He frowned at Rosa, who'd frozen to stare at the door too.

"What kind of dog does Kyrian have?"

She shook her head. "No dog."

"Then what-" His words ended as the back door flew open and two members of his team rushed in to tackle him.

CHAPTER 7.

In a move he hadn't used since he was a running back, Nick went to the left, turned sharp, and sidestepped them, leaving them to slam into the wal . He grabbed Rosa and pushed her toward safety as he looked around for a weapon.

Rosa grabbed the cleaver in her right hand before he could.

His jaw went slack as she took the carving knife into her left and held the two of them like a pro as she faced their intruders.

Nick was aghast. "Rosa?"

"Stand back, Nick. I wasn't always a housekeeper and any hijo de puta dumb enough to come in here to attack us deserves to die on the floor, butchered like a pig." The zombies charged.

Rosa caught the first one with a slash to his arm. He didn't so much as grunt. Instead, he shoved her back and went for Nick, who grabbed one of the pans from the stove.

So much for dinner.

He slung the piping hot food into the footbal player's face.

This time, the jock zombie screamed and stumbled back.

Nick whacked him with the pan, then turned to help Rosa battle the other one. He barely reached them before the one he'd bashed grabbed him from behind. Zombie number one locked a hold on him that was like steel.

Nick let out a snarl as his injured shoulder was jostled. "No you din't!" Head-b.u.t.ting the zombie, he broke free.

Two seconds later, something so bright it blinded him ripped through the kitchen.

Nick shielded his eyes as he heard the zombies screaming in agony. When he lowered his hand and could final y see again, he staggered back in shock.

The zombies were gone and in their place was what had to be the tal est man he'd ever seen.

His mouth fel open in stone-cold shock.

"Are you al right, Rosa?" the man asked in flawless Spanish.

"S, Acheron. Gracias."

The door behind Acheron slammed shut without anyone or anything touching it. Acheron moved toward him with the deadly gait of a ferocious predator. With long black hair streaked with green, he wore a pair of opaque sungla.s.ses that kept Nick from seeing his eyes. Dressed al in black with a glow-in-the-dark vampire skul on his T-shirt, he had a black backpack slung over one shoulder. A backpack that had an anarchy symbol painted on it.

"Nice meeting you, Nick."

He tensed at Acheron's strange lilting accent. He'd never heard anything like it in his life. "How do you know my name?"

"I know lots of things."

Yeah ... and that thought seriously creeped him out. Was the dude a stalker?

Nick looked around the room. There was no trace left of their attackers. "What happened to the jocks?"

"My demon ate them." Acheron said that with such a deadpan tone that Nick could almost believe him.

"Riiiight." Nick nodded his head in an act of brazen sarcasm. "And I suppose the Big Bad Wolf wil be coming in right behind you to finish up? Or is it the Gingerbread Man I need to fear?"

Acheron gave him a lopsided grin. "Kyrian was right, you are a smart-" He glanced to Rosa before he amended what he'd started to say. "Aleck." He pul ed his cel phone out, which looked freakishly tiny in his huge hand, and cal ed someone.

Nick frowned at Rosa, who'd gone over to the sink to wash the blood from her cleaver and knife like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Why was he suddenly hearing the Addams Family song playing in his head?

What kind of bizarre crack-house lunacy was this?

"Am I the only one weirded out by what just went down? You two are acting too ... too ... normal about it al . I mean this ...

is definitely not your typical day." Acheron snorted. "Depends on the neighborhood. ... " He paused to talk into the phone. "Hey, Kyrian, you might want to finish that shower and get down here. Your home was just invaded by zombies while Rosa and your boy fought them off.

Just FYI."

Wel , that explained why Kyrian hadn't heard the commotion and come down to investigate it.

Hanging up the phone, Acheron walked over to Rosa and whispered in Spanish. Nick wasn't sure how he understood, since he personal y didn't speak Spanish, but he did. "Forget everything that happened. The food spil ed on the floor by accident and nothing out of the ordinary took place. No attack.

Just another day. ... "

He looked at Nick, who took a step back in severe trepidation of what this stranger was going to do to him. When Acheron lifted his hand, Nick bolted for the front of the house.

Get out of here. Now! That was a crazy demonic-sounding voice in his head, but he didn't question it. He just ran like mad.

Rounding the staircase, he skidded to a halt as Acheron appeared directly in front of him out of thin air. Only this time, Nick didn't see Acheron in the body of a young man.

He saw ...

Someone with fangs, mottled blue skin, black lips, and horns. The image was there in a flash and then gone. Like a freaked-out hal ucination.

What had been in that gumbo?

It's supernatural.

I don't believe in that. Yet how could he deny what he was seeing? This wasn't normal. This wasn't chemical-induced, bioweaponed zombies. ... There was no logical way for Acheron to have gotten in front of him and just appeared like that. Just like the door slamming shut when he entered the kitchen, or the flash of light.

It was impossible.

Utterly impossible.

No longer sure what he could believe, Nick swal owed.

"What are you?"

