by Dianna Love
“That’s not a problem, my queen. We’ve been targeting twelve-to-seventeen year olds. They tend to be less trouble since they grew up in Belador households and are resilient, for humans.”
“Very well, continue on and keep me informed if anything significant changes.” Finished issuing orders, Queen Maeve dismissed the contingent of warlocks, teleporting them to the human world.
Power flushed across her skin just before Cathbad the Druid appeared in his usual dark suit, which allowed him to blend in better among human men. Or so he said.
She preferred the shoulder-length hair he’d worn when robes were in style rather than these shorter, brown locks that curled in small tufts around his face.
His beauty had destroyed hearts in his time, but not hers. She would never be so foolish as to give a man her heart.
Cathbad had adapted easily to life in the modern human world.
Lately, he reminded her of a well-dressed thundercloud. In fact, he was scowling yet again.
“What’s your issue now, Cathbad? You’ve been in a far worse mood than I for weeks, yet I’m the one who’s been slighted.”
Giving her a stern expression, he demanded, “What are you up to with our people, Maeve? I see only a skeleton guard in the tower. We’re goin’ to lose what force we have in the human world if you keep settin’ them up to be killed.”
She floated toward him. “Those are my people who do my will whenever I choose.”
When he said nothing to that, she added, “Unlike you, I have not sat idly during the weeks since my mistreatment at the hands of the Tribunal.”
“Mistreatment?” His smile fit the sarcasm in his voice. “Oh yes, it was simply a lack of manners on their part. That’s why you cost us an alliance with VIPER.” A vein pulsed in his throat during his angry tirade. “I could have maneuvered past Daegan’s challenges, but I didn’t get the chance to save our position, because you couldn’t control your temper or your form.”
“None of this is my fault,” she hissed, realizing he’d been brooding since they returned from that Tribunal meeting.
“It’s not? What about growing into a giant at the Tribunal? You couldn’t even maintain your normal body shape!”
“That was just a sign of my powers getting stronger.” She wished. She had no idea what was going on with her body. One minute she’d feel fine, then the next she’d get sick to her stomach and the world around her warped out of shape.
Or she warped out of shape.
This had been happening ever since she reincarnated, but until right before that Tribunal meeting she’d been able to hide it from everyone. Even Cathbad.
It didn’t matter.
She was not about to admit a weakness to a druid as powerful as Cathbad. She bluffed, “I am in full control of my body and powers.”
He leaned closer. “I hope so, but we’ve lost the upper hand we had by being part of the coalition. I keep tellin’ you to let me deal with Daegan, but all you do is argue with me. The minute you had to face him in the Tribunal, you let him win. That makes us look weak, so don’t whine to me about being slighted.”
“Don’t push me, Cathbad,” she warned, feeling her body twisting inside.
“Oh, I’m gonna push you. If you had kept your head together, we’d have gotten Kizira’s body, too. All that maneuverin’ only to leave empty-handed. We had a plan, a great plan, which would have allowed us to work our way deep into VIPER and eventually take over Treoir. What is wrong with you, Maeve?”
“Nothing!” Energy shot from her. Colors raced through her vision. Her body undulated and her stomach heaved.
When she blinked, she’d doubled in size and was staring down at Cathbad.
“So this is full control of your powers and body, eh?” Cathbad said in a stinging tone.
Energy boiled inside of her. She snarled and flipped a hand in his direction. Her air slap knocked him backwards. He hit the wall and landed flatfooted.
Straightening his suit, he walked back over. “Do not make that mistake again, Maeve. We’ve known each other a long time, but I am not one of your servants to suffer your abusive whims.”
She felt her insides kink and tighten as she shrank back to her normal size. She was not about to apologize to anyone. Not when all others were below her, but she needed to bring Cathbad back in line with her plans.
Turning him into an enemy would be unwise and dangerous.
Offering her best imitation of a repentant expression, she said, “You’re right.”
