Instinct

  The zeitjager made a hissing noise as it shirked away from Nick's pursuer.

  Ah yeah, that ain't good ...

  Nick used his powers to daze the EMT so that she wouldn't understand what was happening or see anything clearly. The last thing any of them needed was for a professional baretos to see what was going on and lose her mind over it. Most people couldn't handle what they dealt with on a day-to-day basis.

  He pulled back slowly from Kody. "Why's the zeitjager afraid of my new friend?"

  "I don't think he is."

  She might be right. The zeitjager seemed to be waiting for Nick to die.

  Sorry to disappoint. He wasn't about to go down today, especially not for this ugly beastie. And not for something as ridiculous as money.

  Rising to his feet, he blasted the demon back and slammed his fist into its jaw. Yeah okay, that seriously hurt. He'd cry about it later....

  If he survived.

  With a fierce shriek, the thing manifested a sword. It turned and narrowly missed taking Nick's head.

  Nick ducked, but Kody caught the blade with her own sword before it could kill him, and kicked the demon back, out of the ambulance and into the streaming rain. The two of them went at it. He started to help and stopped himself, knowing she could handle it and wouldn't appreciate his interference any more than he would. Besides, she was much better with a sword than he was, since she had centuries more experience using one, and they'd made a pact to never tread on each other's expertise in a fight. He respected her abilities and she respected his.

  Instead, he went to check on the EMTs to make sure they were okay and stable, and that more help was on the way for them.

  As he moved past the zeitjager, it cocked its head to stare at him.

  "What?" Nick asked it in a challenging tone.

  It vanished instantly.

  So did the mosquitos, and the rain slacked off, too. Yeah, okay, that was just weirder than holding Mardi Gras in June. Finding snow in August. Or Bubba in a tie and business suit. Made no sense whatsoever.

  Trying not to think about it, he moved to help the EMT who'd been tending him. She was shaken up and still dazed, but appeared to be physically okay. He left the rear of the ambulance to check the driver, who was unconscious. Worse, the driver was wedged in the wreckage and trapped behind the wheel. Since Nick couldn't get him out, Nick returned to the rear to look for some way to cut the driver's seatbelt, and pry the wheel away from his body.

  While Nick searched, Kody quickly dispatched the demon. As soon as she finished, she returned to his side, but they had no way of freeing the trapped driver, so they took turns maintaining pressure on a tourniquet against the driver's wound where he'd been injured in the crash. The other EMT kept checking on the ETA for another ambulance.

  Kody frowned as she scanned the street while they listened to all the calls on the ambulance's radio. "I thought Bubba was following us?"

  "We must have lost him in the rain."

  Kody used her powers to disguise her sword as an umbrella that she held over him and the two EMTs. "What happened to the zeitjager?"

  "Don't know. He vanished."

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she shivered. "This is bad, Nick. Real bad."

  "I know, cher. I can feel it."

  She jerked her chin toward the smoldering remains of the demon she'd dispatched. "They're coming for you, Nick. Harder and stronger than ever before." She shivered. "Not just Noir. This is ... I don't know. It's not normal. It's unlike anything I've ever felt before."

  Oh goody. Just what he wanted to hear. That made his day all the brighter.

  Nick fell silent as he heard the next call on the radio and the address for it. It was one he knew all too well.

  His heart stopped beating in stark cold terror as he met Kody's shocked expression. "That's my mom!"

  *

  Laguerre smiled at Grim as she entered his office and found him at his desk. "Our friend just returned home with a gift for us. The king is in check."

  A slow smile spread across his face. "So soon?"

  "Easy enough when you have the pieces all in place. I told you, the Malachai trusts our newest ally. He didn't even see it coming. He has no idea that he's being tested and that if he fails, he loses everything."

  So it seemed. "Where's his mother?"

  An evil laugh escaped her beautiful lips. "Someplace safe."

  Grim winced at the thought of the last place anyone would look for Cherise Gautier. "Gah, I hate that hole."

  "Most beings do. It's why it was chosen for her prison. He'll never find her there."

