"That's not fair. Grady is very intelligent and you know it. If not for him we'd have no idea where Ixxter disappeared to when you lost him."
"If he's here." Tristan would not face Daegan and admit he'd lost the trail. He'd find Ixxter if it took shaking hands with Nightstalkers all night long.
"Let's circle the building to see how many doors there are and if we can find a window," she suggested.
Tristan stepped ahead, walking to the right. On the backside, the first thing he spotted was a white van. "Someone's here."
"It's a bad sign that we haven't gotten a telepathic message from Ixxter."
"Yep. If he was in trouble, he'd be calling out." Tristan had hoped Ixxter was just a pain in his ass and not a traitor.
"There are three skylights on top. They look pretty old and dirty."
Tristan had noticed them too. The metal building was a half-round quonset shape. He could teleport up, but he might slide off.
Evalle must have figured out the same thing. She said, "Let me push you up with my kinetics and you look in."
"Good idea."
"What was that?" she asked. "I'm sure I didn't hear you clearly."
He glowered at her and moved over next to the building. "You're stomping all over my last good nerve. Let's move it before they come out."
She chuckled and said, "Ready?"
When he nodded, she lifted him in the air until he could lean over with his hands on the curved top of the building. He eased sideways for a look through the dingy skylight.
Ixxter was definitely there, but he was chained to the floor, and his neck was locked in a two-inch-thick, steel collar. His hands were in similar two-inch-thick cuffs, also chained to the floor.
Just Ixxter and two men.
One guy turned a small, handheld stun gun on Ixxter, hitting him with a steady stream of electricity.
Ixxter shook and yelled, though Tristan couldn't hear him. The Alterant's face twisted out of shape. His hands lengthened, claws curled from the tips. His legs shook and muscles ripped the sides of his jeans.
He was trying to shift.
What was shielding the sound? A spell or ward?
Tristan spoke to Evalle telepathically. Ixxter is in there, but he's a prisoner. Let me down. We have to go get him.
His feet touched on the ground.
Evalle had her game face on. "How many?"
"Two. They may have the inside warded. I couldn't hear Ixxter but they were shocking him and have him bound so that he can't shift."
A sick look in her eyes mirrored the feeling in Tristan's chest. He told her, "We have a better chance of rescuing him if we can get the men out of the building."
She looked around. "Get ready. This should get them out."
Walking over to the nearest tree, a maple maybe twenty-five feet tall, she stepped back and hit it with a kinetic blast.
With the ground saturated from too much rain, it didn't take much to topple the tree onto the van sitting by the door to the hangar. Evalle hid behind a tree with a giant trunk.
Tristan stepped in beside her.
The door flew open and one man stuck his head out. He took in the tree and van, started cursing and called to his buddy. Then he stepped out to walk around their damaged ride.
Bad guy number two joined him.
Tristan told Evalle telepathically, I'll teleport us behind them.
She jerked her head in a "let's do it" motion.
He called up his teleporting and they were behind the goons in a blink. Tristan slammed his guy with a fist powered by kinetics, knocking him into the van.
The guy rolled away and flipped his hand to shove the van at Tristan. It pinned him to the building. Damn, that hurt.
He lifted the bumper and sent the van flipping end over end until it crashed against trees. Then he called up his Alterant power that packed a lot more punch than a regular Belador.
His opponent stared at the van, then back at Tristan just as Tristan drove a pile-driver fist at the guy's chest. It caved in, which meant his heart should explode.
Blood ran from the guy's mouth, then he hit the ground clutching his chest.
Tristan murmured, "As Beetlejuice would say, dead, dead, deadski."
Tristan spun, looking for Evalle who was swapping kinetic strikes with her guy. She hit him with a hard one-two punch, then did one of her ninja moves to dash in fast and kick him backwards. He hit the building. She was on him in a flash, and broke his neck with one twist.
Tristan hurried inside.
Ixxter opened his mouth, which had returned to normal shape, but he could only say, "Key."
"Be right back." Tristan ran back out to Evalle. "Look for a key."
