Sherrilyn Kenyon - Invincible

Don’t become me, Nick.

It wasn’t Ambrose’s voice he heard. It was deeper, sinister, and it sent a chill down his spine.

I’m losing my mind. He had to be. There was no other explanation.

“Hey, Nick. Need a hand.”

He blinked at the sound of Mark’s shout. Pushing everything out of his mind, he went to help them.

Hours went by as they put everything back and repaired the plaster walls. Just after three, Nick left them to walk over to the Café Du Monde. Nekoda had promised to meet him there after school. Even though school had been canceled, he hoped she’d show, and in case she did, he didn’t want her to think he’d stood her up.

It didn’t take long to reach the covered pavilion that was bustling with tourists and a few locals. World famous and a New Orleans tradition since the mid nineteenth century, the Café Du Monde was a must-see for everyone. Open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week except on Christmas and during hurricanes, this was one of Nick’s favorite haunts. The menu was reasonably priced (okay, it was cheap, which was why he could afford to come here for a rare treat) and extremely limited—basically water, milk, soft drinks, orange juice, and chicory coffee. But the real reason to be here was for the powdered sugar beignets. French doughnuts that didn’t have holes in them. Messy as all get-out, they were the tastiest thing he’d ever eaten. Forget cookies. Beignets ruled.

As he stood on the corner of St. Ann and Decatur, waiting for the light to change so that he could cross the street, he saw three musicians playing in front of the café.

“Hey, Nick,” the trombone player called to him as he made it across and neared the entrance.

Nick smiled at the older African-American man who’d been playing jazz and zydeco on the street as far back as he could remember. At night, he played in several of the clubs around town too. “Hey, Lucas. How you doing?”

“Just fine. Hope your mama’s well.”

“You know I take good care of her. How’s your daughter doing? She settling into school okay?” Lucas’s wife had died of cancer four years ago, leaving him alone to raise Kesha, who’d graduated last spring. Now she was up at LSU taking classes, wanting to be a cancer researcher one day.

“She loves it so much, I’m having a hard time getting her to come home to visit. Can you believe it? Never thought she’d leave. Now I doubt I’ll get her back.”

Nick laughed. “I’m sure she’ll be home soon. How could she not?”

Thomas, the drummer, tapped his drumsticks together to let them know it was time for another song. Lifting his trombone, Lucas inclined his head to Nick before he joined in with them to play “Iko Iko.”

Nick cringed. While he loved the song, it was one of those that never failed to give him a vicious earworm. He’d be hearing it in his head for at least the next three days.

Hey, now. Hey, now … Iko Iko unday … See! It was already starting.

Oh man, someone shoot me.

As he looked around for an empty table, his gaze was caught by something pink and creamy. When he focused on the girl’s face, his stomach plummeted south. With soft brown hair and great big eyes, it was the most beautiful girl in the world.

Nekoda.

And when she recognized him, the prettiest smile he’d ever seen lit her entire face and did things to him he barely understood. His body was hot and cold all at once. His throat turned dry, and a part of him wanted to turn around and run for cover.

Yeah, that would be the smart thing to do.

When have you ever been smart?

Before he knew what he was doing, his feet took him to her table.

“Hi,” she said, flashing him an adorable dimple.

How could one syllable sound like a heavenly choir? Yet that was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. It even sent a shiver down his spine. “Hey.”

Say something else. Quick.

Why was his mind completely blank? It wasn’t like he’d never spoken to her before. Heck, she’d even kissed him last night.

Yeah, and he could still taste her lips.

That was the problem, he realized. It was so awkward to see her after they’d kissed. Had he screwed it up? Had it been okay for her?

Ah gah, I’m pathetic. I don’t even know how to talk to a girl.

At this rate, he’d never get a girlfriend.

She glanced around nervously. “You want to sit down?” She stretched the words out like maybe she was as uncomfortable as he was.

Oh no. Don’t tell me she’s going to give me the let’s be friends speech. He hated that SOB.

“Uh, yeah.” His hands shaking, he pulled the vinyl chair back and took a seat. “Sorry I’m a space cadet today. My mom got me up way too early this morning, and I’m not fully awake after last night. Then Bubba had me helping clean his store. I could really go for a nap.” You’re yammering too much, and don’t talk about beds or she might think you’re inviting her to something that might offend her, or get you slapped. “How are you feeling?” Yeah, that was a safe topic.

For both of them.

“Glad to be alive.”

The waitress came up to take their order. Nick started to tell her to bring him water when he remembered that for once he actually had cash from Kyrian and Mr. Poitiers. Thank God. He could even cover Kody’s tab. “Two orders of beignets and a chocolate milk for me.” He looked at Nekoda. “What would you like to drink?”

“The milk sounds good. I’ll have that, too.”

The waitress headed off.

“Have you heard anything about what happened at school?” he asked her. School was usually another safe topic.

“Not yet. What about you?”

“Nothing, other than we have a new coach.”

She looked as shocked as he’d been. “Really?”

“Yeah, scary, right? I think they replaced the coach before they finished mopping the blood up in the hallway.” Nick cringed as soon as he heard those words come out of his mouth. Don’t talk about blood with a girl. Are you stupid?

Luckily, she changed the subject for him. “How’s your arm feeling?”

“Better. No pain at all today.”

“Good.”

Then it was awkward again. But the one thing he was grateful for was the fact that she was still a girl. Plain and simple. Not a shape-shifter, vampire slayer, or a demon. Just another human being having a bite with him. It was good to be around normal again.

“So do you like New Orleans?” he asked her. “Is it different from where you lived before?”

“ Very different. But I like it. Except for the heat. I can’t believe it’s still this warm so late in October.”

“Yeah, well, there’s an old saying here. If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. We can swing from hot to cold faster than a turbo wash with a tankless system.”

Nekoda felt her guard slipping as she laughed at his humor. It’s his demon glamour. Don’t fall for it. But it was hard. Nick Gautier was charming and sweet. Adorable.

Gorgeous with eyes so blue, it should be a sin and thick brown hair that begged to be touched. At fourteen, the promise of the man he’d grow into was already there. The chiseled features and sharp intelligence. And even though he was lean, his muscle tone was perfect and showed that in time, his body would be well defined.

The best part was, he had no idea just how handsome he was.

Timid and unsure, yet he could tap some of the most destructive forces ever unleashed. Once he was grown, he would have the potential to become evil in its purest, coldest form. She must never lose sight of that.

Still, his smile was infectious. His kindness touching.

When she went to pay for her food, he stopped her and took care of the bill. He wouldn’t even let her tip the waitress.