Treoir Dragon Hoard: Belador Book 10

by Dianna Love

  Dakkar’s face turned a deep red, much like a thumb slammed with a hammer. “You know of Abandinu?”

  “Yes. He was a god tossed out of the Celtic pantheon.”

  Shuddering through each breath, Dakkar said, “Abandinu created a realm where Germanus could live forever.”

  Storm didn’t need his empathic gift to know this Germanus guy being alive was a major issue for Daegan.

  “What does he want with Evalle?” Daegan asked in a voice so deep it sounded similar to his dragon voice.

  Storm hadn’t been the only one to pick up on Daegan edging closer to shifting.

  All five of the other deities stared at him. Hermes stopped playing and ordered in a shaky voice, “Answer the dragon!”

  Dakkar choked out the words. “Germanus is using her as bait, waiting for you.”

  Daegan asked, “Why would he think I even knew he was alive?”

  “I ... I told him you were hunting your hoard. He’s got your father’s treasure and doesn’t want to give it up.”

  Storm saw red, literally. He had no doubt his eyes were glowing just as bright as Dakkar’s body.

  Somebody was hurting Evalle for money? Grady had been right. He’d just had the wrong person when he thought this had happened because of the dragon king hunting his hoard.

  Past the point of showing any of this group beyond Daegan respect, Storm said, “Why would you do this and put my mate in the middle of it?”

  When Dakkar hesitated again, Loki said, “You should answer.”

  Dakkar looked over at Macha with pleading in his eyes, but she ignored him with cold determination.

  With a worried glance at his crotch, Dakkar faced Daegan and Storm. Resignation pulsed through his misery. “Regardless of what she admits, I promised Macha I’d bring her the dragon’s head in exchange for immortality and the ability to teleport.”

  Macha had shown little emotion until that point, but her head swiveled to face Dakkar’s glowing body. “You are a liar.”

  “No, Macha, he did not lie,” Loki corrected. “He would have lost a body part right away. You are not glowing because you technically did not say that his words were a lie. You should take care what you say next.”

  Macha lifted an icy gaze to Loki. “I would warn you not to cross me. I do not have to be here.”

  “This is true, but it sounds as if you were going to grant someone immortality in exchange for killing a VIPER ally in addition to giving him the ability to move around with a bolthole.” Loki’s tone had shifted to one of censure with no indication that her warning fazed him in the least.

  “I will not be held accountable for what a minion chose to do on his own.”

  Daegan asked, “Dakkar, did she offer you immortality if you arranged for my death?”

  Macha’s eyes slashed a look of hate at Daegan. “Do not challenge me in a realm where you are at risk.”

  Justitia admonished, “This is the Tribunal realm, Macha. You do not hold the power here.”

  “Oh? Who do you think helped create this realm? I was one of the original three Tribunal members. I and the other two hold the greatest power here.”

  Storm held his breath. This bunch had better not have a throwdown until he and Daegan got all the information they needed.

  Justitia instructed Dakkar, “Answer the last question.”

  Dakkar tried to stand up straighter, probably sensing the turning tide against Macha. “Yes, she did offer me those things.”

  There it was—absolute evidence of Macha attacking Daegan.

  Tension pushed air from the room.

  Loki observed everyone for a moment and suggested, “It is in no one’s best interest for you to war with Daegan, Macha.”

  “I am not starting a war.”

  “You did the minute you supported anything Dakkar did against me and my people,” Daegan argued. “You gave him the ability to enter a Celtic realm, which was how he got into Abandinu’s.” Daegan shifted his attention to Dakkar, “Am I correct?”

  “Yes.”

  Daegan asked Macha, “What do you think Abandinu will do when he finds out what you’ve done? You can deny it all you want, but one deity will always hold another guilty of anything their followers do that they consider an act of aggression.”

  Storm wanted to support Daegan, but he’d rather not get busy with a war any time soon. He whispered to Daegan, “I’m with you if there is a war, but is there a way to settle this so we don’t have to fight one right now?”

  Daegan had been locked in fury while he spoke, but when he turned to Storm his dark face eased. He nodded, “I have an idea for preventing a war.”

