The Curse

  Kell's face lost his nice tan, turned white when he raised his eyes to his brother. "If a troll has nowhere to hide, then we're SOL. The best thing we can do is stay right here where we're surrounded by people until dark."

  Lanna did not know SOL, but she understood that these boys were in trouble and would lose their shelter soon. She knew what it was to hide dangerous things and the desperation of having no place safe.

  That was how she ended up here.

  Kell had helped her without even knowing her name.

  Glancing around, Kell scowled and rubbed his neck. "We're screwed."

  "No, we're not," Kardos argued. "Jurba said he'd take us with them."

  Lanna felt better because this Jurba would help them. Wait. Jurba had information that might also help her. Would VIPER want to know about strange trolls? Enough to let her stay if she traded for learning troll location?

  She turned to Quinn. "Cousin?"

  "Yes, Lanna?" He stopped typing and lifted weary eyes.

  "Does VIPER care about trolls in city?"

  Her cousin went on alert, just as he had in Canada when they faced demons. "What made you ask that?"

  "I hear things."

  "You heard about trolls and you haven't been here a full day?" He eyed her with misgiving. "You made that up, didn't you?"

  She would be offended by anyone else, but Cousin Quinn did know her well. "No. I hear about special troll with runic letter as scar on his skin."

  He grabbed her arm. "What?"

  She stiffened. Her heart pounded dangerously fast in her chest. Her cousin would not harm her, but still she did not like to be grabbed. She liked it not at all on that arm where she still had phantom pain even though her skin had healed. She tried to stay calm but her voice carried a warning when she told him, "Let. Go."

  Quinn released her immediately. "I'm sorry, Lanna. Did I hurt you?"

  "No, of course not." She had reacted to ugly memory, not her cousin, who was most honorable man she knew and would never harm a woman. "I told you. Plane ride made me uneasy."

  "Okay, so what did you hear about those trolls?"

  "That one is in city." She guessed at the distance, but if twins had no transportation of their own, they would most likely stay close by.

  "Do you know where this troll is?" Quinn asked, all ears now that he appeared to believe her.

  "Near shelter. Not far from here."

  "I know of a shelter in this area," he muttered, his gaze spiked with suspicion. "From whom did you learn of this?"

  Lanna had been watching Kell and Kardos, who spoke in angry tones. She jerked her gaze back to Quinn. "I do not know--"

  "Don't lie to me, Lanna."

  She kicked her foot out and back, thinking. "I will tell you, but you will promise they will not get in trouble, yes? You will not jail them."

  "Why would I do that and who are they?"

  Must be more careful around cousin. She had just told Quinn more than one was involved. "One who heard this about strange trolls found out because he plays crap game with local trolls."

  "Where did you meet a nonhuman?"

  "See? You are angry."

  "No, I'm worried. That's different. You could have gotten hurt by them."

  "I am not child now, Cousin." Not after what she had gone through to survive and escape to America. "I can handle teenage boys any day."

  Quinn sat up and slowly swiveled his head until he looked directly at the twins. "Those two."

  Her mouth sometimes moved faster than her mind. Bad flaw. "No."

  "Yes. You tuned in to their conversation while I was on my phone." Quinn stood.

  So did Lanna. "No, Cousin. They have troubles with shelter and children service."

  "I'm only going to ask them questions. If I like the answers, they'll be fine."

  "And if not?"

  "They'll have bigger problems than child services."

  When Quinn took a step toward the boys, Kell's head whipped up, alert. He grabbed Kardos's sleeve and started backing away.

  But not before he noticed Lanna. Kell's eyes were two angry slits, his eyebrows tucked tight over his gaze.

  With one look, he accused her of betrayal, though he had no idea what she had said or done.

  She had not meant to cause him more problems and wanted a chance to explain, but now the boys were backing away. Fear mixed with their angry looks.

  Kell had said best place for them was here in park until sunset. They would not stay if Quinn frightened them, and her cousin could be a most intimidating man.

