Oh no. He was Nick Gautier. A kid born standing up and talking back. No one ever got the better of him and he'd be d.a.m.ned if they were going to start now.

If what Ambrose had told him was true, he had powers inside him. Powers he should be able to use. Al he had to do was figure out how to tap into them.

Pul ing out the book, he used the blood incantation again.

"How do I get out of here?"

Ian crept forward to see what he was doing, but he didn't say anything while he watched. The blood swirled around the page until it answered Nick's question.

Here you are and here you'll stay, Until you learn a better way.

"Uh, hemoglobin, a little clarity would be nice. Could you be a little more specific for me?"

Born of time. Born of s.p.a.ce.

First you must find your place.

"Can I get a yes or no from you? Are you going to tel me how to get out of here or not?"

Yes or no is not for me to speak.

Rather the answer is for you to seek .

Nick curled his lip in disgust at the cryptic answers. "Oh, you suck."

Suck and blow so you say.

But I'm not the one trapped with no getaway.

Anger ripped through him. "Leave it to me to find the only book known to sa.s.s its owner." Growling in aggravation, he slammed it shut and choked it.

Ian frowned at him. "What are you doing?"

"At the moment, wishing I could burn a book." It heated up in his hand to the point it was actual y painful to hold. "Stop that!" he snapped at it.

It cooled down.

Nick raked his hand through his hair. How did he use those powers?

Closing his eyes, he concentrated like he did to make his dagger bigger and larger.

Nothing.

Except his headache got worse. A lot worse. This is useless.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Ian asked.

Nick shook his head. "No, Ian, we're not. I'l keep you safe. I promise."

"What if you can't?"

"Dude, have a little faith. Okay?"

Sniffing back his tears, he nodded.

Nick had always wondered what it'd be like to have a brother or sister. He could see where they might get on his nerves, but the way Ian looked up at him like he was a hero ...

A guy could get used to that. And it made him want to be worthy of that look.

The door in the side of the wal opened. Nick put himself between Ian and the tal , sinister figure who came through the newly created doorway.

It c.o.c.ked its head as it stared at him and Ian. "Are you not pleased by your offering?"

Nick was perplexed by the question. "What?" The black blob gestured to Ian. "Does he not meet with your satisfaction, my lord?"

"Satisfaction for what?"

Another figure stepped around him. This one was a smal , tiny woman with dark tawny skin. She looked like a beautiful angel. "Your human sacrifice. We thought by now you'd have devoured him."

Ian's eyes widened as he stepped away from Nick.

"I'm not going to hurt a kid."

They looked as baffled as he felt. Were they crazy?

An evil laugh rippled in the air around him. "Stand down, my children. He's not our Malachai yet. Our embryo is stil thinking he's human. But he'l learn. Now bring him to me." Ian started crying.

Nick refused to go without him. "I'm not leaving him alone.

He's scared."

The female scowled. "What do you care?"

"I care a lot." Nick held his hand out for Ian, who took it and held it tight.

"Let him bring the smal creature," the blob said. "There's no harm in it."

"Very wel ." The woman stepped back. "If you'l fol ow me." Nick obeyed and the blob fel in behind them as the woman led the way down a dank hal way that reminded him of an old factory. "Where are we?"

"That's not important." She opened a door and stood back to let him and Ian enter first. Nick hesitated. Glancing around, he made sure there was no immediate threat before he moved forward.

Inside was a large room that definitely belonged to a warehouse. The rusted green wal s had seen better years.

There was dust, cobwebs, and broken gla.s.s everywhere.

But that wasn't what was important.

It was Madaug, his mom, Eric, Tabitha, and Stone, who were al being held in a cage.

"Mama!" Ian ran to his mother to hug her through the bars.

Nick knew better than to be so relieved, as he saw the three demons who seemed to be in charge. He recognized the woman from the al ey and the two men who had been with her.

Now in human form, they were dressed al in leather. The men in black and the woman in bright bloodred.

Her blond hair was slicked back from her face as she approached him slowly like a predator. "You are ever a surprise."

He didn't know what that meant, but he was pretty sure it wasn't a good thing. "What's going on here?" She gestured to the wal on his right, where a huge monitor was set up and a game was on pause. "Do you know the power of that game?"

"I know the power of al games. They're mesmerizing." His mom cal ed them time-sucks because once you started playing, human concept of time slowed down. What seemed like five minutes of play equaled an hour in real time. Even Menyara had cal ed them a tool of evil.

