"Is it getting worse?" Say no.
"Yes."
He had to put this in a context that would matter to Macha. "If Brina continues to lose her memories, where does that leave the future of the Beladors?"
Macha didn't answer, so Tzader suggested, "If Brina forgets entirely about what we had, she might choose Allyn, but I doubt that based on her reaction to him." Good thing. Tzader would rather not kill a castle guard. "Then what? Will you parade men in front of her until she chooses one? Can you insure her happiness for the rest of her life and guarantee the man she marries will be happy as a prisoner on this island?"
Macha actually flinched at that but they both knew she had no argument.
Tzader pressed on. "Will Brina and this unknown man's children care about continuing the Treoir dynasty and maintaining the Belador power base?" He paused, allowing that to sink in. "I have lived in the human world long enough to know what's out there. I have no oats to sow, because my world is here, with Brina. I will be content to live on this island and raise our children here. I will teach them about duty and honor, then once they're old enough, Brina and I will show them the world one at a time so that a Treoir is always here and the Belador power will continue to be strong. Tell me you can find a man to Brina's liking who will be that husband, and stand beside her to rule over the Beladors."
The goddess remained silent and thoughtful longer than at any time Tzader could recall in the past.
When she answered him, it was with resignation. "I shall allow Quinn to take your place until Brina's memories either return fully and she accepts you for marriage or she is incapable of recognizing you. If the day comes that she no longer knows you, then I expect you to step aside while she chooses a husband, because her duty is to procreate and my duty is to insure the future of the Beladors. Do you agree to those terms?"
Did he have a choice? "I'll agree as long as you don't interfere."
She huffed a sarcastic chuckle. "As much as you may believe differently, I do not interfere to amuse myself. I have enough to do with watching over our Beladors worldwide. I have interfered only for the greater good and I will do so again if I feel that cause is at risk."
Clearly, Brina's happiness was not part of the greater good, but Tzader had gained Macha's consent to stay here, which was the first step in his plan. He asked, "Will you allow Lanna to remain?"
"As long as she does not become a problem."
"She won't."
"You say that as if you have any control over someone with her level of powers who is also untrained. She will create havoc for you, which is fine as long as it doesn't disrupt my castle." With that parting warning, Macha vanished.
Tzader continued to the solarium, anxious to see Brina again. He'd spent four years standing on one side of an invisible wall, with her on the other.
Only one wall separated them now.
Brina's lack of memories.
When he strode into the room, Lanna sat next to Brina on the window seat where light filtered in through the leaded glass.
Lanna smiled and Brina seemed pleased to see her.
Tzader enjoyed a moment of pride over doing something that made Brina happy.
As he approached, Lanna looked up and her eyes turned wary. What was that all about?"
Brina lifted her head and studied his face with mild interest.
He'd never been nervous, but seeing Brina now took him back to the first time he'd met her and lost his heart when she smiled at him. He'd out-fought men older and more experienced than he was, and had spent time in the human world with his father for years, but nothing had struck him mute like Brina's smile.
She stood and Lanna jumped up, saying, "It's good to see you, Tzader."
Why was Lanna acting as if she'd just realized he was here, when they'd walked over from Garwyli's private quarters together?
Brina's lips curved up and the tight muscles in Tzader's chest relaxed until she extended her hand and said, "It's nice to meet you."
Chapter 37
Evalle rolled over to answer as the phone played the loud, obnoxious default tune from an unknown number. She reached for her cell phone, but her attention snagged on the empty spot beside her where Storm should be.
She answered, "What?"
"This is Rowan. I need help."
Evalle sat up, shoving hair out of her eyes. Why had she slept so hard again?
Storm must have used majik to influence her sleep. That had to be the only answer. She'd felt him crawl into bed and curl his body around hers.
"Are you there, Evalle?"
Shaking off the grogginess, Evalle said, "Yes, I'm just trying to wake up. What time is it?"
"Half past two."
"What?" That had to be two in the afternoon again. "We found Veronika last night."
