Alterant (Belador #2)(39)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

“That doesn’t narrow it down much and, unless you can teleport again, we can’t follow him.”

“I don’t think we need to teleport. Tristan’s power isn’t constant. He has to regenerate after drawing heavily on it. The battle with Kizira weakened him.”

Storm let his gaze slip past her to keep an eye out for threats. “You think he couldn’t get the other two out of the maze?”

“No, I think he did get them out, but that he can’t just jump again. He can only teleport one person at a time, and it takes a toll on him. Also, he would want to avoid the fog. I think he may use the subway to transport all three of them to Decatur. If that’s the case, you could track them from the MARTA station where they exit.”

Storm would have to shift into his jaguar for any hope of carrying a scent in this rain. “How far ahead of us do you think he is?”

“Maybe not that much. The other two Alterants were shifting back into human form when Tristan teleported me out. He still has to get them out and dressed in clothes, then onto a train. Plus, they have to change trains in town.”

“You sure enough to go to Decatur?”

“I don’t have another idea and no time left with VIPER hunting us and this fog expanding.”

“What specifically happens when you’re out of time?”

“They’ll send Sen for me. The Tribunal turned an hourglass over. When the last sand runs out, the hourglass will lead Sen to me.”

How was he going to get her somewhere safe from that? He couldn’t, but if they found that pack of Alterants, the Tribunal would have to let her go, according to their ruling. “How far is Decatur?”

Thunder boomed. The rain pounded harder.

Evalle grimaced. “In this weather, maybe twenty minutes if traffic doesn’t bog down to a stop, but it shouldn’t be too bad this late at night.”

He gave her a look that suggested she’d forgotten how bad traffic could be anytime in Atlanta, especially when it rained.

“Traffic was nil when I came through. Kizira said the fog was going to continue to expand.”

“That confirms VIPER’s suspicion that the Medb are behind the fog.”

“If they know that, why aren’t they stopping it?”

“I don’t know. Wonder if the rain will help?”

“I doubt rain will make a difference. In fact …” She looked at him, then down, as her voice trailed off.

In spite of lecturing himself about keeping his distance, he couldn’t feel all that distress coming from Evalle and not touch her. He put a finger under her chin and lifted until their gazes met. “What’s worrying you?”

She tried to sound cavalier, but concern bored deep into her voice. “You mean besides not showing up with three Alterants, trying to make sure the two I might take in get a fair deal if I do talk them into it, or the end of the world in general?”

“What’s worrying you about me?”

“That the fog might cause you to lose control of your jaguar.”

Should he tell her why his jaguar wouldn’t hurt her? That he’d marked her with his scent before the Tribunal meeting so that he could find her? “I know my jaguar won’t harm you. If I lose control … let’s just say you should have enough power to stop me.” Only because he’d never fight her. “And I won’t blame you.”

“I would never …”

“Kill me?” Storm finished. “You will if you have to.”

“No, I couldn’t.”

He would do whatever he could to prevent putting her in that position, but she would do the right thing no matter what. He knew that. “Time to go hunt.”

She chewed on her lip, indecision weighing her down until she finally gave up. “I know it’s raining, but we should take my bike instead of your truck. Glad you brought this.” She zipped up the gray rain jacket he’d had in his vehicle.

A frisson of worry fingered up his spine at the idea of her exposed on the Gixxer, and he wasn’t thinking about rain. Some threat hovered around her that he couldn’t pin down. “Don’t you need a vehicle for transporting the Alterants if you get them?”

“The Tribunal gave me no instructions on how to bring in the Alterants.”

“They expect you to just wait somewhere once you have them in hand?”

“Actually, I don’t think the Tribunal expected me to deliver the missing Alterants, but I have a plan. Once I have the Alterants ready to go in with me, I’ll have you contact Tzader and he’ll send Brina. She’ll work out the details with the Tribunal.”

He kept his attention divided between watching Evalle and any threat. “If VIPER doesn’t spot us first. We need to get out of here before someone does recognize either one of us.”

“That’s why I said to take my bike. I bet they already have your sport ute under surveillance. I painted my bike black and altered the tag. With us riding two up, I won’t be as obvious.”

“Okay.”

“But I don’t have a helmet for you, and you have to ride behind me.”

He wouldn’t let her ride on the back without full-body armor to protect her anyhow. “I don’t mind hugging up close to you.”

She pushed her soft eyebrow up in a smartass way that relieved some of his guilt from earlier. He didn’t worry about her anytime she dropped into cocky mode. “How does you hugging close to me negate the lack of a helmet?”

Storm gave her a half smile. “You really think a cop wants to stop a bike in this downpour? And we still have a couple hours until daylight. We’re both in dark colors. If I pull up my hood, they may not even notice.”

Her eyes took note of his head and shoulders. “If we wreck you won’t live through it without a helmet.”

He leaned down and kissed her quickly on the forehead. “Then don’t wreck. Let’s get moving.”

THIRTY-THREE

Evalle cruised her motorcycle into Decatur and located the city parking deck close to the MARTA station Tristan would have exited from if he had come this way. She was betting heavily on guessing right. Evalle found a corner spot and climbed off. Removing her helmet, she swiped wet hair off her face.

Storm couldn’t have been any more soaked if she’d dumped him in a lake. When he pushed the hood off his head, wet black hair clung to his neck. He stuck his cell phone in her tank bag, then peeled off his soaked hoodie, wrung out the water and started using the jacket as a towel.

