by Dianna Love
Quinn asked, You believe him?
Of course not, but that is why one of his followers would be foolish to touch me.
That makes sense, Quinn agreed. I’ll let you know what I find out.
One more thing, Quinn.
Yes?
While with Sen, ask him about the Immortuos Grimoire volume placed in the VIPER vault twelve hundred years ago. I’d like to know where it was stolen from.
Will do.
When the communication ended, Daegan teleported to his meeting room where his council stood in a wide circle, leaving the center of the room open. They had all been present when he created a round table with majik just for these meetings. Daegan raised a hand and called forth the table. Cyrillic symbols appeared on the polished wood and bronze surface. Each six-inch-tall letter had been inserted near the edge, continuing all the way around until joining the last stroke with the first.
Eight chairs appeared next. Seven had tall backs with a different name carved into each and soft deerskin seats. He’d crafted his chair a bit larger to accommodate his size. The fierce dragon carved into the back of his seat had been for Ruadh, who would always share his place.
The Cyrillic symbols embedded in the surface assured all discussion around this table remained secret while seated here, but he trusted every council member with his life.
They’d held Daegan’s life in their hands the day they’d gone rogue to break into TÅμr Medb and steal his dragon from the queen’s throne room. Every one of them had taken that risk knowing they would face Macha’s wrath.
That had been before Adrianna broke the curse after they delivered the dragon throne to Treoir realm. Macha showed up as his mighty beast roared to life.
Daegan tossed her out of Treoir. That had been a satisfying moment, but not as much as making Queen Maeve pay one day for what she’d cost him.
Once Tzader had Brina eased into her chair that had been pushed back from the table to allow room for her middle, Daegan’s flame-haired niece asked, “What is going on in the human world?”
Adrianna spoke up. “I shared with Brina what Evalle told me about Noah. We may be able to shut down the exposure of supernatural beings with some creative public relations effort. Maybe get Tristan’s friend to help us out.”
Tristan leaned in, ready to talk, but Daegan lifted a hand, asking for a moment. When his second eased back, Daegan said, “’Tis more complicated than you know. Too much has transpired that cannot be quelled at this point.”
Adrianna LaFontaine, a Sterling witch and in possession of an ancient power known as Witchlock, sat back with a confused expression.
Tristan had a sour look in his face.
Guilt danced through Evalle’s gaze.
Daegan wanted to alleviate their concerns first. “Evalle and Tristan are not to blame for exposing us tonight. I condone every action taken in effort to save our Beladors and do not regret trying to save one as well. Now that no one here carries more blame than me, I would have everyone hear what Tristan and Evalle have to report.”
“I told you most of mine,” Tristan started.
Tzader glanced at him. “Brina and Adrianna were not present.”
“Right.” Tristan caught everyone up with what he’d shared at the entrance, ending with, “Quinn is on his way to find out more on Devon.”
Evalle cleared her throat and shared what had happened in Buckhead with Noah. She grimaced at that. “When I rushed forward to grab Noah, Quinn stopped me.”
Letting out a groan, Storm muttered, “Remind me to thank him.”
She arched a chastising eyebrow at her mate, who shrugged, clearly not repentant. He smiled and she rolled her eyes, continuing. “Anyhow, Quinn tried to use mind lock to get inside the hooded guy’s head, but he ran into something bad that took Quinn to his knees. Then ... ” She paused to glance at Storm as she finished, “I went after the guy with the robe to free Noah.”
Storm cupped a hand over his eyes, but said nothing.
Evalle lifted her shoulders in a what-else-could-she-do motion and explained how she’d broken the chain and freed Noah. “Power in that chain knocked me fifteen feet back. When I came to, Quinn was coming out of his own disorientation.”
She cut her eyes to the side at Storm who lowered his hand and shook his head a little, but said nothing more. Daegan had been around when Storm witnessed his mate go through far worse and come out stronger.
Brina asked, “What about Noah?”
