The Curse (Beladors)

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  That made it easy to spot Quinn’s blue-gray sport coat, black sweater and dark gray pants. Not that his clothes stood out in the chrome and Formica diner so much as did the man inside the window dressing. He could wear rags and still appear out of place sitting in a booth that was upholstered in purple plastic.

  Sliding onto the seat across from him, she waited for the waitress, who came over to take Evalle’s cheeseburger and fries order. Her idea of comfort food.

  With no better way to open the conversation, she asked, “Are you okay? Z said you’d gone away to heal.”

  “Yes, I left rather abruptly, but it was unavoidable.” Quinn’s fingers tapped against a chipped ceramic mug of coffee. “Sorry I was unable to offer assistance when Sen came for you.”

  What had him so edgy? If he felt guilty over that, she could ease his worry. “You couldn’t have stopped them from putting me in a cell.”

  He paused in tapping and opened his hand in a maybe/maybe-not motion.

  “Seriously, Quinn. Macha was the only person who could get me out of that prison, and she did, so it all worked out.” For now. But Evalle wouldn’t burden him with her problems when he seemed to be just getting back on his feet. “Z said you were bad after the mind probe. I’m just glad you’re okay. We missed you. Where were you?”

  Quinn’s lips tilted, a smile slow in coming. He’d always been the one to joke with her, always ready to lift her spirits. “I missed you as well. I would be happy to share where I’ve been, but it’s a place hidden high in the mountains in another country that has been kept secret for more than eight hundred years. They’ve taken me in before when I needed their … gifts. I know I can trust you, but I gave my word to never share the location.”

  She wasn’t insulted. In fact, now she felt better about not being able to tell him where she’d been earlier. “Hey, no problem. I was just curious where someone with a mind like yours went for a tune-up.” Her joke fell flat.

  She couldn’t put her finger on why things were weird between them when they’d always been comfortable in each other’s company. Now would be the time and place to ask Quinn about Kizira, but Evalle couldn’t make herself bring it up yet.

  No reason to rush.

  She picked at a loose thread on her jeans and couldn’t figure out where to look. To get the conversation moving, she switched to a subject that should be easier. “Any word on the Svart trolls?”

  “Yes. Tzader asked me to catch you up.” Quinn paused as the waitress served Evalle, then he hit the high points with his usual precise way of speaking.

  She noticed how his attention flitted between the coffee mug and the edge of the plastic menu he picked at with his thumbnail.

  The imperturbable Quinn nervous?

  No way. She opened her empathic senses just enough to get some read on him. The first feedback surprised her. Why would Quinn be feeling distressed? The next sensation she picked up hurt her heart.

  Quinn was sad.

  So not like him.

  He finished his rundown on the Svarts by saying, “Sen has made it abundantly clear that he expects us to find a way to deal with the trolls without constantly calling him.”

  “As if we want to call him? What does he expect us to do?”

  “Sen offered no remedy, but Tzader has an idea. He thinks if we could acquire a weapon that would kill trolls and other nonhumans in a way that doesn’t harm humans or expose our activity to them, we wouldn’t have to call on Sen so often. A weapon that could be used at close range.”

  “There’s only one person who might have that.”

  Quinn lowered his voice even though the closest patron was some poor old homeless guy six booths away who had nodded off. “We know. Isak Nyght.”

  “The problem with that is keeping Isak out of our way the minute he catches wind of any nonhuman activity.”

  “Exactly.” Quinn stopped fingering his coffee mug and studied her now. “We thought you could ask Isak.”

  Evalle had finished all she could eat and tossed the paper napkin on top of her plate, then shoved it away. “He’ll be suspicious if I ask.”

  “Not if you tell him you want it for your own protection. Based upon his interest in you, I believe he would loan you a weapon.”

  Now she got it. “You want me to play the girl card? Are you serious?”

  That got a smile out of Quinn. “You make it sound as though you aren’t equipped for such a mission.”

