Invision (8 page)

He shot one brow north.

“Yeah … don't ask. Logic and sanity waved bye-bye to this place a
long
time ago. Why you think they call it an institution?”

Nathan laughed. “Guess so. Thanks.”

“No problemo
.”

He held his hand out toward Nick. “I'm Nathan, by the way.”

“Nick.” With a slight bit of hesitation, he shook his hand. Though now that he was close to the guy, he didn't know why he'd been so weird earlier. Nathan seemed okay, except for the fact that he was the same six foot four height and Nick rather liked towering over other people.

He had so little ego in most things that it was the one and only thing he could normally take pride in that no one, other than Acheron, Xev, and Papa Bear Peltier could take away from him. And Acheron and Papa Bear positively dwarfed his Cajun hide. At almost seven feet in height, the two of them were truly giants in the modern world.

Nick squinted at Nathan. There weren't any horns hiding in that mass of thick dark blond hair. No other warning bells went off as their skin touched. His blue eyes were clear and normal. Intelligent, not demonesque. No diamond-shaped pupils.

No pimples, either, rank dog.

And of course, the punk was better dressed. But then, who wasn't? Since Cherise Gautier thought these tacky, heinous Hawaiian shirts of the middle-aged tourist kept her only son out of trouble—and they definitely were the best birth control ever invented 'cause no female looked at him and thought, hey, gotta get me some of
that
—Nick wore them with as much pride as he could muster.

For the record, that amount of pride would fit onto the tip of a flea's needle.

Dropping his hand, Nathan glanced past Nick's shoulder to where Kody and Caleb were waiting. “Yeah, Kody told me you were her boyfriend. Sorry if I pissed you off earlier. I had no idea. But I should have known that a girl that pretty would have been taken. I was just kind of hoping, you know?”

Nick would have felt a little better had Nathan not dropped his gaze meaningfully down to his garishly orange glow-in-the-dark shirt. But he was man enough to take it. Besides, if the school lost power, this shirt doubled as a glow stick.

Who would feel the fool then?

“Sorry I overreacted.”

Nathan snorted. “It's okay. I get it. I'm the new kid in town and I overstepped. Won't happen again. I promise.”

Yeah, dang straight on that.

The bell rang.

With a sharp, nervous twitch, Nathan shifted his books. “Down the hall? Right side? Across from 130?”

“That's it.”

“Thanks again.”

As Nathan left, Nick had that feeling that he'd lived this moment before. A phantom memory that hung just at the edge of his mind. Teasing and annoying. He could see the faintest outlines of it. But the harder he tried to look at it, the more elusive it became.

What was his mind trying to tell him? Why did he feel like this particular moment was a repeat?

It was the strangest sense of déjà vu.

He went back to Kody and Caleb. “Is it me or is there something oddly familiar about this day?”

Kody nodded. “I keep thinking that, too. And the same with Nathan. I feel like I've seen him before, somewhere.”

Scratching at his chin, Caleb shrugged. “I have no comment. Humans all look alike to me. And all my days run together, especially the ones where we're fighting demons.”

Nick knew he wasn't serious about the human comment. He was just being contrary. However … “So Nathan
is
definitely human, right?”

Kody pulled back. “Yeah, why?”

“I don't know. I had a strange sensation when he first appeared earlier. Kind of like my Wonder Twin powers activated for no reason. It's why I'm walking around like a cat in a Doberman factory. I can't shake the unsettled feeling I had. Makes me wish I still had Nashira in my pocket. Not that she'd have given me a straight answer. Still, I'd have felt better with her cryptic crap than being completely blind, going with nothing but a bad feeling in my gut.”

Caleb groaned. “Bad feelings in
your
gut give me an ulcer.”

“Tell me about it.” He laughed as he went into class and checked his phone for messages.

Still nothing from Aeron.

Something was definitely up. It wasn't typical of Legolas to space like this. He didn't just drift off and vanish for no reason.

Caleb?

