Illusion

  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."

  "Why? 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. "Ye
ah, 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.

  Baffled, tired, and defeated, Nick stared up at the ceiling and tried to remember what life had been like before all the insanity had started. In some ways, he missed the naive assumption that the world was only inhabited by humans. But honestly, it'd been no less evil. Not really. The enemy had only taken other forms in those days. One good thing about demons, they didn't pretend to be your friend. They declared their enmity and attacked accordingly. Full frontal assault.

  Humans, alone, pretended to be your friend while plotting ways to stab you in the back and cut your throat. Many times for nothing more than their own petty amusement.

  That, he definitely didn't miss.

  Closing his eyes, Nick allowed his thoughts to drift back to the world he knew. The friends he could count on. While his life was hard--sometimes impossible--aggravating, and grueling, it was his.

  And he missed it. More than he would have ever thought possible.

  Nick released a long, pent-up breath and relaxed in spite of the stress of being here. His ears rang as he drifted to sleep.

  But no sooner did he feel his body go limp than he heard Caleb's angry curses. Following the sound, Nick suddenly found himself in Caleb's elaborate mansion, which appeared to be under siege.

  At first, he thought he was dreaming.

  Until he saw the other Nick, cringing on the stairs with his hands over his ears as he cowered. It was the strangest sensation to see himself doing something so out of character.

  Zavid was covered with bruises and bleeding cuts as he stepped over the body of three twisted demons that lay in the center of the marble foyer. His breathing labored from the fight, he glared at Caleb. "You and I need to discuss the definition of protected, Malphas, because mine is apparently radically different from yours."

  "What is that?" "Nick" screamed in a tone that could double as a sonic weapon while he pointed to the demon carcasses.

  Holding one hand up to his ear, Caleb visibly cringed. "I really miss Gautier. While he might be a major pain most of the time, at least the kid can hold his own in a fight ... and he doesn't scream like a prepubescent girl who just had a spider run up her arm."

  Zavid started to blast the other Nick.

  Caleb grabbed his arm to stop it. "Unless you want to carry him in the fight, don't."

  Zavid bared his fangs at Caleb. "I think we should hand him over and let them have his worthless hide."

  "Don't tempt me. But until we find out what's going on and where Kody went, we need to keep protecting him."

  "Why?"

  Caleb gave Zavid a droll stare. "Nick's my friend and I don't have many of those. No offense, I don't want to lose him. And I definitely don't want to tell his mom we let him get lost."

  Those words stunned the real Nick as he watched them. It wasn't like Caleb to admit that to anyone. And it touched him deeply. Honestly, he'd thought all this time that Caleb would rather cut his head off and use it for a bowling ball than put up with him. At least that's what Caleb had always told him.

  The Hel Hound held his hands up in surrender. "Never have understood the mind of a daeve and you're not making this any easier."

  Caleb began chanting, strengthening the spell that was supposed to protect his house from preternatural interlopers.

  Zavid growled as something hit the window closest to him. "You should have never bound Gautier's powers. If he had them, he could just sneeze the vermin back into their hole."

  "It's not that simple."

  Zavid scoffed. "How is it not?"

  Caleb started toward the other Nick then paused to look back at Zavid. "Do you know how a Malachai evolves?"

  "Yeah, they're spawned by mothers who hate them with every breath they take, and are beaten into beasts."

  Caleb nodded. "Nick has been shielded from that kind of hatred his whole life. While he's had a few people who despise him, he's had many more love him. The moment any hatred rises around him, his mother negates it. She calms and cares for him. Loves him. It's why Cherise is so important to all of us. She is his anchor. For Nick to be blasted with the full weight of his bloodline ... we don't know what it'll do to him. Every time those powers have taken hold inside him, he's blacked out mentally while destroying everything that's in his vicinity. He's not in control. And an out-of-control Malachai is the last thing any of us need. Especially when that Malachai has not only his own powers, but those of his extremely powerful father."

