The Curse (Beladors)

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  “No,” Tristan roared, lunging against the invisible bonds that sliced his skin. “I’ll kill you!”

  TEN

  It’s almost one thirty. Evalle’s not with you?” Quinn slowly closed the door to his suite behind Tzader.

  Why did Evalle have to be late this time? What could she still be doing this time of night … morning?

  He’d waited long enough to confess his betrayal to her. Guilt, and the potential for losing a friend, were eating through the lining of his stomach.

  “No, haven’t heard a word from her,” Tzader called over his shoulder. When he reached the living room, he went straight for a cushy side chair and sank into it. “Glad to have your help at the cemetery, but why didn’t you let me know you were coming back?”

  “I made up my mind at the last minute, as soon as I felt ready to return.” And I hadn’t planned on seeing you until tomorrow, but that would only have delayed the inevitable. “Should we be concerned about Evalle?”

  “Any other time I might be, but with her on some errand for Macha I’m thinking she’s just running late or I’d probably have heard something from her or the goddess.”

  Quinn detoured to his wet bar, pulling a Guinness from the refrigerator for Tzader and pouring Boodles on the rocks for himself. He handed the chilled brew to Tzader, who wasted no time cracking it open.

  Where to start?

  Quinn had gone over this conversation in his head a hundred times and it never improved. “I would prefer for Evalle to be present so I only have to say this once, but now that I think about it, talking with you first may be better.”

  That brought Tzader’s head up, his brown eyes sharpening. “You still having issues from probing Conlan’s mind?”

  “No noticeable residual issues.”

  “Then, what’s bothering you?”

  “We do have a complication. When I went into the precognitive area of Conlan’s mind and accessed the future … I ran into a problem.”

  Tzader leaned back, shaking his head. “You think I’ve forgotten how you bled from your eyes, nose and every other place blood could get out? Just glad you survived. Hate that you had to be the one to see Conlan joining up with the Medb. I know you had high expectations for him as a Belador warrior.”

  “We both did.” Quinn swirled his drink, staring at the ice. “I condemned a good man to being hunted as a traitor.”

  “Not your fault, Quinn. You were doing your duty. And Conlan did more damage to himself by escaping from VIPER and running.”

  “We gave him no other option. He’d worked double time to prove he was not his traitorous father. Conlan came to the probe session willingly. Why would a traitor allow me, of all people, to search his mind?”

  “I don’t know, but nothing will change popular opinion right now.”

  Hearing resignation in that comment, Quinn asked, “What about you, Z? You thought Conlan was innocent at one time. Do you still think so?”

  “Until I see hard evidence, I’m not willing to convict any person based on a vision of the future.” Tzader twisted his neck, stretching it, then settled back against the chair. “You and I may be the only two who believe in that kid. Best way we can help him is by keeping our game faces on when we’re around VIPER and Brina. Act as if Conlan’s on the top of our most wanted list at all times. That way when we find the real traitor, they’ll listen.”

  “I see your point.”

  Tzader’s arm dangled off the side of the chair, beer loosely clasped in his fingertips. “Right now we have to come up with a plan for the Svart trolls and find out what they’re after in Atlanta. I met with Sen and the other teams at headquarters—”

  This was the part that Quinn had been dreading. He interrupted by raising his hand. “Stop. Before you go any further, there’s something I need to tell you.”

  This time, the drink Tzader took clearly allowed him a pause to think. “Okay. Shoot.”

  “I did experience problems that lingered after the mind probe, but thought I’d heal like I had in the past.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “Yes and no. My mind has healed completely and I’m strong enough to handle a threat or a probe, maybe even stronger than before, but right after the probe while I was in my hotel room, I thought I was having hallucinations of Kizira being in my room.”

  That raised an eyebrow on Tzader’s grim face. “What do you think caused that?”

  “When I was in Conlan’s mind and found the vision of the future where I saw him at a Medb meeting with Kizira, I got distracted and … dropped my shields.”