Evalle explained, “It was mad chaos, but long story short, Quinn called in some of our people on local law enforcement who took Noah to a healer and Adrianna showed up to rescue us.” She sent a smile to the witch.
A petite powerhouse with white-blond hair and a beautiful face, Adrianna picked up the thread. “Trey contacted me and caught me up. I was in the area of Buckhead. When I got there, Evalle spoke telepathically to the second Belador law officer. He created a disturbance which allowed me to cloak the three of us to walk away.”
Storm sat forward, crossing his arms on the table. “What happened to you, Daegan?”
Drilling his fingers against the polished surface, Daegan had been considering Evalle and Tristan’s report. “We were all pulled toward traps. Mine used Renata as bait.” He described what happened at the Ferris wheel.
“SWAT showed up?” Tristan groaned. “That’s an elite group to handle the most dangerous local law enforcement operations. Yep, we’re officially outed, but how did you get away from that glowing yellow being?”
Daegan rubbed his forehead where a throbbing sensation kept building between his temples. “The one I encountered called himself an Imortik and said he would trade our people for two volumes of some grimoire. He also said he’d made the same offer to other powerful beings whose followers he had as well. The person who shows up with the two volumes receives all the captives.”
“What if he deals with someone like Queen Maeve?” Evalle worried aloud.
“That is one concern, but I fear we will have more who can end up with our Beladors if we fail to free them.”
Brina asked the question on everyone’s face. “Just what is an Imortik, Uncle?”
“I have no more of an answer than what I have described, but ... ” Daegan paused in mid-sentence. He called out, “Garwyli, please join me at the council table.”
In the next moment, Garwyli walked into the room as if he’d been standing just outside, which wasn’t the case. He could teleport anywhere within the Treoir realm, but the old guy preferred to walk.
“What you be needin’, dragon?” Garwyli asked as usual, but without the humor often lacing his voice. “I am not even close to finishin’ your da’s chronicles.”
“I understand. Please take Quinn’s empty seat and join this discussion. We all need your knowledge.”
Garwyli went straight to the chair and seated himself. When he did, his gaze studied the table and air around him. When he looked at Daegan, his eyebrows climbed his forehead. “’Tis a protected area?”
Daegan nodded. “Nothing said here leaves this area unless I allow it.”
First pushing his long beard off the table, the druid clasped his hands on the polished surface and waited.
Daegan filled Garwyli in on the parts he’d not been able to provide earlier, including a rundown of Tristan and Evalle’s events in Atlanta. He asked the druid, “Have you found out more about the Imortiks? What can you tell all of us about these beings and the two volumes the Imortik master wants?”
A look of sadness passed over Garwyli’s face. “I do know more. As I read, I recalled bits and pieces from memory as well. I shall start at the beginning. Three hundred years before Daegan’s birth, during a dark period, a sorcerer and a goddess, neither of which I know the names of, joined up to create a super force of wendingos, pishachas, nidhogg, whatever ... ” Garwyli waved his hand as if to encompass all such creatures. “These creatures were originally flesh eaters, which the grimoire majik formula turned into power eaters. The most powerful of god
s and goddesses were not concerned until one Imortik evolved more than expected and overpowered a Fae.”
Shock rode every face around the table. Daegan’s included.
Unaffected by the horror he’d just raised, Garwyli went on explaining, “That’s when the dragon families called to the god or goddess specifically protecting each of them. As we all know, deities rarely become allies unless they fear something. They agreed to create a mors murum.” Before anyone could ask, Garwyli supplied the translation. “That’s Latin for death wall. The deities told the dragon families to locate the Immortuos Grimoire and figure a way to lock up the Imortiks in the mors murum, then separate the grimoire into three parts.”
Tzader had said little until now. “Let me get this straight. The Imortiks were forced behind the death wall, locked inside a place they could not escape, but some have managed to do so even without all three volumes together, correct?”
