Witchlock (10 page)

She changed her hair as often as a flea jumped to a new spot on a dog.
 

And she had a temper that rivaled Tzader’s.
 

He’d been cautious over the years to not shove her into a corner in a way that would result in Macha unleashing her fury, but the time had come for her to step out of his way.
 

That didn’t mean Macha would see his side.
 

Avoiding his question for the third time, the goddess replied, “Treoir castle has never been this vulnerable. I need you in Atlanta since I have to remain here to watch over Brina and Treoir Island. You’re the next one after me and Brina who can represent the Beladors at the Tribunal.” The goddess floated across the expansive living area in Treoir Castle, ruffling her bright green gown.
 

She turned to him, voice as hard as the unforgiving ruler she could be. “We are still at war with the Medb. Even more so now that they’ve gained permission to enter the human world. We can’t ignore our duties.”
 

He’d never ignored a damned duty since he’d picked up his first Belador sword at eight years old, but he was not in the mood to battle wits with her. Not now. He knew the threat hanging over Treoir.
 

For two thousand years, this island had been hidden in a mist over the Irish Sea.  
 

Two. Thousand. Years. Then breached two weeks ago by the Medb coven.
 

That group of dark witches gave their allegiance to a deadly queen, now reincarnated into a goddess, who wanted everything Macha had, starting with Treoir Castle and Island.
 

Tzader had never cared about living in a castle or possessing piles of money. He’d grown up on this island because his family had defended Treoir Castle and fought alongside Treoir warriors for more generations than Tzader could count.
 

In all his life, he’d wanted only one thing he couldn’t walk away from–
Brina.
 

When Tzader’s father was killed in battle, the elder Burke’s immortality had passed to Tzader. At the same time, a powerful defense ward placed around the castle prevented any immortal except Brina or Macha from entering, and that ward had stood between Tzader and Brina ever since.
 

Four long years.
 

The ward was gone now, and Tzader would not wait any longer.
 

He should suck it up and drag out what was left of his patience since he had to go through Macha to reach Brina, but Macha was the reason he had no patience left. He reminded her, “I’m here to see Brina.”
 

“We’re talking about the Tribunal!”
 

No, you’re trying to avoid discussing Brina,
Tzader wanted to say. Macha’s avoidance meant she was hiding something, and the longer she took, the more Tzader’s chest tightened with worry. “Fine. Tell me what the problem is now with the damn Tribunal.”
 

Her eyebrows moved up slightly at the curse, but amazingly she let it go. “I have just been informed a new Tribunal is expecting our representative in forty-nine minutes.”
 

Now what?
“Why?”
 

“The Medb are complaining that Beladors are killing their witches and warlocks unprovoked.”
 

“That’s insane. VIPER
knows
that every Belador warrior stands to face severe punishment,
death
even, for breaking our code of honor.” He shook his head and scowled. “No Belador is going to take that risk knowing his or her entire family will face the same consequences.”  
 

“VIPER may recognize that, but the deities who make up each Tribunal won’t care one way or the other. They’re annoyed at spending so much time dealing with the human world and now that the Medb have sent a proposal for peace, the Tribunal wants me to rubber stamp it.”
 

“What proposal?”
 

“The Medb suggest the Tribunal assign a liaison between the Beladors and the Medb coven.” She resumed floating inches above the floor as she air-paced.
 

“And?” He had a sick feeling about where this was going.
 

“They claim since Evalle is the leader of the gryphons and shares the blood of both pantheons that she should step into the role of liaison.”
 

“No.”  He braced himself for an argument.
 

Macha came to a sudden stop. Her emerald-green gown swirled around her ankles, sparking with tiny bursts of light where other gowns with bling
would merely twinkle. She lifted her chin and held his gaze with her steely one. “That is not your choice to make.”
 

Nothing ever was. “You would hand her over to the Medb after all she’s done for us?”
 

“I didn’t say I intended to agree. However, you should remember who makes the final decision here.”
 

Like he needed a Post-it stuck on his forehead when he looked in the mirror? “I know who runs the show.”
 

“You’re in an impertinent mood.”
 

“I’m in an
impatient
mood. I want to see Brina.”
 

“So you’re not interested in
my
decision regarding Evalle?”
 

If he had the time, he’d walk over and shove his fist through the closest stone wall. It would feel better than suffering this frustration. “Yes, Macha, I’d like to know.”
 

“I refused to agree to the Medb offer.”
 

The goddess hadn’t rejected the offer out of any desire to protect Evalle. He waited to hear Macha’s explanation.
 

“The last thing I want to do is give the Medb access to any Belador resource. There’s no telling how they might figure a way to use Evalle against us.”
 

And there it was.
 

With Evalle somewhat safe and that out of the way, Tzader replayed his broken record. “About Brina.”
 

“What progress is being made with finding evidence of the Medb dumping demons in Atlanta? I’d like a detailed report before I have to teleport you to the Tribunal meeting. That is your duty, after all.”
 

“I know my duty,” he said in a voice so deep the words came out in a growl. “Here’s what I know. We have no solid evidence that the demons dumped in Atlanta a week ago were products of the Medb. Then it seemed they went away for five days. Now new demons have shown up, but the Medb are no longer popping on scene to kill these new ones the way they were a week ago to show the Tribunal the Medb coven could be an asset for VIPER.”
 

She muttered, “Smoke and mirrors game.”
 

“I agree, but we still lack evidence. VIPER isn’t helping, but one of our warriors cornered a demon.”
 

“Oh?”
 

