The Curse (26 page)

“
You
may not think of me as a friend anymore, but I still see you that way. I meant it when I said I didn’t come here to cause you any problems, only to get a weapon to use against the trolls.”

“What trolls?” Kit asked. “Why are you fighting trolls and demons?”

Evalle took a step to the side and turned so that she could keep both opponents in view when she spoke to Kit. VIPER might fry her over saying any more than she already had, but Kit and Isak knew about nonhumans. Continuing to lie to them would only turn their operation into a more dangerous enemy of the Coalition. Maybe, with a little luck, Evalle could show Kit and Isak the value of nonhumans.

“I’m part of an international coalition of unusual beings that protects humans from supernatural predators … like trolls.”

Isak made a nasty scoffing sound.

“It’s true,” Evalle argued. She looked to Kit. “I’ve been doing this since I was eighteen, and the group I’m a member of is sworn to uphold a vow of honor under penalty of death. That includes protecting humans.”

Kit tapped her fingers against each other. “This isn’t the first time you’ve fought trolls, right?”

“No.”

“What’s different now? Why do you need a Nyght weapon?”

Evalle had been right to tell Kit the truth about what she did. The woman was too sharp to play games with and had been fair so far. “There’s a special group of trolls called Svarts that are far more dangerous than regular ones. They’re out of Switzerland. We’re trying to figure out what they’re doing here and protect humans without exposing ourselves.”

“Why do you hide from humans?”

Had that been a trick question? The woman had to know how dangerous it would be to expose nonhumans to their world. Evalle said, “If humans knew about us, then they’d have to know about the nonhuman predators, which would create mass chaos. At that point, the good guys would be hunted along with the deadly ones, and you would end up with no one capable of protecting humans.”

Isak interjected, “We’ve been doing a pretty damned good job.”

Evalle rounded on him. “You have no idea of all the things out there. That Rías in your lockup is just one of many, and humans like your forklift driver don’t even know they
can
turn into a beast. At least with Alterants we have bright green eyes, but there’s no indication of a human who can shift into a Rías.”

“We can produce plenty of weapons to take those
things
down.”

Evalle ignored the dark way he’d said “things,” determined to get her point across. “You don’t understand. The Svart trolls are only one of the problems we face every day. The Svarts are a deadly black-ops group with different powers and abilities, plus they can glamour themselves so that you can’t tell one from a human. I fought a Svart last night that was so dangerous it almost killed me.”

Concern flickered in Isak’s gaze for a second, then he shut it down, but that tiny moment of emotion warmed Evalle’s heart. Gave her hope that he might stop hating her someday.

She swung her gaze to Kit, who had a warm, feminine version of Isak’s blue eyes when Kit studied her son, but that same gaze turned back into all-business when Kit looked at Evalle. Kit asked in a pointed tone, “Who will be responsible for this weapon?”

That got a rise out of Isak, stoking his anger back to full force. “There’s no way in hell I’m giving
it
a weapon—”

A snarl crawled up Evalle’s throat at being called
it
again, but Kit stood with the speed of a bullet and spoke first.

“Has Evalle
ever
presented a danger to humans that you know of, Isak?”

Evalle held her breath. Could this mean what she thought? That she might really get out of this alive
and
walk away with a weapon?

One look at Isak diminished that hope.

A ball of fury wrapped in corded muscle fumed at her. His words rolled out like thunder. “That’s not the point, Kit.”

Evalle frowned at him. “You keep calling your mother Kit. That’s not right.”

Isak broke off the tense glaring match with Kit and stared at Evalle as if she’d spoken another language. “What’d you say?”

Kit chuckled softly. “He’s been calling me that since before he got his driver’s license.”

Heat brushed Evalle’s cheeks. She muttered around the foot she’d stuck in her mouth. “Oh, well, that just didn’t sound right to me.”

“Didn’t you tell me you never knew your parents?” Isak ground out, still not willing to let go of his righteous anger.

“Yes.”

“Then how would
you
know what was right or not?”

Evalle lifted her shoulders, cutting her eyes to Kit, judging his mother’s reaction—amused?—before she answered him. “It’s what I’ve seen on television and read in books. I thought calling her mom, mother, ma or something equivalent was a term of endearment and respect. I haven’t heard anyone call their parent by a first name.”

Kit walked around her desk, chuckling over something that entertained only her. “I listen to my instincts, and mine are telling me I can believe you, Evalle.” Kit extended her hand again. “Good to meet you. We’ll loan you a weapon—”

Isak growled loud as a grizzly awakened in winter hibernation, but he couldn’t dampen Evalle’s growing enthusiasm over the way this had turned out.

Kit finished shaking her hand, then continued. “As long as you are entirely responsible for it.”

Like I wouldn’t be anyhow?
“No problem. I assure you—”

“I’m not done,” Kit said. “I also expect you to report regularly to Isak about nonhuman activity in the city.”

Evalle nodded, letting Kit know she was still on board. She didn’t want to rock the tentative truce.

“And … ” Kit added.

“Yes?” Evalle said in too bright a voice, but Kit could still refuse the weapon or try to lock Evalle in a cell.

That would be a mistake.

Kit eyed both of them. “You come to dinner at my house soon, very soon.”

“What?”
Isak and Evalle both shouted at the same time.

“What word did either of you not understand?” Kit asked in a brisk voice similar to the one she’d used to issue orders in the warehouse.

Isak just turned around and stalked out of the room without a sound except for slamming the door, making what he thought about spending another second in Evalle’s company pretty clear.

Which was fine. Dinner with Isak fell a ways down her priority list with Svart trolls invading the city and Tristan captured by the Medb.

Smiling at Kit, Evalle said, “Thank you for the weapon. I promise you won’t be sorry about loaning it to me.”