His anger fell away, leaving shock in its place. “What did you say?”
She narrowed her eyes, because acting docile would be unbelievable to the druid who had known her so long. “Don’t rub it in my face, Cathbad. I said you’re right. I need your help. I’m suffering some kind of side effect lately. I’m not sure why. But fighting with you isn’t helping.”
Studying her, he nodded slowly. “I can accept that, but I am still concerned about what your witches and warlocks are doing in the human realm. I’ve heard of some takin’ Noirre majik with them. What are they usin’ it for?”
He would go ballistic if he knew why and just how much. In a haughty tone, she said, “We have plenty of Noirre that even those in the Scáth Force have never seen. I use it as I see necessary.”
“What do you hope to gain by creatin’ chaos in that world?”
She hadn’t begun to cause the level of chaos she had in mind. “To get my dragon back, for one.”
Cathbad looked like he was heading for a seizure this time. “That bloody dragon has caused enough trouble. You should have killed him here in TÅμr Medb when you could have. You had him at your mercy when he was cursed as a throne.”
“I will not allow him an easy way out,” she snapped. “No one tries to kill me and gets away with just dying. I want centuries of payback.”
“That was two thousand years ago, Maeve. Get over it.”
“No. I was not around for most of that time to see him suffer. He will serve me another two thousand years. Maybe then I’ll put him through a slow, painful death.”
Cathbad paced away, staring at nothing, then turned back. “I hope the loss of physical control is not a sign of you deterioratin’. I have cared many years for you, my love, but lately I find myself waitin’ on the Maeve I know to return.”
He could be incredibly sweet and charming when he wanted to be, which was how he’d slipped inside her emotional defenses so long ago.
But he could also be a vicious enemy when crossed.
She said, “I’m right here.”
“I hope so, because I’m very concerned. I do not intend to spend the next millennium stuck in this tower. I didn’t wait two thousand years to reincarnate into this body only to end up in a livin’ prison. I want to know I still have a partner in all of this.”
Just when he was winning his way back into her good graces, he pissed her off again. She would not tolerate anyone dictating to her.
“You want a happy partner, druid? Then get my dragon back.”
Cathbad’s power grew until it felt like the air couldn’t hold it. “Even if we got Daegan back, we’d still be stuck here. Do. You. Not. Get. That?”
“Careful, Cathbad. I am gaining power,” she lied, just to make him worry. “I will not allow anyone to insult me and live. You haven’t considered that if we bring the dragon here I could compel him. That might return Treoir to us even more quickly and without having to fight a battle.”
Chuckling in a dark way, Cathbad looked down and muttered something to himself, then swung his stern gaze at Maeve. “Did you not see what Daegan did in the Tribunal meetin’? He backed down every god and goddess there by pointin’ out that none of us know the identity of his birth mother, who was clearly a goddess. I, for one, do not want to find out she was some favorite concubine of Zeus. It could have been a great bluff, but if his mother turns out to be as powerful as Daegan alluded, she could breach this realm.”
Maeve would have explained mor
e of her thinking if he hadn’t pissed her off. She’d tell him enough to send him on his way. “If my plan goes as I intend, Daegan will never have a chance to call in his mother once he gets here.”
Cathbad’s gaze remained steady with a look that said he thought she was not entirely sane.
He’d find out soon enough, she was not only sane, but brilliant when it came to getting what she wanted.
Ready to change the topic, she asked, “Where is Ossian? He hasn’t reported in recently.”
“I was on my way to meet with you and bring him in when I noticed warlocks leavin’ for Atlanta.”
Using only her eyes, she dared him to raise that subject again, but he didn’t. She’d compelled one of the Scáth Force team to do her bidding without telling anyone her orders, including Cathbad. The only way he’d find out would be if he singled out that warrior, who was the lowest ranked.
Cathbad said, “Once I determine that Ossian is alone, I’ll have him open the connection for me to bring him into the tower.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then lifted his hands and gave a wave.
