Rise of the Gryphon (Belador #4)(39)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

“Okay, I understand. No asking direct questions you’re compelled against answering.” Evalle chewed lightly on her thumb, thinking, then dropped her hand. She didn’t know yet how she would get word to the Beladors, but she needed a better time frame than what was left of this forty-eight-hour window. Probably a day at the most in the mortal world.

Evalle started with, “When would be an optimum time for someone to start a war?”

Kizira shook her head.

“Crap. How can a Belador survive an attack on Treoir?”

Huffing out a breath in irritation, Kizira shook her head again.

Maybe she shouldn’t have used the name Treoir. “What would prevent gryphons from reaching a mystical island?”

Kizira grabbed her head. “You are terrible at games.”

“Maybe because I. Don’t. Play. Games! You freakin’ tell me what I need to know.”

“I can’t tell you what I’m compelled to keep secret.”

Evalle growled and leaned toward her, out of patience. “Then tell me something you’re not compelled to hide, blast it.”

Tension fired through the room until Kizira gasped. “Wait. That’s it.” She gripped her hands together, excited. “You gave me an idea. First, we have to come up with a way to prove your loyalty to Flaevynn.”

“Back to that, huh?” Evalle said, disgusted.

“You have the patience of a gnat. Answers to your questions will do you no good if you remain here in TÅμr Medb.”

The lightbulb practically electrocuted Evalle’s brain when it dawned on her that she had a chance to go back to Atlanta. A chance to get word to the Beladors and see Storm. She’d figure out how to play chess if that ended in a ticket home. “Hey, I’m in. Give me another chance. What do I have to do to prove my loyalty to Flaevynn?”

Calm swept over Kizira. She nodded, determination firing in her words. “If you brought back something valuable belonging to one of the Beladors you’re close to, Flaevynn might accept that breach of trust as a sign of loyalty.”

“Why? Wouldn’t she think I just asked for whatever I get?”

“Not if you’re compelled in front of her to steal the item and leave clear evidence that you committed the theft. Maybe something from a hotel room.” Kizira raised her eyebrows, encouraging Evalle to grasp her meaning.

Hotel room. That would have to be Quinn’s, which would mean she’d have to steal . . . “A warded Triquetra? Are you nuts?”

“So you admit failure before trying.”

“No, I’m admitting nothing, just thinking out loud.” And coming to grips with the idea of leaving evidence of betraying Quinn. His Triquetras were custom-made in a secret location, especially the warded one he used for personal security. “How would I get inside his room?”

“I can get you in there.”

Evalle walked off a moment, arms hugged around herself as she tried to hold off a chill that had nothing to do with temperature. It was one thing to be thought a traitor and another to be proven one. She hoped he’d give her a chance to explain if she survived . . . if the Beladors didn’t kill her in the attack on Treoir.

What was she thinking? Everything would change after this battle.

Regardless of whether the Medb won or lost, how could Evalle ever go home if the gryphons attacked Treoir? Anyone with a brain would quickly figure out the Medb had turned Alterants into gryphons. That meant she couldn’t waste this one chance to return to Atlanta.

She had to explain to Storm so he wouldn’t hate her. Worse, he’d be hurt. She couldn’t live the rest of her life with that on her conscience. “I’ll go, I’ll bring back the Triquetra and I’ll convince Flaevynn I’m on her team.”

“About time.”

“Speaking of that, I’m not going unless you give me some extra time there.”

“How long?”

“Six hours.”

“I can’t give you that much. The attack is—” Kizira grabbed her throat and coughed, struggling to breathe.

So that’s what happened when you tried to go against being compelled? “Oops.”

Icicles should be hanging off Kizira’s chilling glare. She rubbed her throat. “I can give you four hours.”

That would have to suffice, but Evalle now had a time frame for the attack. She had to get going. “Okay. Now, what idea did I give you a minute ago?”

“You said to tell you something I wasn’t forbidden to say. First, understand that you will be compelled to not speak to anyone about your time here or the attack. You’ll be compelled to tell no one about Alterants changing into gryphons or that you have evolved into one. You just saw what happened when I almost made that mistake.”

“I need to know what I can say.”

Kizira pinched the bridge of her nose, then lowered her hand. “Pay attention and curb your sarcasm. I will not compel you to share your deepest wishes.”

What did that mean? “What deepest wishes?”

Kizira’s shoulders eased with relief. “For example, I will not compel you to tell someone not aligned with the coalition that it would make you happy if your two closest friends were to spend the next twelve hours watching over Atlanta instead of traveling to faraway places.”

Evalle sorted through Kizira’s cryptic suggestions and realized the Medb priestess wanted her to warn Quinn and Tzader away from Treoir. “You think I would intentionally undermine Belador defenses?”

Kizira lost her fleeting look of hope and snarled, “Can’t you figure out the simplest puzzle? Do you even care about anything besides how this affects you?” Calming herself, she pleaded, “Think, Evalle. This is a game where we both stand to lose people we care about.”

That backed Evalle up a step mentally. She replayed their conversation. This was about protecting Quinn more than anything. “You really care about—”

“Him,” Kizira said quickly, her eyes glancing around as if in fear.

“Thought this place was secure.”

“It is, but I never risk his name.”

Evalle couldn’t pin down how she felt about seeing this side of Kizira. “What’s the deal between you two?”

“I don’t wish to discuss this further, especially if you aren’t going to do your part.”

“Oh, I’ll play the game now that I understand how to manipulate the words.”

“Not that I’m hearing.” Looking away, Kizira whispered with desperation, “He has no one to protect him.”

