Alterant

  Kizira warned, "VIPER and the Beladors believe all human forms that shift into beasts are Alterants. If Rias continue to shift too soon, you will not have an army of them when you're ready to breach Treoir Castle."

  "That's ridiculous. Why not?"

  "Because VIPER is killing Rias as soon as they are discovered and VIPER is not the only force capable of destroying them. A group of humans with high-powered custom weapons is blowing up the beasts, too. They may kill the Alterants we seek before we locate them."

  Shaking her head, Flaevynn chuckled. "One would think the lack of glowing green eyes would be a clue the Rias are not Alterants." She sighed. "Beladors are not the brightest beacons in the night."

  Only a masochist would correct the queen, but Kizira would argue the Beladors were their most dangerous enemy and not one to underestimate. Flaevynn hadn't left TAmr Medb since Kizira had been handed the role of enforcer at eighteen, or she'd realize that.

  Flaevynn almost frowned, but wrinkling that perfect skin was out of the question. She murmured, "The fog should cloak the Rias."

  Kizira clarified, "The fog is cloaking the beasts until they walk out of it."

  "Don't bring me problems," Flaevynn cautioned. "I want those Belador Alterants. Now. Create a wider band of the myst, do something, but deliver them to me or I will find someone else who can."

  Like who? Kizira clamped her mouth tight to keep from shouting that. Flaevynn had no one with Kizira's level of power to send out to do her bidding. At least no one Kizira had ever met. Flaevynn's panic over facing impending death had turned her crazier than usual. If Flaevynn did have someone else to fight her battles, she would order Kizira to remain in TAmr Medb.

  Kizira couldn't risk that, not when the safety of another life depended upon her ability to come and go at will.

  Stop! Do not think about . . . Kizira flushed her mind, returning to her mental calm. She was Flaevynn's most trusted enforcer, who worshipped her queen.

  Schooling her face to passive, Kizira said, "I will deliver the five Alterants."

  "Then do it. You have forty-eight hours to hand me two Alterants. I will not suffer failure again. There is plenty of room in the dungeon with that druid."

  There was Kizira's opening to lobby for a meeting with Cathbad. "I understand, Your Highness. Speaking of Cathbad, might you allow me to speak with him to see if he could enlighten me on how to locate the Alterants more quickly?"

  Flaevynn's face twisted with hatred. "You think he will tell you what he refuses to share with me? His own wife!"

  Hard to understand why a man locked in a dungeon by his wife while she had sex with every penis in this realm would feel the least bit vengeful, huh?

  Kizira forced devout sincerity into her reply and tried to sound as though she feared Cathbad. "I'm willing to risk meeting with him if it will benefit you, Your Highness."

  That soothed Flaevynn, who sat back and smiled over at the young stud next to her. Her hand drifted down along his abdomen to . . .

  Kizira could not stomach another minute of this. She gritted out, "The sooner I see Cathbad--"

  Flaevynn yelled, "Go!"

  Before Kizira could form a thought the room vanished from around her. Hallelujah. She spent a moment suspended between time and reality before her feet settled on a stone floor. She'd have preferred to teleport herself, but she couldn't reach the dungeon without going through Flaevynn. The queen had imprisoned Cathbad by convincing him she'd sent Kizira to the dungeon. When he went to the dungeon to see Kizira the queen locked him inside a warding she held the power over.

  When the room came fully into focus, Kizira faced Cathbad the Druid . . . the fifth to carry that name.

  Appearing closer to a human age of midthirties than he did to six hundred years old plus, he sat in calm repose in a padded desk chair. Far from an archaic dungeon cell, his accommodations had plenty of candles for light but no windows to see the outside.

  What would he have seen in this realm anyhow except the greenish-gray myst that enveloped TAmr Medb, the Medb Tower?

  Bookshelves lined one wall of his cell, displaying precious tomes that had been passed down from the original Cathbad the Druid. An armoire held two more robes identical to the black one he wore. She knew this because she'd been the one to bring him those two robes the one time she'd been allowed to visit him when he'd first been imprisoned.

