Witchlock

by Dianna Love

  Did she think he didn’t realize that? “I know.”

  “I mean, you must help her in dreams. She will remember if she sees you in same place. I feel that will be good.”

  “What do you mean if she sees me in the same place?”

  “When traitor attacked us and we were gone, I told her how to find someone in dreams to help because Cousin was not sleeping so I could not reach him. I told her to find someone she cares much for. Had to be you. She slept. Did you not see her in dream while we were gone?”

  Unbelievable. “Yes. It was vivid, but I was so tired I thought I was hallucinating.”

  “Do you see her in dreams now?”

  “Haven’t slept long enough to dream.”

  “Does not take long, but you must want to see her badly for her to find you. Does she dream now?”

  He tried to process that he could be with Brina in a damn dream state. “Macha said Brina is having nightmares.”

  “She looks for you in dream, then maybe panics when she is alone. Go to her.”

  “But she doesn’t remember me when she wakes up.”

  Quinn returned and wrapped her in the thin Mylar blanket, then held a bottle of water for her to drink from. “We need to get you to Treoir.”

  Quinn helped Lanna stand. She looked shaky and still rocked forward and back gently, but she told Tzader, “Brina will find you in dreams. She wants you.”

  Just how much did this teenager know about him and Brina?

  Lanna’s mouth quirked. “She tells me nothing. Your face tells much.”

  “You’re scary, you know that?” Tzader said, unable to keep the smile from his voice. If Lanna could help him bring Brina back, he would personally insure the young woman got trained and anything else she needed.

  “Finish up, Lanna,” Quinn said gently. “We have to take you to Sen so he can transport us.”

  Sending Quinn to Treoir was not a good idea, especially if Quinn had to talk to Sen for more than three seconds.

  Tzader offered, “Let me take Lanna so I can get her to Brina where I know she’ll be in good hands. Brina’s prickly these days and if she doesn’t recognize you it could be a problem.”

  Quinn frowned, but said, “I understand.”

  “Would you do me a favor and keep an eye on Evalle?”

  “Of course. Why?”

  Lanna perked up, all ears.

  Tzader took one look at the teenage snoop and sent Quinn a telepathic message. I talked to Storm. Evalle isn’t adjusting well or something. I have no damned idea, because I don’t think Storm is treating her badly.

  That’s a change of tone coming from you.

  Tzader glared back. I never said Storm was a bad guy. I just didn’t like any hardtails around Evalle, but now that she’s mated I want to be sure she’s happy. I haven’t had time to talk to her and to be honest I need some time on Treoir with Brina.

  Quinn’s joking ended. Go. I can handle things here.

  Once Tzader had Lanna packed into his car, he called to Evalle. Are you busy, Evalle?

  No. I’m sitting on my hands staying out of the sun like a good little girl since you didn’t want me outside.

  She sounded pissed. He said, Did you want to come to headquarters and visit Sen?

  No, but neither do I want people telling me what to do everywhere I turn. I’m tired of everyone else making decisions for me. Is Storm still there?

  No, he said he had some business to take care of then he was heading home. Said that you two had plans tonight.

  What business? Really pissed.

  How should I know, Evalle? I’m not his keeper.

  No, he doesn’t have one, but everybody thinks I need one, including him.

  Tzader’s protective instincts kicked in. Are you okay?

  Yes! I’m fine and I have some business of my own to take care of tonight. What did you need?

  Now he wished he wasn’t headed to Treoir yet. He’d like to revisit that conversation with Storm. But it wouldn’t happen right now. I’m taking Lanna to Treoir and I’d like you to talk to Quinn.

  Why?

  There was a time that Evalle would have been thrilled at the idea of Quinn visiting her apartment instead of questioning why. What the hell had happened?

  Tzader said, Quinn’s grim. Just see if you can get him to open up and talk about Kizira. Ask about Phoedra, because he’ll want to tell you.

  Who’s Phoedra? she asked in a softer tone.

