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.That was sneaky of you, Malachai.Impregnate a goddess.But it won t work.You will die.If not by me, then by one ofmy brethren. The guards opened fire.Adarian shielded himself with the demon he held.The human part of theguard s body screamed as bullets pummeled him and sank in deep.Once the guard was dead, thedemon pulled out and vanished.Disgusted, Adarian hissed at the sensation of bullets ripping through his flesh.They wouldn t killhim.No mortal weapon could ever kill a Malachai.They just hurt.One of the guards grabbed him and threw him to the ground. You re going to pay for that. Yeah, right.They had no idea.Any more than they had a way to cause him harm.But as they handcuffed him on the ground, his thoughts turned to something he d never suspectedbefore.He had another son out there.One who was grown, who had the blood of two gods flowingthrough him.While that son might not have the Malachai powers, he was a god and if Nick were to die.&Adarian could infuse his other son with enough of Nick s blood to combine all three.Oh yeah, this was better than he d ever dreamed.Nick s life was growing shorter by his heartbeat.And it was time he paid his son a long overdue visit. CHAPTER 7Alone in his room, since Kody and Caleb had decided he was relatively safe for the time being, Nickyawned and checked his watch.He needed to go by Liza s before she closed and pick up Rosa s gift,then stop by Timeless Treasures to grab the present he d put on layaway for her.If he left now, he dget back in time to walk his mom home.He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called. Sanctuary on Ursulines.Jasyn speaking.How can I help you? Hi, Jasyn, it s Nick.Is my mom around? Oh hey, kid.Hang on and I ll grab her for you. Nick waited until his mother picked up the phone. What do you need, Nick? There was definitely ice in her tone, and it made him feel awful to haveput it there. Hi, Mom.I um I need to go pick up something for Kyrian at Ms.Liza s.It won t take long andthen I ll be back to walk you home. You don t have to do that. Yeah, she was still upset at him and it more than showed. I know, Ma.But I like walking you home & and I m really sorry, okay? He held his breath,waiting for her to respond in kind.She didn t.Instead, he got more of her icy shoulder. I ll see you in a little while. She hung up.Now I feel like total rolled over crap.She was probably thinking she should have signed thepapers and tossed him to the nearest couple.Trying not to think about it, he locked the door and left.It was just starting to get dark.And that went a long way in cheering him.He loved this time of daythe most, before the tourists started their heavy drinking, and when the Royal Street business ownersbegan closing up for the night.They were always so cheerful as they left their premises and madetheir deposits.It was also that last few moments of the day before the real predators, the ones bulletsand guns wouldn t stop, came out to prey. Hey, Mrs.Clancy, he said as the owner of the Masquerade store locked her door to leave. Evening, Nick.You headed the wrong way to get to your mama.You going to Bubba s store? Tellme that boy ain t holding any more of his zombie survival classes. Nick laughed. I imagine he ll be behaving himself tonight since his mama s in town. Oh good.My worst fear is he ll start a fire in his store and it ll burn all the way down to here. Always a possibility with Bubba. He grinned. Good night, Mrs.Clancy. Night to you, too. Tucking his hands into his pockets, Nick headed toward the Cathedral.He wasn t far from Jackson Square when he heard someone call out his name.Since he was aregular in the Quarter and knew most of the people who worked and lived in it, he paused.Nick was about to ignore it when he finally spied another kid his age just in front of him, down thestreet a little ways.It was Bristol from school. Yeah? he asked. I was actually on my way to your house to see you.Can you come here for a sec? he asked,motioning Nick into the alley that led to a closed clothing boutique. I want to ask you somethingabout school. His gut tightened and told him it wasn t a good idea.But it was Bristol.He d known him for years.What could be wrong with going to speak to an old friend for a minute?Nick headed over. What s up? The moment he was deep inside the alley, Bristol shoved a piece of paper in his face. What is thiscrap of bull? It took a second for his eyes to focus on the printout that listed him as a source, claiming Bristolwas gay.It also said that he knew it for a fact as he was gay, too, and had partied with Bristol a fewtimes.Nick curled his lip. I didn t say that, crap. Yeah, right.You told the same lie about Spence. I didn t say nothing to anyone.I don t do things like that. And I m supposed to take the word of a piece of Cajun trash whose mom s a stripper and whosedad is in jail for multiple murders? Really? Nick s temper exploded and he ached to pulverize him. I did not say that, he reiterated,enunciating each word with the malice he felt. You re a liar. Bristol shoved him.Don t hit back.& His mom wouldn t be able to take two fights in one day.He d never hear the endof that.He thought about Wren walking away earlier in Sanctuary.Wren definitely possessed the power torip out the throat of anyone who annoyed him.You can walk away, too.No time to learn like the present.Taking a deep breath, Nick turned toleave.The moment he did, Bristol punched him in the back so hard, it knocked the wind out of him. You don t turn your back on me, punk.You re the one who s trash, not me. Yeah, right.But Nick wasn t going to fight him.Not now.Not after the argument he d had with hismom. Look, Bristol He punched him again.This time in the jaw.Nick staggered back.He had to get out of here before he struck back.Turning around, he took twosteps and then pain exploded through his skull.&* * *Kody? Is that you? Nekoda frowned at the panicked sound of Cherise Gautier s voice on her phone. Yes, ma am.CanI help you? Is Nick with you? No, ma am.Why? Cherise hesitated before she spoke again. He was supposed to walk me home after he picked upsomething for Kyrian at Liza s store.I got off work almost thirty minutes ago and he hasn t shown upyet.When I called Liza, she said she hasn t seen him, either.I know how upset he was earlier & youdon t think he s done anything stupid, do you? No.The most likely scenario was something had gotten ahold of him and eaten him. I don t, Mrs.Gautier.He was feeling much better when I left.Let me make a few calls and see if anyone s seenhim. I already called Bubba and Mark.They said he left with you. I dropped him off at your house. She left it at that since his mother frowned on anyone being intheir apartment when she wasn t home. I ll stay here in case he s just running late.Please let me know if you find out anything. I will. Kody hung up the phone and immediately called Caleb. Hey, is Nick with you? No.Why? He s missing. Caleb cursed. I ll start searching. Me, too.See you later. She hung up and closed her eyes.Using her powers, she tried to senseNick s whereabouts.For once, it didn t work.She had absolutely no idea where he was.Fine, this was why she d given him her class ring.He thought it was normal, but she could alwaysuse it to locate him.Sure enough, she picked up on it immediately.Letting out a relieved sigh, she allowed it to pull herto his side.She materialized in a dark alley that appeared to be in the middle of the Quarter somewhere.She glanced around, but didn t see anything.Why would it have brought her here if therewas no Nick?She was just about to leave when she heard a low, soft groan in the shadows. Nick? It sounded like it could have been her name, slurred.Maybe
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