Thanks for all of the nice comments. They made my heart happy.

Nick froze in front of Ash's shiny black car... No, not car. Friggin' Porsche 911 Turbo! Talk about epic. His heart actually started pumping like a freight train at the prospect of riding in it.

"Damn keep it in your pants, boy," Bubba shook his head.

"I will nut about as many cars as I want," Nick stated, turning his nose up.

"How can this be your car?"

Ash shot him a "duh" stare. "Well, I wrote a really big check that didn't bounce to the dealer and then the most amazing thing happened... The salesman gave me the keys and let me take it home. It was like magic."

"Okay real question, who do you think is the most sarcastic between Nick and Ash?" Caleb asked to everyone.

Kyrian cleared his throat. "As annoying as both can be, I personally believe it's Acheron. Of course, I've known Acheron for years."

"I think Acheron has a more matured sarcasm while Nick's is very…" Bubba paused looking for the right word, "juvenile."

"Excuse me, my sense of humor is sophisticated and just as mature as anyone else's."

Nick gave him a peeved glare. "Only I'm allowed to be that sarcastic."

"Aha! Even you think he matches, if not exceeds, your level of sarcasm," Mark laughed.

"Hate you," Nick stuck his tongue out.

"Trust me, Nick. I've got many more years of practice at it than you have. Now hop in."

"Hop in? Dude, are you out of your ever-loving mind? I can't touch this. I might leave a fingerprint or something."

"I think this is the most considerate Nick has ever been," Caleb stated, causing Nick to scoff.

"Oh the horror. Guess I'll have to trade the piece of junk in and get a new one if that happens. By the way, don't breathe on the upholstery or I may have to gut you." Ash slid into the car without missing a beat.

"See, flawless sarcasm. He sounds so smooth," Bubba said.

"I thought we were over this! I'm the funny, sarcastic, charming one in this pair."

Even though Ash had been kidding, Nick hesitated. He'd only seen cars like this in posters and online. The price tag for it was more money than his mom made in ...

Fifteen years.

At least.

"How much did you pay for it? Was it in cash? If not, how long did it take to pay it off?" Mark questioned.

Acheron adjusted his glasses before answering, "Back when it was new, I think it was almost $200,000. I paid cash. When you've lived as long as I have, you save up some money." Ash smirked as he saw Nick's mouth gap open like a fish.

Cherise furrowed her eyebrows. He's not immortal. He's not immortal. He's not immortal.

You saw Adarian's eyes.

People lived in houses that cost less. He lived in a house that was probably cheaper than the tires on this thing. Dang, what would it be like to own something so fine?

Bubba whistled. "Seems like you got yourself a sugar daddy."

Caleb snorted so loud, Nick was surprised his nose didn't come off his face.

"Bubba!" Nick whined. He felt his cheeks heat up, especially when he knew Ash was laughing at him.

Kody rolled her eyes.

"Nick, get in. I don't have all night."

Biting his lip, Nick pulled his shirttail up so that he wouldn't tarnish the pristine black paint with a paw print. Ash had already put his backpack in the floorboard. Man, this was such a cool car. Careful not to leave a shoe mark on the tan interior, he got in and shut the door. "Are you a drug dealer?"

"Dude, you can't just ask people if they're a drug dealer," Caleb stated.

"Hey, who else owns that kind of car when they look like they're 19 years old."

"No." Ash let out a short laugh. "I'm a wrangler."

"Like the jeans?" Mark asked, tilting his head.

"Or the car?" Nick said slowly.

"Yeah, I guess that's a manlier one to remember."

"A what?"

Ash started the engine with the key on the left side of the steering wheel. How weird was that? "I manage people."

"What kind of people?"

"People like you. Hard-headed. Stubborn. Irritating and smart-mouthed." He shifted into high gear and kicked it.

"Wow. He just met you and he roasted you real good," Caleb snorted.

"That was not a roast. I was stating facts," Ash corrected while Nick scoffed.

Nick grabbed the door handle and held on for his life as Ash pulled into traffic at supersonic speed.

"Relax, kid. I'm not about to dent this car."

Nick wasn't so sure about that. "You like to drive fast, don't you? How many tickets have you gotten, anyway?"

Cherise furrowed her eyebrows. Great, he convinced her son that he was an immortal god and he drove recklessly. When would the surprises end.

Ash didn't answer. Probably for the best since Nick didn't want to end up as a hood ornament on someone else's vehicle. Last thing he needed to do was distract Ash while he was driving at warp speed.

Or attempting to anyway.

"Now what exactly is warp speed? Like putting in terms that a regular person would understand," Caleb asked, prematurely turning to Bubba and Mark.

Bubba hesitated at first, his eyebrows came closer together in concentration. "There isn't really a measurement of warp speed. There is no miles per hour or anything. Warp speed is just the speed a spacecraft travels to travel faster than light."

Caleb nodded his head. "Okay, but how fast does light travel?"

"Does it matter?" Adarian growled and Caleb immediately shrunk in submission and he hated it.

Nick and Ambrose growled back and suddenly Archeron felt a surge a power pass through the house. Things would only get worse from here.

Nick cringed as Ash weaved between two huge semis. "Gah, do your parents know how you drive? And where did you get your license anyway? The Blue Light Special at Kmart?"

