SEVENTEEN
Don’t shoot, Isak.”
Evalle hadn’t said that. She’d thought it, but the shouted order had come from the brunette dusting off her white pants.
No hysterics. No glazed look of deep shock.
The brunette ordered another man to throw on the backup security lighting in the warehouse. Her heels clicked all the way over to where the unconscious Rías had now shifted back into the human forklift driver.
“Don’t get near that thing,” Isak snapped at the brunette, who ignored him with a wave of her hand that caused silver bracelets to jangle.
Evalle would like to get a better look at this woman beyond what she could see in her peripheral vision, but Isak still had his weapon pointed at her chest.
He’d picked up a night-vision monocular somewhere, looking even more deadly than usual—like a cyborg on a death mission. He said, “So what was this trip about, Evalle? Thought you could come here and kill all of us?”
She shook her head, suffering unexpected pain at the look of disappointment on his face and even more at his words. She’d had a strange relationship with Isak so far, but she’d always considered him a friend. “No. I don’t harm humans.”
“That’s a hard sale when I know what an Alterant is capable of. What’d you do to make our forklift guy turn into a beast?”
He thinks I’m the reason that Rías shifted? “What makes you think I can make someone change into another form?”
“I have no idea what something like you can do. I don’t make a habit of letting Alterants live long enough for someone to study them.”
She flinched at the insult, then moved straight from terror of dying to seriously pissed off.
But now was not an advisable time to let her temper rip. Isak hadn’t shot her. Yet.
This called for diplomacy.
She sucked at that, but gave it a try. “I know you don’t like Alterants, Isak—”
“I like ’em just fine … well-done.”
The brunette clicked across the concrete floor until she stepped up beside Evalle.
Men armed for combat formed a perimeter of firepower.
Isak’s finger trembled as if it took all his willpower to not shoot. Muscles flexed in his jaw, his neck, his forearm, straining against his need to act.
Even though the brunette’s head barely reached Evalle’s shoulder, she spoke with unquestioned authority. “I mean it, Isak. Don’t shoot her.”
“She’s an Alterant, Kit.”
So that was the woman’s name. It fit her.
“She saved my life.”
“Alterants are killers.”
Evalle shook her head. “I have never harmed or killed a human. I have protected thousands.”
Halogen lights started coming on overhead, slowly brightening the warehouse.
Out of reflex, Evalle reached toward the sunglasses.
Weapon controls clicked in succession all around her.
Kit ordered, “Stand. Down. Now!”
Who is this woman? Evalle felt her sunglasses being tapped against her arm, and Kit said, “Here, sugar. Put these on.”
Evalle took the glasses and slipped them over her eyes, shocked to see all the weapons at ease.
All except Isak’s.
When Kit said, “Isak?” it was as though the little woman hit a pressure release valve.
He ground out a curse that could ignite the air, lowered his weapon to his side and took a step toward Kit.
Evalle jumped in front of the brunette. “Don’t take it out on her.”
Isak’s jaw shifted out and back with unrestrained fury. “Get out of the way, Evalle.”
“Not until you promise not to—”
“Not to what? Do you really think I’d hurt a woman?” Isak’s rage went up another notch at that implication.
Evalle hurried to calm him. “No, of course not, but I don’t want you to … to fire her.”
Feminine laughter erupted behind Evalle, then Kit stepped up beside her. “Thank you, sugar, but I run this place.”
“Oh.” Evalle lifted her shoulders at Isak, who was still ramping up his death glare.
He shifted his steely glint to Kit. “You almost died because of her kind.”
Technically, the beast that had just attacked Kit had been a Rías, but Evalle would save that clarification for later.
“You’re wrong,” Kit argued. “Jasper, the other one, does not have bright green eyes like, uh … Evalle, was it?”
Evalle nodded mutely, keeping her attention on the biggest threat in the room. Isak.
Kit continued. “Thought Alterants had neon-green eyes.”
Nothing swayed Isak. “I am not letting beasts, with or without green eyes, walk free to kill humans.”
Kit stepped up to Isak with her hands on her hips, looking just as intimidating as Isak in that moment. “You’re not killing this one, son.”
Son?
“You don’t know what they’re capable of, Kit.”
“Considering how she stopped that forklift with kinetic energy, if Evalle was going to attack anyone, she would have done so already.” Kit turned to Evalle and smiled. “Of course, if you make a threatening move at this point, every man here, including Isak, will use any means to stop you. Now that we have all that clear, thank you for saving my life.” She extended her hand. “Everyone calls me Kit.”
Isak ground out a disgusted sound and stepped past Evalle without another word, on his way over to where the forklift driver was still on the floor.
When Evalle’s brain spun into gear, she stuck her hand out for a brisk shake with Kit. “Thanks for saving my hide, too. Please don’t kill that Rías.”
“What’s a Rías?”
“The man who shifted into a beast is not an Alterant, but a Rías.” Evalle couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with a human. She didn’t want to think about how many VIPER rules she was breaking at the moment. “I’d like a chance to talk to him.”
Kit turned to where Isak stood with a cluster of his men and called over, “Have them take Jasper to the holding cell.”
