Rise of the Gryphon (47 page)

He shoved up a hand.

A pair of double
X
scars marked his forearm.

The traitor.

Lanna hit an invisible wall. Kinetics. A force tossed her against Brina. Dust hit Lanna in the face. Threads started wrapping her up against Brina’s body. Lanna fought against the binding, reaching a hand until she found Brina’s and gripped it.

She told Brina, “Stay calm. I will teleport.”

Brina whispered, “No. I will . . . hologram.”

Whatever Brina meant was not working.

Lanna’s air squeezed from her chest. They would both die. She held her breath, hoping she didn’t send them into a wall.

Could she even do this with Horace placing a Noirre spell on them? She closed her eyes, whispered a few words and teleported.

F
angs chewed on her shoulder. Evalle slashed her claws at Boomer, who showed no sign of weakening.

Unlike her.

But she couldn’t split her focus from fighting Boomer to call on her beast form to heal her wounds, or he’d have the opening he needed to rip her head off.

Drawing her energy into her wings, she flapped, lifting them off the floor with Boomer clutched to her chest and ripping chunks out of her shoulder.

She flew toward a wall, slamming his head. His gold head bounced and shoved his jaws deeper into her shoulder.

She winced.

Wings still flapping, she swung around and flew at another wall, ramming his head again. Stone broke and chunks fell to the floor. Her shoulder was taking just as much of a beating.

Then his jaws released her shoulder and his head wobbled.

This was her only chance to get him in a vulnerable position. Get him outside where she could fly to Beladors who would finish him off.

She flapped around, wobbling as she lost energy.

Her wings couldn’t hold both of them any longer.

They hit the castle floor with a loud
bang
, but at least Boomer was beneath her.

She struggled to lift her head and chest. The space where the castle doors had stood was only a few feet away, but she’d have to heal first, and Boomer was rousing.

Someone raced toward them from outside, yelling, “
Brinnnaaaa!   
”

Evalle shouted telepathically,
I’m Evalle. Cut off the head on the floor.

Lightning exploded around the entrance when the warrior broke the threshold. The warrior screamed in agony.

Boomer’s eyes glowed with power.

A sword blade slashed down across Boomer’s neck, killing the power in his eyes.

Evalle shuddered with relief and took a breath, ready to heal when her vision cleared.

Tzader collapsed on the ground next to Boomer, gasping. Dying. Tzader was immortal, and the ward on this castle killed any immortals who were not Brina or Macha.

Evalle cried into his mind,
Tzader, nooo!

He said,
Protect . . . Brina
.

That’s your job.
Evalle opened the link between them, but Tzader was too weak to connect. Or refused to open his link. Gryphons were more powerful. She just kept telling herself that and drove harder to open the link between them.

Tzader’s thin voice said,
Don’t. You’ll die with me. Brina. Tell her . . . I love her.

Refusing to quit, Evalle pushed more power into the link and the connection formed.

She could immediately feel her life essence flooding out, fast and hard. Not like the other two times. Maybe she was too damaged to regenerate, especially connected to another dying body.

She called on her beast and felt nothing, not even the link to Tzader that had gone cold and quiet.
No! Don’t die, Z!

The void swallowed her. No pinpoint of light.

She’d die with a clear conscience that she’d upheld her Belador oath to the end.

It’s not your time,
a female voice whispered in her mind.

Not you again.
Evalle hoped this voice didn’t follow her into the afterlife.

A feminine chuckle bubbled across her senses. Tired, hurt, disappointed and alone, Evalle snapped,
What do you want from me?

Maybe I want to give you something.

So now you’re my Secret Santa? Where were you for the past twenty-three years?

Evalle sensed sadness in the silence and felt bad for berating someone who had annoyed her and given her unwanted advice but had never caused her harm.

The voice said,
I’m sorry you never had birthdays or celebrated holidays, but you can have that with Storm.

How do you know Storm?

Through you. He is your other half.

Great. Now a voice was making her depressed, as if dying with Tzader wasn’t enough. Feeling guilty, Evalle said,
Didn’t mean to take my bad mood out on you. Side effect of dying, I guess.

The chuckle was back.
You must return to the living.

I don’t know that I have to, but I’d like to go back.

No, you must, because Storm needs you. Sending you back is my gift to you.

Storm needed her? Evalle’s heart thumped with worry. But how could her heart thump if she was dead? A tiny light beamed in her mind’s eye and started to glow brighter.

Pain—feeling—crawled through her body, stinging and burning as energy surged into her legs, wings and arms. Her heartbeat picked up speed, stomping against her chest. Power burst from her core, raging across her senses.

She opened her eyes and stared at twenty sword points.

Panicked, she yelled at every Belador present,
I’m Evalle. Don’t touch me or you’ll kill Tzader! We’re linked!

All eyes shifted to Tzader, who didn’t move. Not even a breath.
Come on, Z.
Nothing. She refused to let him go.

