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  She grew light-headed, but she kept drawing all the energy she could into her body, pulling harder on Ragan, and sending that energy up through her hand.

  Blue light shot from her outstretched finger and struck Tegus's head, lighting up his face.

  His body shook so hard the heavy chains rattled. Foam poured from his mouth. His body bowed and twisted unnaturally, muscles and tendons stretching. He fought her with all he had and she admired the warrior in him.

  A gut-wrenching scream ripped from his throat right before the blue light vanished and his body slumped. Blood ran from his eyes, which now bulged out of their sockets.

  Veronika cupped the hand holding the sphere against her chest and brought her other hand up to support her trembling arm. She licked away the trickle of blood running over her lip as she stood there shaking, and her stomach lurched a little at the metallic taste.

  She took in the slumped form of Tegus.

  Drat. His chest no longer moved with breathing.

  How disappointing.

  She'd she'd lost control when she pushed too hard. Once she reached her full potential, directing it would be simpler, but her body could not tolerate more energy drawn off Ragan yet. She looked at the sphere, where threads had begun forming inside the round ball of energy, and her mood lightened. That was the first sign of the final metamorphosis for the sphere.

  Maybe she wasn't so far from success as it appeared, but Tegus's child would be of no use now. Still, she hated to pass up a chance to play. She so rarely got to enjoy herself.

  This was not the time to lose focus or rush anything.

  Impatience would be dangerous.

  She had only one chance to take possession of Witchlock.

  Once she did, she would have the power to own anyone's witchcraft, and eventually, the power of deities.

  One in particular.

  TAmr Medb, home of the Medb coven

  Chapter 13

  Maeve studied the wall of jewels in her private quarters within TAmr Medb and felt the eyes of a predator on her back. She swung around to meet the living eyes of her dragon-shaped throne. The chair sat between her scrying wall and the doors that led to the rest of the tower realm where the majority of her coven resided.

  At least, that's where they resided until she could wrangle the power from that bitch, Macha.

  The dragon watched her with an unholy look in his glowing silver gaze with its black diamond pupils.

  She strolled around to the front of the throne, forcing him to move in order to continue eyeing her. Laughing, she said, "I have noticed your silver eyes. Did you tire of the original color? Or have you finally managed to control one part of your body?"

  Those eyes narrowed, with some vicious thought, she had no doubt.

  What, Daegan? Do you have something to say after all this time?"

  That viper-sharp gaze stared back, unblinking.

  "Very well, I will allow you to speak if you don't annoy me, but it will not undo the entire spell so don't get excited." She pointed a finger and whispered a string of words.

  The dragon's eyes glowed brighter, then dimmed and he blinked.

  She cocked her head. "Have you forgotten how to speak?"

  "No," came out low and gravelly. "I remember everything."

  "I have no doubt." She studied him, considering the best tack to take with this traitor who had thought to see her dead. "Would you like to share something you've seen during the years I was unavailable?"

  "No."

  "Then returning your ability to speak was a mistake."

  "No, casting a curse on me was your mistake and I will live long enough to see the favor returned."

  The confidence in his words sent chills down her spine. He'd almost overpowered her once.

  Never again.

  But she would not allow him, or any other man, to unnerve her in her own domain. "I do love a man with your confidence, Daegan. I'll make you a deal. Tell me something about Kizira that I can't find out from the scrying wall and I'll grant you a boon."

  The dragon's eyes brightened at that offer, then took on a thoughtful look. When he moved his gaze back to her, he said, "Flaevynn compelled Kizira so that the priestess could not heal herself during the final battle, because Flaevynn believed Kizira had betrayed Flaevynn and the coven during visits to the human world."

  Maeve added that bit of information to what she'd learned about the young woman being allowed a year away on her own at nineteen.

  What had Kizira done during that year? And had she betrayed the Medb for the Belador warrior who had held her as she died?

  A deep noise came from Daegan's throat, reminding her it was time to pay up.

  Maeve said, "Alright, what do you want and don't be ridiculous. If you ask to break the spell, I'll deny the boon."

