Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(105)

Storm studied her quietly, just long enough to let her know he’d heard the snippy sound in her reply. His lips twitched, just a little indication of a smile, as if he’d figured out something. “Adrianna suggested she could track the Noirre majik from your injury if she did it right away, so Trey contacted me and we gave it a shot.”

Hopefully the dark surrounding her hid her mixed reaction. She had to admit that Storm’s plan made sense and was glad they’d found the body, even if it had been Adrianna-the-sexy-witch who had spent the day with Storm doing it. On the other hand, this would be an opportune time to use Feenix’s new curse word. “How’d you know it was the same body?”

“We didn’t until we called in the death—”

“Who’d you call?” Snapping at him wasn’t wise, but why did he and Adrianna have to find the body?

Storm paused long enough to take a breath that sounded burdened with patience on the exhale. “I called Trey, who contacted a Belador with Atlanta PD who investigated the anonymous phone tip on a dead body. When they got the remains to the morgue, the ME on duty recognized it.”

Her shoulders slumped with relief. “Was the ME Beaulah?”

“That sounds like her name.”

“I work with her. Did you tell Sen about the body?”

“Had to at that point.”

Evalle tasted bitter disappointment in her next words. “Should I be watching out for Sen around the next corner?”

“I don’t see why. We figured out the witch wasn’t using the body for a blood sacrifice but hiding it in a deep freezer, because the minute Adrianna touched the remains the woman’s ghost entered the room and told us how a Cresyl demon had killed her.”

“You’re kidding.” Evalle couldn’t believe something was working out in her favor for once. “That’s great.”

“No, I’m not kidding, and, yes, that is good news. I told Sen about the death and the Cresyl, so he has no reason to think an Alterant killed her.”

Storm had come through for her again. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. But the trail stopped there, so we still aren’t any closer to finding the rock.”

Nicole had told her, “Trust will open the path to one who is born to the task.” Wouldn’t a Native American be “born to the task” of tracking? Wasn’t that what Sen was using Storm for?

Storm moved through the unlit areas of Piedmont like he was on the hunt, every muscle flowing naturally.

“I did some work on my own today, too,” she said, trying to figure out if he was the one who could find the rock if she extended some trust. “I was told that someone who was born to tracking could find the stone. I think that might be you.”

“I don’t think so. I came back earlier tonight to see if I could pick up a trail from where you found the girl with the rock and Vyan. The only energy I was able to sense was that of two powerful males.” He paused, giving her a questioning look after referencing what had to be Vyan and Tristan’s energy residue. When she didn’t offer anything, he continued. “One trail just vanished and the other one ended in that same spot at Tenth Street next to the park where I lost it last night.”

She didn’t need to see his eyes to know he was waiting on her to tell him the truth about that encounter. “He shouldn’t have disappeared so easily, but he did when he reached the street.”

“Who and what is he?” Storm asked quietly, not demanding.

This whole trust thing felt like a severe case of food poisoning, but Nicole wouldn’t have steered her wrong, and they were running out of time. “If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else without asking me first.”

He strode along silently, long legs eating up ground like a big animal on the prowl. “Okay, you got it.”

She wiped her clammy hands on each other, then stopped when she realized she was wringing her hands. “His name is Tristan and he’s an Alterant who escaped a spellbound cage.”

Storm cursed under his breath. “You faced him and two demented ghouls? Alone? He could have killed you.”

His concern over her safety made her feel better about that bout of jealousy a moment ago. “I held my own.”

“Why didn’t you tell Tzader and Quinn about this?”

She’d wanted to more than he’d ever know. “It’s a little complicated. First of all, Tristan swears that Brina put him in a cage even though he had never shifted or hurt anyone. I confirmed that through another source that I don’t want to bring into this just yet, but it makes me question my faith in Brina. Even so, the minute I tell Tzader or Quinn about Tristan they’ll have to tell VIPER and Brina. She has the ability to find Tristan immediately—”

“Why not tell her and recapture Tristan?”

“That’s the problem. He said that’s exactly what the Medb and Kujoo want Brina to do. They’ve set some trap and want her to call in the Beladors, which she would have to do in order to stop the Kujoo. But I have a feeling Tristan is not lying and the Belador tribe would be slaughtered and that he’s holding back more than that.”

Storm reached over and pushed a branch up she hadn’t been watching with her eyes on the ground. She smiled her thanks.

After covering another ten steps, Storm asked, “Does Tristan think the Beladors won’t hunt him to the ends of the earth?”