Witchlock

by Dianna Love

  That didn’t sound right. Tzader’s mood turned darker by the second. “We all knew she was stressed while you were gone. Now tell me why she’s stressed with you home.”

  Storm’s gaze flickered just enough to indicate he’d struck a nerve.

  Tzader pushed harder. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Nothing that a little time off won’t fix.”

  Tzader waited for three agents to pass by before saying, “We’re having issues with the Tribunal. The Beladors are, that is.”

  “Damn those fuckers,” Storm snarled.

  “Not that I don’t agree, but this is not the place to share your honest opinion.”

  Storm washed a hand over his face. He looked and sounded as tired as he claimed Evalle was, but when he dropped his hand his sharp eyes were aware of everything around him. He spoke softly. “I’m tired of them jerking her around like a puppet.”

  “No more than I am.”

  “Then take her off the teams for a while and out of the fire.”

  Tzader made a decision. “I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t share it with Evalle until I have a chance to tell her.”

  “I won’t if she doesn’t hear about it first and ask me.”

  “She won’t. The Tribunal has run out of patience with what they consider a pissing match between the Beladors and the Medb. They accepted the Medb into the coalition and aren’t going to back up on that, but this custody battle over the gryphons and daily accusations from the Beladors and the Medb has pushed a vote for a liaison to settle disputes.”

  “About damn time.”

  “It might be, if they hadn’t decided that Evalle should take the position and run interference between the Beladors and the Medb.”

  “What. The. Fuck?” Storm’s chest heaved with harsh breaths. His fists curled then uncurled. “Now what does she have to do?”

  “It hasn’t been formally decided. I presented Macha’s point that Evalle has been a Belador too long to be an objective liaison, but I think the Medb are behind this push for Evalle to be the liaison.”

  “Why would they want that when she’s clearly on your team?”

  “My bet? To get Evalle in TÅμr Medb again.”

  Storm’s eyes turned as black as the threat in his voice. “I’ll take her where no one can find her if they try that.”

  Tzader considered the ramifications of the drastic measure Storm threatened, but anyone who knew Storm at all would realize it was no empty threat.

  Even so, no one had ever escaped being hunted by VIPER.

  And Sen would find a way to convince a Tribunal that VIPER should go after her.

  Plus Evalle wouldn’t agree because she’d never be able to return. Tzader said, “We haven’t lost the battle yet to keep her out of TÅμr Medb. Macha and I are in agreement so we’re fighting it.”

  “Those are possibilities,” Storm stressed. “I’m talking about an absolute.”

  Tzader had to get Storm to see this from Evalle’s position. “Don’t you think Quinn and I haven’t considered that before? We talked to Evalle about it once and she said she was never going to live in a prison again. She’d rather take her chances and stay here with the people who matter to her than hide for the rest of her life.”

  The hard glint remained in Storm’s eyes. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

  “What if she hates you for doing it?”

  Storm looked thoughtful. “Her safety comes before anything else.”

  “Even her happiness?”

  “She’ll be happy.”

  “Not if you snatch the only life she’s ever had out from under her. You may not like to hear this, but she would leave you and come back even knowing the risk. You can’t lock her up. We’ve all figured that out. She hates that we’re all so protective of her and tries that much harder to prove that she can handle anything.” Tzader took a step closer and warned, “Be careful with her heart. If you hurt her, it will be worse than anything the Tribunal has ever done to her. Then you’ll find out just how dangerous Quinn and I are as a team. We’d bring the full force of the Beladors down on anyone who hurt her, even you.”

  Storm’s fierce determination didn’t waver, but he let out a long breath and ran his hands over the hair he had tethered into ponytail. “I want her happy. She’s never been in a relationship before and she needs time to settle in and realize I’m not going to abandon her at the first hint of trouble.”

  Tzader believed Storm, and his respect for the Skinwalker ticked up a couple of notches, but he didn’t like that last part. “What sort of trouble?”