  “Oh, sure. But that’s like using a car built from scrap parts to chauffeur the governor around.”

  “You discount your appeal, Evalle.”

  “No, I’m a realist. I have no idea how to flirt and you know that.”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary. Isak Nyght took an interest in you the first time he found you with a demon. Do you look any different now than you did then?”

  “No.” She’d even shared a meal with Isak wearing clothes ripped from battle, bruises on her arms and her hair askew. But that was the best a man could expect when he sent an armed team to snatch her off the street just to have dinner with him.

  “Unless … you’re concerned about exposing your identity to Isak. I won’t agree to anything that puts you at that type of risk.”

  She waved that off with a flip of her hand. “Nah. We seem to be past his wanting me to take off my sunglasses. As long as I keep these on, he has no reason to suspect I’m an Alterant.”

  Quinn was right. Isak had taken an interest in her, one that might come back to bite her someday, but he’d made it clear in the past that she could come to him if she ever needed help with a threat. This should count. “I’ll do it, but I’m surprised Tzader’s going along with me seeing Isak.”

  “It took some convincing to persuade our overprotective friend.” When she grinned, Quinn continued. “He balked when I suggested you as the best choice to approach Isak, but he finally agreed.”

  Should she feel proud that Quinn believed in her ability to gain a weapon they desperately needed, or suspicious of a secret ulterior motive because of what Kizira had said? Why can’t that witch stay out of my world? I trust Quinn. Period.

  Quinn must have taken her silence as concern. “If you’d prefer, I could accompany you.”

  She’d love to have Quinn or Tzader with her, but Isak had acted territorial around her in the past, so she’d be better off going alone. “Thanks, but I’d have to spend more time explaining you than getting the weapon.”

  “As you wish.” Quinn eyed his watch, some elegant piece of Swiss craftsmanship. He’d lost that moment of cheerfulness and turned quiet again. “I don’t want to rush you, but you have only a half hour to reach your apartment.”

  She had a five-minute drive, but Quinn could be just as overprotective as Tzader in his own way. Standing, she reached for her money, but Quinn tossed down more than enough for the meal and tip, saying, “I’ve got this one.”

  She generally balked at his picking up the tab, which would turn into good-natured bantering by the time they reached the sidewalk. But the air between them had cooled in the last minute, once again riddled with a strange discomfort. Am I acting paranoid around Quinn or is he being overly careful around me?

  She still hadn’t asked Quinn about Kizira.

  When they walked outside, the air carried the crisp chill of early autumn. Great for wearing full riding gear. Quinn walked with her to where Evalle had parked her bike at the corner. When she stopped a few short feet away, they both seemed to hesitate to say good-bye.

  Her chest would never stop aching if she didn’t get this said. “I need to ask you something, Quinn.”

  “Sure. What about?”

  “It’s about back when the sentient fog was coming through Atlanta, before you left to go heal.”

  “Go on.” Quinn had turned away from the streetlight with half of his face lost in a dark shadow. His posture stiffened.

  Nobody liked to relive hellish memories, and that probe must have been pretty rough to send Quin
n into hiding to repair his mind.

  Her throat tightened against the words. She hated questioning her friend, but she couldn’t take another day inside her head with this. “Did you … uh, run into Kizira anywhere during that time?”

  “No.”

  His decisive answer gave her a rush of relief for a moment, but her empathic sense picked up something out of sync—that Quinn was uncomfortable. Why?

  Maybe she hadn’t been specific enough.

  Better to get this done all at once, like ripping off a Band-Aid. She scratched her hair, knocking her pony-tail loose in the back. “So there’s no way you would have told Kizira that she could find me with Tristan that day?”

  “No.” He stared off into the darkness for a moment, then must have decided they were finished. “You should go before it gets any closer to daylight. I’ll see you later.” He turned and walked away.

