Nick ran the rest of the way down the stairs and out the door, looking for Zavid. The moment his feet hit the street outside the protected barrier, the Memitim attacked like screaming, love-sick fangirls all over their latest fixation.

Cursing, he threw his hand up and zapped them away from him. “Demons, please! I ain’t your hell-monkey. Really don’t have time for this!”

The one nearest him had the nerve to hiss like a cat. “The Malachai protects Malphas? Why? We served you well. And here you dare to side with our enemy after he betrayed us all? How could you?”

Nick was aghast at his fury. “First, you didn’t serve me. You fought for some ancestor I don’t even know the name of. Dude, for real? Put that card back in the deck. It ain’t gonna win this round. Second, Caleb fell in love and walked away from that war you’re talking about. Who can blame him for that? You’re the ones who came at him when you should have just left him in peace to live with his wife and be happy. If you didn’t want him to kick your butts, you should have stayed at home. That’s on you. Not him.”

The leader Memitim cawed loudly. “He knew our secrets to betray them to our enemies. We could not suffer him to live with such knowledge when he could destroy us.”

“And you knew his.… Assured mutual destruction. Again, you could have chosen to leave him alone. Yet you didn’t. Fair’s fair. You came at him. He defeated you. Now grow a set and deal. Let him be.”

They rose up again into a dark cyclone to attack Caleb’s barrier. But at least they were no longer after him.

Nick wasn’t sure if he should be happy or not.

Weary and sick, he sighed at their stubborn determination. “Do I have to banish you back to whatever hole you crawled out of? For real? This is what you want to do with your freedom?”

Their answer was to continue their assault. So, yeah. This was what they wanted to do with their newfound lives.

It made no sense to him whatsoever. Why would they continue down this path when they could do something positive or constructive?

Like get a beignet. Grab some coffee.

Get a girl and have some happy private adult fun time.

Why choose death when they could choose life? Weren’t there girl raven-demons for them to pursue? Really?

Stunned at the waste, Nick stood back in the storm to watch them as they flew in wave after wave against Caleb’s protection barrier. He wasn’t sure if he should be appalled or impressed by their raw, single-minded determination.