If they wanted it in him, then he wasn’t about to oblige them. So he clamped his lips and eyes shut tight with every bit of his natural-born stubbornness that had caused every teacher he’d ever had to curse and question his parentage.
His heart pounded against his breastbone like a sledgehammer. They slammed him against the ground and held him there while he fought and twisted, trying his best to throw them off. Yeah, no toddler had anything on him! He’d give two-year-olds everywhere a lesson in tantrums.
One of them clamped a hand over his mouth and nose, trying to pry his lips apart.
Nick choked. Even so, he managed to keep his lips shut, but it was almost impossible.
Growling and kicking, he fought even harder.
With every power he’d been taught, he lashed out and still they rode him like a mechanical bull. Determined and painful.
Caleb! Simi! Xev!He screamed out with his telepathy. His muscles burned. His soul wanted vengeance. Every molecule of his being was in utter agony.
And still no one answered.
Never had he felt so alone. But that didn’t stop him from fighting. There were times in life when you had no choice. You had to fight alone. No help came. No matter had much you needed it. How desperately you wanted it.
You were bitterly alone. Nick knew that better than anyone.
Which made fighting for yourself all the harder.
And all the more necessary.
Because while it was easier to fight for others, the hardest fight would always be for yourself and for your own personal matters. To fight for what was right. To fight for whatyouneeded. Your principles.Yourcauses. And what you knew to be the truth.
To stand alone in the maelstrom.
Those were the times that mattered most. The times when there was no one around to see your private battles. When it was just you and your integrity. Your dignity. When you knew you had to stand your ground or be trampled over.
Let no one take you down.
You stand and you fight until the end! Not for fanfare, or for applause or laurels, but because you know what’s right and what’s wrong. Never fight because you have an audience or to gain esteem or notoriety. You fight for what matters—for the right things in life. Truth. Honesty. Dignity. Let no one steal, lie or cheat. You keep what you earn and never allow anyone to run over you because of the lies they tell others. And the lies others are so willing to believe about you.
That was what his mother had taught him. What she’d shown him all the times she’d held her head high, in spite of all the people who’d sneered at her for the choices she’d made where he was concerned.
Right was right. You soldiered on through the pain of life, others be damned. All lies be damned. Past the betrayal and the deceit. The hopelessness. No matter how dark it might seem. No matter how defeated you might feel at the moment.
Where there was breath, let there be fight.
And there was a lot of fight in him.
Forever.
Rise through the pain, Nicky-Boo. No matter how dark the night. Or how bitter the storm, light always finds a way through the densest clouds to shine again. Remember that, and hold it tight to your chest, whenever you feel defeated. Whenever you want to give up. Lift one fist and one finger to the sky, and defy them all to the bitter end!
That was the lesson he’d learned from Menyara and Acheron.Let no one steal your light with their lies or their cruelty. Shine on, through it all. Shine in spite of their hatred. In spite of the hurt they give. Let them all choke on your light until it blinds them and washes away whatever meanness they’re intent to spew.
Tomorrow, no one will remember what cruel thing they said, but they will remember how you held your head high during the storms. They will remember the brightness of your smile and the way you laughed while they tried to bring you down. Let your laughter be the beacon that warms the world.
And with that thought, his powers surged. Like a tidal swell, rising up through a storm. It toppled over and lifted Nick until he was ripped away from the demons.
One minute, they had him and the next, he was free of their claws and lying crumpled on the floor of his bedroom.
Safe from their stinging attacks.
Dazed, and completely disoriented, Nick lay on the ground, trying to get his bearings. He wasn’t even sure what time it was. Not even the day of the week.
Or the month.
