Rise of the Gryphon (Belador #4)(32)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

He eased her away, staring down at her. “What’re you talking about?”

She pulled free and stepped out of the stall, where she found a thick bath sheet to wrap around her. “When Sandspur was stuck.” She wiped her face and started drying her body. “You did something to hold him in place and weaken his tentacle.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Lowering the towel, she asked, “Who else would have . . .” Evalle figured it out at the same moment Storm said, “Lanna.” Was the girl trying to get killed? “That means she’s escaped her safe zone and is running around with her cloaking.”

Storm frowned, pondering on something. “If she broke free of the spell I used and intervened with Sandspur, that means she’s a hell of a lot more powerful than we realized. I should have realized that when she got past the Domjon.”

“But she possesses untrained energy, which means she’s still no match for that wizard Grendal. We have to find her before he does.”

TWENTY-SIX

Lanna snuck around the edge of a crowd gathered to watch security capture a witch who had given aid to her Alterant during a beast fight.

Two scary men dressed in warrior clothes similar to those worn by the guards outside the entrance rushed to grab a young witch with long white hair.

Her gold mask hid all her face except her mouth and chin.

“Let go of me.” The witch yanked her body back and forth.

Another guard walked up in front of her with his hand out.

Dame Lynn’s translucent head appeared on his palm. “Imogenia of the Carretta Coven, you were observed aiding your fighter—”

“I didn’t do anything,” Imogenia cried out, struggling against the powerful guards, whose grips did not budge.

“—and will forfeit said fighter, plus face sanction for your transgression.”

“How can you eject me when my fighter didn’t even win?”

Lanna agreed with Imogenia, whose fighter had shifted from a skinny young man to an Alterant beast large enough to battle a were-bear, but then had run in fear. The witch lied about causing the were-bear to trip, but she told the truth about losing.

Her Alterant had rolled into a ball and begged for relief.

Imogenia’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits inside the holes of her mask. “I demand to see Kol.”

Dame Lynn merely said, “If you insist.”

Fine hairs along Lanna’s neck lifted at something unsaid in Dame Lynn’s pleasant tone.

A centaur—part man and part horse—appeared next to the guard holding Dame Lynn’s head. Dark hair fell past the centaur’s neck. Strong face and attractive, but frightening, too. He had no shirt, just lots of muscles under olive skin covering the human upper body that grew where the neck and head of a horse should have been.

“I am Kol,” he boomed to the crowd, muscled arms outstretched and front hooves prancing. He grinned his appreciation at greetings being shouted. His goatee gave him a wickedly sexy appeal. He dipped his head in a bow to Imogenia. “Your wish is granted. I am here. What can I do for you?”

The witch’s lips curved with coy intentions. She breathed deeply, which pushed her bulging br**sts even higher above her low-cut neckline. Lusty noises murmured through the crowd. On her exhale, Imogenia said, “I would appreciate a private moment to discuss my little mistake.”

Kol had blue eyes the color of a deep sea that twinkled, but not in a nice way. “If only that I could grant this one small wish, but to do so would have more women vying for my affections than I have time for now.”

Imogenia’s smile faltered.

Kol’s tone took a deadly turn. “And to be honest, I hold affection for no one. You have broken my laws. You will pay the price.”

“No, please don’t, I—” Imogenia arched her back as her arms jerked above her head, and her face muscles strained against some invisible assault. The black hooded cloak tied at her throat flew off and over the crowd, landing behind Lanna, who gathered it up quickly, then stood on her tiptoes again to see.

Veins beneath Imogenia’s skin bulged, breaking her skin in blue and purple lines that fingered out like lines on a map. Blisters boiled on her chin and arms. She screamed when her hair ignited, burning down to the scalp. In the next second, she had a bald head covered in angry sores and welts.

Her dress poofed away in a cloud of gold dust that fell to the ground, leaving her nak*d for the world to see sagging skin and hideous, oozing blisters.

Finally, her arms dropped, free of whatever had held her in place. She looked down at herself, eyes rocked with horror. “Noooo, oh, nooo . . .” Tears streamed down her face, then her mask disappeared. It had hidden a purplish-red birthmark that covered her right cheek.

Kol shouted, “I have granted you another favor. The flaw you’ve kept hidden now draws no attention.”

Imogenia moaned, weaving where she stood until her knees started to fold.

Kol shouted, “No! You will walk out of here.”

“Pleeease,” she begged, but her legs locked straight and started walking stiffly toward the exit. The crowd parted, drawing back to avoid touching her. She twisted around, her upper body fighting against her legs. “Please, Kol, I’ll do anything you want.”

“You already have, my sweet. You’re preventing anyone else from testing my rules again, because—” He paused, taking in the crowd. “Let it be known that the next one to cross me will not get off with such a light punishment.”

Imogenia’s sobbing could be heard all the way to the exit.

Lanna shuddered at the idea of getting caught.

She backed away from the crowd on shaky legs. Had anyone seen her help Evalle? Hands damp, she kept moving until she found another space beneath the towering steps and rushed inside it, sitting down hard when her legs gave out. She could not get upset and lose control or she would draw Grendal’s attention.

But neither could she stay here.

First, calm down and think. Imogenia had been caught immediately. Evalle had fought over an hour ago. If anyone had noticed Lanna’s help, they would have shouted foul then, right? She started breathing easier, but she still had to get moving.

She looked at Imogenia’s cloak still in her hands.

Crawling forward, she peeked out to make sure no one was standing nearby and scooped up a fist of gray-brown dirt. She sat back and dropped the wadded-up cloak on the ground between her bent knees. Sprinkling the dirt over the cloak, she gently called upon the earth, asking to dull the color of the cloak.

