Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(31)
Evalle couldn’t squelch the irritation she’d kept bottled until now. “Did we have to come all the way up here to hear this? Couldn’t Trey have briefed us from home?”
The pleasure that burst into Sen’s gaze took her breath, and not in a good way. “Trey could have briefed the others, but I wanted you here for another reason. Storm’s SUV has been warded to shield the interior from the sun. And there’s a motorcycle trailer hitched to it for your bike. He’ll be driving you back so that you won’t damage yourself.” Could he be any more snide?
Tzader would have been proud of her for not saying a word. But in all honesty she’d gone blank. Ride two hours with a man who had …
What had Storm done to her? She still didn’t know what kind of powers he possessed.
“Looking forward to the company on the drive down.” Storm’s tone was professional, yet his gaze was anything but.
She’d be the first to admit she found him sexy … if admired from a distance. However, the last thing she wanted was to be trapped inside a vehicle with an unknown male for two hours.
Especially one her senses were yelling at her to avoid.
Sen’s expression was creepily pleasant, like that of a lion licking its chops while eyeballing its prey. “I want you to review the Birrn death with Storm. Tell him everything you know about paranormal activity in the city and the recent proliferation of demon visits.”
“Okay.”
Sen’s gaze sharpened, like he’d just cornered her. “By the way, I didn’t tell you why I brought Storm in.”
“He knows something about Birrns?”
Sen shook his head. “He’s a Navajo shaman who can track unnatural beings. But he has one special talent I think you’ll find fascinating. It’s one that will be of great benefit to VIPER. Storm has the ability to know if someone is lying or not.” An evil, smug smile curved his lips. “And he’s going to be your new partner, which should expedite your efforts in finding out why the demons are here, as well as ensuring the Ngak Stone doesn’t end up in your hands.”
Bile rose in her throat. “Thought you said the stone would never pick an Alterant.”
“The gods occasionally have a sick sense of humor. And I can’t take the chance that it will seduce you.”
Oh, I’d like for it to choose me. ’Cause you’d be the first one I’d go for, you arrogant bastard. That alone would make it worth her soul.
And now she understood what had caused Sen’s happiness.
He wanted her out of VIPER, since he didn’t like an anomaly on his team. The little pig thought Storm would catch her in a lie that would land her in suspension … or a Tribunal hearing.
Sen was wrong.
Storm could catch her in a whole string of lies, and any one of them could doom her.
SIX
“My lord, my lord,” Ekkbar called out. “I have news.”
Batuk flicked his hand, tossing an arc of power at the magician to prevent him from rushing forward.
Ekkbar’s skinny legs continued to run where he stood, but they didn’t carry him forward.
Batuk growled at the half-wit he’d warned not to show his face again in the great hall. At least not for a thousand years if he wanted to continue breathing. After all, it was Ekkbar’s fault their Kujoo people had been cursed to live beneath Mount Meru for the past eight hundred years.
Snakes carved as arms on his throne began to undulate beneath Batuk’s tense muscles.
Ekkbar’s high voice pleaded, “Please, my lord, you must listen. I have found a new portal, I have.”
“Lies!” Batuk roared. They’d all been searching for a new portal. It was inconceivable that this lowly piece of excrement would be able to succeed where the rest of them had failed.
Rock walls glowed, shifting as if molten lava. Flames spit out between cracks in the stone.
By the gods, he would kill that scab if not for one problem.
Every member of his Kujoo tribe was immortal.
Because the gods hate us. Better we should have been slaughtered in battle than subjected to this horror of eternal, never-relenting hell. He curled his fingers, muscles tight with the need to kill Ekkbar.
His fingernails sharpened into metal claws.
The elite guard drew their swords and moved forward. His men couldn’t kill Ekkbar, but with a little encouragement they would make the magician scream for mercy, which might alleviate a few minutes of his boredom.
Batuk’s fury stoked the temperatures high until the nihar billowing around his throne turned from fog to hot steam.
Ekkbar bowed his head in reverence—a lying act, like all his other actions. “But, my lord, I bring you good news. You said not to return unless I could free you of this place. I would not defy you, my lord. Not defy you.”
Batuk held his hand up to stay his guard. What if this pathetic maggot had actually found a way for more than one of them to escape?
Could his army ever be free again? Batuk’s silent question echoed back at him from the weary eyes of his men.
He glared at the magician. “For my tribe, I will hear you. But heed me now when I warn you to take care. If you use lies to sow false hopes, I will have your skin peeled off daily.”
Ekkbar swallowed hard, then bounced his head up and down. “Yes, yes. Free my legs, my lord, and I will tell you great truths.”