Belador Cosaint

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  "True," the Keith agreed. "I did find your message intriguing. You said 'An honorable man would never allow a debt to go unpaid.'"

  Reese turned to Quinn with her eyebrows climbing as high as they'd go.

  Yes, he'd questioned the Keith's integrity and honor.

  Quinn patted her back, reminding her to keep all attention on the Keith, as he was sure the wizard had more to say.

  "Now you can explain your message, Quinn," the Keith said, stretching to allow one of the women to massage his feet.

  "I met your Uncle Jacques a few years ago in Marseille. I negotiated a trade with someone we'll call a financial opponent of his. I handed him the shipping lanes he needed to move his people and products without any human or preternatural issues."

  The Keith sat up, dropping his feet to the fur-covered floor. "I remember him telling me about a Belador who saved him a lot of trouble. That was you?"

  "Yes."

  "Well done, but that is not my debt."

  "No, it isn't," Quinn agreed. "I merely wanted to establish that I do have some history with the Inchkeith dynasty and, as the Belador Maistir, I have knowledge of your extensive family."

  The Keith managed to hide his surprise at hearing Quinn was a Maistir. Quinn had withheld any information on his background to prevent the Keith from denying him a meeting outright.

  Beladors outnumbered Inchkeiths, but the wizard's family possessed powers of magnitude that few could imagine. Still, in the wizard's position, Quinn would have denied this meeting and kept his hands clean.

  Quinn nodded. "If meeting with you was not of such extreme importance, I would never have imposed upon you." Always good to let the Keith know Quinn respected the wizard's position. "I am searching for a thirteen-year-old girl who has been kidnapped by a member of your extended family."

  The Keith jumped to his feet, cursing in French. His face erupted with fury. "Mon dieu! You dare to come here and claim such a thing? We are not pedophiles who touch children."

  Quinn held his hands up for a moment. "You misunderstand me. He has not kidnapped the girl for that reason. We are dealing with preternatural chaos in Atlanta. There are bounties out for anyone who possesses power. I believe the man has taken the girl for a bounty, but he should not have chosen this particular one." Quinn shoved power into his last words unintentionally, but no one touched a member of his family, especially the females, without drawing his wrath.

  "Why do you believe this kidnapper is of my family?"

  "Because he opened a bolthole to enter New Orleans right before I sent my message to you. It is my understanding that no one would dare enter this city in that manner without permission ... unless they had Inchkeith blood."

  "A bolthole?"

  "Yes, and he calls himself Turbo."

  French cursing torched the air then the Keith snapped out, "Chasseurs!"

  Keeping her attention on the Keith, Reese whispered from the corner of her mouth, "What's going on?"

  "He's bringing in hunters, or what we'd call trackers."

  Edgy looking men and women flooded the room. They were in their mid-twenties to thirties and dressed in normal attire for locals walking around New Orleans. Probably to blend in.

  There had to be seventy of them. Maybe closer to a hundred.

  The Keith boomed out, "Find Turbo of the Inchkeiths. Bring him and any female with him to me. A fist of gold to the one who shows up first."

  Spreading his arms wide, the Keith whipped one hand in a horizontal arc across the room while spewing a string of French words that tested Quinn's grasp of the language.

  As the Keith's hand moved in reverse, every hunter blinked out of sight. The wizard was using one hell of a spell to send his people outside the realm that quickly.

  Hope shoved Quinn's heartbeat into overdrive.

  After all he and Reese had been through, getting Phoedra in hand right now would go a long way in easing his guilt over bringing Reese to this place.

  "How long?" Reese asked softly.

  "My chasseurs are the best and most efficient when tracking anyone in my domain," the Keith said, directing his words at Reese. He studied her a bit too long.

  Quinn wanted to shove her out of sight.

  The Keith had an admiring glint in his gaze.

  While Quinn agreed that Reese was a delight for the eyes, he'd rather not have to bloody the wizard who held ultimate power in this realm.

  Quinn would end up a memory if he crossed the Keith, but no one was getting near Reese.

  She didn't shy away. If anything, the Keith's full attention seemed to be a curiosity for her.