  Storm looked down, his face a wash of internal debate, but he finally said, “I’ve dealt with Isak Nyght, Tristan’s crap, Medb crap and fought everything from Svart Trolls to warlocks to keep her safe and keep her with me, but I may lose the battle to a two-foot-tall gargoyle.”

  Ah. Now Tzader got it. “Feenix unhappy you’re there?”

  “The little critter is territorial as hell around her and making it clear he doesn’t want me there.”

  It would be funny if not for the misery in Storm’s voice. Tzader had just as tough a battle with trying to get Brina by his side. For the first time since Storm came along, Tzader was in his corner. “What are you going to do?”

  “I have a plan. Not sure it’s a good one yet.”

  Before Tzader could say more, Quinn walked up with Lanna trailing close behind. The young woman dragged her beat-up suitcase behind her.

  Just to poke at Quinn, Tzader asked, “You can’t part with a few bucks to buy Lanna a decent suitcase?”

  She paused, not saying a word, which was so unlike the young woman who generally stuck her nose anywhere it was not wanted.

  Tzader’s gaze swung to Quinn, who would normally scowl at him and make a sarcastic dig at Tzader in return, but Quinn’s reaction was completely un-Quinn-like.

  His friend frowned at the rolling baggage as if he hadn’t seen it before. “Yes, I should have done that by now. We’ll find a new one today.”

  Where was Tzader’s best friend, and who had stuck the Grim Reaper in Quinn’s place? Tzader didn’t expect Quinn to be over Kizira’s death, not by a long shot, but this Quinn concerned him.

  Storm broke into the stilted silence. “I’ve got to get back to Atlanta. I have some business to take care of before dark, then Evalle and I need tonight free. We’ve made a commitment and we can’t reschedule.”

  Even Quinn’s eyebrows lifted at Storm’s statement, because he sure as hell hadn’t asked for tonight off.

  But the guy had a point. Evalle deserved a break and for everyone to cut her some slack. Tzader nodded. “Check in with me tomorrow.”

  “Will do.” Storm strode out the opening that appeared as a group of agents passed him on their way in.

  Quinn asked, “Something going on with Evalle?”

  Instead of discussing Storm and Evalle, Tzader said, “Maybe. I’m trying to keep her from being stuck as the liaison between the Beladors and the Medb, but the Medb are pushing hard for it. They say since she leads the gryphons, she should be the representative to work out the gryphon possession issue and the Medb and Belador conflicts.”

  “No.” Quinn gave his vote in a voice as hard as the rock surrounding them. “Let the deities deal with it.”

  “My feelings exactly, but the thing that bothers me is Sen.”

  “He doesn’t like anything to do with Evalle.”

  “See, that’s the thing. I would have expected him to be pushing for her to take that position, because it would put her in a bind, plus force her to spend time in Treoir and possibly TÅμr Medb, but he smiled when I told the Tribunal that Macha said no. That bothers me.”

  “You’ve got a point.” Quinn cleared his throat and quietly said, “We need to find somewhere away from ... here.”

  Tzader nodded, thinking Quinn and Lanna wanted lunch. Maybe some casual time would give his friend a moment’s reprieve from grieving. “Where to?”<
br />
  Lanna stepped forward. She glanced all around, watching until no one was near them and said, “I must use some majik for Cousin. I do not like him unhappy.”

  What the hell were these two talking about doing?

  She started for the door, chatting away. “Then we will go to hotel and I will shop. I have not been outside in forever. This will be wonderful day. You will see, Cousin.”

  Quinn muttered, “No, it won’t.”

  But he didn’t elaborate.

  Tzader waited for Quinn to leave and followed him.

  Quinn had been adamant about Lanna not using her majik because a crazy wizard was after her, and he would know when she drew hard on the elements. But it sounded as if Lanna thought she wouldn’t do enough to bring any attention to her location.

  The only way Lanna could make Quinn happy was by bringing back Kizira. That wasn’t happening.

  Chapter 15

  Tzader climbed out of his 1970 Hemi ’Cuda when the road, if you could call it that, ended deep in the woods ten miles from VIPER headquarters. A smattering of leaves clung to the branches, but November had just started and those would be gone soon.

