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  "By their sides."

  Tears filled her eyes. "I cannot believe we were so deceived. I will go so that they can battle without worrying for me. But before I do..." She pulled at the chain around her neck until it dislodged a vial from between her breasts.

  Removing her necklace, she pressed it into Styxx's hand. "Give this to Ambrose. Should they fail today, should he fall in battle, it will be imperative that he drink it before he dies. Tell him this. If he doesn't drink of it, we will all be lost."

  "I don't understand."

  "I know. This is a matter of trust. Not understanding. All will be revealed in time. As with all things, it is never the enemy we see who destroys us. It is the one within we fail to notice, the one we trust, who deals us the fatal blow."

  She pulled Styxx into her arms and held him. The agony in her eyes wrenched Nick's heart as she buried her fist in Styxx's curls. "My precious boys. How I wish I were there for this battle, to fight by your sides. I would drive them back to the corners of the universe and bathe in their entrails until I was blackened by their blood."

  Styxx laughed nervously. "Now you're frightening me, Matera."

  With a devilish grin, she kissed his cheek and stepped back. "We've been through much, you and I. In all your lifetimes. Go, my mighty phoenix, and be the warrior I know you to be."

  "Nick?"

  Blinking, Nick was forced away from the future image of Apollymi and Styxx.

  Was that real? Or was he hallucinating again?

  It felt real.

  He pressed his hands to his temples as he struggled to breathe. It was impossible. Nothing felt real. Nothing felt right.

  His mind was snapping in two. Everything was wrong.

  He reached for Kody to anchor him, but not even that worked as his breaths came in short, sharp gasps. His heart pounded in his ears. "I'm going crazy, Kody. I don't know what's true anymore. Are these possible futures? The real future? What really happened? How do I know the difference in what I see?"

  Xev caught him against his chest. "Breathe, Nick," he whispered in his ear. "Slow ... in and out."

  He listened to Xev's soothing voice and followed his lead until he was calm again. Only then did Xev slacken his hold.

  Still shaky and wrecked, Nick drew a ragged breath. "Well, look who got all maternal, suddenly."

  Xev rolled his eyes. "It came with the new hairstyle."

  But that wasn't true. There had always been a deep vulnerability to Xev underneath that hate-filled kill-them-all-let-God-sort-them-out mentality he projected to others. It was what had caused Nick to reach out and help him when they'd first met. Why he'd risked much to bring Xev back with him.

  He ruffled Nick's hair. "Get over there with your girlfriend before I spank you."

  "Ooo promises, promises! You really shouldn't tease me like that, Grandpa. It's just so cruel." Nick batted his eyelashes at him while he rubbed at his posterior.

  Caleb held his hands up in surrender. "You wound it up. It's on you now. I'm not tending that."

  Xev gently pushed Nick toward Kody. "Tag, you're it."

  Laughing, she shook her head. "You're all such big babies."

  Nick sobered as he heard the whispering in the aether again. Louder this time.

  Only now, it sounded like Mennie calling to him. Pressing his fingers to his temple, he tried to concentrate. To pull the voice in closer so that he could focus on the words themselves.

  As he did so, he began to see even more images. He felt a compulsion to ...

  Kody stepped back as Nick walked past her as if he were in a trance of some sort. "Should we be worried about that?"

  Caleb and Xev watched him closely.

  Xev stepped closer as Nick went to Menyara's altar cabinet. Without a word, he opened it and began some kind of peculiar preparations. Using a steel pestle, he slowly mixed salt and paints in one of Menyara's mortar bowls. "Not quite sure."

  Caleb moved to stand beside Xev. "What's he doing?"

  "Not quite sure," he repeated.

  "Can he hear us?"

  Xev glanced down at Kody. "There's only so many times I can say, not quite sure."

  Nick ignored them as if they didn't exist.

  He went around Menyara's house gathering items as if he lived here, which kind of made sense. She had practically raised him and he'd spent a lot of his childhood in this home.

  For that matter, he'd been born on her couch.

  They gave him room to work--which ultimately resulted in a large summoning circle on the floor.