  “What?” Tzader put his beer down and sat forward, feet on the floor, hands on his knees.

  Quinn circled the mustard-yellow sofa and sat down, placing his drink on the glass end table and propping an arm across cinnamon-red pillows. “The spirit of Conlan’s dead father showed up, but he didn’t interfere. At first, he asked me to protect his son, then later he taunted that we were all fools. When Kizira didn’t see or hear him, I took that as a positive sign. But when she started talking about the attack on Brina and Treoir Castle, I was caught off guard and allowed my shields to fall. Kizira saw me when I did.”

  “To be caught that off guard is … unusual for you.” Tzader spent a moment assessing Quinn. “What shook you?”

  Quinn had argued with himself for hours over how much to tell Tzader, but he, Tzader and Evalle had always had each other’s backs. He’d have to trust that Tzader would continue watching Evalle’s when Quinn was no longer around. “I told you Kizira mentioned Evalle in that vision.”

  “Right.”

  “But I didn’t say in what specific context her name was mentioned. I could claim having been in too much pain, but the truth is that I needed time to digest what I’d seen and heard. With Evalle’s future on the line at the time with the Tribunal, I hesitated to repeat everything said about her.”

  Tzader propped his elbows on his knees and cupped his laced fingers under his chin, sorting through something mentally. “I took what you said to mean we had to keep an eye on Evalle because she was in danger.”

  “I know.”

  “That wasn’t it?”

  “To some degree, yes, but in the vision I observed Conlan telling Kizira that when the time came to take possession of Treoir, he would deliver Evalle to Kizira so that Evalle could destroy the inhabitants and breach the castle.”

  “No way. Evalle would never do that.”

  Lifting a hand to hold off Tzader’s anger, Quinn said, “You’ll get no argument from me, but with Conlan loose, VIPER, Macha and even Brina will have to give every possibility serious consideration, even that one.”

  “I won’t let anything or anyone harm Brina.” Tzader’s conviction shook the air. “But neither will I give Sen the evidence he needs to bury Evalle in a VIPER prison or Macha to terminate her. We’ll capture the traitor before anyone can get to Treoir. Besides, the Medb would have to find Treoir Island first.”

  “That’s not the entire problem.” Quinn looked Tzader in the eye when he told him the last bit. “When I was in my hotel room, I thought I hallucinated that Kizira was there and … we made love.”

  Tzader chuckled, sitting back. “That wasn’t a hallucination, bro. That’s called a fantasy.” Then he sobered and heaved a sigh. “Trust me, I understand about wanting someone you can’t have. You said you two met when you were really young. One time. Your mind and body will never forget her. That’s all. Nothing to feel guilty about, and I know you’re loyal to the Beladors.”

  Quinn allowed a smile, albeit sad. “I wish this was only about lust, but there’s much more going on. When you arrived afterwards at my hotel room and woke me up, I didn’t recall everything about Kizira immediately, but I kept having a feeling that something was wrong. That someone had been inside my hotel room.”

  “I couldn’t get past your warded Triquetra until you moved it from the doorknob, and no one even knows how to figure out which hotel room you’ll be in on any given d
ay but me and Evalle.” Tzader added quietly, “What are you saying, Quinn?”

  “That Kizira did come to my hotel room and we did make love.”

  Rarely surprised by anything, Tzader squinted in disbelief. “Based on what proof?”

  “I had scratches on my back from her nails.” In the precise spot where she’d left them on his back years earlier.

  “She’s a witch. They have ways to make you believe something that’s not real. She could have put a spell on you when she saw you in Conlan’s mind.”

  “She did something to me during the probe, but not a spell. In that split second when I dropped my shields and she saw me, she slipped inside my mind.”

  Tzader muttered a particularly nasty curse, the impact of that not lost on him. “Okay, but that still doesn’t mean she was in your room.”

