take him to St. Louis Cathedral as fast as you can. It's the only place he's safe." She glanced back at Nick and the look in those green eyes seared him. "Stay on holy ground until I get to you. Understand?"
"Yeah," he breathed.
Karma pulled him back and handed him off to Tabitha. "You get him to the altar. I'm staying for answers."
Nick started to protest, but one look at Tabitha's expression and he thought better of it. She actually liked to punch things. With extreme prejudice. He glanced back to Karma. "Just make sure you share those answers after you get them."
"Don't worry. I'll tell you everything she says."
Nick locked gazes with Kody. She appeared so real and normal. So human.
But she wasn't.
And neither was he.
Dang, in all his wild speculations about who and what she was, this had never once entered his mind. Who would have thought?
Kody's a ghost.
Not just any ghost--someone he would kill in the future.
His emotions were so tangled right now that he wasn't sure what he felt. Other than lost. Confused. Yeah, that was definitely the primary feeling.
Kody held her hand up to him. That and the sorrow and fear in her eyes tightened his chest. He should probably hate her. That was the natural state of a Malachai. It was the emotion that came easiest to his species.
Yet he couldn't. They'd been through too much together. And while he didn't completely trust her, he did love her. In spite of common sense and even self-preservation.
With one last look at her, he got into the car and buckled himself in. "Karma's not going to hurt her, is she?"
Amanda backed out of the driveway while Tabitha stared after her sister and Kody.
Nick's last view was Karma entering the house with a determined stride.
"You want the truth or a lie?" Tabitha asked.
"I always prefer the truth."
"I'm sure she's interrogating the ghost even as we speak."
Nick didn't like the sound of that. "Interrogating how?"
The twins exchanged a look that concerned him even more. There was something they weren't saying.
"What?" Nick asked. "What is she going to do to Kody?"
Tabitha turned around in the seat so that she was no longer facing him. "If Karma doesn't like what she hears, she'll banish her."
"Back to our world?"
"No, Nick. Into oblivion."
CHAPTER 6
Kody stepped back as Karma approached her like a hungry tigress. She wasn't afraid of the woman. Not even a little--she'd grown up with Karma as one of her fiercest protectors. But she understood trying to protect what you loved. There was truly nothing more dangerous than a person guarding their family on their home territory. It was a lesson Karma had taught her well. So she would give Karma space and relieve her fears. Unlike Tabitha, who fought physically, Karma was a spiritual warrior. She would know and understand the world Kody came from better than anyone.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Karma. I'm not going to hurt you or your sisters." They, too, were her family. And both Amanda and Tabitha had died fighting beside Kody's mother against the Malachai and his army.
Ever mistrustful of those she didn't know, Karma scoffed as she circled her, sizing her up as if they were about to battle. "How do I know that?"
"Because I'm an Arel."
Only a subtle tensing of Karma's body betrayed her knowledge of Kody's species. Still, the woman wasn't about to give away anything else. "You say that like it's supposed to have meaning to me."
Kody laughed nervously at Karma's continued insistence on this song and dance of ignorance. But she couldn't blame her for being cautious. Karma was someone who had mind-traveled through the many ethers and who routinely talked to creatures like Kody. As well as those who were born of darkness. Those who lied and deceived. Those who would use human naivete to prey on their victims.
Only a master sorceress with finely honed powers and extensive esoteric knowledge could have created the boundary that shielded this house and kept Kody and the others locked inside it.
"You know what it means, Karma." The Arelim were protectors of the highest order. At one time, they had been nothing more than messengers for the Malachai and Sephirii. Celestial gofers for the ancient gods, and their servants. But after the first war of the gods that had ended both the Malachai and Sephirii bloodlines, the Arelim had risen to be the Guardians of Order and Truth. They were charged with ensuring that the human world didn't end.
That the Malachai remained forever dormant.
Karma shook her head. "You can't be an Arel and a ghost. They're born immortal."
"As was I. But even immortals can die under the wrong circumstances. And you're right. I wasn't born an Arel. Because of the blood of my parents, I was chosen to be one. I'm a nekoda, and all of my kind are selected from those who've died."
Finally, the light of recognition that they were on the same team sparked in Karma's eyes. "You're a soldier."
Kody hesitated at the label that didn't quite fit. "More of a guardian. I fight when I have to, but that's not my primary role."
Karma cocked her head as she continued to study Kody and read her aura. "I'm still confused. You said Nick killed you, and yet you're here to protect him? Why?"
That was definitely the question. And it was one Kody asked herself constantly. At times, she wasn't sure, either. But whenever she looked into those vibrant blue eyes that showed her Nick's soul, she had clarity.
If only it would last.
Sighing, Kody walked around the small foyer that held traces of Karma's past and showed the very things the sorceress valued most. Her family. The walls were lined with pictures of Karma and her sisters and aunts and mother. Many were with their father, who smiled proudly in the midst of his nine daughters.
Tears choked her as Kody remembered her own father looking at her like that, of him holding on to her, afraid of letting her go and more terrified of keeping her with him because of the things that had been sent to kill them. Like Nick, her father had possessed a kind and, oddly enough given the viciousness of his past, innocent soul. Even in spite of the fact that her father had been one of the fiercest ancient soldiers. A general of legend who had fought back the ancient gods until they'd been forced to resort to trickery to defeat him. Maybe that was why she was so drawn to Nick. He reminded her a lot of her father and brothers. A lot of her uncle. That indefatigable spirit that refused to buckle under any fight or obstacle.
Over, under, around, or through, there's always a way. You don't give up and you never give in. They can scar your body and take your freedom, but only you can surrender your heart and soul. Nothing is worth compromising yourself for. Stand fast and stand true. Always. That had been her father's motto that had seen him through centuries of horror, torture, and suffering.
It was the motto Nekoda clung to even in her darkest hours.
She faced Karma. "Life is never simple. It's messy, complicated, and at times debilitating. When I fought Nick as a living demigod, I alone drove him back. I had the Malachai and his army on the run."
"Then how did he kill you?"
"I had been wounded in a previous battle and my brother refused to let me fight alone. While he was a fierce and skilled warrior in his own right, he didn't have the powers I did. And when he died protecting me, I lost all reason. Even though I knew better, I let my anger grab hold of me and I attacked in a blind rage. The Malachai didn't defeat me so much as I defeated myself."
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