Alterant (Belador #2)(6)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

That breathed life into the hope clamoring inside Evalle’s chest.

The Tribunal must have been appeased by her explanation, because Pele moved on. “When last we met, you were told of a pregnant Alterant female who shifted into a beast and killed a human. Until then, the only Alterants who had shifted and killed were males. You were given a chance to produce proof that humans are at no risk from you as an Alterant. Where is this proof?”

Evalle didn’t have said proof. She’d gotten sidetracked helping VIPER save the world.

Brina asked in her Irish lilt, “Might I have the floor?”

Loki spoke up. “By all means, anything to move this along and spare me from spending any more of eternity here.”

That drew a gritty snarl from Ares. “If being immortal is an inconvenience, I am willing to end your suffering … now.”

Loki leaned forward to speak past Pele. “I would find that amusing for the few minutes it would take to destroy you.”

Pele lifted her hand and flicked her fingers. Lightning shot from her fingertips and spread across the sky. Thunder rolled around the Nether Realm. “Enough!”

Evalle held her breath. Just her luck she’d have the Tribunal meeting where a god went postal. That’d end up being her fault, too.

As if nothing had happened, Brina calmly launched into what she had to say. “There are still questions we have not answered about Alterants—”

What? Evalle could hang herself without Brina’s help.

“—but Evalle has proven to be a valued member of the Beladors. She’s put mankind and our tribe ahead of her own needs, which impaired her ability to deliver tangible evidence for you. As we are living proof of the intangible within the world of the humans, can we not accept her actions as intangible proof of her reliability?”

Way to go, Brina. That’s more like it.

Brina wasn’t done yet. “Evalle was also part of the VIPER team tasked with finding and returning the Ngak Stone before daylight in Atlanta yesterday morning. She acted selflessly, risking her life to stop the Kujoo warlord and at one point when she took possession of the Ngak Stone—”

A collective gasp erupted on the dais.

“—Evalle voluntarily handed the stone over to be placed in the VIPER vault,” Brina continued. “Might I point out that many of our kind would not have relinquished an artifact so powerful? As warrior queen of the Beladors, I consider her one of my best.”

Really? Evalle couldn’t believe her ears, but Brina’s voice rang with sincerity and passion. Tzader had stated over and over that Brina was always ready to stand up for her Beladors. All of them.

Ares appeared unmoved by Brina’s declaration. “What of the seven Alterants that shifted and attacked humans in recent days?”

Seven? Evalle spoke to Brina mind to mind. I just heard about the attacks on the West Coast. Now is not the time for them to lock me away with a surge in Alterant attacks. I know the Tribunal won’t see it this way, but I could help with this outbreak. Beladors are the strongest arm of VIPER, but they can’t link their powers to face an Alterant, not after what happened in Charlotte.

Two months ago, nine Beladors had linked to stop one Alterant. They should have been able to contain him, but he’d shifted and ripped the head off one of the Beladors before any of them had a chance to unlink.

When linked, if one warrior died, they all died.

I agree. Brina addressed Ares. “With these new Alterant discoveries, we need Evalle’s abilities in VIPER more than ever.”

With one disgusted snort, Ares gave his opinion of how much he thought of Evalle as an asset.

Pele and the gods spoke among themselves for several minutes, but Evalle started to feel optimistic about being returned to VIPER long enough to help them deal with this problem. Maybe she’d been worried unnecessarily.

Worried sounded so much better than terrified.

When the trio of entities finished talking, Loki leaned against one of the columns that decorated the dais, and Ares tapped his fingers on the hilt of the sword sheathed at his hip.

Pele paid no attention to the gods when she spoke. She had a soft voice, but power surged beneath the feminine tone. “Evalle has committed a larger transgression.”

What the hell? Evalle got an air cuff upside her head kinetically from Brina for cursing. Sorry.

Brina asked Pele, “What transgression?”

“When we last met, Evalle was told not to associate with another Alterant. We have learned that while hunting said Ngak Stone she communicated with the escaped Alterant Tristan.”

That blasted Sen must have ratted her out even though he knew the circumstances. She’d also sent Tristan back to his spellbound cage in South America with him begging her to kill him instead.

She’d hated doing that to him. Tristan had only wanted what she wanted, what any person wanted—to be free. Death would have been more humane, but neither could she have killed him in cold blood.

Tristan would gut her if he stood before her now, and she couldn’t blame him, even if she had been doing her duty when she’d sent him back.

Pele asked Evalle, “Do you deny communicating with the other Alterant?”

Evalle said, “No. I did speak to him, but doesn’t the fact that I returned Tristan to captivity count for something?”

Ares pointed out, “We let you live.”

Brina kept her hands linked in front of her, docile to an untrained eye, but she wasn’t a warrior queen in title only. When she spoke her words rang with authority. “Evalle communicated with Tristan only to gain valuable information that was key to getting the Ngak Stone away from a dangerous predator. Had she not, the Kujoo might have destroyed much of the human world. Due to Evalle’s efforts the stone is now secure in the VIPER vault.”

Ares crossed arms bulging with muscles and dismissed Brina’s explanation. “No provision was made at our previous meeting when this Alterant was ordered not to associate with another Alterant. She should have asked for an exception to the terms before agreeing, and that is but the least of her charges. Any aid she gave to recovering the Ngak Stone does not justify her part in releasing deadly Alterants in the human realm.”

I did not release Alterants, Brina, Evalle sent to her queen mind to mind.

I believe you, Brina replied, then addressed the Tribunal. “What evidence is used to charge Evalle with this?”

