"Like this was my idea," Jake mumbled.
She strode to her bike. "What lazy moron thought hydraulic doors were a good idea when there's enough psychic juice in here at any given time to move an entire mountain?"
Sen cleared his throat and narrowed a deadly look at her. "I would be the moron who came up with that idea since I'm the one stuck opening it most of the time. Not like I have better things to do than play butler to VIPER." His nostrils flared. "Good thing for you I was here so promptly, but don't rush to thank me."
She lifted a shoulder with indifference. "You the same person I should thank for hauling my ass in here during daylight?"
The look he gave her said it all. I don't answer to you and you better remember that ... bitch. "Get to the war room." Sen vanished.
Evalle curled her lip at his departure, then smoothed out her expression as she looked at Tzader. "Thanks for getting the door open, Z."
He inclined his head to her. "Don't thank me too soon. I just didn't have time to waste picking out caskets today. And speaking of your blatant death wish ... could you stop antagonizing Sen?"
"Why would I ever want to do that? I've had no sleep in two days and he calls a red alert, knowing I'll cook all the way here." While Evalle kept protective motorcycle gear on her bike, it was black to help her blend in with the night, which was when she was out and about. Not the coolest color to wear in full sun. And she couldn't ventilate it, because any bit of daylight on her skin bubbled it.
Unzipping her black jacket, she discarded the suffocating outer layer, leaving on her soaked BDU shirt and damp jeans. "So what crawled up Sen's ass and died?"
"I don't know. I saw Trey and Lucien here, but I haven't been to the war room yet."
Digging a towel out of her tank bag, she wished she could trust talking to Tzader in this place--even telepathically--but he wouldn't want to risk Sen overhearing anything they discussed.
She whispered low to Tzader. "We need to talk ..."
"Find something?" Tzader leaned heavily on the last syllable. He meant the second Cresyl she'd been hunting.
"Sort of." She looked over at Jake, who acted as though he wasn't tuning in to every word, but she knew better. One of his jobs was to spy for Sen. "Not here."
Tzader nodded. "I'll swing by your place tonight, but I've got to leave right now."
She scowled at that. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in a meeting without him. "What about Sen's powwow?"
"I already told him that I'm tracking a lead on Noirre. I could stay, but I've got a window of time for finding someone." He put emphasis on "someone," clueing her in that Tzader meant his informant.
Ah, that made sense.
Far more lethal than black majik, Noirre majik was the most ancient of all and thought to be practiced only by a few covens. The Medb being one of them.
She put her towel down. "I got you. Is Quinn privy to this mission today?"
Tzader stepped close and lowered his voice. "Yes, which reminds me of something. Keep your head down in this meeting. And you better get going. You're about to be late."
"Don't worry. I'd hate to cause Sen to stroke. Then again ..." Wrinkling her nose at him, Evalle grabbed a bottle of water from the nylon MotoFizz bag strapped to the back of her seat. "So why should I keep my head down? What are you worried about?"
"You. Sen said Trey would fill me in later, as if he thought I wouldn't hear about it from you. That makes me nervous."
Yeah, her too. She didn't like the sound of that at all, but she dismissed it. "I'm sure Sen was just pointing out that Trey is available any time, not just at night. Like everyone else, he finds me lacking. Thinks I'm only good for intel and grunt work, nothing more."
"Not everyone thinks of you that way."
"I know you and Quinn don't." The rest of them ...
She might as well be called Fido.
"Brina considers you a valuable member of our tribe."
Yeah, right. Evalle groaned silently. Replying to that honestly would only open a debate neither of them would win. Holding Tzader and Quinn's respect mattered more than being shunned by Brina. Evalle pulled her shoulders back and tried to sound at ease over Tzader leaving when she couldn't entirely dismiss his concern.
He was intuitive when it came to others.
"Don't worry, Z, I'll be fine."
"If not, have Trey get word to me."
She hated that, but she wouldn't be able to reach Tzader herself once he left. No one could break through this fortress telepathically. That always left her with a sense of unease whenever she had to come up here.
