Witchlock (37 page)

“Agreed.”  Evalle would never put Adrianna and Isak’s safety second to her need to deliver evidence to a Tribunal, but anything out of the ordinary could lead to that evidence.
 

Energy sizzled from the entrance where another man walked in, but intelligence slashed through this one’s gaze.
 

Adrianna whispered, “Medb.”
 

And a scar that sliced straight down his left cheek.
 

This was the guy Grady had seen.
 

“Poor Imar can’t handle anything by himself and now I’m going to have to replace him plus explain his death.”  The warlock took in all three captives and paused at Evalle, withdrawing his knife and touching the tip. “Not so deadly without your dagger, are you?”
 

Had he heard about the dead warlock and her dagger ... or did this guy know something?
 

Replacing the knife, he lifted a radio and said, “Bring the truck.”
 

Adrianna opened her mouth and the warlock pointed a finger at her. “That crap you spewed won’t work on me. I was told to deliver you two kicking, but that doesn’t mean I can’t rough you up some. Try that spell on me and you’ll find out I’m not your average warlock.”
 

Adrianna closed her mouth and gave him the attention one would a slug.
 

He might think he’d shut her down, but Evalle knew enough about Adrianna now to know the witch was merely thinking, not beaten.
 

Evalle asked this warlock the same question. “Who are you?”
 

“We’re not going to be friends, but you can call me Don since we’ll be intimate soon.” He leered at her.
 

Evalle shook her head. “Forget I asked. No point in remembering the name of a dead warlock walking.”
 

“You got a smart mouth for someone with trouble hanging over your head.”
 

She hadn’t smelled the Medb scent, but Adrianna called these guys Medb and he just confirmed it for Evalle because no other warlock should know about her dagger right now. Plus, she couldn’t think of any other kind of warlock around who would be arrogant or stupid enough to attack her, much less her and Adrianna together, even if they knew nothing of
Isak’s reputation.
 

While killing a Medb warlock would be a great stress relief right now, explaining a second Medb death might not go well with the Tribunal in their current frame of mind.
 

Adrianna was still working her fingers behind her, but staring calmly at this Medb, who kept his eyes on her and the cleavage the witch intentionally lifted with deep sighs of boredom.
 

Don clearly dismissed Isak as a threat because he was human.
 

To pull the Medb’s gaze to her and confirm a guess, Evalle said, “I bet someone thought that was a slick trick, changing one of your warlocks into a demon then sticking a glamour on him, but it didn’t work.”
 

“Looks like it did from where I’m standing.” Don found that highly amusing.
 

Damn. She had the guy she needed right in front of her.
 

Adrianna and Isak had no idea what this Don would mean for clearing Evalle’s name. She scoffed. “You don’t really expect me to believe that you could have done that? If you were that powerful, Queen Maeve wouldn’t have you out here doing grunt work.”
 

That pissed off the warlock. Perfect.
 

Don stepped over and got in Evalle’s face. “Believe it, bitch. I’m the one who handed the corpse to Cathbad. I saw you kill my demon up on Stone Mountain.”
 

“Why change a Medb warlock into a demon? That makes no sense at all.” She tried to sound so unimpressed.
 

Adrianna helped out by chuckling.
 

“I was building an army, but I won’t need one now.”
 

Evalle said in all honesty, “Once the Tribunal finds out what you did, you’ll be lucky if Queen Maeve and Cathbad only kill you.”
 

“That’s never going to happen and those two are no longer my problem. I don’t answer to that witch or Cathbad.”
 

He was serious.  
 

When he turned away, looking for his truck, Evalle twisted fingers on her left hand that was on the side angled away from the warlock. She fed her kinetics into the fingers and pushed at the invisible wrap around the middle of her body, feeding more power and straining to keep it isolated while she experimented.
 

She felt it stretch then give. Her finger poked through.
 

After all that, she’d only managed to punch a hole.
 

The sound of a large truck engine slowing meant Evalle and her friends were out of time.
 

The warlock standing with them waved his truck in.
 

Twisting her wrist into a painful angle, Evalle called up her warrior form where muscles expanded and cartilage popped up under the skin.
 

That upped her kinetic power, but more than that, her expanded body size stretched her binding until she could move her wrist. She whipped her fingers fast at the warlock and slapped him in the back of the head.
 

The blow knocked him off his feet and facedown on the floor.
 

Evalle gave Adrianna and Isak a look. “Time to make our move.” Using her kinetics, she called his knife to her.
 

The blade flew from his sheath to her hand, grip first.
 

She pushed the blade between her and the binding, hoping a Medb knife would cut Medb majik. She sawed through an inch.
 

It was working. Not fast enough.
 

Isak shouted, “
Code Nine! Code Nine!”
 

What did that mean?
 

Adrianna leaned her head forward and chanted, “
Black clouds of night and lightning strikes, heed my will...
 

The sky exploded with thunder and lightning drowing out her words.
 

The truck pulled into the garage and stopped.
 

Thunder boomed and boomed and boomed.
 

Vicious electrical strikes slashed all around the building, coming closer, then merging into one that struck at the side of Adrianna and Isak.
 

He cursed a blue streak, but they broke free.
 

Evalle got enough leverage to shove the knife blade up and rip out of her bindings.
 

Isak stepped in front of Adrianna, pushing her behind him.
 

Evalle did a double take at Adrianna, who rolled her eyes at Isak’s protective move, but then with a shrug and a smile, she crossed her arms.
 

Was she mental? This wasn’t done.
 