She frisked the guy she'd killed, and in ten seconds, she said, "Found a ring of keys."
Back inside, they unlocked the bindings on Ixxter. He wobbled as he stood, but he could walk. He said, "Gotta go. Shift change coming soon."
"I've got a car a half mile away," Tristan told him. "Can you make it that far?"
"Can I fly?"
"No."
Ixxter said, "Shit. Won't be fast."
Tristan had stepped outside and rounded the building when headlights from a vehicle coming down the dirt road lit them up. He shouted, "Evalle, link with me and grab Ixxter's arm."
He felt Evalle's energy surge as she linked just in time. A streak of power shot out of the vehicle as Tristan teleported them away.
Teleporting was tough with one more person. He'd found out he could handle two without linking for extra power, and he was pretty sure that was due to Daegan showing up.
Treoir was the Belador power center and having that dragon on the island packed more punch than anything Tristan had ever seen. Macha had used and fed on the Belador power, but she hadn't actually been Belador. They'd gained nothing extra by having her in control.
Daegan was a total game changer.
Evalle mumbled something as they came out of the teleporting.
The last time he'd linked and teleported multiple bodies, Tristan had been jumping from point to point and between realms to outrun the enemy. He'd ended up with blood coming out of every orifice.
Yeah, not in a hurry to do that again. The link with Evalle made it way easier, but it still took a lot of his juice.
Evalle stepped away from Tristan and Ixxter as soon as they reached the rooftop in downtown Atlanta. He'd found it to be a safe spot in the past, and it was close to where he stayed in a hotel where a friend kept a room for him.
Wind swirled over the dark rooftop, bringing a promise of more cold weather with it.
He felt the link evaporate, and Evalle had her hand over her stomach.
"You're not going to barf are you?"
She swung around with an evil threat in her gaze. Earlier rain had stuck loose hairs to her face and neck. "Daegan is so much better at that."
"Well, he was born with it and he's had that power for two thousand years. I got mine as a side effect of a witch highball and I haven't had mine for even two years."
Ixxter said, "Sure you two aren't siblings? You sure as hell argue like you came from the same womb."
Tristan and Evalle both shouted, "No!"
Holding up his hands in defeat, Ixxter said, "Chill. I didn't think it was such a bad ride."
Tristan grinned, but then Ixxter added, "Sort of like flying in a cement mixer."
"You two suck," Tristan muttered and sat down on an air conditioning unit. "I save your ass and that's the thanks I get?"
He couldn't give Ixxter too much grief. The guy was hobbling around after not-so-delicate handling at someone's hands.
Ixxter hadn't used his Alterant beast power to heal yet.
Evalle said, "Now that you're free and we're not in danger of being captured, what's going on?"
Tristan wouldn't call Ixxter homely, but the guy was a bruiser and his nose had been broken so many times, there was no telling what it originally looked like. The other injuries were new, though. His s
kin had been burned and cut all over. He limped over to the other side of the large commercial unit Tristan sat on and parked his butt.
Ixxter expelled a tired breath. Torture was exhausting business. "Those people approached me with a deal to help them hunt stuff."
"Who are those people and what kind of stuff are they hunting?" Tristan asked.
Ixxter scratched his head. "I know you won't believe this, but they're Beladors. They have kinetics, telepathy and their power feels just like ours. Well, not like ours. We're Alterants, but you know what I mean."
"We believe you," Evalle said in a reassuring voice. "But did they say they were Beladors?"
"I asked and they said they were better than Beladors."
Evalle scoffed. "That sounds like testosterone talking. We need whatever you can give us, Ixxter. What are they hunting?"
"Alterants for one, but they're more interested in trying to get their hands on a body. They need someone who can get it out of a tomb."
Tristan looked at Evalle, who perked up. She asked, "Did they give you a name for this body?"
"No."
Evalle came into Tristan's mind, saying, It might be Kizira.
We need to know for sure.
What are the odds that a group who attacked an Alterant are looking for another body in a tomb they can't open?
Hey, I'm just sayin'.
She nodded. "What else can you tell us about the body they want, Ixxter?"