Using both hands, he wiped water and damp hair off his face. “Let’s go.”

“Storm, if I ask you to back off and stay out of sight, will you?”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“I don’t want you caught or shot.” She’d seen what Isak’s demon blaster could do to an enormous demon. Storm wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Let me worry about that.”

“No, I need this promise from you or you can’t help me.”

“We can talk or we can track.”

She crossed her arms and said nothing.

He scowled and uttered something in a strange language. She didn’t need a translator to interpret pissed off, but she wasn’t budging without his agreement.

Storm said, “Okay, okay. I promise. Now let’s go.”

No one loitered on the sidewalks running along the front of eclectic retail shops and restaurants between the parking deck and the MARTA station. That still didn’t lower her anxiety when they reached the subway station and Storm stepped behind bushes to strip down and shift.

The black jaguar emerged, blending into the obsidian night except when he turned bright yellow eyes on her. He stalked around the station for a minute, sniffed one spot twice, then turned to Evalle.

She asked, “Got it?”

He gave a nod and took off along McDonough Street with her right behind.

Storm hung close to the walls. When he reached an older neighborhood surrounded by woods, he padded up to a two-level brick apartment building. Judging by the simple window and door trims thick with paint, the structure had probably been new in the ‘80s.

Evalle waited at a spot where she could see both entrances to the apartments while Storm searched around the building. When he headed back to her, he nodded.

The Alterants were here.

But the real confirmation had just stepped out from the far entrance behind Storm.

Tristan held an umbrella for a young woman he had his arm around. She had brown hair—nothing like his blond locks—and wore hers in crazy curls piled on her head. When she lifted her head, Evalle saw a blink of bright green eyes. Neither Tristan nor his sister had Evalle’s night-vision eyesight, or they’d have been wearing sunglasses to hide their eyes in the dark.

Evalle waved Storm off to the left before he reached her. He could meld into the dark pocket of thick bushes surrounding the corner of the building.

When he hesitated, she mouthed the words, You promised.

Storm conceded and backed into the dark, watching.

She called out to Tristan when he got within twenty feet of her. “Don’t be a fool thinking VIPER will not get you.”

His head jerked up, green eyes shining in the night. He shoved his sister behind him. “Get out of my way, Evalle.”

“I can’t go back empty-handed, and you have nowhere to run. Stand and fight with me, just like I did with you today.”

He handed the umbrella around to his sister. “You’re wrong. I can take us far away from here to live safe.”

“The only way you could do that is by flying, and I heard people in the subway station talking about Harts-field being covered with the fog.” Big lie, but he wouldn’t know that.

Tristan’s sister stepped up beside him with a hand on her hip. “That’s just bullshit.”

He scowled at her.

Evalle looked his sister over. An attractive young woman, if someone liked petite and mouthy. “I guess you’re Petrina.”

The young woman gave her a duh look. “I guess you’re the ass-wipe that wants to use us to buy your freedom.”

Snotty little twit. Evalle ignored her. Tristan drove the decisions for his group. “The Tribunal will give Sen freedom to hunt you himself. His philosophy is the only good Alterant is one that is never seen again. And that doesn’t even take into account the Nyght Raiders.”

“Who?” Tristan asked.

“A black-ops group run by a man who lost his best friend to an Alterant. They’ve had a kill-on-sight policy for much longer than VIPER. You’re putting your sister and the other two at more risk than you realize.” She looked around. “Where are those two?”

Petrina started to mouth off again, but Tristan squeezed her. He said, “They’re busy.”

Evalle changed her tactic. “You can risk your life and your sister’s, but it’s unfair to jeopardize Webster’s and Aaron’s without giving them a chance to have their say.”

Tristan snapped at Evalle, “You’re holding me up. Move aside. We’re leaving.”

“When we were in the maze, you said you’d share information and help me once your sister was safe.”

“She’s not safe yet.”

“Neither of you will ever be if you don’t work with me.”

Indecision finally entered Tristan’s face.

Evalle jumped on her opening. “Let me at least take Webster and Aaron with me if they agree. Give me enough information to plead for the three of us. I won’t go anywhere without them, and they’ll be safe from the fog if they’re at VIPER headquarters.”

Maybe Brina could argue that Evalle had brought in two of the three escaped Alterants that were still alive. How could the Tribunal expect Evalle to deliver a dead Alterant?

Petrina said, “She’s lying.”

Evalle shook her head. “You know I’m not, Tristan. I won’t accept freedom unless the Tribunal gives it to all three of us.”

Rain streamed down his face while he debated. He wiped water from his eyes and finally said, “If Webster and Aaron agree to go—”

Petrina grabbed his arm. “No!”

He gave her a hard look that silenced her, then finished saying, “You’re right. I can’t make that choice for them. If they agree to go with you, then I’ll tell you enough to support your case, but if I find out you’ve lied to me at any time, I’ll make you regret using them for as long as you live.”

The weight she’d been toting on her back for days lost a few pounds.

Petrina’s gaze shifted to her right, where Webster and Aaron came walking up from across the street.

“Hi, Evalle,” Webster called, grinning.

“Hi, Webster.” She started to speak to Aaron, but she smelled sulfur. Then saw the leading edge of the fog creeping up behind Tristan and his sister. Webster and Aaron would be in the line of fog in another few steps when they joined Tristan.

Webster called over to Tristan, “Thought we were meeting at the subway station.”