"Adrianna called and told me."
Since Rowan knew the details, Evalle moved on. "Veronika says she's going to some secret place for the eclipse so we have no way to find her or stop her."
"You're right. All we can do is prepare for the battle once she shows up with her new powers. That's why I called you. I just heard that Coven Nikoleta--that's the band of solitary witches--has rallied their supporters and told them to meet in Newnan to decide who will lead all witches."
"They have a right to meet, don't they?" Evalle walked to the bathroom and washed her face with her free hand to clear out the cobwebs.
"Of course they do, but their meeting is set to coincide with the eclipse. Hermia has waited until the last minute to send out a message that Witchlock will be their salvation."
Now Evalle got the panic in Rowan's voice. "Oh, crap."
"Exactly. This can't be a coincidence with Veronika in Atlanta."
"I've seen someone she turned into one of her robotic minions, Rowan. Veronika might have done that to Hermia."
"If Veronika is behind this, Hermia and her coven of over two hundred will be her first victory, because Hermia is calling them all into one spot. It will be a slaughter. Hermia is young and mouthy, but she's got raw, impressive power that will be dangerous in the wrong hands. I'd hoped to create the council first then bring Hermia in to discuss a position on the council as my intern so I could show her the benefit of encouraging her followers to break into normal sized covens that would have their own leadership, then have them each send a representative when it was time for a new vote, but she's power hungry. She's taking advantage of so many young witches by turning them against what she calls the outdated old order."
Evalle estimated Rowan as being in her early thirties at the oldest. If so, Rowan was far from old, but she had a point.
"What do you want to do?" Evalle hunted for her shirt and jeans, tossing them on the bed.
"I called off the council meeting, because there is no time for that right now. I've asked the ruling witches of all the other covens supporting the council to join me in trying to disperse Hermia's group. We have no idea how far away Veronika will be, but if Hermia is already in league with Veronika, then she will hold them until Veronika arrives. Our best bet is to break up the gathering and get as many of them out of that valley as possible."
Evalle kept getting dressed with the phone under her chin, hopping on one foot, pulling on her jeans. "I can call Quinn and have him--"
"No. If you bring in the Beladors, you open the door for Sen to join us because it involves witches, which means it's not a purely Belador issue. You don't want to give Veronika a chance to get her hands on Quinn, especially."
"I told Quinn about finding Veronika last night."
"That's fine, because he needs to know, but knowing and facing her are two different things. Plus, as the Belador Maistir, Quinn must uphold the Belador agreement with VIPER, which would involve alerting Sen about Hermia's meeting. Sen's so unpredictable that he's the last person we want anywhere around this bunch. I don't trust him and I'm not sure he isn't in league with the Medb after what happened with you and the Tribunal over that demon body."
She had a point, but it limited Evalle's choices. "Can we bring in Lucien?"
"No. He only agreed to be security at the council meeting because I would have been in charge and there would have been fewer than twenty people there. He wouldn't have had to interact with any of them, because he knows I'm more powerful. Having him close by was to prevent Hermia from crashing our vote, but hundreds of witches? Lucien hates witches in a way that even I don't understand."
"He doesn't hate you." The words were out before Evalle could stop them.
"Uhm, Lucien and I have an understanding, but he really avoids anything to do with witches as a rule, and if one provokes him I'm not sure how he'd react. He's a lot more powerful than any of you realize."
That didn't surprise Evalle. She'd wondered about Lucien for a long time and respected Rowan's opinion enough to let that go. "Can Trey help?"
"Yes. He understands why he can't get near Veronika and why it would be disastrous for the Beladors if Quinn and the others showed up. You can't get near her either," Rowan warned.
Evalle had no interest in being turned into a winged pet for Veronika. "I'll get in touch with Storm and see if--"
"Trey moved Sasha and their baby to a bunker I warded in advance just in case this happened. I can't stop Trey from coming, because he's family, but he won't call in other Beladors. There's no way they can fight this unless Macha shows, and Quinn said Macha will not leave Brina unprotected."