  Ask Quinn. It’s better if he tells you, but don’t mention that name to anyone else.

  Okay, but I may have to leave soon.

  I understand. If you don’t catch up with him tonight, then maybe tomorrow.

  Tzader withdrew from Evalle and sent one more message to Quinn. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but Evalle is upset. Find out what it is and if Storm is the cause. If he is, I want him picked up and taken somewhere you and I can have a private talk with him.

  Affirmative.

  Chapter 16

  Evalle paced across the apartment while Feenix stacked building blocks made of wood and plastic.

  She checked her phone again. No call from Storm.

  Her phone buzzed. She answered without looking. “Where are you?”

  “In my living room,” Nicole answered with a chuckle. “Clearly I’m not who you were expecting.”

  Nicole would realize even more if she were here with Evalle, because this white witch had a lot of gifts, but Evalle valued her most as a friend. Evalle said, “No, I thought this was Storm calling.”

  “Speaking of him, how’s it going?”

  Evalle gave her reflex answer. “Fine.”

  “That good, huh? Do you still have Lanna with you? I can keep her for a day or two.”

  “No, she left this morning and it has been crowded down here, but she’s not a problem. It was good to have her here so that Feenix had someone.” Evalle paced again, noticing Feenix had taken a whirly toy that Lanna made for him and was trying to make it fly.

  Lanna could do that. Evalle could only throw it or pull it across the room with her kinetics. Feenix kept trying to make it spin in the air and when it didn’t, his shoulders drooped.

  The minute she got off the phone with Nicole, Evalle would play with him until she heard from Storm or Adrianna.

  Then it would be go time.

  “Evalle?” Nicole called out.

  “I’m here. What’s up?”

  “The council of witches being formed is coming together, but I’m concerned about Adrianna.”

  “Why? Everyone knows she’s a dark witch.”

  “We would welcome her as a liaison between the Medb and us, but she won’t open a dialogue.”

  “Adrianna wants nothing to do with the Medb. She’s pretty much her own person.”

  “She’s not going to have the option very soon. The witches on this council are significant players and Rowan will head it up. As a sister-in-law to a Belador, Rowan will be the liaison between the council and the Beladors, but with the Medb leaders now able to enter the human realm, the chances for conflict between the Medb and Beladors increase. The council wants to insure fair representation for both groups to prevent VIPER from interfering. Witches have not had to join the coalition and they want to keep it that way.”

  “The Tribunal should come up with a plan for fixing all this since they’re responsible for bringing our worst enemy into the fold,” Evalle said so sharply that Feenix jumped. She covered the phone and said, “Sorry, baby. Everything is okay.”

  He nodded and went back to picking at his toys, but not with the enthusiasm he’d had while Lanna was here.

  Nicole said, “I understand, but you know better than to depend on the Tribunal for anything by now.”

  “True.”

  “The longer we delay in forming a plan of our own, the more agitated the witch community becomes and that’s never a good thing. Especially when we have a significant number of Medb in our midst and we have a rogue group of solitary
witches being whipped into a fervor by a young, untrained one.”

  “What’s that all about?”

  “Just immaturity out of control. The rabble-rouser is a witch called Hermia. Rowan has to hold a hard line on all witches for any hope of this council working and preventing VIPER interference, and she’s facing having to take a stand and push Hermia’s group to fall into line. Rowan would rather Hermia recognize her lack of training, take responsibility and encourage her people to separate into reasonable size groups who can govern themselves, but Hermia is charismatic and smart enough to make the right noises and push the right buttons with the solitary witches, most of whom just want to be left alone. She’s not ready for coven leadership, but the call of power has gone to her head and she thinks she can take a shortcut by becoming their leader.”

  Evalle finally calmed herself enough to hear the concern in Nicole’s voice. “Where will you land in this new mix?”