  He swiveled sideways to face her and scratched his neatly trimmed black beard, considering her with hawk-like eyes. Wavy black hair touched his shoulders. "'Tis good to see ya, child."

  "Hello, Da."

  "I'm surprised Flaevynn allowed you to visit. Something change between you two?"

  "No. She still hates me as much as the day she bore me."

  SEVEN

  Kizira faced her usual dilemma with Cathbad--should she hug him or keep as much distance as possible between them? Unlike with Flaevynn, she felt a bond to her da and danced along a fine line between care and respect, careful not to step on the wrong side of all that lethal power.

  Just as a baby shark should respect the jaws of a parent that might consider the newborn food under dire circumstances.

  She smiled at him, ignoring his teeth for now. "I had to convince Flaevynn that I would risk my life to face you to help her. You are still not in her good graces."

  "And will no' likely ever be again," he said in a brogue as old as the Irish brews he loved. His handsome blueish-purple eyes twinkled with a conspiratorial smile when he shrugged. "She hates me more than you for impregnating her to fulfill the curse, but she should be thanking us both. Failing to have a child would have prevented her from gaining Treoir Castle."

  More riddles about that damned curse. "Why?"

  "Ah, child, you know I will no' be sharing more than necessary about the curse, no' till it's time. But I will tell you that had she no' birthed you, she would ha' no chance at gaining Treoir atall."

  "But Flaevynn thinks birthing me put the first nail in her coffin. That she would be immortal if not for me."

  "She's a hardheaded woman who must accept that her fate is no different than that of any other female born to marry a Cathbad. Had she no' married me as directed in the curse, she would no' ha' lived this long, but a geasa set into place along with the curse protects her . . . for just a bit longer."

  Kizira smiled, asking him, "You're sure Flaevynn will live for only six hundred and sixty-six years?"

  "Yes. This is her last year as Flaevynn the Medb queen, whether she wishes it to be or no'."

  Kizira had two words for the day Flaevynn spewed her last bit of venom: Party time.

  Once that happened, Kizira would be free to visit . . . she skittered sideways mentally, to thoughts of the curse, before a face and name could take shape in her mind. "Flaevynn thinks that if she escalates the plan you laid out to us for this year she can gain Treoir before her time runs out."

  Cathbad scoffed under his breath.

  Moving over to where he sat, Kizira pushed herself up onto the desk and looked down at her da, whose attractive profile could rival that of human men who modeled designer clothes. He was the closest she'd ever had to a real parent, but the druid would use her, too, if it benefited his cause. Life as a Medb priestess came with few moments of free choice. But he embodied her best hope for one day having control over her future, a normal life away from all this.

  Normal? What would that be like?

  A life such as the humans enjoyed with loved ones . . .

  And thinking about that risked opening the gates to her thoughts. She slapped up mental walls and got back to her task with the one person who might be able to help her.

  Right now she was Cathbad's only hope for escaping this dungeon, and, like him, she would use that to her benefit if need be. Kizira gave her da a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry Flaevynn locked you in here when I failed to deliver the female Alterant the first time."

  "I told you before, 'tis no fault of yours." He watched her carefully. "She blames me f
or sending her son with you. I know you did your best to protect him."

  She hoped it wasn't her fault that her half brother had died when she and her warlocks had trapped those three Beladors in Utah two years ago, but she didn't miss the sexual deviant who had been her mother's child by another man.

  When she said nothing one way or the other that might trip her up, Cathbad said, "Flaevynn believes I will tell her all the curse if she leaves me here, but she plays her hand poorly in this game. Speaking of bein' here, much as I'm glad to see ya, I'm thinkin' ya got troubles."

  "Flaevynn is upping the time frame for finding the five Alterants. She's running me crazy with hunting them and has forced me to release the hostility myst."

  Cathbad covered his eyes with one hand and leaned back. "I ha' warned her repeatedly that if she alters the curse in any significant way it can change the outcome. She guesses at the rest of the curse rather than free me and agree to do as I direct her. She risks ruining her chance--and mine--to gain Treoir Island."

