Rogue Belador: Belador book 7 (16 page)

“That bugger Sen,” Quinn grumbled, echoing Evalle’s thoughts. “The whole point of creating the witch council was to keep them from having to join the coalition. VIPER makes exceptions for trolls, for crying out loud, but not witches who will support us?”

“Exactly,” Evalle said. “I need Storm to go with me to track a Noirre residue at Mattie’s house before we leave to free the dragon. Hopefully, we’ll find something that might give us a lead on where they’re holding Mattie,
if
the kidnapped witches are still in the human world.”

Tzader said, “Noirre residue is enough evidence to authorize a VIPER investigation.”

“Rowan doesn’t want to call them at this point,” Evalle explained. “She thinks it’s odd for the Noirre residue to be so obvious when the Medb clearly shielded their scent when they created demons. Even the creature we killed tonight had no Medb scent or any evidence of Noirre. She thinks the blatant Noirre clue is a trap, and the minute she shows that to VIPER the white witches will be accused of trying to frame the Medb.”

Storm murmured, “Could be. Keep in mind there could be another player. There’s always been a black market for that kind of majik, plus a lot of Noirre was traded during the beast championship on Cumberland Island.”

Now for the punch line.
Evalle said, “We have a time issue. Mattie’s sister is a powerful Fae who is coming to see Mattie Saturday morning. At this point, the sister doesn’t know Mattie is missing. If we don’t find Mattie before this Caron visits, Caron will flatten the city.”

“
Caron
as in Caron of Sídhe Orlaith? That Fae is her sister?” Quinn asked, appalled.

“Half sister, but yes, that sounds right. We have it on good authority that Caron will take the city apart to find Mattie, and with no regard for human witnesses.” No point in mentioning that Deek was the good authority. Storm hadn’t forgotten that Evalle owed Deek a favor. She’d have to break it to him later about agreeing to find Mattie to pay her debt.

Quinn shared, “Caron destroyed seventeen different commercial property locations belonging to Deek D’Alimonte.” He described how Caron had cherry-picked the targets for destruction, not killing a person.

“I heard,” Evalle confirmed. “If we don’t find Mattie before we leave for Tŵr Medb, we’ll need Quinn to work covertly with Trey to find the witch.”

“Understood.” Quinn speculated, “I might be able to use that in some way to draw Queen Maeve and Cathbad into a Tribunal meeting.”

“And one more thing,” Evalle said. “We can’t tell anyone that Oskar is alive and here, because Rowan says the kidnappers will realize we might be able to track Mattie through Oskar. If tonight’s hunt doesn’t pan out, I’ll ask Lanna to touch Oskar’s hair to see what that shows her. I’d ask her now, but she looked whipped, plus we have to go to Mattie’s and I don’t want to rattle Feenix again tonight.”

Tzader stood up and shoved in his chair before addressing Quinn. “Queen Maeve and Cathbad are cagey. Just don’t give the Tribunal any reason to retaliate against you.” He took a look at his watch and asked, “How about a ride to my place?”

“Certainly. With Lanna here, I can drop you, check in with VIPER to see if anything critical is happening, plus talk to Trey and stop by my hotel before returning.” Quinn suggested, “It’s after two now. I say we convene back here at eight. Sound good?”

Evalle said, “Yes.”

Storm nodded.

Tzader looked as if he wanted to overrule that.

Evalle walked around and put her hand on Tzader’s arm. “We’ll get the dragon and, with a little luck, no one will know it was us, but if they do we’ll face the consequences together. Once the dragon returns Brina’s memories, she’ll be a game changer with Macha, who wouldn’t dare push Brina at that point. We do this together. Just like we always have. If Macha’s willing to betray you and Brina, plus treat me and the other gryphons as if we’re only beasts to be ordered around like trained dogs, then she’s not a person who deserves my loyalty.”

“You have a lot to risk these days, Evalle,” Tzader warned.

“That’s exactly why I’m willing to take a stand with you and Quinn, and why Storm will, too.” She leaned in and kissed Tzader’s cheek, then told him, “You look exhausted. Meeting at eight will allow me the time I need for a few things, too. Get some sleep before you come back.”

“I’ll be ready,” he said.

She doubted he intended to rest, but hoped exhaustion would win out.

Storm stepped over. “If you’re not sharp, you’ll put your entire team at risk.”

“Point taken,” Tzader said, clearly accepting that everyone was in agreement. He walked out with Quinn.

She turned to Storm. “I don’t want to go back out, but—”

“We need to check Mattie’s house right away before something happens to disrupt the scents.”

