Chapter Forty-Five
This was new. He couldn’t say he was surprised, but he was definitely disappointed, and he was more than a little afraid. Things felt different for Nero now. There was a very low-grade pain in his body, so mild but continuous that he couldn’t consciously locate its point of origin. It just felt as if something were wrong. Fundamentally so.
The Entity was still inside him, but he no longer seemed content to sit in the back seat and allow Nero to do the driving. There was no longer a lend of power, a sensation of completion. Instead, the Entity was sitting up and taking over. There was an urgency to his presence, an impatience that grated. And every time he had a thought, that thought scratched along the insides of Nero’s mind like fingernails on a chalkboard.
This was more along the lines of what he’d originally expected when he’d agreed to work with the Entity. He’d expected discomfort. Actually, he’d expected pain. The Entity was pure evil, pure hatred, and Nero was an incubus. He was far more sensitive to that ugliness than the average Joe. Frankly, he was a little surprised he hadn’t begun to experience very real mental and physical distress. Like a complete and utter fucking breakdown.
Is that what you want? the Entity asked. You’d be of little use to me in a catatonic state. And if you recall, we do have a deal. Help me to uphold my end, and you will have your reward. A kingdom to rule and a queen to rule it beside you.
Nero let the one-sided conversation go. He already knew the stakes. He was well versed in the deal. But as he watched the proceedings at the high school and wondered what the Entity’s plan could possibly be now, he grew more and more uneasy.
He’d been troubled enough when he’d seen the young queen get shot. But the Entity assured him her injury was not fatal, and he’d been proven right when the healer in the party had annulled the injury, bringing her back from death’s door.
It was enough to set him wildly on edge, though. Things were getting serious on all fronts.
There was something unfolding in the pit of him, and it wasn’t pretty. That was saying something coming from a Nightmare, especially one as notorious as the Challenger.
So he remained in that hall, completely unseen by everyone around him, and watched in silent trepidation. Until, something in the periphery of his vision caught his eye. A small form moved near the recycling bins down the hall. In his invisible, undetectable state, Nero turned and slowly strode in that direction. No one saw him move, no one saw him leave. No one knew he was there. The Entity gave him incredible powers. He had to admit that much.
He reached the recycling bins and stared down at the young girl. She was probably pre-teen, with striking red hair and a smattering of freckles. She was focused on the happenings as if she had a personal, vested interest.
Interesting, said the Entity.
Then Nero felt a rush of inquisitive power move through him, and suddenly he knew everything there was to know about the girl. Her name was Melody Margaret Tanniym, known to her friends as Mimi. She was a dragon. She was being trained by none other than the next Dragon King himself, Calidum. And best of all – she was Evangeline’s friend.
Nero knew all about Evangeline. He couldn’t help but know about her because the Entity knew about her. She was working for him. In a way. Evangeline was a difficult individual to pin down, even for the Entity, however. He knew that her lineage was special, but he only knew half of it. He had no idea who her father was, but whoever he’d been, he’d given the young woman intensely strong powers. Such as the ability to heal.
Thank the gods, thought Nero, with a glance at the group down the hall. Nicholas had pulled Adelaide into his lap and was in the process of reining in his Nightmare. He watched as his would-be twin sucked in his magic, so to speak, and reappeared as a human. More or less. Few humans looked like him.
Nero smiled at that thought. Because that meant few humans looked like Nero too.
He waited until the crowd down the hall dispersed and Nicholas and his companions went about their way, most likely off to take care of the teens, teachers, administrators, and possible authorities who were on the scene. It was a lot of memories to wipe and a lot of evidence to destroy. They had the man power for it, though. There was that.
When they were gone, he returned his attention to the girl. The Entity’s power was still boosting his own, and he could hear the girl’s thoughts. She was wondering what to do. Should she make her location known? Or sneak away and hope no one ever found out?
He grinned. He couldn’t help it. “What do we have here?”
Mimi turned around and stood up. The fear and surprise she felt at once registered on her pretty young face. She was noticing that he looked exactly like the king. She took note of his eyes, however, which was to be expected. She was an observant little tike.
She took a cautionary step back from him. “Who are you?” she asked. He could sense her preparing to shift into her dragon form. Clearly, he had her defenses up.
“My name is Nero,” he said as politely as he could, but he could also tell his smile wasn’t working on her. She was smart. “And you must be Mimi,” he added.
She narrowed her gaze at him and took another step back, but ran into the wall behind her. She glanced back at it, before her head whipped back around to face him. She studied him carefully – so carefully – and suddenly her eyes widened. She’d figured it out. She knew who he was.
She really was smart. Nero was beginning to like the kid. Smart people were so fucking rare.
“You’re the Entity,” she accused.
Sort of, he thought. You’re half right.
Mostly right, said the Entity. Alarm bells began to sound in the back of Nero’s occupied mind.
“I have a message for you,” she told him, lifting her head defiantly. “Eva quits. She doesn’t want to work for you any longer. Turns out you’re not the employer she thought you were.”
Nero went very still. He felt a dark stirring inside him. It was filled with fury, quiet and pent up. “You’re very protective of your friends, aren’t you, Mimi?” He hadn’t even realized he was speaking and certainly hadn’t chosen his own words.
Now Nero was becoming well and truly unsettled. The Entity was taking over, and he wasn’t thinking happy thoughts.
Mimi’s face went pale. He could sense her fear spike, and the incubus in him didn’t like it. He wanted to reassure her. He tried to do so – but the Entity stopped him.
“It would seem everything I’ve heard about you is true, little dragon.” It was no longer him talking.
Mimi swallowed. Nero smiled. Or rather his body did. His soul, on the other hand, began to furiously search for a way out.