  "Highly valid points." Zavid rubbed his hand over his brow. "And you're right. I barely got a taste of Adarian Malachai and that was with him severely weakened. I can only imagine how deadly he was at full strength."

  "Don't have to imagine. Was there, and had my butt handed to me after Adarian put it in a sling."

  Suddenly, the window behind Zavid shattered. A blast of fire came through it, setting Caleb's curtains ablaze.

  Without thinking, Nick started toward it to help put it out. He'd only taken a step before something pulled him back. He reached out with his arms.

  It did no good.

  Aggravated, he spun away from the sight of them stamping out flames until he was alone in utter darkness. Even so, he felt a subtle stirring in the air by his side.

  "Will you help my brother?"

  He turned to find a woman there who bore an uncanny resemblance to Zavid. "Can you see me?"

  She nodded. "I'm a ghost, too."

  "I'm not a ghost." At least he didn't think he'd died while sleeping.

  Scowling, she looked at the fake Nick then back at him. "Are you the real Malachai?"

  "I guess I am."

  Anger darkened her eyes. "You guess?"

  "Yes," he said more forcefully. "I'm the Malachai."

  That seemed to appease her. "How did you get separated from your body without being a ghost?"

  How he wished he had an answer. "I'm open to any suggestion you might have about that. Ticked off the wrong body-changing god?"

  She paused to consider his words. "They must be trying to kill you."

  "Most things are, but who are you referring to?"

  "Your generals." She stepped back. "Something must have changed. They wanted you to claim and develop your powers from your father so that they could use and control you. But to separate your soul from your body ... death is the only reason for that."

  Nick scowled at her. She had a lot of pertinent information that was missing from h
is knowledge bank. "Who are you?"

  "I'm Zarelda."

  That name meant nothing to him, but if she was related to Zavid, that would make her a demon, too. "You're an Aamon?"

  She winced at his question. "I was. Then I was betrayed and left to die alone." A tear slid down her cheek. "I just wanted to be loved by someone. Just once in my life. But perhaps you and I are alike in that no one can love our species. We don't deserve it. We are both born to suffer endlessly."

  Nick shook his head. She was wrong. She had to be. "I don't believe that. Everyone deserves love."

  Denial burned bright in her eyes. "The only one who ever loved me was Zavid. He gave up everything, including the one person he loved above all, to save me. And I ruined him." A tear slid down her cheek. "His heart is so pure and true. Please. You must help my brother."

  "Help him how?"

  "Keep him safe from Hel. I should never have allowed him to take my place. It was selfish and wrong. I was scared and stupid. No excuse, I know, and yet I didn't stop him when I should have. But you will help him, yes?"

  She was caught on that loop. Not that he blamed her. He'd be the same way if he'd hurt someone he loved.

  "Yeah. I'll do my best ... If I can ever get back to my body."

  "You must get your powers back."

  She said that as if it were easy and under his control. "If I knew how to do that, I'd have done it already."

  Zarelda's gaze burned into him. "You are the Malachai. The most powerful of all demonkyn. Your powers are always with you. They are a part of your very soul ... not your body. No one, except your son, can ever take them from you. You just have to believe in them and in yourself." She began fading.

  "Wait!"

  "Save my brother." The words whispered and echoed around him as she vanished.

  Nick cursed at the darkness that was now so thick it pressed in on him. Made it hard to breathe.

  "You know," he shouted, "if it was that simple, I'd have done it already!" He knew she couldn't hear him, but he felt the need to state that out loud.

  Believe in myself and my powers ...

  Sure. Why not?

  Sighing, he clenched his fists and in the most enthusiastic voice he could muster he called out, "I believe!"

  Of course, nothing happened. Other than he sounded like an Oz munchkin on a helium high ...

  Just follow the yellow brick road. Follow the yellow brick road.

  "Gah, I am losing it." Why not? Both places had slobbering hell-monkeys. "Just don't put me in a pair of red ruby high heels." Or drop a house on him. That was all his screwed-up life needed.