Nik stared at me for several, pounding heartbeats. I could see his mind working, could tell he was right there with me. “You want to turn the infected into Nejerets,” he said, his stare intense, his pale blue eyes burning with an unearthly fire. He shook his head ever so slowly. “Kitty Kat . . . Mari’s theory was just that—a theory. She never had success with the process.”

I took another step his way. “Because she didn’t have you, Nik. Remember? She said storing the ba sliver in anti-At poisoned it. But if you do the transfer . . .”

Nik crossed his arms. “That’s assuming we can even find her.”

It was a far from easy task; we both knew it. Over the past week, I’d been asking every Nejeret I crossed paths with if they’d been in contact with Mari or her mother, Mei, but none had seen or heard from either of them since Mari rescued her mom from the Ouroboros lab and the two went into hiding. Even Heru, whose sheut gave him the power to teleport to any place on earth by simply thinking of someplace, something, or someone, had failed to locate the pair. I wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Mei could do the exact same thing, only better.

I took one final step toward Nik and reached out, gripping his forearms. The leather of his coat sleeves was smooth and warm to the touch. “We have to try,” I said, pleading with my eyes. “It’s Garth.” My chin trembled, and my throat threatened to close up. “Dom just told me—he’s sick.”

Nik clenched his jaw, his eyes locked with mine, and time seemed to slow. To stretch.

He blinked, breaking the spell, and his focus slipped past me, his gaze growing distant. It was a look I recognized from the days when he’d shared his body with the god, Re, from the times when he would withdraw from the outside world to look within, to converse with one of the creators of this universe. Except that god was gone, now. Dom had warned me that Nik was broken inside, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was seeing evidence of that truth right now.

A chill crept up my spine, and dread pooled in my belly. “Nik,” I said, squeezing his arms through the leather. “Please. Help me, please.” I gave him a shake. “Nik . . . I need you.”

His gaze refocused, slowly, and it was almost like my words had jumpstarted his mind.

“Help me find—”

“I know where she is,” Constance whispered.

My eyelids opened wide, and both Nik and I turned to stare down at her.

Constance knelt with her head drooped, her blonde bob hanging in disarray around her face. Her shoulders rose and fell with each halting breath. “I’ve been in contact with her,” she said, voice hoarse. “She’s here, in the city . . . underground.”

I looked from Constance to Nik and back, seeing the shock and uncertainty I felt mirrored on his face. I narrowed my eyes. “Why are you telling us this?”