Garwyli nodded. “Each volume is capable of causing a rift in the death wall if enough majik in that volume is translated and put into action.” He returned to explaining the history. “The original monstrosities created continued changing and morphing into abominations capable of taking over a supernatural’s body, including the powers associated with that body. After taking over that Fae victim, that monster turned on its creators, before becoming the master of Imortiks, which spread out across what is today known as Europe, Russia, and Asia.”
Brina held folded fingers to her chin, slowly shaking her head. “The fools who started this deserved what they got.”
“True.” Garwyli lifted a finger, drawing attention back to him. “It required three powerful dragon houses to prevent the human world from being overrun and destroyed. I will search deeper into your family’s chronicles, Daegan, but the earliest volumes from that time were written in a language that preceded even the Treoir language.”
Daegan found that hard to believe. “Are ya sayin’ you cannot translate it?”
“Not yet. I will not give up, but I shall focus on what I am able to translate first and search for any mention of the grimoire volumes in those chronicles.”
Adrianna tilted her head toward the druid. “How did the dragon families even figure out where to start looking once they had the support of the deities?”
“Best that I can recall, a follower of the sorcerer partly behind this went to the ice dragons and pleaded for help. That’s how the dragon families first learned of the book of ancient majik called the Immortuos Grimoire. The Imortiks were named as such because it was believed these beings could not be killed. The sorcerer master was believed to have been overtaken by the Fae Imortik. A goddess, identity not known, had partnered with the sorcerer and was believed to have escaped to her realm to avoid retribution.”
“So this goddess might still be around?” Evalle asked, sounding sick at the possibility. “If so, do we know who she is?”
“Most likely the goddess still exists, but her identity has been kept hidden, which makes me think she only managed to escape because she aided the other deities in containing the Imortiks.” Seeming to compose himself, Garwyli ran a hand over his white hair before clasping his hands again. He swallowed hard as if his throat had become dry from speaking.
Daegan whispered a command and drinks appeared around the table.
The druid smiled his thanks, took a sip of his water, and continued. “The sorcerer and goddess created that original grimoire. The complete Immortuos Grimoire was believed to control the Imortiks. The Imortik master Daegan met up with likely does have some power over those beings he’s helping to escape through a rift, but I suspect no one holds all the power without holding all three volumes.”
“Why would you think that?” Adrianna asked.
“When the three dragon families joined forces and located the grimoire, they still did not know how to kill the Imortiks. They took the whole grimoire to an oracle and explained their problem. She spent five days and nights in a trance. When she regained consciousness, she read the pages of the grimoire with her blind eyes, warning that some Imortiks could become more dangerous if they were killed and evolved into a different form. She explained how to send them to the alternate world.” Garwyli took a deep breath and on the exhale said, “’Tis all I have for now. I have much more to read.”
“Wow, that’s ... crazy stuff even for our world,” Evalle muttered.
Brina offered, “I will help you read the Treoir chronicles, Garwyli.”
“Thank you, child. I fear we will have to piece together much as some of what I related was from spoken history.”
Daegan frowned. “We cannot kill them?”
“I have thought hard on this. I think the oracle told the dragon families that killing an Imortik, which had taken over a human body or a supernatural of less power, would likely result in true death. But killing one that had completed taking over a supernatural body ... could evolve into something worse or multiply, but I am not sure.”
Everyone around the table groaned at that possibility. Daegan’s headache thumped even harder. “Can you tell us more about how the dragon families stopped the Imortiks?”
Garwyli waited for silence then said, “Unfortunately, the history may be lost with the grimoire volumes. Once the dragon leaders had it in hand, the oracle sent them to someone older than her who could translate the medieval scribblings to instruct the dragon families on how to trap and imprison Imortiks forever. She warned once they knew what to do they should gather every powerful being from druids to deities they could find to lock the Imortiks away or they would fail.”
Storm had listened intently with solemn quiet. “Would you explain again about the three volumes?”
