Quinn had no doubt that everyone seated understood that unless Daegan gave them leave to share anything discussed, to do so without permission equaled treason.
Fair enough. There was no other way to build trust than to offer it, which Daegan had just done.
With everyone now ready, Daegan said, "I do expect loyalty from all of our warriors once they've been informed of having a new leader, and even while they wait until I have a chance to meet with them, which will take me a few months. I sit here a free person, able to assume control of all that belongs to me, only because of the sacrifices each of you made while aiding my escape." He glanced at Quinn. "I'm not yet clear on this Tribunal group I've been hearin' about, but your efforts there were explained to me, and the degree to which you put yourself at risk."
Quinn nodded, but his esteemed position was not going to last long. He might be gone before the beer in those mugs.
Daegan added, "I've said before that we have a war coming. I would prefer to avoid havin' our people in danger and exposing supernatural beings to the humans, but the time may come when that is no longer our choice to make. We must protect our people from threats we can see, and those we do not. We must watch for traitors among our own people. I trust each of you, but our enemies will only grow in number now that I'm free again. Queen Maeve made a huge mistake in allowin' me to live when she had a chance to kill me in her realm."
Tzader raised a finger and brought up a point. "We all understand that you're immortal, but how vulnerable are you to an attack? I ask so that we'll know how to protect your back."
Daegan sat back and Tristan sent him an interesting look. One that Quinn could only interpret as Tristan waiting to see if Daegan would share something Quinn believed Tristan already knew.
The dragon king said, "Any living being can be killed. It's more difficult to kill an immortal, than a mortal, but each of us has an Achilles heel. I have no intention of sharing mine, even with you. A warrior should never show a weakness, but it's important that you know one thing. It is almost impossible to kill me in this realm and a few others, but I am more at risk in the realm of an unfriendly deity, such as in TAmr Medb."
Quinn's mind clicked together the pieces. "What about in a Tribunal meeting? It's held in another realm with a mix of three gods and/or goddesses."
"I would be in a vulnerable position in that realm if the three deities joined forces against me."
Tristan piped up. "You shouldn't go then. Macha rarely went to the meetings. She stuck Brina with it."
Tzader swung a dark look on Tristan. "Brina is not going to a Tribunal meeting, especially not while she's expecting."
Brina took offense. "I'm capable of doin' my duty, Tzader."
His face and voice eased when he turned to Brina. "I know, muirnin, but the last time you went there they held your holographic image captive. I'm done watching people try to harm you."
"I wasn't suggesting she go," Tristan made clear.
Daegan cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Brina?"
"Yes?"
"You'll not be leavin' this island while you're carryin'. Before you start squawkin' at me, I'm not treatin' you as a female whose only use is breedin'. You and I hold a great responsibility for our people, but you are the only one who can carry the next generation. It's important that you put your health first and remain protected while you're expectin'."
She sighed. "I understand. I just don't want to be put on a shelf. I spent four years protected and I'm tired of feelin' weak."
"You won't be treated as a fragile trinket and you are not weak. Treoirs are a mighty clan. I need your sharp mind for strategic planning."
Once again, Quinn found himself impressed with Daegan.
Evalle interjected, "I'm glad to see you've given Tristan a position of authority." She smiled at Tristan's surprised look. "But what about Tzader?"
"I'll do whatever is expected of me, Evalle," Tzader replied. "I also agree with the position he gave Tristan."
Quinn expected Daegan to react negatively to being questioned by anyone, but the dragon king's face revealed nothing. Still, Evalle had brought up a valid point.
Where did everyone fall in Daegan's power structure?
Daegan lifted a hand, silencing everyone. "I can see you all have questions. As a leader, all responsibility falls to my shoulders. I will not always explain every action I take, but I will share what I can or what I feel you need to know. I am not demoting Tzader or anyone else, but we must look to the future with a new frame of mind. Macha ruled through intimidating her followers by threatening death if they broke her rules. I will not hesitate to take a life if that is the right decision, but I will not have people followin' me out of fear. Strength breeds loyalty. I want no warriors who do not willingly join us. Those who do will step into battle alongside me, because I lead from the front."