  Only then did Xev begin to appear concerned. "He's not going to do something stupid like summon a friend we hate, right?"

  "It's Nick. Of course he's going to do something stupid. When has he not? The only way this could go worse would be if we had Mark here, helping."

  Kody would chastise Caleb for that, but he was right.

  Still, she did feel an urge to defend her boyfriend. "It's not Nick's fault bad things happen around him. He always means well."

  "Not helping, Kody," Nick said absently while he worked.

  After a few minutes, he stood in the center of the circle, lighting incense, and began to chant in a language he shouldn't know.

  Kody arched her brow. "Is that--"

  "That primal language? Yeah." Caleb exchanged a shocked glance with Xev.

  "Did one of you teach it to him?"

  "No." Xev scowled. "But as Malachai, he should have knowledge of all languages. That's one of his powers."

  A whirlwind began to swirl in the room. Slowly at first, but it quickly picked up speed.

  Kody reached out to catch herself against the couch. "Is it supposed to be doing that?"

  Xev shrugged.

  Smoke rose from the painted circle. Menyara's protection sigils glowed and thrummed like breathing beasts that had run a marathon.

  The lightbulbs over their heads and in the lamps shattered. Kody dodged as shards rained down on them.

  She started for Nick, but Caleb stopped her. "You know better than to break the circle. There's no telling what harm you could do."

  Just as she started to knee him and do it anyway, a bright flash blinded her. A beam of light burst through the ceiling, spreading down to engulf Nick who stood with outstretched arms as he continued to chant.

  His eyes rolled back in his head before they turned a flaming red. The chanting became louder and louder. More like thunder than words.

  She could feel it in her chest. A second heartbeat.

  More white and gold light appeared in the circle around Nick. It danced and swayed. Stippling the air until it began to form something solid.

  No, not something.

  Someone.

  At first, Kody thought it was a child in Nick's arms.

  But as more details filled in, it became a tiny, delicate woman. One with glistening cafe au lait skin and a wealth of sisterlocks.

  "Menyara?" she breathed.

  Nick didn't stop chanting until she was whole. Then the light went out and the sigils on the wall dimmed. He carefully set her down so that she could stand on her own two feet. Using his telekinesis, he yanked a blanket from the couch and into the circle and used it to cover Menyara's wet, bare body.

  Shaking and weak, Menyara leaned against him for support, both physical and emotional. "I wasn't sure you'd hear me, Baby Boo."

  Nick held her. "I wasn't sure I was doing it right."

  Laughing, she patted his chest. "My little Nicholas. Ever doubtful of himself. Whatever are we to do with you?"

  "If you were smart? Throw the baby out with the bathwater. Toss the tub on top of him for good measure."

  Caleb cleared his throat. "Is it safe to break the circle?"

  "Yes." Menyara stepped away from Nick and tightened the blanket around her narrow shoulders.

  Xev helped her toward the couch while Kody went to make her some hot tea. "What happened? Where were you?"

  "I was attacked by mortents who caught me unawares in my store. The y were on me before I could do anything. Pulled me into the Kassitu."

  Nick cocked his head. "Kassitu?"

  Her hand shaking, she wiped at her damp hair. "A prison of sorts where some of the worst demons to ever roam the earth have been banished."

  "How could do they do that to you?" Kody asked as she brought her a cup of tea.

  Menyara thanked her as she took it and cradled it in her hands. "I don't know. I've never heard of such a thing, and I didn't think I'd ever make it back. Every time I tried to call for help, I choked. I'm still not sure how Nicholas finally heard me."

  "Don't give me too much credit. I barely heard you and I thought I was going crazy. Not to mention, my powers have been all over the place lately."

  "What do you mean?"

  "They're inconsistent. And most of the time, they fade out completely."

  "He has a fever right now." Kody picked his arm up and held it out to her. "Touch his hand. It's ice cold."

  The moment Menyara did, a deep frown drew her brows together.

  Caleb nodded. "Yeah. Exactly. We've been told that Nick will have a son in the future. And we think he might have come back in time to kill us and alter time."