Ash laughed. "Who says I have a license?" Nick let out a cry of alarm.

Cherise gripped the book even tighter. She didn't want to lash out, she didn't want to ruin Nick anymore than she already had. She knew Acheron was no good, she couldn't figure out why, but she knew.

"Relax, Nick. Remember, I have evil Jedi powers. Nothing's going to touch us." He downshifted and they shot forward like a bullet.

"So all powerful immortals watch Star Wars?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"I think I'd rather take my chances with the zombies. Stoooop…" He swore the car actually left the ground to avoid being slammed by a car pulling out.

Yeah ... evil Jedi powers indeed.

He looked over at Ash, who was driving through the dark night with his sunglasses still in place. "How did you get those powers anyway?"

Adarian leaned forward, hoping to get a grip on what his son got him into. Because if Adarian knew anything, it was that Acheron would betray Nick one way or another.

"They were a gift on my twenty-first birthday."

"You're that old?" Nick would have sworn he wasn't any older than eighteen or nineteen.

Ash laughed again. "Somewhat older than that."

"Eleven thousand years old, yes?" Bubba asked.

"And some change, but yeah." Acheron adjusted his glasses, which Nick was starting to see as a nervous habit. If Ash got nervous that was.

"So what did you do for the gift? Sell your soul or something?"

The humor fled his face. "Something like that."

This was getting good. Nick would kill to have the kind of powers Ash did.

Ambrose let out a sigh. God, being a kid was so much easier. He wasn't tied to Artemis or Ash. He was living his life without having to worry about who was after him and what he would do next. What was he going to do when Simi came back?

"Who'd you sell it to? The devil?" Now, with anyone else, that would be a stupid question, but since Nick had seen what Ash could do, he knew Ash had gotten them from somewhere, not the local Walmart.

Ash paused before he answered Nick's question. He didn't like talking or even thinking about his past for a multitude of reasons. But his ownership wasn't something that was that big a secret, since most of the people he knew had sold their souls to the only person who could control him.

"Woah, ownership? I thought you just worked for her?" Bubba stated.

"Aren't you always owned by your employer?" Ash stated with a half-hearted smirk. This was the last thing he wanted to do or talk about.

"Why are you owned?" Mark pressed.

"Shr brings us back from the dead," Kyrian interrupted. "Because life is a gift that she gives to us, we owe her. It's that simple."

"I'm owned by a goddess, Nick."

"Which one?"

"Artemis. Ever heard of her?"

Nick scratched his ear. "Greek goddess of the moon, right?

"Ugh, Nick. Didn't you read Percy Jackson?" Caleb asked.

"I'm surprised you read Percy Jackson." Nick said.

"Hey, I've got a lot of free time on my hands."

"The moon's associated with her, but Selene is actually the goddess of the moon. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt."

"And what does she hunt?"

"Most days, me," Ash said under his breath.

Nick and Ambrose tensed at that statement. There was no way Artemis would do anything to Acheron because no matter how much Ambrose hated him, Artemis knew about their predicament. She knew Ambrose wanted to be the one to finish him when the time came.

Nick hadn't heard that the first time. So odd considering he was so observant.

It had been a long time since Menyara had heard about an old god. For the most part, they stayed in hiding, hoping that people would believe again. Artemis was one of the most active of the old gods and Mennie believed she was one of the most dangerous.

Clearing his throat, he spoke louder. "She's basically retired now. Most of the ancient gods are only powerful when they're worshiped by followers."

"Most?"

"This has always been my theory!" Bubba exclaimed. "For years I've told Fingerman that if the old gods were still alive, they wouldn't be nearly as powerful as they use to be because they need people to worship them. Demigods or other forms of gods just survived because they didn't need that power source, they got it from somewhere else."

"You're quite the odd human being," was all Ash said.

Yeah, some, like Acheron, didn't need followers to charge their powers. They were the really dangerous ones because their powers never waned. And unfortunately, Artemis could and did tap into his powers when it suited her to. But lucky for the world, she really didn't care about using them except against Acheron himself.

"Wait, how does she do that?" Nick asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn't know Artemis, but if she likes to bully his boyfriend he's not sure how he feels about her.

Ash just looked at Nick and shook his head. That was something he and everyone in this room didn't need to know. That was between him and her.

When he didn't clarify, Nick asked another question. "Are you one of the ones who's weak?"

"I never said I was a god." But somehow Nick seemed to sense what he was. Another thing that made him different from everyone else.

"I know you, beech," Nick smiled, hoping to make Ash feel better.

Acheron just smiled and squeezed Nick's hand.

Nick fell quiet as he digested Ash's comments. Ash didn't say it, but there was something about him that was so powerful he could almost feel it in the marrow of his bones. If he wasn't an ancient god, he was something ...

Equal to it.

Adarian gritted his teeth. All he was getting was information he knew or wasn't useful to him. Where was he from? How did he get his powers? What were their limits? How do I get rid of him?

"Well, you know, you haven't told me what you are, Ash."

"Just think of me as a powerful immortal and you'll be fine." Nick cocked his brow as he zoned in on one word in particular.

"Immortal?"

"So we only know as much as Nick does?" Bubba asked.

"Well, the book has been in Nick's point of view so far," Ambrose stated.

"But Ash is talking and we get his thoughts too?" Mark said.

"Third person omniscient," Kody mumbled.