  "My request is simple. I have not slept since I became a chair. Allow me to sleep when you do not need me to observe."

  She thought about any potential problem with that and couldn't see one. Perhaps she'd found a way to squeeze information from him by allowing him to enjoy sleeping, then she'd dangle another bait later as a treat.

  Lifting her hand she waved her fingers and tiny lights twinkled around his head then disappeared. She said, "Don't make me regret that."

  "I am but a humble servant."

  He used to say that when he'd used his sword arm for her.

  Before his loyalty turned.

  She'd teach him not to try her patience.

  With one snap of her fingers in his direction, he hissed at the sudden reinforcement of the initial spell that condemned him to live forever as the queen's throne, unable to speak or enjoy life as a virile male ever again.

  She warned him, "You may slumber when alone, but I warn you to choose your words more carefully next time you speak to me."

  The tall double doors opened on their own ahead of Cathbad walking briskly toward her from the hall leading to her quarters. He rubbed his hands in glee. "Ossian has inserted himself into VIPER as an independent contractor. They think he's an independent warrior mage from the Julian Alps in Italy."

  "That was quite clever of you to gift Ossian with the ability to shield his Medb scent and change his physical appearance ... as long as no one at VIPER becomes suspicious of him."

  "Ossian is the best of our elite warriors. He will not let us down. With access to VIPER intelligence, he's able to feed information to his scouts. One group has reported that Vladimir Quinn has returned to Atlanta, and they have located him."

  "That's encouraging, but I'll be more enthusiastic once I find out the connection between him and the priestess Kizira."

  Cathbad's grin broadened. "You didna let me finish. He was seen leaving a mausoleum in a cemetery. I'm thinkin' that's where he laid her to rest."

  "He didn't burn the body and scatter the ashes?"

  "Maybe not." Cathbad held out his hand and a crystal glass appeared with two fingers of brown liquid. "But I'm thinkin' we may be premature in capturing Quinn until we know how to access the mausoleum."

  "Why can't we just teleport into the vault?" she asked, thinking out loud.

  "There's no telling what kinda trap a Belador might have set."

  "You have a point. Still, I want to see it. If Kizira is in there, we'll either capture Quinn and gain what I want or find a way into the mausoleum and find my answers there."

  "That's my Maeve, thinkin' like the sly queen who rules with a wicked fist."

  A snort sounded, drawing both Maeve and Cathbad's attention toward her throne, where a puff of white smoke drifted from the tip of the dragon's nose. Daegan's eyes were as hard as his stone body that formed the elaborate throne.

  Cathbad commented, "I'm not so sure allowing him to live all these years was a good idea."

  "Of course it was," she told him, her sharp words making it clear she would not be criticized, not even by Cathbad. "Killing him would have been merciful and I will not be accused of that fault."

  Chuckling, Ca
thbad agreed. "Only fools would believe that of you." He turned from eyeing the dragon. "Back to business. I hear the Tribunal is quite angry over this conflict between you and Macha and wants a solution."

  "Oh? Should I be concerned?"

  "No, I think you may be quite pleased with a gift I have for ya. Donndubhan, one of our Scath Force warriors, has brought us an opportunity that you can use to gain advantage over the Beladors and very possibly force the Tribunal to see it your way with the gryphons."

  "Where is this gift?"

  "In the dungeon."

  VIPER Headquarters, North Georgia Mountains

  Chapter 14

  Tzader nodded at agents as he strode through VIPER headquarters, where the chilly air inside this mountain failed to improve his scorching bad mood. If Storm hadn't been able to pin down a scent from the troll killing, no one could.

  Not Storm's fault.

  The Skinwalker had run hard day and night trying to find the killer, which the Beladors needed more than ever now, or the Medb would point a finger at the Beladors for that murder, too.

  He'd suffered through a half hour with the damned Tribunal deities, who were no happier with him than he was with them.

  The hell with them.

  They wanted the Beladors to play nice with the murdering Medb. They wanted the gryphon issue settled. They wanted Macha to shake and be friends with Maeve.