  Walking calmly toward the twins, Quinn called out. "I'd like to talk to you."

  She had noticed small police station across street when she first arrived at park. Three men in uniforms walked from other side of street toward corner of park where the boys stood by statue.

  Kardos looked over his shoulder at the same three men and told Kell, "Can't go that way. One of those cops ... knows me. If he's heard about the underage roundup, he'll grab me and ask questions later."

  Boys were caught between Quinn and men in uniforms.

  Her fault.

  Accusation flew from Kell's gaze. How could she fix this?

  She could not draw deep on powers or Grendal would find her. Because of potion, he could feel her use her powers to call on elements ... but not if the elements merely reacted to her anxiety. Closing her eyes, she did worst thing for her. She called up memory of what had happened to her with Grendal back in Romania.

  Thunder boomed overhead.

  Quinn swung back to her and shouted, "No, Lanna."

  She opened her eyes and looked up at sky. Same place Quinn looked, where clouds had changed from puffy white to threatening gray.

  In that instant, she glanced over at Kell and winked to let him know she would help him escape.

  He blinked once, but did not waste opportunity she had given him. He latched onto Kardos, towing him away.

  If those two knew where special trolls were, they could help her, and she would help them again, too, but that would only happen if she found them again.

  She focused on Kardos's hand and whispered short chant.

  Dice fell from his fingers.

  Kardos turned to go for the tumbling cubes, but Kell had tight grip on his brother, urging him to keep moving. The two rushed away into a small cluster of people walking around park.

  When the sky quieted, Quinn dropped his head and looked at empty spot by statue where boys had been. His growl sounded rough with frustration, but her cousin would never harm someone who was not a threat.

  He turned back to her. "You summoned that thunder on purpose."

  Lanna did not agree or try to lie. Instead, she waved him off. "Go, Cousin. I understand. You are busy and can not play guide with me."

  "You really think I'm going to leave you out here alone?"

  She hoped not. "I am fine, Cousin."

  He lifted handle of her rolling suitcase and tilted his head to point the way he wanted her to walk.

  She followed, letting her steps take her by the dice that sat in piled leaves, where she scooped them up on her way by. She had located people by holding personal items and hoped it would work this time.

  "Where are we going, Cousin?"

  "To my hotel. I can't deal with this right now, but I'll be back tonight and you'll be safe if you stay out of view."

  Quinn waved a taxi over. The driver took them to a nice Ritz Hotel where the doorman spoke fondly to her cousin. Everything about hotel bragged of much money, from porters to fancy doors.

  She had just stepped from taxi behind Quinn when he paused and stared into distance again. This time only for few seconds. He dismissed whatever had stopped him, then scratched his head and gave Lanna a card from his pocket. He spoke low for her ears only. "The Belador Maistir called. I have to go. It's important."

  Ah. He had communicated with his mind again.

  Quinn handed her a plastic card. "Here's the room key. If you're hungry, order food.
You can watch movies, too."

  Taking the room key card, she hurried to speak before he started giving orders and demanding promises. "I understand. Thank you for room, Cousin. Do not worry if you find me asleep when you come back. I am very tired and hungry. I could sleep for two days after bumpy trip here."

  His irritation softened. "I'm sure it was a difficult flight. If you need anything--"

  "I will call from room. I can tell this hotel will be most helpful. Go, Cousin. Do not worry about me. No one will bother me."

  Quinn spoke quietly, but in a rush. "I just checked in today, so no one other than the hotel staff knows I'm here. I don't like leaving you without the warding on the door--"

  "That would not be good unless you can stay for half hour to find out if my majik reacts to warding. Last time I--"

  "Never mind. Double-lock the doors." He handed her a business card that displayed a phone number. Nothing else. "Call me immediately if you need me."

  "Yes, yes. I know how to get help. Go and be careful." She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed Quinn's cheek. "Do not let something happen to you. I would be lost without you."

  He patted her head. "I'll be fine."

  She told him good-bye and turned to walk away, knowing he would not leave until she was inside. Dangerous trolls were in Atlanta. The world was lucky to have men such as Quinn who protected humans from bloodthirsty creatures.

