Invincible Chronicles of Nick - By Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 0,86
and Caleb engaged. “Are you sure you gave me something personal from the coach?”
“Yeah. It was a picture of him when he was human.”
“I need something closer to him than that. Something that matters that is uniquely his.”
The coach laughed at them. “There’s nothing I care about. Nothing at all. You’re all going to die.”
Kody cried out as she went down and was swarmed. Caleb yelped as a demon sank its teeth into his shoulder.
Devus was right. They were about to lose.
Refusing to believe it, Nick cast his gaze around the office, looking for something, anything that was personal to the troll. Everyone cared about something.
Damn the stupid coach. Was it too much to ask that he at least make a grocery list?
Why couldn’t—?
Nick’s thought ended as he remembered an important detail. Smiling, he reached into his back pocket and jerked out the handwritten list of items the coach had wanted him to steal. That handwriting was as personal as it got. Thank you, Grim for that lesson. He handed it to Xenon.
“We’re back in business.” Xenon quickly shredded it and added it to the box. He started chanting again.
Devus finally took his attention off the fight to see what Xenon was doing. His face blanched as he saw the box.
“Nick?” Xenon called. “You’re on.”
Nick stabbed the demon in front of him, then rushed to the circle he’d created. Summoning his powers, he imagined the girl so that Xenon could pick her out.
Together they left the human realm and descended into an abyss so dark, it was painful to be there.
Xenon put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “What was her name again?”
“Julianne.”
“Julianne?” Xenon shouted. “Can you hear us?”
Nick sensed her presence. Most of all, he sensed her fear. “It’s me, Julianne. I’m here to help you.”
She appeared in front of Nick. “Will you save me?”
He held his hand out to her. “Come with me, and we can take back your heart and free you, once and for all.”
She placed her icy hand into his. The moment their skin touched, they were sucked through a vortex and dumped back into the coach’s office. Nick caught Julianne against him as they returned to keep her from falling over.
The moment she appeared, the demons shrieked as if in agony and disintegrated.
Devus shrank back as soon as he saw her. “No. It’s not possible.”
Julianne, whose skin was an iridescent gray, pointed an accusatory finger at him. “How dare you keep me trapped all these years. You had no right to do what you did. No right.”
As she spoke, Nick felt his powers surge. He saw the fabric of the universe around him and smelled its sweet scent. He knew what the best punishment was. How to set all of this back to an even score. Changing the words of his chant, he didn’t banish Devus like they’d intended. No not at all.
He swapped the coach’s life force with Julianne’s.
Devus screamed as he was sucked into the vortex. His screams, like him, were swallowed whole. Meanwhile Julianne was bathed in a bright yellow light. One that danced from her fingertips into the box where her heart lay. The heart glowed an instant and then dissolved.
Julianne threw her head back and gasped as it was magically put back inside her. Tears sprang to her eyes as her grayish ghost form turned human. Breathless, she stared at Nick in wonderment. “How did you do it?”
He swept his gaze around Kody, Caleb, and Xenon. “No idea whatsoever.”
Laughing, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close. “You are my hero. Thank you. A thousand thank-yous.”
A guy could get used to this. Minus the bloody nose and aching bruises that were making it hard to breathe while she held him like this. Not to mention he caught a venomous stare from Kody that said she didn’t appreciate Julianne mauling him.
“Uh, Julianne? I can’t breathe. Can you let go?”
She released him immediately and wiped away her tears.
But no sooner had she done that than a bright flash of thunder shook the windows of the office. It clapped so loud, it caused them to stagger.
Out of nowhere a huge …
Well, it had the body of a horse, face of a lion that had met the business end of a shovel, and the tail of a goat. Man, that was some messed-up DNA there.
It snarled at them. “How dare you destroy my…” His words trailed off as he saw Nick. He started toward him.