The Curse (Belador #3)(7)

With the cover of darkness, she risked shoving a field of energy up to stop the bullets as she turned toward the shooter. Fortunately, he was too far away to see the bullets bounce off the invisible wall of power. She couldn’t use her kinetics to harm a human, but she could protect herself and others, especially if she didn’t expose her unusual abilities.

She sent a mild wave of energy across the field, knocking the shooter backward off his feet. His weapon fell loose, then … flew up to rest in the nearest tree.

Imagine that.

Two wrestling bodies bumped into her.

She wheeled around, expecting to crack a couple more heads, when one of the men started changing. His head stretched in two hideous directions and his mouth widened, accommodating fangs.

This just turned way worse than a gang war.

She called out to Tzader, We got a Rías shifting in the open area.

Tzader called back, Rías? Not an Alterant?

Yep. No glowing green eyes. His are natural looking.

Get him away from the humans.

Then another voice came into her mind. Evalle, Tristan here.

Tristan called her now?

Before she could answer him, Tzader ordered, Get the beast to chase you. Don’t engage him until I tell you.

Evalle? Tristan said louder in her head.

Power surged through her mind when Tzader started shouting orders telepathically to all the Beladors.

Evalle shook her fist at Tristan’s sucky timing, but she had to wait for Tzader to finish before she could shield her mind to communicate with only one person. The safety of her fellow Beladors came first. Nine Beladors had died last year while linked when the Alterant they fought killed one of them. Which is one reason Evalle’s freedom was threatened. Those in power questioned whether she might lose control and also harm humans or other beings.

Like the one shifting before her. Unlike the two Rías Tristan had trained, this one showed no signs of restraint.

Which meant it would eat the human it had by the arm.

She ripped the gang member from the beast’s grasp and tossed the cursing human thug thirty feet away.

The Rías roared as he finished shifting.

As per Tzader’s orders that were still flowing telepathically through her mind, she lifted her hand and slapped the beast with a mild kinetic blast to get his attention.

That worked, aggravating him.

He stumbled back a few feet, shaking his oversize head, which had two holes for a nose and a mouth big enough to fit a human head in one bite. Fuzzy hair stuck up across his scalp in a Brillo-pad Mohawk. His forehead hung like a canopy over soulless eyes. Thick arms had ripped his multicolored shirt, and three fingers on each hand curled with sharp claws.

Evalle had to get him moving before the other humans saw him. She taunted the beast, “Come on, you ugly dog. You gonna let a woman kick your butt?”

Tzader’s orders kept pouring through her mind as he directed the team, then he told her, Evalle, once the Rías charges you, run toward that patch of trees on the west side of the field.

Evalle glanced away just long enough to make a mental note of the distance. A good hundred yards away. Be ready when I get there.

We will.

Tzader and four Beladors would be waiting to capture this beast … unless they were forced to kill it.

The minute Tzader withdrew from her mind, Tristan’s voice snapped at Evalle, You want a tip on the traitor or not?

The traitor? Could Tristan know where Conlan O’Meary was hiding? That would buy her all kinds of points with Macha.

About time she had some good luck. Keeping an eye on the Rías as the beast’s vision cleared and he focused on her, Evalle called back to Tristan, Where—

A chain wrapped around her neck and tightened with inhuman power from behind.

The beast howled and rushed her.





THREE




Evalle shut her mind down to everything except surviving. She dug at the thick chain strangling her and focused kinetic energy into her fingers to keep the steel links from crushing her windpipe.

But in two seconds, the Rías in front of her would cut her to pieces with his claws if she didn’t block the attack.

Pulling one hand off the chain, she slapped a short blast of energy at the beast.

The chain tightened. Yanked her neck.

Stars shot across her vision. She gagged for air.

But the beast charging her bounced sideways, rolling over the ground.

She stumbled, dragged backward by the bastard trying to kill her. Her vision blurred. She risked splitting her focus for a second to send a quick telepathic burst. Tzader … help!

No air. She was suffocating. Couldn’t force enough energy through her fingers to pull the chain away.

Was the chain charmed? What had ahold of her?

Fighting to stay conscious, she lifted both hands over her shoulders and clapped kinetically at whatever held her from behind, which sure as heck wasn’t a human.

Her attacker jerked from the hit of energy and stopped pulling her. His grip loosened.

Blood couldn’t circulate fast enough. Her head still felt as if it would explode any minute. She sucked in a hoarse gulp of air before the chain leash towed her backward again. Shuffling quickly, she stayed on her feet.

She stomped her next two steps, releasing blades hidden in the soles of her boots, then shoved a boot straight back, connecting with bone.