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 café 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. They 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 …