  “Rowan knows I’m not a dark witch, but I’m not much for committees and politics either after the white witches turned their noses up to me as a child. I’ve agreed to be on Rowan’s advisory board, which was her way of bringing me in without making a statement by doing so.” Nicole sounded amused at Rowan’s maneuvering. “I’ll help Rowan because she’s the only one watching out for the best interests of everyone.”

  Trey McCree was a Belador with unmatched telepathic power and usually the central call-in point for all Beladors during a crisis. He was also married to Sasha Armand, Rowan’s younger sister, who had erratic witch skills at best, based on what Evalle had heard.

  Rowan, on the other hand, was the most powerful white witch that Evalle had ever met.

  She’d hold a firm line when it came to gaining what she wanted to form this council, and right now, it sounded as though getting Adrianna on board was high on her priority list.

  Adrianna did not need one more pressure at the moment.

  In another day or two, none of this would matter if Adrianna, Evalle and Storm failed to stop Veronika and Witchlock.

  Evalle considered telling Nicole about Veronika, then changed her mind. There was nothing to be gained, and Nicole would stress, or use her powers trying to help and potentially end up a victim to Witchlock if she drew Veronika’s attention.

  They had to rescue Ragan. Evalle wanted the specifics of the plan, and she wished Adrianna would call already. She told Nicole, “I’ll talk to Adrianna, but no promises.”

  “I understand, but tell her that this council is serious. If she can’t meet them halfway, she’ll need to leave this area for her own safety. Once the council is formed, Rowan intends to inform VIPER that anyone outside of the council’s jurisdiction will fall to them.”

  “I’m not seeing the problem or reason for Adrianna to leave, because she works for VIPER.”

  “Think about it, Evalle. What will those Tribunal deities do if any witches become a problem at that point?”

  It hit Evalle like a blast of cold water. “They’ll call in the Medb and make it the Medb’s problem since that will be the most powerful and organized dark force on the coalition.”

  “Exactly. And at that point, the Medb will see Adrianna as an obstacle. They will seize any opportunity to eliminate a powerful witch from another coven, especially one who works with VIPER. Rowan and the others want to establish a power base—and their autonomy—before the Medb become entrenched in this region. Other areas of the country are forming similar councils, which will all send a representative once a year to a summit meeting.”

  Nicole was different from other witches in that she had some unusual gifts that didn’t fall under traditional witchcraft, and her significant other was Red, a human woman who hated all this woo-woo, as Red termed it.

  Evalle asked, “Is Red good with all this?”

  “She will be. I’ve explained that it will protect me to join with more of my kind. Adrianna is going to need that protection, too.” Nicole changed subjects without slowing down. “I have to go in a moment. Why do I sense that you are unhappy?”

  So hard to keep anything secret around a friend with Nicole’s abilities. Evalle said, “Hold on.” Then she told Feenix, “I’ll be right back.”

  He lifted a chubby, four-fingered hand in his okay sign, still intent on stacking the toys that Lanna had suggested Evalle buy for him. Lanna had realized he needed some way to practice motor skills and reasoning.

  Evalle should have figured that out.

  Just like she should know how to be Storm’s mate. She entered the bedroom, pushing the door shut and dropped on the bed. “I think I made a mistake, Nicole.”

  “About what?”

  “Storm moving in with me. He had a nice house that was above ground where he could come and go. I have to live underground, but he doesn’t. And I know he’s willing to do it, but that’s going to get old quickly.” Might have already.

  “Have you talked to him about it?”

  “No. We haven’t had a minute alone since he brought me home that first night. If I ask him about it, you and I know he won’t complain. Then he’ll work even harder to hide how much he doesn’t like it here.”

  “You might be wrong, Evalle.”

  “Feenix ate half of Storm’s silver belt buckle. It had a jaguar head carved into it. The buckle also had two yellow diamonds in it, but thankfully those don’t taste good to Feenix. Still, it was a piece of art and worth a fortune, and most important, Storm’s dad had it made for him.”

  “Oh, yeah that’s bad, but surely he understood that Feenix is like a child.”