  Menyara scowled at him. "Malachais can't time travel."

  "They can with help."

  She passed a look to Xev that said she didn't want his reminder.

  Suddenly, Nick's phone went off. He jumped in startled alarm. Pulling it from his pocket, he saw it was his mom. Without hesitation, he quickly answered it, because any delay could result in his mom calling out the National Guard to recover him.

  He really wished that were a joke. While she had yet to actually call the National Guard, she had been known to call all the local hospitals and police if he was out of touch for too long. Too long being defined as more than an hour.

  And since he wasn't where he was supposed to be ...

  Time to prevent a national security panic.

  "Hey, Ma."

  "Why aren't you at home?"

  "I'm at Menyara's."

  That at least took the bite out of her temper. "Oh ... are you okay? Did you get sicker? Do I need to take you to the ER?"

  "Nah. It's okay, Mom. I still have my fever. And I was whining so much that I was afraid Kody would break up with her big baby boyfriend if I didn't find another person to annoy with it. Plus, neither of the guys are real long on sympathy. They just stare at me and tell me to suck it up, or throw things at me and tell me to stow it. So I came over here to whine and pout to someone who actually listens and tolerates me. Here, you want to talk to Aunt Mennie?" He handed her the phone, knowing his mom wouldn't calm down until he heard her voice and confirmed that he wasn't barfing up a kidney or something else.

  "Hey, Cherise. Nah, your boy's fine. He's a little pale and warm to the touch. But we're taking good care of him for you, sug. You don't worry your beautiful little heart for nothing. Enjoy your time with your new man."

  "Um! No, Ma! Behave yourself with Bubba. Both of you!" Nick called out. "Remember, both feet on the floor at all times!" He looked at Kody. "What else does she always say to us?"

  "Don't drag me into this."

  "No ring. No fling," Caleb said in a dry tone.

  "Leave the mystery in the relationship and it'll last longer," Xev added.

  "Thank you! Did you heard that, Ma? God hates a hypocrite! There's another one of your sayings.... And the ever popular--just 'cause all your senseless friends are jumping into the Pontchartrain don't mean you need to follow them over the Levee of Stupidity!"

  Menyara laughed. "I'll tell him, sug. Good night." She hung up and handed the phone back to him. "You're terrible, Nicholas!"

  "I don't want to hear it. You half raised me. Besides, I'm only returning some of the grief she's given me over the years. It's actually kind of fun to be able to dish a little back."

  She shook her head at him. "Help me up so I can get dressed. We've got some things we need to talk about."

  "Do you need me to help?" Kody offered.

  "No, mon ange, I'll be fine."

  Weird, Nick had never noticed before how much Menyara and Kody favored each other. While he'd known for a while now that Menyara was her mother's aunt, he hadn't really seen the similarities in their features. But then Kody usually wore her hair down, with bangs over her forehead.

  With them side by side and their hair pulled back from their faces, it was remarkable how similar their features were.

  He didn't really see any of Styxx's features in his daughter. But his personality was there. By the bucketfuls, especially whenever they were fighting enemies. And while she might have her mother's exceptional archery skills, it was her father's sword skills that stood miles above everyone else's. Sword in hand, Kody was invincible.

  "Kody? Nick's got that look again."

  Nick barely heard Caleb as his mind replayed the night his father had died, and he'd first seen a vision of his own death at the hands of the Ambrose Malachai. All this time, he'd thought it was just a guilty vision of him killing Kody's brother, and then killing her.

  Now ...

  He again heard the sounds of horrendous fighting and saw himself in his demonic form. His gunmetal Malachai armor gleamed in the dull light of a fading sun while he fought against an army that was trying its best to destroy him. His soldiers pulled back to protect him. But he knew what they didn't.

  They were about to be defeated.

  Dumbfounded, he couldn't understand how this was happening. No one had ever equaled him in battle. Not even the Sephiroth. Jared had been a worthy enemy.

  He'd been an even better friend and ally.

  And then, through their demonic ranks, Nick saw his nemesis.