A guilty weight had pressed on Evalle’s chest for weeks about Quinn. If Flaevynn did not know about Quinn, then it seemed logical that Kizira could solve an internal conflict Evalle was tired of wrestling with. “Tell me something. Speaking of him, did he or did he not tell you how to find me when I was with Tristan in the Maze of Death a couple of weeks back?”

That startled Kizira, drawing her gaze back. “Yes, but involuntarily. I withdrew the information from him while he was incoherent. You want to know if he’s still your friend. He’s done nothing to betray you. Anything you’ve heard, especially the day Tristan took you to the house in the country, is a twisted tale to turn you against him.”

Evalle believed Kizira. The weight lifted a little, allowing her heart to thump with peace again. And, if what Kizira said was true, Tristan had been tricked as well. He’d taken Evalle to meet an old Belador so pitiful he’d needed an oxygen tank to breathe.

Had that old guy been the traitor instead of Conlan O’Meary, who was still on the run? “Speaking of that day with Tristan, where’s the old Belador who told me those twisted tales?”

“He was not an old man but Conlan O’Meary wearing a glamour.”

“So Conlan is the Belador traitor after all.”

Kizira shook her head. “No. When he offered to join up with us, we suspected a trick.”

“You didn’t help him escape the prison beneath VIPER’s southeastern headquarters?”

“Why would we risk our people when we didn’t need him?”

Well, duh. “If Conlan’s not the traitor, then who is?”

“That I can’t tell you.”

Evalle wondered, “Do you think Qu- . . . our mutual friend helped Conlan escape?”

Kizira bared her teeth. “How can you think that? He is too honorable to do such a thing. What kind of friend are you?”

Maybe not a good one if a Medb had to stand up for Quinn. Evalle held up her hand. “I didn’t say I believed he did. Where’s Conlan?”

“When he failed to prove his loyalty to Flaevynn, she threw him in the dungeon. Cathbad claims you are significant in Flaevynn’s plans, but trust me when I say that can change and you’ll end up in the dungeon if you don’t prove to her you can be trusted to execute the attack.”

“Aren’t you concerned about the Beladors stopping the gryphons?”

“No, and if you’re digging for a weakness, save your breath. Nothing can prevent the gryphons from succeeding. Once they leave here as a unit, they’ll follow my every command. All of you will.”

What happened to us being allies? “I thought—”

“Don’t misunderstand me, Evalle. The attack will happen, and not just because I have no choice in the matter. I need it to succeed. It’s up to you to protect those you love, just as it is up to me to do the same.”

That killed the tiny warm and fuzzy feeling Evalle had been suffering. But changing her tune now would alert Kizira that Evalle had made a mistake in seeing Kizira as an ally. “I want my four hours to start in Atlanta, but I need a few minutes in my room, alone, before I leave.”

“No, you don’t. Lanna is content to practice her teleporting.”

“Just send her back with me.”

“No. I’d be a fool to let you walk out of here with nothing to lose. Lanna is insurance that you will steal the Triquetra, deliver the message and return in four hours. I’ll give you two minutes with Lanna, then it’s up to you to convince Flaevynn you are under my control.” Kizira lifted her hands.

THIRTY-SIX

Evalle deserved an Academy Award for acting subservient in front of Flaevynn to prove that Kizira’s compulsion spell had Evalle under control. The minute the queen agreed to the trust test, Kizira teleported Evalle to the mortal world.

When the spinning ended, Quinn’s luxurious hotel suite in downtown Atlanta came into focus. Evalle didn’t fall down or throw up. Maybe teleporting was like being seasick. If you did it often enough, you got used to the vertigo.

She glanced over to catch Kizira looking longingly at Quinn’s bedroom. “You know Macha will toast him if she ever finds out about you two.”

Kizira stiffened and turned around. “Your four hours are ticking.”

Good point. With one tiny window of time, Evalle was not wasting it here. “His Triquetra’s not on the door. Guess he only needs it to keep out uninvited Medb.”

“He hides it on top of the cabinet next to the door, something only someone close to him would know,” Kizira tossed right back with smug arrogance.

Crossing the room, Evalle reached up and felt a piece of flat metal that sizzled with energy. She was almost disappointed that Kizira had been right.

Evalle couldn’t pick it up, just as Lanna had explained, until she said a Gaelic phrase. Then the flat blade came to her hand. “Good thing we checked with Lanna,” Evalle pointed out, reminding Kizira she hadn’t known everything.

She pulled the triangular-shaped Belador throwing blade down and reached again to find the leather case for carrying it sitting on top of the cabinet. Tucking the blade in the case and both in her jacket pocket, Evalle turned to Kizira. “Where do you want to meet?”

“When it’s time, I’ll find you wherever you are, now that you’re bonded to me.”

Right now Evalle had to find Storm, and she needed Kizira’s help if she wanted to get rolling.

Heat warming her chest drew her eyes down to where the emerald glowed. The gem hadn’t changed at all in Medb Land.

Would Storm know she was back?

All she wanted was to finish here and go to him.

She wouldn’t have this opportunity if not for Kizira.

It galled her to thank the priestess for anything, but Kizira had given Evalle a new set of clothes and her custom sunglasses even though the light didn’t bother her now. Evalle hadn’t shared that new ability with anyone yet, which was why Kizira had brought her here while it was still dark out.

Monday night. Would the invasion happen tomorrow?

That was the impression Evalle had gotten from Kizira’s short word game.

Evalle felt every second tick against her. “I appreciate the clothes. Think you could conjure me up a motorcycle downstairs?”

“Teleporting would be more efficient.”

For Storm, Evalle would teleport across the world. “I like the way you’re thinking.”