  Quinn stepped from a metallic silver Audi S8 that was probably still running on its first tank of fuel. He paid it no more attention than he would a rusted-out pickup truck.

  Lanna jumped from the car and hurried to catch up to Quinn’s long strides. “This is much better, Cousin. I am tired of being inside.”

  “I’m sorry for keeping you indoors so much, Lanna, but I can’t risk Grendal getting his hands on you.”

  “I am not worried, Cousin.”

  “I’m not either. If he shows his face around me, I’ll be the last thing he sees before his head explodes.”

  Tzader could appreciate Quinn’s need to protect Lanna from the wizard, but Quinn had struggled with using his mindlock in the past. He paid an emotional price when he entered anyone’s mind and suffered guilt if he had to terminate a threat with his powers.

  He had never sounded so willing to kill without question.

  Lanna’s smile dimmed but she pushed through the brittle moment and asked, “What did you need me to do?”

  Quinn became very quiet, staring at the ground. “I need you to find someone, and tapping that much of your majik may draw attention from Grendal. But I won’t let him harm you.”

  “I understand.” She might mean what she said, but she was not happy about it now that she realized Quinn needed more than some majik. Once she pulled from the elements, she’d have to be kept locked away safe, and the poor girl was desperate for a little freedom.

  Tzader asked, “Why ask Lanna when we have VIPER resources?”

  Quinn sighed heavily and raised devastated eyes to meet Tzader’s before he swallowed the emotion that had brought on that look. “I haven’t shared this with anyone, but as Kizira lay dying in my arms ... ” He took a breath and Lanna’s eyes turned watery. Then Quinn continued, “As she was dying, she said I had to protect someone she referenced as her. I thought she meant Evalle, but she said the name was Phoedra.”

  “Who is that, Cousin?”

  He tried to smile. Major fail. “The daughter we had that I never knew about.”

  Lanna’s gasp covered Tzader’s reaction. Lanna sputtered, “When did ... why ...”

  Quinn lifted his hand to stop the questions. “We met thirteen years ago by accident. I was in Chechnya, running patrols in towns where strange attacks on people were happening that no one could explain, so of course the Beladors sent us in to investigate.”

  Tzader said, “I remember hearing something about that, but the European Maistir was handling the problem.”

  “Right. I’m not up to telling the whole story about how I met Kizira.”

  That was understandable when every time Quinn said her name he grimaced as if someone had stabbed him. “We spent two weeks together during which I had no idea she was Medb. As royalty, she could shield her Medb scent. I had stepped in to stop a warlock from attacking her and almost died battling four at one time. When I woke up, she had me tucked into a cabin and was healing my wounds.” He stared off into the distance and said, “Evidently we produced a child.”

  “She should have told you,” Lanna whispered. “You would have cared for this girl.”

  “Yes, I would have,” Quinn agreed. “But Kizira was wise to keep our daughter hidden from the Medb and she kept our relationship secret to pro ...” His voice broke. “To protect me.” He cleared his throat again. “Anyhow, Kizira died before she could tell me Phoedra’s location.”

  Tzader asked, “She couldn’t have left you a letter or something?”

  “Not being a Medb priestess. Flaevynn, that miserable whore of a mother, had access to Kizira’s thoughts. Kizira was clever. I’m sure she had ways to hide those thoughts from a surface scan, but she would never trust leaving anything tangible when it could mean the life of our daughter.”

  Lanna put her hand on Quinn’s arm and he smiled sadly at her. She said, “I will find her. Do you have something of hers for me to touch?”

  The teenager had proven herself fearless when it came to protecting others, but she earned Tzader’s admiration with her loyalty to Quinn at that moment. She put his needs above her safety and wish for freedom, but she had the full protection of the Beladors even if she didn’t realize it.

  Tzader studied the young woman. “Can you do that, Lanna?”

  “Yes. I have many gifts. Some do what I want. Some do not, but no one is better at finding others than I am.”

  No lack of confidence there. Tzader liked this kid. “You should train.”