  “I’m all for it,” Storm said.

  Crossing his arms, Daegan said, “I would ask the Tribunal for a chance to make peace with Macha.”

  The trio on the dais turned shocked faces to Daegan.

  Macha’s face registered suspicion.

  Dakkar said, “Can I—”

  Loki snapped his fingers and the bounty hunter turned mute. The prankster god asked Daegan, “What would appease you, since you were the one she intended to kill?”

  Storm pondered this strange interaction. Why would Loki care if Daegan died or not?

  Daegan said, “I understand that Queen Maeve called in Dlí Fola, the rule of the Blood Law, to demand the return of Kizira’s body.”

  Macha’s face locked down to show nothing beyond contempt when she countered, “So? From what I understand, Maeve did not receive the body.”

  Queen Maeve hissed and Justitia shushed her.

  “That’s beside the point,” Daegan said. “I’m calling in the same rule of Blood Law.”

  “For what?” she asked, almost laughing.

  Daegan’s deep voice boomed. “My sister’s body. She was left in your safeguard, then you went to war with my king. I demand the return of my sister’s body.”

  Macha took her time replying and exposed a sly smile. “Is she dead?”

  Storm had never heard about Daegan’s family. This had to be vitally important to Daegan for him to use that as a bargaining chip.

  All and good as long as Storm and Daegan left here with Evalle’s location.

  Daegan said, “If my sister is not dead, then where is she?”

  Macha taunted Daegan. “You’re the one who called up the Blood Law, which references only a dead body. It is not a living law. I don’t have to answer if she’s living, do I, Loki?”

  Exuberant at the exchange, Loki said, “No, you don’t.”

  Daegan pressed on. “But if my sister is dead, you do have to hand over the body. Is that not correct, Loki?”

  Looking serious for a tiny moment, Loki said, “That is also true.”

  Everyone stared at each other until Loki asked, “Macha? Do you have a body to hand over?”

  Surprisingly, she looked disappointed to say, “No.”

  Storm felt hope rush off Daegan in a wave, but then it dissipated, replaced by disappointment. Why?

  “I believe we have all we need,” Daegan announced in a deadly quiet voice.

  Storm said, “Wait, what about ... ” The question died on his lips when Daegan looked over and shook his head. Storm had trusted the dragon to this point and couldn’t stop halfway.

  Daegan must know how to find Evalle, so Storm would wait until they released Dakkar.

  That bounty hunter had to die. Painfully.

  Loki looked over at Dakkar and shook his head. He snapped his fingers again.

  Dakkar’s body trembled violently. He could barely speak. “I answered all the questions. Can I go now?” he pleaded, pointing the question at Loki.

  Loki asked Macha, “Would you prefer to stay or leave?”

  Lifting her arms, Macha said, “I am done with this.” With that action, light burst from her in a radiant glow and winked out when she teleported away.

  “Macha!” Dakkar shouted. “No, come back.”

  Queen Maeve laughed wildly and vanished before anyone could address her.
That goddess was certifiable.

  Dakkar focused on Daegan. “You said you wouldn’t kill me.”

  The dragon observed Dakkar with the same distaste as encountering a nasty pile of human waste. He told the bounty hunter, “I spoke to your ancestors in Dunmore cave.”

  “Wh-what?”

  “They know you broke your vow. I don’t think you need to worry about the blood oath you gave Germanus,” Daegan said.

  Loki mused, “He has a point, Dakkar. Dying is not going to be fun for you.”

  “Wait.” Dakkar’s frantic gaze went to Loki. “Isn’t what Daegan says in here like law or something?”

  Striking a thoughtful pose, Loki said, “You are correct.”

  Storm growled low, preparing to unleash his jaguar.

  Sounding slightly relieved, Dakkar remind Loki, “Well, Daegan said he wouldn’t kill me.”

  Loki nodded with understanding. “True. But I never said I wouldn’t.”

  Dakkar’s mouth fell open. “No! I’ll be stuck in Dunmore Cave forever. Don’t do this.”

  “You should thank me. That will be the next best thing to immortality, which was your goal, evidently,” Loki quipped and pointed at Dakkar.