  Their leader emerged like a dark angel of death, with his black wings fully extended. Drunk on his impending victory, he called out to rally his demon soldiers and push them forward.

  Nick knew instinctively how to end this battle and war. If he killed their leader, they would scatter like frightened roaches. They would cower and run, and bother them no more. He would save them all.

  His eyes flashed red, then silver before he launched himself at the fool who'd left the safe shelter of his army. Focused solely on him, Nick ignored everything else.

  I'm coming for you ...

  He bore down on top of their leader with his sword raised. Leaving his horse, their leader launched himself at Nick.

  Their weapons rang out as they clashed against each other. His enemy rained acid blood and fire down on Nick who used his own powers to drive his enemy back. To his credit, the demon stood strong and he fought against him longer than anyone else had ever lasted.

  He might have even defeated him, but for one thing ...

  A sudden, familiar cry of pain.

  Terrified, Nick turned from their fight to the smaller soldier several yards away. She was surrounded. About to go down. All-out panic filled him. Whatever it took, he would not lose her. Damn the rest. She would not be the cost of this.

  Ever.

  He kicked his enemy away and flew to her as fast as he could, scooping her up to carry her from the fray.

  She ordered him to return to fight, but he wouldn't go. "There is nothing I will not do to protect my family," he said with a determination so raw, he felt it to the core of his rotted soul. "I made you my promise and I will keep it."

  But he felt her blood coating his hands as he held her gently, trying his best not to harm her any worse. Her eyes softened through the slits in her helm as she clung to him.

  "You were never good at listening to anyone, were you?"

  He smiled down at her. "Contrary from my first breath to my last. But loyal to you with each and every one I draw."

  A raw, furious battle cry sounded.

  Nick looked over his shoulder to see his enemy headed for them, dodging through the combatants around him, slaying any who dared to charge his path.

  Knowing this was about to get bad, he landed and did the last thing he ev er wanted to--he handed his precious burden off to another of his men. "Get her to safety. Do not let her die!"

  Her hand lingered on his as if she hated to let him go as much as he regretted what was to come. As if she knew the future as clearly as he did.

  But this had to be done.

  With a deep breath, he forced himself to let go of the one thing he cherished most and turned back to fight, but it was too late.

  His enemy was already on him. Before Nick could even raise his sword, the demon stabbed him straight through his worthless heart and drove him to the ground where he planted him with his sword pressed all the way through his body.

  Choking on his own blood, Nick struggled as hard as he could to live--he had so much to live for ... but there was nothing he could do except die.

  And as his life faded from his body, he heard the scream that broke his heart. Why did she have to see this? Why had he allowed her to fight today?

  With the courage that he'd loved since the day they first met, she ran to his side. "No!" she sobbed over and over again as she exposed his face. She lay her hand to his cheek and wept as if her entire world had been shattered.

  "The vial," he breathed. "I can't reach it."

  Sobbing, she pulled out the necklace Apollymi had sent for him and quickly helped him to drink. "Don't you dare leave me, Ambrose! Do you hear me? I won't lose you. I will go back and I will change this. Whatever the cost. I will find you and I will save you!"

  He tried to touch her one last time. But the darkness he'd spent his whole life fighting claimed him first.

  The moment he was dead, the woman holding him let loose the battle cry of a thousand Furies. She took his Malachai sword and ran at his enemy to finish what he'd started.

  Their demon enemy raised his arm and caught her blow, then shot a blast at her that knocked her helmet free.

  Dazed but undaunted, she jerked her head back to glare at him.

  The sight jarred Nick this time. Before, it'd been Kody's face Nick had seen in his vision. But this face was different. Still beautiful, it was older and scarred.

  He didn't know this woman, at all. Yet he recognized the hatred in her eyes that she bore for the demon before her. It was brutal and tangible.

  And as Nick came out of his vision, he knew that this time, the demon Malachai was his son who'd killed him that day.

  The first time he'd seen that vision, he'd thought it was him transposing his face over Kody's brother's.

  Now ...

  He blinked and turned to face her. "I'm so confused."