Nick glanced around to make sure no one else was in the bathroom with them before he flashed them to Caleb’s house. It was the only safe place he could take Caleb to heal where neither his nor Caleb’s enemies could get to him.

“Zavid!”

The Aamon demon who lived with Caleb, Zavid, appeared at his side immediately, then stepped back as soon as he saw Caleb’s weakened condition, and heard his babbling. Like Caleb, Zavid had dark hair and the kind of build and good looks that left Nick feeling without. “What did you do to him, Malachai?”

“Nothing. He got sick.”

That didn’t help Zavid’s attitude toward Nick. If anything, he only became more suspicious. “We don’t get sick.”

Caleb began coughing up blood, maybe even a kidney from the sounds of it, as he staggered away. He only made it as far as the stairs before he sat down and leaned against the wall.

Nick cringed at how awful his friend looked. Those were deep, bronchial coughs like Nick used to get when he was a kid. He had no idea what to do for him. He seriously doubted an inhaler would help. “I feel like I ought to make you chicken soup or something.”

His breathing labored, Caleb stared at him. “How does anyone stand this?”

“Usually? With a great deal of whining and begging for my mom to come baby me.”

Zavid scowled. “This isn’t a joke? He really is sick?”

“Yeah.”

Zavid glanced from Nick to Caleb and back again. “Not injured? Sick?”

“Sick,” Nick repeated.

Arms akimbo, Zavid stood in a state of utter disbelief as Caleb sat on the stairs with his head in his hands. “How is this possible?”

“No idea. Isn’t there a demon doctor or something I can take him to? What do you guys do when you get ill?”

“We. Don’t. Get. Sick.” Zavid enunciated each word slowly. “Ever. We get injured. We get ticked off. We get dead. We never get sick.”

Nick gestured at Caleb. “Obviously, you’ve been misinformed.”

Zavid rolled his eyes. “Liv!” he barked, which, given the fact he was a Hel hound in his other form, meant something.

Dressed in a white flowing nightgown and with long black hair, Livia appeared instantly by Zavid’s side. Unbelievably beautiful, she was also a demon general who was even more bloodthirsty than the guys. It made Nick glad that she was on their side.

Yawning, she rubbed at her eyes. Obviously, she’d been sound asleep when he shouted for her. “What?” she said irritably.

“Ever heard of a demon getting sick?” Zavid asked.

She pursed her lips. “Of humans? All the time. It’s what we live for.”

Zavid laughed. “No. Catching a cold.”

“Oh…” Yawning again, she rubbed at her head. “Don’t be stupid. Demons are immune from germs.”

“And we’re back where we started. Beginning to feel like I’m riding a hamster wheel.” Nick jumped away as Caleb began a gurgling sound like he’d made right before he’d trashed Richardson’s shoes. “I should probably mention that C doesn’t have his powers, so one of you might want to get him a little closer to a bathroom. Just in case he starts blowing another gasket.”