Simi quirked an eyebrow at that. “What if he moves? Boys tend to do that. A lot. They not real stationary creatures, especially when they young and virile.”
Kody laughed in spite of her fear. Simi had a valid point. “Without his powers … I don’t know if anyone can find him. We have nothing to use to pinpoint him with. But I have to try.”
Pursing her lips, Simi tapped her forefinger against them. “Why don’t Akra-Kody go ask Menyara? She always knows where Akri-Nick is.”
Honestly? Because Menyara was the one being who had the powers to see through Kody’s guise. To recognize her. Even though Kody was shielded, Menyara was also the Egyptian goddess Ma’at. And as such, her powers were infinite.
Since the day she had been sent to stop Nick, Kody had been very careful to fly below Mennie’s radar. To never look her in the eye for fear that her great-aunt would see Kody’s mother in her. Sense the bloodline they shared.
But as she heard the storms outside picking up strength as the darkest powers gathered, she knew Simi was right. They didn’t have time to play around and avoid uncomfortable situations. She had to go see her great-aunt and face the past.
Her vision swam as tears gathered in her throat to choke her.
“Is Akra-Kody okay?”
No. She hadn’t been fine in a long, long time. But she didn’t want to share that. Not even with Simi. Thanks to the Malachai, she was alone in this world, and stronger than any being should ever have to be.
“I’m fine, Simi. I’ll go ask her like you suggested.” As she started to flash away, Simi took her hand and squeezed it so that she could teleport with Kody. As much as she wanted Simi with her, she knew better. What she’d need to say to Menyara, Simi couldn’t overhear. If the demon ever learned who and what Nekoda really was, it could cause unbelievable damage to the time sequence.
Kody patted her hand. “I need to do this alone, Sim. Is that all right?”
Smiling, Simi nodded. “The Simi wait here then.” Without a second thought, Simi headed to Kody’s bed to lie down with her feet running up the wall. Simi’s toes almost reached the bow Kody had received from her mother.
Kody laughed as she remembered being a small child and sleeping the same way. It had driven her parents to distraction.
Are you a Charonte simi, too?
Yes! she’d always answered back, proud to sleep like her favorite aunt. Many times, she’d napped on Simi’s stomach with her legs propped on top of Simi’s, while Simi kept her arms wrapped so tightly around Kody that it had been hard to breathe. Even so, Kody had never complained. Every child should be enveloped in such love. And so long as Simi held her like that, she’d known that nothing and no one could ever harm her.
Not without Simi eating them whole for it.
And both Simi and her husband had died while protecting Kody from the Malachai. Even now, Kody could see the horror of that night in her mind. She’d barely been school age when the Malachai’s army had found their hiding place. Simi and her husband had stayed behind to hold the Malachai back while Kody’s brother had run with her into the night.
Ari had used his own powers to shield her from their demonic pursuers. “I will keep you safe, Belami. Always. Nothing’s going to hurt you so long as I live.”
And just like Simi and her husband, Ari had fallen to the Malachai. Everyone Kody loved had been destroyed by the beast Nick was destined to become.
How can I fight for him?
You have no choice. Only Nick can defeat the ušumgallu. She had to save him. He was the only hope they had.
The time sequence couldn’t stop here. It had to go forward. Too many lives depended on her, as well as the fate of the entire world.
Determined, she flashed herself to the front porch of Menyara’s small duplex condo that Menyara had once shared with Nick and his mother.
Kody took a moment to compose herself. Because Menyara was her blood family, it was always hard for her to be around Menyara and not betray herself. Every time Kody saw the petite primal goddess, she wanted to throw herself into her arms and cry. To tell Menyara who she was and what was to come.
But she couldn’t, not without destroying everything.
With a ragged breath, Kody knocked on the door and braced herself to meet her aunt.
Dressed in a light yellow cotton dress, Menyara opened the door and arched a brow at her. Today, she had her sisterlocks curled about her beautiful face.
Kody ached to bury her hand in them like she’d done as a child. Back then, whenever Menyara visited, she’d rock Kody and sing ancient Egyptian lullabies to her. Kody would twist her fingers in Menyara’s hair and bury her face in the rose-and-hyacinth-scented strands until she fell asleep, nestled in Mennie’s warmth.
How she loved this woman.
Menyara smiled at her. “Miss Kody, to what do I owe this honor?”
Kody opened her mouth to tell her what had happened to Nick, but no sound would come out. Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe at all. Her throat tightened as if someone was choking her. Tears gathered in her eyes.
Then everything went dark.
CHAPTER 4
Nick came awake to the sight of Amanda and Tabitha standing over him. His cheeks stung as if someone, probably Tabitha, had slapped him a few times in an attempt to revive him.
Amanda let out a relieved breath.
Tabitha snorted. “We’re in luck, T. He’s not dead … yet. We didn’t kill him. Hallelujah! We don’t have to call the lawyers or hide another body.”
Another?
Scared of that thought, Nick scowled at the familiar raven-haired Goth queen who was decked out in black leather pants and a black bell-sleeved shirt. This was what he knew. Thank God, he was home. “What’d you do, Tabitha? Run me over again?”
She duplicated his frown. “When did I run over you the first time?”
Selena slapped at her arm. “I told you, Tab. He’s from an alternate place where he knew you.”
Nick winced at Selena’s disgruntled voice. Dang, it hadn’t been a dream, after all. He was really here.
With them.
Worse? They’d multiplied. There was now a total of five Devereaux sisters. Tabitha, Amanda, Tiyana, and Selena he knew. The other one he’d seen in a picture pinned by the register in the store.
“I’m Tiyana,” the one closest to him said.
He caught himself before he mentioned that they’d already met here in this store. But that had been in a different life, and in a different time. “And you?” he asked the other one, who was leaning against the counter, looking completely bored.
“Karma.”
“The woman who works with bulls?”
Karma snorted. “Yeah. And I’m the vengeful, mean one, too. You’d do well to remember that.”
“Duly noted.” Nick sat up slowly with Selena’s help. He felt weak and dizzy. Disoriented.
What had happened to him?
“Now that is wicked.”
He frowned at Tiyana, who was staring at him like a lab experiment that had just sprouted a new head from its belly button. “What?”
“Your aura. It’s…” She locked gazes with Selena. “He’s not crazy. What he told you is true. He doesn’t belong here. We have to get him back to his realm or something terrible will happen there and here.”
“I don’t know. He’s kind of cute. Can’t we keep him?”
“He’s not a puppy, Tabby.”
Tabitha smiled. “Maybe, but he’d look awesome in this spiked dog collar I have at home.”
Nick moved over to Amanda, who seemed to be the safest bet in this family of homicidal loons.
Amanda glanced at him over her shoulder. “For the record, if they attack, I’m throwing you at them and running for the door.”