"Nothing really. They just can't get inside the little building."
Tristan asked, "Why not?"
Ixxter sounded exasperated as if he expected them to understand his roundabout way of explaining. "They talked to Nightstalkers at cemeteries until they found this body. Then they stole a ... little building, you know, a tomb with the body inside. They're afraid to open it 'cause they tried with a Medb witch, then a warlock. Both got hurt. That tomb didn't get sealed by a human."
Tristan traded a look of confirmation with Evalle. Her shoulders relaxed in a moment of relief. The thieves couldn't get to Kizira. Yet.
Tristan coaxed Ixxter, "Do you know where the tomb is?"
"Uh, maybe. They took me up to a camp they're using as their headquarters. I didn't know where it was until after we'd left there though. The guys you killed were bitching on the drive down through Atlanta. They were complaining about having to go so far away because their boss didn't want to risk having me nearby when they ... questioned me."
What Ixxter meant was they wanted to keep an Alterant that shifted into a gryphon far from their headquarters in case torturing him got out of hand.
"Where's the camp?" Tristan had to keep Ixxter on track.
"It might be Athens or Blairsville. They were talking about both places, and I couldn't see out the van when we left."
Evalle's face fell at having two different locations. She asked, "What are they doing about opening the tomb?"
"They need the person who booby-trapped it to open the thing."
Snorting at that, Tristan asked, "They really expect the person who put that kind of security in place to just show up and pop the body out?"
"No." Ixxter shrugged as if none of this mattered to him, which it wouldn't since he had no knowledge of Quinn's involvement or Kizira's missing body.
Frustration pouring off Tristan would drown them soon. He asked, "Did they kidnap you to see if you could open it?"
Wiping perspiration off his forehead, Ixxter said, "No. They have hostages they're gonna kill if the tomb isn't opened before some meeting."
Evalle jumped up. "What? Who did they take as hostages?"
Ixxter stood and looked like he was a second from shifting.
Tristan barked out, "Don't, Ixxter!"
Ixxter turned a deadly glare on Tristan, who met it and let Ixxter see what he'd be up against if he made the wrong move.
For someone who took forever to give up intel, Ixxter was quick to accept who was top alpha right now. He grumbled, "You don't want me shifting, then don't yell at me. I just had enough electricity shot through me to light up this damn city. I didn't cause any of this."
"You're right," Evalle said, lifting her hand in surrender. "I'm sorry I shouted. I'm not upset with you. I just need to know who the hostages are and where the tomb is."
"Okay, okay. Chill for a second and I'll tell you what I know."
Tristan rolled his eyes. Hadn't they been asking that since this started? He calmly asked, "Can you give us a run down in order of how it happened?"
Ixxter's brow creased with concentration. "I saw you tailing me so I dumped you." He peeked up at Tristan then continued. "I just need some time to do what I wanted to do. I put on sunglasses and went to a strip bar near downtown." He paused, eyebrows drawing together. "Bastards broke my glasses. Anyhow, I shook your tail, but not two guys who had been following me since I showed up in Piedmont Park."
Tristan had Daegan intentionally drop Ixxter in the park. Based on all the attacks in that area, Tristan and Daegan figured their enemy would have eyes on the park. Ixxter had been put right in their hands. Tristan felt bad about that after how he'd found the Alterant.
Ixxter said, "I knew those two stalking me were Beladors so I figured I was busted. Wearing sunglasses in a dark bar pretty much screams Alterant to any nonhuman aware of us. But nothing happened until I walked out of the strip joint. They cornered me and offered me an opportunity. Said I could make a lot of money if I helped them. Be set forever."
Had Ixxter believed that? Tristan hoped not. "What did they want you to do?"
"Convince Beladors to join them. They knew Macha was gone and Queen Maeve is pissed at us. They said if I helped them find the Belador who sealed that tomb, I could ask for anything I wanted. Sounded pretty good, but I didn't have any idea who buried a body in it."
"What'd you do then?" Tristan asked, wondering if Ixxter had considered swapping sides.
