The Curse by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  She didn't like anything about this setup, from the location to the house. Climbing three rickety steps, she entered a stuffy-smelling room where an old geezer sat in a ragged recliner that faced the door. Clear tubes ran from a nasal mask over his ears and down to a mobile tank next to his chair.

  Taking care with his tubes, he unfolded to a tall, thin body with skin that gravity had pulled at for many years. His cheap brown suit hung on his bony frame. Wrinkled brown eyes watched while she finished her assessment, but she needed only seconds to figure out the most damning trait.

  "You're a Belador?" she asked the old guy.

  "Yes."

  Tristan stopped between them and turned to her with a big grin, his arms opened wide in an "Am I good or what?" look.

  She braced her feet apart, ready for battle, and pointed at Tristan. "This is the last time you screw me over."

  "What're you talking about?" Sincerity rang through Tristan's voice.

  "He's a Belador."

  "So?"

  "So you could have told me that. But you didn't, which makes me wonder why not and why this guy didn't want Tzader or Quinn involved." She shot Tristan a withering look. "Or maybe this is the traitor and you've brought me into a trap."

  "What?" Tristan dropped his arms.

  The man across the room spoke in a shaky voice. "I asked Tristan to not tell you I was Belador, Evalle."

  "Why?" She kept both men in her field of vision, prepared to bust out the blades in her boots at the first wrong move.

  The withered old man said, "Because you would have wanted to check me out with Tzader or someone else."

  True. With Conlan O'Meary on the loose, no possible lead could be held back. She cut Tristan some slack for the moment and directed her questions at the Belador. "Who are you?"

  "Sam Thomas. I once fought in battle beside other Beladors, just as you do."

  "I take it you're not with the Beladors as a warrior now."

  "I left."

  "Nobody quits."

  "You're right. That's why I left after a battle almost seven years ago. I'm sure they counted me as dead or forever missing since bodies are sometimes vaporized in battle."

  How could he just walk away after having been accepted as a full Belador warrior? She'd give anything to have what he'd tossed aside. To not be shunned as a half-breed. And he'd sworn the same oath she had. She didn't hide her disgust when she said, "So you just deserted?"

  Sam sighed heavily and the air came out with a rattle. "I didn't leave during a battle. No one was at risk when I disappeared and became another statistic. You would condemn me for wanting a life?"

  She caught his point--that she of all people should understand wanting a normal life--and discounted that excuse for the crap it smelled like. "You want me to believe you walked away from the Beladors so you could play golf and spend time with the grandkids? Not buying that, Pops."

  "Let's just say I'm supporting the tribe in my own way."

  She let that go for now. "Where have you been since leaving the Beladors?"

  "Around, but I'm not here to talk about past history."

  I'm not either. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

  The wrinkles on Sam's face rearranged into a crooked smile that ended with a grimace. "Can we sit a spell? Got a bad back."

  She took the single chair facing him, which didn't match any of the other furniture. Not entirely true. Every piece in the room sported rips that belched stuffing. "What do you know about the traitor?"

  Tristan settled onto a lumpy couch. He piped up, "Sam knows more than anyone at VIPER."

  Evalle sent him a scathing look intended to say, You don't have a speaking role.

  Tristan grumbled, "Whatever," and propped an elbow on the back of the couch to support his head.

  Taking his time to speak, Sam said, "To begin with, the traitor will lead the Medb to Brina if you don't stop him."

  "We know that, which is why we have everyone looking for him. But we may not be talking about the same person."

  "Conlan O'Meary?"

  So this guy did know something about Conlan. She asked, "Do you know where he is?"

  "I have an idea."

  She sat forward. "Where?"

  "I'll tell you once you hear the rest of what I have to say."

  If you keep talking as slow as molasses dripping in the winter, this will take what's left of my morning. "I'm listening."

  "Do you know what happened before Conlan escaped?

  "You mean the mind probe that Quinn did?"

  "Yes. But Conlan is not necessarily guilty."

  "Then why did he escape and run?"

  Sam's knee jerked every so often as if it wanted to bounce. "That isn't the question you should be asking."

