TWENTY-FIVE
“Alterant?” Evalle echoed back at the man called Tristan, just as much in shock.
Here was a man with the unusual physical strength and luminous green eyes of an Alterant.
“Where’d you come from?” Tristan asked, stepping away from the damaged footbridge that made Piedmont Park look like a small war zone.
“Why? You putting together an Alterant reunion website?” Evalle wasn’t telling someone with his powers anything about herself, but she had to keep him talking. Find out anything she could about the first of her kind she’d ever met.
“Vyan said you were Belador. Why’d he think that?” Tristan took a couple of steps forward.
“Stop right there.” Surprisingly, he did. “I am a Belador.”
“They don’t take Alterants into the tribe.”
Scarcely a few minutes had passed, but every second of holding his attention became more precarious. Where was Storm? Why couldn’t she reach Tzader or anyone else telepathically? Was that strange buzzing she could almost hear a cloaking spell? Had someone placed a spell over the park that prevented her from communicating with anyone?
Did that mean he had majik ability, or was he working with a witch? “I’m proof the Beladors take Alterants into the tribe. I’ll ask if they’re taking applications.”
“Brina took one look at me five years ago and stuck me in a jungle in a spellbound cage.”
Five years. Almost as long as she’d been a Belador. “You escaped? When?”
“Yesterday.”
“How?”
“Like I’m going to tell you so you can tell the rest of the Beladors?” His eyes brightened with a thought. “Wait a minute. You’re Evalle.”
Worry scattered along her nerves. How did he know that? For once, shock had stolen her voice. She held quiet rather than confirm or deny.
“I heard about an Alterant called Evalle. A female Alterant. I didn’t believe it was true.”
Few in Atlanta’s hidden world of the strange and supernatural did. She’d caught something speculative running along beside his words, a soft sound that harbored dark thoughts.
“This changes everything,” he muttered.
She didn’t like the sound of that either, since change would probably not be for the good in her case. “What’d you do to those two Nightstalkers?”
“Gave them what they wanted.”
She should hammer him into the ground. “If you knew to make deals to shake with them you had to know what would happen when you shook hands for a long time. Those old ghouls never hurt anyone. How could you turn them into something evil and dangerous? Into some hideous halflings?”
“I have my reasons, but I’m not telling a snitch who talks to Beladors.”
This worthless dog was not going to insult her. “I am a Belador.”
“An Alterant? You’re living in a dream world. They may let you hang around with them and use you for grunt work, but they don’t think you’re one of them.”
She kept a mask of indifference in place so he couldn’t see how deeply his words cut. She believed she was Belador even if the majority of the tribe didn’t. But this was the first time she’d ever met another Alterant. The first chance to ask some questions and maybe shed some light on where they came from, but she’d have to give Tristan a reason to talk to her. Also, the more she found out about him and how he had gotten here, the better chance she’d have to find the Ngak Stone that had disappeared with the woman and Vyan.
Tristan was clearly after the same thing as Vyan, but maybe not for the same reason.
She gave the let’s-work-together-for-the-greater-good tactic a shot. “I’m trying to help Alterants so we won’t have to be locked up or destroyed, but I haven’t been able to find out any information on them, and I know very little about my own background. Where did you grow up? Who were your parents? Where were you when you were caught?”
Tristan headed toward her again, talking as he moved, but she stood her ground, since he wasn’t acting aggressive. “You’re free to run around. Why would you care about helping any other Alterants? You don’t have any worries.”
If only it were that simple. “I don’t want to see more Alterants caged.”
“You’ll never stop Brina from caging them.”
That was for sure. She should argue with him, but Evalle couldn’t honestly defend Brina when Evalle had her own doubts about the Belador warrior queen. She’d push Tristan and see what he gave up. “I’ve been working to find out anything I can on Alterants for a long time. I don’t want to see them caged. If you don’t, then answer my questions.”