  The bounty hunter’s body exploded into a fireball so strong Storm and Daegan took a step back and shielded their faces. It was over as quickly as it started. When the fire ended, nothing was left but a pile of ashes.

  Addressing Daegan, Loki said, “I hope you remember that we did aid you today.”

  Lowering his arm from his face, Daegan said, “I’ll remember. I hope you keep in mind that Dakkar wanted to be an immortal and he had the makings of a serial killer. That means I helped you remove a danger to all preternaturals today as well.”

  He got a smirk from Loki in reply. “What do you plan to do about Germanus and Abandinu?”

  “Make a statement for all who dare to do this in the future.”

  “You would enter a hostile realm to fight where you are vulnerable to attack?”

  Daegan offered, “Why would that matter to you? If I fail, it will solve many of your problems.”

  “True, but it would not reveal who your mother is,” Loki pointed out. “Will she offer aid with Abandinu?”

  Offering all three deities of the Tribunal a confident expression, Daegan said, “I don’t need her help for this.”

  That quieted even Loki.

  Storm only hoped that exchange meant Daegan absolutely knew where they were headed next.

  Daegan turned to Storm. “Can you live with that justice for Dakkar’s part in this?”

  Storm wouldn’t lose another second going after vengeance when he had a far greater goal. “Yes. I just want to find Evalle. You do know where she is, right?”

  Daegan said, “Yes.”

  Storm was ready to tackle Germanus and Abandinu. He and the dragon had survived this Tribunal. Storm would destroy anything left standing in his way and Daegan would teleport Evalle home.

  Finally, this nightmare was coming to an end. He couldn’t wait to see his mate.

  CHAPTER 26

  Treoir Island realm hidden above the Irish Sea

  Storm gritted his teeth and hung tight as Daegan zapped them from the Tribunal to the Treoir Island realm in a teleporting blast. He had no complaints though and welcomed anything that kept him moving quickly.

  The dragon king landed the two of them on the grounds leading up to the castle, where Belador guards could see who had arrived.

  The minute Daegan sent a hand signal to his guards that all was fine, Storm asked, “Okay, where is Evalle?”

  “She’s in a realm created by Abandinu, a god who was cast out of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Dakkar’s bolthole functioned for any Celtic realm as well as in the human realm. Macha had better hope none of the other deities in her pantheon find out about what she did.”

  Storm wouldn’t lose sleep over Macha getting piled on by her peers.

  “Where is the realm and how do we break in?”

  “I don’t know—” Daegan started.

  Hell. Would this get any easier? “Are you kidding me? We could have drained every drop of information from Dakkar before Loki torched him.”

  “Let me finish, Storm.”

  “Sorry. Go ahead.”

  “I am not overly familiar with Abandinu as we were forbidden from any association with that god, but Garwyli should be able to give me enough details for me to teleport into the realm Abandinu created.”

  Blowing out a stream of air did little to lower Storm’s need to reach Evalle. He pulled himself together. “I understand, but it’s killing me to know where she is and not be on the way there.”

  Daegan missed nothing. “I realize being this close to finding Evalle is testing your limits. It would test mine if I were fortunate enough to have a mate such as yours. Believe me when I say we will not squander any time in preparing to invade the realm and take her back. But if we jump in without a plan and into a place where someone is expecting me, we may all die in front of her.”

  Growling in discontent, Storm made his jaguar a silent promise that their time would come soon. His animal shoved and snarled, sensing they were close to finding her.

  Storm would love nothing better than to unleash his black beast, but Daegan was right.

  Rushing into a trap would solve nothing and leave Evalle at the mercy of others forever if they failed.

  “I’m good,” Storm said, stretching his neck to loosen tight muscles. “Let’s do this.”

  With a short nod of agreement, Daegan turned toward the castle where his guards stood at attention. As the dragon king approached the steps leading up to the entrance, he told the men and women who watched over the Treoirs, “At ease.”

  Inside, Tristan, Adrianna and Quinn were waiting and looked up as Storm and Daegan entered.

  Quinn must have won the argument with Reese.