With a slow, pointed look at each person around the table, Daegan said, "You have already proven far more loyal than those I trusted in my past. I observed much over the years I was captive, but I am not entirely familiar with the modern human world, or all of the changes in our own world yet. I need each of you to do your part, to be my eyes, ears and advisor. You are all even more important to the cause of our people than you were before I returned to this island." He looked at Brina. "That includes you, niece. You will one day come and go at your pleasure, but for the good of all right now you must keep yourself and your babe safe. The less attention we have to focus on you, the more we have for the battles we'll face."
Brina frowned. "I know what you're sayin' and I agree."
"Now, tell me what the devil is going on in the human world," Daegan demanded.
Evalle said, "You know some of it, but--"
Quinn spoke up. "Forgive me for the interruption, Evalle, but I have information no one else has and it's imperative that I inform Daegan immediately."
She lifted her shoulders. "Floor's yours."
"Thank you." Quinn met Daegan's questioning gaze and said, "You are correct in thinking we're headed for a battle, perhaps even a war. I fear I have only escalated this situation when I made a grave error by holding onto a body I should have burned."
Daegan squinted at him. "Is this about Kizira, the Medb priestess who died here?"
"Yes."
Tzader leaned forward. "Hold up a minute, Quinn." He shifted his attention to Daegan. "You know about the attack by TAmr Medb on Treoir, right?"
"Of course."
"Kizira saved Quinn's life during that battle."
Daegan said, "I saw the replay of that on the scrying wall in Queen Maeve's chambers before you pulled me out of her realm."
Evalle jumped in. "But what you don't know is that Kizira and I had a plan to save Treoir. She ... " Evalle paused to look at Quinn, who swallowed and nodded, giving her permission, so she said, "Kizira loved Quinn deeply and was working against us only when the queen compelled her. She died when she stepped in front of a gryphon, who was also compelled, that attacked Quinn. As soon as Kizira died, we were released from the compulsion spell. Kizira's death saved Belador lives and is the reason Tristan and I, plus the other gryphons, are here now."
Daegan said nothing for a moment. "Queen Maeve does not understand why Kizira died in that way or why Quinn was holding her as she died, but the queen does know that Kizira has been buried in a tomb. The queen is on a mission to find her. Prior to Tzader and his team bashing the wall during my escape, the scrying wall had already revealed a corruption of some sort when she and Cathbad tried to access the Medb history on it. She could not hear what Kizira was saying to Quinn as she died." Daegan asked Quinn, "What was she telling you?"
Quinn considered the consequences of his answer, but said, "She shared something personal that I must protect from that queen and her followers with my life."
"If that was the case, why didn't you burn the body?"
Because he hadn't been ready to give her up and foolishly thought he could protect her body long en
ough to allow their daughter a chance to grieve the loss of her mother.
Evalle reached across Storm and tapped Quinn's arm. When he turned to her, she said, "The only ones at this table who don't know are Brina, Tristan and Daegan. Tzader and I trust them. I think you should, too. We'll all help."
"You're right." Quinn patted her hand, then gave up the truth. "Kizira and I met when we were barely adults. The circumstances were such that I had no idea of her true identity. I stepped in to protect her and ended up wounded so badly I was close to death. She healed me and we spent ... some time together. I had no idea that we created a child during that time until thirteen years later when Kizira told me as she died."
Daegan stared at him a moment then angled his head, looking as if he couldn't believe what he heard. "Are you saying there's a child out there with your powerful Belador blood and that of a Medb priestess?"
"Exactly."
"Where is this child?"
"That's the problem. I don't know. I am prepared to withdraw from the Beladors--"
Evalle gasped. "No."
Tzader gave a stern, "Quinn!"