Ossian appeared, but not looking like his normal self. He lifted his hands to indicate his collared red shirt and black pants, which suited the olive skin and black hair of his current persona. “I apologize, my lord and queen. I was on my way to VIPER headquarters to check in. This is how I appear as Emilio, the Italian mage working for VIPER.”
“You may remain in that form to conserve your energy,” Cathbad said. “Please tell the queen how nothing new is happenin’, because everyone at VIPER has a kill-on-sight order for our people.”
Ossian’s eyes showed his surprise for a second before he settled in to say, “Basically, that’s true.”
Maeve ignored Cathbad’s negativity. “What else have you to report, Ossian?”
Brightening, he answered, “You asked for more on the witch known as Veronika. As she is held in the highest security beneath the mountain housing VIPER headquarters, it’s difficult to access her. I did gain one opportunity when I physically impersonated a Belador guard, but the liaison, Sen, mixes up the list for guard duty to prevent anyone building a relationship with those in high-security lockdown. Most guards are given that duty once, maybe twice a year.”
“I’m not hearing good news,” Maeve commented dryly.
“I do have some. I’ve seen an opportunity to return to guard duty.”
“Oh?” Maeve smiled, then caught Cathbad’s sour look. What could be the problem now?
With her one-word encouragement, Ossian continued. “I also picked up part of a conversation about Veronika between two Beladors. One had recently taken his turn at guard duty on her level. He has to check on the inmates once each shift. When he walked past her cell, which is warded and hidden behind a rock wall unless Sen clears access to view her, the guard heard her whisper, ‘I know what your Maistir is hiding.’ The Belador intended to tell his Maistir, but his friend warned that guards weren’t supposed to interact with inmates. He pointed out that Veronika could just be trying to get Beladors in trouble, because she could then lie and say he’d engaged her in conversation. The one who heard the whisper concluded that it would be foolish to repeat. They both agreed to tell the Belador Maistir if they heard her say anything that would matter to him.”
“Have you heard anything else to corroborate this?” Maeve asked.
“Not exactly, but I guarded her high-security level the day Belador Maistir Vladimir Quinn brought the Sterling witch to see Veronika. I couldn’t hear the conversation since I had to remain at the entrance, but just before Quinn and the Sterling witch reached me on their way out, I heard Veronika screaming ‘I know your secret,’ which I reported to you and Cathbad.”
“I recall that, but at the time we expected to have a solid resource on Quinn,” Cathbad noted, referencing the plan for Maeve to use necromancy on Kizira’s body, which they’d lost.
“Exactly, my lord. Quinn looked shaken as he left the secure area. At that time, I thought merely talking to Veronika had rattled him, but now I’m thinking she knows something very important that Quinn wants kept hidden.”
Cathbad crossed his arms and lines formed at the bridge of his nose. A sign he was deep in thought. “This could be useful.”
“Could be?” Maeve asked, wondering how he could take this so lightly. Addressing Ossian, the warlock whom Cathbad had poured majik into for days to make him a one-of-a-kind operative, she asked, “When can you go back to guard that level?”
Cathbad reacted quickly. “Careful, Maeve. I will not lose Ossian after all that I’ve put into creatin’ a polymorph. He is the only one we have who can change his entire physical appearance at will. That was no easy task and every time he alters his appearance it drains him, which is why I told him to stay in his current state.”
Sighing loudly, Maeve said, “When did you become so whiny, druid?”
His face darkened and his power expanded, pushing against her until Cathbad snapped his fingers and vanished.
She released a deep breath, enjoying the lighter air in her domain with him now gone. In fact, having him leave made her next decision that much simpler.
“Now, Ossian, back to what we were discussing. When can you see Veronika again?”
Ossian glanced at the empty spot where Cathbad had been, then shifted his gaze to Maeve. “Tonight.”
