"Is that why you were chosen to be a nekoda?"
Kody nodded. "I'm the only one left who can defeat a Malachai. The Nasaru--"
"The what?"
"The elite Arelim. They are the ones born to their positions and they're the ones who select the nekodi from the fallen. They knew that I alone possess the powers to take down a Malachai, and so here I am."
That suspicious light returned to Karma's eyes. "I know there's more to this than you're telling me. But I still don't understand why you're helping the boy who killed you."
Kody wrapped her arms around herself as her memories of the Ambrose Malachai surged. Even now, she could see that awful day in her mind when Ari had carried her toward safety. Bodies of their friends, family, and army had lined the battlefield. Blood had run like rainwater under their feet.
She'd done her best to tell her brother that she was fine, in spite of her wounds. To put her down so that they could both return to battle.
In true big-brother fashion, Ari had refused to listen to her. There is nothing I will not do to protect my family.
Those words had brought a fury to the Malachai's eyes that seared her to this day. With a hell-born cry, the Malachai had headed straight for them.
She'd tried to warn her brother, but Ari wouldn't let her go. Not until he was sure she was safe. By then, it'd been too late. The Malachai had caught up to them, and before Ari could lift his sword, the Malachai had driven his dagger through her brother's courageous heart.
Because of her.
The guilt of that never left her, not even for a heartbeat. Too many lives had been lost in this fight. She couldn't fail them.
But more than that, she couldn't blindly follow orders, either. While they knew what the Malachai would one day do, they didn't know what would happen once he was gone.
Who or what would replace him.
That was the true nightmare that stayed with her. The one that rode her with spurs and without letup.
Kody locked gazes with Karma. "Because it wasn't Nick who destroyed my family. It's what he will one day become." She gestured toward the door Nick had left through. "That boy possesses one of the purest hearts I've ever encountered. He's not like the other Malachai I've fought."
"You're hoping to save him?"
Kody nodded. "And I'm hoping to save myself."
"From death?"
In part. But there were things far worse than death. She knew that better than anyone. "From becoming a monster."
Karma scowled at her. "I don't understand."
Kody laughed nervously as the true horror of what she faced came home to roost. It wasn't something she liked thinking about. Yet it was more than just a possibility.
It was a probability of the worst sort.
"Whoever kills the Malachai will absorb his powers."
"Ah," Karma said as she finally understood. "You're afraid of becoming one yourself."
Again, Kody nodded. "And with the powers I already hold and knowledge I have ... No one will be able to stop me. I will tear the entire universe apart. But if I save Nick, if I can keep him grounded and human--"
"You will save everyone, including yourself."
"Exactly." Most of all, she could reset the deaths of her family and not lose them. Not have Ari's and Urian's souls imprisoned by a creature who lived to torment them.
Karma pursed her lips. "I'm still not sure I should believe you."
"You've been lied to before by a demon." One that had almost stolen Karma's soul.
"Yeah. It kind of destroys the whole trust factor."
And that was why Karma kept everything in her home locked down. So that no evil would ever be released into the world again. At least not from something she did.
"What can I do to convince you?"
"Show me your real form."
Kody tsked at her. "You know I'm forbidden from doing that."
"You're not in your realm and it's the only way I'll believe you. A demon of any species is incapable of assuming the form of an Arel."
Because they were the essence of good. Only the purest of hearts and most uncorrupted soul could be one. Therefore a demon had no way of duplicating their forms. They couldn't hold it without being burned from the inside out.
If it was anyone else, this would be off the table. But Karma was a human version of the Arelim. What harm could there be in allaying her fears?
Kody inclined her head to Karma before she stepped back and spread her arms wide. White light engulfed her as she unfurled her white, iridescent wings that matched her skin and hair. Snow-white armor covered her entire body.
Gasping, Karma stumbled back, falling against the wall behind her. "Oh my God, it's true!"
Kody leaned her head back and allowed her form to return to that of a high school girl. To the face and body that had been hers before the Malachai had killed her.
When she returned her gaze to Karma, she saw the fear and resolve inside the woman. "Release me from your home. I have to get to Nick and protect him."
"We might have a problem with that."
Kody scowled at the note in Karma's voice. "How so?"
Karma glanced up the staircase. All of a sudden, there was a raw, unmistakable presence of evil in the room. It made the air heavy and tainted it with the sour stench of sulfur.
Dread filling every part of her, Kody turned to see what Karma was looking at.
Kody's jaw went slack as she saw the last thing she wanted to deal with. Tall, blond, and stunning, the demonspawn on the stairs had eyes so green they all but glowed. Even on his best day, he was hard to deal with and viciously unpredictable. Acerbic and sarcastic.
And with every step he took toward her, the air grew heavier.
Deadlier.
"What are you doing here?" Kody asked.
He arched a brow at her question as he slowly descended the stairs with an arrogant swagger that harkened back to the days when he'd been an early medieval warlord who had led his army on a voracious killing spree throughout all of Europe. "Do we know each other?"