Still amusing himself by tossing miniature fireworks the size of a baseball from the palm of one hand, Loki said, “Let us get to the point. You told Tristan you wanted to see Alterants freed.”

“Tristan said that. I didn’t,” Evalle argued.

Brina swung a look at her that promised retribution if Evalle had just fed her a bunch of hooey.

Evalle shifted her hands to open palm out at her sides. Do I look like a glowing beacon in the red light district? I never told him that. Sen had obviously given his own version of what had happened that night, editing at will.

Pele asked Evalle, “What did you say to Tristan about the Alterants?”

Anything less than truth would burn her. Evalle said, “I told him I wanted to help Alterants so we wouldn’t have to be locked up or destroyed.”

Loki interjected, “I see no difference.”

Ares’ voice boomed. “Guilty as charged.”

Evalle argued, “No, there is a difference, because it was taken out of context.”

Shaking her head at Evalle, Pele said, “Context doesn’t matter. In our world, words are as dangerous as any other weapon and should be wielded with care.”

Loki said, “She influenced the Alterant Tristan, who released three others from captivity. Now we have even more beasts shifting and killing humans. It appears this could be part of a plan by this Tristan to turn Alterants loose on the world.”

Un-freaking-believable. Forget being locked away. They could dust her if they thought she played any part in the Alterants that are now shifting and killing. “If that’s the case, why don’t you bring Tristan in for questioning?”

Pele glared at Evalle, power blowing across Evalle so sharply that it bumped her back a step. “Macha ordered the Alterants caged. We do not have Tristan’s location.”

Evalle tossed a look of question at Brina, then swung her attention back to Pele. “I asked the Ngak Stone to return Tristan to his original prison.”

Pele picked up on Evalle’s glance. “Brina is under oath to her goddess. She can only divulge information voluntarily.”

Brina gave a brief shake of her head. “Unfortunately, I can share nothing about the captured Alterants, O Goddess.”

Pele told Evalle, “We cannot locate Tristan without Macha’s assistance, which she is not offering. Since Tristan does not fall under the jurisdiction of a specific pantheon that is a part of the coalition, we cannot demand his presence.”

In other words, Tristan was safe from the Tribunal.

For now.

Chills skittered along Evalle’s spine, but so did a hot streak of anger over the injustice of twisting her words to make her responsible. Without thought to ask for permission first to speak, she said, “So Tristan commits a crime and doesn’t even have to answer for it, but I do?”

Don’t push this, Evalle. You’re not helping your case if you annoy them.

I have to push this, Brina. Humans are dying and I have a bad feeling that something is happening for so many Alterants to shift at one time. We need to know why, and I’m the best one to put in the field to find out. But I can’t get that information or help anyone stop these attacks if the Tribunal is going to drag me in here every time there’s an attack.

Ares’ booming voice shook the ground. “Insolence is not tolerated here, especially from a beast.”

I got your beast in my boot. Evalle kept her hands at her sides, when she wanted to shake her fist at the god.

“I didn’t change and kill a human. And I didn’t release the three captured Alterants. And I have nothing to do with the ones who are shifting and killing now. Why am I being held responsible for the actions of others?”

Brina started, “My apology for her disrespect—”

Pele lifted her hand in a signal the floor was clearly hers. She silenced Ares with a severe glance, then addressed Evalle. “A fair question. Alterants are an unknown element in our world and not a recognized race. Until someone can determine their origin or they are accepted into a pantheon, their status will not change.”

Evalle deserved credit for not rolling her eyes. What deity was going to invite Alterants into a pantheon where the god or goddess ruling it would be responsible for powerful beings that might shift involuntarily into beasts and kill everything in sight?

Ignoring Loki’s drawn-out sigh, Pele continued, “When other Alterants have shifted and killed, they were captured or destroyed. You are the only Alterant we have allowed to remain with the Beladors rather than cage you as an undomesticated beast.”

Anger clawed up Evalle’s spine at being compared to a rabid animal.

Without pausing, Pele said, “You were permitted a great deal of freedom for the past five years because you were the only female Alterant identified until this new one was discovered. Her pregnancy raises the possibility that male Alterants are seeking females for breeding. That alone is reason enough to require placing you in a secure location.”

Schooling her face to neutral took some effort once Evalle caught Pele’s point that she would now be a magnet for rutting male Alterants. She’d happily offer to neuter those Alterants, but Pele wasn’t finished.

“Are you being held accountable for the actions of others? Perhaps. Associating with an escaped Alterant this week and indicating you would like all Alterants to be free lays the responsibility of the three escapees and the more recent Alterant shifting at your feet.”

That pretty much killed any chance Evalle saw for walking away from this free.

She spoke to Brina. I live with the proverbial axe swinging over my head every day because, fool that I am, I protect humans when my life counts for nothing.

Not true! Brina shouted in Evalle’s head, this time with a thicker Irish brogue. You are Belador and we will find a way to take this mantle of burden from your shoulders.

Evalle maintained her blank expression when she answered, I appreciate your sincerity, but the only way to do that would be by defying this Tribunal. I would never put the entire Belador tribe in conflict with VIPER or a Tribunal decision, so I’m stuck answering for the crimes of others until I can figure out where Alterants came from … but know that if they try to lock me up I will not go quietly.

Brina spoke to the Tribunal. “I believe Evalle is not just safe to walk among humans but that they need her now. She is an asset both VIPER and the Beladors cannot afford to take out of active duty. Not with this new threat having surfaced.”

Evalle wanted to smile and give a shout with a fist pump for Brina, but keeping her mouth shut and showing no emotional reaction would better aid her warrior queen.