Demon Storm: Belador book 5 (11 page)

“Don’t know. I ain’t seen any myself to know what kind they are or where they might have originated.”

“Why did you think that warlock would know anything?”

“Cuz there’s Medb all over the city?”

“And VIPER’s allowing
that
?” Evalle asked, furious. “Beladors are their largest force.” Had everyone in VIPER forgotten that the Medb just attacked Treoir?

She wanted to stomp Sen’s butt. The liaison between VIPER agents and the Tribunal had to be the one allowing this.

But that made no sense. Sen hated Evalle, but pissing off the Belador agents would put him in ill favor with the Tribunal. Not even Sen would want to face a Tribunal of two gods and a goddess who would decide his fate.

“You through havin’ a hissy fit?” Grady asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Start talking.”

He slugged another drink first. “Like I said, someone dumped demons out here and VIPER is in upheaval because the Beladors ain’t pullin’ their weight.” He lifted a hand. “Before you go off on me again, you have to know the Beladors are having power problems, right?”

“Yes,” she admitted.

“How come?”

“The Medb attacked Treoir and the Belador traitor was inside with Brina. He tossed some Noirre dust on her then Tzader killed him, but not before Brina vanished, leaving her hologram. The Beladors should have no power, but that hologram must be holding a connection between Brina and Treoir. Apparently the power base is still intact but corrupted.” She realized who she was talking to–a Nightstalker social butterfly–and pointed a finger at him. “But you don’t need to advertise that.”

“Don’t be pointin’ no finger at me.”

With some beings, pointing a finger could be construed as a threat. In Grady’s case, it just annoyed him, which was nonproductive. The clock was chewing up minutes, but she had a duty to the Beladors here in Atlanta as well. “Have any of the demons been caught or killed?”

“That’s the kicker. I’ve heard of two different incidents where Medb witches and warlocks have killed the demons and saved a human.”

Had the earth dropped off its axis? What was going on? “So now you want me to believe that the Medb have turned into good Samaritans?

He held his arms out. “I don’t make this stuff up. They’ve been turnin’ up all over town, not causin’ trouble and savin’ VIPER’s bacon.”

Was she just too cynical to accept this at face value? No, it was more a matter of being too realistic to believe thousands of years of deadly behavior could change overnight. There was something way wrong with this picture. What were the Medb up to now? And who was running their show?

Grady pointed at Evalle. “You got big problems. Sen’s been on a tear. You need to do somethin’ with Quinn.”

“Why?” She had a sick feeling this might be about Quinn’s lack of control.

“He ain’t right. Word is that Sen came in and cleaned up one of Quinn’s messes then told Quinn that being actin’ Maistir does not give him free rein.”

Leave it to Sen to make things worse when the Beladors could use a hand. “What did Quinn do?”

“I heard he caught a troll stalking a human. Grabbed the troll and did some kind of mind control then sent the troll on his way.”

“That doesn’t sound bad.”  Quinn hated to take control of a person’s mind by force and tried not to be invasive. If the troll went away then Quinn must have thought the troll was no longer a threat.

“That’s not the problem. A bit later, Quinn found a Medb warlock hanging around Centennial Park. Word is that Quinn snatched the warlock’s mind, left the guy wandering around until he walked out in front of a Marta Bus. When Sen showed up to clean up that mess, he told Quinn if he had to come back again for bullshit, that Quinn could explain it to a Tribunal.”

The Medb were playing ambassadors of Atlanta and Quinn had turned into the Terminator. The best way Evalle could help Quinn and all the Beladors was to bring Storm back and hope he could pull off the impossible once again and locate Brina.

Their most powerful Belador druids had tried and failed.

This was the only hope Evalle could offer.

“I need to find a witch doctor named Nadina.”

“That nasty thing that brought Langaus into the city?” Grady shivered at the appalling suggestion. “What you want with her?”

“Storm is missing and I think she’s behind it.”

“That injun let a witch doctor outfox him?”

Trying to correct Grady’s politically incorrect terminology would be wasted breath. “Maybe. I just need to know where she is.”

He scratched his whiskered chin. “I don’t know. Come back a little later and I’ll see what I can find out on her.”