  "If you'd tell me the entire prophecy wrapped around the curse I could help you. Help us."

  He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "'Tis my blunder in revealing too much too soon that caused this problem. I was sent to Flaevynn when hair had just begun to grow on my chin. I thought myself quite the man but was no' prepared for one as powerful, or sexual, as Flaevynn."

  "Please, no details." Kizira would need to acid wash her mind if he said more.

  He chuckled. "I am only sayin' we would no' be havin' this trouble if she had no' searched my mind when . . . er, my guard was down and found out her true birth date. She should be thinkin' she has a few more years to live and no' be facin' her last year."

  "That's why she's always been obsessed with the Beladors, but even more so now."

  "In part," he murmured cryptically. "Trouble with the Beladors goes back to Queen Medb's time. Like every other queen descendant, Flaevynn is born with a deep hate and the duty to regain the island that was once Medb property."

  "Really? Treoir belonged to the Medb at one time?" Kizira knew more than most about Medb history, but the Cathbads held tighter to information than a predator did to captured prey. When he nodded in answer, she asked, "Did the Medb live there first?"

  "No' exactly, but the Medb have no other place to live safely outside this tower until we take control of that island."

  She could see how wars would be fought over a treasure such as Treoir, which was reputed to be one of the most magnificent places in all of the hidden realms. This would explain thousands of years of bad blood between the Beladors, who sought to protect Treoir, and the Medb, who were just as determined to possess the powerful island. "How did my ancestors lose it?"

  "'Tis a twisted tale I spend my days unwindin' to understand and ha' no' yet woven the threads into a full tapestry. I believe there is somethin' more powerful at stake than merely gainin' that island."

  "And Flaevynn doesn't know what that might be?"

  He sighed. "No. She cares nothin' for history, only for today and her immortality. I traded her another part of the curse for my Cathbad library. I ha' never studied as much as while down here. I am piecin' together what happened in the past in hopes of understanding the truth of what will happen in the future."

  "Why didn't your ancestors tell you everything you needed to know when they passed down the curse?"

  When he smiled, the flat planes of his face softened with human warmth that disarmed those foolish enough to be sucked in. "We Cathbads are no more trustworthy than the Medb queens. I, too, wish to see Treoir taken in my lifetime, but I will no' make Flaevynn's mistakes. If she would heed me, we would take Treoir Isle, the Belador power, and then kill them all once they are vulnerable."

  Kizira clutched the edges of the desk but masked the stab of pain at the possibility of killing one particular Belador. "But Flaevynn fears you'll outmaneuver her and steal all the power, then kill her."

  "True."

  "How do we get around her to free you and save this realm before she destroys all of us?"

  "I do no' ha' that answer . . . yet. I keep ponderin' on why a powerful druid would place a curse to unfold over so many years. I feel close to findin' out."

  "What's your guess?"

  He propped an elbow on his desk and supported his head with his fingers. "I believe every generation of Cathbad druids and Medb queens ha' become more powerful than the one before based upon journals of former Cathbads, and that may be at the center of the mystery. But 'tis a mystery that needs more time than you ha' today. You still ha' yet to tell me why you're here besides to brighten an old man's day."

  Kizira's lips curved at the "old man" comment. "The hostility fog is forcing Rias to shift into their beast forms in the human world. VIPER and some paramilitary bunch are killing the beasts when they shift. I'm concerned there may not be enough Rias for an army of them when the time comes."

  "Oh, there will be more than enough," Cathbad said with so little concern that Kizira's skin chilled.

  She had no intention of living out her life here or on an island. What if there were so many Rias turned that eventually not even the Medb would be safe in the human world?

  He scowled. "But you should no' be releasing the fog now."

  She bristled. "It's not like I have a choice when I'm compelled to do her bidding . . . and yours."

  "Och, child. 'Tis better that we take the power from you to refuse our biddin' or Flaevynn would kill you for sure if you balked. You were born with more heart than any Medb I've ever known."

