All of Olympus was on fire around him, and each temple had been leveled. Nick, in his true demonic form with black and red marbled skin and glowing eyes, stood defiant and strong, his wings tucked in at his back. His army hovered nearby, awaiting more orders from him. Blood from the ancient gods dripped from their armor.
And his.
Time slowed down as he watched himself searching the ruins, looking for something he seemed to have lost.
All sound stopped. He only heard his heartbeat. Fierce. Strong.
Defiant.
Ambrose ...
He flinched at the unfamiliar voice in his head.
Well, crap. Unknown voices in his head was never a good sign. Especially when they wanted his undivided attention and used a name they weren't supposed to know.
And as fast as it started, it ended.
Like a sped-up video file, everything around him caught up to real time. He was back at his school, in his hallway with Caleb, Brynna, Kody, and LaShonda staring at him.
"Nick?"
He opened his mouth to respond to Kody and couldn't. Again, he had that frightening surreal feeling as everything in the hallway slowed down to a crawl.
Suddenly, he heard the strange eerie drumming of hooves rushing toward him. The sound of a horse screeching. It drowned out all other high school noises. Against his will, Nick turned in the hallway to see a rider in white billowing robes racing down the north hall on the back of a black horse as it passed through students and faculty. Snorting fire, the horse had blood-red eyes, searing with their hatred.
The rider held a set of old-fashioned scales in its hands. "Ambrose!" The voice was neither male nor female. It was strictly demonic and cold. Terrifying. Without pausing, it came straight at him in a dead run.
Unable to move, Nick was frozen as horse and rider tore through him and left him completely breathless and cold.
"Nick!"
Blinking at Kody, he shook his head to clear his vision as the main doors were blown open by the rider only he could see. Not even Kody or Caleb had detected it. They stared at him with duplicate frowns as teachers rushed to close the doors they thought the wind had caught.
How was that possible? They always saw things like that when he did. Usually before he did.
He opened his mouth to answer Kody at the same time the bell rang. What the...?
Nick blinked as he glanced around at everyone in the hallway. They were now all scrambling to get to their rooms. He'd had fifteen minutes until class a heartbeat ago.
Hadn't he?
He glanced to the hall clock that confirmed it was time for school to start. That can't be right.
"Gautier?" Caleb barked from the door of their homeroom. How had he gotten there so fast? Surely he hadn't teleported in front of the humans. "You shooting for another tardy?"
A big negatory on that. He spent enough of his teenhood in this building. Last thing he wanted was to donate any additional time to it, especially when he didn't have to. Shrugging off his delusions that he attributed to some kind of weird Nintendo-induced flashback, Nick headed into the room where Nekoda, Brynna, and Caleb were taking their seats.
Still, something seemed off. Like he was walking through heavy, thick foam ... He leaned over to whisper to Nekoda. "I'm where I'm supposed to be, right?"
Her scowl matched his. "Are you my Nick?"
God, he hoped so. Why else would he be dressed in this fugly orange trout Hawaiian shirt? Last time he'd been in another dimension and body, he'd had a much better wardrobe. He'd also been a lot shorter than his normal, gangly, six-foot-four, bang-my-knees-into-everything stature.
He hesitated. "Are you my Kody?" he asked her.
"Yes," she dragged the answer out. "Why are you asking?"
Nick rubbed at his neck. "Don't know. Got a weird feeling all of a sudden."
"It's called detention, Mr. Gautier." Richardson ripped off the paper with times and a room number for said punishment, and set it on the desk in front of him. "See you after school."
Epically awesome.
Nick wasn't sure what ticked him off more. The detention or the fact that the troll still couldn't pronounce his name right. She always said "Gah-tee-ay" when she knew it was Cajun and pronounced "Go-shay."
Don't say a word.
He grimaced at Caleb's voice in his head. Normally, he wouldn't have listened. But for once, he was too grateful that this was typical of his luck, and decided to heed Caleb's good advice. No need to antagonize the establishment.
Today, anyway. He just wanted the rest of the day to settle down and return to normal. No more freaky ghosts in the hall. No more unknown voices in his head.
Normal.
Please, for the love of God, let my day be normal for once....