  Quinn fished a strand of woven hair in the shape of a bracelet from his coat pocket. He’d have to share what he’d never told another soul. Holding up the bracelet, he said, “This is hard evidence. She made this when we were together back when we met thirteen years ago. It’s my hair. She showed this to me at that time right before admitting she was Medb and telling me she had to return to Tŵr Medb. I warned her not to take it with her, that she’d regret keeping the bracelet. She put it on her wrist and said if she ever did regret her time with me, she’d give it back to me. Then she teleported away.”

  “How’d you end up with the bracelet?”

  “Found it on my bathroom vanity right after you left my hotel room. I tried to call out to you telepathically, but my mind exploded with so much pain I passed out again. When I came to, I found out Evalle had been taken into custody.”

  Tzader said, “Figured when I didn’t get an answer even on your cell phone that you’d gone into a deep sleep to heal. I could have used more in your e-mail than ‘Leaving US. Contact you later.’”

  “Sorry about that.” Quinn had plenty of reasons to be disappointed in himself these days. “I sent you and Evalle the only words I could type. I was losing my ability to communicate verbally on the way to the airport. By the time I could speak again, I was deep in the mountains, on another continent.”

  “I understand.”

  He trusted Tzader but didn’t specify what mountains or what continent because he’d given his oath many years ago not to tell where he went when he had to heal. “With Evalle out of VIPER prison and safe from Kizira—”

  Tzader cut in, “If not for that bastard Tristan, Kizira wouldn’t have had a shot at Evalle.”

  “That’s not entirely true.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m the one who told Kizira she would find Evalle with Tristan. At least, I think that’s what I told her. I spent much of the time I was gone dredging through my memories to determine how much damage I might have done before leaving.” Quinn had spent long nights ferreting out pieces of information and even longer nights trying to come to terms with his guilt.

  Tzader hadn’t shown any reaction to that news, but the Belador Maistir seldom allowed his emotions to surface. “Go ahead and get it all out, Quinn.”

  “I convinced myself I had to leave immediately to keep from endangering you, Evalle, Brina and the Beladors. Looking back, I don’t see myself in quite so altruistic a way.” Quinn had been afraid of what he might do involuntarily if Kizira tried to control his mind, but escaping without a word still felt cowardly. “As I healed and my mind strengthened, I managed to piece together what I believe truly happened. Kizira was in the hotel room with me, we did make love and she did convince me to tell her that Evalle was with Tristan.”

  “I hear ya, Quinn, but know this. No real harm done as far as Evalle is concerned, because she outsmarted Kizira in the Maze of Death, but it does bother me that Kizira can get to you in a room you’ve warded. How’d that happen?”

  “I think she was able to teleport into the room because she accessed my mind and found a way to move the Triquetras by using my kinetics.”

  “Can she still do that?”

  “No, at least not the part about getting through my security. I had someone different ward new Triquetras and told him to ward them in a way that the blades can only be moved by my hand, no kinetics.”

  “Good.”

  “That protects me … but not everyone else.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Kizira is still inside my mental walls. I can feel where she’s been and that the pathway is open.” He wouldn’t admit that a part of him enjoyed having a sense of her being near. What kind of person was he to feel that way about an enemy of the Beladors?

  A fool.

  Tzader asked, “Has she come back into your mind?”

  “Not since that night. I would know immediately now if she tried.” He’d expected her to try again but hadn’t felt a thing in three weeks, maybe because of where he’d been while healing. “Doesn’t matter. I’m still a security risk. That’s why I stopped you from telling me anything about what was discussed at headquarters or with Brina.”

  “You said you’d know if Kizira entered your mind again?” Tzader continued, stuck on that for some reason.

  “Yes.”

  “Then this isn’t as bad as it sounds. Evalle will understand about what happened. You know she’d never hold that slip against you.”

  “No, she wouldn’t. I do feel strong enough to keep Kizira from taking control of my mental abilities again, but that doesn’t change the fact that she still may be able to slide inside unexpectedly. There’s too much at risk to …” Quinn paused. “Allow her this level of access to the Beladors.”

