Chapter 7

 

 

Quinn wanted everyone moving out immediately, but without alerting the prey. He explained, “Devon found the four men over near the bridge. Evalle and Adrianna pair up. I’ll leave Casper to cuff our captive and keep an eye on her.”

Evalle nodded. “Isak can put his gun on stun.”

“That’ll work.” Before heading out, Quinn made one thing clear to everyone. “We need one of these men alive for any chance of uncovering who is driving all this.”

Everyone nodded and fell in with Quinn, who led the way.

As they neared the thirty-foot-tall underpass covered in graffiti, Evalle and Adrianna split off to the right. They would circle wide, cross the bridge and come in from the opposite side to cut off any escape. Quinn didn’t think these men were teleporting, but that buzzing energy field had made them virtually invisible.

Devon spoke through the comm gear, telling Quinn and Isak that two of the men had departed to the east of the area and he was following.

Isak confirmed the message and said he’d join Devon, then the soldier peeled off to Quinn’s left.

Quinn eased through the sparse trees near the bridge and paused when he heard low voices arguing. One voice said, “How’re we going to explain that we lost both fucking demons?”

“We’ll just tell him they went crazy. He’s the one who said the demons were dependable. That’s his problem.”

Quinn salivated at the hope of finding out who they were referencing as him. Had to be the man in control.

“Demons have never been dependable.”

“You can tell that to—”

Quinn held his breath for the name. He eased forward until he could see the two men, one in profile, one from behind. He was tempted to dive into one of their heads and yank out the information. But his code of honor would not allow it. That would be like committing mental rape.

The men stopped talking suddenly.

A shout over to the left snatched his attention.

The two men he’d been listening to turned and moved out of view toward the sound. Were Devon and Casper engaged with the enemy? Quinn had taken a step that way when a blast of power caught him by surprise and shoved his body up against a tree.

He was pinned five feet off the ground. He tried shoving his own kinetics back at whatever was holding him, but damn, the power they were using was startling.

Both men walked back into view side-by-side with arms raised.

Quinn struggled to catch his breath against the pressure crushing his chest.

He called up all his kinetic power, shaking as he tried to shove it between their power and his chest. Not happening. He couldn’t breathe. In another thirty seconds, he’d black out and be at their mercy.

He had no choice now but to use mind lock.

Diving into the mind of the man on the right, Quinn came up against a fierce shield that shoved him back. He gritted his teeth and pushed a load of power, forcing his way past the shield.

The attacker on the right dropped his arms and grabbed his head.

His buddy, still pinning Quinn against the tree, shouted, “What are you doing, Sergio? That shit hurts. Kill him before he kills us.”

Quinn could breathe again, barely. He continued the pressure on Sergio’s head, and Sergio dropped to his knees, but the shield began attacking Quinn’s mind, stabbing his head with sharp needles of pain. He clenched his teeth, straining to funnel all his power into one brutal shove to break through, but those shields were like trying to drive a toothpick through steel.

The guy still forcing kinetics at Quinn spewed a string of words in a language Quinn had never heard.

Sergio rocked back and forth, clawing at his head.

Pressure on Quinn’s chest was no longer gaining power, but neither was it letting up completely.

Evalle ran up, using her kinetic power to knock aside the guy still standing. That broke Quinn free. He dropped to his feet, but he was still connected to Sergio’s head. Quinn had sensed something that he refused to believe.

Adrianna shouted, “What are you doing, Quinn? Your nose is bleeding.”

Evalle yanked on Quinn’s shoulder. “Get out of his head, Quinn!”

Quinn saw the fire erupt in the man’s mind a second before he broke the connection and pulled out. He slumped to the ground, wheezing for air. His head would feel better if he’d shoved it into a blender on high speed.

Sergio howled, beating his fists against his head and whimpering, “You lied. You lied. You ... ”

His mouth frothed, then his eyes rolled up. His head burst into flames. In seconds, the fire engulfed his body.

The other guy had fallen six feet away from him, but his body erupted in flames, too.

Quinn made the mental jump as to why, but he didn’t want to accept it.

Rain falling in a steady downpour did nothing to slow the fires or stop the bodies from turning into a thick layer of black ashes in less than a minute.

Adrianna asked, “What happened?”

“It was them or me,” Quinn explained, wiping his nose on his wet shirt. He wasn’t sure if that explanation was for anyone but himself. “I used my mind lock on ... them ... trying to break their kinetic hold on me. I couldn’t get through their shields. The best I can guess, the attempted breach of their mental shields set off an involuntary suicidal reaction.”

Evalle watched him, but she didn’t call him out by asking how he’d been in both minds. He’d never entered two minds at one time and frankly doubted he could, but he was not admitting what he’d just discovered.

Not yet.

Adrianna mused, “That’s an incredible spell, if it has the power to destroy them if their minds are breached. Do you want to hunt down the other two or start on cleanup?”

“Let’s clean this up. Devon and Isak went after the other two, but I’ll call them back in.”

Quinn spoke softly into his comm unit, telling the men they needed to fall back and regroup. He directed them to join Casper who was guarding their only witness from tonight. Devon confirmed.