But Quinn continued. "By keeping her body, I have put the Beladors, as well as my child, at great risk. The killings in Atlanta are not random. They're tied to Kizira's body. Medb warlocks and witches are being tortured by people who are after her body. I know you've heard a preliminary report sent to Tzader. I did not recognize the suspects, but based on my team's experience in Atlanta just before dawn, we believe there is no explanation other than that the killers are Beladors."
Tristan asked, "What if Queen Maeve has cooked up some spell to make it look like they're Beladors?"
Quinn shook his head. "If you met one of them in battle, you wouldn't think it was merely a spell."
Daegan said, "It's not Queen Maeve. She would simply compel her people for information and if she used Noirre majik, it would be evident." He turned to Storm, "Correct?"
"Yes. There's no hint of Noirre at the crime scenes, but there's always a residue of Belador power."
Quinn gave Storm a nod of thanks and said, "I had hoped it was only a lone Belador turned vigilante for some personal reason, but I never considered that a group of our people would be committing these crimes. I probably still wouldn't if I hadn't been there in person. Evalle, Devon Fortier and I faced attackers who used kinetics, telepathy and linking powers like we do. But the smoking gun was revealed when I had to enter the mind of one man who was trying to kill me. He and his partner had linked their powers and were using them to crush me against a tree. When the guy whose mind I entered died, so did the second man."
"You did what to their minds?" Daegan asked.
Quinn quickly explained his mind lock ability.
"That's an impressive gift," Daegan said, then rolled his hand in a sign for Quinn to continue.
"I didn't have an opportunity to retrieve anything of value, because from what I could tell, someone had placed a spell on the attacker that triggered immediate death upon having his mental shields breached."
"You almost didn't pull out in time," Evalle muttered.
"True, but my point is that the moment I entered his mind, I encountered the familiar essence. I've never seen anything like it except in those born a Belador descendant."
Evalle confirmed, "They had kinetic ability that rivaled ours. They're also generating some kind of cloaking cloud that buzzes. It interrupts normal telepathy, and it sometimes makes private telepathic messages available to others. When I got close, I heard voices inside the buzzing cloud. Devon heard their telepathic conversation before the energy field broke apart, which means we have to be careful about who we speak to telepathically. I would know any of you, but in a battle we could be tricked by imposters, or they could eavesdrop on our strategies and plans."
Tristan said, "Who are these people? Beladors from another continent?"
"I can't answer that, because we have no image to show other Maistirs who could identify them for us," Quinn admitted. "The chilling part is that they had no issue with killing both Beladors and Medb alike."
Tzader rubbed a hand over his bald head, a habit he had when he was working out a problem. "I'd think missing Belador warriors would have been reported."
Daegan's brow creased in deep thought. "Quinn, you said these people are after Kizira's body?"
"Yes. Devon heard them talking about it."
"You didn't tell me," Evalle accused, sounding hurt.
"I didn't want to say anything until I knew more and we had too many people around at times." Like Isak, who was not within Quinn's circle of trusted confidantes. "I figured I'd tell everyone at the same time, but we first needed to find out whether our captive had any involvement."
"I got you," Evalle said, nodding that she understood he was referencing Reese.
It was time for Quinn to tell them all that he'd learned, but Daegan had been leaned back, looking up at the high ceiling.
The dragon king clearly had something on his mind. He brought his chin down and worry stretched through his face. "We have to find out who is behind turning Beladors against their own people and we must stop them from locating Kizira's body."
Brina asked, "Why?"
Quinn supplied the answer. "Because someone can use necromancy to unlock the secrets that Kizira hid, Noirre spells and more."
Daegan said, "That would be a deadly result, but that is not the sole reason we must keep her body away from everyone."
Now Quinn was as confused as the rest of the group appeared. He had to protect his daughter. But Daegan should be concerned only with how this affected Beladors.
Quinn said, "I don't understand."
"You wouldn't without having lived as long as I have," Daegan replied. "How old would your child be?"
"Twelve."