  Like any of those crazy gods and goddesses would do that in Macha's position?

  Well, he wanted a few things too, like a chance at a normal life with the woman he loved. That was never going to happen as long as he had to cater to every person between here and Treoir. He couldn't remember the last time he had a day off, much less a real day with Brina.

  If Brina needed anything right now, no problem. Same for Evalle and Quinn, but the rest could go screw themselves.

  When Tzader reached the main receiving area, agents walked through an arched exit that appeared when their resident troll, Jake, activated an overhead door hidden by Sen's majik.

  The surly troll had been harder to deal with than usual since trolls around Atlanta began disappearing last week. He, no doubt, held Tzader and everyone else in VIPER responsible.

  Tzader caught Storm's chin lift from where the Skinwalker stood to the side as others streamed past on their way out, now that the debriefing was over.

  Storm started in the minute Tzader reached him. "Evalle needs some time off."

  Tzader couldn't agree more, but he didn't care for Storm's demanding tone. "Why"

  "She's getting run into the ground and she's hunting demons alone. You told me she wouldn't do that while I was gone."

  "I don't like her going off on her own either, Storm, but I also know trying to dictate to her is never a good idea." Tzader hoped Storm heard the extra message in that.

  Storm rubbed his neck. "I know she's stubborn, but she's stressed out right now and a few days off would help."

  That didn't sound right. Tzader's mood turned darker by the second. "We all knew she was stressed while you were gone. Now tell me why she's stressed with you home."

  Storm's gaze flickered just enough to indicate he'd struck a nerve.

  Tzader pushed harder. "What's wrong with her?"

  "Nothing that a little time off won't fix."

  Tzader waited for three agents to pass by before saying, "We're having issues with the Tribunal. The Beladors are, that is."

  "Damn those fuckers," Storm snarled.

  "Not that I don't agree, but this is not the place to share your honest opinion."

  Storm washed a hand over his face. He looked and sounded as tired as he claimed Evalle was, but when he dropped his hand his sharp eyes were aware of everything around him. He spoke softly. "I'm tired of them jerking her around like a puppet."

  "No more than I am."

  "Then take her off the teams for a while and out of the fire."

  Tzader made a decision. "I'm going to tell you something, but you can't share it with Evalle until I have a chance to tell her."

  "I won't if she doesn't hear about it first and ask me."

  "She won't. The Tribunal has run out of patience with what they consider a pissing match between the Beladors and the Medb. They accepted the Medb into the coalition and aren't going to back up on that, but this custody battle over the gryphons and daily accusations from the Beladors and the Medb has pushed a vote for a liaison to settle disputes."

  "About damn time."

  "It might be, if they hadn't decided that Evalle should take the position and run interference between the Beladors and the Medb."

  "What. The. Fuck?" Storm's chest heaved with harsh breaths. His fists curled then uncurled. "Now what does she have to do?"

  "It hasn't been formally decided. I presented Macha's point that Evalle has been a Belador too long to be an objective liaison, but I think the Medb are behind this push for Evalle to be the liaison."

  "Why would they want that when she's clearly on your team?"

  "My bet? To get Evalle in TAmr Medb again."

  Storm's eyes turned as black as the threat in his voice. "I'll take her where no one can find her if they try that."

  Tzader considered the ramifications of the drastic measure Storm threatened, but anyone who knew Storm at all would realize it was no empty threat.

  Even so, no one had ever escaped being hunted by VIPER.

  And Sen would find a way to convince a Tribunal that VIPER should go after her.

  Plus Evalle wouldn't agree because she'd never be able to return. Tzader said, "We haven't lost the battle yet to keep her out of TAmr Medb. Macha and I are in agreement so we're fighting it."

  "Those are possibilities," Storm stressed. "I'm talking about an absolute."

  Tzader had to get Storm to see this from Evalle's position. "Don't you think Quinn and I haven't considered that before? We talked to Evalle about it once and she said she was never going to live in a prison again. She'd rather take her chances and stay here with the people who matter to her than hide for the rest of her life."