Kody hesitated as she reminded herself that the people and preternatural beings here most likely wouldn't know her. Aside from the fact that this wasn't her world, this wasn't her time. She wouldn't be born for many more centuries.
And Thorn had no idea that one day he'd be reading her bedtime stories and rocking her to sleep.
That memory was so incongruous with the fierce, powerful demon lord in front of her that she had to bite back a smile. "I might have you mistaken for someone else."
Karma laughed until she met Thorn's gaze. "She's the Malachai's protector."
A slow smile spread across his face. "So this is what he summoned as a protector while he was fighting me? Really? She seemed bigger when she slammed me into the wall."
Karma slid a sideways glance toward Kody. "She's an Arel."
Thorn's eyes turned the color of blood as his fangs descended. There was a cold spark of delight in his green eyes. "An Arel ... it's been a long time since I fed on one of those."
Fear rose up inside Kody as she realized the horrendous mistake she'd made because of her memories and her past with these people. All of that had happened in a different realm, and none of the people she knew in her past were the same here as they'd been in her world.
Karma and her sisters weren't her allies. And neither was Thorn.
In this realm, they were her enemies.
And Nick was alone and defenseless, in the custody of two people who would now hand him over to the very things her family had died fighting against.
By trying to save Nick, Kody had just unleashed the Malachai in a world where he would do even more damage.
And into the hands of people who wanted to use him for evil.
CHAPTER 7
Something wasn't right. Even though Nick lacked his powers, he knew it with every molecule of his body. And when the twins stopped at Erzulie's, that feeling multiplied.
Confused, he scratched his he
Tabitha unbuckled her belt. "Quick pit stop for supplies. You don't want to be defenseless there, do you?"
Honestly? He didn't want to be defenseless anywhere. It was never a good idea, especially when you lived his fun-filled life of epic madness. He couldn't even trust the shadows not to try and end him. Many people were afraid of the dark. Nick had been attacked by the dark, the light, and everything in between.
"Guess not." Still, he hesitated as they got out of the car. There was a sense deep inside his gut that made it tight and apprehensive. What did he feel? What was the universe trying to tell him?
Caleb had warned him to always listen to his instincts, not his human rationale. And Madaug--the son of two neurobiologists--had further elaborated on why. The subconscious mind, whether human or preternatural, took in more stimuli than the brain could process consciously. Unbeknownst to the individual, their brain, like a supercomputer, ran those billions of details from all five senses against its experiences and knowledge base, and then produced the chemicals that made a person cautious or wary, depending on the environment they were in. Those "gut feelings" were actually the brain picking out minute danger signs and trying to warn its host that it was time to run or to fight.
Even when the person saw no logical reason why.
It was all primal instinct. A dog doesn't know why it barks or growls. It just knows something about its environment isn't right and it reacts.
Yeah, that was what he felt right now. His gut was barking like a stressed-out terrier sensing a storm before the clouds rolled in. But unfortunately, he wasn't a dog. He didn't want to look like an idiot without good reason.
And still the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
Wishing he understood it, he rolled out of the backseat while they waited on the curb. As he started to take a step, he remembered something his mom had told him repeatedly when he was a kid. Beware of anyone, known or unknown, friend or foe, who wants to separate you from the people you're with. Don't ever let them get you off by yourself. No good comes from those who don't want an audience for their behavior.
Nick had grown up alone on these city streets while his mother was at work. And though she was young, his mom held a lot of wisdom that had never failed to keep him safe.
Why wouldn't the twins have taken him to the cathedral and then come here for weapons after he was secured? Given the severity of his attack at Karma's house, and Kody's warning, why would they bring him to where their family was ... and their personal store? Why endanger what they loved? And given the ferocious attack on him and Kody, they were really calm and collected about it all. Accepting.
Something Tabitha wasn't. Ever. She was hostile and reactive. Volatile, especially whenever something came after her, and never more so than when her family was ambushed. Why wouldn't she be asking more questions about Kody and the attack on him?
That was what his brain had been trying to tell him. They were acting suspiciously, and way out of character for them. And while they were different from the women he knew at home, they weren't that different.
Time to act stupid.
Without a word of warning or intent, he turned and ran as fast as he could down St. Ann toward the Square. He shot across the street to where cars were parked on the right side and put them between him and the twins, who were now in fast pursuit.
Dang it! Where were all the tourists? For once, there was little pedestrian traffic on the street he could lose himself in, and Tabitha was quickly closing the distance between them.
Why couldn't she be out of shape in this world? Was it really too much to ask for a Couch Potato Tabitha?
He considered running into the Place d'Armes Hotel, but then reconsidered it. Like Karma's house, it was haunted. And he didn't want them to corner him.
"Stop! Thief!" Tabitha screamed.
Now that was just dirty mean.
Putting his head down low, Nick ran with everything that had made him a prized fullback for his school team. He jumped over four black bags of trash by the corner stop sign and dodged past a do-gooder who tried to block his path. He cut right and shot between the St. Ann light post and the Presbytere entrance.
Unlike the street, the Square was crowded. Tourists scattered out of his way and shouted, but Nick didn't slow down. Not until he ran up the steps and through the open door of the cathedral, into the dark foyer, where several people turned to scowl at him.
