Alterant (Belador #2)(90)

Evalle still had the last Tribunal gift left, but she couldn’t use teleportation again because no request could be duplicated.

And truthfully, she didn’t want to force them to join her.

Free will meant everything to her. She wanted these guys to choose to go with her. Once they were all out of here, she felt certain all she had to do was explain her plan to those two behind her to convince them of their best chance at freedom.

If Sen showed up with the hourglass first, the decision would be out of Tristan’s hands.

Speaking of time, she was past the ninety minutes Storm had agreed to wait for her. “We’ve got to hustle.”

Tristan took a look at his watch and signaled the other two with a wave of his hand to pick up the pace.

The ghosts must have been ready to get rid of them, because no one so much as said Boo on their way to the subway access wall.

When they reached the spot where Evalle had entered the maze, she told Tristan, “I probably need to go first and make sure Storm knows I’m alive before you bring those two out.”

For once, Tristan didn’t argue. “Good idea.”

Webster and Aaron stood a few feet away, their backs turned to them, but Webster was already shrinking back into his human body. He called out in a voice not quite human yet, “We going to Deca—”

Tristan cut him off. “Not yet. I’ll take her out and be right back.”

Webster growled and nodded.

Evalle allowed Tristan to put his arm around her waist once more to teleport. A blessedly short trip, which allowed her to throw up mental shields against receiving any telepathy the minute her feet hit hard ground again. She pulled out of his grasp and searched in both directions for Storm, then grumbled, “Crap.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” But she’d thought Storm would cut her ten minutes’ slack. She turned to Tristan, immediately calculating the best way to slip him and the other two Alterants out of the subway area before a threat to all of them showed up. “Webster and Aaron both need to change before they get to this side.”

“They’re already shifting as we . . . speak.” Tristan stumbled to the right and grabbed his head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Teleporting . . . it’s . . . never mind.”

She knew. Teleporting drained his powers, which weren’t back up to full speed yet. “Can you get the other two out for sure?”

“Yes.”

“How long will it take?”

“With this short of a jump, one, maybe two minutes.”

She gave her watch a quick glance. Storm had expected her almost fifteen minutes ago. “Hurry up then before any VIPER agent or Belador finds out we’re here. By the time you get back, I’ll figure out where we can go in order to be safe, unless your sister has a secure location.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“What about clothes for Aaron and Webster?”

“I’ve got that covered.” Tristan shook off his momentary debilitation and stood with his back straight, as though he prepared to teleport, then looked at Evalle. “Thanks for fighting at my side.”

“Like I had a choice?” But she smirked and lifted her chin in a small salute. “Once we make it to a secure location, I’ll have Storm or Tzader bring your sister so she’ll be safe, too, just like I promised.”

He hesitated, then nodded right before he faded into a swirl of motion and disappeared.

“Evalle?”

She jumped around to see a man in a hoodie running toward her. But she’d recognize the moves of that body anywhere. Storm jogged with the same fluid gait in human form as when he shifted into a black jaguar.

He was alone, which meant he might not have called anyone yet.

She smiled, genuinely happy to be out of the maze and even happier to see Storm.

“What the hell happened?” he shouted at her from ten feet away.

That killed her smile. She yelled back, “I’ve been a little busy dodging pitchfork-wielding ghosts, fire serpents and an insane priestess. Don’t yell at me for being late.”

He stopped two steps short of her.

She was vibrating with so much adrenaline that she only picked up on a flood of intense emotion wafting from him. She’d been too battered over the last hour and a half for her empathic sense to narrow down specifics, but anyone could hear the anger riveting his voice.

“That’s not what I meant to say first,” he said, changing to his other voice.

She just realized he had this other voice, the one he’d used sometimes around her. Like when he’d soothed her after a demonic ghoul had stabbed her leg with Noirre majik two days ago, and to calm her while teleporting with him today.

“What did you mean to say, Storm?”

“I was worried when you ran late. What happened?”

She didn’t need her empathic side to understand honesty. Giving him a tired smile, she said, “I’ll tell you everything as soon as we have time, but I only have two Alterants right now.”

Taking a step forward, he said, “Two?”

“The Medb killed one.”

When he closed the distance between them to inches, he lifted a hand and pushed hair behind her ear, smoothing his hand against her cheek. One touch and pleasure rippled out from her center.