  “That is what Brina told me would happen when we came back, but ...” Her voice trailed off and Tzader was sure it had something to do with the look on his face. “I am sorry, Tzader. She will remember that she cares only for you.”

  “Lanna,” Quinn warned and she quieted.

  “She did nothing wrong, Quinn. Right now I welcome any encouragement.”

  “I know. I also know what it feels like when a wound is constantly reopened.”

  Tzader didn’t want to shift the focus to his problems, not when Quinn had suffered so much and now had to find a twelve-year-old child he never knew about. Tzader told Lanna, “Brina is a woman of her word. She’ll see that you’re trained.”

  “I would like that.” Turning to Quinn, she said, “Cousin?”

  That was all the prompting he needed to get back on track.

  Quinn pulled a braided hoop a quarter inch thick and the size of a bracelet from his pocket. He held it up. “Kizira managed to tell me to hold on to this bracelet. She wove it of my hair when we were first together. I now see black threads through it, which I believe must be the color of my daughter’s hair.”

  Every word came out of Quinn with pain, but saying “my daughter” sounded as if it damn near broke him. His hand shook. He said, “Anything you can tell me will help because I have no clue where to begin, but I know Kizira has Phoedra somewhere not just anyone will locate.”

  Nodding at Quinn, Lanna closed her eyes and murmured something too low for Tzader to hear. The air, dead calm just a moment ago, now swirled and picked up momentum, shaking the leaves.

  All at once, Tzader heard whispers here and there. He turned right and left, then looked at Quinn, who gave him a sign to wait.

  When Lanna opened her eyes, she said, “I ask for help and have been told yes. If I cannot see your daughter and where she is clearly then the spirits will help me, but I must show them what I can first.” She held out both hands, palms up and next to each other.

  The second Quinn dropped the braided bracelet into Lanna’s hands, black smoke bloomed into a cloud and billowed up, blanketing them in a dark fog. Voices screeched everywhere.

  Lanna started screaming.

  The smell of burned skin singed Tzader’s nose. He fanned his arms to find her.

  When he could finally see her she was on the ground holding her hands to her chest an
d crying. Quinn had the bracelet in one hand, holding it far from her and his other arm around her shaking shoulders.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Quinn kept repeating his apology in a voice raw with horror.

  Tzader squatted down in front of them. “Let me see, Lanna.”

  She was taking short, halting breaths and shaking hard, but she opened one hand that looked as if acid had been poured on it in the outline of the bracelet.

  Tzader said, “Let me send her to our druids in Treoir. Darwyli should be able to heal her hands faster than anyone here.”

  Quinn’s eyes were swollen and full of agony. “I should never have done this.”

  Lanna, trooper that she was, sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Was not your fault, Cousin.”

  “Yes, it was. I should have had someone else look at it first. I just ...”

  “You protect your daughter. I know. Do not let anyone else touch that.”

  Quinn turned her to face him. “Why?”

  “It carries Medb majik so strong I think only Medb can use that to find her. I am sorry. But I know you do not want to hurt others.”

  Hugging her close, Quinn said, “I’d rather cut my arm off than ever harm you. I’m so sorry.”

  “No problem, Cousin. I want to see Darwyli. He will heal my hands and I want to stay to see Brina. She needs help.”

  Tzader said, “If that’s okay with you, Quinn. I’d love to take Lanna to Brina after she’s healed. Lanna would be safe from Grendal there, too.”

  Lanna nodded, staring up at Quinn with large blue eyes.

  He leaned over and kissed her head. “You’ll be safe in Treoir.”

  “And not locked inside, yes?” she asked, face full of hope for any freedom.

  Quinn agreed, “No. That wizard can’t touch you there.” He asked Tzader, “Would you watch her for a moment? I have a thermal blanket in my car.”

  Tzader did, too, but Quinn looked like he needed a stiff drink. Barring that, a moment to breathe would help him. “Sure. Might want to bring her some water, too.”

  As soon as Quinn walked away, Lanna turned to Tzader. She shivered from shock, but she blew hair out of her eyes and said, “You must help Brina.”