  Grim saluted her for her cold, calculated choice. "What if our king chooses to sacrifice his queen to the cause?"

  "He won't. She's his raison d'etre. Nick would give us his Arelim love before he'd allow his mother to die. Whoever controls Cherise, controls Nick. You know that."

  "But have you ever wondered why?"

  Laguerre scowled. "What do you mean?"

  "Think about it. First Adarian gives his life for her, and now Nick. What is so special about this one particular human that two Malachais are willing to kill themselves to keep her safe?"

  She shrugged. "Love. It's a useless, pesky emotion to feel. Adarian fell in love with her, and for that pathetic reason, valued her life over his own. Nick, because she's his mother and he adores her. Even more ridiculous, if you ask me."

  And still that seemed too simple for Grim to accept it. Why would Adarian care? What would make a creature so foully cruel and uncaring, so selfish and cold, take notice of a tiny, frail woman? While Cherise was attractive, there were millions of other women who were more so. Millions of women who would have appealed to a Malachai.

  What had been so special about her that Adarian, after so many centuries of being so careful, would claim her as the mother of his heir?

  And then to protect her to such an extent, that he'd ultimately died for her? It just didn't make sense. It never had.

  No, there was more to this. There had to be.

  More to Cherise Gautier than a simple frail human mother.

  Anytime Grim had ever threatened to harm or even approach Cherise, Adarian had gone nuclear. In this game of life and death, of winner-take-the-world, she had been completely off-limits to all of them. The one card no one could play.

  The one ace that would make Nick fold.

  Now ...

  Grim finally had her in his hands and it was time he learned why this woman, alone, held the ultimate sway over the two most powerful Malachais who'd ever been born.

  She'd already caused the death of one.

  And she was about to be the death of the other.

  CHAPTER 5

  Nick used his powers to shield his presence from the police who had the small parking lot for his condo cordoned off. Dazed and pale, Bubba sat beneath a large black umbrella on the wet back door stoop Nick had sprinted down just a short time ago as he headed off to school. He held a bloodied Georgia Tech baseball cap that Nick knew belonged to Mark while he talked to the police and answered their questions.

  Sick to his stomach, Nick listened for details about what had happened.

  "I can't believe this." Bubba wadded the black cap in his fist as he looked around the parking lot. "Can I go now?" he asked the cop who was interviewing him. "Mark don't like hospitals, and I don't want him waking up alone in one. More than that, I don't want Nick finding out about his mama from a stranger. That boy don't need no more hurt on him. He just lost his daddy not that long ago. And he thinks the world of his mama. This is the last thing that boy needs to hear when he's off by himself. He's just a kid. I don't want him to think he's alone in the world when he's not. He needs somebody at his side right now, helping him make some sense of this."

  The police officer nodded. "We have everything we need. You're free to go."

  As Bubba headed for his SUV, Officer Davis stopped him. "Burdette, let us do our job. There's no need for you to get involved in this. We'll fin
d her."

  Fury darkened Bubba's eyes. "You better. Otherwise this isn't going to be a mugging and missing persons report. It'll be a homicide investigation, and I can assure you, you won't ever find a body."

  "Boy, you better remember you're talking to law enforcement."

  A sinister smile curved Bubba's lips. "Yeah. I know. Same law enforcement that never caught the ones who killed my wife and son. And that ain't happening to Nick. He don't deserve that. Not while I'm here to stop it. So you better find whoever did this before I do. 'Cause I promise you, there won't be enough left of them to ID when I get my hands on them. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to check on my friends and let them know I'm here for them."

  Horrified and trembling over what he was seeing and hearing, Nick couldn't breathe as he watched Bubba get into his SUV and drive off.

  Someone had taken his mom? For real?

  "I'm so sorry, Nick."

  Unable to cope with it all, he barely registered Kody's heartfelt words. His mind was whirling too fast. Unlike the police and Bubba, he knew they weren't looking for human perps. A human would never have gotten past Mark. His friend was too well trained and skilled for that.

  No. This had the stink of supernatural all over it.

  Was that why Caleb was sick? Why the weather was so bad? Why that crazy demon had come after him in the ambulance and the killer mosquitos had attacked?