Isak peered over his shoulder, clearly not happy with Evalle or Kit. When he swung back to his men, he murmured orders. One of the men walked over to a cabinet, where he pulled out some space-age-looking handcuffs and leg cuffs.
Isak’s men had Jasper trussed up in less than a minute, then carried the poor guy out of sight.
Evalle would like to see this cell that Isak and Kit obviously believed could restrain a nonhuman.
Yet another part of this secret operation.
Evalle gave Kit a smile of relief. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but you do understand that just because I stopped Isak from blowing you to pieces right now doesn’t mean you’re in the clear … or free to leave.”
And here I’d mistaken Isak as the greater threat in the room. Should I call in Tzader or Quinn?
No. That would only draw them to the one group of humans capable of killing them.
Evalle had to handle this on her own and hope she walked out of here alive, but what would Macha and VIPER do when they found out she’d been made as an Alterant by humans?
EIGHTEEN
Any word from Evalle?” Tzader wiped blood from his hands and face with a rag now soaked with the smell of death.
Quinn grimaced as he cleaned his own hands. “Not yet.”
Tzader handed the rag back to Horace Keefer, wishing he could get rid of the troll problem as easily. He asked Horace, “Did you hear back from Trey?”
“Yep. The boy said he’d be here soon with ten of ours and has sent more Beladors to the other teams. That oughta stop a Svart. One at a time.”
“We can only hope. Once Trey arrives, take our injured to headquarters. Tell Sen I’ll talk to him as soon as I can.” As Horace strolled off, Tzader scanned the blood-swathed ground of yet another cemetery and shook his head. “At least we don’t have to call Sen in to clean this up since Adria
nna’s on site.” Tzader paused. “I’m glad you were here to pull some intel from that troll.”
“For what good it did.” Quinn’s self-inflicted disgust was as evident as it was unfair.
“No one else would have stopped that troll. You saved human lives and our team.”
“I didn’t manage to retrieve much useful information, only that jumbled mess.”
“You found out more trolls are coming. That’s something we needed to know, Quinn.”
“But this one kept thinking about demon, then Svart? What could that mean?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he meant they were bringing in demons, too.”
“We would have had our first chance for some real intel if I could have breached his shields and held control for one minute. One. Minute.”
“Next time.” Tzader sent telepathic messages to the Beladors on-site, ordering them to scour the cemetery for any more humans present. Fortunately, this had been a small skirmish, except for the damned Svart troll. Adrianna had put the three human gang members caught up in the fray to sleep with a spell that would leave them thinking they’d dreamed the entire battle.
Those humans would be dropped in the respective neighborhoods for each of their gangs.
Tzader turned back to Quinn. The man had the sick-gut look of someone who’d been sucker punched. Just to distract him from the dead troll, Tzader asked, “You get your family problem dealt with?”
“Yes.”
“She headed home?”
“No.” Quinn’s attention had definitely shifted from the troll. Frustration simmered in his gaze. “Found her downtown. She can’t go home yet.”
“Think anyone has seen her yet?”
“No one with VIPER that I know of, but now that the Nightstalkers know, it won’t be a secret for long.” Quinn’s expression dropped another notch on the grim scale.
“Ah, hell.”
“That pretty much sums it up. She’s hidden in my hotel suite for now. I’ll deal with her as soon as I get back.”
Quinn looked beat, but the man had been forced to destroy two minds today. He held himself accountable and to such a high standard, nothing would offer consolation except a chance to redeem himself in his own mind.
Tzader didn’t want to push Quinn further, but they weren’t gaining ground on this Svart problem, and what he had in mind might help Quinn if it didn’t destroy him. “Are you sure your mind is strong?”
Quinn’s head came up. “Yes.”
“And you think you still have an open path to Kizira?”
Slower to answer this time, Quinn still said, “Yes.”
“If she came into your mind, could you control her invasion long enough to mine her thoughts for information?”
When Quinn didn’t answer right away, Tzader added, “The better question might be could you do that to Kizira?”
“Yes, I’d have no qualms about extracting what we need. I assume you want to determine if the Medb are behind these attacks?”
“That and anything else you can dig up.” Tzader doubted it would be that simple for Quinn, whose integrity prevented him from entering a mind involuntarily unless the person represented a dangerous threat, but Kizira had taken advantage of Quinn while he had no ability to resist.
And she’d used sex to do it.
Tzader had a feeling some of Quinn’s guilt came from not regretting that part of her visit.
Maybe if Quinn could gain information on the Svarts, it would ease some of his remorse over what happened with Kizira, and hopefully help the Beladors stop whatever the Svarts were planning.
If Kizira did not overpower his mind again.
Tzader had to trust that Quinn knew his limits.
Quinn checked his watch, then took stock of the VIPER agents. “Can you afford to be without me for a while?”
“I think we’re good. VIPER has teams running all night, and we have more Beladors arriving from the West Coast, since this seems to be isolated to the Southeast, Atlanta in particular. I’ll be back as soon as I can, too.”
“Where are you going?”
“Brina wants another meeting.” Tzader lifted his hand in a don’t-ask motion. He’d heard her telepathic call just as the battle started. She had something to discuss with him as soon as he could return to Treoir.
