Inferno (36 page)

Completely unimpressed, Nick gave him a cold, dry stare. “Are you trying to scare me? Doesn’t work.”

Caleb laughed. “Yeah, but put on a clown suit and he’ll scream like a girl.”

Bristling at his words, Kody cleared her throat.

“You’re not a girl, Kody.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, stop while you’re behind, Malphas.”

Adarian took a step toward Nick’s mother, then stopped. He glanced to Kody. “Open the door, girl. But once we’re back in the human world…” His eyes glowed red as he pinned Nick with a murderous sneer. “I
will
kill you.”

“Bonne chance.”
Nick covered his mother while Kody manifested a short recurve bow.

Nocking an arrow, she aimed it for the wall. “Straight and true. One shot and we’re through.” She winked at Nick, then turned around and placed her back to the wall. The moment her skin touched it, it swung open.

She readied her bow while she held the door. “Go.”

They ran for it. But as Caleb predicted, they didn’t get far. Demons descended on them like park ants on sliced watermelon.

Kody fired her bow while Caleb manifested his armor to fight. Nick used his fire bombs to attack them.

His father tore the thronging demons apart with his bare hands.

Nick paused as he watched his father fighting. It would be impressive if it wasn’t so terrifying.

Step by slow, excruciating step, they made their way down the hall toward the entrance. Nick kept his mother between him and Kody. And just when he thought they might make it, his father slipped and fell to his knees.

Adarian tried to stand, then fell again.

What was wrong with the elder demon?

His father looked straight at him. Nick sucked his breath in hard at the sight of his face. His features were hollow and pale. Gaunt. A thick blanket of sweat covered him.

Nick was weakening his father a lot faster than he’d have thought possible. Guilt stabbed him hard. Without thinking, he reached to help his father up.

Adarian bit at him and hissed. “Don’t touch me!”

“You’ll weaken him even faster,” Kody warned.

Nick put more distance between them. As they reached the front room of the hall, a shadow shot out of the wall. Before anyone could identify it, it grabbed his mother.

He lunged to stop it and missed. Adarian didn’t. He grabbed the demon by the throat and brought it down.

Nick grabbed his mother and moved even faster for the door. Just as he reached it, his mother was torn from his arms.

“Mom!” But it was too late. The demon had taken flight with her. Nick shot out his wings and launched himself toward them.

Then slammed into the wall. He cursed at the pain that tore through his entire body. He so did not have the hang of this.

But man, his father did. He watched as Adarian put his head down and streamlined his drag coefficient so that he moved like a bullet. He and the demon rolled and fought in the air.

Taking advantage of their inattention, Nick placed his mother’s hand in the crook of his elbow and kicked open the door.

Not much farther
.

Yet as they descended down the steps, he came face-to-face with the wolf who’d freed him from Helheim. Blocking their escape, the wolf growled and snapped.

“What are you doing?” Nick asked it.

“I cannot let you pass this time. Not after I freed you. The human is my charge and I
must
keep her here.”

Nick shook his head. “Let us pass.”

“I cannot.”

“You can and you will.”

The wolf launched at his throat. Nick ducked and twisted away while Kody moved in to protect his mother for him. Walking backwards to put more distance between him and the women, Nick prepared himself for another attack.

“Zavid!” the masculine shout rang out.

The wolf hesitated. Then he lunged at Nick only to have an arrow land right in front of him.

“Zavid, surrender yourself or you
will
be executed.”

The wolf turned and snarled, finally giving Nick a look at who was after him.

It was Caleb’s friend Tristan. He nocked another arrow and aimed it for the wolf.

Nick started forward to keep Tristan from killing Zavid, but Caleb grabbed his elbow and held him in place.

“Let it go. The fight’s between them.”

“I owe the wolf.”

Caleb glanced sideways to where the women were waiting, yet still in danger. “Think of your mother.”

Nick nodded. Caleb was right. His mother was much more important than the debt he owed Zavid.

Shielding his mother, he made sure none of the demons came close to her. When they finally reached the arch, he let out a relieved breath. A few more feet …

Caleb went out first. Kody. And Nick was by his mother’s side. He’d just put one foot under the arch when his mother cried out.