That was true. If Macha left Treoir and Brina was taken again or killed, that would destroy the Belador power base.
Rowan continued, "Trey told me that Quinn asked Storm to help them scout areas that Veronika might be using close to the city. Storm said he consulted a shaman in town who told Storm that he would receive a sign of where to find Veronika."
Evalle had just sat down to pull on her socks when a piece of paper caught her eye. "Hold on a sec."
She lifted a note off the nightstand that repeated what Rowan had just said, plus: I didn't want to wake you. Call me when you get up. I know it's been strained between us, but for today, please be careful. I need to know you're safe. I need your love. I need you.
Her heart did a crazy gymnastics workout in her chest.
Evalle clutched the paper in one hand and the phone in her other. "I'll meet you, plus I'll call Storm, but what about Adrianna being there?"
"I'm good with Adrianna, but keep her out of view because the rest of our covens want nothing to do with a Sterling witch. If she'd agreed to meet with us, I had hoped to change their opinion of her, but she didn't."
Evalle understood Rowan's frustration, but had to hang up soon and get dressed. "Okay, that gives us Trey, maybe Adrianna, Storm and me." If she could find Storm and convince Adrianna. "Give me the address and I'll be on the way as soon as I can."
"Thanks."
Clothes on, hair brushed into a ponytail and backup boots buckled, Evalle picked up her phone and texted Storm: Where are you?
Storm: At Kennesaw National Battlefield with a shaman who's trying to help us find Veronika.
Evalle: Rowan needs help with a coven meeting. Can you meet me there?
The phone rang and she hit the talk button. "What, Storm?"
"Why do you have to go?"
"Because they need help in case it gets out of hand. Rowan has a rogue group of two hundred witches claiming they're all in one coven. They'll be sitting ducks for Veronika the minute the eclipse is finished and she shows up to start collecting minions."
"That's what I figured. Stay home and let me-"
"No." She didn't snap or yell. She calmly drew her line for this relationship. "I'm never going to be the person who stands on the sidelines to cheer the team. I have to be on the team and playing. I don't want anything to happen to you either, but I could never stop you from doing what you believe is right. That's just one thing I love about you. I have to do what I believe is right. I just told Rowan I was going, Storm. Now I'm telling you I'm going. I only called to see if you could help."
His silence televised his frustration. Finally he said, "I'll pick you up."
"You're twenty miles northwest of the city and the address is southwest in Newnan. It'll be faster for you to go straight there and for me to meet you."
More silence.
She had her own share of frustration. "What time did you come home?" She slapped her head. She had to get a grip on her mouth.
"Just after four."
She'd opened this Pandora's box, so ... "When'd you leave?"
"Six."
"Did you use majik on me?"
"You were exhausted and you haven't slept well or for more than an hour or two at a time unless..." He stopped and asked, "Did you get my note?"
"Yes. I loved your note. I just feel like my life is out of control right now and I ... want that life with you."
"I want that, too, sweetheart. I've been doing this all wrong. There's so much I want to tell you and I will once we finish with Rowan. I don't care if the Kraken crawls out of the swamp. Once we're out of this meeting, they'll have to fight it without us."
"Deal." Then she remembered to tell him, "I haven't had a chance to tell you what happened last night."
"Quinn gave me bullet points and that's why I hope this works with the shaman."
"What's he doing?"
"Right now? Staring at the sky."
Oh, boy. "I was hoping for something a little more active and deadly-sounding."
Storm huffed in amusement. "Doesn't always work like that. He told me I'd have a sign that would point me to Veronika. I'm leaving one of Quinn's Beladors with him. They'll call me with any updates."
"He can't do any worse than the rest of us and we're having as much luck as asking a Magic 8-Ball."
"I'll meet you and we'll help Rowan disperse her witches. Let's get through that and we'll figure the rest out from there. Okay?"
He was trying to reassure her. She stood. "Okay. I'll text you the address when I hang up and then I'm heading out."
"Be careful. I love you, sweetheart."