  “An insecure and very possessive gargoyle child,” Evalle clarified. “I have no skills for figuring any of this out. I can’t cook an edible meal. We live a nocturnal life because I can’t be in the sun. Storm is always understanding and accepting of everything in my life. What does he get from me?”

  Nicole laughed.

  Evalle said, “Besides that.”

  “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think. Storm isn’t going to leave you over an apartment.”

  “I didn’t say he would break up with me, but I don’t want him being miserable just so we can be together. You wouldn’t want that for Red.”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” Nicole said in a solemn voice. “Talk to him so that he knows you realize what he’s giving up and figure it out together. The only two skills you need to make a relationship work are communication and honesty.”

  Evalle nibbled at her thumbnail, thinking on that. Nicole was right. She’d talk to Storm and they’d figure it out, even if it meant him moving back to his own place.

  She’d been over-the-moon happy about him moving in.

  The idea of him not living here made her stomach hurt, but she could hide her disappointment from him if that was the best way for them to stay together.

  She could do anything when it came to Storm.

  Her phone beeped. Evalle said, “I’ve got a call coming through. I’ll talk to Adrianna and let you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  Clicking the buttons, she was glad to see it was Adrianna, who started in without a hello. “I’ve found a place for us to cross into the Jafnan Mir realm. It’s the new sports arena being constructed to replace Atlanta’s sports dome.”

  Evalle pulled up a mental image of the construction right next door to the current Georgia Dome in downtown. “Storm is ... ” Evalle was not going to admit she had no idea where Storm was presently. “He’s at VIPER headquarters, but I’m expecting his call any time to let me know he’s on the way back. Where do you want to meet?”

  “Sundown is in twenty minutes and I haven’t eaten all day. I’d like to grab dinner, formulate our plan and go to the site.”

  “I’ll send him a text to tell him to meet us at Six Feet Under. It’s across the street from the Oakland Cemetery. Go ahead and order. We usually eat much later.”

  “Got it. I’m on my way.”

  Evalle jumped up and changed into her riding gear. If she texted Storm before she left, h
e might ask her to wait for him to pick her up.

  She needed her freedom as much as he did.

  She’d text him after she got to the restaurant. Rushing out to the living room, she slid to a stop and Feenix stood up, gripping his favorite stuffed alligator in one hand.

  He took in her clothes and his face lit up. “Go ride?”

  “Not right now, baby. I have to meet someone for business.”

  “Oh.”

  Just kill me now. That one word loaded her shoulders with guilt. “We’ll play with your blocks when I get home, okay?”

  “Ith okay.” His eyes and mouth turned down.

  She squatted down. “Come here.”

  He trudged to her, dragging his alligator by the tail, and stepped into her arms with his wings tucked. Then he dropped his head on her shoulder and one horn nipped her neck.

  She hugged him close and said, “You know I will never give you up, right?”

  He pulled back and two little teeth poked down over his bottom lip when he smiled. “My Evalle.”

  “Yes. And you’re my Feenix. I’ll be back soon, but I want you to promise me not to eat anything silver except the lug nuts.”

  His gaze scooted away from hers and he sounded very innocent when he said, “Okay.”

  She knew better. “Feenix?”

  His sly gaze cut back at her. “Ye-eth?”

  “Please don’t touch anything that is not mine or yours, especially not Storm’s.”

  “Wath accthident.”

  The little devil was sly enough to avoid giving his word. She said, “I need your promise.”

  He tapped his little foot and finally said, “Promith.”

  “Thank you. Storm is going to live with us and he will treat you nice. It would make me happy for you to be nice to him, too.”

  Feenix made an exaggerated sighing sound. “I thaid promith.”

  “Great. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Where ith Lanna?”

  “With her cousin, Quinn.”

  “Come back?”

  Evalle’s throat tightened. He was ripping her heart into little pieces with how lonely he sounded. “I’ll ask her when I see her.”

  “Yeth.” Feenix nodded and grinned.

  It took so little to make him happy. I’m sucking at that, too.