A color no eyes strayed to.

Finished, she lifted the material now the color of dirt and stood, wrapping the covering around her shoulders. Lucky for her that Imogenia was short, too.

Pulling the hood over her head, Lanna took a tentative step away from her hiding place. She should return to the place where Storm and Evalle had left her, but she did not want to be locked up again in his spell. Breaking out had hurt, and she might not escape next time.

Storm and Evalle did not understand that she could not sit in one place and risk being caught by Grendal.

He had eyes everywhere.

Dame Lynn’s voice announced, “Elite matches will begin in ten minutes. Eligible Alterants are to be in their respective holding areas at the times designated.”

Lanna listened for Evalle’s battle as Dame Lynn called out matchups. Evalle’s was one of the last fights, same battle dome as her first two matches. With Storm and Evalle free to move around the event until Evalle had to fight, Lanna had to own the scent on Imogenia’s cloak or Storm would find her. Weaving slowly through the crowd, she kept her head down, searching for a place to watch Evalle’s fight.

She did not want to face Kol, but she could not let Evalle die.

Dame Lynn announced, “Moonlight Warrior the Alterant versus Boomer the Alterant in ten minutes.”

Spotting a vendor setup that faced where Evalle would battle, Lanna considered the table draped with a cloth and displaying silver jewelry. Not an ideal spot to hide, because the vendor might lift the drape to look under the table for inventory.

It would have to do. Lanna waited until enough customers surrounded the table to shield her slipping underneath at one end. She could not waste energy cloaking when she would need it later to leave undetected, or she would put Evalle and Storm in danger.

But what if Evalle needed her help again?

Lanna had not been seen helping Evalle.

She could do it again.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Evalle still ached from her last wounds, which should have healed all the way by now. She paced her holding room, pretending to be burning off anxiety when in truth she was trying to stretch out the tight muscle in her calf that complained with each step.

To avoid talking about her injury, she pointed out, “I haven’t seen Tristan since we got here. Or Kizira.”

“How bad is it?” Storm asked, totally disregarding her words.

“I’m talking about Tristan.”

“No, you’re avoiding telling me how bad your wound is.” He leaned against the table, arms crossed.

Guess she hadn’t hidden her lingering pain as well as she’d thought. “Not bad.”

Storm merely lifted an eyebrow, claiming that to be a lie.

“Not as bad as it could be,” she amended. “Maybe I’ll end up with Bernie, if he survived.” She could offer him relief if she could win the match against a shifted Alterant.

“He’s still alive, but Imogenia hasn’t fared so well.”

“What happened?”

“She used majik to help Bernie and got caught. I heard bits and pieces on the way to meet you. Kol took the Alterant and disfigured Imogenia to make a statement, then booted her.”

Poor Bernie. Kol would probably trade him to the Medb.

Storm scratched his chin, thinking. “Sandspur’s venom must have interfered with your ability to heal completely.”

As long as Storm knew what was going on, Evalle decided to try again. She stood very still and called up her beast power to heal herself. Her muscles rippled with an impending change to her beast. She stopped abruptly before that happened. “I’m trying to heal, but it’s not working. My body wants to shift all the way. I can’t control the power so I can stop at the point of healing like the other times.”

“Maybe when you’re this drained it won’t work unless you do shift all the way.” He held up a hand. “I’m not trying to convince you to shift, just thinking out loud.”

The ominous tap at the door sounded right before the guard stuck his head inside. “One minute.”

When the door closed, she looked at Storm, constantly wondering if any moment would be the last time she saw him.

He pushed off the table and walked to her, wrapping his arms around her. She hugged him back, drawing strength from just holding him. When she lifted her head, he kissed her so tenderly that she felt her eyes well up.

Breaking the kiss, he laid his palm on her face. “I won’t lose you. Do whatever it takes to win, because if you can’t walk out of there under your own power, I’ll destroy this place and everyone in it . . . except Lanna.”

No pressure there. “You heard what happened to Imogenia.”

“I don’t care.”

Her heart warmed at his declaration. If not for the fear that there was enough supernatural power in this place to blow a chunk out of the planet, she’d feel cheered at the idea of someone taking vengeance on her behalf.

He kissed her forehead and released her. “And if Tristan doesn’t come willingly . . .”

“I’ll leave without him.” But Tristan had been captured trying to save her. Why wouldn’t he leave if he had a chance to escape?

The guard opened the door again. Evalle gave Storm one last kiss, then left, not turning around again for fear of being unable to walk away from him.

Don’t let it end this way between us. Not when she’d found a man who understood her better than she understood herself.

His words tumbled through her mind. I won’t lose you.

She should have told him how much he meant to her.

Why hadn’t she? Because I’m a fool.

Next thing she knew, the silver bars of Gate Two were vanishing as Dame Lynn announced, “The final Elite battle match pits Moonlight Warrior entering from Gate One against Boomer entering from Gate Two.”

Evalle stepped forward, hands loose at her sides.

Sweeping a look over to find Storm, her gaze snagged on a face that disappeared in the crowd when she blinked. She would have sworn it was Horace Keefer this time. Was he actually here?

Or was Sandspur’s venom playing with her mind?

Locating Storm next, she looked back to where she thought she’d seen Horace, but he was gone.

Storm had told her about the Langau being caught, but until she received the all clear from Tzader, she couldn’t use telepathy to reach anyone. Otherwise, she’d call out to Horace and ask where he was at the moment.

She had to be mistaken.

Shouting erupted on all sides of her dome, snapping Evalle back around as the bars disappeared and her opponent entered from Gate Two.