Blood Trinity

  Tristan chuckled, a derisive sound meant to mock. "You do realize the Beladors who live today are a bunch self-righteous pansies, right? That bitch Macha protects them as long as they uphold an oath of honor."

  Batuk curled his lip. "I care not about their oath, and neither should you." His righteousness swelled with each boom of his deep voice. "I was told how Brina denied you your birthright. That she caged you here, refusing to let you leave without her permission. Do you not yearn for revenge for being cast away as unworthy?"

  "You know nothing about me, only rumors and stories traded by Nightstalkers and black witches," Tristan shot back. "I have no reason to believe you. Leave now while I'm feeling relaxed. Or I might choose one of you to take back to my cave and show you how I've entertained others who ventured into my space." His eyebrows lifted with the grin that appeared on his too-pretty face.

  Vyan touched the handle of his sword.

  Tristan's gaze slashed at him with eyes that blazed hot as the setting sun and could have cooked the monkey Vyan had wanted for dinner. A bolt of fiery light shot from his gaze to the ground at Vyan's feet, close enough to smoke the toes of his boots.

  In return, Vyan quirked an unimpressed look at Tristan that said, Is that all you got, an amusing phrase he'd heard from the street kids in Atlanta. Tightening his fingers on the hilt of his sword, he considered using his majik to answer the insult, but he would not risk injuring the other soldiers.

  He didn't miss the fact that Batuk failed to address the insult.

  "I know this." Batuk drew Tristan's attention back to him. "No man would continue to live as a beast when he could walk this land freely in the body you own at this minute. If you agree to my offer, I have a key that will unlock this cursed existence forever."

  Tristan made a noise in his throat that dismissed Batuk's offer. "Listen closely, warlord. A local witch doctor came here out of curiosity. I held him captive for a month and gave him every opportunity to work his voodoo to cure me. Didn't happen. In fact, he tried to kill me for my blood. His skull now decorates the entrance to my cave. I'll give you one minute to convince me why I shouldn't use your head to make a matched set."

  Batuk smiled confidently. "The serum I gifted you with was brewed by our witch who knows much about Alterants. My men and I all bled into the mixture to share our powers with you, but the witch warns this will not last long. She says you will be able to escape this prison while you are in human form this time, but it will only last for three days. Before then, if you join my army, we will locate the Ngak Stone, which has the power to break your curse forever."

  Now Vyan understood the rush.

  Three days to find the stone and gain control? They were destined to die in this time. Legend held that the stone had always chosen a powerful being in the past. What were the chances they could find the stone's new master or that Tristan as Batuk's envoy could take possession of the stone in so little time? How could they trust Tristan to keep his word if he did agree?

  Would have been nice to have known everything before Vyan traveled here and risked his life for nothing.

  Tristan narrowed his gaze on Batuk. "What are you not telling me?"

  "That we cannot battle the Beladors without drawing the attention of the gods. We do not have our Shiva's support, so I need you to ..."

  There was that hesitation again, making Vyan wonder what game Batuk played.

  "... agree to stand with us should we face the Beladors before leaving this world. Second, the Ngak Stone has chosen a new master. Shiva would know immediately if one of us gained control of the Ngak Stone, or I would have gone after it myself by now. I need someone with your power and lack of ties to any entity to take possession and wield the stone for us. The Beladors infest the earth now and will no doubt also learn the stone has taken a master."

  Tristan shook his head. "So basically, you need to keep a low profile until you can get out of town, so to speak?"

  Batuk tilted his head in confirmation. "Once you convince the new master to willingly give you the stone, you will hold the power in your hand to break the curse of being an animal. In return, I want you to use the stone's power to send all of my tribe back eight hundred years to our home--not Mount Meru but when we lived as men with families. And, as I said, possibly battle the Beladors if a conflict arises."

  Tristan's eyes twitched, narrowing on Batuk before his gaze evened out with a look of silent understanding that Vyan trusted even less than Batuk's words. Something had just transpired between the two. If only he could determine what.