  Had it all been a distraction? Something to keep them away from Nick's home so that his enemies could draw her out of their protected condo and kidnap his mom?

  Would they dare, knowing that once Nick had her free of their grasp, he'd tear them to pieces?

  Messing with the Malachai was a dark, dangerous thing for anyone to do. Especially when Nick didn't have full control over that part of himself. More like the Malachai controlled him right now, which made him akin to Cujo on steroids, with a Godzilla complex.

  Whenever it broke free, there was always a chance that he might not recover and that it would take him over completely. That he'd never be him or human again. While Noir might think he could control him, Nick wouldn't play that bet. If the ancient god couldn't control his father back in the days when the god had more strength, odds were he'd never be able to leash the Ambrose beast now that Noir had spent countless centuries growing weaker.

  But none of that mattered right now. Only his mom did.

  Nick winced as panicked fear for her consumed him. How could this have happened? They purposefully kept his home shielded. No one should have been able to find his mother. No one knew he was the Malachai. Or even where he lived.

  That's not true.

  One very evil little beastie was currently residing in his home. Xev knew exactly who and what he was.

  How important his mother was to him.

  Bile rose in his throat as he remembered the warnings Caleb had given him about saving Xev and taking him in. He was the only "enemy" who knew all about Nick and where he lived and breathed. How to "cripple" him. Xev had betrayed the good guy side to Noir once before. He'd supposedly led their enemies straight to his own family to be slaughtered by Noir's army. It was why Caleb had refused to allow Xev to live in his home, even though they were brothers. Why Nick had been forced to keep the Sarru-Dara--the Malachai's blood general--in his condo. Caleb wouldn't allow Xev anywhere near him without viciously attacking him.

  If Xev could do that to Caleb ...

  Xev's betrayed me. Just like Caleb had said he would.

  No good deed goes unpunished. It was something both his boss, Kyrian, and Acheron had said to him, repeatedly.

  Kody bit her lip. "Nick? What are you thinking? What's that look mean?"

  Furious, he ignored Kody as he teleported into his room. With his vision darkened by Malachai bloodlust, Nick found Xev right where he'd left him when he headed off to school. Asleep in his bed as if everything was right in the world. Like nothing bad had happened.

  That only added to his rage. How dare the ancient being lie here as if the world wasn't in chaos! As if his mother hadn't been taken by God only knew who or what. She be could dead already.

  Tortured ...

  Wanting blood and vengeance in the worst way, Nick growled low and yanked the blanket off him.

  Xev came awake with an equal amount of defiant fury. Turning and flipping into a crouch, he hissed like a cat, exposing a set of jagged teeth. His rusty-sea-blue eyes held a diamond-shaped pupil as he angled his arm up to blast Nick, only to realize who his attacker was. Since he was enslaved to the Malachai, he couldn't physically hurt him. So his eyes and teeth returned to normal while he braced himself for Nick to beat him. It was what Nick's father would have done to him for the affront.

  But as Nick saw the deep, vicious scars that marred every inch of Xev's lengthy body, and in particular the two that marked where his wings had been savagely ripped off his back as punishment for his crimes, he calmed down.

  While Nick had no doubt that Xev was a fierce, deadly creature capable of ruthless violence and betrayal, he no longer thought he was responsible for his mother's abduction. Surely Xev wouldn't have gone back to sleep after taking her. That would have been all kinds of stupid.

  And Xev was anything but dumb.

  Had he taken his mom, he'd have known to run to the highest hills he could find for fear of what Nick would do to him once he found out about it.

  Kody drew up short as she entered the room behind Nick and saw Xev huddled naked on the bed. Squeaking, she quickly turned around and dodged back into the hallway. "Sorry, Xev."

  Still Xev didn't move or speak as he stared up at Nick with a brutal intensity that waited for Nick to unleash his worst wrath on him.

  And that, too, drove the last of the Malachai anger out of Nick. Having been misjudged by most everyone around him, he wasn't real big on doing that to others. He handed the blanket back to Xev. "Didn't you hear the thunderstorm?"