  "I'm in no mood for a game. What's the right question?"

  "How did Conlan get out of VIPER?"

  She'd wondered that many times herself. Conlan hadn't been in just any holding cell. She'd asked Tzader how anyone could have found a way out of VIPER headquarters, which was tucked inside a mountain north of Atlanta.

  According to Tzader, any escape from VIPER required inside help. She said, "We know Conlan couldn't have gotten out alone. Do you know who broke him out?"

  "I know who could have."

  She hated vague answers and didn't trust someone who wasn't part of their VIPER teams. "Why do you even care what goes on at VIPER after you walked away?"

  "Because I have people to protect besides Tristan, Petrina, Webster and Aaron. I got tired of being restrained while expected to fight things that often defied death."

  Ah, the real reason behind his desertion. Evalle had been in that situation at times, but she would never turn her back on the Beladors because of feeling stymied by rules. "We took an oath to do what's honorable and protect humans while we fight things that are tough to kill."

  "True," Sam conceded. "But I think we may all be forced to fight against impossible odds soon. You may not respect my choices in life, but please believe me when I say I don't want to see the Beladors destroyed."

  She didn't acknowledge one way or the other, but his words rang with sincerity, as if he needed her to believe that one thing. "I'm still listening."

  "I'm in a better position now to help the Beladors, and Alterants, than I could have before, which is why I agreed to help Tristan. My people told me about him after the Rias were changing everywhere across the country. We have a network that has kept his group safe." Sam's knee finally started bouncing up and down in tiny jumps.

  Nerves or a twitch?

  Back to the heart of this, the traitor. She asked, "Okay, so who do you think might have broken Conlan out of lockup?"

  "Vladimir Quinn."

  "Liar!" She pointed at Tristan, who had a sick-gut look on his face. "You brought me here for that?"

  Tristan said, "Just hear him out--"

  "I'm not lying, Evalle." Sam tapped his fingers on his bouncing knee and his jaw moved as if talking stressed him. "Listen to me. I have reason to believe that Quinn is key to finding the traitor."

  And what reason did she have to believe this stranger? "Quinn has been a loyal Belador warrior since signing on at eighteen. I trust him with my life. Why would he betray us now?"

  Sam pulled his lips tight in a frown. "You're not going to like hearing this, but if you want to protect Brina, you're going to have to start thinking with your head and not your heart. Everyone knows how close you, Tzader and Quinn are."

  No argument there. She waited for him to continue.

  "I have people in Atlanta. I received a report through them from a Nightstalker contact that stays in and around the Ritz Hotel. The ghoul snitch saw Kizira going into a room there."

  Holding a calm, disinterested expression while her heart thumped wildly was no easy task for Evalle. She'd been working on schooling her features better and managed to act as if that news didn't send a chill up her spine. When she and Tristan had fought Kizira in the Maze of Death, Kizira had clai
med she'd seen Quinn, in his room at the Ritz, and that Quinn had told Kizira she'd find Evalle with Tristan.

  Evalle hadn't wanted to believe Kizira even when she'd shared details no one should've known about Quinn's room except Evalle and Tzader.

  Quinn's elaborate security measures meant only Evalle and Tzader could find his location, which changed every day when he stayed in Atlanta. Even then, neither of them could get past the temporary barrier that Quinn's warded Triquetras provided.

  But Evalle wasn't ready to jump on the Quinn-can't-be-trusted bandwagon. "So what? The Medb like the thread count of Ritz linens."

  "Kizira visited a guest in the hotel. The room belonged to Vladimir Quinn."

  Quinn never registered under his name. How would this Sam have found out that information?

  Evalle opened her empathic senses as Sam spoke. She hadn't trained to develop her ability, but she'd become pretty good at figuring out what someone was feeling. Right now she could only discern one thing from Sam. Worry.

  Possibly damning or not, depending on what worried him.

  Where was Storm with his lie-detecting ability when she needed him?

  She wanted to rail at Sam, but he'd tossed down the challenge that she wasn't objective. She could act detached. "Let's say there's a remote possibility that Quinn met with a Medb witch. For what reason?"

