And it pissed Kyrian and Acheron off to no end.

His sword … Not a good idea to pull that out in front of skittish police.

Nothing he had could help with this problem. Not even his wings. He wasn’t Dr. Dolittle. He had no control over murderous birds that he knew of. But at least the crows didn’t appear to be able to enter the building.

They stopped at the threshold as if the protection spells Menyara and Caleb had put in place were binding for them, too.

Even so, Xev pulled them back, further into the building. “Death,” he breathed. “Those are his carrion birds of choice. You think he sent them here?”

Nick went cold at the mention of Grim. “Does this mean he had anything to do with my mother’s disappearance?”

Xev considered that. “Or he’s looking for you, perhaps.”

Kody met Nick’s gaze. “Grim does know where you live and who your mother is. What she means to you. Maybe he decided to go rogue, and on the attack?”

Grim also knew that his father was dead. That Nick had come into his full Malachai powers. Though he should be subservient to the Malachai, that really wasn’t their relationship.

Death had a massive superiority complex where Nick was concerned.

Even so, it didn’t quite add up. Up until now, Grim had been casually insulting and somewhat helpful.

Nick glanced back at the murder of crows that was eyeballing them through the barrier. “But why snatch her and then send those”—he jerked his chin at the crows—“after me? It’s not like he doesn’t have my phone number. Literally. Had he called, I’m dumb enough to have met him somewhere without the theatrics.”

Xev’s scowl deepened as the crows moved to sit on the sills of the building as if waiting for something specific to happen. It was so creepy, it made the hair on the back of Nick’s neck stand on end.

The ancient god stepped back and paled even more.

Her own features paling, Kody bit her lip at the way Xev reacted to them. “What is it?”

He moved closer to the window, then fell back again. “They’re Memitim.”

“Mem-a-who?” Nick asked.

“Memitim. They were the soldiers used against Arelim.” He turned to face Nick. “Back in the day, they were under the command of Malphas. They were his army.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Long before Caleb met his wife and decided to live the life of a peaceful farmer, he fought with my mother and his against our father. He was one of the Mavromino’s greatest and strongest generals. The Memitim were his soldiers that he used against the Kalosum. After centuries of warring against us and laying waste to mankind, he switched sides because of his wife and swore off his sword forever. When the Memitim went after him and refused to let him live in peace, he single-handedly put them down, and they swore vengeance upon him. These are their spirits and they’re here to make good on their vow.” His gaze burned into Nick. “Someone resurrected them for their revenge.”