  After reaching the suite and depositing her suitcase, she ordered food and felt much better, then left a note for Quinn. Before riding back down in the elevator, she experimented with cloaking herself. Last night she had disappeared completely, but now only the top half of her body vanished before she gave up. Majik was much trouble some days.

  Once she found Kell and Kardos, she would get the location of the strange trolls' headquarters and give that to Quinn when he returned to the hotel.

  Quinn would worry if he knew what she was up to, but she had fought a troll in Transylvania last year.

  That one had no special marks, but a troll was a troll.

  She only needed help with evil wizards.

  SIXTEEN

  Asking Isak Nyght for a weapon that killed nonhumans would open a door Evalle might never be able to shut. She grabbed a towel to dry her hair, needing to head out soon even if the meet point was close to her underground apartment in downtown Atlanta.

  Isak had to know she wanted a weapon after she'd sent a text asking to borrow something. What else would she want to borrow from a man who created custom weapons just to kill beings with supernatural power?

  Could she avoid telling him why? Not an easy task when she had yet to give Isak a straight answer about why she sometimes ran into nonhumans. At least he wouldn't remember that he'd discovered she was an Alterant three weeks ago.

  Nope, she wasn't worried about Isak ... as long as he didn't kiss her.

  He'd kissed her only a couple times, unexpectedly. The man had a nice mouth, more than nice.

  But then Storm had kissed her.

  She stopped rubbing her hair and tossed the towel over a hook. Thinking of Storm and Isak at the same time gave her a headache.

  No kissing tonight. She'd treat this as business. One goal--get the weapon. But she couldn't tell Isak about the trolls. That meant she had to play up her fear of something nonhuman.

  She'd rather spend a day off with Sen than act afraid of anything.

  Take one for the team. Tzader and Quinn sure as the devil couldn't pull off looking frightened of anything.

  She finished dressing and went out to the kitchen, where her two-foot-tall gargoyle, Feenix, sat on the island counter playing with his pile of lug nuts. The leathery skin on his wide forehead wrinkled with how hard he concentrated to place the silver half-inch circles on top of each other with his pudgy hands, especially while having to reach around his potbelly.

  "Whatcha doing, baby?" she asked on her way to snag a power drink from the fridge.

  "Cathel."

  Took her a minute of studying the wall and tower structure he'd built to understand he meant castle. "Fun. Did you see a castle on TV?"

  "No-o." He answered her as if he expected her to know the right answer.

  Where had he seen a castle? She'd found Feenix during a mission to locate and stop a mad sorcerer who'd been creating an army of vicious creatures that killed on command. Feenix had been left in a cell with a note marking him as a flawed creation to be used for food. The best she could tell, the poor little guy had failed as a killer. Easy to understand with all the other creatures towering over ten feet tall and Feenix so much smaller and with a sweet disposition.

  Quinn would argue that Feenix could blow a hole in the wall with a blast of fire if something frightened him.

  True, but he knew he was safe with her. "Who lives in the castle, baby?"

  Feenix angled his head to look up at her. Bright orange eyes flashed with intelligence when he smiled. Two small fangs poked down on each side of his overbite, glowing against his brownish-green skin covered in dark green scales. "Printheth."

  "A princess, huh?" Oh, that's right! She'd watched The Princess Bride with him the other night. "That's a great castle. Is it for Princess Buttercup?"

  "No-o." He shook his head and his batlike wings flapped gently. The chortling sound he made usually meant he was proud of something he'd figured out. "For Printheth Evalle."

  Her heart thumped. She'd never celebrated a birthday or received a wrapped gift, but moments with Feenix had become as cherished as any package in shiny paper. "Thank you, baby."

  He pointed at another lug nut. "Demon." Then he picked up that lug nut and tossed it into his mouth, chomping on the steel and clapping his hands.

  "Attaboy." She smiled. "I'll be back in a while. Don't eat my pots and pans, okay?"