  She couldn’t fault him for the cold tone or quick retreat. She’d be insulted, too, if their roles had been reversed and he’d questioned her loyalty to him.

  What she didn’t understand was the wild whip of anxiety she’d picked up from Quinn as he left. It contradicted his stiff answers.

  But he had answered her.

  Maybe everything would make more sense once she caught up on sleep. She hadn’t seen her bed in two days. Reaching for her helmet hooked on the mirror of her bike, she paused. Unease skittered over her skin. Someone approached from behind.

  Evalle swung around, prepared to face a threat. And it was, but only to her heart. She crossed her arms. “Stalking me is dangerous, Storm.”

  Although she sort of liked that he’d come searching for her.

  “Not as dangerous as the other things stalking the city tonight. You’d know if you’d been in the city since midnight.”

  Had he been looking for her since then? But that didn’t explain his finding her here. “How did you know where I’d be right now?”

  “I didn’t. I was in this area for another reason.”

  Oh. So he hadn’t come looking for her.

  She kept her chin up and squashed her disappointment. She’d already made a fool of herself earlier by getting annoyed about Adrianna. “I did leave the city for a bit. Had some business to take care of. Why are you still out and about?”

  “I had some time to burn.”

  He should be burning that time at home in bed. His eyes had a dark, hollow look. The urge to fuss over him snuck up on Evalle … and reminded her how Adrianna had spent weeks fussing over him as his nurse. She had to let that go. That discussion had been seven hours ago.

  A long seven hours. Amazing how exhaustion took the edge off her hurt, and anyway, the hurt hadn’t been Storm’s fault. He shouldn’t be blamed for her insecurities. “What have you been doing tonight?”

  “Talking to Nightstalkers for one thing.”

  “About what?”

  “The gang battles.”

  “Did you find out anything?”

  “Few things. That’s why I ended up tracking something to this spot.”

  He’d been using his ability to track nonhumans. The same way he’d found her in South America when no one else could. He’d defied Tribunal orders to come after her.

  Her tired mind immediately tallied points in his favor for that—points to wipe out any lingering irritation over the whole Adrianna issue. “What were you tracking?”

  “I picked up a Svart scent from the cemetery where you fought.”

  Why had he done that? “VIPER doesn’t even know you’re back yet and you don’t owe them anything. You should be home resting and not risk being seen.”

  He closed the distance between them, never moving his flint-hard gaze from hers. His chest rose and fell sharply in time with the slow blink of his eyes. Muscles along his jaw tensed and flexed until he released a hiss of air and sighed. “I can’t rest. Not when I’m worried about you.”

  She caught herself before she sighed, but her lips slipped into a smile. How was it when she thought she’d never let a man touch her skin, much less her heart, that Storm had found the route? A twisted and rutted path, and one that required the steel will of a man like Storm to navigate. She was touched by his concern but didn’t want to encourage him to stay on his feet when he didn’t appear fully recovered.

  She said, “We both know I can take care of myself.”

  “From what I’m hearing, these Svarts are not to be underestimated. The one I tracked left the cemetery, then went to where I met you by your bike, then I caught a similar scent not far from here, in the area of your apartment. I picked up yet another Svart scent that led me here, then it vanished. I think these trolls might be looking for you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “I don’t know. I just have a feeling I’m right.”

  She had yet to learn everything about Storm, and with his unusual heritage she respected his gift, but a Svart looking for her? “I can’t come up with one reason why a Svart would be searching for me. Probably just a matter of them covering a lot of ground in the city that crossed with my movements.”

  “I knew you’d come up with some excuse instead of realizing you shouldn’t be running around alone right now.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You don’t have to fight every battle by yourself.” He touched her hair, lightly running a finger down the side until his hand stopped on her shoulder.

  She wished he’d pull her to him and kiss her again.

  He asked, “Where have you been?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  His hand slid off her shoulder to hang at his side. “Now who’s keeping secrets?”

  “It’s not like that. I had something to do for the Beladors.”