"I told them to show me what they had. They put me in that white van where I couldn't see anything and took me to their camp."
"But you could have escaped at that point," Evalle pointed out.
"Oh, sure. They were just Beladors. They couldn't stop me if I wanted out," he boasted.
Tristan pushed them back on track, needing to figure out where this Alterant stood. "So why'd you go with them?"
Ixxter looked at him with hard green eyes. "How'd you find me in that hangar?"
No point in lying to him. Tristan explained, "We were following you."
"Why? I mean, I'm glad, but why?"
Tristan exchanged a look with Evalle. She said, "We're running out of time on that body."
He sighed and laid it out for Ixxter. "We suspected Beladors were being recruited by an enemy. Some have played a role in recent killings. We had to be proactive about being sure who is on our side or not."
"Huh." Ixxter didn't look pleased. "So you thought I was going to the other side? A traitor. Why? Because I hate being on Treoir? I admit that, but it doesn't mean I'm the enemy."
Evalle raked her hand over her wet hair. "We know. I'm sorry we had to doubt you, but you've proven yourself today and we'll be the first to tell Daegan that you held firm."
"I didn't say I was going back to Treoir," Ixxter countered, still not happy with them.
At one time, Tristan had sounded much like Ixxter, and the bottom line was, he'd been disillusioned by everyone and everything. He wouldn't have lifted a finger to help a Belador, but Evalle had stepped in to save his bacon more than once.
Now Daegan was ready to face off against every power out there for his people.
Tristan had found a home and, by the gods, he was not allowing anyone to destroy it without a fight. But fighting Ixxter was not going to move this along.
"Listen, Ixxter, I know it sucks to have people not trust you. Having people doubt you is the pits. I've been there. But think about it. You didn't give us a lot of reason to believe in you. Consider this a test that you passed. You can piss and moan about the injustice of it,
but we live in a world where nothing is as it seems. We have to know who we can depend on."
Evalle blinked in surprise then she said, "Uh, what he said. I can understand if you're angry, but we're glad to know you're on our side. Right now though, we need to know who they have for hostages. What else can you tell us?"
"Not much." Ixxter sounded weary, as if the fight had drained out of him. "They took me to this camp. The man in charge was not Belador."
"Really?" Evalle looked ready to leap. "Who or what was he?"
"They called him sir, so I don't have a name, and I can't tell you what he was. He didn't have the powers that the Beladors had, but every one of them jumped to do what he said. Big guy, but not as big as me. More like Tristan's size." Ixxter's eyes laughed in Tristan's direction.
"Whatever." Tristan waved him on. "Keep going."
"They took me to this tomb and told me to give it a go. To see if I could open it. I tried to hammer a kinetic hit on it. I chipped the marble. Gave me a freaking headache from hell for about ten minutes. I told them that was it, the only trick I had in my bag. The head guy demanded the name of the Belador who could open it and I told them I didn't know. He got pissed and told his men to take me to where they could get the answers he needed."
"Why didn't you leave then?" Evalle asked.
"Hell, I thought I'd stay with them until I had no choice but to go, then I'd have something to tell the Beladors." Ixxter turned his blazing gaze on Tristan. "I was thinking I could use it to prove I've got more value than using me as a drone on an island. I hate living there, but I'm not human and I'm also not stupid. I wanted a way to work here in the human world. That was a no-brainer. Just convince everyone I could do what you and Evalle do."
Man, this new job sucked, but Tristan couldn't go backwards now. "I hear you. Now's not the time, but we'll talk."
"If you knew Tristan was following you, why didn't you use telepathy at the hangar, Ixxter?"
"I tried. They had a spell hanging over that space and had to use mobile phones themselves."
Evalle huffed out a sound that let everyone know she was out of patience. "What about the hostages? Were they Beladors? What'd they look like?"
Ixxter stared off, thinking. "Two young guys."
"Anything else? Tall, short, hair color?"
"Good looking, about seventeen or eighteen. Identical twins. One in a black pullover and the other in a red one."
Evalle grabbed Ixxter's shoulder. "Blond twins?"
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