Rise of the Gryphon

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  Well, that and red glowing eyes she could see even from this distance.

  "Demons," Storm said without any question, and she agreed.

  The two demons circled each other, bodies hunched forward and arms raised, ready for attack.

  She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "What're they doing?"

  "Fighting."

  "Why?"

  "It's a Beast Club."

  Her face must have shown her confusion when she looked at Storm to see if he was serious.

  He explained, "Think illegal fight club, but with nonhumans."

  Now it all started to fit. People were crowded around the ring, already shouting like she'd seen on television when humans wrestled or boxed. "I've never heard of a Beast Club. How do you know what it is?"

  "They had these in South America. The only way you found out was by being a sponsor . . . or a fighter."

  She wanted to ask more about when he'd lived there, but there wasn't time for that now.

  The hurling scream of something in mortal pain echoed across the mountains.

  Evalle snapped around in time to see the green-skinned demon rip the head off the one in camo, silencing his opponent. She hadn't expected the beefy guy to lose--at least not so quickly.

  Rubbing her neck muscles, she struggled to come up with a new plan. "I have to inform VIPER."

  "You contact them and they're going to order you to sit tight and wait for them to raid this. If by some small chance that valley is owned by a person with diplomatic immunity from VIPER operations, the owner is technically within his or her rights to host the fight. By the time VIPER finishes busting up the party, your witch will be gone."

  As an agent with VIPER, a coalition of powerful beings who protected the world from supernatural predators, Evalle would be in trouble if this did turn out to be an illegal operation and VIPER found out that she knew about it but failed to report it.

  Caught between her responsibilities to VIPER, her promise to bring Tristan in to Macha and her commitment to the Beladors, Evalle's duty to the Beladors and Macha came first, which meant saving her own hide came last, as usual.

  But that still didn't solve her problem of talking to the witch if they couldn't track her. "Crap. What's the possibility of getting to Imogenia now?"

  "Pretty good, actually. If she's got a fighter entered, she can't leave until her demon, or whatever it is, fights."

  "Then we need to get to her soon, but how?"

  "That part's easy. We just walk in."

  Evalle didn't like the I-already-have-a-plan-in-mind sound of that. "They aren't going to notice a couple of uninvited people?"

  "You don't need a formal invitation to a beast fight like that one. All you have to do is"--he paused, locking his hands behind his head and twisting, stretching his shoulders and chest--"show up as a fighter or with a fighter and you're in."

  Grace be to Macha. Evalle figured out what he was proposing. "No. I watched you almost die once. I'm not going through that again."

  He dropped his arms and stepped close, pulling her against his chest and whispering into her ear. "I don't know why there's a Beast Club in North America, but now that I do and that witch is involved, I know better than to risk leaving here and you hunting for her later without me. I'm going down there to find Imogenia now. You can be my sponsor, or you can wait up here."

  TWO

  Storm kept his face calm and his movements easy-paced for Evalle's benefit. Nothing frightened the hellion, but if he told her that he'd come close to decapitation the last time he'd been in a Beast Club fight, she'd call in VIPER just to protect him.

  She'd make the call, knowing she'd lose her best shot at meeting with Imogenia.

  Evalle's determined steps followed him down the mountainside. She grumbled, "I wish you wouldn't do this."

  Not as much as I wish you weren't going with me. "I can use the workout."

  "Thought you said you were a hundred percent again."

  He'd spent weeks in a coma with his body a mass of broken bones after interfering when Evalle was being taken into custody. He'd do it again. "I am a hundred percent and feeling good, but it won't hurt to test my reflexes before I go back to active duty."

  "So you are coming back to VIPER?" she asked casually.

  "Maybe. VIPER still needs a tracker in this region." And Evalle needed a partner who'd watch her back and not stab it.

  "Well, I hope you are in shape, because if you're going to be stupid, you gotta be tough."

  He chuckled, ignoring the caustic edge she used to shield her real feelings. Evalle's natural reaction to worry was anger. He reached over and brushed his knuckles against her cheek, drawing her to a stop. "I'm tough to kill."