  The Alterant's entire body relaxed. "Why would the stone's master help me?"

  "Because the master will be a woman. With the face and body you now possess, can you not sway one female to do your bidding?"

  Tristan actually smiled. "There are many ways to make a woman bend to my will. Some are more enjoyable than others. Looks like we have a deal."

  Batuk might have a deal, but Vyan had no intention of bending to Tristan or trusting the bastard to help his people.

  Vyan no longer trusted his leader either.

  That left him with only one person he could rely on.

  Himself. And only one choice of action. He'd have to find this woman who possessed the stone before Tristan did and convince her to help free his people before Batuk's real agenda killed them all.

  Vyan clenched his teeth as the task ahead daunted his conviction. Damn, his conscience had picked a terrible time to return.

  SEVENTEEN

  The sense of spinning ended abruptly with Evalle standing upright. She shoved her hands out for balance. Her palms hit a surface that flexed, but it was the lungful of raw sewage she breathed in that told her exactly where she was.

  Sen had teleported her to a port-a-potty.

  In the middle of the summer in Atlanta. Gross.

  That bastard's sense of humor came from the same place his head was shoved up most of the time.

  She fumbled with the door handle and stumbled out onto a dark sidewalk on shaky legs, gulping fresh air. The sidewalk pitched with her vertigo.

  Nausea threatened to finish off her perfectly crappy day.

  At least it wasn't dawn yet. That would be more like Sen to stick her in a port-a-potty in the middle of a hundred-degree day without sufficient clothing to leave.

  A hand latched onto her shoulder. "Hey--"

  She came around swinging out of reflex, her mind a rush of red fury. No one would ever hurt her again.

  He blocked her right cross. She shoved her knee up. He used another hand to deflect her slam to his groin. That gave her an opening to throw an uppercut with her left fist, clipping the edge of his chin.

  "Ow, dammit. Stop!"

  He spun her like a top on a string.

  Vertigo won at that point. And she figured out who she fought.

  "You stop or I'll throw up on you," she warned, sure that would be enough to make Storm shove her away.

  "You don't transport well, huh?"

  Was he laughing? She could break his hold even though he had her back pinned to his chest, but her legs were so weak she'd probably land facedown on the sidewalk. She hated to ever feel weak, but the shaking wouldn't stop. "We call it teleporting in VIPER. You make me sound like fresh fruit that gets damaged in shipment."

  He did laugh this time, a warm, throaty sound. His grip changed from one of containment to one of comfort.

  She tried to make herself push away from him, from being held, but her body refused to help. His fingers wrapped her abdomen and moved slightly, cupping her waist. He breathed deeply, a motion that gave her an up close and personal idea of just how wide his chest was.

  The air changed from one of joking to awareness.

  Not the fight-or-flight mode she usually experienced this close to a man.

  She was torn between wanting to stay in this moment a few seconds more and shoving away from someone who was helping Sen.

  "You better now?" Storm's voice was next to her ear and sounded as t
hough he didn't want to hear yes, but that was the answer she gave him. "Okay. If I let you go, will you promise not to hit me or throw up on me?"

  "For now."

  When his arms fell away she experienced a quiver of disappointment. And surprise at not feeling the bone-deep fear of being held and hurt in his grasp.

  Would she ever want a man to touch her ... to really touch her?

  She stepped away, recognizing the street and buildings as she turned and located her bike in the same spot she'd left it. Satisfied nothing had happened to her baby, she faced Storm. "What time is it?"

  "Right around five. Be daylight in a half hour."

  Crud. She'd lost almost five hours even though the Tribunal meeting had seemed to pass in less than an hour. Isak had to be ticked off about her blowing a second meeting. One problem at a time. She cut her eyes at Storm. "What are you doing here?"

  "Waiting for you to show up. Again." He canted his head in the direction of the bike. "I found your gixxer after you left. Figured I'd hang around and keep an eye on it."

