The queen yelled, "You miserable dragon!" She looked up at Loki. "Don't you realize that if you fail to kill him now while you can, you may never get another chance?"
"I realize what you are saying," Loki told her. "But I find this situation too amusing to take sides. Is his claim that you killed his sister true? If so, you must hand over her body. Now."
Queen Maeve began growing in size, something Quinn was fairly certain would get a deity banned from the coalition.
Loki warned her, "This is unacceptable behavior, Maeve."
Her hair exploded from the perfectly styled look of moments ago and flew all around her head.
The dress burst into flames.
Cathbad shouted, "No, Maeve. Come down here. Don't do this."
"Shut up, all of you," she roared in a deep, evil voice. "You had a chance to kill that miserable dragon, but none of you has the nerve. I want no part of this spineless group if you aren't capable of carrying out a judgment."
Loki snarled, "We have always dealt out our judgments and at this moment, you are in contempt of our court." He lifted his hand, but a flash of red flared into a giant fireworks explosion that sucked into itself and disappeared.
Cathbad vanished a second later.
Well, hell. Quinn would never have bet on that happening.
Loki conferred with the other two deities then turned to Daegan. "We have no argument with you, dragon king, but where do you stand regarding the coalition?"
No longer adversarial, Daegan said, "I believe there is a need for a form of government among the preternaturals. I have no desire to govern any except those who follow me. I'll support VIPER as long as all of my people, including Beladors, Alterants, gryphons or any other beings who have sworn, or in future swear, allegiance to me, are treated fairly." He paused to address Sen when he added, "No one is to touch any of my people without coming to me first."
Returning to face the dais, Daegan continued. "Am I correct in assuming that after the queen's exit that the Medb are no longer members of the coalition?"
Loki studied on that a moment and said, "Yes. Her action is unacceptable. Henceforth, the Medb are no longer members of the coalition."
"I want to make one more thing clear," Daegan added. "Quinn who stands with me now, Evalle Kincaid, her mate Storm, Tzader Burke, Brina Treoir, Adrianna Lafontaine and Tristan the gryphon are my high council. In fact, Tristan is my second-in-command."
Quinn caught a noise of surprise from Sen, but didn't want to move and distract anyone from Daegan while he held the floor.
"My Beladors will continue to protect humanity and not engage in conflict with any other preternaturals unless given reason. If we don't do this, chaos will rule the human world, deities will form alliances, then we'll be spending our time battling each other. I possess the largest army, but they have families who are human. Their families are under my protection as well. Are we agreed?"
The deities exchanged a silent communication then Loki nodded. "Agreed." Then the smart mouth added, "I look forward to discovering who your mother is ... or was."
Daegan said, "You do that."
Then Quinn's body spun out of shape as Daegan teleported them away.
Chapter 43
Treoir Island
The fire caught quickly and flames engulfed the body.
An hour after the Tribunal meeting, Quinn stood straight, hands at his sides, thinking of the last time he'd held Kizira. What he would give to touch her one more time and part on better terms than they had, but that was never going to happen.
Tears pooled in his eyes, but he held them back. He'd shed enough over losing her.
He'd never really possessed her.
She'd come into his life for two weeks when he was a very young man, just long enough to discover that the warm young woman with too much heart was a Medb priestess.
But some things in life couldn't be avoided, like an unwanted Medb birthright.
Kizira had hated being a Medb, but when they went their separate ways more than thirteen years ago, she'd accepted her duty as he had his. He forgave her for not telling him sooner about their child. But he'd missed a child's lifetime with Phoedra.
He and Kizira had met a few times over the years since parting ways. They'd been sometimes lovers, and always enemies, but the last time he'd looked into her eyes was the one he'd carry with him for the rest of his life.
"How are you doing?" Evalle asked, stepping up beside him.
That broke his focus from the funeral pyre. "I'm fine."
Storm stepped up and said, "Lie."
When Quinn looked at him, he saw that Storm had been poking at him in a friendly way and Quinn answered with a shrug. "Let's say that I'm looking forward and the future will be fine."
"Truth."
Daegan had teleported Quinn to Treoir from the Tribunal, which probably really pissed off Sen, who now knew he wasn't so special after all. Then Daegan teleported the tomb from Evalle and Storm's garage, plus both of them and Tristan to Treoir, where Quinn explained what he wanted to do.
Brina stood in front of Tzader with his arms wrapped around her baby bump. They whispered between them in a sad tone.
Tristan had taken on the duty of creating the pyre once Quinn explained that he was going to cremate Kizira. Daegan actually suggested doing it here, which had surprised Quinn.
He would never have asked to have the funeral of a Medb priestess on Treoir Island.
Things were going to be different with Daegan, for sure. It sounded as if the Beladors were heading into a war, but thanks to Daegan's intervention, Quinn would be there for everyone, including Daegan.
Daegan walked over, arms crossed over his bulky chest. He was still dressed like a warrior from centuries ago, which must feel normal to him.
Once everyone had joined Quinn, he said, "First, I wish I hadn't put anyone in jeopardy because of my relationship with Kizira."