In this case, she might be right.

Nick saw the dazed look on Tabitha, Madaug, and Eric's faces. "What have you done to them?"

"They're the ones who played." She held a control er out for him. "Don't you want to join them in a match and beat their high score?"

The blob put his hand on Nick's shoulder and pushed him toward the woman. Suddenly, he felt trapped. Stifled.

It was a sensation he'd always hated. And one that ignited his temper.

She took the game off pause. "Look at it, Nicholas." Nick tried to turn away, but the blob grabbed him and forced him to face it. He slammed his eyes shut. The blob grabbed him from behind and forced his lids open until he had no choice but to watch.

His breathing ragged, Nick struggled as hard as he could, but it was futile.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he was watching the central character-a blond man dressed in a long flowing coat-executing the army of zombies in an old cemetery as the game's mission scrol ed across the screen.

The impulse to play radiated through him until he had no choice except to obey.

In a world where ancient evil has been unleashed, there is only one hope for mankind.

You.

Your mission is to fight the zombies, humans who've been turned into mindless killers, through the cemetery to the ancient catacombs where an elixir was hidden long ago by a fair princess. Collect your items of protection and weapons along the way until you are virtually indestructible.

Your wits and your prowess are the only things that can't be taken away. But be warned. Even those closest to you can be turned and they will turn against you while you fight. The only way to power up is to eat the hearts of your enemies and to lay waste to as many as you can. Your experience points will dramatically increase the power of your blows.

Good luck, warrior.

May the ancient G.o.ds be with you.

The lights of the game flashed, entrancing him. Nick struggled to stay alert to everything around him, but he couldn't focus on anything except the main character. It was like the two of them were one. Like he was Necodemus the Necromancer fighting through the ever-growing army of zombies.

Every kil gave him a heart or weapon to col ect. Every kil brought him closer to the catacomb. ...

You are ours, a voice whispered in his ear.

Nick felt himself slipping into a fog. Completely unaware of everything around him, he played the game. It was like he stood on a precipice that al owed him to see straight into infinity. Time slowed and bent, the universe whispered secrets to him.

And with every kil he felt more powerful.

More invincible.

You are the Malachai. Those words whispered through his mind as images a.s.saulted him. Images of him beating down his enemies. Of every bul y, every Stone and Mr. Peters in his life getting exactly what they deserved. Not death-that would be too kind for their special breed of brutality-something worse. Much, much worse.

They became him. They were the ones who were mocked and belittled and laughed at, and made to feel like they were less than nothing.

Each and every one of them. Every insult. Every snide comment and look. It was al returned to them tenfold.

They begged for mercy while he gave to them the same amount they'd given him in his life.

None whatsoever.

Take that, you sc.u.m-sucking snipes. Eat your words and your cruelty. May you drown in it and die.

"He's ours now," the mortent leader announced. "Not made by evil, but birthed by human cruelty." She handed Nick a sword. "Now take your vengeance on the ones who've mocked you. Kil them and eat their brains." Nick turned to Stone, whose eyes were large and fil ed with terror. Every nasty comment and insult he'd ever given Nick played through his head now. Right down to Stone getting him thrown off the team. To Stone trying to get him thrown out of school. ...

Screaming in outrage, Nick ran at the pig so that he could gut him once and for al .

CHAPTER 18.

Stone fel back in his cage, screaming like a four-year-old girl who'd lost her favorite toy as he held his arms up to protect himself and beg for his life.

Nick tasted vengeance and honestly ...

It was sweet and satisfying.

But it wasn't fil ing, no matter how much he wanted it to be.

In fact, it was hol ow and cold. Even though he tried to tel himself Stone deserved nothing but the humiliation he'd heaped onto others' heads, that he deserved to die for what he'd done to other people, Nick couldn't buy it.

He final y understood what Ambrose had tried to tel him about Mike, Tyree, and Alan.

I don't want to be like Stone and the others.

To have no friends. No decency. To not be able to enjoy anything because he was too busy being jealous and petty over other people.

Stone was pathetic. He was weak.

Most of al , he wasn't worth Nick d.a.m.ning himself for. In the end, nothing could be crueler than leaving Stone to live his putrid life of false friends and petty jealousies. Friends who didn't real y like him. Who only wanted to use him for what they could get.