That was harsh. “How do you know this?”
Adarian spun Nick around in the darkness. “Open your senses and listen, boy. Feel. Smell. This is the ether you’ve been trying to tap into for so long. It is everything in the universe. In all universes. With it, there’s nothing you can’t see or know. The past. The present. The future. Every heartbeat of every creature is recorded here. All at your fingertips, once you learn how to use it.”
Fine, I’ll try it again. That seemed like a good idea until he actually did it. Nick staggered and had to put his hand on his father to steady himself as a trillion things hit him at once. It was so loud and overwhelming that he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. His stomach plummeted as bile rose in his throat. But the absolute worst was all the emotions he felt from other people and sentient beings throughout the entire universe. The sadness, grief, and anguish. It was debilitating.
And extremely painful. Like being stomped in the stones and then rolled over hot coals while naked and basted in accelerant.
His father tightened his grip again as if another wave of anger had seized him. “And that will always be your greatest weakness.”
Nick gasped for breath as he tried to understand. “What? Having nerve endings? You’re right. It stinks. Especially when I slam my toes into something when I’m not looking.”
His father viciously growled at him—Nick had that effect on a lot of people. “Your bleeding heart, boy. By choosing a human mother for you, I weakened you.”
“Then why did you—”
Adarian grabbed him by the neck again and cut him off, thus proving his point about nerve endings. Even in a noncorporeal form, it hurt. “I loved her.” Those words left his father’s throat as if they’d been torn out. When he spoke again, his voice trembled with raw emotion and agony. “I knew something so pure and precious as she would never be able to love something fouled and damned like me. No matter what I tried, her affections went to others. I was the most powerful being in existence, and the best I could compel from her was time spent with me because she pitied my loneliness.” He laughed bitterly. “I fought for her honor and instead of being grateful, she took me to task for beating an apology out of the one who’d insulted her. After that, she wouldn’t even hold my hand. She’d barely look at me, and when she did, her eyes showed a disappointment that cut me soul-deep.”
Yeah, that sounded like his mom. And Nick knew that look a lot better than he wanted to. It, like the closet monster he now knew was real, was one of those things that seriously disturbed his mental peace. Cherise Gautier really deplored violence for any reason. It chafed his butt, too, whenever she fussed at him for not turning the other cheek. Yet in his world, the meek only inherited earth six feet deep.
“And you,” his father sneered. “I hate you for having the part of her I could never claim.”
Sympathetic pain racked him as Nick finally understood the true tragedy of his father’s heritage. To forever crave the very thing he could never have.
Love. Acceptance.
The gods’ final punishment for the Malachai bloodline over a treaty they’d had no part in, and a war they’d been ordered to fight. As punishment, the firstborn Malachai had been forced to see his pregnant wife die. To endure centuries alone.
None of them were to know happiness. Ever. Nor were they to live to see their heir grown. As soon as their son was old enough to come into his full powers, the elder Malachai was doomed to die by his son’s hand.
For all eternity.
His father increased the pressure of his hold. “I should have killed you when you were born.” Growling again, he moved away as if he was planning to give in to that urge unless he put more space between them. “But I’d harmed Cherise enough.” He winced in pain. “You were still wet from your whelping when she cradled you against her breast and swore no one would ever harm you. Not without going through her. As much as I wanted to take your life, I never wanted her to cry. Not because of something I did to her. I owed her that much.”
Roaring, Adarian spun on him and seized him again. “You, pathetic waste that you are, mean more to her than anything else. You, she cherishes, and you were given one task—to make sure nothing harms her.”
Nick tried to speak, but his father held him too tightly now. He couldn’t even let out a squeak.
“If you don’t fix this and subdue our generals, she will die in all worlds. Do you understand? Hers is the first life they will take … because of you!”
Coughing and wheezing, Nick nodded.
His father loosened his grip enough so that Nick could breathe again.
“Believe me, no one wants me out of here more than I do. So, please, Demon Master Overlord”—Nick deepened his voice to duplicate his father’s rumbling sinister tone—“Mr. I-have-all-power-and-you-suck”—he returned to speaking normally—“tell me how do I get back? Please, enlighten me, oh great father mine.” He glared at him. “I already tried clicking my heels together. Not much luck there. Should I sneeze when I do it or just fart in your general direction?”
His father shoved at him. “You are the Malachai. You are the son of the Destroyer of Worlds. Your name is Conquest. Pain. Suffering. Betrayal. No one can defeat you unless you allow it.”
“Oh, okay,” Nick said sarcastically. “Let’s just all be happy and shiny then. No sweat that.” He beat his fist against his chest in an ancient salute then barked out his orders. “I will win this for you, Father.”
His father raked him a withering glower. “I am not one of your putrid humans to suffer your backtalk, boy.”
Nick snorted. “You’re dead, right? What can you do? Shake the chandelier. Ooo, I’m so terrified. Please don’t rock the chair in the corner or slam a door in my face. I don’t think I could mentally take that. You might send me into therapy for the rest of my life. Oh, the humanity!”
His father grabbed his hair again. Yeah, okay, that did hurt. “Don’t test me.”
Grinding his teeth, Nick tried to extricate himself. “Mom says I get that better irritating quality from you.”
To his complete shock, Adarian laughed and released him. “You do, actually. And to answer your earlier question, Laguerre is working with our enemy. They are the ones who divided you.”
“That’s all well and good. Nice to know I have yet another ancient, omnipotent power trying to eat my gizzard with onions, but what I really need is info on unification. Put me back together again. Now how do I do that?”
“Unlock your powers.”
“Give me the key.” Nick spoke in the same aggravated tone. “Or at least a friggin’ clue. Hey, Pat. Can I buy a flippin’ vowel? Please?”
His father clenched his teeth so hard, Nick could hear them grinding. Not the first time he’d reduced an elder to that. Probably wouldn’t be the last. Though he should score some bonus points for the fact that he was causing an inhuman ghost to do so and he wasn’t even really trying to annoy him.
Give me your name.…
Nick flinched at the intrusion of that voice inside his skull again. Someone needed to turn the decibel level down a few hundred notches. “Is that you?”
His father turned around slowly. “Don’t answer them.”
“Wasn’t planning to. Why?”
Adarian swung back toward Nick. “Do you know how to command and own a demon?”
“Tell it I’m the Malachai … Oh wait, no. They usually burst out laughing when I do that. Really nuclear devastation for my ego, I have to say.”