“Because we fought the serp scum a few days ago,” Axel said, a statement rather than a question.
Zacharel’s piercing green gaze locked on Koldo. “That’s one of the reasons, yes.”
He didn’t know. He couldn’t know. Not even Germanus had known about Koldo’s origins. Zacharel had to be referring to the fact that Nicola was involved. “I’ll take care of this. Alone.” His father’s people had done the damage, and so Koldo would be the one to fight the battle—and finally wipe out the entire clan. “And then I’ll hunt the demons responsible for this travesty.”
Zacharel arched a brow, amused rather than irritated. “Actually, you’ll do it together. I’ve decided to make your partnership permanent. And no, you won’t be hunting the demons responsible for the king’s demise. You’re too busy guarding the human.”
“I can do both.”
“But you won’t. You singled her out, and I allowed you to bring her into our world because I wanted to see you happy. I know how drastically love can change your—”
“I don’t love her,” he said in a rush. He couldn’t.
Zacharel patted him on the shoulder. “You agreed to look after her, and you cannot do that if you’re never with her.”
Bottom line: he had to choose between helping Nicola and avenging his dearest friend. “If your men haven’t found the demons by the time Nicola is healed and able to defend herself, I’ll take over the hunt.”
“Take over? No. One day, however, I might allow you to join the hunt. One thing you need to learn, Koldo,” Zacharel said tightly. “You can’t do everything on your own. Sometimes you have to accept help. It’s a lesson I had to learn, as well.” With that, the Sent One flared his golden wings and shot straight into the night.
“Should we get rings to seal this deal, life partner?” Axel asked, stroking his chin.
“One day I’ll probably remove your head,” Koldo replied, and flashed to the park in Wichita.
The change in time zones brought him to a sun-drenched paradise. Humans strolled through the grass and along the cobbled walkway. Mothers pushed strollers, men walked their dogs. Trees stretched high, casting shadows. He knew this was where Nicola and Laila had spotted his father, but where was the mess Zacharel had mentioned?
He dug the phone out of his pocket and dialed Nicola’s number. After three rings, she picked up.
“Hello?”
The sound of her voice soothed the roughest edges of his emotions—and the knowledge irritated him. “Where did you see the bald man?”
“Oh.” She described the area.
“Thank you.” A pause. “I’ll be late.”
“No worries.”
He cleared his throat. “Are you wearing the pajamas I got you?”
“I am. But, Koldo—is everything okay? You sound upset.”
Do you care? he wanted to ask.
Axel landed beside him, wings snapping into place at his back.
“I must go,” Koldo said, shifting from one booted foot to another. “I’ll speak to you soon.” He closed the phone and stuffed it back in his pocket.
“So...no rings?” Axel asked, as if their conversation had never lagged.
Koldo picked up where he’d left off, as well. “One day might be today.” He walked until he reached the location Nicola had described. There! Tracks. He pounded forward and crouched in front of a pair of footprints. The soles of the boots had been spiked with serp venom, leaving the grass singed. It was a pattern he knew well. His father or one of his men had stood in this very spot and—
He sniffed. And infected the bark of the tree, as well. Frowning, Koldo studied the trunk. Several areas had been scraped and left jagged by sharpened claws. The sulfur-scented black smoke the Nefas projected covered the wood. There appeared to be hundreds of tiny bugs crawling from the damage.
Already the tree bore signs of impending death. The leaves were withering. The grass around it had yellowed. Several dead birds lay in its shade. A nearby dog had attempted to mark the tree but was now hopping around next to its owner and whimpering, its paws probably burning.
“What’s the damage?” Axel asked, stepping up beside him.
“Have you ever been exposed to Nefas smoke?”
“Well, yeah. Who hasn’t?”
Almost everyone still breathing. But all right. Axel knew what to expect if he allowed himself to so much as brush against the stuff. “Check all the other trees. Any bearing the taint will have to be uprooted, the entire area cleansed.”
“So you plan to be the boss in our little partnership?” Axel asked casually.
Koldo ignored the question. “Do you have a cloud?”
“Is this silly-question day? Of course I have a cloud.”
“Summon it.”
Axel nodded, and a split second later, white mist enveloped them.
“Let the humans see the park,” Axel told the cloud, “but don’t allow them to come near us.”
As the mist cleared, becoming translucent to the eye and somewhat solid to the touch, forming a bubble around them, Koldo jumped into the necessary work. The venom and smoke wouldn’t kill him, but it would weaken him. Still, he wrapped his arms around the tree trunk and, using all of his strength, ripped the roots from the ground. He tossed the entire thing into an air pocket to be burned later. He also scooped up every grain of dirt bearing the sharp, telltale aroma of the smoke. He picked up every fallen leaf, even the dead birds.
“There were five others,” Axel said, returning to his side.
They spent the next few hours on cleanup, Koldo leaving pieces of the cloud around each of the sites, preventing any humans from seeing what had been done. Tonight, when the people were tucked safely in their beds, Axel could remove the barrier. The humans would arrive tomorrow morning and assume what they would about this “travesty.”
“What do you know about the Nefas?” he asked Axel as they picked up the last of the infected leaves.
“They like to attack humans, Sent Ones, or anyone, for that matter, and they think rules, compassion and generosity are stupid. Oh, yeah, and they’re as bad as demons.”
Koldo nodded. “They’re planners. They do little things at first, to see how their opponent will react, as well as to elicit as much fear as possible, since fear confuses, weakens and makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do.”
“Your mother took your wings, but I’ll take your heart and feed it to the dogs,” his father said. The silver glint of a blade he held waved in the light. “Do you want me to take your heart, boy?”