"What?" Richardson snarled. "No smart retort, Mr. Gautier? Cat swallow your tongue?"
Nick gave her a charming grin he didn't really feel. "No, ma'am. A gator named Sense Formerly Known as Common."
Sneering at him, she tottered her way to her desk so that she could insult someone else and ruin their day.
Caleb let out an annoyed breath. Great, he projected to Nick. Now I have to get detention, too. I really hate you, Gautier.
Nick batted his eyelashes at Caleb. But I wubs you, Caliboo.
That succeeded in wringing a groan out of Caleb.
"What was that, Mr. Malphas?" Richardson asked.
"Severe intestinal woe caused by an external hemorrhoid that seems to be growing on my right-hand side." He cast a meaningful glower toward Nick.
The class erupted into laughter as Richardson shot to her feet. "Enough!" She slammed her hands on her desk. "For that, Mr. Malphas, you can join Mr. Gautier in after-school detention."
Caleb let out an irritated sigh. More quality time with my hemorrhoid. Just what I wanted for Christmas. Yippee ki-yay.
Nick forced himself not to react to the sarcastic words only he could hear. If not for the fact that he knew the truth behind Caleb's feelings where he was concerned, he'd be hurt by that animosity. But while he'd been trapped out of his body in another dimension, he'd seen and heard firsthand what Caleb really thought about him.
They were family.
Brothers in arms.
Yes, they fought and sniped. Yet at the end of the day, they would kill or die for each other. It was something each of them had proven. Of that, he had no doubt.
So he took the acerbic demon in stride and tried to keep in mind how hard life had to be for Caleb. He'd lost everyone he cared about. Had seen his wife brutally slain by his enemies and had spent centuries enslaved to a cruel, demonic master who'd hated his guts. One who hadn't hesitated to abuse and mock him every chance he could. Yeah, Nick's father had been a rank dog to everyone around him. Caleb had every reason in the universe to hate Nick, and instead, he was the best friend Nick had ever known.
Hey, bud, Nick mentally projected to Caleb. Thanks.
Caleb scowled. "For?"
Nick smiled as Caleb spoke out loud. Not letting me die. Fighting by my side whenever I need you to, and for getting up this morning when I know you'd rather sleep till noon or later.
His frown deepened. You're so weird.
Given the fact that Nick was the hated son of a demon whose sole purpose was to one day end the world--and had been born the lead rider of the Apocalypse, Conquest, to be specific, and he was currently dating the ghost of a warrior he would kill in their future--weird was a massive understatement.
For that matter, if there was a primer for normality, Nick would be the first in line to buy it. His life was ever a case study of Murphy's Law to the utter extremes.
Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. And in the worst way possible, at the worst possible time.
Yeah, that summed up his average day. Sad thing was, he was getting really used to that.
Just as the bell rang, Caleb sneezed.
Then sneezed again. And once more.
Nick froze at the startling sound he'd never
heard before. Ever. Especially given the fact that Caleb's features instantly paled.
"You all right, buddy?"
Caleb brushed his hand against his brow in a way that said it was not a good day to be Malphas. "I don't feel well all of a sudden."
"You don't look so good either."
"Sheez, Nick! You're so blunt!" Kody chided as she stepped around him to check on Caleb. She placed her hand on Caleb's forehead. "Gracious, hon. You're burning with a fever."
Caleb shook his head. "No. Can't be. I don't get sick." He started coughing. Hard.
Wide-eyed, Nick stepped back. "While I'm no medic or nurse, that sounds pretty sick to me. And not the good kind of sick. The sick kind of sick. Like call-my-mama-I-need-soup-and-Kleenex sick."
Kody patted Caleb on the back. "You okay, sweetie?"
Nodding, he drew a ragged breath. Then he started coughing again.
Richardson came over to them with an irritated sneer. "Is there a problem?"
Nick exchanged a worried glance with Kody before he answered. "I think Caleb's illin'."
Scoffing, Richardson curled her lip. "He looks fine to--"
Her words broke off as Caleb hurled at her feet. Shrieking, she jumped back, but not before he scored on her ugly brown ortho shoes.