“I’ll be back soon. The longer Brina is missing from Treoir the weaker the tribe gets.”

“You too?”

“Not as bad as the pure bloods, but I’ve noticed a few things.”

Trey came into her mind.
Evalle, can you hear me?

She held up a hand for Grady to wait. She replied to Trey,
Yes, but your voice isn’t as strong as usual.

My telepathic ability is weak but at least it works even if I am the only one capable of reaching anyone else this way. At least I can hear you, which is a nice surprise. I heard from Quinn that we need you to find Storm. I’ve got everyone we can spare looking for him, too. Have you had any luck?

She wanted to give Tzader and Quinn something positive, but she didn’t want to paint blue skies.
I’ve found a source who will help me locate Storm and I’m going there next.

Do you have a cell phone?

No. Mine was trashed in the battle. I’ll call you as soon as I have one again.
She mentally added that to the endless list. Quinn could get her one if he wasn’t busy running herd over the Beladors.

And stripping the minds of Medb warlocks.

That shouldn’t bother her because the Medb were a bunch of murderers. Normally. But she didn’t like the picture Grady had given her of Quinn.

Trey continued,
I know you’re doing what you can, but find me the minute you have Storm. We’re losing warriors everywhere.

Will do
, she assured him.

Trey withdrew from her mind.

Her stomach rolled at having even less time. And now there was a hunt for demons going on.

She hooked the backpack in place again and reminded Grady, “Do not shake with the Medb.”

“Why not? They got juice.”

“You would help them?” She couldn’t squash the insult in her voice. He was supposed to be her friend. “They been doin’ your job. Maybe they changed.”

“Oh, sure, and maybe you’ll turn entirely human again and take Sen’s place at VIPER.”

He sighed. “I’m not takin’ sides against you, but I heard that there’s new management in the Medb.”

“Did you hear specifically that Flaevynn is dead?”

“Naw, but what the hell else would new management mean?” he groused. “Anyhow, about the Medb here in the city. Word is that Sen said he was glad to have the help. Don’t you want me to shake with some of ‘em and find out what I can from the Medb?”

She had no argument to counter that logic, which should worry her since Grady was being the reasonable one right now. “I guess so.”

Grady’s voice and expression turned grave. “I don’t know what the Medb are doin’ here, but it cain’t be good.”

There was the person who had helped her time and again. “Agreed, so be careful.”

Next stop was meeting Adrianna in a secluded place on the edge of the city. The dark witch had said for Evalle to come alone and allow no one to follow her. From anyone else, Evalle would think she was being set up for an ambush.

Evalle had Storm’s Land Cruiser in sight when a thought struck her. Dark witches and warlocks of the Medb coven were infiltrating the city.

Would Adrianna know about that?

“I
’m not understandin’ this place,” Brina whispered, staring out at nothing but an endless blue-gray fog. The same thing she’d stared at since opening her eyes hours ago.

Had it been hours?

Felt like forever in this realm, wherever it was, where she and Lanna had regained consciousness.

When Lanna didn’t answer her, Brina looked down to where Lanna sat next to her with her legs crossed. “Lanna!”

Blonde curls with black tips bounced when the teenager lifted her head quickly. “What?”

“Were you asleep again?”

“Yes, but not for long.”

“Is being in this place causin’ you to be drowsy?”  What would Brina do if Lanna went to sleep and didn’t wake up?

“No.” Lanna stood up. All five-foot-two of her. She had to be somewhere around eighteen, though she looked younger at times then acted older just as often. Lanna stretched and looked all around again, mumbling, “Maybe we have died and no one was informed to come get us.”

Brina rubbed the chills on her arm. “I don’t believe we are dead, but I cannot explain this place.” 

The fact that Lanna wasn’t mouthing off attested to just how frightened the teen was, too. Understandable even for someone with Lanna’s power, and Brina had felt that power when they first met in the castle.

Power that might be even more formidable than Brina’s, which was saying something. Brina had inherited hers from generations of Treoirs tasked with being an anchor for all Belador powers. Even so, faced with the unknown, Brina welcomed the company and Lanna had not taken a step away from Brina’s side since they opened their eyes to this gloom.