Seeing his discomfort, Maeve turned on her own charm and smiled at the young man. “That would be excellent. By the way, you do know that ultimately, you work for me, since I rule this realm. Right?”
“Yes, your highness.”
His quick answer was perfect. The man was not stupid.
She said, “Then you also realize that on occasion I will need you to perform an activity specifically for me and to hold what I tell you in confidence.”
This time, though, he hesitated just a second. “Yes, your majesty, but Cathbad said I should run every mission past him so that he could advise me on any limitations I might have.”
She waved off that comment. “Have you had any problems since becoming a polymorph?”
“No.”
“Then you’re fine. I would not send you to do something I felt you weren’t capable of handling, and I was privy to all the work Cathbad did in recreating you.”
Ossian’s forehead smoothed as his stress lessened. “You make a valid point, my queen.”
She poured a little power into her smile this time. While Ossian might be a polymorph, he was a man underneath all of that. She could sense his desire and spoke in a lusty voice, “I would reward you greatly for a successful mission.”
“I understand, my queen,” he said without a smidgeon of doubt in his words.
That was more to her liking.
“Tell me exactly how you’ll get to Veronika so I can hear if everything sounds safe for you,” she asked, just to make him believe she had his best interest at heart.
“I’ve been waiting for a Belador guard to be chosen who doesn’t have a spouse or family locally. I had to kill the last one whose place I took. I used this Emilio persona to help hunt for his killer, which was never found due to my being given a way to hide my Medb scent.”
“What if VIPER sends you out on a mission as Emilio before you can take the image of the Belador guard?”
“I’ve developed the Emilio identity as a not-so-powerful mage, which means I’m not in demand. Plus, I’ve also managed to annoy Sen to the point he doesn’t call on me often. This allows me a lot of freedom to move around on my own schedule.”
“Nicely done,” she complimented. “Can you reach Veronika to actually speak to her?”
Ossian literally beamed at the sudden attention and became animated with the chance to show his wit. “Sen controls the rock covering her cell and a ward that contains her inside the room. I have an idea how I might access the witch. Even if that doesn’t happen, I can still talk to her, since she clearly whispers through the rock.” He pondered something, then added, “I doubt
she’ll share information unless she’s going to receive something she considers of equal value in return.”
Laughing lightly, Maeve said, “I would be disappointed if she made it that easy. I will give you something she can’t afford to pass up.”
Bowing, Ossian said, “I am ready to carry out your orders.”
Chapter 4
Evalle and Storm’s building in Atlanta, Georgia
Daegan walked through a dark part of the building that held those contraptions they used for traveling. Odd structures. He preferred teleporting. “What day is this?”
Evalle had been leading him through the building. She turned. “Tuesday. Barely. It’s about two in the morning here.”
When she continued on, he ducked his head to enter the space Evalle called a conference room. She had said the room would be suitable for a round-table meeting with five of his closest advisors joining him.
It would be if the table had been a round shape instead of rectangular and the room could expand to double in size.
He’d found people would speak more freely when they were comfortable.
Leaning against a wall on the far side of the room, Storm wore jeans and a black T-shirt, the only thing Daegan had ever seen him in.
Storm spoke. “Hi, Daegan. Welcome to our place.”
“Good to see you back in Atlanta. Thank you for helping our warriors to the north and for providing a place to meet in the city.” Getting a simple nod from the Skinwalker, Daegan eyed the table again, where Adrianna and Tristan sat far apart. Quinn had taken a seat at a corner near where Storm stood.
Evalle had paused on Daegan’s left. She drew his attention when she cleared her throat and politely asked, “Is anything wrong, Daegan?”
To answer honestly would insult her and Storm. He said, “No. Why would you think so?”
After a brief glance in Storm’s direction, she replied, “You’re looking at that table like it might bite you. I know the reasons you prefer a round table, but that shape wouldn’t offer an efficient setup for a business conference space.”