  "That is a question Quinn has to answer, but I think I know why he would have helped Conlan."

  "Why?"

  "Did anyone tell you what Quinn found when he performed the probe?"

  "No," she lied, but telling this guy anything Tzader had shared with her in confidence was out of the question. Quinn had found potentially damning evidence of Conlan being the traitor, but even Tzader called it inconclusive because the images Quinn had accessed were of the future.

  And the future could always change.

  "Quinn saw images in Conlan's mind of Conlan joining the Medb, then aiding them to breach Brina's castle and kill her."

  Sam's information matched what Tzader had shared with her and VIPER. That gave credibility to Sam's claim of having people in Atlanta, even inside VIPER.

  Or had he gotten his information from the traitor?

  She pointed out, "What Quinn saw would explain why Conlan was put in temporary lockup, but he still shouldn't have run. Conlan hadn't even faced a Tribunal yet."

  "I agree." Sam wheezed another breath. "Except for the last part. Conlan's father was convicted as a traitor years before. Conlan knew he'd never leave that cell until another person was found guilty of being the traitor, which could take years ... and might never happen."

  Just as no one would ever forget that Evalle was an Alterant. She understood carrying an invisible ball and chain.

  But she faced her battle every day.

  Conlan had run.

  Tristan continued to watch the conversation volley between her and Sam, but he glanced over at her with an obvious question written across his face.

  She lifted her shoulder in a silent shrug, letting Tristan know she hadn't decided yet, and asked, "Why would Quinn go against VIPER, and the Beladors, to free Conlan?"

  "I've thought on that a long time. One reason I wouldn't let Tristan contact you until now."

  Swinging his head to face her, Tristan chided, "Feel better about why I haven't been answering your telepathic calls?"

  "Not a bit. I've been stuck trying to save all the Alterants instead of just my closest buddies." She hoped that would remind Tristan that he still had to make good on his part of this deal. He'd better not teleport away before she got what she needed from him, too. "Finish what you were saying, Sam."

  "I've come down to one of two reasons Quinn would have helped Conlan escape--"

  "If he did," she interjected.

  "Understood. Either Quinn also believed Conlan would not get a fair trial and didn't want to be the reason the young man ended up in prison for the rest of his life ..."

  She could see that, but would Quinn have taken it upon himself to release Conlan without at least clueing in Tzader?

  "Or," Sam continued, "Quinn is working with Kizira and released Conlan to draw attention away from the real traitor, who is still among the Beladors." Sam's frail chest lifted and dropped with his sigh. "I can see you don't want to believe me and are ready to go to Tzader, but I wouldn't do that if I were you."

  Did this guy read minds? Of course, she had to tell Tzader. "Why not?"

  "Because Quinn might or might not have had control over what he did ... if he did help Conlan."

  She made a derogatory noise. "I've never been one to accept the 'I didn't know what I was doing' defense."

  "Even if someone is compelled, Evalle? Kizira might have been able to do that when she went to see Quinn in his hotel."

  If that happened.

  If Quinn did break out Conlan.

  If, if, if.

  Evalle rubbed the back of her neck. Quinn had one of the most powerful minds among the Beladors. Evalle had seen him overpower Kizira's mind two years ago, so she doubted Kizira had compelled Quinn. "So why would I not tell Tzader?"

  "You would destroy your friends."

  "What do you mean?"

  "If you say anything to Tzader"--Sam paused, panting as if just living took an effort--"he'll have no choice but to have Quinn's mind probed to prove Quinn's innocence or confirm his guilt. If Quinn did help Conlan, even for a noble reason, a druid will find that memory. What do you think Macha would do?"

  Horrible images flashed through Evalle's mind, all ending with Quinn dying in excruciating pain.

  And Quinn would accept a death sentence before giving up Conlan if he truly believed Conlan to be innocent.

  What other possible reason could there be for Quinn to break trust with the Beladors? But he had no reason to deceive her or Tzader. Did he?

  Sam's assessment of the situation had merit.

