Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(29)
Casper gestured to the agents in the room. “Are we it? Please tell me given the nature of this beast that we’re going to have more folks looking for it.”
Sen hesitated before he spoke. “This is a highly delicate situation. The fewer people who know the stone is up for grabs, the better off we’ll be. So do not share information with anyone outside this team, not even other VIPER members, and especially not that we’re searching for the Ngak Stone. I can’t risk sending in a large contingent that would alert our enemies. If word of the stone’s reappearance surfaced, any and every thing with supernatural power would show up to get their hands on it.”
Lucien scoffed. “Word will get out.”
Wasn’t he Mr. Encouraging? Evalle didn’t think Lucien would live long around Sen if he kept that up, but she welcomed anyone drawing Sen’s attention away from her.
“Then we have to find that stone and the woman quickly.” Sen’s terse words sent in Lucien’s direction made it clear he wasn’t up for any negative attitude or slackers.
Trey shook his head. “Atlanta’s spread out. Do we know where to look for this woman?”
“No, but we know where the stone should reappear since it can’t physically move itself. The stone can create environmental changes that cause it to be moved, but it still has to wait to be picked up.”
Trey let out an angry sound of frustration. “Damn, this sucks.” He leveled a serious stare at Sen. “You do realize that I now have to choose between the end of the world as we know it and my balls, right?”
Sen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Pardon?”
“My wife’s in her last weeks of pregnancy, and if I’m not there when she goes into labor, she will annihilate my testicles. Both of them. Without anesthesia. I’d rather the earth end in a bloody ball of flames than I lose the boys. I think every male in this room agrees …” He glanced over to where Lucien leaned against the wall. “Well, maybe not Lucien. The jury’s still out on his sexual preference, but I don’t want to be a soprano.”
Lucien’s eyes held a wicked threat when he chuckled. “You keep that up, cabrón, and you won’t have to wait on your wife to remove them. I assure you, it can be arranged here and now.”
The tic started again in Sen’s jaw. “Go to your respective corners, both of you.” He looked at Trey. “As for your personal matter, I suggest then that you locate the stone quickly before your jewels are handed to you. And trust me, once her labor pains kick in, even if you’re there, you’ll be lucky to walk away with them intact anyway.”
Sen turned his attention to the rest of them. “Now if we can focus on something other than Trey’s testicles, we still have Armageddon to deal with. Tzader’s spearheading this mission, and Trey will handle communications with headquarters. Quinn will work with Casper. Storm will become part of the southeastern team. Evalle will show Storm around.”
Evalle stiffened. When had she become a tour guide? She started to complain that she couldn’t be saddled with a new guy when she had to be inside during the daylight, but Sen would love nothing more than to have her admit she was lacking.
Again.
But with that came a sense of dread. The last thing she wanted was to deal with Storm tonight. Not that he hadn’t seemed like a decent guy at first glance. Still, she didn’t want to be alone with him for several reasons.
One, she didn’t trust any man when they were alone.
Second, she didn’t know what kind of powers Storm had or how he felt about being stuck with a woman. Then there was the small matter of her being an Alterant. Her experience with Beladors was that they tended to freak whenever they found out about her heritage. He’d put her at the bottom of the food chain, right under Birrn demons and pond scum.
With any luck, Tzader would take Storm off her hands to train.
Lucien jerked his chin toward Adrianna. “What about her?”
Sen glanced at Adrianna, then back at Lucien before he answered. “She’ll be working on her own, but you’re to assist her.”
Lucien’s eyes darkened with an emotion Evalle would call loathing that matched his tone. “Ah, I would say gracias, but that would sound as though you did me a favor. Perhaps now you’d care to tell everyone what she is?”
Evalle had found the source of the hatred she’d felt when Adrianna had walked into the mission room.
And Adrianna didn’t appear any happier with Lucien than he was with her.
When all eyes focused on Sen, he explained, “She’s a Sterling witch, working with us on this one mission. We needed a consultant who was there the last time a witch opened a portal for the Kujoo.”
Evalle shook her head. “Are you out of your mind? You want us to trust a witch from the Sterling family? A black-majik-practicing dynasty?”
Sen’s eyes narrowed to slits. “A Tribunal has approved her. This is not your decision.”
Evalle had to force herself not to argue her point. Tribunals weren’t infallible by any stretch of the imagination. But Sen wasn’t about to listen to her, even though all of them knew better than to trust a Sterling.
What was the Tribunal thinking?
Sen’s threatening gaze shifted to Lucien, whose only reaction was a muscle twitching in his jaw. “Another thing. I had a report that a Birrn demon was executed in a warehouse off Metropolitan Parkway in Atlanta this morning. I want to know who or what took him down and what the demon was doing there. I know it couldn’t have been one of our agents, since no one called for cleanup.” His face tightened. “At least it better not be one of our people. The gods help them if it is and I expect answers by sunset, or it won’t go well for any of you.”