Alterant (Belador #2)(87)

But when she opened her mind to link with all the Alterants, she only connected with Tristan. His beast power raged through her body, but he had his shift under control.

That allowed her to keep her beast in check.

Kizira screeched and flew across the top of her creatures at Evalle.

“I really hate the sound that witch makes,” Evalle muttered. She’d seen Tristan throw a lightning bolt back when he’d been with the Kujoo. Drawing on his powers, she whipped her hand at Kizira.

Their combined powers created a shaft of energy that blasted the witch as if she’d been shot from a fireman’s hose, knocking her back fifty feet into a wall of rock.

The second creature had gone after the other two Alterants, who had shifted into nasty-looking beast forms. Those two fought the creature from where they were caught in the circles.

Evalle threw a blast at the creature to back it off.

One of the Alterants charged out of the fire circle, howling as he rolled to put out the flames streaking up his body. The other Alterant did the same while Evalle kept the creature pushed off of them, but she couldn’t keep doing this and help Tristan.

She screamed at the two Alterants, “Run!”

They tried, but the creature whipped between them and the exit. The Alterants attacked it as a team. One latched onto the serpent’s arm. When the serpent dove his head down to bite the offender, the other Alterant jumped and dug his fangs into the serpent’s neck.

Stomping her boots to release the hidden blades, Evalle turned to help Tristan.

The first serpent had Tristan pinned down on his knees, caught between the ground and the field of kinetic energy he used as a shield. He’d be crushed in seconds. The thing’s tentacles had latched onto the power and lengthened, snaking around to find an opening.

Evalle blasted a wave of power at the beast. It whipped its head around toward her. Eyes of hell blazed with yellow centers. Foam poured around his fangs. He snarled and turned back to Tristan.

That hadn’t worked. Tristan needed more power on his side of the energy. Evalle took a step toward him.

The ground beneath her feet started swirling and sucking her down into a sand pit.

She searched for Kizira.

The Medb priestess hovered again, chanting, head back in a trance state. Lightning crackled and fingered away from her body. She was feeding power to her creatures.

Evalle pushed and kicked at the funneling sand, but it kept dragging her down. She started gaining and broke a boot free to step away from the sand when she felt a hard draw on her energy from Tristan.

She lost her footing and was back to pedaling against being swallowed by the swirling sand. She looked to Tristan, needing his power.

He roared and shoved up against the serpent, knocking the creature back. Then Tristan whipped out a length of power that sparked and glowed. When the serpent roared back to life and dove at Tristan, he swung his six feet of sparking power across the serpent, cutting off its head.

The head flew past Evalle, purple liquid gushing all over Tristan and the floor, bubbling in the flames.

The sand pit sucked Evalle faster and faster. Tristan!

Had Kizira wanted to kill her after all?

Evalle clawed at rushing sand and air, sinking to her waist, then her chest. Sand reached her chin . . . her nose.

Her gaze shot up, searching for any help.

Tristan dove toward her as she sank beneath the surface.

His hand clamped around her wrist with iron force.

Evalle couldn’t breathe. Tristan came into her mind. Stay with me. Kizira’s still in her trance. Hold on. I’m taking all your power.

When he drained her power this time, it was as if her insides had been turned inside out.

She had no strength left to fight.

What had happened to her power?

He yanked her up once and had her head free. She sucked air, wheezing for every breath. Her lungs burned.

Ah, crap. Kizira came out of her trance right then. She raised her arm to attack.

Using the power of two Belador Alterants, Tristan threw a series of lightning bolts, shoving her back.

He wrenched Evalle’s arm, dragging her clear of the pit.

Kizira shouted a mouthful of undecipherable words and raised her arms, pointing at the ceiling.

Throw another lightning bolt, Evalle told Tristan.

Can’t. I zapped everything you and I had left in that last attack. He looked over to where the two Alterants were ripping arms from their creature and yelled, “Get out of here.”

A rumbling sound started across the ceiling and grew.

The ground shook beneath Evalle, throwing her backwards.

She struggled to her feet. Tristan hooked an arm around her waist and started dragging her to the opening.

Rocks began falling, crashing down in front of their exit.

One hit Evalle on her shoulder. She yelped.

A baseball-sized chunk bounced off Tristan’s temple, drawing blood. He flagged against her. The other two Alterants howled, pelted by more and more stones.

If she didn’t get out of here, the last two gifts the Tribunal had awarded her would be of no use. But what would stop that bitch from raining rocks down on them and contain her long enough for them to get away?

Evalle could not use any of the three gifts to kill unless she had no other choice, and she still had to justify wielding the power.

Would the Tribunal consider saving the three Alterants as an acceptable reason to kill Kizira?