  Tzader's first duty might be to protect Brina, but Evalle had picked up on something more going on between Brina and Tzader beyond the Belador-Maistir-to-Warrior-Queen relationship.

  He would never jeopardize Brina's safety, and he'd hate himself for putting Quinn's neck on the chopping block.

  But did Quinn really present a risk to Brina? Evalle needed more than Sam's word. "Is that all you have?"

  Sam's hand shook where he held his knee still. "If Kizira did meet Quinn inside his hotel room, then that would explain how Kizira knew she'd find you with Tristan when you went underground with him in the Maze to retrieve the two Rias."

  Evalle hadn't wanted to believe Kizira's claim that Quinn had given her information. She still wouldn't accept the word of a Medb witch and this unknown Belador over talking to Quinn first.

  Loyalty meant standing up for those you cared about. Giving that person a chance to tell his side.

  She asked Sam, "How do you know all of this?"

  "I still have my resources within the Beladors--"

  Just as she figured. "Spies."

  "Friends. And since going off the radar, so to speak, I've developed resources within other factions."

  "The Medb?"

  He didn't respond, neither confirming nor denying.

  Evalle had heard all she wanted to from this guy. Time for him to show all his cards. "Why are you telling me all of this when we don't know each other?"

  Sam's eyes creased with admiration. "I've heard all about you, Alterant. How you've had to fight to stay free of imprisonment simply because you're not a full-blood Belador, yet you're the first one to step forward to protect humans and the Beladors. That you don't shift into your beast no matter what, even when your life is at stake. I'm telling you because you're the only Belador that I'm sure is not the traitor."

  How could a stranger see more than many of whom she'd fought alongside? She shook off how that touched her deep inside and kept her business face in place. "We agree on that one thing. So what am I to do with this information?"

  "Find the traitor. A war is coming with t
he Medb and the battle will be fought over Alterants."

  "I thought they wanted to kill Brina and capture Treoir Castle."

  "That's what I understand as well, but the Alterants will be the difference between success and failure."

  "I don't understand."

  "I'm helping Tristan and Petrina escape before the Medb find them. That's all I can do for these two Alterants. But you must find the others and keep them from the Medb. I will help you hide them."

  "I have no idea where any other Alterants are or I'd be bringing them in to Macha."

  Sam's liquid gaze slid over to Tristan. "Tell her what you've learned in the past few weeks."

  Tristan stood and walked across the room to a fireplace with a hearth covered in cobwebs from lack of use. He leaned back against the mantel and crossed his arms. "Sam caught me walking in my sleep a few times, heading toward Atlanta. Petrina would do the same thing. It's as if something was making us go back, some inner animal urge to return to Atlanta."

  "Good, because I need you to go back."

  "Not going, Evalle."

  "We had a deal."

  He shook his head. "I said I'd give you information, but I did not say I'd return with you."

  Sam cut in, "The point is that I think the Alterants are beginning to be drawn to Atlanta."

  She ignored Tristan for a moment and asked Sam, "Why?"

  "It could be you."

  "Oh, sure. I'm a regular Alterant magnet." She hadn't found one in the past three weeks.

  For once, Tristan didn't make a smart follow-up comment, but spoke in earnest. "Didn't you claim there's been an unusual number of Alterant shifts and attacks in the past year in the Southeast?"

  "Yes, but Rias could have committed some, or all, of the unprovoked attacks blamed on Alterants. You said so yourself."

  "True, but the point is, this hasn't been as prevalent in other parts of the country, right?" Tristan said, leading her to see Sam's point.

  "Right, but ... I don't buy this theory that they're coming because of me. Why me? Having outbreaks in the Southeast doesn't prove anything. And three weeks ago lots of beasts shifted all over the country because of the sentient fog."

  Tristan argued, "Rias. Sam's talking about Alterants."

  "Just give me facts ... and tell me where you're getting these facts if you want me to believe you."

  Sam's arms shook when he pushed against the chair arms as if to stand, but didn't when the effort was too great. "Believe me or not, but you don't have a lot of time. If the Medb get their hands on the Alterants, they'll be able to breach the castle and kill Brina. Find the other Alterants."