“Aye. The oracle instructed the three dragon kings present that once the Imortiks were imprisoned, they should split the grimoire into three volumes. Each dragon king would take a volume to hide so the grimoire would never again return to power.”
Tristan lifted a hand, politely asking for the floor. “If that’s the case, how can one volume of the grimoire be on the loose right now?”
“I wish I had that answer, Tristan,” the druid replied. “One of the volumes was found twelve hundred years ago and enough translated to disrupt the majik holding the wall in place. A crack formed, allowing Imortiks to begin escaping as they are currently doing. That volume was located, the escaped Imortiks sent back to their prison, and the wall sealed once more.”
Brina grimaced as she rubbed her round middle. “Where be that volume?”
Daegan explained, “When I told the Imortik master I had no idea where to look, he said my people stole a volume and gave it to VIPER. That I should start there. I’ve asked Quinn to inquire about that volume when he meets with Sen. With one volume in VIPER’s vault and the Imortik master possessing a second one, that points to locating only the third volume.”
Daegan rubbed his forehead. “What three dragon families were involved, Garwyli?”
“Yours or King Gruffyn’s ancestors, King Eógan’s ice dragon ancestors, and those of the Egyptian earth dragons ruled by King Anasch.”
Tzader had kept his arm on Brina’s shoulder, no doubt remaining on high alert for any change with her. “Which volume was found if the dragon families kept them hidden?”
“Good question, Tzader.” Brina patted his hand then returned her hand to gently smoothing over her stomach.
Garwyli leaned forward, lifting both hands. “’Twas all kept secret. I only recall snippets I picked up at different times over the centuries, but I rarely leave this realm, which limits what I can learn firsthand.”
Daegan pulled his hand down from his forehead. “Based on the Imortik master’s accusation, I assume the volume in the vault might have belonged to our family.”
“Logical, but not necessarily correct unless Quinn can confirm that,” Garwyli countered.
Tristan slouched in his chair. “So much for hide all three volumes and keep the world safe. One is dangerous all by itself.”
�
�’Tis worse with all three,” Garwyli countered. “If you think of what is happening now as a crack in a huge dam holding back an ocean versus bringing all three volumes together and opening that dam all at once.”
“Okay, point taken.”
“My father told me where everything was, including his personal hoard,” Daegan commented, thinking out loud. “Why not the hiding spot of our grimoire volume?”
Garwyli gave him a smile of understanding. “Ah, Daegan,’twas so long ago the king either did not consider it of current importance or forgot about it. Why would he mention something that should not have ever seen the light of day again? No problem existed for over twelve hundred years, not until now.”
Quinn’s voice came into Daegan’s mind. I have some news, if you’re ready.
Daegan announced to the council, “Quinn calls me. Please wait while I hear what he has to say.” When everyone went silent, Daegan replied to his North American Maistir. Tell me what you have, Quinn.
While I was at VIPER, I was able to view Devon from outside a warded wall. One minute, he looks and talks like Devon. The next, he’s grabbing his head and yelling in pain. I think whatever jumped from the troll to him still has Devon in its grip. The healers won’t go near him.
Daegan had hoped for better news, but was not surprised by what he heard. What about the grimoire volume being held in VIPER’s vault?
Quinn continued, I asked Sen about it. He told me after he brought Devon there and discovered an Imortik had him, he was called out twice more to pick up Beladors taken by an Imortik. After that, he went to the Tribunal, asking what they knew about this. Loki told him about the Immortuos Grimoire and that one volume was in the vault. The Tribunal ordered him to share nothing about it with anyone. They felt the less shared, the better chance to keep those other two volumes hidden. Sen claims it looks like the Imortiks were focused primarily on Beladors. Said he has not been called out about a troll, warlock, or any other being yet. I went to the Tribunal. Loki was pretty agitated, not his normal happy self. He and the other two forbade any discussion of the Immortuos Grimoire, including the one volume in the vault.