Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(85)

Her calf muscle ached like something was trying to chew its way out where the ghoul had stabbed her. It felt as if her skin was burning from the inside out.

The rain had died down to a drizzling mist. There came Storm down the concrete steps in the middle of the park. He jogged up to her, his face lined with worry when he touched her cheek.

She flinched when his fingers brushed her bruised face.

“What happened to you? I can feel sharp needles of pain coming off you.”

“Got stabbed in the back of my leg by something like that ghoul thing you chased. You catch him?”

“No. And he’s not the only one. I ran into three more in the park. I had to stay and watch over a human couple until the ghouls left.” Storm stepped around behind her and squatted down, gently checking her leg.

But the slightest touch sent spasms of pain shooting up her calf and thigh. “Crap!”

“I don’t like the color oozing out of this wound.”

“What do you mean? I bleed red just like everyone else.”

“There’s purple running with the blood. You could be infected by some sort of majik. This smells like spoiled oranges.”

That would be the color and smell of Medb majik. What would that do to her? “We have to meet the rest of the team at Trey’s house.”

“You aren’t walking far with that.” Storm stood up and leaned as though to lift her.

“Don’t even think about picking me up if you want to draw your next breath,” she warned.

“You’re so stubborn.” He didn’t try to hide the irritation in his voice. “Whatever’s in your system could cause you to shift involuntarily or kill you if it stays in long enough.”

“I’ll let you know if I start feeling twitchy.” She sounded like a snotty bitch, but she was working real hard not to upchuck.

“That’s reassuring,” he said in a tight voice. “How far is Trey’s house?”

“About a mile.”

“We’d get there a lot faster and you wouldn’t be in as much pain if you’d let me help you.”

“I can handle the pain.” Barely. “Let’s go.” She hobbled along, trying not to think about how sick she felt. What had that ghoul infected her with?

“What’s the meeting about?” Storm asked.

“I found the Ngak Stone.”

“Where is it?”

“Worst possible place. The stone and the woman who has it are with a Kujoo warrior.” And they couldn’t have picked a worse person to take control of the stone if Tristan was successful. Had Tristan been telling her the truth about being sent to a cage before he’d shifted?

If so, that meant Brina could be lying to her about the other Alterants.

What about Vyan? How did he fit into all this?

She didn’t know why Vyan had tried to protect the woman from Tristan, but just the fact that the Kujoo warrior had done so made Evalle wonder if there was some dissent among the Kujoo.

Regardless, Vyan had to relish wiping out all the Beladors as much as the other Kujoo and Tristan did.

Heat crawled up her leg, tugging her awareness back to the most immediate threat. Could Medb majik kill an Alterant?

Just her suck-ass luck to be the test case.





TWENTY-SIX




Laurette waited for the man lying in her living room to get up and kill her.

He could do it. Thanks to her magic rock, she’d had enough vision to see him draw a sword on another guy who’d thrown lightning bolts from his fingers in Piedmont Park.

A sword. Lightning bolts from humans.

All that had been before she’d magically traveled from the park to her little cottage a couple blocks away.

She looked down at the glowing rock in her hand. Magic. She’d never believed in magic, but what other explanation was there for standing in one place one minute then showing up in another the next?

Brutus came running back into the living room, his mouth still dripping water from where he’d gone to his bowl in the kitchen. She’d freed his leash from the inert guy’s body the minute she’d gotten here, but his water-soaked body was still sprawled in the middle of her floor. Dripping all over her braided rug that had seen better years.

Grandpa Barrett would hoot over this if he were still alive. He used to tell her how life was full of magic.

That a miracle was just pure magic.

She could understand how a hundred voices raised in prayer to a higher form could result in a miracle.

But a rock?

Brutus sniffed all around the arm of the unconscious man on the floor. Then he sniffed the guy’s long wet hair also clinging to her rug.

“Careful, Brutus. He might wake up,” she whispered. She wished he would wake up so she could ask him who he was and how he’d known about her rock. And how she’d gotten home.

This guy had told her, “Run and get rid of that rock.”

After what she’d seen tonight, there was no way she’d let go of this rock. It had been the only thing to save her at the park. And who was that woman who had shown up and that other guy who’d tried to kill this one?

That tall woman had called this guy Vyan.

She’d also told Laurette to get rid of the rock.

The man in Laurette’s living room moaned, but the sound barely reached her ears.