  His face closed down, guarded again. “You take backup?”

  “Not for this.”

  “It’s not safe for you.”

  “Since when has it ever been safe in our world?” she asked with a grim smile. “I fight demons and trolls and whatever else shows up to threaten humans. That’s my job.”

  “Svart trolls are more deadly than demons and local trolls. Plus there’s been another gang battle since I saw you.”

  “How did you know about—” Evalle’s heart frosted over at the realization that only one other VIPER agent would have told Storm anything. She kept her voice free of a jealous tinge, but just saying the witch’s name caused her to grind her back teeth. “Did Adrianna tell you?”

  Storm shook his head slowly. “I’ve gone home. She doesn’t know where I live.”

  So where had Adrianna and Storm been when she was taking care of him if not at his apartment, house, hut … whatever? Evalle shielded her momentary relief at that small confession, until she realized she didn’t know where he lived either.

  But Storm had said he’d put that in the e-mail draft for her so she could come to dinner. Had he done that yet? Evalle pushed her tired mind back to business. “So where’d you get that information on the gang battles?”

  “From your Nightstalker buddy.”

  “Grady?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m not surprised he knows about the Svarts.” Evalle yawned. “I need to get going. Sunrise is coming.”

  “You’ve got eighteen minutes to make a mile on your street jet.”

  She gave him a wan smile. “That gives me sixteen more minutes of sleep if I leave right now.”

  “I can think of a better use for those sixteen minutes.”

  “Oh? How would you use them?” She smiled, enjoying a warm glow from his flirting.

  “Proving how wrong you are about Adrianna.”

  Adrianna? Evalle lost the warm glow. She didn’t want to listen while Storm painted the witch as someone only concerned with his health. Men would never see Adrianna the way women saw her.

  Just when Evalle thought she’d put this unexpected jealousy to bed, the green-eyed devil reared its ugly head. “No.”

  TWELVE

  Evalle pinned Storm with a look that
should warn him his health could soon be in jeopardy again and said, “I’m not wasting my time or breath discussing Adrianna.”

  Storm put a hand on her arm and leaned down, nose to nose with her. “You are the most thickheaded female I’ve ever met.”

  “Not winning any points right now, Storm.” She pulled on her arm, not enough to break his hold. Just to make a point. “Let go of me if you don’t want to land on your butt on the other side of the street.”

  “Sixty seconds.”

  “For what?”

  “To prove—”

  She huffed. “I got it. Adrianna did you a favor. Nothing to discuss.”

  “You may be trying to believe that but you don’t. I can’t stand knowing every time you see Adrianna you’re going to be hurt all over again.”

  See? Things like that made her heart wiggle. “If I’m hurt, it’s my problem to deal with. I believe what you told me.”

  “But you’re still bothered about Adrianna.”

  She hated to admit he’d hit that nail dead center, but she couldn’t deny the truth. Angling her chin in challenge, she said, “Okay, I’ll give you sixty seconds—”

  He had her in his arms, kissing her before she realized he’d moved.

  Her righteous anger over Adrianna, which had festered since last night, tumbled beneath the onslaught of emotions crashing through her.

  She had the backbone of a caterpillar when Storm touched her. He held her close, secure in his arms.

  She’d missed everything about him in the past few weeks. Missed the way he took her in stride, accepting her as she was. Missed his voice, which whispered across her skin. And most definitely missed the way his mouth felt against hers right now, teasing and nipping.

  Heat zinged through her core, spinning tornadoes of excitement everywhere and shocking her skin, coiling deep inside until she murmured against his lips.

  He smiled, never slowing the kiss that said so much.

  Much more than sixty hours of talking could accomplish.

  She tasted his sincerity, knew by the way his heart slammed with each beat that she mattered to him.

  Blood barreled through her own heart, forcing the organ to feel alive after years of being an iceberg, frozen by terror. Another man had sent her into emotional lockdown as a teen.