Inside mountains no one could hear you scream ...
Cue the scary music.
"You're down to two minutes. Don't be late." Tzader stepped away from her and raised his voice. "I'm ready to leave, Sen. Don't forget my truck."
By the time Evalle chugged the last of her water, Tzader had vanished. Teleported by Sen. The only thing worse than riding through the sun in full gear was teleporting. Sen had done it to her once and she'd thrown up on him when she'd arrived.
Might be one reason he didn't like her. But it'd been a great day for her. Not often she got the last word where Sen was concerned.
She kicked off her boots and slipped on a pair of sandals before heading to the war room. The temperature this deep within the mountain was even cooler than back at the entrance. The upside of being in damp clothes was the quick chill that slid over her skin.
Reaching the war room with a minute to spare, she scoped the team assembled so far. Three men lounged around the room, all positioned to face the door with their backs to a wall. The only other Belador present was Trey McCree. He'd stretched out on a leather sofa the color of sand. Since he lived in the Atlanta area like her, he couldn't be much happier about the run up here than she was.
On the other side of the room, in a wood-and-black-leather antigravity chair, a cowboy sprawled with a nonchalance she was sure he didn't feel. Reece "Casper" Jordan. He'd been with VIPER for over six years and hailed from Texas--thus the bone-white Stetson hat covering his face and the snakeskin boots he always wore. His personal bane was sharing his body with a thirteenth-century ghost.
Little was known about the third guy in the room, a dark Castilian who leaned one shoulder against the rock wall. Lucien Solis. His name might mean "light," but he was as dark as sin. No matter where he was, he studied everyone like they were test specimens he'd like to pin to a board and dissect.
"Mornin' sunshine." Casper grinned at her, shoving his hat up on his head as he moved the chair upright. "How do you see with those things on?" He indicated the almost opaque sunglasses she wore all the time. "Hell, I walk into stuff all the time and I can see."
"Sunshine?" Evalle smiled at his dig at her nocturnal life. "Think I heard there were thunderstorms in the forecast for today."
Casper grimaced. "Not funny." After being struck by lightning during a visit to Scotland ten years ago, Casper sometimes morphed into the reincarnation of a Highland warrior who'd lived in 1260.
He'd hated storms ever since.
But honestly, she liked him a lot. Unlike most of the operatives, Casper held no allegiance to any deity or clan--only to VIPER.
Having finished off the first bottle of water, Evalle lifted a new one from an aluminum tub against the wall that was perpetually filled with bottled water, iced tea and cold drinks for them.
She settled on a second leather sofa near the entrance.
"Anybody know what this is about?" Trey scratched his head, rumpling his light brown hair, which suffered from perpetual bedhead. He sat up, dropped his feet to the stone floor and propped his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his hands. The heather gray T-shirt and jeans he wore covered a body that would give most nightclub bouncers pause before tackling.
"I don't have a clue." Evalle set her water down and watched the entrance.
Trey yawned, eyes red with lack of sleep. "I could do with a little more notice next time."
Married life must be keeping him up late. He'd taken a wife two years ago. Childhood sweetheart. A nice young witch who, along with her sister, upheld the laws of their coven and practiced a spiritual life within the bright light of peace and compassion. Beladors were rarely allowed to mate outside the tribe, but Brina had approved the marriage. Tzader had told her their union removed the emptiness inside Trey, and he was right.
Trey did seem happier these days, at peace.
Lucky bastard.
Evalle felt a twinge of something akin to envy, a stupid emotion she shoved way back in her mind. She didn't want what he had, not if it meant the risk of being vulnerable again.
Never.
She envied the peace he felt, that was all.
Besides, she couldn't get involved with anyone. Not until she figured out where Alterants came from and understood her place in the world. Something that was her number one priority at night whenever she had a chance to breathe.
Of course, that came after her obligations to VIPER. Then there was her job at the morgue and taking college classes online.
Yeah, she really had no life.
But this wasn't the time or place to think about that. Right now, they had a meeting to attend.
