The Curse (35 page)

“Yes, you have, but you are also of my and Cathbad’s blood, though I try to forget. He constantly tells me how intelligent you are and that you have a value. I never realized until now just how cunning you could be.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Kizira answered, though she couldn’t see Flaevynn intentionally handing her a compliment.

Kizira believed she might be in the clear, until Flaevynn smiled. “I glimpsed Roogre’s mind as you teleported him. I know where you sent him and his team, and what they will do when they arrive. You dare to steal what is rightfully mine?”

The blood drained from Kizira’s head so quickly that she weaved with dizziness. She panicked and didn’t have to pretend to beg. “I’m doing it for you—”

Flaevynn screeched.

Kizira went spinning head over heels in a blur. When she hit the floor and looked around, she sat in the same room Cathbad had endured for two years in the dungeon. “Noooo!”

Kizira would never leave here.

Flaevynn would win.

Quinn would die.

TWENTY-EIGHT

E
valle would kill for a sword to cut through the aggression thickening the night air. She took two steps, moving out in front of the VIPER team now facing off with Isak and his men, who had lined up side by side across the street.

Storm moved up beside her and growled softly.

Tzader yelled at her telepathically.
Get back so we can throw up a united kinetic wall
.

She answered,
Please keep everyone back and give me a chance to talk to him
.

If one finger twitches a trigger, they’ll all die.

I understand.
Then she called over to Isak, “I only asked for help
finding
the trolls. What are you doing here?”

After a tense couple of seconds, Isak swung his weapon across his chest in an at-ease gesture before walking across the narrow side street. His men still held their weapons at ready. When he stopped in front of her, he cut brutal eyes at Storm, who sent back an equally vicious look.

Then Isak took in the blood on her shirt. His face shifted with cold anger icing his blue eyes. “Who did that?”

“Trolls, but I’m fine, and we’ve got to get inside that building before they hurt anyone else. I appreciate the help in finding the Svarts, but why are you here?”

“You know what I do. You really surprised to see me?”

She ignored his question since he hadn’t really answered hers. “
We
can handle this.”

Isak’s gaze swept over the men and women standing behind Evalle and Storm. “Everyone here nonhumans like … you?” he asked Evalle.

Storm answered, “All of us.”

She wanted to kick Storm, who Isak now eyed with even more menace. She said, “Thought we had a truce. Please leave so we can do what we came to do, Isak, or people will die.”

“People or nonhumans?”

“They’re people to me.”

He drew two slow breaths, then said, “I’ll stay out here as
your
backup.”

He made it perfectly clear who he intended to protect.

Storm threw off a whip of dark energy that made it clear what he thought of Isak’s declaration.

But Isak hadn’t touched her, so Storm had to keep his word. Turning to Tzader and the team, Evalle said, “Okay, everyone. Isak Nyght loaned us the weapon Quinn’s carrying that kills trolls. He and his team will stay out here and back
us
up.”

Storm smiled.

She lifted a testy eyebrow in caution and his smile only broadened.

Tzader said, “How will they know who they can and can’t shoot?”

Isak called back, “You got any more of your kind showing up here?”

“No.”

“We’ve scanned all of you. Any other nonhuman who interferes will be neutralized.”

Quinn came into Evalle’s mind.
Do you trust him?

What could she say to that? Sometimes you had to go with your gut feeling. Isak hadn’t shot at them when he could have without a word first. She told Quinn,
I have to trust Isak at this point.

Isak asked Evalle, “Sure you can handle these trolls?”

“With this many agents, yes.” She hoped.

She’d asked herself that same question over and over after having almost died at the hands of Svarts on two occasions so far. The Beladors couldn’t risk linking around this many Svarts, but this VIPER team had plenty of power besides Beladors. As long as they stuck together, they should be fine.

Isak unclipped his demon blaster from the elastic dummy cord clipped to his chest and handed it to her. He put his finger on a lever just ahead of the trigger. “Not that you need it, but push this up for less force—to stun something—and down to kill.”

“What about you?”

“I’m
always
armed.”

Before she or Isak could converse further, Tzader spoke out loud to the team. “Just got word from our man on the inside that the other Svarts the trolls were waiting on have arrived. We’ve got to go in now.”

Before turning to join the team, Evalle told Isak, “Thank you.”

He nodded at her and gave Storm one last threatening look that the arrogant Skinwalker countered with a taunting smile Evalle could only describe as possessive.

And she’d thought men were more trouble when they were just trying to kill her.

She kicked into Belador speed to reach the front of the team with Tzader and Quinn. She shouldn’t have been surprised to see Storm match her step for step. One day he’d have to tell her everything he could do.

Just before Tzader entered the building, his power as Maistir rushed into Evalle’s mind, meaning he spoke to all of his warriors.
Vince just learned that the Svarts have a group of humans locked in the end of the building near Glen Iris Drive. He and the other nonhumans are at the opposite end. We have to split up and be careful around the humans
.

Evalle’s stomach flipped. That cut their power in half.

But no way would anyone on this team go along with bringing Isak and his men inside.

