Change? This man had lost his fucking mind. More proof he was unstable. Whatever Dr. Echols and New World had done to turn him into Anubis had to be melting his brain matter.
But there was no sign of madness in the man’s calculating stare, and that opened the possibility Dekker really did understand something about the ichor they hadn’t.
Dekker stood. The movement stirred the air, chilling the sweat beading on Reese’s face.
“Now for the second part of your lesson, Dr. Dante.” Dekker walked over to the cell with Luca. He didn’t seem to notice the man was there until he slid back the glass bar, unlocking the door.
“Get away from him!” Nox slammed into the barrier between the two cells. Threads of black rushed over his limbs, his arms distorted, his knees cracked. Dekker paused a moment with a look of awe on his face. Then he shook himself out of whatever thoughts held him and walked into Luca’s cell.
Luca backed into the corner. “No!”
Dekker seized Luca by his arm, and he twisted in the man’s grip. Dekker moved to adjust his hold, and Luca landed a heel to the man’s knee. He stumbled but barely. Before Luca could make space between them, Dekker had him by the head of hair and dragged him out of the cell.
“Don’t, please.” Reese had no idea if the man could hear him over Nox’s angry roar.
Dekker spoke, but it was lost under the horrific snarls filling Nox’s cells. The man was almost submerged in a web of black as the Anubis fought to break free of the smoked glass.
Reese never thought he’d regret the day it couldn’t be breached. Even if Nox got out and killed him along with Dekker, Reese would have gladly accepted that fate to keep the man away from Luca.
“Where were we?” Dekker shoved Luca to his knees beside Reese.
Luca’s terrified gaze held Reese’s. He tried to tell Luca he was sorry, but the words wouldn’t form.
“Ah yes, death and dead.” He stood, leaving Luca on the ground. Instead of running, he picked up Reese’s hand and held it.
Nox quieted. Whatever war he battled with the Anubis appeared over for now. But his entire body rippled as if about to be torn apart again. “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Just leave him alone.”
“You know what I want, Mr. Kelli?”
Nox’s expression crumbled. “I don’t know how.”
Dekker laughed. “Yeah, too bad your Alpha didn’t tell you how. But don’t worry, we’ll address that issue in a moment.” He turned his attention to Reese. “This part is going to be difficult to follow, so I’ll go slow.” Dekker tipped his head in Nox’s direction. “Dead is the final state. There’s nothing else. There’s no wiggle room, no direction you can go. It is final. Unlike death where there are degrees, types, and the ability to swing one way or another. A person can experience death more than once, and it can be different every fucking time.” He waved at one of the men guarding the door. He walked over. “Give me your gun.”
The guy did.
Dekker checked the clip, flipped the safety.
Luca closed his other hand over Reese’s.
In a blur, Dekker raised the weapon to the guard’s forehead. The crack of gunfire left Reese’s ears ringing. A splash of blood, brain matter, and bone fanned over the floor, splashing the far wall.
Reese felt the thump of the guard hitting the floor rather than heard it. Dekker flipped the safety on the gun and stuck it in the waistband of his pants at his lower back.
Blood spread in a lake around the dead guard’s head.
Luca squeezed Reese’s hand, and he squeezed back. The young man smiled, tears in his peaceful eyes.
“See.” He grinned at Reese. “You are experiencing death, he’s dead. Now which one do you think has a chance of a different outcome? A chance tochange?” He glanced back at Nox. “You started from the finish line when you shot him full of the ichor. That’s it for Mr. Kelli. He’ll never be anything else. It’s why he can’t touch that power.” Dekker kneeled next to Reese’s head. Too close to Luca, but he didn’t seem to see the man. He watched Reese, his expression still calm.
“When you put that ichor into the living, those who have experienced death, you get something far more exciting, Dr. Dante.” Dekker practically panted. “And when I have the ichor Mr. Kelli is carrying around, I’ll make sure you have a front-row seat to witness exactly what I’m talking about.”
Dekker snatched Luca off the floor.
*****
Nox thought he’d known helplessness. He thought he’d felt fear.
Until Dekker jerked Luka away from Reese and put him on his knees at his feet.