Nick wrinkled his nose. "Dude, that's so gross!" But awesome as all get-out! Nice to know Caleb had great aim in all things. "Man, what'd you eat for breakfast? That don't look right. Is that small kitten bits or something?"
Turning bright green herself and retching, Richardson cursed them in a way that would have them suspended if the principal overheard one of them say that. "Take him to the office. Now!"
"Yes, ma'am." Nick pressed his lips together to keep from laughing over the nasty retribution as he pulled Caleb's arm around his shoulders and led him toward the front of school. Kody followed behind them.
As soon as they were clear of the room, Nick paused to whisper. "You want me to take you to the bathroom so you can teleport home?"
Caleb wheezed. "I-I-I can't teleport."
Nick went cold with dread. "What?"
Stark cold terror filled Caleb's dark eyes. "My powers are gone, Nick. I'm human."
CHAPTER 2
Nick opened his mouth to tell Caleb he wasn't funny, but before he could, Caleb dashed into the bathroom and to a stall to be sick again. Thankfully, he didn't score on Nick before he left.
Or his shoes.
Bonus for that. Though, to be honest, if Caleb had taken out the hideous shirt, Nick wouldn't have complained too much.
Cringing at the sounds of gastro-misery coming out of his friend, Nick waited by the sinks until Caleb was through. Pale and shaking, Caleb stumbled out a few minutes later. Man, he felt bad for the demon.
Nick turned the water on for him and stood aside while Caleb washed up. "You gonna make it?"
Before Caleb could answer, his knees buckled.
Seriously concerned, Nick caught him up against his side. "Caleb?" Kody was right. He was burning with a fever so severe, it radiated through his clothes. "Can you hear me?"
He started babbling in demonkyn. Something about fields and planting? It was so off and made no sense whatsoever. Why would a daeve warrior demon care about planting a field?
"Caleb!" Nick barked. "Dude! I need you to hang with me. C'mon. Don't do this. I need you lucid."
It was useless. Caleb had checked out and taken the bill with him.
Had the ghost rider in the hallway caused this? It didn't seem possible, but what else could have done it? He'd been fine earlier.
Biting his lip, Nick debated what to do. Who to go to for help.
One thing was clear. No one else in their school needed to know about this. Nor did they need to witness Caleb speaking in tongues. They might start asking awkward questions about what language it was. Why Caleb knew it.
Or worse, they could discover Caleb's and Nick's less-than-human origins. While most of their private parochial school was human, there were enough preternaturals here to make it real uncomfortable for Nick's small group. Especially when it came to the staff clergy, who might want them exorcized.
Or worse ...
Expelled.
For that matter, while there were humans here who knew about and protected the other preters at the school, none of them were aware that they had a small demon population, and they really wanted to keep it that way.
The fewer who knew about Nick and Caleb, the better. Since most people assumed every species of demon was evil and all they wanted was to throw holy water on them and banish them straight to hell, no good could come of anyone knowing about them. The last thing Nick wanted was that kind of negative attention and stereotyping. He had a hard enough time with puberty and dating. No need to toss this into the mix, too, and have Sister Katherine following them around with her rosary and thurible.
As with humanity, demons came in all breeds and kinds, and they chose which side of the fight they wanted to be on. For now, he and Caleb were firmly rooted on the right side, and they both planned to stay here no matter what.
But because people had a nasty tendency to attack without question, they wouldn't believe that about them. He accepted and respected the fact that demons had a bad rep. Most had earned it, yet Nick didn't want to be judged by those who'd come before him.
He was here to make his own way in this world. And he would be saved or condemned by the choices he, alone, made. Not for the deeds of others.
Yet that was neither here nor there. Right now, his main concern was what to do for Caleb. How best to protect and help his friend.
Nick glanced around to make sure no one else was in the bathroom with them before he flashed them to Caleb's house. It was the only safe place he could take Caleb to heal where neither his nor Caleb's enemies could get to him.
"Zavid!"
The Aamon demon who lived with Caleb, Zavid, appeared at his side immediately, then stepped back as soon as he saw Caleb's weakened condition, and heard his babbling. Like Caleb, Zavid had dark hair and the kind of build and good looks that left Nick feeling without. "What did you do to him, Malachai?"