Acheron scowled. "Completely perplexed. You remember everything that happened." It was a statement of fact and not a question ... as if Acheron was inside his head.

"Yeah. Duh. Not like you're going to forget the kil er zombie stalkers and psyched-out kitchen staff. What kind of freak show is this?"

Acheron gave an evil laugh. "You have no idea, Nick. But my question is: Why are the zombies after you?"

"Oh heck no, bud. The question is: Why you got horns on your head and black lips?"

Acheron's smile faded. "What?"

"I saw you a minute ago when you freak-flashed in here. You had horns and blue skin. What are you?" Acheron returned that question with one of his own. "What funky vegetables you been eating? Meth is death and inhalants can kil you, kid. You should stay away from them before they destroy your last three brain cel s." Yeah, right. "I'm stone cold and you ... you're not human. I know you're not human."

That irritating grin returned to Acheron's face. "Very few people are."

"Ha, ha. I saw you, man. What you did to the zombies when you arrived and with Rosa. ... I know you're not human. Are you going to kil me because I know?"

Acheron paused as he considered his options. Nick Gautier was a lot more than he seemed. At fourteen, Nick's mind should have easily been wiped by his powers, like Rosa's had been. Not that Acheron liked to use those powers on anyone. As a rule, he seldom did, but there were times when circ.u.mstances demanded it.

Kil er zombies exploding in a kitchen happened to be one of them.

And it wasn't until someone was older that they developed the ability to block that particular talent of his. And even then only the stoutest of wil s could stand against his powers.

Come to think of it, no mortal human being had ever stood against his powers. Only G.o.ds and a handful of demons could fight or circ.u.mvent him against his wil .

More than that, somehow, some way, Nick had glimpsed his true G.o.d form.

How?

Kill him and be done with it.

That was probably the most logical thing to do. But Kyrian, for whatever misguided reasons, had his heart set on saving the kid. Closing his eyes, Acheron used his powers to see into the future-to what would happen if he kil ed Nick.

Nothing was there.

Just a vacuous s.p.a.ce of nothingness.

c.r.a.p . . .

Two weeks ago, when Nick had been injured, he'd seen the kid's entire life from start to finish as clear as a summer sky.

Now he couldn't even glimpse what Nick had bulging in his front pocket.

This is so not good.

Because that meant only one thing-this kid was going to significantly impact his life somehow and the Fates had blinded Acheron to him to prevent him from interfering with Nick's choices.

I hate it when this happens. It was why he tried to never let anyone near him. Why he had no real friends other than his demon companion.

This little b.u.g.g.e.r in front of him was destined to alter his future. No wonder he couldn't use his powers against him.

Sighing, Acheron opened his eyes. There was no need to fight destiny. He'd learned centuries ago just how useless it was to try. Might as well embrace the inevitable and introduce myself. Because any time someone had tried to alter his future, it'd only made things worse. Much worse.

"I'm Acheron Parthenopaeus."

Nick snorted. "Dang, and I thought my name sucked. Your parents must have real y hated your guts." If he only knew. ...

"Cal me Ash. It's easier and takes a lot less time." Nick held his good hand out to him. "Nick Gautier. Now what are you again?"

"He's the best friend you'l ever make or your last enemy." Nick looked up to see Kyrian coming down the stairs. "Oh, I get it," he said sarcastical y. " 'Cause he'l kil me if I tick him off. Ha, ha, ha."

Kyrian rol ed his eyes.

Acheron let out a long-suffering breath. "I'm not saying a word, General. I told you the kid was going to be more trouble than he's worth. So far, I'm right."

Nick took a step closer to Acheron and said in a low tone, "Does Kyrian know about ... you know? Your particular weirdness?"

"He does indeed. Rosa, not so much. So let's keep that on the down low around her."

"Gotcha."

Kyrian paused beside Acheron. "I take it Nick saw something unusual?"

"Not too unusual," Nick said. "If you live in a friggin' video game."

Acheron shook his head. "He handled it wel for the most part."

Nick scoffed. "Ash is omitting the part where I freaked out and ran like a girl. Did you know your housekeeper can handle a knife like a street fighter and has no qualms about hacking people up with it?"

"Wel that was a random switch in topic," Acheron said to Kyrian.

Kyrian laughed. "Yes, Nick. I know al about her knife-welding talents. It's why I hired her. And if I were you, I'd keep that in mind should you ever feel the need to lip off to her. She doesn't take it wel ."

"Don't worry. That desire ... effectively quel ed." Nick put his hand in his pocket as he digested everything that had happened over the last few minutes. "So you have a psychotic housekeeper with some serious ninja knife skil s and Acheron would be what to you?"

There was a sudden awkwardness between them, so thick it permeated the air around them. "Ahhh," Nick said as he understood why they weren't explaining it. As the old saying went, opposites attract. "You two are special friends." Kyrian frowned. "How do you mean?"

Acheron pa.s.sed a peeved look to Kyrian. "He thinks we're a couple."

Kyrian took a step away from Acheron. "No. No. No.