  Feenix quieted and dropped a hand to his bent knee, which he patted slowly as if saying, That again? "Accthident. Member?"

  "Yes, I remember, but I wanted to make sure you didn't forget." It wasn't as though she did a lot of cooking, but she would like to keep the last two pots she had. She hadn't figured out if he had short-term memory loss sometimes or if he just did things out of pure mischief.

  "'Kay. Go ride?"

  "Not right now. Maybe later." Once she knew for sure the Svart trolls were gone. Before heading out on her motorcycle, she leaned over and kissed his forehead, careful not to get stuck by one of his horns.

  The ride to meet Isak took no time since the meet point was only a mile from home.

  His black Hummer sat alone on the top level of an expansive parking deck. The deck was not being fully utilized, and she'd chosen this location specifically because the upper floors would be empty in the early evening. After stowing her gear and adjusting her sunglasses, she turned to find Isak standing by the open passenger door of his truck.

  Black dress pants and a cobalt-blue, button-down dress shirt did nothing to tone down the black-ops warrior beneath the civilized veneer. Short brown hair with gray flecks at his temples shouted former military, just as much as the hard jaw and intense blue gaze that scoped the area around her in a blink.

  "How ya doin', Isak?"

  "Not bad. Ready?"

  "I hadn't planned on going anywhere."

  "Thought you wanted to borrow something."

  "I do, but I haven't told you what yet."

  "Does it turn demons into shrapnel?"

  She didn't want to explode the troll. "Maybe."

  "Then I know what you want. Let's go."

  "Are you going to put a sack over my head, Isak?"

  "No." Mr. Serious didn't even crack a smile.

  "Then why can't I just follow on my bike?"

  "Because you'll be blindfolded."

  Crap. She walked over and put a foot up on the running board, picking up the seductive scent of cologne. Humongous hands grabbed her around the waist and lifted her onto the seat before she could protest. Taking a breath to keep herself calm, she told him, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm fi
ve-ten, I'm wearing jeans and need no help getting into a truck."

  He put his left hand on the back of her seat and leaned in, a glint of heat burning in his eyes. "I noticed. Every. Sweet. Inch. Especially the jeans. Buckle up ... unless you want help with that, too."

  Guess she'd find out how much of a gentleman he was, or he'd find out just how dangerous she could be.

  Once he had the wide black cloth in place over her sunglasses, she prepared to be pelted with questions about why she wanted a special weapon. But when Isak cranked the engine, Garth Brooks crooned a country tune as the vehicle backed up, then headed forward.

  Ten minutes into the ride, Isak hadn't said a word.

  She tapped her fingers, picking up speed with each tap until a warm hand covered hers.

  Every muscle jumped to alert.

  He started brushing his thumb back and forth over her skin, the simple gesture reminding her that he was no threat to her. With that realization, tension that had locked the muscles in her shoulders all afternoon eased.

  When the truck rolled to a stop a half hour later, Isak said, "You can remove the blindfold."

  She uncovered her sunglasses to find his truck parked inside a huge warehouse. At the far end of the ginormous building, people stood beneath bright fluorescent lights at workstations. She assumed they were assembling weapons or some defensive devices that Isak manufactured.

  Heavy-duty, twelve-foot-tall stainless-steel cabinets lined forty feet of one wall in the thirty-thousand-square-foot building with a ceiling that peaked at twenty feet. One section of the warehouse had been framed in as an office area that could provide six to eight average-size rooms.

  But this was not the hangar she'd visited the night Isak had kidnapped her for an Italian meal. The hangar hadn't been as bright inside, and it had been more open, with fewer shelves and minimal office area. A place his teams--the Nyght Raiders--could congregate and plan.

  This place was a production facility with bright lighting, tools on workstations and the smell of machine oil.

  One young man in jeans and a flannel shirt ran a forklift, carrying loads from the rear of the building to the front. He moved stacks of crates, lifting them high in the air to place on neatly organized shelves running in rows just left of the overhead door behind Isak's Hummer.