Bubba and Mark hummed in response.

"Yeah."

"So how old are you? Really?" He must be totally ancient. "Two, three hundred years?"

Ash gave a testy smirk. "Over eleven thousand."

"Now what exactly is a testy smirk?" Caleb asked.

"You know when someone is annoyed at you but you're charming and they hate that about you?" Nick asked.

"No because I'm always charming and never annoying," Caleb bragged.

"That is not correct."

Nick's mouth fell open in disbelief. It wasn't possible. He could not be that old. "Bullshit!"

"Watch your language, kid."

At least he had some decency, Cherise thought.

"Okay, bullcrap. There's no way. We didn't even have people back then. You're yanking my chain."

Ash shook his head. "I assure you, we did. I was even on a first-name basis with some of them."

Mark snorted at the comment. "Okay, Acheron is definitely the more sarcastic one."

"I can't believe this. I'm supposed to be the funny one around here," Nick whined, looking at Ash.

Ash shrugged. "Guess you'll have to have a new thing."

Nick huffed at his boyfriend and crossed his arms.

Nick remained still as that sank in and he tried to imagine the world Ash must have come from. What would people have been like back then?

Was Ash just full of total garbage?

"You're really not kidding, are you?" Nick asked.

"Dead serious."

"You saw his powers. How are you going to doubt them now?" Bubba asked, exasperated.

"Oh my god! 'Nick you didn't react like you should have. Nick how can you trust him? Nick, Nick, Nick!' I'm not gonna be perfect!" Nick yelled.

Bubba narrowed his eyes. "Watch you take that tone with me again, boy."

Nick stuck his tongue out, but averted his eyes from Bubba. He did not want to get smacked around today.

Still, he couldn't believe it. Could people really be immortal? He'd seen the movies and read the books, but...

"How? Are you a vampire or something? What made you immortal?"

"Really good DNA."

"Boo! We want the truth," Mark said.

"Yeah!" Nick seconded, throwing his fist into the air.

Yeah, Adarian added in his own mind.

Ash simply shook his head. This was very uncomfortable. He didn't know this much of his life was going to be announced to these people. Nick was one thing, but these strangers? It was going to be a long day.

Nick rolled his eyes. Ash's glib answers were starting to irritate him. He wanted an answer and he wanted one now.

"God, younger me really didn't know anything," Nick mumbled.

"Ahem, brother," Kyrian said.

"Oh, come on. I have to know about the who-do voodoo that you do. Most of all, I want to know how I can become immortal ... well, not at my age 'cause that would suck. But in a few years when I'm filled out and in my prime." He grinned at Ash. "Make me immortal."

Be careful what you wish for, Ambrose thought. There was so much this kid didn't know, even now. God, maybe reading these was a mistake.

Ash wasn't charmed. "Look, Nick, I don't like talking about my powers and not a lot of people know what I can do. I'm trusting you with a secret and I expect you to keep it. If you can't..." He tilted his head down as if he was looking at him over the rim of his sunglasses. "Well, I'm sure your mom's going to miss you."

Cherise gasped and glared over the book at Ash. He simply adjusted his glasses and put his arm around Nick as if he was asserting his dominance. This was not going to end well for him.

"Not half as much as I'd miss me if you killed me."

"I mean, he's got a point," Caleb stated. But I'll always know the pain of losing someone.

He blinked like a girl and leaned against Ash's shoulder. "Please don't hurt me, Ash. Please. I don't want to die while I'm still a virgin. At least let me get laid before you kill me—which according to my mom I can't do until I'm married and I can't do that until I finish college. So you have to wait a good ten years before you snuff me. Deal?"

"Jesus Christ, don't you know how to keep it in your pants?" Bubba exclaimed.

"Hey! Being fourteen and lonely and an outcast was hard. No pun intended!" Nick said, causing Bubba and Mark to gag.

Ash shoved him back onto his side of the car. "You're really not right, are you?"

"Yeah, I know. It was all the paint chips I ate as a kid. They were good, but chromosomally damaging."

"You didn't eat paint chips. It must have been all that hose water you drank," Mennie stated, fondly.

"Ah yes, some-" Nick kissed his fingers, "fresh New Orleans tap water."

Ash let out an audible sigh as he forced himself not to laugh at Nick's antics. He was really beginning to like the kid a lot more than he should. There was just something about him that was infectious. "Ten years, huh?"

"Yeah, you can kill me when I'm twenty-four, provided I'm not still a virgin, but not a day before that."

"All right. It's a deal... provided you keep your trap shut."

"Trap nailed shut, sir."

"But at twenty-four..." Ash let his voice trail off.

"I'm all yours, babe."

Oh god, oh god, oh god, Ambrose thought. He felt like the room was closing in on him. He couldn't be here anymore. Why did he think he could do this? Stay calm. Don't do this to, Nick. Just let it go.

The energy shifted, something was wrong and Acheron had no idea what it could be. Both Nick and his father were Malachi and that was a danger within itself, but there was something else here and he couldn't find it. Why were the fates doing this to him?

"That was the first time I called you babe," Nick cooed, obviously trying to annoy Ash.

"Please," was all Ash said.

Ash shook his head. "I don't intimidate you at all, do I?"