  Xev covered himself. "What storm?" He scratched at his ear, then raked his hand through the garishly bright red and yellow hair he'd been cursed to bear, trying to smooth it down.

  "There was hail, pounding thunder ... a blood rain," Kody said as she came back into the room. She eyed Nick suspiciously. "Are you okay?"

  Not really, but Nick nodded anyway since he was no longer on the verge of ripping Xev's throat out, or shifting into his Malachai form. "My mother was kidnapped from the parking lot outside." He glared at Xev. "Did you not hear it?"

  Xev brushed his hand over the ancient words bearing his cursed fate that were branded into the flesh of his torso. "You think I did it?"

  "I don't know what to think. Honestly, I'm too pissed off to really focus right now. I just want to beat the crap out of someone. And since you're here and taller, bigger, and meaner, you make a good target, bud."

  Kody placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That's the Malachai talking."

  "I know. But knowing doesn't change the fact I want to kick the snot out of whoever did this. Or failing that ... whoever happens to be close by." Nick locked gazes with Xev. "I just find it odd that no one knew where my mom was until you moved in. Now..."

  "I swear, I didn't betray you. Why would I?"

  "I don't know, Xev. I don't even know who or what you really are. Every time I ask, you dodge the question like a bullet aimed for your temple."

  Xev finally stood to his full six-foot-six height. As he gripped the blanket around him, his angry gaze went to Kody, then back to Nick. "Fine. You want the truth? Before my powers were stripped as punishment and I was damned by the Source gods, I was the god Daraxerxes. Cousin and friend to the firstborn Malachai."

  Shocked that he finally had an answer about Xev's past, Nick stood there as the truth slowly sank in.

  Xev had known the very first Malachai.

  Day-yam.

  While he'd known Xev was old--the first of the Malachai's generals--he'd had no idea just how old that was, until now. Never would he have guessed that Xev was related to the Malachai demon bl
oodline. That he'd actually known Monakribos. "You were there in the very beginning?"

  He gave a curt nod. "Even though we'd been friends, during the first war of the gods I fought against the Malachai and his army. Against my own mother and her sister. I was the reason your great ancestor was defeated, cursed, and enslaved. It was for that betrayal against them that I was set up, betrayed, and punished by all those I called ally, including my own brother, who will never again have faith in me. For anything. My mother and aunt strove to teach me a vital lesson about trusting others. And it is one I learned well, indeed. No matter how much of yourself you give. No matter how much you bleed. In the end, they believe whatever lie they want to believe about you. They see only the worst, in spite of the fact that you only gave them your best. And there's nothing you can do or say to change another's mind. Ever."

  Xev's eyes clearly telegraphed the depth of his anguish. "The real truth never catches up to the venom enemies spew against you. So I don't expect you to believe me about today, or anything else. No one ever has. My mother personally saw to it that no one would ever put me at their back again. Not for any reason."

  "Wait," Kody said with a scowl. "The Sephiroth general, Jared, was the one who ended that war."

  "No. He naively betrayed his Sephirii army to the dark powers and put down his own soldiers, but I was the god who ended the war by making sure the Mavromino were cut off from this world. So after Braith abandoned her siblings for the deal they made against her child, it was my blood used to seal those original gates to Azmodea. My blood that continues to hold them back from this world."

  Kody gasped. "That's why you're the Malachai's blood general. You're the one who locked Azura and Noir in their prison."

  Xev gave a slow single nod. "And it's my blood, through the Malachai's hand and magic, that's needed to unlock it and release them back into this realm."

  Completely still, Nick was trying to digest that and not lose his mind in the process. The Mavromino, which could be both singular or plural, was the essence of all darkness. The great evil that had spawned the three primal dark gods--Azura, Braith, and Noir.

  From a forbidden affaire de coeur that had ended tragically, Braith had birthed the first Malachai and seen her child cursed by the gods of light, who'd demanded the Malachai's wife and child be sacrificed to appease them. Heartbroken and with no other choice about the matter, Braith had vanished and left her son to become the property of her evil siblings, Azura and Noir.