Lanna’s exuberance had calmed significantly, another reason to worry over the girl. In spite of the strange hair, she was an attractive one with huge blue eyes filled with experience Brina wouldn’t expect in one so young.

Much like me when I was informed of being responsible for all the Beladors four years ago, not long after I’d turned eighteen.

Da and her brothers had died in a battle with the Medb. Not one male Treoir had walked away.

She was the sole living descendant and now she’d left the Beladors vulnerable. Not her fault since, once again, the Medb had gained the upper hand, this time attacking her in her own castle. But she’d left Tzader at risk
and
believing she didn’t love him.

That lie had been Macha’s doing.

If I get out of here, I’m done with bending to Macha’s will. The first thing I intend to do is find Tzader and beg his forgiveness for allowin’ Macha to manipulate me.

Enough of worrying over something Brina couldn’t change until she returned.
If
she returned. As the Belador warrior queen, it was her duty to protect her tribe. She needed to get busy doing just that.

With nothing here that was of any use, Brina considered what tools she had on hand for finding her way back. She took a hard look at Lanna. “What exactly are you? I felt a fair amount of power pourin’ off you when we were attacked.”

Lanna heaved a long sigh and answered in her broken English. “I do not know. I have had much power since I was small girl in Transylvania. My family are long line of gypsies and other things they have not shared with me.”

Brina couldn’t attribute the kind of energy she’d noticed to mere gypsies. “You’re Quinn’s cousin. He’s a Belador. Does he think you might have Belador blood?”

“No. I wish I did then Cousin would not keep trying to send me home. I need to stay here ... I mean in Atlanta near him. I have much trouble at home. Big trouble that follows me, but I must find way to stay in Cousin’s country.”

Brina smiled. They were stuck in some realm with no idea how to return to the castle and Lanna was worried about staying in Atlanta. “If we find our way back, I’ll see what I can do about your stayin’ with Quinn.”

Lanna’s blue eyes lit up. “Thank you. Now I have even more reason to find a way back for us.”

As if returnin’ to our bodies would not be enough?
Brina appreciated Lanna’s spirit and that the girl was not wailing away, making her crazy right now. She hated that Lanna was with her, but she was thankful not to be alone with nothing more than her thoughts. “I was thinkin’ that we should retrace our steps to when we were attacked.”

Lanna waved that off. “If we could do such thing, we would be home now.”

There was the smart mouth again. “What I mean, Lanna,” Brina said slowly to keep from snapping at her. “Is that we should think back to when we were attacked in the castle and try to figure out what happened. Maybe that will give us an idea how to return.”

“Oh. Good idea.”  Lanna brightened. “We were in sunroom...” Lanna paused. “Why is that called sunroom when it has no windows for sun?”

“All the windows were replaced with stone when my da and brothers died, to limit the ways a threat could enter.”

“In that case, you must put windows back when you return.”

“Macha would have a fit after my already being attacked.”

“But enemy was already inside. Windows stopped nothing, but make room gloomy.”

Brina couldn’t argue that point.

The Belador traitor had been inside the castle while the Medb coven attacked. She’d been brought low by one of her own. Over two years ago, Horace had blamed Macha for the deaths of his wife and child who were attacked by trolls while he was away battling with the Beladors.

Macha had unleashed a team to hunt down the trolls and make them pay, but that evidently had not been enough for Horace. He’d carried a grudge so deep that he went to the most deadly of the Belador enemies looking for revenge on his own.

Brina had hurt for the old man before she realized what he was doing to them with Noirre majik. But she could not understand such betrayal. No matter her pain, she would never have harmed her tribe. She shuddered to think what the Beladors might be going through right now.

Did they have any powers at all?

Brina could prevent the Medb from being successful if she could just return to her body. “Perhaps I will have windows installed when we are back on Treoir,” she told Lanna. “For now, let’s keep analyzin’. I was facin’ you.”

Lanna jumped in. “Yes. Then old man protecting us turned around and started throwing Noirre majik at you. Majik smelled bad, like nasty limes when it turned into threads that could not break. Had to be from Medb.”