She closed her eyes, searching for the link. She found it. Cold. Quiet. Careful with her energy, she forced a slow stream of healing power into the link, waiting for a sign.

He twitched.

She opened her eyes and kept sending him the constant flow of life energy.

He groaned. No sweeter sound had she ever heard. He drew a breath. Another.

Tears pooled in her eyes when he slid his palms forward and pushed up, shaking his head.

He twisted, his gaze searching hers.
Evalle?

Yes.
The tears fell, running free.

I heard you in my mind. How did you save me?

Long story that I’ll tell you soon, but call off the guards first.

That’s when Tzader looked up. He must have sent a telepathic message, because every sword pulled back and the guards stood down.

Evalle relaxed, tired of fighting. Tired of being a gryphon right this moment. Her body started changing before she realized the shift had come over her.

Tzader glanced down, did a double take, then ordered, “Everyone face away. Now.”

Then he whipped off his T-shirt and handed it to her as she stood. She shrugged it on, thankful it was long enough to cover the important parts. Looking around, she asked, “Where’s Brina? I can’t believe she actually did as I asked and found somewhere safe to hide.”

Tzader snapped alert. “Which way did she go?”

A warrior answered, “Down the back hallway.”

He called for a sword. One of his men tossed him the weapon, and Tzader took off running. Evalle followed with a herd of boot heels pounding right behind her.

When Tzader skidded to a stop and turned into a room, Evalle smelled Noirre majik heavy in the air.

Horace stood with his back to the door, chanting and tossing dust at Lanna and Brina.

Tzader shoved his sword into Horace. The old guy screamed and dropped a bag that smelled of rotten limes.

Evalle raced over just as Lanna and Brina disappeared, leaving a holographic image of Brina.

Evalle reached toward it, then pulled back.

Tzader was next to her in an instant, his voice hollow when he whispered, “Where’d they go?”

“I don’t know.”

W
ith no idea what to do for Brina and Lanna, Evalle finally shook herself loose from the numb feeling of too many shocks at one time. Someone had to deal with the battle still raging on Treoir.

With Boomer can’t-come-back dead and Evalle having regenerated three times, she’d become the most powerful gryphon.

She ordered the gryphons to stand down from any fight and fly to where they could circle the castle.

Seven answered her, which meant they had another dead gryphon besides Boomer.

Who had managed that? The only way one of the gryphons would not have gone through three cycles was if the head had been cut off.

Evalle told Tzader, “All the gryphons are under my control. I’ve called them in to circle the castle, and I need you to tell the Beladors to stop attacking. Once you do, I can turn the gryphons on the witches and warlocks.”

Tzader looked at her with unfocused eyes, still paralyzed by terror at seeing Brina’s lifeless hologram wrapped in a Noirre spell.

Evalle said as gently as she could, “Z, we need you.”

The warrior in him shuddered back into place. He
nodded, his eyes fixed on a distant spot for a moment, then he said, “It’s done. I’ve told our warriors the gryphons now belong to us and to fight beside them.”

Evalle sent the gryphons orders to drive the Medb from the island, confident that the five thousand Beladors and seven gryphons outside would be successful.

Green power ripped across the room and Macha appeared, not looking as fresh as usual.

Holding the ward must have really zapped her.

Macha stared at the hologram with a sinking look of horror. “Where’s Brina?”

Tzader told her what he’d found right before Brina and Lanna had disappeared. His voice came out gutshot. “I failed her, and I failed you.”

Macha gave Tzader a thorough look. “How are you standing here inside this castle alive?”

He sighed and explained how he’d rushed in with no thought for his life, needing only to protect Brina.

Evalle could practically hear his heart shattering. Evalle said, “We’ll find her, Z. Lanna was caught with her. She’s Quinn’s cousin and pretty powerful. Quinn may have family who can track Lanna. When I get back to Atlanta, I’ll get Storm. He has other gifts and may be able to tell us more once we bring him here. If not for him, you wouldn’t have gotten my note to know what was coming.”

“He didn’t give us the note,” Tzader said.

“What do you mean? How’d you get it if he didn’t?”

“I went looking for you.” Tzader cut his eyes over at Macha to find her glaring at him. “You made me Maistir
because you trust me to watch over all the Beladors and to know who I can trust and who I can’t. I have never doubted Evalle and you shouldn’t either, especially when she’s the reason you still hold Treoir.”

“We don’t have Brina.”

“That’s not Evalle’s fault, and she’ll help us find her.”

Evalle still wanted to know about the note. “What about Storm?”

Tzader said, “When I got to his house, no one was there. Your note was sitting on the nightstand.”

“Was it a whole piece of paper or . . .”

“All of it. The part you wrote to Storm was still attached.”

“Where was he?” She hadn’t intended for that to come out panicked, but some emotions couldn’t be controlled.

“I found a note he left you in the kitchen. The room smelled like licorice incense.” Tzader pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. “You know what the note means?”

Evalle nodded, eyes blurring. Why had Storm gone after the witch doctor without waiting for her?