He flashed himself into his extremely tall human body. Although Nick couldn’t blame him for wanting to spend most of his time in the lazy house cat incarnation. He wouldn’t mind spending his days snoozing, either.
Not to mention, the old powers had done a number on Xev when they’d cursed him to this state. Instead of being the boy-band member he’d been born, his perfect good looks were now off-putting, and there was nothing they could do to change them. Heaven knew they’d tried enough L’Oréal products to convert the entire North American and European Goth communities to normal hair colors.
Instead of his natural black, Xev’s hair was an unnatural shade of red on one side and a vibrant, fake yellow on the other. If that wasn’t bad enough, his eyebrows were a light, electric blue that clashed with his rusty-greenish-blue hazel eyes.
At least he could fake being emo in this time period, but still …
It had to suck to have your own family be so cruel as to condemn you to such a fate.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Xev scowled at Nick. “What’s trying to eat you now?”
Nick rolled his eyes and ignored the question. “Did you know Zavid was still alive?”
He made a peculiar noise. “Alive is an interesting term when one attempts to apply it to a soul-eating hellhound who was possessed by the source of all evil. But to be honest, I hadn’t thought about it, one way or another.”
“Would you mind applying your skills to it and telling me what you think?”
Xev nodded slowly. “Yes. Given that he most likely couldn’t be killed per se, he probably does exist in a noncorporeal state in Azmodea.”
“Can I have the English translation of that?”
Xev rubbed at the corner of his eye with his middle finger in a deliberate manner before he answered. “Remember when you were divided? Your soul not in your body?”
Like that wasn’t seared into his brain? Especially given the number of things that had tried to eat him and it was how the two of them had bonded. “Not something one forgets easily.”
“Well, there you go.”
“Um, you lost me, Sparky.” Nick scowled at something that confused him. If the soul was divided from the body … “Then he’s dead.”
“Define dead.”
He glared at Xev as he continued to play vague in a way that would make the ancient Atlantean god Acheron proud. “Would you stop with the head games and please answer the question?”
“I’m trying. It’s not that simple.”
“You and Caleb … what is it with the two of you? Did you take asshole pills this morning? Gah, you are brothers. I don’t know why you can’t get along. You’re just alike.”
Xev snorted. “You think we’re bad? You should meet our father sometime. Your great-great-grandfather is a total piece of work. But to answer your question, Nick. Zavid would need to be reborn here. Yes, you could do that. The Malachai theoretically has power. But that kind of thing will cost you. It’s not free, and the universal powers frown upon it. It’s like altering time. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. The hardest part of life is knowing when to walk away and let fate run its course. Even though it’s a kick in the stones to let it do it.”
“And if that was you trapped there? Would you still be advocating a retreat?”
“It was me trapped there, for countless centuries. And yes, it sucked.” He reached over his shoulder to rub at his back. “You want to know why I choose to stay in my cat form most of the time?”
“You hate people.”
He shook his head. “When I’m a cat, I’m not reminded of the fact that my own father ripped my wings off my back in a fit of anger over something I didn’t do. You’ve no idea how many times I instinctively try to move them, only to remember they’re gone. And why.”
Yeah, that had to burn. Soul deep. Having wings himself, he knew they were the same as an appendage. It would be the same as someone ripping off an arm or leg. “I’m sorry.”
Xev shrugged. “The point is we all have our own version of misery we deal with. And I do feel badly about Zavid. But you go down there, and there’s no easy way back. It’s a trap for you. Trust me. Noir will own you for eternity.”
“My father escaped.”
“By betraying a friend. You ready to do that?”
Nick snorted. “Depends on the friend.”
Xev gave him a flat, droll stare.
“Lighten up. It was a joke.… Sort of.” Letting out a tired sigh, Nick checked his watch. “Anyway, I’ve got to get to work. Keep an eye on my mom?”
“Always.”
“All right. See you later.” He left Xev, knowing the ancient being would die before he allowed anything bad to happen to Cherise Gautier.
That was the only good thing that had come of the deception that had been played with their lives. Xev wasn’t just an immortal houseguest Nick had taken in, the ancient cursed god was also his great-grandfather.