Adrianna lifted her hands over the first blackened spot. “Do you have any use for the ashes?”

“I know you don’t do necromancy and I would not ask that of you, but do you have any contacts who could simply give us a read of what type of beings these men were?”

“No one I’m speaking to.”

“Understood, and I would never ask that of you, either.”

“Thank you.” Adrianna spoke over each body. As she did, the black ash swirled then vanished into the air.

On the way back to where Casper stood watch over the unknown woman, Evalle slowed her steps.

Quinn figured out what she was doing and pulled back to give them room to speak privately.

Evalle kept her voice down. “We didn’t finish talking. I don’t think you got what I was saying. When I was close to the energy field the first time, I heard a guy talking telepathically to the others.”

Quinn hadn’t understood before, but he did now. He nodded, allowing her to keep talking.

She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself when she said, “I shouldn’t have been able to hear someone who was not Belador, and I shouldn’t have been able to hear a conversation not directed at me. But ... I don’t know. Maybe that buzzing energy caused it, but then those two shoved me up in the air. Right before they did, one of them shouted to link.” A sick look climbed over her face. “Quinn, they can’t be ... I just don’t believe it, but ...” She couldn’t finish what had to be an impossible thought for her.

But Quinn had seen something in Sergio’s mind that shook him more than all that had happened. He’d recognized the power as the kind he’d seen his whole life.

Add that to the kinetic strikes, Evalle hearing the telepathy, plus the men linking their powers, and it all added up. Telepathy had to be what Devon had also meant when he recounted hearing the men.

He admitted, “Those two I fought were linked as well.”

She walked along, silent, no doubt considering the ramifications of what they’d discovered. She admitted, “I didn’t think you’d ever mind locked with two people.”

Quinn swallowed hard, unable to fathom any other explanation. Those men working with a demon were Beladors.

He felt physically ill. Sure, he’d considered the possibility, but for one vigilante hunting justice, not a team and not someone who would turn his power on another Belador.

This had nothing to do with justice.

It was cold-blooded killing. Murderers.

Evalle went back to sorting out her thoughts, reaching the same conclusion. “This isn’t a vigilante. For a group killing like this, someone has to be behind it.”

“I had the same thought.” Quinn said, “We have to figure out who created that energy field.”

Evalle covered her face. “What if ...” She lowered her hand, exposing the disappointment that powered her words. “What if Macha is doing this to show the Beladors they’re making a mistake by following Daegan?”

“That’s possible, but—”

“It isn’t Macha’s style,” Evalle argued against her own point. “I’d expect a goddess with her power to vaporize hundreds at one time and make a statement.”

“Maybe in the past, but she needs followers. If she can convince enough Beladors to follow her before they align with Daegan, then we’re looking at—”

“War. Daegan said a war was coming, but I never dreamed it would be Belador against Belador. Is this the start of it?”

“I hope not.” Quinn had an even bigger problem now. How could he take Kizira’s body and run if the Beladors were facing a war? He’d planned to wrap up this investigation, then find Tzader to inform him and Evalle at the same time that he had to disappear forever with Kizira to protect the identity of his child. Quinn had stayed as Maistir as long as possible, but he’d put the Beladors at greater risk if he hid the body and stuck around.

He’d put Phoedra at risk if he didn’t get her mother’s body safely hidden.

That left him with only one option. He’d get Tzader to convince Daegan to declare Quinn an enemy of the Beladors once Quinn left.

He still had a little time left. He would not give up hope of finding a way to protect everyone he cared for, but he’d prepare Tzader, Evalle and Daegan before he made a final move.

When he reached Casper and the unconscious woman again, Quinn asked, “Has she stirred?”

“Nope.”

Evalle looked around as Isak approached. “Where’s Devon?”

“Those two guys we followed were just walking along and all of a sudden they took off, like with your kind of speed.”

Evalle met Quinn’s gaze with a hopeless look, but didn’t comment, which allowed Isak to finish explaining. “Devon said he’d meet us back here, then he left so fast I couldn’t tell you which way he went after the first ten feet.”

Quinn said, “Devon won’t engage without contacting me.”

“Right,” Evalle agreed then returned her attention to the unconscious woman. “We don’t have any prisoners and she showed up out of nowhere. I say we hold onto her until we have a chance to interrogate her.”

“Agreed,” Isak and Quinn said at the same time.

Adrianna lifted an eyebrow at them. “Where do we take her?”

Isak offered, “We can take her to my interrogation room.”

“No.” Quinn caught himself. An image of waterboarding came to mind. He wouldn’t treat her like a criminal. Yet. But he definitely wanted answers, and quick. Who was she? What was she? That power was unlike anything he’d seen before.

Was her presence tonight coincidental?

Not in his world.

She’d been here for a reason and she was going nowhere until he flushed it out.

Since Evalle trusted Isak and there was no time to segregate this group, Quinn made one thing clear. “I want this contained as a Belador issue. That means we need to keep it from VIPER.”

Evalle was quick to agree. “Absolutely. I have no doubt that Daegan will deal with the guilty.”