"Well, when you chased me through Kyrian's house, I did wet my pants a bit. Guess I'm not housebroken after all. My mom will be so disappointed after all she went through to potty train me. But once you let me live ... your big mistake ... now I know you think I'm too cute and fluffy to kill."

Ash chuckled and looked at the boy next to him. Yeah, too cute and fluffy to kill.

Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar.

It was really hard to be agitated at someone with that kind of humor. And in all honesty, it was nice to be around someone who wasn't trying to prove himself, wet himself, or posture. It'd been a long time since someone who knew he wasn't human had treated him like one.

"You are cute and fluffy, but never forget, kid, that I'm a carnivore from a time and place where we had to kill and skin our food in order to eat it."

"Psh, you don't scare me," Mark said bravely.

"You haven't really seen me," Acheron smiled wickedly.

Nick's eyes widened as he tried to imagine Ash dressed like a Goth caveman in a studded black loincloth chasing down saber-tooth tigers and killing them with a spear... Did they have saber-tooth tigers eleven thousand years ago?

"Yes they did actually. They went extinct around the time people came to be. They lived about 2 million years before human arrived," Caleb answered, looking smug.

"Why do you know that?" Kody asked with a look of disbelief.

"I told you, I've got a lot of time on my hands."

Did people have loincloths or did they hunt naked?

Dang, his teachers were right. Some of that trivial crap could come in handy.

But that wasn't the point of this conversation. Nor the point of what Ash was telling him. "You just like to scare people, don't you?"

"As much as you like to annoy them and for the same exact reason."

It kept people from getting too close. Nick did it so that others wouldn't mock him or so that when they did, it didn't hurt as much.

"Woah, he really picked you apart," Kody whispered. It had taken her months of research before even meeting Nick. Acheron had done it within meeting him. His powers were far greater than fourteen year old Nick could even comprehend.

What was Ash trying to protect himself from? It was definitely something to think about.

Everyone and everything, Acheron thought. Joke was on him though, this idiot kid wormed his way into his heart.

Ash pulled up to the curb in front of Nick's house, which looked all the more dilapidated after he'd been in Kyrian's neighborhood.

To Ash's credit, he didn't react to the ramshackle house in anyway.

"How was I supposed to react? I lived in a mud hut," Ash smirked, though that wasn't really true. He was born and treated like someone of royal blood.

"Dude your car was nice. I don't know. Maybe you scrunch your nose a little," Nick shrugged.

"I don't have emotions."

Nick leaned his head on Ash's shoulder. "Not true."

Nick gave a low whistle as he saw a couple of people on the street stop and stare at the car. "Man, my neighbors must be freaking out. First I get picked up by a Lexus and now I'm being dropped off in a Porsche. It's a wonder they're not calling New Orleans' finest to report suspicious activity."

Ash scoffed as he turned the car off. "I think the LEOs have more important things to worry about tonight than the cars coming to your house."

Nick frowned at the word he didn't understand. "LEOs?"

"Law enforcement officers."

"Ah ... cool anagram."

"Acronym," Ash corrected.

Mark burst into laughter. "Sometimes your dyslexia really cracks me up."

"What I find hilarious is that Acheron didn't even skip a beat. He just corrected you and moved on," Caleb snorted.

"Meant to be," Nick sang, causing Ambrose to twitch.

But this time when he spoke his accent was extremely thick with the first part of the word coming from deep and low in his throat—like a growl. It was a really cool sound.

"Wait... Say that word again."

"Acronym." And poof, Ash now sounded like anyone else on the street.

"That's so awesome that you can toss out your accent. How do you do that?"

"Awesome? Please, Nick, we all know you mean sexy," Caleb waggled his eyebrows.

God, I've missed that guy, Ambrose smiled softly. At least something was making him feel better.

Nick scoffed. "Maybe not at the time. I was a straight boy then."

"Lots of practice. Now if you don't mind, I need to dump you out so I can get down to my business."

"Which is?"

"Wrangling people ... which right now is you. Get out, Nick."

"Damn, who said romance is dead?" Mark asked.

"We weren't into each other yet!" Nick exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.

Nick opened the door and rolled out of the car. Ash grabbed his backpack and followed him up the short, crumbling walkway that was overgrown with grass and littered with pebbles.

"Oh Bryana can't carry your backpack, but Acheron is allowed to?" Caleb asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What can I say? I like it when a man takes care of me," Nick winked.

"Oh god, I regret," Caleb said, rubbing his forehead.

Not to mention a few cockroaches that scattered out of his way. Some of them ran up under the plant Bubba had sent to him.

Trying not to think about the roaches, Nick barely made it into the door of his house before his mom threw it open and grabbed him into a tight hug. "Arm! Arm! Arm!" he said quickly as she hurt him.

I would never, Cherise thought.

But you already have.

She released him immediately. "I'm so sorry, Boo. I was just so scared and then to see you ... I could beat your butt blue, boy. Don't you ever worry me like that again. You hear me!"

"Pretty sure you continued to worry her," Caleb stated.

Adarian rolled his eyes. Of course the boy couldn't even follow the one rule that he gave him. Why did he even bother having children?

Nick rubbed his hand over his injured arm, which was still stinging from her hug. "You know, I hear they have medication for those kind of vicious mood swings, Ma. Maybe you should consider taking some?"

