Page 31 (1/2)

Trust it Ambrose’s voice had never been louder With a deep breath, Nick searched the drawers again

And again there was nothing Until he realized that the drawers looked a lot deeper on the outside than they did on the inside

There was a false botto to find the panel and open it Sure enough, there was the same box he’d seen in theback the way it’d been and tucked the box inside his backpack With ninjalike skills, he crept out and away fro detected As soon as he was clear, he called Caleb and Kody to update them on the status of Operation Payback

Nick had barely reached his class when he heard his na called over the intercom

"Ms Turtledove? Would you please have Nick Gautier report to the gyent matter"

Panic seized hi out of place?

I’m an idiot And he was about to be a dead one

Sweat broke out on his forehead as he returned to the coach’s office He pushed open the door to see Devus sitting with his hand in the drawer he’d just rifled through

"You have it, Gautier?"

"Have what?"

He growled at him "Don’t play coy withabout Hand it over Now"

Nuh-huh He wasn’t about to return the box to hi if he could reht him

"Where is the next set of ite about Nick let out a relieved breath as his fear subsided "I didn’t get anything else yet"

"What?"

Nick shrugged "Sorry Between class, homework, football practice, and work, I haven’t had five minutes to myself"

Devus shot to his feet "How dare you! You’ll pay for this By the end of the day--"

"Yeah … I don’t think so" He used his thoughts to summon Kody and Caleb "In fact, I want the items I stole back so that I can return the not to be obvious, Nick attempted to make a circle on the floor with drops of the potion Xenon had given hirabbed hi?"

"ADD I have such a hard ti still Can’t help myself"

"Maybe prison will be able to help you out with that"

"You think?" Nick asked sarcastically "Tell you what How about I send you where you belong, and you die quietly and leave us alone"

The coach grabbed hi to be a pleasure to ruin you, trailer park"

"It’s going to be a pleasure to banish you, Bates Motel" Nick kneed hi him, the coach doubled over to cup himself

Kody popped in a heartbeat before Caleb joined the party As soon as the coach saw Caleb, he cursed "You? You’re supposed to be dead"

Caleb appeared as confused as Nick felt "What?"

The coach clapped his hands together and suain

Kody vanished

"Hey" Caleb snapped "Not a good tiether to battle the ugly winged beasts Nick glanced over to the ca do you think it’ll take before the office sends security?"

"Eternity," Devus answered "I oes on in here Now I’ to offer you both as a sacrifice to my master"

Caleb manifested his sword out of thin air Nick pulled the one Aer than a pocketknife, it looked harer It iasped

"You’re the Malachai, not Caleb" He gestured to his de me the Malachai’s sword!"

They descended on them in one fierce wave

Nick sliced the first one to reach him in half He ducked the blow fro to his feet, he was able to stab the next one who approached him Nick trusted his sword, and it whispered to hiht like he’d been born to it

But they were still being overrun just by the sheer nu weak, and Caleb wasn’t much better

Nick slipped on a bloodstain that forced him down to one knee In this position, he was at a etting heavier and heavier He wouldn’t last ive way, Cody appeared with Xenon at her side She tossed the Necromancer the backpack with the heart box in it before she ran to them

"Nice to leave us here," Caleb snapped

"We needed a calvary"

Caleb glanced over at Xenon "When’s he going to help?"

Xenon yanked the box out of the backpack "Right now" He started chanting

Nick continued to fight as one deht to his solar plexus Ah, man, that hurt If he didn’t know better, he’d swear it just kicked his ribs out of his back

More deht"

Nick scowled in Xenon’s direction "Dude Not a phrase I want to hear right now Really"

"Want to or not," Xenon muttered in a cal"

"What do you ?" Caleb asked

Xenon jerked Nick away froed "Are you sure you gavepersonal from the coach?"

"Yeah It was a picture of hi closer to hi that hed at theoing to die"

Kody cried out as she went down and armed Caleb yelped as a deht They were about to lose

Refusing to believe it, Nick cast his gaze around the office, looking for so that was personal to the troll Everyone cared about so

Damn the stupid coach Was it too rocery list?

Why couldn’t--?