He crossed his arms, pondering on something. “Finding you has made this an entirely new game. Tell you what I’ll do. If you really want to help Alterants and want me to tell you what I know of the others—”
“You know about the other three?” Now we’re talking.
“Of course. For example, I know where they were caged.”
How was it that Tristan had information Brina wouldn’t share with her?
He continued, “If you want to help your own kind, then bring me the Ngak Stone before four o’clock Wednesday morning.”
Let’s think about this. Hand this fool more power? Not. “What are you going to do with the Ngak Stone if you get it?”
“There is no if about it. I’ll explain when you show up with the stone unless I find it first, at which point I’ll move ahead with my plans. But if you bring the stone to me and join me, I’ll guarantee your safety for as long as you live and you’ll be revered for your powers, not treated as a dog who begs for scraps.”
On the surface, that sounded pretty tempting, but she had an oath to uphold. Just not her week for a decent deal. “I don’t think you’ll be around long enough to be offering protection once Brina finds out you’re on the loose. I’m going to be busy finding that young woman with the stone and protecting her.”
“You mean to take the stone, and put it in the VIPER vault, don’t you?”
She was amazed at how much he knew for someone who had been locked away for five years. “I can’t discuss VIPER’s business.”
“If you intend to lock up the stone, then don’t pretend you care what happens to me or the other three Alterants.” He lifted his shoulders in dismissal. “And you’ll never find out the truth about our species, because I’m the only one with the answers to your questions.”
“I can find my own answers without putting all the Beladors at risk.” Maybe in a couple lifetimes.
Tristan’s grin spread at seeing through her bluff. “I doubt you’ll figure out what bred with a Belador to make an Alterant. Not without my help. I know my family history and what you, me and the other three Alterants have in common. Are those some of your questions?”
Dead on the mark. Blood thrummed through her at the possibility of actually finding answers. She didn’t have a thing to offer Tristan, since he’d been burned once already by Brina—if he was telling the truth—and believed the Ngak Stone was his ticket to freedom. But he wasn’t the only one after the rock. “What’s going on between you and Vyan?”
“I’m going to kill him if he gets in my way again, and I will find that woman.”
“How did you find Vyan?”
“How do you know he didn’t find me?” Tristan quipped and walked past her. “Make plans to come with me, Evalle. I will hold the key to freedom without persecution.”
She took a side step to keep him in view, and her leg throbbed at the movement. “If you touch the Ngak Stone it could kill you, or her, and if that doesn’t happen the Kujoo might get their hands on the rock and start a war with the Beladors that could turn into a modern-day apocalypse.”
He paused from pacing. “Don’t confuse me with someone who gives a shit about any of that.”
That was the most truthful comment he’d made so far. He really didn’t care who lived or died, which only made him more dangerous. Vyan had been much like that when she’d first met him in this very park two years back. He’d lost everything to the Beladors eight hundred years ago, including his will to survive.
Why would Vyan risk drawing the attention of the Beladors?
Grady had told her an ancient synergy had entered the city.
She pieced it together in her mind and made a guess. “You really think the Kujoo warriors are your friends?”
He offered her a smile. “We have Common Enemy Syndrome.”
“We.” She had to get to Tzader soon and let him know what she’d just figured out. Vyan was no longer the sole Kujoo in the city. “How many Kujoo are here now?”
“Enough.”
“You aren’t going to have a world to live in once they start a war.”
Tristan crossed his arms. “They won’t be a problem. The Kujoo aren’t hanging around once I get the rock. They want to be sent back eight hundred years immediately. So you don’t have to worry about fighting them in Atlanta.” His gaze swung from side to side, watching all around him. “Love to stay and chat, but I’ve got a rock to find and you’ve got to go suck up to the Beladors.”
Just great. An Alterant on the loose hunting a human who had gotten her hands on the Ngak Stone. “If you harm that woman, you’ll bring down a lot more trouble on your head than the Beladors. Macha might even get involved.”