He nodded.
I'm on it. I already heard your nervous thoughts about our errant irritant.
Out loud, he got up and went to ask to go to the bathroom.

Nick wanted to go, too, but knew better than to ask. Teacher would never approve
that
. One student out, okay. Two equaled delinquents up to no good in the minds of the establishment. Dang inconvenience when the safety of the entire world was at stake.

Maybe I should fake a heart attack?

Nah, he knew better. Karma was a bitch, and he didn't mean Karma Deveraux, who could be quite special when stirred. Real karma had a way of delivering up nasty retribution and anytime he ever told even the smallest lie, it came back on him with interest. If he faked a heart attack, with his luck, some coronary hell-beast would rise up to rip his heart out and eat it, or worse, feed it to him during lunch. That was just how Nick's luck went. He was the type of guy who could buy a lottery ticket, scratch it off, and it would be a bill he'd have to pay.

As Nick started taking notes another thought occurred to him.

Where
was
Nashira? He hadn't heard from her in a while now, either. Nor Dagon, for that matter.

His Power Rangers had abandoned him. They didn't normally do that … Definitely weren't
supposed
to do that.

As his generals, they were under his direct control and were supposed to stay near him at all times. Not just because he could come under fire from Grim and his forces at any heartbeat, but because they were not used to the modern world. All of them had been kept imprisoned in alternate dimensions for centuries and had no idea how to really function in current society.

Other than Caleb and Kody. Caleb because he'd been the right hand of Nick's father and had been out in the world even longer than Adarian had, and way longer than Nick. And Kody because she'd never been sequestered from people. Not to mention that unlike the others, she actually
liked
humanity and didn't want to see them die screaming in agony, inside a fiery pit of demon hellfire.

Nashira could function alone a tiny bit, due to the fact she'd been able to hear and see from the confines of her book enchantment.

But Xev, Dagon, and Aeron …

They did not need to interact with the general public without direct and intense supervision. At all times.

Ever.
Heavy emphasis on the
ever
part.

Yeah, his ulcer was growing like a radiated lizard in a Godzilla movie. And if he didn't hear from one of them soon, it was going to have a baby the size of the Empire State Building.

Will this day
ever
end?

Nick cringed as the thought went through his head and he quickly glanced up at the ceiling.
Yo, up there? I said
day end.
D-A-Y. Day. Not world. Daaaay. Please, do not get those two words confused or mistake my request, 'cause I know how you get … when you want to prove a point to me. I don't need that lesson today. Really. Thank you, PTB. Peace, out.

Now if he could just keep the bad-luck fairy parked for a bit, he might be all right.

Caleb came back into the room with a look on his face that added a good six feet to the ulcer.

Nick arched his brow.

No sign of him.

Nick made a sound of distress. Which caused the other students to turn and stare at him. He flashed a bashful grin. “Puberty. It's so embarrassing.”

“Excuse me?” his teacher asked.

“Everyone was staring at me like I'd grown another head so I was trying to lighten the mood.”

“How about you lighten it on your own time, Mr. Gautier?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Nick dropped his gaze to his textbook and pretended to study so as not to get into any more trouble. Last thing he needed was another trip to the office. That would get him suspended. While he could pull the mind trick once, he couldn't erase the records that said he'd been up there less than an hour ago. So unless he committed a crime, which he wasn't willing to do, he had to calm his nervous body down.

Releasing a zen breath, he sent his thoughts to Caleb.
Did you learn anything else?

When he didn't get a response, he glanced over to his bodyguard.
Caleb?

He acted as if he couldn't hear him.

Okay … Had he pissed him off? Nick turned toward Kody.
Are you two talking right now?

Like Caleb, she didn't so much as blink in response to his question. Now that was really odd. Even when they were fighting, she at least gave him dirty looks.

Kody? I can see your bra strap.

She definitely didn't hear him, because even if she'd been mad at him for something, she would have checked to make sure that it wasn't showing, since it was a pet peeve of hers.

