Nick had so little family to begin with, and as a Malachai, his natural state was that of hatred and cruelty. His mother and her unwavering love were the only things that kept him from becoming the same monster his father had been.
The monster he was destined to become.
“So Cherise is definitely a pith?” she asked Caleb. Pith points were those events that were chiseled solid in everyone’s life. Predestined intersections, such as birth and death, that were unstoppable moments nothing could alter. What happened in between to bring them into being were transitory and subject to free will. Humans and other creatures could move things around the pith points and make a thousand changes—those arbitrary events were never predetermined.
But a pith …
It was set in firmly in the Divine Book of Fate. Nothing and no one could change that.
Caleb shook his head. “No. She’s not a pith. Her death isn’t necessarily what sends him over.”
“So we can save her?”
He nodded. “At the cost of your future. Everything’s a trade-off.”
Aeron flinched. “All magick comes with a price.”
“And the balance must be maintained.” Caleb sighed before he returned to speaking to Kody. “You and his mom were both born of the primal source to balance the Malachai. Cherise in the past and you in the future—both of you his possible anchors. The two of you should have never met.”
But the Arelim had cheated and altered the rules. Now the law of the universe was attempting to right itself and correct their audacity for daring to tamper with fate and natural order.
Of all beings, as the Keepers of Cosmic Order they should have known better. Unfortunately, desperate people moved in desperate ways and did desperate things.
“And what of the prophecy? Can we save him?”
Caleb rubbed nervously at his neck. “Maybe. But it’s not so simple. It requires a supreme sacrifice. One of utter love to reach him at his darkest hour … even then, there aren’t any guarantees.”
Kody despised those last four words.
Every bit as frustrated as she was, Caleb raked his hand through his hair. “We wanted Nick motivated … but not this motivated.” He dropped his hand. “He goes into Azmodea and we’re screwed.”
She couldn’t agree more. However, they had one not so small problem. “We can’t stop him. His powers are too strong now.”
“Believe me, I know. I’m lucky I got him tackled just then. Worse? I can’t go in there with him. Neither can Xev. Our father would chain us down beside your uncle and hand-feed us to Noir’s demons if he saw us protecting the Malachai.” He looked at Aeron.
“Don’t be cutting them eyes at me, Malphas. Not sure if I can or not. Might be able to swing an invite from Thorn. But that’ll only get me so far into that realm. Same for Dagon. You know how it goes when you’re born of other pantheons. They tend not to let us come a’playing in their backyards.”
Caleb let out a fierce groan. “Have I said today how much I hate your boyfriend, Kody?”
“Only a few dozen times since lunch.”
“Good. Don’t want you to forget it.” Growling, he headed toward the street.
“Where are you going?”
“To get my butt kicked again. You should come watch. You might actually enjoy it. I know I won’t.”
How she wished that was a joke. Unfortunately, before this was through, they were all likely to get their butts handed to them.
And their heads, too.
CHAPTER 1
Nick stood in the center of his bedroom, staring at the symbols on his wall. They were ancient protection sigils that Caleb and his aunt Menyara had placed there to keep out anything that could harm either him or his mother. The first time he’d noticed them as a small child, Menyara had told him they were special Monster Away sprays that she’d made for him. It’d made him feel extra-loved and protected.
Little had he known then that they weren’t just for protection. Those scrolled emblems had also been there to restrict his powers and bind them so that he couldn’t accidentally uncover his birthright.
As a result, he really didn’t understand a lot about who and what he was.
Even now.
But it was time he learned. He was through guessing and flying by the seat of his pants. If he was to save Zavid and not get enslaved by the oldest, most primal evil, he needed to really comprehend what he was capable of pulling off.
And there was one person he knew who could answer this.
“Xevikan?”
Mr. Fuzzy Boots rose up from the sofa to arch his back and yawn.
Nick snorted at Xev’s alternate feline form. “I need you as a human, dude. Shed the cat skin for a while.”