“It was a
Réisc Dubh that–”
 

“
Those?”
she scowled. “Why call forth something with the mentality of a slug?”
 

“I don’t think they called it up. I think these things are being created.”
 

 Macha pulled back at that. “Why would... I don’t care why. Interrogate it.”
 

“We can’t. It was necessary to terminate the demon.”
 

“A
Réisc Dubh?
What warrior couldn’t contain a
Réisc Dubh?” she said with so much fury the walls trembled.
 

Evalle, but Tzader was not giving her up. He had only the details that Storm had texted him after the Skinwalker found Evalle on top of Stone Mountain. “A warrior who put survival ahead of intel. This particular Réisc Dubh turned aggressive and the top half changed into something that could kill a Belador.”
 

Macha harrumphed and the air vibrated.
 

Tzader crossed his arms. “And it had no Medb scent. No scent
period
. When we got a call earlier this week about a gutted troll, I asked the Skinwalker Storm to track the killer. At first, I thought a demon had gutted the troll to fuel a spell to turn something else into a demon. But the scent leading from the corpse turned out to be another troll’s. They found him way south of the city ... dead.”
 

“Why waste manpower to track down a troll killer?”
 

“Because the troll deaths coincided with the new demons that have been sighted. I think those two things are connected. I’ve ordered our Beladors to not link unless they’re positive about what they’re fighting.” Tzader would not risk losing an entire squad of Beladors. They gained power by linking with one another in battle, but all of them would die if one was killed while they were linked.
 

“That’s your first priority, to get to the bottom of this soon and deliver evidence to a Tribunal that the Medb are behind the demons,” Macha mused out loud as she lifted another few inches off the floor and stared beyond him, lost in thought, then her gaze returned to his. “I’d hoped the Tribunal would come to their senses before now and boot the Medb out of the human world, but that clearly isn’t going to happen. All I get from them are messages saying the Tribunal wants an end to the bickering between the Beladors and the Medb.”
 

“They think this is
bickering
?” Tzader asked, appalled. “Blood has flowed for centuries because of a
war
. What the hell do they want?”
 

She sent him a sharp look as a reprimand for his language. “They want to have peace in the human world. Deities are not particularly happy to keep coming in to settle what they consider petty disagreements. I don’t blame them since I would have destroyed something or someone by now if anyone wasted my time. Our most immediate fight is over the gryphons.”
 

That fight translated into a new way to screw Evalle yet again. Tzader asked, “What do you think will happen with the gryphons? Or, let me be more specific. With Evalle.”
 

“I refused to let the Medb have her or them, but I can’t fight the entire coalition of deities if they decide otherwise. I sent back that I’m willing to discuss a peace treaty, but not their proposal.”
 

Good luck ending up with any peace treaty that had teeth, but he’d leave Macha to her negotiations for now.
 

He glanced at his watch. Twenty-eight minutes.
 

“Did you just check your watch while in my presence?”
 

“You’re the one concerned about my making the Tribunal meeting on time,” he reminded her.
 

Her glare slid down her haughty nose and hit him between the eyes. She warned, “You’re immortal, Tzader, but only against a weaker adversary, which I will never be.”
 

His patience had clung by threads since the beginning of this discussion and he’d like to tell Macha she was welcome to his life, a miserable place without Brina.
 

But Brina was the reason he’d shown humility to the goddess and would suck it up one more time. “I was not being disrespectful, Macha. I’m simply tired from working around the clock, which has left me no chance to see Brina until now and you have yet to tell me where she is other than in the castle. If I sound short, it’s unavoidable at the moment.”
 

Not an apology, because that was asking too much.
 

“You should take note of the allowances I’ve made for those close to you.”
 

Where was she going with this? He asked, “Such as?”
 

“Quinn. He should not be allowed to live after falling into bed with the enemy.”
 

Tzader had forgotten that this would come up again. “I told you after that last battle here that Quinn met Kizira when he was very young and he did
not
know she was Medb when he fell for her. Quinn has always been truthful with me and was even prepared to submit to death by your hand at one point.”
 

Her gaze flinched.
 

Didn’t expect that did you, Macha?
Tzader continued, “Quinn is solid and has paid the highest price for that moment in his life.”
 

“You put him in as Maistir once,” she said, allowing it to stand as an accusation.
 

“And I would do it again.”   Tzader would hand that position to Quinn
now if he thought his friend could handle it, but Tzader pushed that aside. “Thank you for allowing Quinn to take Kizira’s body back.”
 

“I trust that you will insure the witch’s body is dealt with appropriately.”
 

Macha meant that Kizira’s body should be burned and the ashes scattered, but she failed to say that so Tzader answered, “Yes.”
 

Whatever Quinn did would be appropriate and kept away from the world.
 

Tzader asked, “Can we get to Brina now?”
 

He must have finally gotten through to Macha because she let out a long sigh and said, “She’s in the library. She goes into a rage with objects flying around when she can’t recall things. One minute she almost has a grasp of a memory then it slips away, leaving her without an anchor to any point in time. The battle to regain her memories is wearing her down physically and emotionally. She sleeps often, waking in terror.”
 

That sucker punched the air out of him. “She’ll remember. I’ll help her.”  He stepped toward the door.
 

“I’ll allow you to see her as long as she doesn’t become any worse.”
 

She’ll allow me?
Tzader swung back around. “You will allow me to see her as often and for as long as I want when I am not on duty. You owe that to me and to her. I have never asked for anything from you for myself, except that Brina and I could be together. Not
once
since my father and her father died together as Belador warriors have either of us given less than our best to you and the Belador tribe.”