The Curse (Belador #3)(74)

“You will know when she is near, but in my heart I feel you will not find happiness once you face her.”

“I will if I make her return my father’s soul, and mine.”

“What if you cannot regain what you have lost?”

Never get his soul back? “I won’t entertain that possibility.” He couldn’t consider failure when his father had no one else but Storm to save him.

“If you do not kill her, she will take that which you most desire.”

“She already has.”

“That was then. This is now.”

He’d heard this warning before, back when Kai had told him the witch doctor hunted Evalle, which paralleled his visions. Irritation over Isak Nyght would not interfere with his commitment to Evalle’s safety. “I won’t allow the witch doctor to harm Evalle, but to protect her I need to know where I can find the witch doctor or … when she’ll find me.”

Kai sighed deeply, her hands folded in her lap. “You risk much for this Evalle.”

“Maybe so, but it’s mine to risk,” he said in a polite voice, since he couldn’t fault Kai for pointing out that he might not be thinking clearly when it came to Evalle.

“Evalle has angered you.”

Anger didn’t come close to what he’d been feeling for the past hour. “Why would you say that?”

“Your aura was calm and happy during past visits when you mentioned Evalle, but it is now in chaos.”

An accurate description of his insides at the moment. Chaotic and acidic. “That’s a normal state around Evalle.”

Kai smiled, eyes shining with the humor of an indulgent aunt. “Perhaps this is good for you.”

“You think her driving me crazy is good?” he asked, forgetting to keep his tone even and undemanding.

“Yes.” Kai smiled again, eyes light with humor. “She is the reason you fought to stay alive. She causes your aura to brighten even as she creates chaos. You have been consumed too long with finding the witch doctor and saving your father. You have had no thought for your own happiness.”

She had a point.

He’d been pretty grim before he met Evalle. After only one day teamed up with her, Storm had decided he liked the prickly woman. She might know how to kill demons and stomp the butts of most men, human or otherwise, but she had an untamed innocence when it came to anything sexual.

Watching her open up to his slow advances had given him back something he’d lost—the ability to care about another person in the world of the living.

Kai watched him with eyes that saw more than he cared to share sometimes. “Or do you find the Adrianna who cared for you more interesting?”

“No.” He answered too quickly before realizing his guardian teased him. He could rarely dodge Kai when it came to revealing the truth. “I admit that Evalle does make me happy, but not right this minute.”

“How has she offended you?”

She kissed another man. When he said that in his head, it didn’t sound as bad as what he’d watched. Especially since he had no claim on Evalle and might have to leave if the witch doctor slipped through his fingers. That didn’t stop him from wanting to rip off Isak’s head for touching Evalle. “The issue with Evalle is something I can handle. I’m more concerned over finding the witch doctor and need your help to do that.”

Kai nodded, then shut her eyes and lifted her hands, pressing her palms together in front of her chest. She whispered a soft chant for several minutes, then became silent, swaying slightly left, then right, until she lowered her hands. When her normally soft brown eyes opened, they were milky orbs. He always found it odd to hear the shallow voice of an old woman coming from Kai’s young form.

“The witch doctor’s energy circles closer to you each day. She will find the one she seeks before the next new moon. Beware of her words, for you will lose if they entangle you.”

Storm tamped down his impatience in spite of his pulse’s thrumming at the hope of nearing the end of his search. The witch doctor would be here by the new moon at the end of this month.

But did that mean she’d find him first? Or Evalle? He asked, “Is there any chance she’ll be here sooner?”

Kai weaved back and forth, her smooth forehead tensing, then relaxing. “Not before sunrise three days from now.”

Good. That would give him time to work off the frustration tightening his insides before he spoke to Evalle again, without worrying about the witch doctor getting to her first. In his present state of mind, he might say something to Evalle he’d later regret.

Right now he wanted Kai to explain about her warning to beware of the witch doctor’s words that could entangle him.

Kai’s eyes cleared. She stared through him as if watching something else and warned, “You must return to your world. Someone approaches.”

“Wait.” Something pulled Storm backward as Kai faded along with the meadow. He closed his eyes, trying to catch up to the swift change in his body.

The sound of knocking on his front door shook him from his groggy state.

He cupped his head and pushed to his feet, trying to get fully back in his body. He opened the door.

Evalle stood before him, rigid as a general, but Storm always picked up on her emotions, with his empathic ability quicker than any other person he’d ever been around.