  "Says the man who spent three weeks in a coma after Sen tried to kill him," Evalle pointed out in a frosty tone.

  Sen had taken a shot at Storm once as payback when Storm had interfered in Evalle's arrest. As liaison between agents and the VIPER coalition, Sen had authority over the agents and an unnatural hatred for Evalle, Alterants or both. Sen had set his sights on Storm when Storm refused to use his lie-detector ability against Evalle.

  Storm was more concerned about keeping her safe than anything, but telling her that would only raise her hackles. He let his finger trail across her smooth cheek. "I'll be ready for Sen if he tries to kill me again."

  She growled something and caught Storm's hand in hers. "How're you going to be ready for someone who can teleport and has powers that are godlike? I might even believe he was a god or demigod, except he's clearly being forced to act as liaison for VIPER. By a more powerful someone. The next time he slams you up against a brick wall, he might have enough time to make sure you're dead and hide the body before he leaves."

  "Just like last time, my spirit guide will show someone where to find the body."

  "Comforting."

  "That's tomorrow's worry. Tonight we have a different fight." Giving her a gentle shove, he kept them moving down the hill toward a smorgasbord of deadly beings.

  He hadn't really thought she'd wait up on the ridge, but just once he wished she wouldn't go racing into danger. If not for knowing that Evalle would go searching for Imogenia on her own and end up somewhere like this without backup, he'd pack her up and take her to Atlanta right now.

  With her badass fighting skills, she could handle herself in a fight with most supernatural beings, but he'd feel better if she would tap all her powers, not just energy force and telekinetics.

  But demons would turn into choirboys before she did that.

  Evalle would never break her vow to the Beladors and shift into her more powerful Alterant beast state, even if her life was at stake.

  Storm had the benefit of majik and his jaguar form, but using majik in a Beast Club promised a nasty fight. Like the bloody battles he'd been forced to endure when he'd belonged to a sponsor back in South America.

  Before he'd escaped that sponsor . . . the witch doctor.

  With the terrain already leveling out as he and Evalle drew closer to the firelight in the valley, Storm had little time left for conversation. "When we get there, I want you to follow my instructions exactly."

  Evalle's quick bristle of irritation pricked his skin.

  He didn't need his empathic gift to know he'd poked at the badger. "You aren't catching my drift. This isn't about me being in charge. You're the sponsor. I'm the fighter. As far as they're concerned, I belong to you."

  "Belong? You mean I own you?" She turned a sour face toward him.

  "Yes. These are like cockfights, but the fighters here are usually demons or some other subservient being." He could feel her thinking, trying to figure out what that meant about him fighting in South America. A dark time he didn't want to discuss right now, when it would involve bringing up that bitch witch doctor who had killed his father.

  He never risked thinking the witch doctor's name, couldn't as long as she held his soul, or she'd ride that connection like a superhighway to fin
d him.

  Bitch fit her just fine as a name.

  Dead Bitch would fit even better.

  But when he was ready to make that happen, he wanted to find her first rather than call her to him and have her show up unexpectedly. Based on Storm's visions, the witch doctor had an interest in Evalle.

  If Storm thought, as he first had, that Evalle was at risk, he'd tell her about the witch doctor, but knowing Evalle, she'd go hunting the witch doctor on her own. Not happening. The evil bitch had been in the Atlanta area for the past week, according to Nightstalkers. That meant she'd probably learned enough about Evalle to avoid confronting an Alterant with capabilities that few knew of or understood.

  After discussing it with his guardian spirit, Kai, Storm now felt he was still the witch doctor's ultimate goal. He'd be ready for her when she showed her face.

  But one thing tapped at his skull. How much did the witch doctor know of Storm's interest in Evalle?

  The bitch fed off of pain.

  She was almost certainly lying in wait with a plan to dole out as much misery as possible, because he'd humiliated her when he'd escaped.

