Strutting, he moved closer in to eyeball Cyprian. “What’s the matter, demon-boy? Can’t find your tongue or your backbone?”
That went a little too far as it caused the fire to return to his eyes.
He reached for Nick and grabbed him by his ugly Hawaiian shirt. “I fear nothing!”
Yeah, they were related. Definitely. Nick needed to remember that, as being called out for cowardice was his bitch-switch too and it never failed to make him extremely suicidal.
Apparently, that little acorn had fallen straight from the limb, hit the ground and dug its nubby little thorn in deep to the soil so as not to budge from its parent tree at all.
Consider him woked and learned on that one.
However, it also gave Nick a little more insight than ole Cyprian meant for him to have. “You fear the future as much as I do. Why else would you be here? Huh? What happens that it drives you back to babysit dear old dad? Who broke what?” He arched a goading brow at the demon. “C’mon, be honest. Bubba or Mark? You weren’t dumb enough to leavethemunsupervised with something important, were you?”
“They’re both dead, you fool!”
Nick took that news like a sucker-punch. He literally felt it knock all the wind from his chest. “What?”
“It’s true. They both go down, protectingyou. Did you miss that memo, old man?”
Yeah, he had. But as soon as Cyprian spoke, he saw their deaths so clearly.
Worse, he saw his mother’s grief. Heard her screams as she learned about Bubba, and took the news the same way she’d taken it when her sister had died.
Hard and personal. It all but destroyed her. And that was the one thing Nick could never stand.
Seeing his mom in any kind of pain.
Roaring, Nick grabbed Cyprian and shoved him back. “What did I do to make you hate me so much?”
“You had everything I wanted!” he growled. “They all loved you and I had nothing!Nothing! They couldn’t even look at me without disgust and hatred!”
Nick was as shocked by those unexpected words as Cyprian appeared to be. Stunned, he stared into the demon’s face that bore no semblance to his. ’Course a lot of that had to do with the fact that he didn’t appear human at the moment, either.
Even so, his red eyes were filled with anguish. “I hate you for you’re all that I never was, and will never be!”
Nick winced at the sincerity of those words, wishing he could fix this. While he now knew how Cyprian came into being, there was still one important piece he didn’t have.
One piece he needed to fix this.
“Who’s your mother?”
Cyprian laughed in his face. “You’ll find out.”
“Then it’s not Kody?” It was a stupid question, given what he’d seen about the future. He knew it couldn’t be her. But he had to have some confirmation to go on right now.
And anything, even something ridiculous, was better than nothing.
Hissing, Cyprian went for Nick’s throat.
Nick barely got out of the way. “Yo, psycho-nut! Stop and talk! Why you got to be so violent?”
Aside from the obvious reason that he was a Malachai and it was their nature …
When Cyprian went to punch him, Nick ducked and caught him with a blow that caused him to stagger back. He then kicked him, twisted, and went to grab him.
In an impressive move, Cyprian swept to the side and came up behind Nick to wrap his arms around his chest. He held him incapacitated. “Have you any idea how hard it is for me not to rip open your throat and bleed you out at my feet?”
“Dude! You need some serious counseling and professional help. And anger-management. At least let me lick your seatbelts and date your sister before you harbor this much animosity for me. Sheez! What’d I do, use all your data plan? Spike your kid’s bottle with some Red Bull and give him ring pops for your favorite white sofa? Back over your petunias and not leave a note?”