“Macha won’t get involved unless there’s a battle between the Kujoo and the Beladors. I’m telling you there’s not going to be a conflict in our world.”
“Oh, sure, you want me to believe the Kujoo are going to return to their time eight hundred years ago without first coming after the Beladors for revenge?”
“They have a better plan.”
She took in his relaxed air and matter-of-fact tone. His body language spoke of confidence. He was telling her the truth. “And you don’t want revenge for what Brina did to you?”
“Oh, I’ll have my day of reckoning the minute I get that stone. But payback won’t come from my hand, and Macha won’t act until she has reason. By the time that happens, the Beladors will no longer be a problem for me. A witch is already making plans for moving into Brina’s castle the minute she’s gone.”
“Why would you believe a Medb witch?” Now things started to make sense, but in a way that had her skin crawling. The Medb coven was behind the Noirre majik and must have been the power that had opened a portal to bring the Kujoo forward. Thus, the Medb were orchestrating the Common Enemy Syndrome of joining the Kujoo and Tristan against the Beladors.
“Why shouldn’t I believe the Medb witch? She got the Kujoo here and helped them figure out how to free me when Brina locked me away for no reason.”
Evalle really hated to stand up for Brina on this, but right was right. “You can’t blame Brina for sending you away after your shifting into a beast and killing people.”
His eyes thinned with fury. “I never changed into a beast or killed anyone until after I was sent away. Even then, I killed only as a matter of survival.”
“That can’t be right. I heard—”
“Only what Brina wanted you to hear. So before you get all high and mighty on Brina’s behalf, get your facts straight, babe. Makes you wonder what else you’ve been told that were lies, doesn’t it?”
If he was speaking the truth, then it did make Evalle wonder.
Tristan’s eyes took in her face. He dropped the snarl and said in a calmer voice, “I might be just like you if I’d been the only one free all this time, but I would know the truth when I heard it. Ask Brina if you don’t believe me. Her honor will force her to tell you the truth.”
“I plan to ask her, but you’re not helping the Alterants’ cause by trying to take the Ngak Stone.”
“I’m doing more for Alterants right now by going after that stone than you’ve done the whole time you’ve been free. When you get tired of being a lied-to misfit tagging along with the Beladors, come over to my side. I could use someone with your abilities, and you’ll be safe from everyone with me.” His voice softened when he added, “I’d treat you like the jewel that you are.”
She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit the idea of being safe forever had a certain appeal, but not with this lunatic. She’d given a vow to the Beladors and hadn’t taken that lightly. But Tristan was obviously leaving her alive because he believed she might help him gain the stone, and his offer opened the door for her to find out how to reach him. “If I do consider coming to you, how would I find you?”
“Put word out with the Nightstalkers you’re looking for me. I’ll find you. Otherwise, stay out of my way and don’t stand too close to a Belador once I have the stone. I’ll find you when they’re gone.”
“Thought you said you weren’t going after vengeance. The Kujoo would take care of that.” She didn’t hold many kind feelings about Brina, but Evalle would protect her warrior queen just like any other Belador would, and she’d lay down her life for Tzader or Quinn without hesitation. Tristan’s confidence in the Kujoo doing his dirty work troubled her.
“I’m not spending any energy on vengeance. The Kujoo will do worse than I could on my own,” Tristan said.
“Going to be a little hard to accomplish that if they go home the minute you get the rock, isn’t it?”
His smile was full of secrets. “The Kujoo have a plan to destroy the Beladors, and it has nothing to do with them touching the rock or with me battling Beladors, which keeps Shiva and Macha out of the picture. They’ve created a brilliant strategy with the Medb that will wipe every Belador from the earth, including their ancestors.”
Was he jerking her around, trying to convince her he was all-powerful, or was he really telling the truth? She saw a flaw in his proclamation of victory. “You can’t let them kill all the Beladors. You carry Belador blood. You’d die, too.”