  His bet? The witch doctor would not come for him until she had a plan in place for payback, something Storm hadn't been concerned over until meeting Evalle. His gut muscles twisted into a pretzel at the thought of anything happening to Evalle. Blood would run knee deep first.

  "Do you get to choose who you fight?" Evalle asked, thankfully pushing the subject away from his past and back to the Beast Club.

  "No."

  "Can you turn down a fight?"

  "Doesn't work like that in these smaller venues. First we have to find out what's at stake, and the rules, then the sponsors start negotiating fight positions. Your fighter's first match has to be in his designated category. Fighting one match fulfills the Beast Club requirements. After that, your fighter is welcome to take on any and all opponents as long as the sponsors can agree on terms."

  "You mean like side bets."

  "Right."

  She was quiet for a moment, then asked, "So we can find an easy fight?"

  Doubtful with his being able to shift into another form, which brought out deadly creatures, but he didn't want her worrying, so he said, "Maybe."

  "What do the sponsors get if their fighter wins?"

  He'd really like to be able to lie at a time like this, but he couldn't afford to weaken his body with the pain lying brought on. "Nothing for the early rounds and, so you know, they sometimes call one round of fighting, or each battle, a mash at a venue this size. The winners keep fighting until they're either killed or they forfeit. Once you win, the only way to not continue fighting is to forfeit a win, which rarely happens."

  "Then what?"

  "The winner in a category receives anything from money to something a nonhuman would value. Whatever you do, don't ask what the final prize is in my category or you'll throw up a red flag. Anyone who knows about this fight should know the stakes."

  Her footsteps stilled for a moment, then moved forward again.

  Before Evalle could press for more answers he didn't want to speculate on, Storm turned the conversation back to preparing her before they reached the fight circle. "Let's focus on what you have to do. I'm your fighter. You're the only one who can accept or decline a fight offer, but like I said, you have to accept at least one fight once we're there."

  Disgust rolled through her voice when she asked, "What are you? My slave?"

  "Pretty much." Then to take the edge off her stress, he tried to lighten her mood with, "I wouldn't mind being a love slave."

  She rolled her eyes and huffed, all an act to hide the brush of awareness that sparked from her. "In your dreams."

  "Always."

  "You're impossible." But a smile tugged at her lips and happiness swirled from her.

  Seeing her smile gave his heart a punch. From what he'd gathered, she hadn't had a lot of reasons to laugh before he met her. He didn't know why it mattered so much to see her happy, but it did.

  This night couldn't end soon enough so they could get back to his house. He wanted to give her another reason to smile.

  Eyes locked on the valley they were approaching, Evalle asked, "Who came up with this demeaning event?"

  "Greedy people." He forced his mind back to preparing her. "This is all about posturing, so you need to walk in there like you own the place. No one touches a sponsor." Which was why she should be safe. "But some people get mouthy. Don't get physical with anyone, but don't let them shove you around verbally either." Or I'll have to hurt them.

  "Got it." Evalle raised both hands, smoothing loose hairs off her face, then she tightened the elastic band holding her long black ponytail. A simple, yet adorable, look. At five-ten she was a lot of woman, all packed in one fine carry case. Snug jeans covered long legs capable of drop-kicking a demon. She wore a steel-gray Gore-Tex motorcycle jacket, and her black leather boots concealed fighting blades.

  Lethal and hot. She was damn hot.

  And if he kept thinking how much better she'd look out of those clothes, he'd be limping soon. But, son of a bitch, he wanted her. Had since the first time they'd met. But she'd been hurt by someone, and he would not rush her.

  She was a jewel worthy of the wait, whatever time it took for her to feel comfortable with being touched and loved, but it might not be too much longer. She'd been making encouraging noises lately, a sign that she wanted more.

  The minute she was ready, he'd give her everything and then some.

  Evalle stared off into the distance, muttering, "I wish I'd known about these Beast Clubs. I'd have studied up."

  "You'll be fine." He gauged how far they had left to go and took in the stand of trees they were passing. "Stop for a minute and let me have your dagger."