  The wizard asked her, "What do you desire?"

  Reese made him wait for her reply. "Are you a wizard or a genie?"

  Several women snickered at that and the Keith smiled at them. Returning to Reese, he said, "I can make your greatest wish come true."

  If only Quinn had telepathic ability with her right now.

  Reese said, "That's quite an offer, but lacking in that I'm not sure you can deliver anything I want."

  "You should test me."

  Quinn felt perspiration at his neck. No, she shouldn't test him or the wizard would take it as some sort of agreement. With no way to relay that to Reese, Quinn waited to see what she said. If she stuck her foot in it, he'd jump in before the wizard could accept.

  Reese tapped a finger on her lower lip, thinking. When she removed her finger, she said, "You like games, right?"

  His eyes lit up with the promise of a challenge. "I love games. No one defeats me. Is this not true?"

  The harem paused in whatever they were doing to nod and give him a quick round of applause.

  He preened.

  "Very well," Reese said. "If you can solve this puzzle before Turbo is brought here, and not tell your people to slow their search, then I will take what you offer. You must first figure out what I most desire."

  Quinn cursed himself a hundred times over for bringing her to this realm.

  The Keith rubbed his hands together. "Yes, this is exactly how we should proceed. On my word, my chasseurs will return very soon, but what do you request if I fail? I will not, but I always like to know that everyone has skin in the game."

  "If you lose, you give me back the medallion I was wearing when I entered your hotel."

  "This?" He lifted her medallion from where it hung around his neck. "I am attached to the energy in it. I will agree, but if I win, you will stay and explain this medallion to me."

  Swinging his gaze from Reese to the Keith and back to Reese, Quinn couldn't decide which idiot to throttle first.

  Rubbing his hands together, the Keith said, "Give me the puzzle."

  Smiling at the wizard, Reese said, "I do not want wealth. I do not want majik or power. I'm fine with the way I look. I do not want any person or any tangible item. What do I want?"

  Quinn had been worried for Reese, but now his concern shifted to the wizard, who was no longer grinning.

  How would the Keith react if she stumped him?

  She might have to give him the medallion to get out of here.

  The wizard paced back and forth.

  His women stared at him and whispered to one another, no doubt trying to help their ruler.

  Turning a serious expression on Reese, the Keith said, "You wish to be a bride?"

  "Nope, that would imply that I wanted someone."

  "True." Casting an odd look in Quinn's direction, the Keith shrugged and paced some more. He snapped his fingers. "You wish to be happy?"

  "No, but you're getting warm."

  That tiny encouragement brought back the wizard's infectious grin, which swept through his harem.

  Power brushed Quinn.

  The Keith roared, "No!"

  One of the larger male hunters held a man with a green Mohawk high in the air with one meaty hand wrapped around his captive's throat. The hunter looked concerned. "Is this not Turbo, my liege?"

  "Yes, yes. It is, but your return ended a
most enticing game. Well done, Nino." The Keith descended the steps and walked to Quinn's left, where Turbo struggled against an iron hold.

  With the noise covering her words, Reese whispered to Quinn, "That's Joey, the jerk who kidnapped Phoedra."

  He nodded. Turbo, aka Joey, would pay dearly.

  Turbo held out a hand, silently pleading for help.

  The Keith told his hunter, "You will be rewarded once my guests leave, Nino. Release him."

  "Thank you, my liege." Nino did as ordered, then bowed. "I will call back the others."

  "Yes, please do so."

  As Turbo's feet hit the floor, he clutched his neck, coughing. "Thanks, man, I--"

  Nodding at the hunter who walked out of the room, the Keith grabbed Turbo in a chokehold and raised him a foot off the floor in spite of being far smaller than his hunter. He told Turbo, "I have allowed you to live only because I love my aunt, but even your mother would kill you over this insult. How dare you harm a child and bring her to my domain?"

  Turbo's eyes bulged. His face turned red, then purple.

  No one should interfere right now unless they wanted to die, but Quinn couldn't stand by as the Keith killed Turbo.

  Quinn said, "Pardon me for the interruption, but where is the girl?"