"You really don't know how to save your sorry ass," Bubba shook his head. "If I spoke to my mama like that, you bet I'd been bruised for days."

"Once again, I'm charming. You, however, are not," Nick sassed.

Cherise shook her head, willing herself not to say anything until she could have a proper conversation with Nick.

She scoffed at him. "Don't you dare get lippy with me after what you've put me through today. You're lucky you're not grounded over this stunt. If you'd been any place other than work, you would be." She turned back toward the door to close it and froze as she saw Acheron on the porch. Her face went white as she took in the size of him.

"Yup, nothing like a beast to scare you shitless," Nick laughed.

Ash shoved his head, but apologized by ruffling his hair.

"It's okay, Mom. He's a friend of Mr. Hunter's who brought me home."

Acheron held up Nick's backpack for her to see. "I was just carrying this in for him, Mrs. Gautier. Sorry I startled you."

His mom smiled as she caught herself gawking. "It's okay. I just..."

Ash smiled. "Yeah, I know. It's a hazard of the height and clothes. I tend to freak out a lot of people."

"So humble," Caleb smiled. "I love your switch between being an almighty being and acting like you're just a really tall goth."

Acheron smirked at Caleb. For what it was worth, Caleb tried really hard to hide what he was, in fact, Acheron almost missed it. "You're one to talk, Malphas."

Caleb felt a shiver run through his spine at the sound of his name coming from a being so wicked as Ash. God, the amount of raw power in this house was starting to suffocate him.

Not to mention that lethal aura that sizzled in the air around him. But Nick was beginning to get used to that.

"You've known him for an hour. At the most!" Bubba exclaimed.

"I'm sure you've sensed the subtle sexual tension," Nick said playfully.

"That is 100% illegal," Ash shook his head. "You were just a goofy, little kid. Correction, you're still a goofy, little kid."

"Why are you so rude to me? I do nothing but adore you and this is what I get," Nick stated dramatically.

"Do you work for Mr. Hunter too?" his mom asked.

Ash set his backpack down by the door. "No, ma'am. We're just old friends."

She smiled. "You don't look old enough to have old friends."

Nick snorted at her making the same assumption he had. "Trust me, Mom, he's a lot older than he looks."

"You trying to out him already?" Mark asked.

"When an obvious inside joke comes along, I gotta do it to them," Nick said.

"Oh, I'm not allowed to reference memes, but you are?" Caleb said, offended.

"At least I'm not annoying with it."

"The only time you're not annoying."

Nick squinted his eyes at Caleb's comment. "Why are you the way that you are?"

"Well, thank you for bringing my baby home. I appreciate it."

"No problem." Acheron turned toward Nick. "Keep your nose clean, kid. I'll see you around."

"Thanks, Ash."

He inclined his head before he left.

"Well I guess that's all the information we're getting," Kyrian sighed.

"Sorry to disappoint you, General. I'm always careful, even in my own thoughts," Ash replied. He tried to sound snarky, but Nick knew better. This was bothering him much more than he wanted to let everyone know. God, why did he have to be so stubborn?

His mom locked the door and moved Nick's backpack away from the threshold so that they wouldn't trip over it. "He's a bit peculiar, isn't he?"

"You don't know the half of it."

Cherise couldn't believe how long he kept this a secret. He believed Acheron without a doubt and he even let himself fall in love. And according to this book that seemed to be written by witchcraft, Acheron would betray her baby. What was he doing? Did she really trust him to make these kinds of decisions?

"So how did your first day with Mr. Hunter go?"

"It was all right." Aside from the zombies, Rosa's lunacy, and Acheron, but no need to completely terrify her. Only one of them needed to freak out at a time.

"Good. Now I better get ready for work." She headed for her room.

Nick pulled her to a stop. "I don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I want you to quit tonight."

Bubba nearly spat out the water he was drinking. "Oh my god."

"The balls on this guy!" Caleb laughed.

"Oh no no no," Mark mumbled, shaking his head.

"What?" Nick shrugged.

"You never tell a lady, let alone your mother, what to do," Kyrian said, also shaking his head.

Mennie laughed behind her hand. She remembered Cherise telling her about this conversation. The boy was just so sweet and thoughtful, yet so incredibly dense.

Sighing, she twisted her arm out of his hold. "Stop with the nonsense, Nick. You know I can't quit. We need the money."

"No, Ma, really. Mr. Hunter's going to pay me four thousand a month to work for him."

Her jaw went slack as her eyes narrowed in anger. "Doing what?"

Caleb whistled. "Man she really didn't like you."

Cherise shook her head. "I had never met someone so genuinely kind before."

Kyrian gave her a small smile, effectively ignoring Adarian looking at him.

"Running errands, like he said."

"Oh no, no, no. I'm not having any of that. No one pays that kind of money for running legal errands. I want you to quit first thing tomorrow."

"No, Mom. It's all legal. I promise."

"Define legal," Nick murmured.

Cherise narrowed her eyes, but again said nothing. There would be a time and place for these things.

Still she refused to believe him. "Not for that kind of money it's not. What kind of fool do you take me for? I wasn't born yesterday. I—"

"Mom, listen. Please. He really is loaded like you've never seen before. Ash told me that Kyrian thinks I'm underpaid. The guy has no concept of how much money he's paying me. Really."

"So you thought I was some kind of chump?" Kyrian laughed.