A warlock jumped from the truck. In his former life, he must have been a sumo wrestler. Don was on his hands and knees, getting back up from when he’d had his bell rung by Evalle’s kinetic slap. That was nothing compared to what she planned to do next, but Isak produce a handgun that looked nothing like his demon blasters.
 

She asked, “Is that set on stun?”
 

“I’m sure they’ll get a shock when a hollowpoint hits them in the chest.”
 

“I need that guy Don alive, Isak.”
 

“You take all the fun out of fighting nonhumans.”
 

Isak might just be mental, too.
 

Don and his sidekick stood back, waiting. What were they waiting on? Coalescing from the darkness outside, where Adrianna’s weather display had finally diminished, came a person wearing a long red robe with a wide hood that left the face hidden in darkness.
 

Isak looked over at Evalle and asked, “What happened to your arms and upper body? Looks like you just did a steroid highball.”
 

“It’s Belador battle form. Increases my power.”
 

“Hmm.”
 

She couldn’t tell if Isak was impressed or disgusted, because she couldn’t afford the distraction of using her empathic gift. The funny thing was that she’d never wanted him to see her this way before, but she no longer cared what Isak thought. Storm had seen her at her absolute worst, broken and bleeding and in full beast form, and he still loved her.
 

She’d hold onto that and worry about anything else later.
 

Adrianna had stepped up between Evalle and Isak. “That’s what I wanted to tell you, Evalle.
She’s
here.”
 

There was only one person who could be the reason for the sick sound in Adrianna’s usually snarky voice.
 

Veronika.
 

Isak asked, “Who is she? Friend or foe?”
 

“Definitely an enemy, but don’t make any sudden moves, Isak,” Adrianna warned. “Remember containing that witch doctor with me and Evalle?”
 

“Hard to forget some crazy bitch who pinned me and my weapon to a wall without touching me,” he growled with menace from the memory.
 

“She was nothing compared to this witch, and this one is carrying the equivalent of a nuclear warhead in her hand.”
 

Veronika’s hand held a small version of what Evalle had seen in the other realm, but it appeared dense with so much white energy churning inside.
 

As the witch covered the hundred feet between Evalle’s group and the warlocks, Isak asked, “What makes her so powerful?”
 

“My sister,” Adrianna answered. “We’ll tell you more later, but first we have to get out of here and as deadly as you are with a weapon, shooting her would be like throwing a dart at a balloon full of acid hanging over your head. You won’t like the outcome.”
 

Veronika stopped fifty feet away. “I have no use for the human, but I will kill him if he gets in my way or if you create any more problems for me.”
 

“Are we supposed to be shaking in our boots, Veronika?” Evalle asked.
 

Adrianna picked up the thread of antagonism and added, “I think we proved we can take care of ourselves. We made it in and out of your ancestors’ realm.”
 

“You failed to accomplish what you went there for and I now have Ragan right where I want her.”  Veronika lifted her sphere and Evalle finally figured out why it seemed so dense. Ragan was captured inside that small globe of energy. Tendrils of white snaked up Veronika’s arm and disappeared inside the sleeve.
 

Evalle glanced at Adrianna, whose face had lost color, but she had a death glare building in her gaze.
 

Adrianna warned, “You should never have taken my sister. You have no idea of the connection we hold.”
 

“Oh, I think I do. You’ve proven to be trouble once before, but you will not do so again.”
 

“We will stop you,” Adrianna warned.
 

“Oh, I am sure you’d like to, but first you’d have to find out the location I have in mind for taking possession of Witchlock. I’ve told no one and you’ll be contained. I’ll tell you all about it afterwards ... when I come for you. Once Witchlock completely manifests throughout my body at the end of the eclipse, I will take your power and you will serve me. Then I’ll go through the entire Sterling coven because I’ll hold the knowledge of all that you and your sister knew about your people.”
 

Isak still pointed a gun at the witch.
 

A sound escaped from the dark shadow inside Veronika’s hood, and she lifted the empty hand and whispered a chant.
 

Isak scowled and dropped the weapon, which glowed red. He held up his hand, and she saw a burn imprint where the metal had touched his skin.
 

Evalle had to get them out of here. She called over to Veronika, “I know juvenile witches who are more impressive, but they don’t pick on humans.”
 

Adrianna hissed, “Careful or we’ll all go up in flames.”
 

Evalle answered under her breath, “She needs us or she’d have sent them to kill us first thing.”
 

Isak gritted out. “Evalle’s right.”
 

When Veronika didn’t rise to Evalle’s bait, it was time to up the game. Evalle said, “This has been fun, but you’re interruping our dinner plans. Have your people get in touch with my people if you want to talk again.”
 

Veronika said, “I had planned on taking control of Adrianna first, but I would enjoy watching you move as my puppet even more.” The witch lifted her hand with the sphere and power burst from it, shooting at Evalle,
who threw up a kinetic field.
 

The power smacked her invisible field hard and knocked her back a step. Evalle muttered, “If this is only a taste of her future power, we’re all in trouble. You two get out of here and I’ll follow.”
 

Adrianna and Isak both yelled, “
No!
”
 

Lifting her arms and spreading her fingers, Adrianna spoke in yet another language Evalle didn’t recognize. Maybe she should take one of those Rosetta courses.
 

The weather outside boomed again.
 

Atlanta forecasters had to be going crazy about now.
 

Veronika’s sphere energy intensified, burning against Evalle’s kinetics and sliding along her power to reach her body. Heat scorched her muscles, and they quivered from the strain.
 

Isak had run to his truck and returned with one of his Nyght megablasters. “Drop your shield and I’ll hit them.”
 

Evalle’s body shook and her voice sounded like she was riding her bike over a rutted road. “No. Might backfire. Her sphere is too strong.”