by Dianna Love
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?
Chapter 9
“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.”
La
nna’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.”
“It was. We’ve been huntin’ for the traitor over the last two years.” That was when the traitor had almost caused the death of ... she blanked mentally, losing the rest of that thought.
“Brina? Is that all you remember about the attack?” Lanna asked.
Shaking off the mental hiccup, Brina replayed the last few seconds at Treoir out loud. “When you attacked Horace, he knocked you into me then the threads wrapped around you.”
“My skin burned where it touched. Did you feel yourself lose power as threads kept wrapping around?”
Brina said, “Yes.”
“Me too. Noirre was killing us. That is why I teleported.”
“Is that what you did?”
“Yes. Only way to get out of trap.”
Brina rubbed her forehead, thinking. “I was also teleportin’ at the same time, but I was leavin’ my hologram in place.”
“Where were you teleporting?”
“Out to the hallway where I could call Beladors and direct them into the room. Where were you takin’ us?”
“Outside where I could find Quinn.” Lanna looked guilty all of a sudden. “But I have practiced teleporting only three days. Last time was in two rooms inside Medb tower.”
Good goddess, as Quinn would say. The girl could have teleported them into a stone wall or a sword fight. “Do not use your powers here.”
“I have to or we will not return.”
“Then don’t use them without your tellin’ me first and gainin’ my approval.”
Lanna’s face fell. “I cannot always wait on that.”
“You will. I’ll have your word on it.”
Finally, Brina hit gold when Lanna’s face paled. The young woman must take her word seriously, which only supported Brina’s speculation that Lanna was something quite powerful.
“I give my word–”
“Good”
“–unless I think you are in danger again,” Lanna quickly clarified.
That was probably as much as anyone would get out of her so Brina accepted that.
Lanna’s forehead furrowed with thought. “If we both tried to teleport at same time, then we must find way back using that power.”
Sounded logical, but majik sometimes defied logic. “I don’t think we should try that until we’ve run out of ideas because we might end up separated.”
“No,” Lanna whispered.
“So do you have any other ideas?”
“Yes. I was trying to find way while I slept.”
Brina had no clue where Lanna was going with this, but she gave her rein to continue. “Go on.”
“I think if we reach someone in their dreams, we can find our way back. We tell them what happened with both teleporting and maybe they have druid or mage who can help us.”
“Why would you be thinkin’ that we can reach someone in their dreams?”
Heat rushed into Lanna’s cheeks. “I met nice boy back home that I wanted to date, but his family was afraid of mine. I searched for him in my dreams ... and finally found him. We would meet there every night and–” Lanna caught herself. “He sent me note telling me he wanted to meet in person. He could not live forever with dreams only, so I know he remembered dreams when he woke up.”
Brina made a decision right then that Lanna would be trained. The girl had gained a great deal on her own by experimenting, but what would she be like with tutoring?
Then again, who would tutor her?
A worry for another time. Brina said, “I understand. How do we make this dream communication work?”
“You believe me.” Lanna hadn’t asked, but had spoken with awe.
“Of course I believe you. Now start explainin’.”
Lanna smiled again, confidence beaming in her face. “When I slept a moment ago, I was trying to reach cousin, but I cannot find his dreams. Maybe he does not sleep while he worries about me. He must have nodded off at one time. I could feel his power so I try to push through to reach his mind, but I was knocked backwards.”
“Lanna, you must be very careful with Quinn. I’ve never known a more powerful Belador mind than his.”
“This is true. The few seconds I touch his mind it was bad place. Very angry and ... chaos. I am concerned that if I try cousin again he might accidentally kill me.” Lanna added, “If he does, do not blame cousin. He is good man.”
“I wouldn’t blame him, but don’t try that again.”
“I do not know how to recognize power of anyone else or I would hunt for Evalle.”
“Maybe I can do it,” Brina suggested, talking to herself more so than Lanna.
“You must have strong connection,” Lanna warned. “Someone who is family or close friend or ...” Lanna’s face blushed. “Lover.”
Tzader. That was the name she’d been trying to recall a moment ago. How could his name slip her mind? If Brina could reach anyone, it would be him, but she wasn’t about to admit to Lanna that Tzader had been Brina’s one and only lover.
The man she’d planned to marry until Macha forced her to give Tzader a chance at a life without Brina, since he could not enter Treoir at the time, and Brina could not leave.
If she connected to Tzader and he helped bring her back to Treoir, Macha would have to give him anything he asked for.
But would Tzader choose Brina when she’d spent the last few weeks convincing him that she no longer loved him?
“You are not listening,” Lanna admonished.
/> “What?” Brina hadn’t meant to snap at her, but the possibility of Tzader believing that ruse about Brina wanting to move on with her life had her insides twisted up.
“I was saying you must be careful meeting someone in dream realm. There are dangers.”
“Such as?”
“Dream travel is much like real life. I allowed this boy to kiss me and he left mark on my neck.”
Brina smiled. “Think I can survive a bruise or two, Lanna.”
Lanna started shaking her head and warning, “You could enter wrong person’s dreams and be captured by a powerful dream merc ... or killed.”
“What’s a dream merc?”
“Very bad. I have heard their majik works only in dreams, but I have not met one to know for sure. You must be careful.”
Just when Brina thought things couldn’t get any worse, Lanna shattered that all to pieces. Brina asked, “How can I be tellin’ if I’ve found the right person?”
“When I first figure out how to visit boy back home in my dreams, I went to sleep thinking of secret place we liked to meet. Think of somewhere you were with someone important to you and how much you want him to meet you there.”
Brina lifted an eyebrow at her. “How do you know it’s a him?”
“Your face was very happy when you drifted off. Must be man who means much to you.” Moving on, Lanna added, “Very important that you always remember I am here waiting. If you forget, you may not return. I have heard some choose to stay in dreams forever.”
Brina cocked her head. “Why?”
Lanna drove her fingers into her hair, concentrating fiercely. “Like ... uhm ... “ She pulled her hands down and snapped her fingers. “Like astronaut who gets space sickness and lets go of link to ship so he can stay in stars forever. If you do that, I will not be able to call you back.”
“Tell me how to watch for it.”
Shrugging, Lanna said, “I do not know all about dreams. This is not my majik. I only know what little I have heard, but I can feel your power. It is strong. If I stop feeling it as strong, I will try to pull you back.”