Her throat constricted. She knew he loved her, but she hadn't been doing a very good job of loving him back. "I love you, too," she whispered.
"Please don't try to get yourself killed."
"I won't." Evalle hung up, typed the address for Storm and had just hit send when a new text popped up from Adrianna: I heard about the Idiot Convention in Newnan. I'm going.
Evalle: I was about to text you. Rowan wants to disperse the crowd and needs help, but why are you going?
Adrianna: V will show for that chum line of power. If it's too late to stop her before she takes on W, then we have one last chance if we catch her during the first hours of having Witchlock. If she's arrogant enough to show that soon, we'll have to try to stop her. Every day she'll get stronger.
Evalle: I wonder if Isak could get a fix on her location.
Adrianna: No. Just talked to him. He's not happy he can't find her.
No one had sighted Veronika after last night's encounter. If Isak couldn't pin her down with his CIA level surveillance, it was a fair bet that nobody could.
Evalle: I'm heading out now.
Adrianna: I'm at Colony Square. Want to ride shotgun?
Air conditioning? Sold.
Evalle: Pick me up at Five Points in ten.
She shoved the phone in her pocket and grabbed her full-body riding suit, then hesitated.
With Quinn coordinating the search effort, he'd be doing it from the center of town, which would keep him away from Newnan.
If this went badly, surely Macha would pull Quinn into Treoir with her most prized Beladors.
Quinn and Tzader would take care of Feenix.
Chapter 38
Quinn searched the lawn at Piedmont Park for any sign of Medb, but all he found were runners, dogs playing catch, a toddler practicing a wobbly walk and lots of sunbathing on an unusually warm day for November.
This was a prime spot for watching the eclipse, but if Veronika w
anted a secret place, this massive in-town park was not it. Still, he'd rather walk a section of the grid he'd laid out for his warriors than sit somewhere and wait for reports.
A woman in her late twenties sat cross-legged on a blanket with a little girl of seven or eight, along with bottled water and snacks. The mother held two sheets of letter-size paper, one above the other, and explained something.
He'd bet she had a hole in one sheet and was showing her child how they'd watch the solar eclipse expected in about ninety minutes.
Watching them together sent his thoughts to Phoedra.
Had someone shown his daughter how to watch an eclipse?
Swallowing hard, he kept moving when he should be home in bed, but sleep brought on nightmares. He rubbed his head, which now ached constantly. This bloody headache had started yesterday and he was ready to cut his own head off.
When he handed off this route to another Belador in thirty minutes, he'd go see the druids at headquarters. One of them could ease the pain, then they'd chew on him about getting decent rest, which he'd promise.
Maybe he could convince one of them to put him into deep sleep for ten minutes and then pull him out.
He kept rubbing his head and stumbled over a rise in the ground. He blinked to clear his vision. What was he doing on this side of the field and not back over on the sidewalk?
Quinn turned slowly, taking in the drop-off that led to the underpass beneath a bridge on the north side of the park
Red flashed into view.
There and gone, disappearing behind tall evergreens.
Evalle had told him about Veronika's red robe, and he'd known immediately that the woman in red he'd seen the other night was the KievRus witch. Not Kizira.
His pain had made him vulnerable, and he'd almost succumbed to Veronika's impressive powers of illusion, but according to all intel, Veronika should not have been in Atlanta at that point. He'd dismissed the possibility, and that was his failing. He'd had no idea who he'd been facing.
If he'd thought sharing that debacle with anyone would help this hunt, he'd have laid his soul bare for being vulnerable to that illusion of Kizira, but that would almost certainly remove him from the position of Maistir and force Tzader back home, for no good reason, when all the Beladors needed Tzader there with the Warrior Queen.
He'd seen flashes of a red robe a few times since then, but when he'd raised his energy shields and gone to check, Veronika hadn't been there. Of all people, Quinn knew the power of majik residue and the tricks it could play on the mind. He walked forward just to prove to himself there was no red robe here this time either. Veronika would not make it that easy to find her.
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