Evalle gently argued, "If not for that, Kizira would never have teamed up with me before the big battle here to help save our people. It wasn't all bad."
"No, it wasn't," he agreed. "But I want to thank all of you. This was more than I would have expected to have for her. I feel like this will be the closure I needed."
Daegan observed him with sharp eyes. "You must have had a reason for waiting to do this."
It was time to give Daegan the entire truth. "I did. When Kizira told me about our child at the last second before she died, I was ... wracked with guilt. I convinced myself that the one thing I could do was give Phoedra a body to grieve. If we were human, that wouldn't have been unusual, but we're not. I foolishly thought I could protect that body. I should have been thinking about protecting my child first and foremost."
Tristan said, "Now I understand more."
Tzader squeezed Quinn's shoulder, a sign of support, and Brina said, "We'll find her, Quinn."
"Yes we will," Evalle confirmed with a determination that surfaced anytime someone in her close circle of friends was in need.
Daegan said, "She must be found."
Quinn nodded, in total agreement. He had no idea where to start, but he would find his child.
"We have time, but there's no telling how much," Daegan said, confusing Quinn.
"Queen Maeve can't touch Kizira's body now," Evalle pointed out.
"That solves only one problem." Daegan took in every face, then said, "Cathbad and Queen Maeve had not discovered anything about this child before I left, but that doesn't mean they can't find out. The queen kept watching Kizira die on her scrying wall. She knew then that something was up and will suspect even more now that she's been denied the body."
Tzader said, "I'm pretty sure we wrecked that wall when we pulled you out of there, Daegan."
The dragon king nodded. "I hope so, but that will not prevent her from finding out through other ways. No secret remains hidden forever in our world. After today, she'll be even more determined to find out what Kizira was hiding."
"Can she?" Ev
alle asked. "I mean don't we plan to salt the ashes and spread them afterwards?"
"Yes," Quinn answered.
Daegan continued on his line of thought as he stared at the fire. "Queen Maeve did not manage to keep her coven growing over thousands of years and reincarnate by luck alone. She's a dangerous adversary who will not be stopped by a destroyed scrying wall." The dragon king finally dropped it by saying, "We still have to figure out who was behind Lorwerth. I'm not fully convinced that it was Maeve, or at least not Maeve alone. Not after seeing her at the Tribunal. That will wait for tomorrow. We'll meet to develop a strategy for hunting the girl then."
Quinn's heart had beaten faster with each declaration Daegan made. Where would Kizira have hidden their child to keep her from all this bloody insanity?
His gut twisted with worry for his daughter out there exposed to the predators of his world. Dark witches. Evil mages like the one who'd harmed Lanna. Demons, like the ones that hunted Reese.
Where had Reese gone? Was she safe?
He'd never find out.
If he'd gotten to know her better, he might have asked her to use her remote vision gift to help him find Phoedra, but she'd vanished into the ether. Whoever had sent her to Atlanta had very likely covered her tracks when she returned home.
What would that person say when Reese arrived empty-handed?
As the fire burned, he said his goodbye to Kizira and swore he'd find their daughter. Now he just had to figure out how to make good on that vow.
Yes, the Beladors had resources, but the world was a huge place and she was one small girl.
Chapter 44
Mosquito Mountain, Haida Gwaii Islands, British Columbia
When the crazy fog of colors caused by teleporting ended, Reese was standing on Yaahl's mountaintop.
His pedestal boulder in the middle of the pond was empty.
He had to know she was here.
I'm not in the mood for his crap. She called out, "Can we get this moving? I'm tired."
Way above, the giant raven flapped slowly, circling the strange dome that enclosed his realm here. Yaahl continued spiraling down slowly until his raven feet touched the stone and he turned into his human form, all decked out in black.
The guy needed some fashion tips.
Holding his arms out, he asked, "What, no greeting?"
She had little enthusiasm for playing his games, but in an effort to move this along she replied, "Hey, Yaahl."
This time she sounded like Paula Deen after a wedding cake had fallen.
"I don't see a body, Reese. Do you have Kizira tucked in a pocket?"
Jimmy Fallon, you're not.
This was the moment she had to face never getting her powers back. Her stomach ached and her heart was in full depression.
Ten years without her powers had been hard, but in the back of her mind she'd always had hope. Yaahl was a pain in her backside, but he was good for his word and ten years ago he'd said that when he thought she'd earned them back, he'd untether her powers.
That was all in the past now.
"No, I don't have the body, Yaahl."
"Why not? What could possibly be more important than your powers?"
She'd be asking herself that for the rest of her life and her answer would always be the same. "It wasn't mine to give to you and it wasn't yours to have. A lot of bad people were after Kizira's body, but one man risked everything to protect her." Reese's eyes burned with tears she would not shed.
Not here.
She swallowed the disappointment and said, "It came down to a choice. I had to ask myself if I should take something important from someone else just to get what I wanted. A funny thing happened along the way. I realized I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that. So, really the choice was whether I could take what I'd been sent for and leave without a conscience or leave that body with the person it belonged to and look myself in the mirror forever. I'm a fan of mirrors."