"Nothing. He got sick."
That didn't help Zavid's attitude toward Nick. If anything, he only became more suspicious. "We don't get sick."
Caleb began coughing up blood, maybe even a kidney from the sounds of it, as he staggered away. He only made it as far as the stairs before he sat down and leaned against the wall.
Nick cringed at how awful his friend looked. Those were deep, bronchial coughs like Nick used to get when he was a kid. He had no idea what to do for him. He seriously doubted an inhaler would help. "I feel like I ought to make you chicken soup or something."
His breathing labored, Caleb stared at him. "How does anyone stand this?"
"Usually? With a great deal of whining and begging for my mom to come baby me."
Zavid scowled. "This isn't a joke? He really is sick?"
"Yeah."
Zavid glanced from Nick to Caleb and back again. "Not injured? Sick?"
"Sick," Nick repeated.
Arms akimbo, Zavid stood in a state of utter disbelief as Caleb sat on the stairs with his head in his hands. "How is this possible?"
"No idea. Isn't there a demon doctor or something I can take him to? What do you guys do when you get ill?"
"We. Don't. Get. Sick." Zavid enunciated each word slowly. "Ever. We get injured. We get ticked off. We get dead. We never get sick."
Nick gestured at Caleb. "Obviously, you've been misinformed."
Zavid rolled his eyes. "Liv!" he barked, which, given the fact he was a Hel hound in his other form, meant something.
Dressed in a white flowing nightgown and with long black hair, Livia appeared instantly by Zavid's side. Unbelievably beautiful, she was also a demon general who was even more bloodthirsty than the guys. It made Nick glad that she was on their side.
Yawning, she rubbed at her eyes. Obviously, she'd been sound asleep when he shout
ed for her. "What?" she said irritably.
"Ever heard of a demon getting sick?" Zavid asked.
She pursed her lips. "Of humans? All the time. It's what we live for."
Zavid laughed. "No. Catching a cold."
"Oh..." Yawning again, she rubbed at her head. "Don't be stupid. Demons are immune from germs."
"And we're back where we started. Beginning to feel like I'm riding a hamster wheel." Nick jumped away as Caleb began a gurgling sound like he'd made right before he'd trashed Richardson's shoes. "I should probably mention that C doesn't have his powers, so one of you might want to get him a little closer to a bathroom. Just in case he starts blowing another gasket."
Zavid turned his attention to Livia.
Livia gaped at Zavid, then Nick. "What? 'Cause I'm female I'm the wet nurse?"
"Well, yeah ... you have the anatomy for it we lack," Zavid said snidely.
Nick shrugged. "Don't look at me for this. As stated, I lack the necessary female equipment for wet nursery. And I once killed a cactus and Bubba's goldfish watching over them. No offense, I don't want to kill Malphas or find a toilet big enough to flush him down. Not even sure how to water him or what to feed him. Come to think of it, I don't recall him eating anything around me. Ever. Last time he went down, he told me he wanted blood to heal, and I only do that for the Red Cross."
Caleb looked up to curl his lip at Nick, but didn't comment on that. "Can someone please get me to bed? I don't think I can make it up the stairs. And you should be grateful, Gautier. If I had the energy to stand, I'd probably strangle you. Or take an involuntary blood donation from your jugular."
He vanished instantly.
Zavid walked over to Nick. "I sent him to his bed. But really, what's going on? How can Malphas be sick and without his powers?"
"I don't know. Is there some kind of demon that preys on us?"
"Many," they said in unison.
Nick groaned. "Great. Good to know." Caleb had been right. He should have never said the day was going good. Everything had just skidded off the Crap Exit ramp into Hexville.
"But," Zavid interrupted his mental anguish, "never heard of anything like this." He glanced to Livia. "You?"
She shook her head. "Not with a demon as powerful and old as Malphas. If they had that kind of ability to strip his powers, they'd have attacked the Malachai before him."
"Yeah, but for once, nothing hit me."
Caleb let out an eerie, pain-filled howl. Terrified some new enemy was trying to kill or eat his best friend, Nick bolted up the stairs and into the bedroom to find Caleb motionless on the black sheets.