“Right.” She waited as he locked up behind Tzader and Quinn.

On the way to the Land Cruiser, Storm said, “Don’t think for a minute that I didn’t notice how you failed to inform the other two about who would be teleporting the team. It’s not Deek, right?”

“No.” She hurried over to the passenger door, hoping to jump in and come up with a way to avoid this conversation by the time he got in.

Storm’s hand came down on the top of the door before she could open it. Crap.

She flipped around. “What?”

He dropped his head until their noses almost touched. “I only know of one other person you could ask to teleport us, but he’s still flying his gryphon gig on Treoir, right?”

Storm had been born a human lie detector, so she didn’t waste effort sidestepping the question. “Tristan is in Atlanta. Grady told me about it tonight as I was leaving Rowan’s house. When I found Tristan, he said he’s been experimenting. He’s teleported three at one time between Treoir and here. I know you don’t like him—”

“Understatement. To be more accurate, I don’t trust him,” Storm corrected.

“Right. But he’s our best hope for making this work.”

Storm put his other hand down, caging her between his arms. Any other time, this could lead somewhere interesting, but at the moment Storm wouldn’t let this Tristan bone go.

He said, “This is the same person who put you in a jam with Macha and a Tribunal.”

“Well, yes—”

“Tristan also grabbed his group and ran, while you stood between him and a black ops team sighting in on all of you.”

“Technically, I asked him to—”

Storm interrupted, “He walked you into a Medb trap and—”

“Teleported me away so I could escape,” Evalle managed to say.

Storm’s face became even fiercer. “Yes, Tristan did teleport you ... right into Deek D’Alimonte’s private office, and almost got you killed by that centaur.”

She gave up defending Tristan.

Storm sizzled with renewed anger at the Alterant whose actions Evalle had tried to defend. He said, “If Tristan agrees to teleport the team both ways, then so much as hiccups at the wrong time and puts you in danger again, he’ll be unable to ever teleport, fly, walk, or eat without a straw when I’m finished with him.”

Storm kissed her forehead and opened the door for her.

Yep, this was shaping up to be so much fun.

Not.

Chapter 15

TÅμr Medb, home of the Medb coven

Queen Maeve passed through the tall double doors carved with disgusting erotic scenes, and entered her private chamber in Tŵr Medb. If she planned to stay here very long, she’d reconstruct most of the tower, but there was no point in wasting majik on this place when she’d be moving to Treoir Castle soon.

Cathbad the Druid waited with his hands tucked behind him and a smug smile on his face. He enjoyed dressing in the modern styles, wearing a dark gray suit today with a black turtleneck pullover. Pale brown hair had just enough curl to add to his devilish attraction. Striking eyes the color of a dark beer followed her as she crossed the room.

He was the druid who’d first come to her aid two thousand years ago, and he was still her partner today.

The doors swung shut upon her silent command.

She spared a glance for Daegan, the dragon she’d cursed to serve as her throne. His silver eyes were trained on her and shooting death wishes her way. “Don’t make the mistake of allowing your eyes to close, Daegan.”

A deep rumbling shook the throne, but she had not freed his tongue since the last time he mouthed off at her.

Cathbad threw Daegan a derisive glance, muttering, “Keepin’ that beast alive so long concerns me.”

She found that amusing. “Seeing him shackled in that shape is entertaining. He’s not a threat.”

Cathbad waited until he was closer to say, “I’ve been told the dragon’s eyes were green while you were not queen, but they be silver now. What if that beast is gainin’ strength?”

An interesting observation, but nothing she considered significant. “He’s locked in that spell. His body could change color and I wouldn’t care, so you shouldn’t.”

Still not convinced, Cathbad pointed out, “He’s been privy to everythin’ said in this room for two thousand years. ’Tis a mistake to allow him to continue listenin’ to our plans now.”

She made a scoffing sound in Cathbad’s direction, dismissing his argument. “The only mistake I made with Daegan upon cursing him was to prevent anyone from compelling him to talk.”

“’Twas a good plan so he did not share anythin’ with successive queens who ruled until we returned.” Cathbad angled his head, thinking. “However, it would save us considerable time if that beast could be compelled to tell us how to access the history in the scryin’ wall.”

“Agreed.” Queen Maeve dismissed Cathbad’s concerns. There was only one place Daegan could be a danger to her. He’d never see that place again.

Not unless he could figure out how to open his wings and fly as a throne.

No, Daegan was just fine where she had him.