  It took about ten seconds for Tzader to understand what Quinn meant. “You expect me to have you executed?”

  “I expect you to do whatever is necessary for the safety of Brina, Evalle and the Beladors. My mind has been one of the most powerful weapons in our tribe since I learned how to control it. Now I fear that weapon might be used against everything I’ve spent my life protecting.”

  Contemplative would be a good way to describe Tzader, which Quinn had expected. He never anticipated Tzader’s next words.

  “We can use this to our advantage.”

  “Come on, Tzader. You’re only delaying that which is inevitable.”

  “I’m not delaying a damn thing.” Tzader could boom his voice without raising it loud enough to be heard in the next room. “I. Will. Not. Kill. You.”

  I would never ask that of you, my friend. “You won’t have to make that decision. I intend to turn myself in to VIPER, and the Tribunal will hand me over to Macha.”

  Tzader pushed to his feet, moving across the room, his brow creased with heavy thinking. He turned back and crossed his arms in a way that meant he would not be swayed from some decision. “I need you and your mind to fight what’s coming. These Svart trolls are most likely a sign of the Medb stepping up their game, but I don’t know how. You’re right about one thing. Your mind is one of our most powerful Belador weapons. Brina can’t afford to lose you. I can’t afford to lose you, and neither can Evalle.”

  The desire to survive was a strange bedmate for honor when faced with duty.

  Quinn had spent the past twenty-four hours getting prepared to face the Tribunal and Macha. He’d been sure everyone who mattered to him would be safer from the Medb with him out of the picture. Tzader made Quinn’s sacrificial death sound as though he would be turning his back on everyone.

  Enticing, but Quinn still had one deadly problem. “What about Kizira?”

  “Can you vow to me that you will put Brina and the Beladors before Kizira, even if it means Kizira’s death?”

  The insult Quinn felt must have shown on his face, but Tzader owed him no apology for asking the blunt question. Quinn said, “Without hesitation after what Kizira did to me and Evalle.”

  Tzader nodded. “That’s good enough for me. You aren’t going to tell anyone what happened with Kizira, but you will tell me immediately if she makes any unexpected appearance in person or in your mi
nd.”

  “I can do that. What if I’m wrong and—” Quinn couldn’t imagine what might happen because he’d put his mind up against the powerful druids who had trained him and they believed Quinn to be stronger than before. He still woke at night with what ifs pounding his skull.

  “I’ll stop you before you can do any damage, Quinn.”

  Quinn would trust that vow only from Tzader, who, Quinn knew, would do whatever duty demanded, no matter the personal loss. “This changes everything … except for still having to confess my betrayal to Evalle.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “I have to, Tzader. I have been tormented for weeks with guilt.”

  “Hate it for you, bro, but she can’t know about what happened with you and Kizira. No one can. Telling Evalle would put her at risk and implicate her down the road.”

  That put only Tzader in the position of losing everything he’d lived for his whole life if anyone found out what had happened between Quinn and Kizira.

  Quinn could still turn himself in.

  Tzader must have picked up on his thoughts. “This isn’t really any different than the agreement you, I and Evalle made after the night we were caught by the Medb in Utah. We’ve all protected each other’s confidences out of honor and friendship. Nothing’s changed. Brina and the future of the Beladors will always come first, but you and Evalle are right behind them.”

  “I will do my best to assure that your trust is not misplaced.”

  “No chance of that.” With the decision of Quinn’s death apparently settled, Tzader drew a deep breath and changed subjects. “About the Svarts.”

  “You were going to tell me about a conversation with Sen.”

  “If you want to call Sen’s rant a conversation. He’s popping off about not having time to constantly come out to clean up our battle messes.”

  Quinn pointed out, “He tends to only complain about the ones involving Evalle.”

  “I know. That’s why I’d like to get dickhead out of our hair if I can. We need a weapon that will kill something like a Svart without harming a human or drawing unwanted attention. Something that can be used at close range.”