Sherrilyn Kenyon - Invincible

“If I tell her we’re studying, she might.”

Caleb scoffed. “We are studying. Ways to survive the next few hours. It’s a really important subject, too.”

Nick couldn’t agree more. Pulling out his phone, he called his mom, who was still on the clock at Sanctuary.

“Hey, baby, whatcha need?”

“Can I spend the night over at Caleb’s house? We’re working on a project together and I need more time.”

“Nick.” Her voice was full of suspicious irritation. “You know I don’t like for you to do that on a school night.”

“I know, Mom. And I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t really, really, really important. Please?”

She made a noise at him. “Fine. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

“I won’t.”

“Call me if you need me.”

“I will.”

“All right. Tell me you love me, and I’ll let you go.”

His face turned red hot as he gave Caleb and Kody his back. “I love you,” he whispered.

She made a kissing sound at him before she hung up.

Nick passed a sullen glare to Caleb. “Not one word.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. And I have to say that I’m impressed.”

“By what?”

“Your mom didn’t grill us this time.”

Nick snorted. “That’s ’cause she already did that and you passed. Be grateful.”

Kody swung her arms in front and behind her body so that she could clap her hands together. “So, gentlemen? What are we going to do for the next few hours?”

Nick smiled as he had a brilliant idea. “Hey, Caleb, any chance you have a system and some games lying around in this sprawling mansion of yours?”

“You know it. Name it and I have it.”

Nick was in the middle of pwning Caleb for the three thousandth time when the doorbell suddenly rang.

All three of them jumped out of their skins.

Kody covered her heart with her hand. “Guess that’s our friend.”

Caleb used his powers to flash himself downstairs to let him in.

Nick took the more human route and walked through the house until he reached the landing that looked down below. From the way Caleb and Kody had carried on, he’d expected some huge, hulking long-coat-wearing brute of a mountain man to appear.

But the guy who strode inside was anything but.

Dressed in a pair of loose-fitting olive green cargo pants, and a thin black T-shirt, he appeared extremely normal. His hair was a little long and a lot of shaggy, but the brown waves with the blond highlights were fashionable enough. He had his hands in his pockets, and a dark brown canvas messenger bag was hung across his body.

As Nick headed down the stairs, he realized that the guy also had on a pair of worn-out Birkenstocks. And a thin braided anklet of green and black thread.

While he had good muscle definition, he was more lean than beefy. Still, he was a typical man in his late twenties to early thirties with mirrored aviator sunglasses and an unassuming air about him.

At least until Nick drew closer. Then everything changed. You could feel the power emanating from him like an overcharged battery. Nick even swore he could hear the hum of it. And that wasn’t the only thing to make a brave man run. He was covered with scars and burn marks and tattoos. Like a combat vet who’d been tortured by his enemies.

Nick hesitated.

Caleb cleared his throat before he introduced them. “Xenon, meet Nick Gautier.”

Nick grimaced. “Xenon? What kind of name is that?”

“The only kind I answer to.” His voice was deep and gravelly, like he didn’t use it often. And as Nick closed the distance, Xenon approached him with a scowl. He raked his body slowly from top to bottom. Not in a rude way, but in a very thorough one. “Aren’t you an enigma wrapped in a thick coating of contradictions.”

Caleb snorted, “Don’t eat the help, X. We need him.”

“Pity.” Xenon reached up and pulled his sunglasses off and then put them in a case inside his messenger bag. As he did that, Nick saw the tattoos on his hand. His left knuckles each carried one letter that spelled EASY. This right spelled HARD.

Nick laughed. “Cool tattoo. Does it have any special meaning?”

“Pray you never find out.” Ignoring Nick, he turned his attention to Caleb. “What’s the situation?”

Nick drifted back to where Kody stood on the bottom stair. She had her arms crossed over her chest, letting him know how uncomfortable she was. She didn’t say it, but he could hear it loud and clear in her body language.

He creeps me out.

“So how long will it take you to set up?” Caleb asked.

“Two days.”

“You have one.”

“You can’t rush me, Malphas. It’s more an art than a science. And if I screw this up … you know the consquences.”

“Yeah. Still having flashbacks.”

“Flashbacks? I’m still having therapy.” Xenon’s tone was flat and dry. “Where do I do this?”

Caleb led him to the study on the right side of the front door.

While they did whatever they were doing, Nick looked at Kody. “Are we … What exactly are we?”

She lifted a quizzical brow. “We who?”

“You and me. What exactly is going on between us?”

She fell silent for a few minutes as she thought it over. “I honestly don’t know. I like you. A lot.”

That was good to know. “But?” He dreaded her answer, even though he had to have one.

“We shouldn’t be so familiar.”

“You’re the one who keeps kissing me.”

Her face flamed bright red. “I know. I’ve got to stop tripping and falling on your mouth all the time.”

“Ah … so that’s what it was?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Of course it was.”

He felt crushed by her words. “Glad you told me. Now I know.”

As he started away from her, she pulled him to a stop. “Let’s just take this one day at a time, okay? See where it takes us.”

“I’m young. I’m good with that.” He fell to his knees, and pretended to whimper and cry out in pain. “I’m going to die old and alone. Every loser in high school has a girl, but me. Why? Why?”

“Are you off your medication?”

Nick winked at her as he stood back up. “I must be ’cause I’ve been hallucinating all day long.”

She shook her head and started for him. But she’d taken only a step when something slammed into the front door.

They exchanged a bemused scowl while Caleb came out of his study to answer it.

The moment the door was opened, a swarm of demons burst in and attacked.

The demons came into Caleb’s home like locusts, swarming them and pinning them to the floor. Nick couldn’t move without being mobbed by them, and the same was true of Kody and Caleb.

“What kind of bachelor party are you throwing, Malphas?” Xenon asked as he came out of the study.

“Feel free to join us.” Caleb was trying as hard to break free as Nick and Kody were.

It was useless.

Xenon vanished back into the room before they swarmed him, too.

“We’re dead.” Nick looked at Kody, wanting to memorize the beauty of her face in case they didn’t have women so lovely where he was headed.

Neither of them bothered to contradict his dire prediction. There was no need. The demons sat on his chest, banging his head against the floor so hard, he was amazed it didn’t split open. Same for Kody and Caleb. They fought with everything they had, but it wasn’t enough to even hurt their attackers.

The demons swarmed together and lifted them up as if they were about to fly them somewhere.

Just as Nick was convinced they wouldn’t survive, Xenon came out of the study like the Terminator. He sprinkled something into the air that acted like acid, especially when he shot fireballs out of his hands that ignited it. As soon as it hit their attackers, they shrieked and flew off with their skin melting.