“No. Her sigils blocked us.”
Kody lopped the head off the demon she was fighting before she gave him an I-told-you-so stare.
“Yeah, but they’re here. You can’t argue withthis.”He gestured at the carcasses of the smelly beasts lining Kody’s floor.
“I know. It defies my best ability to explain it.” Takeshi glanced to Simi who was staring at the wall. “What do you see, Sim?”
“The evil Arel. He did this.”
Kody gasped. “Sroasha?”
Simi nodded. “Him mad that you not kill Akri-Nick. So he now working with them Grim and War to kill you, Akra-Kody.”
“Well, that’s a load!” Nick felt his eyes change as his powers surged from the rush of anger that went through him at the thought of Kody being harmed. Especially because of him. “I thought we’d gotten rid of those pricks.”
But he knew better. That had been wishful thinking on his part. The Arelim controlled Kody. They were the whole reason she was here. The reason she’d been brought back from the dead in the future and sent back in time.
Her eyes sad, she cupped his face in her hands. “Breathe, Nick. It’ll be fine.”
He didn’t believe it for a minute. Everything was spiraling out of control, faster than he could catch it. Faster than he could catch his breath.
She kissed his lips, then grimaced at him. “And why are you here with Takeshi and Nashira?”
“You know Takeshi?”
What a stupid question. Of course she knew him. She knew everyone.
“He was friends with my father and uncle.”
Nick didn’t miss the odd light in Takeshi’s gaze as he studied Kody. “What’s that look mean?”
“Déjà vu.”
Now it was Nashira’s turn to go pale. “You can’t have that.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’m having it anyway, and it’s freaking me out as much as it is you.” Takeshi jerked his chin toward Kody. “The last time I saw her, she was a grown woman. She’s not supposed to look like this. That’s not her body …”
Kody scowled. “Pardon?”
Takeshi crossed his arms over his chest as he surveyed the house and the dead demons on the floor. “You don’t remember your life, do you?”
“Of course! I remember my father and brothers. My mother …”
“What do you know of Nick?”
“He killed me and my family.”
Takeshi let out a nervous breath. “No, Neria. He didn’t.”
She narrowed her eyes and stepped back in confusion. “Are you sure?”
“You know I would never lie to you. Have you really forgotten your children?”
Indecision played across her features as she shook her head. “I was a girl in battle.”
“No, you weren’t.”
Kody glanced back at Nick and the uncertainty in those green eyes scorched him. “It makes sense, in a weird way. I think that’s why I couldn’t kill you when I first met you like Sroasha wanted me to.”