He flashed them a grin as relief swept through him that he'd made it without getting caught. "Hallelujah! Felt the Lord calling me to prayer and I couldn't get here fast enough. What can I say, ladies? It's good to be alive."
They rolled their eyes at him and scurried away as if they thought he was on something other than the adrenaline rush from another near-death encounter.
Out of breath and sweating, Nick beelined for the small font of holy water on the left, just outside the interior doors, and crossed himself with it. Only then did he turn around to find the twins outside the threshold of the church. They eyed him with malice, but for whatever reason, didn't step one foot onto holy ground.
Thank you, God, I'm safe.
Take that evil and choke on it ... in your fugly face!
Overconfident and euphoric, Nick strutted back and forth, taunting the twins, who couldn't reach him. "That's right, bitches! I made it. Hah!" He cringed as he realized what had just come out of his mouth.
In church.
Horrified, he glanced over to the gaping volunteer who was running the gift store cash register. "Sorry, ma'am. The devil's an evil beast. It's why I came to pray."
Stiffening her posture, she narrowed her eyes with disdain. "Make sure you add your shameful language to your confession on Saturday, Mr. Burdette."
"Yes, ma'am."
Tabitha threw her hands out as if she was cursing him. Nick started to return that with a gesture of his own, but he'd already shamed his upbringing. He wasn't about to add more to it.
Grateful he was safe, he went into the tiny gift shop and bought candles. No one would mess with him so long as he was praying.
The clerk glared at him the whole time. Like she'd never screwed up in her life. Umm-hmmm ...
"Judge not lest ye be judged," he said with a smile as he handed over the money then took his candles to the prie-dieux so that he could light them and pray while he waited for Kody.
Please get here soon. He had no idea what he'd do if she failed to show.
Nick had barely begun the third round of prayers before a shadow fell over him. Looking up, he saw a cop.
"I need you to come with me. Now."
Nick gestured to his candles. "Dude, I'm in the middle of prayer here."
"And I have two women who claim you shoplifted from their store."
Anger over the fact that the twins would accuse him of something so foul widened his eyes and made his jaw tic. "Yeah, right." Nick stood up and pulled his pockets out for the officer to see what he had in his possession. "I don't have nothing but my wallet and the two candles I paid for."
"Well, that's not the story they're telling."
"Then they're lying."
"Why don't you come with me and we can straighten this out at the station."
Nick shook his head. "I didn't do anything and I'm not going anywhere."
"Is there a problem, officer?"
Nick looked past the cop to see the rector, who thankfully was the same one who presided over the church in his realm, too.
The cop bristled. "This doesn't concern you."
Father Jeffrey smiled patiently. "You're in my church, officer, disturbing the faithful who are here to pray, so it would seem that it does."
Nick stepped toward the priest. "I didn't do anything, Father Jeffrey."
The priest patted him on the arm while he continued to speak to the cop. "Do you have any probable cause?"
"Two witnesses claim they saw him steal merchandise from their store."
"And what store is this?"
"Erzulie's."
Father Jeffrey gaped. "The Voodoo store on the corner?"
"Yes, sir. He ran in here after they caught him and told him they were calling the police."
The priest turned to Nick with an arched brow. "Nicholas?"
He met the priest's gaze dead on, without flinching or faltering. "They're lying. Father, you know me. I'm not perfect, but there's nothing in this world I want bad enough that I'd make myself out a thief to have it. And if I ever did, you'd be the first one I'd tell about it on Saturday."
Father Jeffrey smiled. "And your mother would be beating you every step of the way to the confessional." He returned his gaze to the police officer. "He's right. I've never known this boy to take anything from anyone."
In more ways than one.
"Well, I have a complaint."
"And I have a phone. What say we call Nicholas's parents and have them escort him to the station for you?"
The cop bristled. "I don't have all day."
"It won't take all day, officer. They both work here in the Quarter. For that matter, his mother's office is just around the corner and his father's is less than two miles away. It'll save you paperwork later." Father Jeffrey pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Nick. "Call your parents, son."
Nick reached for it before he remembered that he had no idea what the numbers were. For that matter, he didn't know where his "parents" worked.
The cop eyed him coldly. "Is there a problem?"
"I don't have their work numbers memorized. They're on my speed dial and I don't have my phone on me." It was in the backpack he'd thrown into Caleb's arms before he left school.
Father Jeffrey stepped between Nick and the cop, who was quickly losing patience with them. "Then I can look it up. It won't take but a moment. Both of his parents are frequent volunteers here and their numbers are on my desk."
It was obvious the officer didn't want to wait, but he didn't say anything more.
Nick followed Father Jeffrey to his office, but with every step he took, he couldn't help wondering what was happening with Kody. What was taking her so long to get here?
And what would happen to him once the cop got his way and hauled him out of the building?
This was the first time in Nick's entire life that he'd ever felt truly defenseless. Even when Alan and crew had held him on the ground and shot him, he'd felt more in control of himself and his fate.
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