Page 66 of Fire Bird

“If you look like one of her hounds, she’ll trust you,” Kole says.

Nico’s jaw twitches. “I can do it,” he says. “It will be done.”

“Are you sure?” Rev is leaning against the wall near the window, looking down at the street. She turns slowly. “Nico, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yeah, he fucking does,” Luther barks. “I’m sorry, Rev, but he has to do this.”

She meets Nico’s eyes. Something has happened between the two of them in the last few days; there’s a bond that wasn’t there before. And there’s a fear in Rev’s face that I haven’t seen before either.

“I’ll be okay,” he tells her, but Rev looks quickly away, back at the window, and hugs her arms around her waist.

“You’ll need to time it right,” Nova says, breaking the silence. “So there’s not too big a window for someone to find out she’s missing.”

“When do we get to the cool part?” I lean forward, arms on my knees. “You promised me something cool, Little Star.”

She raises her eyebrows and smiles at me. “Depends if you’re up for it.”

“When is Tanner not up for anything you suggest?” Luther quips, his hand resting on Nova’s thigh.

Flashing him a knowing smile, Nova then shimmies her shoulders and hops down from the counter. “Okay, guys, listen up because this is the important part… as soon as Eve’s dead, her spells will stop working. Kole, Mack, Luther, and Snow, you’ll be in the woods waiting for my signal. Rev, Sarah, Sam, you’ll be back here in the town square doing the same.”

Sam blinks at her but doesn’t object to being told to stay behind.

“And what will you and I be doing?” I ask. “I’d love to think you’re going to say something sexy, but I get the feeling it’ll be a bit more life-threatening than that.”

Nova meets my eyes. “You’re right.” She walks over and puts her hands on my shoulders. I sit up straight and take hold of her waist. “You and I, Tanner? We’re going to raise the dead.”

41

NICO

TEN HOURS LATER

I’m almost at the door when I hear footsteps behind me. Rev trots quickly down the stairs. She’s wearing pajamas and a bright yellow robe, her hair wrapped in a similarly bright, patterned scarf. I smile and fold my arms. “You look good when you’re worried,” I tell her.

She taps her foot and shakes her head at me. “I’m not worried,” she says. “You’ll be fine.”

“Then why did you chase me down here when we already did a big group goodbye upstairs?” I raise my eyes toward the apartment, where the others just gave me slaps on the back, brief handshakes, and encouraging words like, You’ve got this, Nico, and, See you soon, Nico as if they suddenly care whether I live or die.

Sam was the only one who meant it when he told me to stay safe. The others, even Nova, just see me as a means to an end. And who can blame them? The bad things I’ve done in my life far outweigh the good. I’m not arrogant enough to believe otherwise.

“Because I wanted to say…” There’s a tightness to Rev’s voice that makes me smile.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“I wanted to say…” She takes the last few steps in two strides and stands in front of me. She’s my height, and her lips are suddenly tantalizingly close to mine. “Do not die.” She stares at me, and the commanding tone of her voice sends a shiver down my spine.

“Yes, Ma’am,” I mutter.

Rev’s eyes soften. She nods but doesn’t hug or touch me. “Good,” she says sharply. Then she gestures to the door.

I want to kiss her. Since the moment I entered her apartment and saw her shining face, I wanted to kiss her, but something tells me that will only happen when she gives permission for it. So, I just turn away and step out into the street.

Of course, Sam offered to go with me. But it’s not quite sunrise and the streets are too dangerous. For a Hellhound, they’re okay. For anything non-demonic they’re a death-risk.

Making my way from the apartment toward the woods, the dark, pulsating energy of The Split calls to me. The demon living inside my head scrapes its claws at my insides. It longs to be near others of its kind. Soon, it will be.

I shift before I reach the woods. It’s easy this time; Nova’s blood saw to that. The second it touched my lips I knew I was about to become part of something so much bigger than myself.