Daegan put a hand to his forehead, squeezing his head then dropping his hand to the table. "Putting aside that we have Beladors hunting Kizira's body for some unknown person, Queen Maeve wants the body to withdraw every drop of information she can about what transpired prior to her reincarnating as the current queen of TAmr Medb. But the minute she discovers Kizira had a child who still lives, the queen will unleash all her resources to locate that child."
Tristan snorted. "Are you trying to say that crazy queen wants to play grandmother?"
"No. In Queen Maeve's hands, a child of powerful Medb and Belador blood would become a weapon capable of wiping out Beladors systematically and completely. That's before you consider whether this child inherits Quinn's mind lock gift. Allowing her to fall into Queen Maeve's hands would be like handing her a weapon much like those nuclear bombs humans created, but with the ability to target only her enemy. That would not stop her from wiping out humans and nonhumans alike if they didn't fit her plan for ruling the world."
Mouths dropped around the table.
Quinn clapped a hand over his eyes and murmured, "What have I done?"
Instead of ordering Quinn to a dungeon or worse, Daegan segued into strategic planning. "We can't bury the body on this island. The land would reject it, but we can take it to a proper location to--"
Quinn looked up and stopped him. "No, we can't."
Daegan finally lost his calm, which is what Quinn had been expecting sooner. The dragon king stood. "I would not condemn a man who made a mistake born of grief, but I will not allow you to put every Belador life in jeopardy for the same reason."
"You don't understand." Quinn rose to his feet. "I would do anything I can to prevent someone from finding my child and I would definitely do anything to protect my Belador brethren, but there's a problem with your plan."
"You haven't heard it all. How can you know it won't work?"
"Because you're suggesting we burn the body and spread the ashes with salt."
"Aye."
"I went by the cemetery on my way to meet up with Evalle before coming here. The tomb I buried Kizira in is gone. As of tonight, the killers aren't hunting the body. They're looking for s
omeone who can open the tomb I sealed it in. There's nothing but an empty space where it stood. I don't know who has Kizira's body."
Chapter 14
Daegan dropped into his seat, sweeping a look at his newly formed council of advisors. This would be a hell of a first task for this group. His mind raced through all the potential thieves who might have stolen Kizira's body.
Thumping the table, Daegan said, "Queen Maeve is the obvious choice, but not the logical, which leaves us where?"
"What about Macha?" Evalle asked. "Could she be building her own Belador army to battle you?"
"She's a valid candidate, but Macha is not one to get her hands dirty. She requires followers to do her work. She would have had to organize a team in just four days. It's not impossible, but a bit improbable. Unlike Queen Maeve, Macha plans and takes her time to be sure she'll succeed if she's going to crush someone."
"Wow, you do know her."
Better than you can ever imagine. "That doesn't mean she's not on our list of people potentially behind this, but if she is responsible, she's found a powerful ally to do her bidding. Either Maeve or Macha could be doing this, or it could be a different enemy."
Quinn appeared to be waiting to speak again. Daegan nodded at Quinn, who continued, "We must assume a preternatural stole the tomb, as doing so required great power. Queen Maeve knows I'm the one who placed the body inside, but someone else may or may not know. Queen Maeve and Cathbad would certainly have enough sense to not attempt teleporting inside a tomb I sealed, though they may have compelled one of their followers to try. If someone other than the Medb has tried, they've also figured out they can't teleport in. At this point, any nonhuman with enough power to move the tomb would now be expecting a deadly repercussion when an attempt is made to open it."
"You have this tomb rigged in some way?" Daegan asked, respecting this Quinn's ability more every minute.
Tzader snorted. "My man Quinn? I wouldn't try to break into anything he wanted kept hidden. You booby-trapped it, didn't you, Quinn?"
"Yes. Whoever took the tomb paid a price just by separating the structure from the land. I did not ward the outside against immortals, simply because a ward would have acted like a neon sign to our kind, announcing that the tomb contained something of value. The spell around the base was meant as a first warning and deterrent to someone the level of a Medb witch or warlock."