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The cop bristled “I don’t have all day”

“It won’t take all day, officer They both work here in the Quarter For that matter, his mother’s office is just around the corner and his father’s is less than two miles away It’ll save you paperwork later” Father Jeffrey pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Nick “Call your parents, son”

Nick reached for it before he remembered that he had no idea what the numbers were For that matter, he didn’t knohere his “parents” worked

The cop eyed him coldly “Is there a problem?”

“I don’t have their work numbers memorized They’re on my speed dial and I don’t have my phone on me” It was in the backpack he’d thrown into Caleb’s arms before he left school

Father Jeffrey stepped between Nick and the cop, as quickly losing patience with them “Then I can look it up It won’t take but a moment Both of his parents are frequent volunteers here and their numbers are on my desk”

It was obvious the officer didn’t want to wait, but he didn’t say anything more

Nick followed Father Jeffrey to his office, but with every step he took, he couldn’t help wondering as happening with Kody What was taking her so long to get here?

And ould happen to hi?

This was the first time in Nick’s entire life that he’d ever felt truly defenseless Even when Alan and crew had held hiround and shot him, he’d felt more in control of hiainst evil when I have no powers?

For all intents and purposes, Amanda and Tabitha were human and female He couldn’t even hit the he could do The e And there was no telling what they planned to do with hiain

Why did I tell them I was the Malachai?

Because they were supposed to be your allies

Yeah, in a different time and place Now he’d trapped Kody and himself

What would Acheron do?

Stupid question Ash could teleport He’d never be in this position He’d siet that they’d ever seen hi for Ash made those powers seem so easy to command and yet Nick screwed them up every time he tried

I’ht or talk his way out of the worst event

His stohtened to a painful knot while the priest called and Nick sat in a chair, waiting for the rest of the preternatural world to coet him

C’mon, Nick Think…

There had to be so up the phone “Hisa house in the Garden District and his father’s in a ”

“Then they can pick him up at the station” The officer pulled out his handcuffs

Nick bolted to his feet He started to protest, but was distracted by the door behind the cop that opened to shohat had to be the baddest of bad Standing a good six-eight, this newcomer oozed the kind of feral power that Acheron held Massive Terrifying

Lethal

That don’t-cut-your-eyes-at--huoatee, the man had eyes so dark a blue they appeared purple in color He was dressed black on black and held hile thing

When that deadly gaze locked on hieted by a nuclear device of some kind One that would take no mercy on him

“Come with me, kid”

It was only then that Nick realized both the priest and the cop were frozen

Ah ood

What now?

“Who are you?” What was he?

A slow, arrogant smile curved his lips One that said he enjoyed Nick’s fear a little toolike that was in The Tery

Nick stepped back at the same time another person joined them in the room One who lacked Nick’s self-preservation as she playfully slapped the supernatural being on his ar a rabid lion on the nose with a newspaper and telling it to shush “Savitar, stop He’s trauh”

Nick let out a relieved breath at the sweet, soft tone that lad to see her that it left hiht”

It wasn’t until she stood in front of him that he saw the bruises on her face where soently touched her cheek “Who did this to you?”

She covered his hand with hers and offered him that tender s story, and we don’t have tiet you out of here before Tabitha and Aht now, they think you’re about to be led out to the her, just to ht and here The sweet scent of her hair went a long way in soothing his ravaged nerves

“Break it up before I throater on you two to separate you”