Instead, she carried on with their assignment, oblivious to his comment.

What the heck?

Worried, Nick held his hand out toward his pencil and attempted to command it with his telekinesis. Normally it would fly into his grasp without any effort.

Not this time.

No, no, no, no!

Fear wrapped around his heart at the thought of his powers being drained. But how? He was the Malachai. No one could do that to him.

No one other than his son, and he'd done nothing that could cause
that
. And he meant
nothing
.

Impure thoughts notwithstanding. After all, he
was
a healthy teenage boy and
those
couldn't really be helped, especially not when he had a girlfriend who was exceptionally pretty and smelled really nice. But that being said, all they'd done was kiss. Nothing more.

Having been born to a teen mother, and having spent the whole of his life raising her, he wasn't anxious to start parenting someone else anytime soon. He had enough paranormal brats he was responsible for already. Running after them, and cleaning up their messes, kept him plenty busy.

And then there was Kyrian who was in a special class by himself.

So, no … there was no one who could drain his powers.

Yet the hairs on the back of his neck rose as he had the sudden sensation of being watched. Glancing around the fluorescent-lit room, he caught the gaze of Stone Blakemore fastened on him like he was the barely-clad centerfold of the Swimsuit Edition of
Sports Illustrated.

Yeah, that was some major stink-eye. Not like he'd done anything to Stone, ever. He basically left the knuckle-dragging werewolf alone. But Stone had hated him since the moment he walked through the school doors. It was as if Stone had smelled the Malachai in his genes and reacted to it on some primal level.

“Nick?”

It took him a second to realize Kody was speaking to him. “Yeah?”

“Are you all right?”

He blinked slowly. Honestly? He was a little light-headed. “I think so, why?”

“The bell?”

Nick glanced around and realized the room was empty. Kody and Caleb were standing beside him with worried frowns.

What the heck? He'd just been looking at Stone …

Hadn't he?

“Something's wrong. I was trying to talk to you both with telepathy. Didn't you hear me?”

“No.” Kody knelt by his side and brushed the hair back from his forehead so that she could press her hand against his skin to test for a fever. “You are flushed and clammy.” Biting her lip in an adorable manner, she glanced up at Caleb. “Can a Malachai get sick?”

Caleb shook his head. “Not once his powers come in.”

Grateful for her concern, Nick caught her hand and kissed her fingers. “Could it be the Eye messing with me?”

She grimaced at Nick. “Please tell me you left that thing at home.”

“It's in my pocket. I was going to use it to play the lottery after school.”

She said something under her breath he was pretty sure was a major curse in one of her parents' native tongues.

“Why?” Now there was the tone an impatient parent used when their kid did something exceptionally bright, like stick tweezers in an outlet.

“It wasn't good for anything else. I figured it owed me a Powerball for the trauma it's put me through.”

Spreading her fingers wide, she had an expression on her face that said if she held his Malachai powers, she'd be Force-choking him right now.

Caleb placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Remember, you loooove him, Kody.”

“Wondering why.”

“I ask myself that every time you say it out loud.”

“Way to prop up my ego there, buddy.” Nick brushed his hand against his forehead and squinted in an attempt to clear his vision. “You think the Eye's messing with me?”

“No.” Caleb picked Nick's backpack up to carry it for him. “But you look weak … like your father used to get right after
you'd
visit him in prison.”

Kody's jaw went slack. “What are you saying?”

“I said what I'm saying.” Caleb held his hand out to Nick. “Give me your fist.”

“Why?”

“Just do it and stop whining!”

Suspicious of what he intended, Nick didn't like that tone. Talk about things that didn't bode well. And when he obeyed and Caleb used his claw to slice open part of his hand, he knew why. Sheez!

“Hey! They hurt, you dick!”

Caleb ignored his words and cursed as he released Nick's bleeding hand. “You think
that
hurts? You've got
no
idea. And we have a massive problem.”