  The hard glint remained in Storm's eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe."

  "What if she hates you for doing it?"

  Storm looked thoughtful. "Her safety comes before anything else."

  "Even her happiness?"

  "She'll be happy."

  "Not if you snatch the only life she's ever had out from under her. You may not like to hear this, but she would leave you and come back even knowing the risk. You can't lock her up. We've all figured that out. She hates that we're all so protective of her and tries that much harder to prove that she can handle anything." Tzader took a step closer and warned, "Be careful with her heart. If you hurt her, it will be worse than anything the Tribunal has ever done to her. Then you'll find out just how dangerous Quinn and I are as a team. We'd bring the full force of the Beladors down on anyone who hurt her, even you."

  Storm's fierce determination didn't waver, but he let out a long breath and ran his hands over the hair he had tethered into ponytail. "I want her happy. She's never been in a relationship before and she needs time to settle in and realize I'm not going to abandon her at the first hint of trouble."

  Tzader believed Storm, and his respect for the Skinwalker ticked up a couple of notches, but he didn't like that last part. "What sort of trouble?"

  Storm looked down, his face a wash of internal debate, but he finally said, "I've dealt with Isak Nyght, Tristan's crap, Medb crap and fought everything from Svart Trolls to warlocks to keep her safe and keep her with me, but I may lose the battle to a two-foot-tall gargoyle."

  Ah. Now Tzader got it. "Feenix unhappy you're there?"

  "The little critter is territorial as hell around her and making it clear he doesn't want me there."

  It would be funny if not for the misery in Storm's voice. Tzader had just as tough a battle with trying to get Brina by his side. For the first time since Storm came along, Tzader was in his corner. "What are you going to
do?"

  "I have a plan. Not sure it's a good one yet."

  Before Tzader could say more, Quinn walked up with Lanna trailing close behind. The young woman dragged her beat-up suitcase behind her.

  Just to poke at Quinn, Tzader asked, "You can't part with a few bucks to buy Lanna a decent suitcase?"

  She paused, not saying a word, which was so unlike the young woman who generally stuck her nose anywhere it was not wanted.

  Tzader's gaze swung to Quinn, who would normally scowl at him and make a sarcastic dig at Tzader in return, but Quinn's reaction was completely un-Quinn-like.

  His friend frowned at the rolling baggage as if he hadn't seen it before. "Yes, I should have done that by now. We'll find a new one today."

  Where was Tzader's best friend, and who had stuck the Grim Reaper in Quinn's place? Tzader didn't expect Quinn to be over Kizira's death, not by a long shot, but this Quinn concerned him.

  Storm broke into the stilted silence. "I've got to get back to Atlanta. I have some business to take care of before dark, then Evalle and I need tonight free. We've made a commitment and we can't reschedule."

  Even Quinn's eyebrows lifted at Storm's statement, because he sure as hell hadn't asked for tonight off.

  But the guy had a point. Evalle deserved a break and for everyone to cut her some slack. Tzader nodded. "Check in with me tomorrow."

  "Will do." Storm strode out the opening that appeared as a group of agents passed him on their way in.

  Quinn asked, "Something going on with Evalle?"

  Instead of discussing Storm and Evalle, Tzader said, "Maybe. I'm trying to keep her from being stuck as the liaison between the Beladors and the Medb, but the Medb are pushing hard for it. They say since she leads the gryphons, she should be the representative to work out the gryphon possession issue and the Medb and Belador conflicts."

  "No." Quinn gave his vote in a voice as hard as the rock surrounding them. "Let the deities deal with it."

  "My feelings exactly, but the thing that bothers me is Sen."

  "He doesn't like anything to do with Evalle."

  "See, that's the thing. I would have expected him to be pushing for her to take that position, because it would put her in a bind, plus force her to spend time in Treoir and possibly TAmr Medb, but he smiled when I told the Tribunal that Macha said no. That bothers me."

  "You've got a point." Quinn cleared his throat and quietly said, "We need to find somewhere away from ... here."