TWENTY-NINE

E
ven if her cousin and his snake people could find her in this building the size of a small city, Svarts might kill him. Lanna had really thought she could overpower the trolls, but these Svarts were nothing like anything she’d met before.

She tapped her fingers on the concrete and wrinkled her nose at the musty smell of age clinging to the basement. Angling her head over at Kellman, who sat next to her and the pole they were both chained to, she whispered, “Jurba has not left with girlfriend. Why?”

“Don’t know. Maybe he’s cutting another deal.”

“I do not think so. Jurba is shaking and female troll looks afraid.” When Kell had nothing to say about that, Lanna pointed out something else. “The Svarts did not talk so much until that one with gold band around arm showed up. They call him ‘Lieutenant.’ I think he is boss they were waiting on.”
To start feeding.

Kell must have heard something in her voice in spite of her trying not to sound afraid. He turned to her and lifted his free hand to her face, gently touching her cheek. “How’s your eye?”

He had nice touch. She could still see through the swollen lid. “I am fine. And angry my majik fail me.”

Kell gave her a small smile. It warmed her heart as much as his words did when he said, “It didn’t fail you. You caused the truck tire to go flat. That bought us some time.”

She had used a spell that called sharp objects to truck tires. Something finally struck hard enough to cut tire. Making spell work from inside of truck had not been easy. It had taken a while to do. She could have done more and quicker, but that would have meant drawing hard on elements, which would have caught Grendal’s attention.

Once Jurba drove the truck again, he did not drive long enough for her to flatten a second tire.

She could not believe she escaped Romania for this. “My majik should have hurt Svart bad. Not make him crazy.”

Kell’s fingers grazed her cheek again, giving her chills that had nothing to do with the cold basement. He said, “I just wish the bastard hadn’t realized who sent the cement block flying at him.”

“I can heal from bruise, but troll took phone I borrowed from unconscious man.”

“Jurba would have gotten it if he hadn’t been too stupid to search for phones. These Svarts don’t seem to make those kinds of mistakes. I’ve never seen trolls that hard to take down.”

“Me either. Now we must give cousin time to find us. He will not come alone.” She couldn’t tell Kell about the snake people … VIPER, but she did relax a little, surprised at how talking to this boy made her feel better. Of the two boys, she would have thought the joking Kardos would be the one to lift her spirits.

“I’m sorry you got caught with us,” Kell said.

“My fault.” She could not blame the boys when she chose to follow them. With the power she possessed, she could get them out of here if not for fear of Grendal. She could not risk tapping that level of her power unless she had no other option. Even if she could break her chain, could she break all the chains fast enough to save everyone? “I will think of better plan.”

“No!”

She held her breath at Kell’s outburst and shifted her gaze to the Svarts, who had all stopped talking to look at Kell and her. She didn’t breathe until they resumed talking. Without taking her eyes off the Svarts, she said, “Do not shout.”

“I know.”

“Then why did you?”

When Kell said nothing, she shifted her attention to him, but he just shrugged and looked away.

What did that mean?

She understood Kardos, who flirted even to hide fear in this place and had no control over his mouth. But Kell did not act without thought.

A shrill scream sent chills crawling up Lanna’s spine. She jerked her head up to see a Svart grab Jurba, who was howling in terror. The Svart ripped Jurba in half.

Dead-troll stench hit Lanna. She covered her nose, the hideous smell making her eyes tear up.

Jurba’s girlfriend kept screaming as if her heart had been clawed from her chest.

The troll ripped off one of Jurba’s arms and hit the girl troll with it, spraying blood all over her and knocking her out.

So much blood. The memory of that night in Romania rushed in at her.

Lanna started breathing faster. She had to calm down and hold control of her power, but her heart pounded harder until she could hear it in her ears. Noises and smells blurred into a hideous cloud around her.

“Lanna?”

Her body shook with tremors.

“Stop whatever you’re doing,” Kell ordered. “Now.”

Her vision cleared. She jerked her head up and blinked. Kell was staring at her.

What had she just done?

Kardos leaned forward, shock on his face. “Did you do that?”

She looked around. Hundreds of chairs that had been neatly stacked to the side were now toppled in piles. Loose debris from the cracked ceiling had scattered across the floor. Two support beams were bent.

She might have killed all of them. “I am sorry.”

Man she borrowed phone from who had been unconscious in the truck now stared at her, but the trolls looked around, confused, then zeroed in on the captives.

All except the Svart who had torn Jurba apart. That troll squatted over Jurba’s body with his back turned to everyone like a dog attacking his first meal in days.

Then the troll called Lieutenant stared straight at her. His look said she had just moved to the top of his menu.

Cloaking herself right now, even if it worked again, would be of no use with her still chained to the pole. And she would not leave Kellman, Kardos or the others to these trolls.

Kardos whispered in a jittery voice, “Just what are you, babe?”

She admitted, “I do not know some days.”

Her cousin must show up soon or she would be forced to try something. And once she was out of here, she would not let Quinn out of her sight until they talked about how to fix her powers.

The Lieutenant barked something at his men, then started toward Lanna.

Time had just run out.

Kellman leaned forward to talk across Lanna to Kardos. “Got any spells that work inside?”