"You had to be some kind of chump to pay me, a hoodlum, so much," Nick smiled, cheekily.

"No one is that loaded, Nick, that they'd just throw forty-eight thousand dollars a year at a kid for running errands. Think about it."

A day ago, he'd have been right there with her. But after today... for some reason he believed in Kyrian and his intentions. "Yeah, he is. Trust me. I saw the house and you ain't never seen nothing like it. So you can quit dancing. I'll be making enough working part time that you won't have to do anything but stay home." Just like they'd always dreamed of.

Caleb sat and tried to remember Nick this young. They had been through so much over the years that he forgot this Nick. The Nick whose only goal in life was to make his mom proud. The Nick who didn't have to worry about the bullshit they worry about now. Caleb couldn't believe he felt like Nick's babysitter at the time. That Nick, while annoying and too sarcastic for his own good, was humble and sweet and caring. God, life had really fucked them up.

His mom hesitated. "I don't know."

"Please, Mom. Trust me."

Her features softened as she cupped his cheek in her hand. "Tell you what. You work for him for a couple of weeks and after you get your first paycheck then we'll see, okay?"

Nick curled his lip as he realized her tactic. She was shutting him down and not really listening to a word he said. "Why don't you believe me?"

Kody looked at the carpet. There was something so complex about having a family, something she had forgotten about. Because you love your family with all your heart, but they put you down sometimes and don't believe in you. Family was something she longed for, but did she even really remember what it was?

"I think you misunderstood him."

"I didn't."

She brushed his hair back from his face. "We'll see, Nick. We'll see."

God, he hated that tone she used. It was so condescending and what she was actually saying is that he didn't know what he was talking about. He wasn't stupid.

Whatever. He was too disgusted to keep arguing when it was obviously futile.

Adarian curled his lips and looked at his son. The kid didn't seem to understand how good he had it. His mother fed and clothed his sorry ass all his life while Adarian was tortured and broken for centuries.

She went to go dress. "I left you some eggs and cheese on the stove in case you're hungry."

Nick cringed at her words. He should have thought to bring her some of Rosa's gumbo. She wouldn't have forgotten about him.

Next time …

Acheron squeezed Nick's shoulders and smiled. He was so hard on himself. Ash hoped he knew better than to think those things by now.

"I'm full if you want some more. Kyrian's housekeeper fed me about an hour ago."

"Was it good?" she called from her room.

"Yeah."

She poked her head out of the door. "Better than my cooking?"

He started to say yes, which was the truth, but self- preservation kicked in. He'd made the mistake of saying Menyara made better biscuits once and his mom hadn't taken it well. "No. No one's gumbo can touch yours."

"At least you know something about women," Mark huffed.

"Yeah and what do you know, Mark? You know how to get a girl to burn all your clothes," Nick jabbed back, causing Bubba to cackle.

She winked at him before she closed the door.

Nick let out a relieved breath that he'd sailed past that landmine without getting his butt kicked over it. It wasn't often he passed those tests. I'm getting better at dealing with women.

Today his mom. Tomorrow an actual girlfriend...

"You know everytime it mentions me wanting a girlfriend and you know, I have a boyfriend now, it reminds me of that one song by the Killers," Nick stated, looking at Ash.

"And how does that go?" Ash smirked.

"Somebody told me that you had a boyfriend that looked like a girlfriend and I had her February of last year," Nick sang, bobbing his head.

Caleb laughed. "I can't believe I didn't think of that. I'm losing it."

Like Kody.

Maybe I should call her? Since he hadn't seen her at school, he still had her Nintendo in his pocket.

You know you don't have her number.

"You didn't have a phone until today," Mark shouted.

Nick glared at him, but refused to say anything back. Nick had just burned Mark real good. Just like his girlfriend burned his clothes.

Oh yeah. That was a problem. One he'd fix first thing tomorrow when he went to school. And this time, he wouldn't wuss out. He'd actually ask her to go have beignets with him.

"We should probably go on a date, huh?" Ash stated.

"Only if you ask me nicely," Nick shook his head, causing Acheron to chuckle. The boy was just too charming.

Nick headed to the counter and picked up his worn-out copy of Hammer's Slammers, then headed to his room to read. He was just skipping ahead to where he left off last night when his mom pushed back the blanket.

"I'm heading out. You need anything before I go?"

"I'm good."

"Okay. Mennie said she'd come by later and check on you. I'll be home a little after dawn."

"Ha, ha. You're 14 and you still need a babysitter," Mark laughed.

"He's 18 and he still has a babysitter," Caleb chimed in.

Nick pouted, but didn't deny it. He was only ever alone when he went to sleep.

Nick set his book down as he thought about her taking the streetcars to and from work while more zombies could be out on the street. His mom would barely be a snack for them. "Would you mind if I went in to work with you tonight?"

"You need to rest."

"Yeah, but with all this weird sh—" He caught himself before he said something she'd ground him over."—stuff going on, I'd feel better if you weren't by yourself."

Mennie smiled softly at Nick. He was so different from the other Malachais. He was always so sweet and he survived with this sweetness so much longer than the others had. She knew he would be different and she prayed she was right.

A slow smile spread across her beautiful face. "You going to be my protector?"

"That's my job, isn't it?"