  The Keith turned a vicious look at Quinn. "Do not interfere."

  Irritated after all he and Reese had been through, Quinn said, "If you wish to kill him, I'm all for it. In fact, I'll do it for you, but Reese and I only want the girl who is clearly not here."

  Turning to Turbo, the Keith shook him and said, "See what you have done? No one causes me to mistreat guests."

  Reese gave Quinn a look that questioned the wizard's definition of hospitality.

  Lowering Turbo to stand on his own feet again, the Keith released his throat. "Where is the child you kidnapped?"

  Rubbing his bruised neck, Turbo sounded as if his windpipe was half crushed. "Sorry, but it's been ... tough week ..."

  "Turbo!"

  "Right. Had a bounty for her." When that didn't absolve him of any crime, Turbo said, "Some guy called Ossian contracted for her."

  "Who is this Ossian?"

  "I don't know much about him. He said he represents a powerful witch in Atlanta looking for a girl with powers and named Phoedra."

  Sharp claws of apprehension climbed Quinn's spine. Who was this Ossian? Quinn would unleash every resource to find him and his benefactor. He could only pray that it was not Veronika.

  Turbo continued to blather. "But this guy showed up who Ossian knew and took the girl from both of us."

  "Who?" Quinn ordered, no longer willing to wade through more of Turbo's verbal garbage.

  "Ossian seemed surprised. He called the guy a Scath warrior, whatever that is."

  Reese cursed softly.

  Quinn fought to breathe. He needed to bloody something and Turbo was a prime target. He'd allowed the Medb to get their hands on Phoedra.

  "You might have reduced your penalty if you had delivered the girl here," the Keith said.

  "Oh, man, I'm sorry. Did you want her?"

  A dark glow pulsed out from the Keith. "I do not touch children. You compound your crime by insulting me. I have told you more than once to never use an Inchkeith bolthole except to protect your life."

  Turbo's face fell. "Who, uh, told you I opened a bolthole here?"

  As Quinn had thought, Turbo had committed a greater crime by opening a bolthole in the Keith's domain than by committing the kidnapping. Screwed up priorities, but if it helped him find Phoedra, Quinn was glad for the rule.

  "Do you deny it?" the wizard asked in quiet voice that carried a scary threat. "If you lie to me, Turbo, the punishment is far worse."

  "Okay, fine. I did use a bolthole, but I was desperate. I was being chased. I needed the money and couldn't get any from my mother and then I--"

  "Aarrghh!" The Keith raised his fists, his power rocking the room. Dark waves of energy spun around his body.

  Turbo fell to his knees crying.

  The harem huddled into one group.

  Lifting a hand over Turbo, the Keith spit out some incantation and a black smoke rose from the ground, twisting into wide bands that wrapped around Turbo. He watched with terrified eyes as the bands covered him from chest to knees, forcing him to stand and pinning his arms to his sides.

  Turbo sobbed, "Please, don't... "

  Lifting his hands, the wizard said, "You can never do these things again."

  "I won't, I swear I won't ever--"

  The Keith opened his fingers wide and shoved them forward.

  Twenty miniature silver spears appeared in the air and flew at Turbo, driving through the black straitjacket in all directions.

  Turbo screamed.

  Blood streamed from the bottom edge of the smoky wrap. One spear had drilled low enough to strike his balls. He passed out standing upright.

  Calling his guards, the Keith said, "Take him away and guard him until I have decided what his punishment will be."

  Quinn had to admit he'd wanted to kill the bastard, but leaving him to the Keith would be a suitable sentence for his crime.

  Once the Turbo mess had been removed, leaving the spot where he had stood perfectly clean, the wizard turned to Quinn. "I would have delivered the girl to you if that had been possible. Unfortunately, it is out of my jurisdiction."

  "I understand. Thank you for a lead on locating her."

  "As I told you before, when you leave my realm, time will resume from the point of when you entered, so you have lost no time here. You have entertained me greatly. For that, I will give you a parting gift."

  Quinn was afraid to find out what the wizard considered a gift. All he wanted to do right now was get out of here alive with Reese and race to Atlanta to figure out how to get Phoedra from Cathbad and that bloody queen.