What she would not share with Yaahl was that she wanted to remember that image of Quinn's face filled with the relief that he hadn't failed Kizira.
No man would ever care that much for Reese, but it was nice to know one man with a heart of gold existed. A man capable of putting the woman he cared for first.
"You do recall our agreement?"
"Yessss. If I did not return with Kizira's body, you would never unbind my powers."
He frowned and rolled his head from side to side as if considering her answer. "That's not exactly what I said."
She had to suffer being critiqued on a paraphrase?
"In fact," Yaahl went on explaining. "I said that if you allowed the body to fall into the wrong hands I would never release your powers."
She thought through that, trying to figure out his point. "And?"
"My minions tell me the body was kept from the wrong hands."
She brightened. "Does that mean you're going to free my powers?"
"No."
She swallowed a curse, not in any mood to be punished by Yaahl's landscape. "I'm not following you. Is this good or bad?"
"Neither and both."
Did she mention how much she hated this crap? She stared at him, determined to make him explain, which he did.
"You failed to retrieve the body, but you succeeded in keeping it from the wrong people. More importantly, you have proven you can change and that there is hope for you."
Don't smart off. She kept repeating that in her head.
"For that reason, you may yet receive your powers back," Yaahl explained.
That was good, right?
So why did she still feel such loss after all that had happened? Maybe because she'd had a taste of her powers, just enough to miss them even more, plus ... she'd never see Quinn again.
That was a stupid thought. She wanted nothing to do with men.
But she had liked being with Quinn.
It didn't matter if she ever saw him again. She couldn't compete with a ghost. Kizira had been a Medb priestess and from all accounts she'd read on the dark net, a beautiful one. It didn't take much of a leap for Reese to realize Quinn had been in love with Kizira.
Reese had no powers, was not a beauty and demons would still be hunting her. Not exactly a catch.
She still wondered about something, though. It was like getting to the end of a story and finding the last pages blank. "One more thing. What about Kizira's body? Is it safe?"
Only an idiot would ask him about the body she'd failed to deliver, but she'd proven her lack of IQ back in Georgia when she'd gone into that demon-infested energy field.
She'd do it again ... if she had Quinn at her side.
"Kizira's body is finally at rest and no longer under threat from her family. That is enough for me."
That was that. Now to get back to her life, but that wasn't going to happen. Not in the same place she'd lived.
She stated, "I'll go somewhere far from my place in San Diego, but please don't lift your protection from my neighborhood. It isn't their fault I moved there." Or that she'd made friends.
And found a dog.
Gibbons's happy fur face popped into her mind.
She struggled against tears again. Would she have to give up her dog? Of course she would, or some demon would kill him. Her friends would forget about her, but how could her sweet mutt understand why she'd abandoned him?
Yaahl said, "I will agree to that, but I have no wish to spend my energy watching over your friends and that beast. You can do that yourself."
Her head snapped up. Had she heard correctly? "What are you saying?"
"I'm sending you home and the area you consider your neighborhood will be repellent to demons. Step outside of that and you're on your own. Understood?"
"I get it. Thank you." She was thoroughly confused on what he was up to, because Yaahl made no decision lightly. But if that made him happy right now, then going home to a demon-free zone worked for her.
She lifted the medallion cord over her head and hel
d it in her hand. A crow flew down, picked it up and flew away.
Okay, then.
"You're definitely different," Yaahl mused.
Reese considered his words, but had learned less was more with him. She gave a noncommittal, "Uh huh."
"I think you met someone who made an impression on you."
"You think? Didn't your minions report everything I did?"
"They observe and return with specific details, but they could not observe you late in your visit."
He'd sent her into the middle of a bloody battle and called it a visit. What was he saying? Ah, the crows couldn't keep track of her while she'd been inside the buzzing energy field.
Not surprising, since other powers hadn't worked while the energy field was active, but still ...
Interesting.
He suggested, "It's not a weakness to care for someone again, Reese."
"Doesn't matter. I don't care for anyone." She'd said that too quickly.
Yaahl couldn't possibly know that she'd had a momentary attraction to Quinn, and she would volunteer absolutely nothing.
"That beast you feed. You care for him."
"Okay, I'll admit that Gibbons matters to me."
"And your neighbors and dog sitter."
"Fine. Okay, my neighbors and dog sitter, too." Her neighbor was her dog sitter. "What's your point? I don't want anyone harmed just because I'm around. It's not fair to them."
He moved around on the boulder platform and even in human form he reminded her of a giant bird, stalking around as he thought.
"Remember one thing, Reese, it is always easier to lie to others than it is to yourself. Perhaps Atlanta offers something San Diego does not."
Her heart moved around, trying to find a happy place in her chest when she thought about Quinn. He'd been nice to her even when he knew she wanted Kizira's body, too.
There was no future in thinking about him.
She pushed off the silly attraction and said, "I have no interest in ever going back to Atlanta. I now have two reasons to avoid the place." That city was bad luck for her heart. The first man she'd met there had gotten her pregnant then tossed her and her baby aside. The second one would never be hers to consider.
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