  "Why?"

  Storm had a way of looking at her that made her think she'd missed something in the conversation, as though she shouldn't need to ask that question. "Bad enough to get yanked off your feet by Sen, but it would be worse to come back and find your ride gone."

  It was nice of him to look after it, since he had no idea no one could take her bike. His kindness touched her a lot more than she wanted it to. "What about looking for the Ngak Stone?"

  "Sen came back not long after you left. I told him I'd just finished my shift in the park and if he expected me to work with you, then you had to be here for that to happen."

  Why would Storm purposefully bait Sen? Especially about her? Was he telling her the truth or trying to manipulate her into thinking they were on the same side? She kept her curiosity hidden. "We've got to find that stone."

  "VIPER agents have been in the park and the surrounding areas all night, so it's not like the mission was entirely abandoned. Besides, I can't see any of us finding that rock until it chooses its woman."

  He made it sound like some horny teenager. "What agents have been here since I left?"

  "Casper came by for a while, then Tzader was here. Another guy joined him--"

  "Quinn?"

  "Yeah, he showed up. They both left a little while ago."

  But Storm had stayed. She wished she knew how to feel about that, but she'd only slept a handful of hours in three days and was too tired to think at this point. "I'm going home. Thanks for keeping an eye on my bike."

  "No problem. What time do you want to team up again?"

  Wow, he'd finally figured out that demanding she meet him at a specific time wouldn't work.

  But what to tell Storm? She'd stood up Isak--again--and still had no way to find him. Isak might know why the Birrn demon had been looking for an Alterant, information that could be useful with the Tribunal, but she doubted he'd share a thing with her after this.

  Heck, she'd be lucky if he didn't turn that big cannon he toted on her.

  Storm waited patiently for her answer, his eyes full of quiet understanding she really wished she could trust.

  "I'll see you at the same gate at nine tonight." She considered the conversation over and headed to her bike before she did something foolish such as offer to grab coffee with him.

  "That'll work. I've got to catch some sleep then follow up on a couple leads."

  Evalle was halfway to her bike when his words stopped her. "What leads?"

  "On the Birrn killing." Storm walked over and stood in front of her. "You could help by answering some questions."

  That's right. He'd picked up a mint scent.

  Hers.

  "Why would you think that?"

  "One of the two male witches I found said you'd been there and helped them escape the Birrn. Want to elaborate?"

  Not really.

  Had he asked her that before the Tribunal meeting, she'd have had to fight a rush of panic. Now she had much more to worry about than Sen's agenda. She was sick to her stomach from being dizzy and had no energy left to verbally fence with Storm. "Yes, I was there. Yes, I helped the twins get away from the Birrn. And, yes, I could have told you that this morning and saved you from working so hard today to give Sen the information he needs to put me on suspension. Sorry I didn't want to help you put a collar on me."

  Trying to outmaneuver Storm was like playing dodgeball with an octopus. She could only do it so long without losing.

  "I know all that, and that you fought the Birrn and that you were present when the Birrn was destroyed."

  She had her arms crossed and her hands fisted, ready to tell him just what she thought of anyone who was Sen's go-to man for information, but Storm didn't let her.

  "Get some sleep and cool off some. My questions will keep." Storm used the back of his finger to wipe a layer of sweat off her brow, the motion wiping away her anger just as easily. "Regardless of what you think, I didn't agree to transfer to Atlanta for the sole purpose of handing you to Sen on a platter. You want me to be straight? Fine. He does think you're hiding something from him, and when he told me he specifically wanted to know if someone was putting the VIPER coalition at risk, I knew he was talking about you. That doesn't mean I think you're a risk. When Sen asked about the Birrn earlier, I told him I was tracking the person who killed it, which I am. But you didn't kill it, did you?"

  She didn't dare tell Storm about Isak for fear of his running to Sen with the information--which would definitely not work in her best interest. Also, she still had to find out what Isak knew about the Birrn.