A demon had her by the hair.

Cursing, Nick grabbed the demon and twisted its hand until it let go of his mother. The demon fell back.

“Malachai!”

Nick jerked around at the same time his father did. The demon who’d shouted shot a lightning blast at his mother. Acting on pure instinct, Nick threw himself in front of her and wrapped his body around hers so that the blast would strike him instead.

It didn’t.

Confused, he waited several heartbeats for that impact. Then he looked up. The demon who’d shot at her was pinned to a wall high above the floor. Nick glanced to Caleb, expecting it to have been his kill. But Caleb stood completely slack-jawed.

As did Kody.

Even more baffled, Nick had a bad feeling settle deep in his stomach. He turned ever so slowly to see his father on the ground with a huge, smoking hole in his side.

No …

It couldn’t be.

With sharp, jerking breaths, his father reached for him. “Here, boy!” he snarled.

“I’m not a dog.” But Nick obeyed anyway. “Why?”

Adarian curled his lip. “I weep at your conception.” Then his gaze went past Nick to his mother and softened instantly. “What I give to you, I give for
her
protection. You hear me? Embrace your destiny and let no harm touch your mother.” He grabbed Nick’s head and jerked him close.

Nick felt something hot and piercing slash through him. It burned and twisted as if it were alive. Agony exploded in his skull. Unable to see, hear, or smell, he fell forward and still the pain worsened.

Crying out, he wanted it to stop. But it wouldn’t. It didn’t even lessen.

Out of nowhere, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and held him. From the awful buzzing, he heard Kody’s voice lulling him. “Drink this,” she whispered, holding something to his lips. “It’ll help, I promise.”

Nick gulped at it, but still the pain persisted.

With one last roar, his father released him. Nick fell back into Kody’s arms.

Dizzy and nauseated, he couldn’t breathe. It hurt so much.…

Nick met Caleb’s frown. By the expression on his friend’s face, he knew he must be fugly. His gaze went to his father, who was now nothing more than a dark stain on the floor. There was no blood. No dust. Nothing to say the elder Malachai had ever lived.

A tremor of fear went through Nick. Would that be his fate one day?

“Nick!”

He jerked toward his mother to see a demon trying to carry her off. With a hiss, he launched himself at the beast and caught it about the middle. The demon fell back.

Nick went for its throat and would have ripped it out had Caleb not stopped him.

“Your mother.”

Nick nodded. Picking her up, he unfurled his wings and flew her to the arch, then through it.

Only when he was back on neutral ground did he stop to look back for the others. Caleb and Kody were right behind him.

Doubling over to catch his breath, Caleb coughed and coughed. Kody let go of her bow as it vanished into thin air.

His heart pounding, Nick glanced down to see his mother sleeping in his arms. He tucked his wings in and frowned. “Why is she asleep?”

“She’s human.” Caleb wiped at the sweat on his brow. “She won’t remember any part of being on the other side. Humans can’t.”

That made him feel better.

Caleb shook his head incredulously. “I can’t believe your father died for you. That he sacrificed himself for your mother.…”

“You’re free now,” Kody said to Caleb.

Caleb snorted in derision. “I wish. Nick inherited me.”

“Can’t I release you?” Nick asked.

“Only if you kill me, and for now, I’d rather you not.”

Hissing, Nick grimaced as a sudden pain sliced through his arm.

“You’re wounded.” Caleb took Nick’s mother from him. “You need to tend that.”

He nodded as he finally saw what appeared to be a violent gash in his bicep. “Thank you. Both. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Kody smiled. “Anytime, sweetie.”

Caleb inclined his head to Nick’s slumbering mother. “Let’s get you two home.”

They crossed the empty, silent street. At three
A.M.
, there was almost no one out as they trudged toward home.

“Hey, guys?” Kody asked. “Why are we walking? You know we can flash ourselves home, right?”

Nick started laughing as the ludicrousness of his life hit him. “I’m still not used to all this.”

Caleb snorted. “In my defense, I’m too tired to think straight.”

Intending to flash out, they paused in front of the parking deck at Canal Place. Before Nick could move, the sound of an animal in pain cut through the silence. A bad feeling went through him.