She stifled a yawn herself. "This better be important."
"Sen cutting into your beauty sleep, precious?" Casper winked at her.
"Like he gives a flip when any of us sleep, since he doesn't ever seem to." She should probably get up and walk around to keep from nodding off in this cool air.
The loud thump of boot heels approached, banging the slate floor in the long hallway. All VIPER doors were ten feet tall and four feet wide to accommodate the majority of body shapes.
"We're waiting on two more," Sen said as he entered. No salutations, his SOP. What agent was he allowing to arrive late? That didn't sound like their unforgiving Sen.
And if Lucien was a mystery, Sen was a dark secret. Speculation on Sen ranged from god to demigod to the devil himself.
She'd made the Lucifer suggestion.
At six feet in height, he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His black jeans rode snug against his hips. She'd seen him taller and thicker. Sen's body seemed to be a fluid thing, never in one state for very long.
Gone was the dark chestnut ponytail he'd had at the last VIPER meeting, replaced by short, thick hair.
Trey made a sound of irritation. "What's going on?"
"There's a serious problem in the southeast." Sen didn't elaborate.
Evalle snorted. "We have problems everywhere ..." When no one else spoke up, she went on. "So how big a problem are we talking and where exactly is it?"
Utter contempt radiated from Sen's glare.
Tzader's warning went through her head, reminding her she would gain nothing by pushing Sen.
Nothing but torture.
Still ...
Who or what was he waiting on?
Sen allowed no one to delay his meetings. Something was a beat off with all of this.
She picked up the approach of someone different. Energy and a swirl of anxiety rushed into the room and scuffed her arms. Her senses had hinted at an empathic gift for a couple years, but this was the strongest assault she'd had to date.
In that same instant the other three agents became alert.
All eyes went to the doorway as a woman entered.
Chin-length blond hair framed a perfect face. The stunning hazel eyes and smooth, unblemished skin would be enough to hate her for, but she sealed the deal with average height and a figure models tortured themselves to maintain.
Then she smiled.
In that instant, Evalle's empathic sense went wild. As expected, she sensed lust from the men ...
But what caught her off guard was a lash of hatred from one of the men so severe that when it whipped through the room she felt the sting on her skin.
What the hell was that? And who had it come from?
FIVE
"This is Adrianna Lafontaine," Sen said as the blond female took several steps into the war room and paused as though allowing everyone to enjoy her beauty. Her fire red jacket and short skirt ordered all eyes to start at the top and continue to the sparkling red shoes.
Evalle wished she could reach Tzader right now to find out if he knew anything about Adrianna. Everything about this woman raised Evalle's alarms.
"And this is Storm." Sen's second introduction yanked Evalle's gaze to the man who'd walked in behind Adrianna.
His presence spoke louder than any introduction. Black hair fell to his shoulders--an obsidian color that was matched by his dark eyes. Sun-drenched skin and high, proud cheekbones spoke of ancestors who'd lived in North America long before invaders had shown up. Pebble-sized mixed stones interspersed with inch-long carved claws were strung on a length of rawhide tied around his neck. He wore a lightweight leather jacket over a white T-shirt tucked inside worn jeans ... jeans he filled out nicely.
His alpha presence doused the wave of male lust that had flashed through the room when Adrianna had entered.
"Have a seat," Sen instructed the new members.
Adrianna took a spot on the couch next to Trey, using the motion to show off her shapely legs.
May Macha bless Trey because he ignored Adrianna. That was a happily married man.
Evalle expected Storm to stand only because his mysterious appearance reminded her of Lucien, who rarely sat, but Storm sauntered across the room and settled next to her, stretching out his long legs. She didn't think he was much over six feet tall, but he packed a lot of man into that space.
And why was she noticing that about him if he was a new agent?
I think the sun boiled my brain.
Swinging her attention to Sen, Evalle started to lean back when she felt the stuffed leather behind her head move with Storm's arm sliding across. She considered sitting upright and stopped herself before reacting. Never wise to show any reaction that could be misconstrued as apprehension around another nonhuman. Let no one see your weakness--it was the one code she'd never break. Storm didn't touch her, but that presence she'd felt when he'd walked in barged into her space.