“Should I remain until you make it back here?” Quinn offered.
“No. Trey should be here soon. So far we haven’t had more than one Svart troll at each battle. If ten Beladors can’t stop a troll, we’re in big trouble. Trey can find either of us if he needs us.” Tzader was a powerful telepath, but Trey McCree had legendary telepathic ability. “Right now we both need to grab some rest or we’re going to put our Beladors and other VIPER agents at risk.”
“Understood.” Quinn nodded and walked away.
Trey arrived, looking as if he’d just climbed out of bed, his normal state of grooming. He gave Tzader a nod, accepting control of the teams for the night.
Striding quickly to his 1970 Hemi ’Cuda, Tzader climbed in and locked the doors. A warding had been worked into the vehicle’s frame back when he and his dad had stripped the engine down to the camshaft, then rebuilt the entire car from the ground up. His body would be safe inside here.
Slowing his breathing, he called upon his ability to change into holographic form.
He locked his jaw against the chill that covered his skin when he left his body so he could travel to the hidden island few Beladors knew how to find. A select few that he trusted to protect Treoir should anything happen to him unexpectedly.
Until then, he’d be on the front line keeping Brina safe.
When he drew close enough to feel the pull of Treoir Island, Tzader called telepathically to Brina, letting her know he was ready to enter.
A minute passed.
What was the problem?
In no mood to be kept waiting, he called out again. Brina, are you there or not?
I’ll be only a minute, Tzader.
It wasn’t like she had to open a door. Brina? Are you all right?
Yes … just hang on.
So now his visits were being downgraded to the level of a phone call? Now wasn’t the time to get cranky, but sleep hadn’t been peaceful or lengthy for him over the past few weeks. He rubbed his face and eyes to push off the irritation riding his shoulders.
You are welcome to enter, Tzader Burke.
The room came into focus just as Brina walked in from the hallway that led to her private quarters.
Had she been lying down? Was she not well?
Asking those questions could be misconstrued as encouraging a relationship with her, which would break his vow to Macha. In fact, he’d agreed to convince Brina he was no longer interested in … them.
Treoir needed an heir. Now.
He couldn’t think about that, about her having a child with another man, and behave with any civility. So he blanked his mind of everything except dealing with the Svart problem.
“My thanks to you for returnin’ so soon, Tzader.”
That sounded damned formal, but he had no reason to criticize her. He had to let it go and be just as businesslike about this. “Not a problem. To update you, we’re in the process of getting a Nyght weapon. Something that will kill the trolls without putting so many of our people at risk.”
“Excellent.”
She sounded pleased. Maybe this meeting would go better than the last. He added, “We think the Medb may be behind this Svart problem. Quinn’s searching for intel to determine if they are and, if so, why.”
No point in sharing how Quinn intended to gain that intel.
“That is most encouragin’ news.” Brina’s light voice held a pleasure Tzader hadn’t heard in a while.
The unexpected sound eased the stiff muscles in his neck.
She settled on her sofa. “I’ll be makin’ this quick, but I need to tell you about the situation with Evalle.”
“What do you mean?”
“Macha is at
a Tribunal meetin’ to pacify Dakkar.”
“The bounty hunter? What’s his problem with Evalle?”
“An Alterant shifted an’ killed one of his hunters. He’s expectin’ to be compensated.”
Tzader’s muscles wound back up with that news. How far would Macha negotiate in Evalle’s favor when Evalle hadn’t been able to deliver a single Alterant over the past three weeks since making a deal with the goddess? “What kind of compensation?”
“I have no word yet, but I expect that we’ll be hearin’ word by tomorrow.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
Brina’s fingers tensed where she clutched the cushion she sat on. “I assumed you’d be wantin’ that information in case …”
“In case Evalle just disappears again.”
“I did not say that,” Brina countered in a tight voice.
“But that’s why you’re telling me. I thought Evalle’s deal with Macha meant Evalle wouldn’t get yanked into Tribunal meetings anymore to answer for someone else’s transgressions.”
Brina sat up straighter, just as in the past when she’d get her back up over something. “I mention this only so you’ll not be surprised.”
“What I know is that Evalle shouldn’t be held responsible, especially when I bet no one has determined if it was even an Alterant that killed the bounty hunter. Could have been a Rías since not everyone knows the difference.” Tzader struggled to keep from raising his voice. Yelling at Brina wouldn’t help Evalle or him right now.
Macha might like the friction climbing between Brina and him these last two meetings, since the goddess expected him to break off their relationship, but he didn’t. For the first time in his life, Tzader questioned whether he could put honor first and walk away from Brina.
Just as he questioned whether Brina truly wanted him out of her life.
With Macha away at the Tribunal, he didn’t see the harm in getting some straight answers from Brina. What could be dishonorable about asking her straight up if she still loved him?
Tzader shook off his anger and smiled at her. “Do you—”
The male Belador guard Tzader had seen during his earlier visit came walking up the hallway, and Tzader lost his train of thought. That hallway led to Brina’s private quarters.
The Curse (Beladors) Page 17