Xev narrowed his gaze. “What do you mean mucking up the timeline? Nick killed him.”
True, and yet … “No. Nick didn’t stop anything by killing him in this time period. Rather, it’s screwed up everything, as they seem to have moved it so that he doesn’t die here.” Because their past was Cyprian’s future. Whoever was guiding him could change the date of when they inserted him so that he wouldn’t die.
It was a ploy they’d used with Kody when she’d gone up against other Malachai in the past. An awful cat-and-mouse game no one wanted to participate in. Especially her. She was tired of games.
“We have to stop Cyprian before he travels back again and destroys Nick’s life.”
Caleb screwed his face up. “Wedon’thaveto do anything.”
“But you’re going to help me, right?”
“How?” Xev asked her.
Kody held up the vial she’d taken as soon as she left Artemis. Before she’d returned to the human world. “I have water from the Mnemosyne. We can make Nick remember everything that we took from him.” A step they’d believed would keep Nick from altering time. If he didn’t know about them and thought himself a regular teenager, then he wouldn’t mess up his future.
They had to guard the timeline.
Caleb arched a brow. “We make him remember, then what?”
“I see where she’s going, mate.” Aeron winked at her. “We get his brains back, then we finish what we started. Hunt down the wanker in the future and stop him from killing Nick.”
“And us. I like thestop him from killing uspart even more.” Vawn grinned. “Really. That’s me favorite part.”
“And keep Cyprian from turning evil,” Kody added. “We might be able to save him, too.”
Caleb rubbed at the pain that was starting to throb in his head, as her optimism irritated him.
Why did they always want to save the person they should be putting down with extreme prejudice? Might sound harsh, but he was a demon, after all. “I think you’re all insane.” He shifted his gaze from Kody to Xev and the doom crew he still wasn’t sure should have ever been reunited. “This is the dumbest idea any of you have come up with … and I’ve seen and barely survived some of the more stellar doozies y’all have concocted.”
Xev scoffed at his words. “Well, supreme stellar stupidity has your name all over it, brother.”
“I can’t even with you right now, Xev. I can’t.” Caleb let out a long, disgusted sigh over an invitation he’d never wanted.
Kody stepped forward between them. “It’s our only hope to save them both. Wehaveto do this.”
Aeron clapped him on the back. “C’mon, demon. Won’t be the same without you. Think of the fun we’ll all have.”
“Thinking more of the blood I’ll lose. My neck. Feathers … sanity … Not that that didn’t wave bye-bye to me about the time I met any and/or all of you.”
“It’s for our wee Nickie.” Vawn just had to pile on.
Caleb really, really wanted to deny them. He’d already bled enough in this war. Lost too much he cared about, and that was the problem.
He’d lost too much.
Like them, he didn’t want to lose anyone else. Not even the giant pain known as Nick Gautier.
“Fine. But when they kill me, I will be around to haunt you all. And it won’t be a fun Casper haunt. It’ll be gory and severe. Japanese-horror-level terror.”
“So normal, then.” Aeron laughed. “Our absolute happy wheelhouse. We’ll make sure and put that on your tombstone, boyo.”
1
NEW ORLEANS, APRIL 3227
Ambrose scowled as he felt a strange presence in his study. It was intense and powerful. Unlike anything he’d felt in a long, long time. It crawled over his skin. A whispered breath with legs. Insidious and compelling.
Immediately on alert, he flashed himself into the room to confront whatever had dared to defy his sigils and invade his domain.
