It had a most chilling effect on his host. Takeshi manifested a dagger and had it to his throat so fast that Nick had barely blinked. “I will not be enslaved to you, Malachai!” He growled those words between clenched teeth.
His eyes turned an unholy red.
Nick held his hands up in surrender. “Wasn’t trying to. Seriously.” He needed to be more careful in the future. Of all beings, he knew the difference between common names and those used to summon, bind and control demons.
Itzal Tsuneo was the one that could be used to summon and control Takeshi. Worse? It could be used to enslave him the same way Nick’s father had once enslaved Caleb and Grim.
“I wouldneverdo that to anyone. Dude, really. Not into using people or demons.”
Nashira placed her hand over Takeshi’s and pulled the blade from Nick’s throat. “He’s telling the truth, Neo. Ambrose is not his father or any of the others. It’s why he freed me when he didn’t have to.” She leaned forward to whisper loudly in his ear. “Kill him, husband, and you know what horror will grow to power in his stead.”
“You are ever my wisdom, Shira.” He dissolved the dagger, yet continued to glare at Nick.
Nick glanced over to Simi. She didn’t appear to be the least bit concerned by Takeshi’s violent outburst. So much for her protecting him.
Or she knew Takeshi really meant that he wasn’t going to kill him.
Hoping for that, he let out a nervous breath. “Okay then. At least now we know your parents didn’t really name you Bob.”
Which was the English equivalent to Takeshi, not so much in meaning as just in the routineness of it.
Takeshi finally laughed. “You’re not as stupid as you look.”
“Nah, thankfully, right? And what can I say? I’m addicted to manga.” Nick winked at him. “And since you’re not gutting me, I’m here to understand what was broken and how. Most of all, I want to repair it.”
No sooner did he finish speaking than the room around them lit up with transparent and elaborate charts and lists that hovered in mid air. It was a spectacular display like something in a science fiction movie, only much better done. And a lot brighter and more intricate.
“What is this?” Nick breathed in awe of it.
“The time line of your life.”
Nick’s jaw dropped yet again. It was like looking out onto a foreign galaxy. Or the inside of a computer. Some spots were brighter than others. Some were white. Some blue. Some red and others orange. All were punctuated by writing he couldn’t read— which was never supposed to happen to him. As the Malachai, he should understand all languages and writing. “What do the different colors signify?”
“The orange ones are your pith points.” Those were the virtually unchangeable events. Things that were for the most part set in stone, and that could only be moved with the most catastrophic consequences and Herculean efforts. “Blue are the ones that will forever change your core personality.” Takeshi cut him a sarcastic grimace. “Believe me, you don’t want to tamper with those … Red are the ones that define your character.” Takeshi grinned. “Some of those, you might want to consider changing.”
“Thanks.”
He didn’t comment on Nick’s interjection. “White is your original path. Yellow are breaks where you’ve veered from what your timeline once was.”
Crap. There was alotof yellow and yet while it veered away a bit, it always looped right back to its original course. Like a snapped rubber band. Kind of weird, really. ’Cause from what Nick could see, he hadn’t really changed anything. It was what Ambrose had said. For everything he tried, it went right back to where it’d started.
Nothing ever really changed.
The lines stayed basically where they’d been. Time didn’t want to be changed. It fought back with a vengeance.
Nick stepped closer to the lights. “How can you see all this?”
Simi tsked at him. “He a zeitjäger, silly demon-boy! They can always see time maps. It why the Simi brung’d you here! They’s much better for this than them Greek godlings.”
It was impressive. He’d give her that. Scary, but impressive.
Nick held his hand up to touch the timeline. His hand passed painlessly through the twinkling lights the same way it would go through some laser light show. The moment he made contact, though, bright green sparks lit up from his hand, across his chart.
Takeshi sucked his breath in sharply.
“What? What’d I screw up now?” That was the typical answer whenever things went haywire around him.
His features pale, Takeshi shook his head. “All that green …”