  Her skin quivered with warning. Did he know she'd spared a life she should have taken? She might think that flaw had come from Cathbad if not for what she'd seen of his merciless side.

  If anyone stood in her way they'd find out just how merciless she could be as well.

  He sighed at her. "Compassion 'tis a dangerous flaw to ha' in our world."

  Tell me about it. Kizira had waited until the last minute to conjure the myst near Atlanta, where it might have risked hurting Qu . . . shit. She repeated silently to herself, I don't care what happens to anyone in Atlanta or anywhere else in that world. I have no one to protect or care for. Getting back on topic, she said, "I tried to talk Flaevynn out of releasing the fog so soon and suggested the five Alterants could be anywhere in the human world."

  "That is no' the case."

  "Why not?"

  "The curse says those five will arise in a human land protected by a giant brown bird with a great beak and a white head."

  "The North American bald eagle?"

  "That fits. Specific things must happen for us to reach Brina within Treoir Castle." He held up a hand to stall her question. "Do no' ask me for more than I give ya. I told Flaevynn she must wait until all five Belador Alterants were captured before she created chaos among the humans with the fog. There will be plenty of Rias, but the point is to use them in a surprise attack once we ha' the Alterant in place who can triumph over Brina."

  "How am I supposed to appease Flaevynn when I don't know what I'm up against or any of these rules?"

  "Does no' matter. You can no' refuse to act when Flaevynn compels you or you die."

  True. In fact, Kizira faced the same consequence if Cathbad compelled her and she didn't comply. She had come from seriously whacked-out breeding stock. "At least tell me what it's going to take to pacify her."

  He lowered his arm to rest upon the desk and tapped a finger. "Flaevynn wants only to take Treoir so she can bathe in the pool of immortality that runs beneath the castle."

  "Can she swim? Maybe she'll drown before the immortality kicks in."

  Cathbad grinned.

  Kizira thought for a moment. "That's why the Medb are rabid for that island. No queen has been immortal since Queen Medb herself, and even she eventually died."

  All humor fled Cathbad's face. "But I am the one who must succeed above all when the time comes or the curse will be reversed. If that happens, we could all be destroyed.
"

  More riddles. No wonder she'd grown up hating puzzles.

  Kizira just wanted all of this to end. She wanted the power to have a life away from the poison she breathed every day, but she'd never see that life if Flaevynn became immortal. Kizira would never have battled to earn her place as the most elite Medb priestess had she known she'd lose her free will, bound to the ruthless queen for as long as Flaevynn lived.

  The queen had tolerated Kizira this long only because Cathbad had convinced Flaevynn that Kizira played a vital role in destroying the Beladors.

  She just didn't know her entire role. Yet. And she couldn't live with herself if she destroyed Qu--.

  She would not think about that. Not here.

  Cathbad's gaze swept over her with a pained expression. "I know you think I only use you as Flaevynn does in all this, but 'tis no' true. I care about what happens to you, girl. The less you know the safer you will be."

  She ignored the way her heart clutched at his claim of caring when she had no doubt he'd play her like a favorite instrument. And she'd be compelled to dance to the music.

  The Medb Coven was no place for the vulnerable or the meek. She asked, "Where's the logic of keeping me in the dark all the time when I'm the one being sent in to face Alterants, Beladors and every other being out there with a grudge against the Medb? And don't tell me it's for my safety."

  "'Tis."

  "Right. Flaevynn just stuck me with me a deadline to find two of the Belador Alterants in forty-eight hours. That's two days or she'll lock me up down here! The best shot I had at catching one Alterant this morning slipped through the fingers of bounty hunters I hired. How am I supposed to find two anytime soon?"

  He sat quietly, thinking on something, then whispered, "'Tis dangerous to care deeply for someone you fear losin'."

  "I learned that at my mother's knee when she found my pet rabbit and gave it to the cook." Anxiety rippled across her neck again, but no one knew who she protected. She repeated silently, I have no one to lose. I only care about serving the Medb. I have nothing that matters to me.

  "So you have no one to protect?" he asked in a way that challenged her to lie.

  Panic flared, threatening to take hold.