Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(28)
When he said “a trace of Belador blood,” Sen sent a derogatory glance at Evalle before continuing. “Finally, when there were only a few of each left, Macha and Shiva came to an agreement. She would corral and sanction the remaining Beladors, and Shiva would lock his now insane Kujoo beneath Mount Meru—where they continue to live, train and plot the Belador communal deaths. Two years ago, one such plot resulted in a Kujoo warrior escaping Mt. Meru with the Ngak Stone. During the ensuing fight against some of our operatives, he lost the stone in Piedmont Park.”
Casper sat forward. “Wait … you’re saying that we knew where this potential Belador kryptonite has been sitting the whole time but didn’t send a retrieval team to find it and put it in our vault?”
Sen gave him a duh stare. “Yes, Casper. We purposefully left it there. It made such a great resting place for the pigeons and tourists that we couldn’t bring ourselves to move it.”
Trey spoke up. “It’s only the size of a goose egg, not a damn boulder. There was one good thing that came from the battle. Macha fixed our eyes. Our powers are no longer linked to our vision.”
“Speak for yourself,” Evalle muttered. Many of the Beladors, like Trey, had been subject to weakening of powers if their eyes were compromised. After the battle with the Kujoo two years back, Brina had lobbied Macha to fix that, which the goddess had. Be nice if Brina had lobbied Macha on Evalle’s behalf to allow her to walk in sunshine. “I still have sensitive eyes.”
“But it doesn’t affect your powers the way it did ours,” Trey pointed out.
Sen broke in. “Think you two can save the drivel for your own time?” He addressed the whole room. “The stone becomes invisible until it wants to be found, sometimes for centuries. We could have excavated the entire park and never found that rock. It chooses when and where to be seen or found.”
Trey let out an elongated breath. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that we have some idea who or what the stone has chosen for a new master.”
“In the past, it’s always chosen someone with significant powers. Someone with an unknown history. The only clue Shiva could give us is that he believes it’ll select a woman this time.”
“Well, there goes the neighborhood.” Casper winked at Evalle.
Evalle rolled her eyes. That cowboy was asking for trouble and some female would oblige him one day, but not her. He didn’t interest her at all, not like Isak, whose touch had been …
No, don’t go there.
Because she had no interest in a relationship with anything other than H?agen-Dazs. Especially not with a man whose favorite extracurricular activity was hunting nonhumans.
There was no telling what he’d do to her if he ever learned who and what she really was.
Sen crossed his arms over his chest, the action bringing her thoughts back to the matter at hand as he continued. “Shiva has agreed to let us put the Ngak Stone in our vault if the stone allows its owner to hand it to us voluntarily. Shiva warned he will not interfere with the stone’s destiny. He can’t. So we must find that woman and get that rock.”
“What if the rock is destined to remain with the woman it chooses?” Adrianna’s voice was filmy as smoke, soft and tainted with hidden undercurrents. “Why are we assuming this woman shouldn’t wield its power?”
If not for hearing an ulterior motive beneath Adrianna’s words, Evalle might have seen her point.
Amazingly, Sen showed no sign of annoyance at being questioned by the blonde. “Shiva had a vision. He saw two paths for the stone once it passed into the woman’s hands. The first showed it resting in a guarded space—the outcome we prefer. The other ended with it being used for cataclysmic destruction. If this stone lands in the wrong hands, it could change the landscape of the world as we know it. Every time it shows up, it changes human history, and never for the better.”
“Where’s Indiana Jones when we need him?” Casper wondered aloud.
Sen’s jaw twitched, but he continued the briefing. “In the past, our people were lucky and managed to prevent total destruction of our planet. This time? It’s up to us. Things are going to get ugly if we don’t get our hands on the Ngak Stone.”
“How do you plan to take the rock from its new owner if we find her?” Lucien’s question surprised the room when he spoke.
Evalle imagined that deep voice and melodic Latin accent played well with the females. Oozing testosterone and looking like sex on two legs probably didn’t hurt either.
Sen sighed. “We can’t take the Ngak Stone from her. She has to willingly hand it over.”
“Not exactly true.” Lucien paused, his voice softening with a lethal quality when he added, “There is one other way to take possession.”
Evalle arched an inquisitive look at the Castilian, grasping what he insinuated. The new master could die.
Remind me to stay on his good side.
Sen glared at him. “You will not kill her to take that rock.”
Lucien smiled, an expression his stony gaze failed to support. “I don’t intend to. However, accidents happen and other creatures besides us are hunting for it. Who knows? She could easily slip and fall on someone’s knife. A few dozen times.”
Sen sighed. “As you said, we can’t stop that, but anyone who tries to take the stone by force would have to be out of their mind. The stone might accept a new master, or it might turn on the person who attacked the chosen one. The gods help them then, because it won’t be pretty.”