  She pulled the blade out of her boot, whispered something to it and passed the dagger to him.

  He felt a buzz of energy coming off the spelled weapon. Pushing aside one side of his knee-length leather jacket, he used the blade tip to pop a yellow diamond the size of a half marble from where it had been inserted as one of the jaguar eyes carved in his silver belt buckle.

  He handed the stone to Evalle. "This is your buy-in stake."

  She studied the gem through dark sunglasses she wore even at night, which would seem strange to anyone who didn't know her. The sunglasses hid her glowing green Alterant eyes that were uber sensitive to any light and offered night vision similar to his.

  Except that he had no problem with daylight, or the sun that would kill her as well as blind her.

  He unbuckled his belt and pulled it through the loops. "I don't want to wear anything of value around this crowd. Do me a favor and use your kinetics to toss this up in that tree to your right."

  Closing the jewel in her fist, she asked suspiciously, "What's this worth?"

  A rare canary-yellow diamond? Lot of zeroes for the matched set. "Enough to get us into this event."

  She pointed her finger at the belt he held in an open palm and flicked her hand up toward an old oak tree that had lost its leaves. The belt flew up and double wrapped a branch.

  He nodded. "We'll get it on the way out. Ready?"

  She hesitated, saying nothing, but worry rushed off her and raced across his senses. If he tried to console her, she'd just get pissed off. "Make sure you stay close to me without my asking you or they'll suspect we're not sponsor and fighter."

  She started walking again. "What would happen then?"

  "They'd assume we're not here to fight, which would be interpreted as a threat. Wouldn't take much for the organizers to make the leap to us being VIPER agents and the entire place would turn on us."

  "Lovely." She grumbled something under her breath. "Tristan better appreciate this. If you don't walk out under your own power tonight, I'll be the one dragging him to Macha by his family jewels."

  That might be worth getting bloody.

  Hiding his smile, Storm turned back toward the raucous crowd surroun
ded by bright lights and kept coaching her as they moved toward the battles. "Think superior attitude, because in this circle sponsors are power brokers. I'll enter ahead of you as if I'm doubling as your bodyguard. When we find the Domjon, just say you're requesting a fight."

  "What's a Domjon?"

  "The ringmaster, man in charge who pockets the buy-in stakes. His word is final on anything that happens in a Beast Club, even an altercation between sponsors. Once he takes your stake, we move around and check out the competition. The minute we locate Imogenia, we'll scope out her demon for a challenge. That'll give you a chance to cut your deal with the witch."

  "Sounds too easy."

  And anything that sounded easy was usually far from it, but Storm wasn't through giving her instructions. "The Domjon will throw out anyone who abuses power in his arena, but even so, remember not to let the witch touch you, and tell her nothing personal about yourself."

  "My friend Nicole has warned me about dealing with witches."

  "Nicole isn't a dark witch."

  "No, but she's not your average witch either." Evalle shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket and fell silent. "Don't take this wrong, but what's the best way to gain an easy match?"

  He could use the concern playing through her words to motivate her for pulling off this role. "Do what I told you. Bring plenty of attitude. The more arrogant you are, the better shot you'll have at getting your choice of who I fight."

  That brought her chin up with a bold jut. "No problem."

  Had he said she was hot? Smoking body, exotic eyes and legs that went on forever, but he found her confidence sexy as hell. It also kept him constantly worried for her safety.

  She whispered out the side of her mouth, "Anything else before we're too close to talk?"

  "I'll get us to the Domjon. Once a deal is made, you take the lead when we walk around looking for a fight. That's a clear statement that I'm your muscle and you call the shots." Storm slowed when they reached the perimeter of the fighting zone and he noticed flashes of green and blue lights flickering in a halo that circled the valley. "There's a ward protecting the event."

  "We can't get in?"

  "I'll know in a minute." When Storm reached the outer mist circling the area, he pushed his hand into the halo. Light sparked across his dark skin, and tiny fireworks of white and blue burst away from him until an arch formed above his head wide enough for two people to pass through.