Kit smiled back, a confident take-no-prisoners smile. “I’m not the least concerned about the weapon, because we can disarm it remotely if need be.”

Crud. That could be a problem if Isak decided to flip the off switch without notifying her, but Evalle would just have to take that gamble. “That’s good to know.”

As she moved closer to Evalle, Kit’s pleasant voice turned deadly soft. “I have only one concern, and that’s Isak. There’s nothing that can protect anyone from me if something happened to him. I would unleash everything within my power, and trust me, I’m not someone you or any other nonhuman wants to go up against.”

Evalle chilled at the obvious threat, but not one she’d have to be concerned about. Based upon his loud exit, Isak wouldn’t come within a mile of her again. Even if she had to follow through on the strange dinner invitation, Isak would bail out just as he’d done a moment ago. She assured Kit, “I understand and would never harm Isak.”

“That’s what I expect.” Kit turned toward her desk.

Rather than dwell on that any longer, Evalle moved the conversation to another concern. “What about the Rías in your holding cell? What are you going to do with him?”

Pausing next to her chair, Kit asked, “Why?”

“Please don’t kill him. Once he understands how to control the shifting, he won’t be a threat. He is trainable.”

“Really? Who would do this training?”

Tristan could do it if Evalle knew where he was or if—when—she found him again. Another problem she had to figure out sooner than soon, plus things were going to deteriorate between her and Macha real quick if Tristan didn’t show. “I know someone who can do it, but he’s not available at the moment.”

“When
will
he be available?”

Do I look like a crystal ball?
“I don’t know yet, but if—”

“Let’s make this simple, Evalle. I’ll give you a week to bring this trainer to me. After that, I’ll hand the forklift driver over to Isak. I can’t run a halfway house for nonhumans and be fair to my son.”

“You would just kill that man even though he hasn’t hurt anyone?”

“Yet. He hasn’t harmed anyone
yet
. Based on the reports we got from across the country a few weeks ago, others like him have murdered families. If you want to help this one, bring in the trainer,” Kit said, nicely sidestepping a direct answer about the man’s fate. “Or if you can’t find the trainer in time, you can discuss the forklift driver’s fate with Isak.”

Oh, yeah. That’d be as productive as building a snowball factory in hell
. Evalle couldn’t do anything about the poor man right now, but Kit didn’t strike her as the kind of person who would starve or torment a defenseless being. With her list of priorities growing by the minute, Evalle focused on getting the weapon and making it back to Atlanta. Alive.

Would one of Kit’s men be willing to drive an Alterant back to the city? “Since I can’t tell anyone how to find me—”

Holding up a hand to stall Evalle, Kit lifted a two-way radio from where it had been in a charging cradle on the bookcase behind her and spoke into the receiver. “Lambert, pull out a BXZ-12 for Isak and tell him to meet Evalle at the Hummer. Thanks.”

She wants Isak to drive me home?

When Kit looked up again, she said, “That should give you two ample opportunity to discuss the forklift driver. And, just so we’re clear, I expect Isak to come back without a scratch on him. Take care of my weapon.”

Right. Mustn’t harm Isak, the Alterant-hating human who would have the troll-killing weapon in his possession and Evalle at his mercy in the Hummer.

TWENTY-ONE

T
wenty minutes into the ride back to Atlanta, Evalle tired of Isak’s stony silence … and the stupid blindfold over her sunglasses. “Kit said I only had to wear this until we reached the interstate. I can tell we’re not on secondary roads any longer.”

The blindfold loosened and fell away from her face. Isak flipped the cloth over his shoulder onto the rear seat of the Hummer next to a fat viola case that shielded the weapon.

She cut her gaze at the silent hunk driving and tested the waters with a simple yes-or-no question.

“You ever going to talk to me again?”

The hardheaded man wove his way through the interchange onto the northbound interstate in downtown and stared ahead at the traffic, ignoring her just as he’d been doing since she’d climbed into the Hummer. At the warehouse, he’d stood by her door, making no move to help her to the passenger seat.

Or to show any concern about her being buckled up.

Not that she’d needed his help, which meant she had to have the most contrary emotions to feel hurt over the way he’d ignored her this time. She hadn’t considered what Isak meant to her before today because of their bizarre friendship, but she already missed what they’d had.

Riding with someone who hated you sucked.

She’d had good reasons for not telling him the truth, but somewhere inside her cluttered heart she admitted that he deserved an apology. “I’m sorry, Isak.”

Still no reply.

“What’s it gonna take to fix this?”

Not a word from the driver’s seat.

She could appreciate his reason for being angry. Still, he of all people should understand why someone like her had to protect her identity. Especially to shield it from one of the few humans capable of killing her in a one-on-one battle.

She tried a different tack. “I like Kit.”

“Stay away from her.”

Four whole words spoken in a command, but she’d take that over brooding silence. Keeping her voice light, she pointed out, “Did you miss that Kit
ordered
me to see her again? You may be able to ignore her, but she scares the stuffing out of me.”

Had his lips twitched?

Maybe she’d hit on the right topic. She kept going. “I saw the way those men jumped to attention. And who wouldn’t when a human woman is fearless in front of nonhumans? Easy to see why your men all respect her.”

She could swear Isak’s jaw softened.

What else could she say to keep the stubborn man talking? She’d been making progress with the truth, but he’d been right about one thing. She had no parental experience to draw upon. “I can’t imagine growing up with a mother, especially one like Kit. You’re lucky to have her.”

She hadn’t intended to be quite so honest, but the longing in her voice had been as real and true as her words.

It still took Isak a moment to respond. His words came slowly when he did speak, as if he didn’t want to allow this conversation to keep rolling and pick up speed toward actually communicating again. “I know.”