“Who’s Daegan?” Isak asked. He asked the witch, “Do you know?”

Adrianna drew a dainty breath and said, “Yes, but it is not my information to share.”

“What the hell, Adrianna?”

She rounded on him. “Don’t give me attitude when I have no idea how you’ll handle information on nonhumans. My knowledge of Daegan came from a classified mission. You do know what that means, right?”

Quinn looked to Evalle, who had a put-upon look. She said, “Isak?”

He whipped his head at her. “What?”

“Daegan now rules the Beladors, but he has not made any formal announcement or met with VIPER. We’re trying to give him time to get situated. He spent the last two thousand years locked up in Táur Medb, cursed into the shape of a dragon throne. Once we learned he was there, several of us launched an unauthorized rescue mission and now he’s our leader. I’m telling you because I trust you not to share this with anyone, not even your teams, until Daegan makes his plans known within the non-human community.”

“Nice to know someone trusts me.”

Adrianna sniffed at his comment, trying to look annoyed, but Quinn thought he saw hurt before she covered it with her usual in-control mask.

Casper said, “I only know about it because Quinn asked me to join you tonight and he explained this was an off-the-books mission. But I get it. If VIPER gets involved, the Beladors will be suspected of every infraction against the Medb.”

Isak said, “I thought that was SOP for these two groups.”

“It is,” Evalle replied. “The difference is that instead of leaving policing our group up to us, VIPER might take it another step and drag Beladors into Tribunals, where determining guilt isn’t as important as expedient judgment. As an example, if a deity asked a Belador whether they’d ever wanted to harm or kill a Medb and he or she said yes, that could prove guilt even if they had committed no crime.”

“Damn.”

“Exactly.”

Quinn’s gaze went to the woman on the ground. She’d curled up, soaked to the bone, and had started shivering. It wasn’t cold out here. Was she having a reaction to the Witchlock power?

Great. Now he was feeling guilty about someone who had threatened to attack them. He was ready to get moving. “Can we take her to your place, Evalle? It’s close.”

She gave the woman a quick perusal. “Sure. She’s contained.”

Isak shrugged. “That works for me.”

Quinn hadn’t said the soldier could join them, but Isak was now part of this.

Devon came running up to them, face flushed and eyes hinting he had something important to say. Thankfully, he spoke telepathically. Quinn, I’ve figured out something. I know you aren’t going to believe this, but those men were ...

Quinn watched pain cross Devon’s face as he hesitated to deliver the bad news that Quinn already knew.

Devon finished, I don’t want to accuse our people, but we need to talk with only Beladors present.

Quinn told him, Evalle and I have come to the same conclusion I believe you have reached. As much as I trust this group, I don’t want to share everything we know with non-Beladors.

I hear you. When I followed those two men after I sent Isak back, I found out what they were after before they split up. I tried to hang with them, but they’re actually faster than me.

What’d you find out?

They’ve been torturing the witches and warlocks to find someone who could open a tomb.

A tomb. His blood turned to ice.

Quinn felt his blood pressure bottom out, which had to be why Evalle gave him a worried look. Her empathic gift might not match Storm’s, but it was clearly functioning.

Quinn forced his brain to override his emotions. He had to act, not react.

It couldn’t be.

Queen Maeve wouldn’t have been killing her own people to get to Kizira’s body, would she? Why do that when she knew where Quinn had buried the body, and expected to receive it in less than two days? Plus, she had the power to compel her own people. Why would she kill them to get what she wanted?

That made no sense, but hell, he had no idea what she’d do.

Quinn ran back over what Devon had said. They weren’t just looking to open that tomb. The person employing those demons was also generating enough power to create that force field, and make those warriors self-destruct against their will.

They wanted Kizira’s body.

Meeting Evalle’s questioning gaze, Quinn asked, “Can you clean this up without me and get that woman to your place?”

“Sure. What’s going on?”

“I’ve got to go somewhere before I meet you there. I’ll be right behind you.”

She hesitated and sent him a telepathic message. Is everything okay, Quinn?

I’ll know how to answer that when I see you at your building.

Got it. Speaking out loud, Evalle replied to him as if they hadn’t spoken telepathically. “We’ll be at my place in twenty minutes if nothing else happens, like humans deciding to come out and dance in the rain.”

The humans had to be as sick of the rain as the rest of them. Creeks were overflowing around the city and flooding had caused nonstop problems.

“Thanks.” Quinn turned to Isak and Adrianna. “Thank you, too, for helping tonight.”

Then Quinn keyed the button on a small transmitter he carried and started walking quickly toward 10^th Street, taking the sidewalk in the direction of the interstate. He’d made it two blocks when a Lexus SUV pulled up along the curb. He climbed into the rear seat where a towel and scotch waited for him.

“Where to, boss?”

“Oakland Cemetery.”

Quinn dried his hair and slugged back two shots of single malt scotch during the ten-minute drive to the historic cemetery near downtown.

Not waiting for his door to be opened, Quinn climbed out and refused the umbrella offered to him. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“Yes, sir.”

With no humans around and having the cover of darkness, Quinn raced away at hyperspeed to reach Kizira’s tomb.