  That is, if he'd ever speak to her again after she'd left him double hanging.

  "No. I didn't kill it."

  "Then you better run along." His tone was fierce.

  "Why?"

  "Because you'll turn into a toasty Alterant if you don't," he teased.

  She allowed a smile. "Why didn't you tell Sen about me being at the site where the Birrn was killed?"

  Storm could turn a minute into the longest stretch of time with one look into his searing eyes. "Because I'm not Sen's hit man. I decide for myself who the good guys are." He turned his hand over to brush his palm through her hair, letting his fingers rest at her shoulder for a brief moment before he stepped back. His eyes were darker than before. Whatever he was thinking disappeared in his shuttered gaze. "Now head out before something even more evil than a Birrn comes along tonight and decides to eat you."

  She would have questioned him more, but every instinct she possessed told her to get out of here as quickly as possible. Because if she didn't, something wicked just might devour her. Not that it would really matter. At the rate she was going, she'd be dead in three days anyway.

  Or would she be able to find the miracle that could keep her free and save the world from those who wanted to destroy it?

  EIGHTEEN

  Monday predawn traffic poured into the parking lots Evalle rode past. She slowed to scan the area around each one.

  No trolls working the pay booths. No demons lurking in the shadows.

  She kept an eye on three parking garages in downtown Atlanta for Quinn, who probably owned more real estate than some small countries did. If he wanted to consider a nightly ride to keep an eye on his businesses a part-time job, who was she to argue? Especially since Quinn gave her a reduced rent in trade for surveillance.

  All missions completed for the evening.

  She turned her gixxer toward home.

  When are you going home, Evalle? Quinn asked in her mind.

  How did he know she wasn't there yet? Was the man psychic on top of his other gifts?

  She glanced up at the sky threatening to unleash sunshine in another ten minutes. I'm a mile from my elevator.

  Z and I'll meet you there.

  Not much for chatting, that Quinn.

  She cut down Marietta Boulevard and turned on a side road that deposited her below Atlanta's traffic level. The rutte
d street her narrow tires bounced over ran along the railroad tracks that once fed into the original Underground Atlanta, where civies came in groups for safety. Today's Underground Atlanta was a thriving tourist attraction safe enough for the kiddos.

  She preferred the spooky early morning darkness down here in Atlanta's underbelly, where dock workers sweated out an honest living, to the pristine world full of suits ... a world full of doctors who ... Don't go there.

  Parking in front of the overhead door to her personal elevator, which could carry a full-sized vehicle, she pressed the remote opener clipped to her tank-bag and climbed off.

  Footsteps approached, crunching gravel layered over the pavement. She pushed her bike into the dark elevator stall, turning it to where she could face her guests. "How's tricks, boys?"

  "Must you always cut it so close to daylight?" Quinn asked.

  She grinned at him. "Gotta make hay when the sun don't shine and all that. Besides, Sen ran me late."

  "What'd he want now?" Tzader entered last, sounding whipped. Had he rested at all since yesterday?

  "He snatched me in for a Tribunal meet--," she started explaining.

  "Without contacting me first?" Anger boiled off Tzader.

  Evalle supported the bike against her hip and lifted a hand, hesitating to say much out here. "It wasn't a suspension hearing that would have required due process."

  No happier than Z, Quinn picked up on her reluctance to expound. "Let's get inside her apartment where no one can hear us."

  She keyed the remote, shutting the door, and turned her attention to where a panel of six toggle switches was mounted behind bulletproof glass.

  Getting inside the elevator would be simple for an intruder.

  Breaking the bulletproof glass over the switches would set off alarms in her living quarters down below. But even if someone made it this far, they'd have to know the correct sequence for flipping the toggles. That changed daily, and only the three people inside this elevator car knew those codes.

  Tzader and Quinn could flip the toggles kinetically, which one of the two did before she could, because the elevator started moving.

  "You got any food down here?" Tzader got downright surly when he was hungry on top of being tired.