Invision - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 0,4

he headed toward the street.

“Where are you going?”

“To get my butt kicked again. You should come watch. You might actually enjoy it. I know I won’t.”

How she wished that was a joke. Unfortunately, before this was through, they were all likely to get their butts handed to them.

And their heads, too.

CHAPTER 1

Nick stood in the center of his bedroom, staring at the symbols on his wall. They were ancient protection sigils that Caleb and his aunt Menyara had placed there to keep out anything that could harm either him or his mother. The first time he’d noticed them as a small child, Menyara had told him they were special Monster Away sprays that she’d made for him. It’d made him feel extra-loved and protected.

Little had he known then that they weren’t just for protection. Those scrolled emblems had also been there to restrict his powers and bind them so that he couldn’t accidentally uncover his birthright.

As a result, he really didn’t understand a lot about who and what he was.

Even now.

But it was time he learned. He was through guessing and flying by the seat of his pants. If he was to save Zavid and not get enslaved by the oldest, most primal evil, he needed to really comprehend what he was capable of pulling off.

And there was one person he knew who could answer this.

“Xevikan?”

Mr. Fuzzy Boots rose up from the sofa to arch his back and yawn.

Nick snorted at Xev’s alternate feline form. “I need you as a human, dude. Shed the cat skin for a while.”

He flashed himself into his extremely tall human body. Although Nick couldn’t blame him for wanting to spend most of his time in the lazy house cat incarnation. He wouldn’t mind spending his days snoozing, either.

Not to mention, the old powers had done a number on Xev when they’d cursed him to this state. Instead of being the boy-band member he’d been born, his perfect good looks were now off-putting, and there was nothing they could do to change them. Heaven knew they’d tried enough L’Oréal products to convert the entire North American and European Goth communities to normal hair colors.

Instead of his natural black, Xev’s hair was an unnatural shade of red on one side and a vibrant, fake yellow on the other. If that wasn’t bad enough, his eyebrows were a light, electric blue that clashed with his rusty-greenish-blue hazel eyes.

At least he could fake being emo in this time period, but still …

It had to suck to have your own family be so cruel as to condemn you to such a fate.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Xev scowled at Nick. “What’s trying to eat you now?”

Nick rolled his eyes and ignored the question. “Did you know Zavid was still alive?”

He made a peculiar noise. “Alive is an interesting term when one attempts to apply it to a soul-eating hellhound who was possessed by the source of all evil. But to be honest, I hadn’t thought about it, one way or another.”

“Would you mind applying your skills to it and telling me what you think?”

Xev nodded slowly. “Yes. Given that he most likely couldn’t be killed per se, he probably does exist in a noncorporeal state in Azmodea.”

“Can I have the English translation of that?”

Xev rubbed at the corner of his eye with his middle finger in a deliberate manner before he answered. “Remember when you were divided? Your soul not in your body?”

Like that wasn’t seared into his brain? Especially given the number of things that had tried to eat him and it was how the two of them had bonded. “Not something one forgets easily.”

“Well, there you go.”

“Um, you lost me, Sparky.” Nick scowled at something that confused him. If the soul was divided from the body … “Then he’s dead.”

“Define dead.”

He glared at Xev as he continued to play vague in a way that would make the ancient Atlantean god Acheron proud. “Would you stop with the head games and please answer the question?”

“I’m trying. It’s not that simple.”

“You and Caleb … what is it with the two of you? Did you take asshole pills this morning? Gah, you are brothers. I don’t know why you can’t get along. You’re just alike.”

Xev snorted. “You think we’re bad? You should meet our father sometime. Your great-great-grandfather is a total piece of work. But to answer your question, Nick. Zavid would need to be reborn here. Yes, you could do that. The Malachai theoretically has power. But that