It was times like these when Adarian thought he really got through to the kid. Even though Nick obviously hated him, Nick always remembered his words and took them to heart. It was strange and Adarian wondered what their relationship would have been like in another world.

"All right. Grab a jacket and I'll tell Mennie."

Nick did as she ordered. She didn't often let him go to the club on school nights, but he'd meant what he said. He didn't like his mom out by herself. New Orleans could be dangerous on its best nights and since she was all he had ...

He'd guard her with every breath in his body.

Cherise had to pause for a deep breath at those words. Nick was such a good kid and he had always been a good kid. She knew she wasn't the perfect mother, but somehow she had raised a perfect boy. Well, maybe not perfect, but nearly there. Maybe Mennie was right. Maybe she was selfish.

Nick stared at his hands. He couldn't believe how out of hand everything had gotten within the last few days. His life was spiraling, not that he had ever been perfect, but these books were going to do something. Whatever it was, Nick wasn't ready for it. He needed his mom. He needed Caleb. He needed Ash. If these books cost him any of those things, he wasn't really sure what he would do.

By the time he had his jacket on over his bad arm and had reached the porch, Mennie was outside with her.

"Why don't you borrow my car, chere?"

His mom hesitated. "You know I don't like being responsible for other people's property. Besides, it's hard and expensive to park it in the Quarter. Bourbon Street's already blocked off."

"Yeah parking here is shit," Bubba sniffed. "That's why I don't leave my house."

"You don't leave your house because you have no friends," Mark sassed.

"Then park it on Royal. Please, Cherise. I'd feel better if you two weren't roaming the streets in the wee hours of the night by yourselves. Think of poor Nicky."

His mom looked at him before she nodded.

"Poor Nicky with his injured arm," Acheron teased.

"I was shot," Nick stuck his tongue out.

Menyara handed her the keys, then kissed Nick on the cheek. "You watch over your mom."

"Always."

God damn feelings, Adarian thought. Since when had those come back?

His mom smiled at her. "I'll leave the keys on the counter so that you can get them in the morning."

"Sounds good."

His mom turned and led him down the steps to where Menyara's dark blue Taurus waited next to their beat-up red Yugo that needed repairs they couldn't afford at present.

"Yugos always remind me of Russia for some reason?" Caleb stated, looking confused.

Nick burst into laughter. "Dude, what the fuck?"

Cherise opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it. Nick wasn't a baby anymore.

Nick got in first. It was weird to be in Mennie's car without her. Normally they only rode in it whenever there was a hurricane coming and they needed to evacuate when their own car was broken down.

Or Nick needed stitches.

"How many times had you needed stitches?" Acheron asked.

Nick whistled. "I don't know maybe like 6? Or 10?" Nick trailed off, starting to count on his fingers.

"You know what, never mind."

Not wanting to think about that, he buckled himself in while his mom started the car.

She ruffled his hair. "You know, since I have the car, you could stay home."

"Nope. You still have to walk from Royal to Bourbon."

She shook her head. "My fierce little bulldog."

"You're so precious," Caleb cooed.

"Stop being gross," Nick cringed.

"I'm bigger than you."

"I'm meaner."

She always said that, but it wasn't true. His mom was the kindest person he'd ever met. It was one of the reasons why he was so protective of her. In many ways, she was still a doe-eyed innocent who only saw the good in people.

At least Adarian and the kid had something in common. Cherise had always been the sweetest soul he had ever seen. Even when he was so far gone, when he stopped feeling love, Cherise had brought some of it back. I really am losing my mind.

Impossible to believe, but she even defended his dad and there really was nothing good to be said about that man. He was like the devil himself.

Well, back to square one.

Closing his eyes, he listened to the zydeco playing low on the car radio. That and Elvis were his mom's favorite kinds of music. Zydeco, she said, because it spoke to her Cajun roots. Elvis because it reminded her of being a little girl and playing with her cousins and sister. Apparently they used to get together and try to out-Elvis each other. And that thought made him grimace as the Mojo Nixon song "Elvis Is Everywhere" started echoing in his head—it'd take him days to get that to stop torturing him.

And it didn't make sense that they impersonated Elvis since they were all girls, but far from him to interject sanity into anything, especially after the day he'd had.

"Hey, those are some real controversial thoughts," Ambrose warned.

Nick nodded. "I know. It's hard getting all those sexist ideals out of your head when that's what society always had you believing and I know I'm going to keep thinking them for a while."

Everyone sat for a moment, stunned that Nick was learning and growing so smoothly. Sure, they were all guilty of giving into societal mindsets and reverting back into old time thoughts that didn't belong anymore, but seeing someone admit to it so easily was refreshing.

They reached Royal Street and parked two blocks from her club. Nick got out and scanned the street where tourists were walking, some stopping to browse in the windows of the antique and jewelry stores that lined the street. They were only a few blocks away from Liza's store. She should be closing up right about now and getting her receipts together for her deposit.

He walked his mom to her club, then hesitated at the back door as she knocked for admittance. "Do you mind if I go check on Ms. Liza?"

"You really can get away with anything," Bubba shook his head.

"Charming," Nick smiled.

She gave him a suspicious scowl. "Is that really what you're doing?"

"I promise. I don't like her dropping cash at the bank alone."

His mom kissed him on the cheek. "I don't know how I raised such a great son. Go on, but don't be gone long."