  That made sense to Storm. Unless they were facing a wall of demons, Reese could not help at this point. He left it up to those two to know what was best for her, but Quinn had been right to prevent Reese from joining them if Storm was correct about what he sensed was going on with Reese.

  Reese didn’t hit him as a woman who would leave Quinn in the dark for long.

  “We know who has Evalle,” Daegan announced as he strode up to the rest of the team.

  Everyone started asking where, who and other related questions.

  Daegan held up his hand for silence. “Evalle is in a realm created by a god named Abandinu.”

  Tzader came striding in with powerful steps. “A god has her? What the hell?”

  “Not exactly,” Daegan clarified. “A man named Germanus resides in this particular realm. He has her. He was also my father’s steward, but after being captured by Queen Maeve I have no history of what happened to my father, his people ... or my siblings beyond bits and pieces I heard spoken while I was in Tŵr Medb.”

  That was news to Storm. Eyebrows lifted around the room at the mention of siblings.

  All except Tristan, who calmly listened as though he knew some of this. As the dragon king’s right-hand man, Tristan having more knowledge of Daegan’s past would not surprise Storm.

  Quinn asked, “Is Germanus a nonhuman?”

  “No. He was human when I knew him at my father’s castle,” Daegan replied.

  Tzader scowled. “Then how did he capture Evalle? And why the hell did he do it?”

  Daegan gave the group a quick rundown of all that had transpired, explaining about Perth and Dakkar.

  It boggled the mind to think how Daegan was under constant attack, which meant his followers were targets as well. Storm thought back on a warning Daegan had made in the Tribunal that he intended to make a statement when he found Evalle’s captor.

  Storm took that to mean Daegan wanted others to think twice about attacking him or his people. Storm would lend everything he possessed as a nonhuman to support that statement.

  As Daegan explained how Germanus was setting
a trap for the dragon king, Tristan’s expression underwent an immediate change from interested to concerned.

  Tristan asked, “Can you just teleport us in?”

  Daegan scowled at the Alterant. “No. You have heard me say more than once that I lead from the front, and always will.”

  “Just sayin’ that we can handle this.”

  Adrianna’s gaze had bounced back and forth, watching the byplay between those two. She asked, “Aren’t you most vulnerable in someone else’s realm, Daegan?”

  That sent Daegan’s fierce glare her way, which had no effect on the witch. He said, “This is true, which I expect all of you to keep private. Some deities know this, but the less it’s repeated the better.”

  “We know,” Tristan confirmed for the group. “But we’re your closest advisors. I’m sure I’m not the only one concerned. We need you, your power and your leadership. Losing you in that realm would leave the entire Belador organization and Treoir vulnerable.”

  Much as Storm wanted to dislike Tristan, he had a grudging respect for the guy saying he’d sacrifice his life in place of Daegan’s for the greater good. From all that Storm could see, Daegan’s presence had really made a difference with that Alterant.

  Daegan shut down the debate by saying, “I appreciate everyone’s concern, but getting into and out of this realm safely with Evalle will require a select group with specific abilities. Tristan, you are extremely capable, but you don’t have the teleporting ability that I do. You could get the team in, but you don’t know for sure you could teleport all of them and Evalle out, especially if you have to battle other beings first. We will need all of our powers.”

  Quinn grunted in agreement.

  Daegan called out, “Garwyli? I need your presence.”

  Storm turned with the group as they waited for the old druid, who came ambling down from one of the long hallways leading to the entrance.

  When Garwyli finally made it to them, he said, “What news, dragon? Have ya found our Evalle?”

  With another brief rundown, Daegan explained what had gone down at the Tribunal. The old druid’s face flipped from a frown to surprise to anger.

  As he wrapped up the details, Daegan said to everyone, “I’ve been asking Garwyli to look into the history of my father’s time. After the attack by Lorwerth and the Laochra Fola, I realized that until I know what happened during that time, everyone associated with me could be at risk from directions I would not expect. I do not want to make it easy for my enemies to harm my followers.” Daegan asked Garwyli, “What can you tell me about Germanus being in a realm created by Abandinu?”