This way she could enjoy his misery every single minute possible. If not for him, she wouldn’t have—

“Are you ready for an update on Ossian’s integration into VIPER?” Cathbad asked.

Ignoring the dragon’s evil gaze following her every move, she turned to Cathbad. “Tell me about my gryphons. I’ve waited long enough. I want them. Now!”

“I have no’ heard from the Tribunal yet.”

“Send a message. The Tribunal’s deadline for this decision has passed. What is the delay?”

Cathbad strolled several steps. “Could be nothin’ more than arrogant gods and goddesses makin’ a point, or it could be they don’t have three willin’ to work together yet to form a Tribunal. Not all the pantheons joined the VIPER coalition and, of the ones that did, not all get along. I canna be seen in Atlanta at the moment, not until VIPER sends word. It’s part of the sanction for what trouble our rogue warlock caused with the Witchlock mess.”

“The Tribunal deities are fools to think that sanction means anything to me.”

He sighed heavily, the way he always had when he’d try to appease her in the past. “I hear ya, but if we are to keep up this ruse of pretendin’ ta be a part of the coalition ... ” He stretched his arms out and shrugged. “We need to play the part.”

She wished for something to kill. Nothing eased her anger like a bloody death. Letting the topic go for the moment, she said, “Very well. Do you bring me good news?”

“I believe so. Our man Ossian has inserted himself into VIPER, and has been receivin’ agent assignments.”

“How is that news?”

“I should be more specific.” Cathbad held up a finger then cocked his head, which meant he was speaking telepathically with Ossian. Nodding once, he waved his hand and Ossian appeared.

Or a
version
of Ossian.

Cathbad had created a unit of elite warlock warriors and endowed them with a few extra perks, such as being able to mask their Medb scent.

He’d hand selected Ossian to be even more special. After weeks of majikal influence, Ossian was capable of polymorphic changes to his outer appearance.

Today he was slight in size with narrow shoulders. Maintaining his footing in a strong wind would be a challenge. His inch-long, mud-brown hair had a disturbing shape, but she’d seen his hair much darker and longer, with a striking face to match. Not this time. Dark-rimmed glasses he didn’t need for his vision perched on his too-long nose, and his thin lips parted to show crooked front teeth. He wore an unflattering dove-gray suit and white shirt, standard clothing that turned human men invisible once they joined a herd of similarly dressed males at jobs in their world.

Cathbad beamed. The druid did enjoy showing off his handiwork. “Ossian has encouragin’ news. He has recently been assigned to an intelligence team that answers directly to Vladimir Quinn of the Beladors.”

“Oh?” The queen moved her attention to Ossian. “Are we closer to gaining access to the mausoleum where Quinn hides Kizira’s body?”

“I hope so, my queen. I’m making headway in developing a closer association with Quinn, though that Belador is one surly bastard at the moment. It is difficult to gain a meeting with him, and he’s distant on the rare occasions I can draw his attention. But he’s becoming accustomed to seeing me around VIPER. The agents believe I’m a warrior mage from the Julian Alps in Italy. I actually lent a hand to save a Belador from a demon attack last week.” Ossian hurried to add, “Of course, I performed that action only as part of my duty to you.”

She overlooked his aiding the enemy since Ossian was doing exactly as he’d been told. His instructions had been to infiltrate the Beladors and gain the confidence of Quinn. She qualified, “No one suspects who you really are, correct?”

Ossian shook his head. “Not even the other members of our
Scáth
Force team have been allowed to see me in this specific disguise. I change to my natural form to meet with them in secret, then I change back when I return to VIPER as a contractor.”

“Do you have anything new to report?”

“Yes. With my access to VIPER, I hear about anything related to our coven. We’re being blamed for every infraction in the human world right now. Even those we haven’t committed.”

Cathbad inquired, “Such as?”

“White witches have disappeared. I heard that Rowan Armand, the head of their council, sent word to VIPER, but Sen dismissed it because they’re not part of the coalition.”

“Best move ever when our queen joined that coalition,” Cathbad said, looking over at the queen when he gave that compliment. “No one expected it, especially Macha, and we now have a layer of insulation from the Beladors and the new council.”

Queen Maeve would normally enjoy being credited with any harm to white witches, but she killed anyone who dared to take an action on her behalf without her explicit consent. There were rules in the supernatural world when it came to that sort of thing. Actions had power. Members of the Medb coven were soldiers in her war to take back Treoir.

They were not generals to map out strategy on their own.

Anyone acting without her authorization would regret assuming that autonomy.

Returning to the conversation, she told Cathbad, “Our
Scáth
Force is excelling in covert operations, but we could use a team of Ossians.”