“That’s finally the positive side of being half-breeds. The worst that will happen to us is to feel a weakening of our powers for a brief time, but Alterants will survive. Once I have the Ngak Stone, I’ll share my strength with our new clan of Alterants. We will survive and prosper.”
Why was he telling her this? He had to know she’d tell the Beladors as soon as she got free. Did he want her to tell the Beladors so her tribe would attack the Kujoo?
Did he really think that just because he was an Alterant she’d join his side if he was part of the annihilation of everything that mattered to her? “Brina won’t sit quietly while you do this.”
“By all means, tell her. Tell all the Beladors. The more the merrier. The Medb will be waiting.”
That definitely sounded like a trap. “What do you mean?”
“That’s all I’m sharing. Be smart and come with me.”
“When did you start thinking I was Barbie and you were Ken? What are you offering me to come with you? I’ll take a convertible in any color but pink.”
“You could save the Beladors.”
She didn’t believe he would help her do that. “How?”
“Give me what I want and I’ll tell you how.”
“Oh, sure. Hand you the rock and trust you not to kill everyone with it.”
Tristan cocked his head to one side, studying her. “Here’s a freebie to use as you choose. If you tell Brina I’ve escaped and am working with the Medb, she’ll come straight to me and she’ll die first, which works for me.”
“She only travels as a hologram.” That was common knowledge among anyone who knew about Brina.
He shrugged. “The Medb shared a lot of information with me, including Brina and Tzader’s history. They can kill her if she comes to them this time in any form.”
What did he mean about Brina and Tzader’s history? He’d said that as if he meant the two of them together. And he knew about Brina in hologram form.
The Medb had been doing a good job of educating Tristan.
He wasn’t finished sharing. “If Brina comes to me, so will Tzader and his sidekick, Quinn, who will call in an army of Beladors. They’ll play into the Medb and Kujoo’s plans, then they’ll all die before the Kujoo get to the point of wiping out the Belador race. You decide if you want to tell Brina, because she can find me the minute she learns I’ve escaped. Up to you to tell them or not.”
“If you hurt Tzader or Quinn, you’ll wish you were back in that cage,” she promised.
“If I was only an Alterant, you might win, but not with the power of the Medb behind me, and I’ll be even more powerful once I get the Ngak Stone.” Tristan’s confidence froze her blood. “You want to keep your tribe safe? Find that rock and bring it to me yourself on Wednesday morning, and I’ll tell you how to protect the Beladors.”
The pain in her leg interfered with thinking straight. “Let’s say I believe you, which I don’t. What if I don’t find the rock first?”
“If I find the rock first I’ll give you one other chance to save the Beladors.”
Did he think they were playing Let’s Make A Deal? “What would you possibly be willing to take in trade for letting the Beladors live?”
“You.”
Both offers were unfair, unrealistic and undesirable. Stay with him? He was insane on top of being a monster.
Tristan stood quietly for a moment. “I need a female Alterant to populate our species.”
Ah, consolation female for the group. He was out of his ever-lovin’ mind. “And if I choose to accept either of these incredibly attractive offers, how would I find you if the Nightstalkers don’t know?”
He smiled at her sarcasm as if he’d find her entertaining company. “I plan to get my hands on that rock first. When I do, I’ll call you to me.”
None of this made sense, and he was crazier than bat shit if he thought she’d go for that bunch of hooey. But she’d play along since he was going to let her live. “I’ll have to think about it. I don’t understand any of this.”
Tristan touched his fingers to her chin and she held still only to show him she didn’t fear him. She could lie with her body as well as her mouth. “You will eventually, but I’ve told you enough for now. Make the right choice when the time comes. I take care of what’s mine.”
She scoffed. “I am not yours.”
“Yet.” He lifted his fingers and combed them through his thick blond hair. “Don’t waste your time trying to follow me. You can’t.”
Evalle shook with rage over his arrogance to think she’d consider walking away from the Beladors for him. Sure, a part of her wanted to be safe and out from under the threat of the Tribunal. But not with this guy, who had been trying to kill her until he’d realized who she was.