What exactly was he?
And what were his powers? ...
Sen cleared his throat. "Now that everyone is present, pay attention so that I don't have to repeat myself. We have a problem here in Georgia."
"Again? Can't the demons find a new place to play? I hear New Orleans is dying for some action. And New York's nice this time of year," Trey muttered.
For some reason, Evalle couldn't resist taunting him. "What's the matter? Married life making you soft?"
Trey cut an annoyed glance at her, then cocked a cynical smile. "If that was the case, we'd all chip in to find something to marry you."
"Enough." Sen's no-nonsense stare struck Trey, then drifted to her.
A short, deep laugh rumbled out of Storm.
Evalle's eyes widened at his audacity. Somebody should give him the Sen Survival 101 talk.
"The Ngak Stone--"
"'Nack' like 'knick-knack'?" Casper interrupted him.
Sen cut a vicious glare at him. "The Nah-yak"--he enunciated slowly, then spelled it so that they'd understand the term--"Stone was lost in Atlanta during an unsanctioned battle two years ago." Sen paused, his condemning gaze now firmly affixed on Trey, who sighed and covered his eyes with his hand, as if knowing what was coming next. "The stone will choose a new master soon. It has boundless power and moves through history with a certain autonomy. It's believed this stone caused the Yellow River to flood China four thousand years ago when a high-level adviser inside the Yao Dynasty stole the stone from a Tibetan monk with intentions of using it to multiply their crops and build an empire that could not be defeated. The Yellow River flooded the next day, killing the thief and washing the rock away. But the stone must have been extremely angry over its theft because the Yellow River still floods to this day. And don't get me started on what it did to Vesuvius. T
hat is the kind of power we're talking, people."
Sen paused while a grim murmur buzzed through the room.
So that's why we're here? Evalle schooled her face to be concerned and not show her relief that she hadn't been exposed. Thank the gods, Sen hadn't found out about the demons or their quest for an Alterant ...
Yet.
But that relief was only minor given the severity of what was happening. The Ngak Stone showing up again created all sorts of deadly possibilities, especially for the Beladors, since the last person to hold it had been a Kujoo warrior.
I think I'm getting a migraine.
Because the last thing she needed thrown into this mix was a bunch of angry Kujoo running around town with an all-powerful weapon, trying to settle an ancient score with the Beladors.
But at least this meant a common enemy that for once wasn't her.
Sen glared the room into silence. "The Hindu god, Shiva, contacted our Tribunal a few hours ago to let us know that the Ngak Stone will soon reveal itself in the same area where it was lost. He has no idea when or exactly where. But the time is drawing near, and once the stone is ready to be located it will call a new master."
Trey let out a sound of aggravation. "Shiva didn't say if choosing a new master would involve a Kujoo, did he?"
"No, but he didn't say it wouldn't."
Casper slid a glance to Trey. "Wanna lay odds with me? Cause my luck and money says if a Kujoo don't find it, my favorite song ain't 'I Love My Truck.'"
Trey shook his head.
Ignoring them, Storm frowned at Sen. "I'm unfamiliar with the Kujoo. But if Shiva's involved, I take it they're Indian in nature?"
Sen inclined his head to him. "The Kujoo were once a race of Hindu humans until eight hundred years ago, when a band of rogue Beladors, drunk on bloodlust, plundered their village and killed their families. Before Macha could punish them for it, Shiva answered the Kujoo's call for vengeance and granted them supernatural powers so that they could fight back."
Adrianna scowled at him. "Why are the Beladors still enemies then after all this time?"
Sen sighed. "The Kujoo weren't content to kill the handful who'd wronged them. They declared open warfare on any and all Beladors. It was bloody and brutal. And the Kujoo quickly lost sight of why they'd originally fought. It became a matter of killing off anyone with a trace of Belador blood in them."
Blood Trinity Page 8