That was still true to Cherise. She raised that boy and he was good. How did she do that when she was so flawed?

"I won't." He nodded to John as he let his mom in, then reversed his tracks back to Royal Street and over to the doll store.

Just as he thought, Liza was at the counter batching her credit card machine. She looked up and smiled at him as he knocked on the window.

"Why is that scene from the first Thor movie coming to my head? The part when Lady Sith and the Warriors Three find him at the diner or something and they knock on the window and wave?" Caleb described.

"Pop culture really is your shit, isn't it?" Nick sighed, he would never been free of constant meme references.

Caleb shrugged, "The 21st century is truly fascinating."

Crossing the shop, she came to the door to let him in. "Well, isn't this a surprise. What are you doing here, sweetie?"

"I came to work with my mom and just wanted to see if you needed me to walk with you to the bank."

She locked the door behind him. "How thoughtful of you and yes, I'd love to have company. I'm just about done. You want a cola or something while I finish?"

"A cola? Dear god, you says that anymore," Mark gasped.

"Pretty sure that's copyright issues," Caleb stated.

"No way. I've referenced a video game. If anything, that should be copyright issues," Nick argued.

"Why can't we accept the fact that cola is just a soda flavor?" Kyrian raised an eyebrow.

"You got any cookies?"

"Always."

Nick skipped around her to go to the back room where she usually kept her fresh-baked cookies. Oh yeah, now this is what he was talking about...

"Cookies sound so good right now," Nick moaned.

"Too bad Rosa isn't going to make any," Caleb mocked.

"You're evil, Malphas," Acheron laughed.

He didn't know what she put in them, but they melted in his mouth and left him aching to eat his weight in them.

"By the way," he called out as he grabbed a handful. "Thanks for sending some to the hospital. They made my day."

"You're quite welcome, Mr. Gautier. Have you been to Kyrian's yet?"

"Was there earlier." He came out of the room to stand with her behind the counter. "Met a friend of his named Ash Parthen-something I can't pronounce."

She went completely still.

"I do have that effect on people," Ash said.

"Scaring them? Yeah we're aware," Nick stated.

"You stopped being scared within the hour," Bubba argued.

"Still peed my pants."

Nick wondered what that meant. "You know him too?"

"I do." She tucked her bills into the blue envelope she used to hold the deposit money.

"Any idea how to say his last name?"

"With great respect." She winked at him. "It's Pahr-thin-oh-pay-us. Ack-uh-ron Pahr-thin-oh-pay-us."

"Still can't really say it," Nick admitted. "My dyslexia really likes to kick in with your name."

"It's nice to know you still can't say my name after 4 years."

"I can say it! It just takes some time," Nick argued.

"A true old married couple," Caleb laughed.

"Yeah, that's a mouthful. I don't think I even want to know how to spell it. Can you imagine having to learn that in kindergarten? And I thought Gautier was hard. I was almost ten before I stopped putting an 's-h' in it."

She laughed.

It was weird for Ambrose. He could remember all these moments in his life. He could remember standing in Ms. Liza's store and eating her cookies. He could remember walking down Royal Street and enjoying New Orleans. He remembered being happy and then shit hit the fan. How had this happened? Why did he think reading this was a good idea?

Nick had just finished the last of his cookies when she reached for her jacket. Shrugging it on, she went to set the alarm while he waited by the door. As soon as it was beeping, she led him out and locked it tight.

Liza wrapped her arms around his good one. "You know, I miss these walks with you. Any chance I can steal you back from Kyrian?"

"You'll have to talk to him about it. Since he paid for the hospital, he kind of owns me."

"I'm sure he pays better too."

"A little bit. But he doesn't bake me chocolate chip cookies."

"I'm no baker, or chef," Kyrian admitted.

"When was the last time you cooked?" Nick asked.

Kyrian sat for a minute. "Can't even remember."

"Must be nice," Cherise mumbled to herself.

Laughing, she stopped at the ATM and made her drop. Nick escorted her back to her car and waved to her as she got in and left him on the street in front of her store. He was just about to head back to the club when he heard a strange sound coming out of the alley that cut between her store and the one next to it. It sounded like a dog...

"Werewolves," Mark stated matter of factually.

Cherise gave him a drool stare before continuing.

No, it was the same sound he'd heard outside of Kyrian's house earlier. The sound of zombies hunting him.

A chill wind blew against his skin and he could swear the sky darkened.

"What a drama queen," Caleb chuckled, trying to hide the fact that he was actually nervous. Nick was never truly safe.

All the lights on the street failed as several car alarms went off.

"What the ..."

Something came out of the alley so fast he couldn't even identify it as it rammed into him and knocked him back.

"You really do have shit luck," Bubba sighed.

"You're telling me. I get attacked when my arm is in a sling," Nick rolled his eyes.

Caleb stood up and stretched. "God, is it lunchtime yet?"

Kyrian shook his head, also standing up. "It's only one. Rosa won't have lunch for another hour. We have time for one more chapter."

Ambrose looked at Nick, trying to figure out what he was feeling. Ambrose's feelings didn't matter, only Nick's did.

"I guess," Nick shrugged.

"I suppose it is my turn to read," Mennie stated, taking the book from Cherise.

Lunch would be a good time to talk to Nick, Cherise thought.

"Okay, chapter 9…"