He started forward.

“Leave it!” Caleb snapped.

He couldn’t. Not when he heard the ferocity of the fight. Bending his head down, he ran to help.

Nick skidded to a halt just past the gate where Tristan had Zavid cornered against the wall and an arrow trained on him.

“Put it on!” Tristan snapped.

Nick had no idea what Tristan wanted Zavid to do, but he wasn’t about to let him suffer any more. Not after the wolf had been through so much.

Tristan let fly his arrow.

Nick threw his hand out and used his powers to deflect it. To his immediate shock, it actually worked.

That was a first.

Tristan turned on him with a snarl. “What have you done?”

“I can’t let you murder him.”

By the man’s expression, it was obvious Tristan wanted to plant that bow somewhere special on Nick’s body.

“Am I too late?” Caleb asked as he joined them. “Did he do something stupid?”

“Yeah. On both counts.” With angry strides, Tristan stalked past Nick.

“What is wrong with you two?” Nick went to Zavid, who leaned against the wall. His breathing labored, he wasn’t moving at all.

Caleb sucked his breath in harshly between his teeth. “You didn’t save his life. Please say you didn’t.”

“No. I just kept Tristan from shooting him.”

Caleb let fly a curse so foul that Nick recoiled from it.

Nick scowled. “What is your problem?”

Caleb glared at him with a fury he couldn’t begin to fathom. “You wanted to know how your father enslaved me? He saved my life, Nick. That’s how it works. When a Malachai spares the life of any demon, he becomes their master until the day he dies. It’s another reason we all hate your kind.”

Nick couldn’t breathe as that news floored him. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because I never thought you’d be
this
stupid.”

“Well, you ought to know me better than that, shouldn’t you?” Nick’s gaze went past Caleb to Kody, who appeared as sick as he felt.

“Stop fighting, you two,” she said. “There’s nothing more to be done. We survived tonight. We should all be grateful. Now you can do what you want, but I’m getting Cherise home, and then I’m going to soak in a nice, hot bath until dawn.” She vanished.

Caleb closed the distance between them. “I’m going, but before I do, I want to leave you with this thought. Your father’s dead and is no longer a threat to you. But you still don’t have all of his powers. That drink Kody gave you was a binding potion, and it’ll help shield you from those who will now be gunning for you. But it isn’t permanent, and it can be broken. Intentionally or by accident. But the most important thing for you to digest is that we don’t know who kidnapped you or your parents. If your father knew, he took it with him to the great beyond, and your mother will never remember.”

Which meant there was a truly scary enemy out there who knew he was the Malachai.

An enemy who knew who his mother was …

Crap.

Caleb turned and walked away, leaving Nick alone with Zavid, who had transformed into his human body.

Zavid glared at him. “You should have let him kill me, Malachai.”

“You don’t mean that.… C’mon, let me take you home and get you cleaned up.”

“I’m not a pet,” Zavid growled ferociously.

“And I’m not a master. I just wanted to help.”

Zavid scowled as if he didn’t understand the language Nick was speaking. “Is that all you wanted?”

“Honestly? I would give any and everything to have a normal, average life.” Sighing in disgust, Nick helped Zavid up and then he flashed them to his condo, where Kody had already put his mother to bed.

Nick showed Zavid how to work the shower, then left him to it.

Exhausted and concerned about the things Caleb had named, he joined Kody in the living room and pulled her into his arms. He pressed his forehead against hers. “Are we good or are we enemies?” he asked her, needing to know where they stood.

“We will only be enemies if you make it so.”

Friends could kill as fast as enemies. She didn’t say those words, but he was learning to catch those underlying loopholes.

Wanting to trust her, but afraid of what might happen if he did, he kissed her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “We’ll try to sort some of this out when I’m not so tired I’m dizzy.”

Kody kissed his cheek. “All right. Sleep tight. Don’t let the Hel Hound bite.”

“You are
not
funny.”

She wrinkled her nose at him, then touched his lips with her fingers. “Tomorrow, my Cajun. It’ll be a whole new day.” And with that, she stepped back and left him.