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  The Malachai wasn't most. Whatever was there lit up every bit of his psychic sense and had it singing a soprano chorus. Nothing could hide from Nick's breed.

  Or Jaden, apparently. He stiffened and reached out to stop his sons. "Don't move."

  Nick heard the subtle growl off to his right. It was low and powerful, and only registered on the demonic plane. Yet it was enough to let him know that the beast was ready to come for his throat. The sound rippled in the air like low thrumming thunder, with enough energy that he had no doubt the growl, alone, could be weaponized. "What exactly are these things again?"

  "Watch and learn, akri-Nick! The Simi will shows you." She flounced around him to kneel a few feet away. "Here, here, akri-Kaziel. No one gonna hurt you, the Simi promises and you knows you can banks it all day long." Clicking her tongue, she held her hand out.

  The growling subsided. A slight rustle sounded before the largest wolf Nick had ever seen came out of the shadows.

  "Holy mother of God!" Nick involuntarily crossed himself. If he'd had holy water, he'd have flung it at him, too. Not that he thought it'd do any good.

  Just for good measure.

  As it was, Nick could barely refrain from holding up two fingers in the sign of a cross against the beast.

  Yeah, it was that scary.

  Give him a demon, a hell-monkey ...

  Anything over this monstrous thing. Even on four legs, it had to be over four and half feet tall from paws to haunches. Completely snow white, the hound was all muscled sinew and furry beast. That would be scary enough. Add to that unholy bloodred ears and matching demonic, glowing, flame-red eyes and fangs that showed even when he closed his mouth, and yeah, that wouldn't blend on the street no matter what you tried. Especially given that every other breath shot flames out his muzzle. What it would do, though, was give you nightmares and send you to a psych ward, especially if you were dumb enough to try and tell anyone what you'd seen.

  "What did they use those for again?" Nick asked in a voice that came out a lot squeakier and in a much higher octave than he'd intended. One that sounded like he hadn't quite reached puberty yet.

  Yeah, it'd just sucked out a whole level of testosterone he wanted back.

  Xev stepped around his father. "Messengers of the gods. They guarded the gates of Annwn. Were sent to hunt down the dark ones and Children of Llyr, and unchristened souls. They were also used by the gods in battle. It was said anyone who heard their baying would die. So in a way, they were like banshees."

  Nick cleared his throat and intentionally dropped it an octave before he spoke again. "And the gates of Annwn are what?"

  "Celtic Underworld." Xev moved slowly toward Kaziel. "You remember me, old friend?"

  The way he eyed Xev with those freaky glowing eyes, Nick half expected him to take a bite out of him. But he held himself perfectly still as Xev approached him to present his hand so that Kaziel could sniff the back of his fist.

  Only then did the hound shift to his human form. Crouched low, and wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, he unfolded himself slowly to emerge as an even more impressively giant, muscled beast.

  Nick crossed himself again. Though this time, he did manage to withhold the verbal expletives. Yet he still exchanged a wide-eyed gaping stare with Kody.

  Standing a good two inches taller than Nick, Kaziel had long pale blond hair that fell to his shoulders. Tiny braids interlaced with beads and feathers held it back from his face. That wasn't the nonblending part so much as the facial tattoos that curved from his chin up and over his cheeks like tusks, to come to a sharp point under eyes so light and green they glowed with an ethereal, fey light.

  There was also an additional tattoo in the center of his forehead that appeared to be the stylized symbol of some god.

  More Celtic birdlike tattoos that were almost identical in form to the ones on the Dark-Hunter Talon, covered the left side of his well-muscled torso beneath his leather motorcycle jacket.

  And none of that took in his lethal aura that said, yeah, I'm an ancient warrior who can kick your butt and not care.

  Nick frowned. "Are those symbols for the Morrigan?"

  Snarling, Kaziel started for him, but Xev caught him and forced him back. "It's okay, Kaz." Over his shoulder, he scowled at Nick. "How do you know that? You never know that kind of thing."

  "Talon of the Morrigantes. He has markings like that, in the same place on his body. He's also an ancient Celt. And though his hair is short, he has similar braids, too."

  That seemed to calm Kaziel.

  Xev released him. "In the case of Kaziel, his have to do with Bran the Blessed. And the sun marks him as being aligned to the children of Don."

  Kody pursed her lips. "I thought she was a moon goddess like Artemis."

  "But aligned to the side of light."

  "So he's like us," Caleb said. "A creature torn between light and dark?"

  Xev nodded. "Born of both sides. Forever lured between them. Never trusted by either, and cursed by both."

  "That explains it."

  Jaden scowled. "Explains what?"

  Caleb gave his father a cold grimace. "Why he hides in the cellar and they get along." Then he turned to Kaziel. "Nice meeting you, brother. Welcome to the family.... We should start making T-shirts."

  Without a word of comment on that, Kaziel stepped away from Xev to approach Kody. She slid an uncomfortable look to Nick who didn't like the sudden light in those creepy green eyes as Kaziel circled her.

  Yeah, he didn't need his powers to guess what thoughts were in the horndog's mind.

  Before either of them realized what Kaziel intended, he stepped closer to Kody and nuzzled his face against her hair.

  "Okay," Nick snapped. "Dude, enough of that. She's my girl. And you don't go sniffing on other guys' girls. I don't know about the time and place you come from, but it's considered rude here."

  When Nick closed the distance between them, Kaziel growled at him.

  Nick didn't flinch or back down. "Check the attitude at the door, 'cause I'm about to open up some fresh whoop ... ass."

  "We don't need to escalate this to violence." Kody wrapped her hands in Nick's baggy shirt and attempted to push him back a bit, only to learn he had no intention of budging. "I'm sure he didn't realize he was trespassing."

  "Does he speak?" Nick asked Xev.

  "Can and does are two different things."

  "Meaning?"

  "Yes, he can speak. He just seldom chooses to do so."

  "And I can respect that. Just as I'm sure Lassie can respect the fact that Kody is my girl, and while I try not to be that jealous boyfriend, it is purely a self-serving act I put on so as not to offend her. Inside, I am that jealous boyfriend, and any public pawing of said girlfriend is subject to an uncontrollable fit of rage I may or may not be able to stop, hence the uncontrollable previously promised ass-whooping."

  Kody shook her head and sighed. "You really are a basic, cave-dwelling beast, aren't you?"

  "Cher, you're lucky my knuckles don't drag across the floor when I walk." He winked at her.

  Jaden scowled. "He is not like the other Malachais, is he?"

  Caleb clapped his father on the back. "We blame your screwed-up genes on this, all the way around." He wrinkled his nose. "Can't wait to find and meet that next generation of screwed up."

  Xev snorted. "Ain't that the truth."

  A hurt look passed over Kody's face. "I know I can't be the mother. I'm too young."

  Nick bit his lip. "As a Malachai, I have the power to look ahead and see who the mother of the next Malachai is. Right?"

  Jaden nodded.

  "I wouldn't advise it." Caleb met his gaze.

  Xev concurred. "I'm going to weigh in with my brother and Acheron. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

  Yeah, maybe, but for now ... "Kaziel, we have a problem. Aeron went missing and we can't find him."

  His green eyes darkened to the same red they were in his wolf form.