  In a hurry, Quinn said, "Your hospitality has been gift enough."

  Reese snorted and Quinn wondered if they would get out of here after all.

  The wizard said, "I insist on the gift." Then he turned to Reese. "But first, what was the answer to the puzzle?"

  "It's simple. I want to be a normal human and I doubt you can change what I am."

  She'd clearly stumped the Keith who frowned with confusion. "What are you?"

  "Something that would take too long to explain since we're in a hurry." She held her hand out. "By the way, pay up."

  "You are a lovely and fierce warrior. I would make a special place for you here." Reluctantly, he pulled the thong necklace over his head and dropped the medallion into her hand.

  Quinn was not leaving Reese even if she said yes.

  Reese snapped her fingers shut and said, "That is an exceptional offer, but I politely decline. I have responsibilities at home and I have never been one to share."

  She'd lifted Quinn's spirit with that, but when she slipped her hand in his in a possessive move, his heart did backflips. He held a new hope for his future if he could just get to Phoedra.

  The Keith took note of their hands and sighed. "As I said, you were both entertaining. Come back some time when you want to test yourselves again."

  Reese said, "Yeah, that would be--"

  Quinn squeezed her hand. She was about to ruin a perfect exit.

  Reese finished by saying, "--an invitation unmatched by any other."

  The wizard's face had started to lose amusement until she recovered. He clapped his hands together. "Now for your gift."

  Anxious to get on the move, Quinn said, "If you'll just point us to the front door, that would suffice."

  "That would take far too long."

  "You said time would remain the same no matter when we left," Reese pointed out.

  "Hush, imp. That is true, but do not deny me a last moment of pleasure." Grinning with evil delight, the Keith lifted a hand and drew an invisible vertical circle that encompassed Quinn and Reese.

  She looked down at herself then at Quinn. "I don't feel anything. Do you?"


  "Au revoir." Using his hands, the Keith made a pushing motion toward them.

  The room blurred.

  Noises blasted at Quinn from every direction.

  He prepared to protect Reese, but from what threat?

  Chapter 27

  --------

  Ossian strode into the clearing where Veronika had indicated she would be upon his return. He trembled at having to return without Phoedra in hand.

  This bitch witch was proving to be more insane by the minute.

  Why else would she have stolen a throne and placed it in the middle of a clearing in Kennesaw National Battlefield Park northwest of downtown Atlanta? She must have stolen it, since he doubted she could conjure up one with such an intricately carved frame finished in gold, which also showed decades of natural wear.

  Why hadn't she conjured a comfortable mansion to use while she was at it?

  The throne couldn't be placed in a more ridiculous spot, sitting on the grass-and-twig-covered ground beneath a canopy of thirty-foot-tall oak trees.

  No humans would wander into her spot. This witch would secure the area to prevent intrusion.

  He'd be the first to acknowledge that Veronika was a power capable of threatening many nonhumans. She'd been gaining more strength through her ancestors and clearly had a plan for drawing power from Phoedra.

  He had a high regard for her level of crazy after she'd taken him from the jaws of death three times and sent him back when she cooked his majik again and again.

  She'd jacked up his majik so much that Ossian struggled to hold one physical shape for more than a few hours. She'd pushed him nonstop since she'd snapped the link between him and Cathbad. Ossian desperately needed rest for any hope of regaining full control of his morphing ability.

  He couldn't accept that he might not ever do so.

  What were Queen Maeve and Cathbad thinking about him now? That he'd jumped from one side to another?

  Pausing several steps from where Veronika perched on her throne with a sour expression, he bowed at the waist then righted himself.

  Now he had to utter disgusting words. "My queen."

  "You're empty-handed."

  How nice to be enslaved to a queen who noticed the obvious.

  "Please allow me to explain what has happened," he implored.

  She nodded her assent.

  "The bounty offers I put on the darknet were productive. As you said, there couldn't be many young girls named Phoedra who possessed powers." To say he'd been surprised when someone found a girl to match that description would be an understatement. He'd tried to tell Veronika the girl could be called by another name.