He smoothed his fingers over his trim beard. “True, but it required a considerable amount of power and resources just to give Ossian the ability to change his physical appearance at will, plus gift him with a semblance of mage abilities. Took me several days to recoup my stamina after that, but it’s been worth the effort. He’s the reason we know what is happenin’ with the Tribunal and VIPER, but creatin’ another one would be unwise.”

“Understood.” She caught his meaning. They could control one such as Ossian. After having dealt with a rogue warlock recently, it might not be wise to hand a second one such gifts. She changed topics. “When will we be able to send
all
of our warlocks and witches to the human world?”

The sooner she could undermine VIPER everywhere, the sooner she’d begin to weaken Belador resistance and implement a large-scale plan.

Ossian replied, “Based on comments Sen has made, the Tribunal is not in favor of changing the rate of our coven’s entry into the human world. I believe Sen would allow it, but not because he favors us. His motivation appears to be more about irritating the Beladors than accommodating our coven.”

“Odd that he would be allowed free rein,” Cathbad commented.

“True,” Ossian agreed. “I’ve been able to find out little about him, save that he’s been liaison between VIPER and the Tribunals for years. He has been in place for as long as any current VIPER associates recall, and he has not aged the entire time, which leads me to believe he is immortal. Everyone speculates that he’s been forced into his position, which is peculiar, considering how he, at times, displays godlike powers.”

Cathbad’s eyebrows danced with interest. “Keep surveillance on him as well.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Maeve floated across the room and turned to the men. “I’m not interested in Sen. I have no gryphons, and I’m sick of being held accountable to those far beneath me. Beladors flood their world, but VIPER limits the number of my followers allowed to enter. I want my island back!”

“Patience, my darlin’,” Cathbad cooed. “After waitin’ two millennia to destroy Macha, what is the harm of playin’ along for a wee bit longer?”

“Waiting is not in my blood.” Maeve wheeled around so fast, sparks flashed all around her and across her new deep-blue gown. “You and I created the Alterants.” If not for the two of them, the Alterant-gryphons would not exist. They’d magically taken sperm from the male children of the ancient berserker warrior Cú Chulainn and a Medb witch.

Together, she and Cathbad had devised a plan that brought the sperm to the present day world and bonded it with Belador descendants.

The result had been greater than even she or Cathbad had anticipated. Cathbad had created a prophecy, and she’d powered it with her own blood. In the end, Alterants were born of human women with Belador bloodlines, fathered by the powerful Medb—Cú Chulainn bloodline. What spawned were beasts that eventually evolved into gryphons.

My gryphons, by the gods
. That bitch Macha was not stealing anything else from her.

“Ya know, my darlin’,” Cathbad said, looking intently at her. “Macha does no’ have all the gryphons. ’Tis not possible. There had to be many more than ten.”

“She has only
eight,
to be precise. We’d have ten available if Flaevynn had not been a moron.” Hundreds of red candles at different levels around the room flared with the angry energy Maeve released. “How could she have risked
any
of the gryphons, but particularly the ones with golden heads? It’s a good thing her death powered my reincarnation, or she would not have survived my displeasure.” Waving off that irritation, Queen Maeve said, “We need a plan in case Macha comes up with a way to convince the Tribunal to deny my claim on the gryphons.”

“True,” Cathbad agreed. “We have two potential outcomes. We end up with half of the eight gryphons, or none at all. I don’t see us gainin’ the entire group, at least not yet. With Evalle as leader, she’ll have to deliver our gryphons.”

“Unless we request Evalle as part of the first group.”

Cathbad blew out a breath. “That will take some doin’ with her loyalty to the Beladors, which I find strange considerin’ that Macha has not treated her well.”

“How do you know that?”

“From Ossian.” Cathbad nodded at his special warrior. “And from what the rest of our
Scáth
Force has learned. The more knowledge we gain about all the parties involved, the more powerful you will be when it is time to capture Treoir. I promise we will gain that island again.”

She
would
rule Treoir. Flaevynn had almost destroyed her gryphons in that insane attack on the island. Unlike any queen who’d ruled in her absence, Maeve knew
all
of Treoir’s secrets.

Flaevynn, the stupid slut, had wanted to wipe out the Beladors, which would have ruined Maeve’s plans.
Those
warriors belonged to her as well. She and Cathbad had allowed others to think the Beladors and Medb coven were merely enemies. Macha knew the truth, and she had to be quaking in her boots right now over the return of the real Queen Maeve and Cathbad the Druid.