What about everything else he’d told her?
Could Brina be killed if she appeared only as a hologram? Did the Medb have a way to reach her through that form with the Ngak Stone? What if she didn’t believe there was a Medb trap and told the Beladors, then her tribe was lured to their deaths? Doing so could doom Tzader and Quinn. That wasn’t a risk she wanted to take. And would they even believe her, given she’d been warned by a rogue Alterant?
Tristan strolled quietly to the street and disappeared. The minute he stepped out of the park, the buzzing in her ears subsided.
Had she been inside a warded area or some sort of spell zone? She didn’t think Alterants could do that kind of magic or disappear, but then she didn’t know as much as Tristan did about Alterants, Brina or the Beladors, because Brina had kept her in the dark about so much.
And she didn’t know how much of Tristan’s ability was due to Noirre majik.
She sent a telepathic message. Tzader, we need to meet. I’ve got news on the Ngak Stone and it’s not good.
Within a minute, Tzader answered, Meet at Trey’s house. I’ll contact the rest of the team. You bring Storm.
She’d forgotten about Storm and limped around, turning in a circle as she searched the park for him. Using her kinetic ability, she pulled her sunglasses up from the ground and put them on.
Her calf muscle ached like something was trying to chew its way out where the ghoul had stabbed her. It felt as if her skin was burning from the inside out.
The rain had died down to a drizzling mist. There came Storm down the concrete steps in the middle of the park. He jogged up to her, his face lined with worry when he touched her cheek.
She flinched when his fingers brushed her bruised face.
“What happened to you? I can feel sharp needles of pain coming off you.”
“Got stabbed in the back of my leg by something like that ghoul thing you chased. You catch him?”
“No. And he’s not the only one. I ran into three more in the park. I had to stay and watch over a human couple until the ghouls left.” Storm stepped around behind her and squatted down, gently checking her leg.
But the slightest touch sent spasms of pain shooting up her calf and thigh. “Crap!”
“I don’t like the color oozing out of this wound.”
“What do you mean? I bleed red just like everyone else.”
“There’s purple running with the blood. You could be infected by some sort of majik. This smells like spoiled oranges.”
That would be the color and smell of Medb majik. What would that do to her? “We have to meet the rest of the team at Trey’s house.”
“You aren’t walking far with that.” Storm stood up and leaned as though to lift her.
“Don’t even think about picking me up if you want to draw your next breath,” she warned.
“You’re so stubborn.” He didn’t try to hide the irritation in his voice. “Whatever’s in your system could cause you to shift involuntarily or kill you if it stays in long enough.”
“I’ll let you know if I start feeling twitchy.” She sounded like a snotty bitch, but she was working real hard not to upchuck.
“That’s reassuring,” he said in a tight voice. “How far is Trey’s house?”
“About a mile.”
“We’d get there a lot faster and you wouldn’t be in as much pain if you’d let me help you.”
“I can handle the pain.” Barely. “Let’s go.” She hobbled along, trying not to think about how sick she felt. What had that ghoul infected her with?
“What’s the meeting about?” Storm asked.
“I found the Ngak Stone.”
“Where is it?”
“Worst possible place. The stone and the woman who has it are with a Kujoo warrior.” And they couldn’t have picked a worse person to take control of the stone if Tristan was successful. Had Tristan been telling her the truth about being sent to a cage before he’d shifted?
If so, that meant Brina could be lying to her about the other Alterants.
What about Vyan? How did he fit into all this?
She didn’t know why Vyan had tried to protect the woman from Tristan, but just the fact that the Kujoo warrior had done so made Evalle wonder if there was some dissent among the Kujoo.
Regardless, Vyan had to relish wiping out all the Beladors as much as the other Kujoo and Tristan did.
Heat crawled up her leg, tugging her awareness back to the most immediate threat. Could Medb majik kill an Alterant?
Just her suck-ass luck to be the test case.