Poison Tree (20 page)

“Why would you give a valuable, highly recognizable item to a mercenary?” Alysia asked. “Someone please tell me I’m wrong about what I’m thinking.”

“You’d use something like this if you wanted to pay for an important job but the merc was worried about getting nailed for it later,” Christian said. His voice had become heavy, and he was looking at Sarik with something akin to horror. “You’d
use something people would recognize as yours so the mercenary could later say ‘I did this with your blessing’ if you tried to blame them.”

“And if that mercenary screwed up royally?” Alysia prompted.

“They would return the item.”

Sarik was listening, but she wasn’t listening, because what Alysia was suggesting was …

“My father didn’t kill Cori.”

But how many times had Kral told her that Cori was her weakness?

Cori, poor human Cori. Cori, who was the only living proof that Kral
himself
had human blood, because a pureblood shapeshifter couldn’t have a human child even with a human mother.

She looked at Quean, who was sitting on the floor and staring up at her with awe and trust. He didn’t understand a word they were saying. Didn’t understand that his new king had hired mercenaries to torture an eleven-year-old girl to death in an attempt to bring his other daughter back in line. Had Kral planned to “rescue” Cori at the last minute, to prove he was stronger than Sahara, but then Maya’s boys had gotten carried away? Or had he just planned to let Sahara find Cori’s mangled body so she would know how completely she had failed?

Knowing he had hired Maya even explained why Kral had assumed that Alysia was responsible for Sahara’s disappearance. He knew Sahara had been there, because Maya had told him. He also knew that because Maya was on his payroll, she
wouldn’t have hurt Sahara. Alysia was the only other person he could blame. And he did.

“Christian,” Sarik said softly, “I know you are not here entirely of your own will, and it may not be entirely in your own interest, but …” The expression he gave her at that preamble almost made her stop, but she gulped and finished. “Will you stand beside me
a’maenke
?”

Christian frowned, probably trying to remember what the term meant, and then he looked at Alysia. He nodded and answered, “Once. Then I’m gone.”

“What’s the plan?” Alysia asked.

“Christian can explain,” Sahara answered. “I’m going to tell Jeht, and then … and then I need to find my father.”

C
HRISTIAN
COULD
EXPLAIN
, but now that he had Alysia alone, he had another, more pressing question he wanted answered first.

“What’s your plan, Alysia?”

She looked at him like he was crazy, which he certainly deserved, and said, “I’m not the one with a plan right now.”

She has dreams. Did you know she’s in college?

“You left SingleEarth because of the attacks,” Christian said. “The attacks were the result of Sahara being there. She isn’t there anymore.”

It was the most direct way he could express the thoughts going through his head, because every fiber of his being was
shouting,
You idiot! If Alysia wanted to live in SingleEarth, she would be there. It isn’t like she needs your permission
.

“Are you saying I should go back?” Alysia asked.

“I’m saying …” What
was
he saying? “It’s not a life I would choose for myself, but if it’s what
you
want … What I’m asking is, do you
want
to stay in Bruja?”

She hesitated, her gaze going distant. “Yes,” she answered, even though her tone said,
I don’t know
. Instead of explaining, she asked, “Do you know who runs the Frost board?”

The question was so out of left field that Christian thought at first he had misheard. “The Frost board?”

“The operator,” Alysia clarified. “The person who actually writes the posts. It’s not you.”

He shook his head. “I don’t have a clue. But I know he doesn’t like me.”

For weeks after Christian had won leadership in Frost, posts had randomly appeared on the board accusing him of killing Alysia so she wouldn’t compete against him.

Alysia smiled, but it was a distant expression. “You know that if I stay, once I’m back in shape, I’ll challenge you for Frost.”

“Why?” He tried to keep his voice utterly neutral as he asked what seemed like one of the most important questions he had ever uttered. Did Alysia really want the guild, or did she just want to get back at him?

“Because …” Was it just for the challenge? Because she was pissed at him for staying with Sahara, something he hadn’t yet had a chance to explain? Because she didn’t know what else
to do? Any of those reasons would tell him she didn’t really want to be there. She looked up and met his gaze squarely as she said, “Because you’re wrong for Frost. You’re flashy and she’s subtle. You’re arrogant and she’s whatever she needs to be at any moment. You’re a bear; she’s a bear trap hidden in the woods.”

“And apparently ‘she’ is a girl,” Christian quipped, relaxing.

“You joke, but you know I’m right,” Alysia asserted. “I don’t know if Frost will have me back, but damn it, I know we need someone who doesn’t take three hours to figure out a giant tablet.”

There it was again—“we.” And this time it meant Frost.

“Let’s see what happens at Onyx, and then we’ll see about getting you in shape for Frost,” he replied.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on? I gather Sarik is going after Kral.”

“Normally,” Christian admitted, “when Sahara stands up to Kral, she backs down fast. This time? I don’t know.” He had seen the expression on her face. He knew better than anyone what Cori had meant to her. Beyond that, he knew she had noticed the way Kral had looked at Jeht. He explained, “She asked me to stand with her, which means she intends to challenge him within Mistari law, which she has on her side.”

Bruja rules were a little hazy, but generally, attacking guild leaders was frowned upon and not a way to earn guild leadership. On the other hand, Onyx wasn’t like the other guilds. Few people competed at Challenge. If Kral fell under
Mistari law, Christian suspected that Sarta and Ravyn—the rest of the leadership—would accept it, if only because it was the result of Kral’s own arrogance.

“What does
a’maenke
mean?” Alysia asked as Christian quickly checked his weapons and then, reluctantly, started putting them aside.

“As her mate,” he answered with a wry smile. The term was technically applicable even if it was worlds away from describing their current relationship.

Alysia prompted, “Which means what, in this case?”

“A queen’s mate is the only one who can share a leadership challenge with her,” Christian answered. “Sahara can’t take Kral alone and she knows it. Until she declares satisfaction or submission, I’m allowed to fight with her.”

“Can you take Kral?” Alysia asked.

That’s the twenty-million-dollar question, isn’t it?

Christian laid his jacket down on the bed, because it was easier to take it off than to strip all the weapons from it, and because it would count as armor. He would have felt less naked without his pants.

“I really don’t know,” he answered. “But if Sahara can get the nerve to declare
jeraha
and follow through, then I’m willing to try.” His eyes drifted to the painting. “I liked Cori. She was a sweet kid.”

He had seen what they’d done to her. Sahara had run away, and he understood why. Christian was the one who had taken Cori’s body home to be buried.

“Be my second?” he asked Alysia.

She asked, “What do you need?”

“If Kral uses any weapon beyond his own body, or if anyone else interferes, you can shoot him,” he explained.

“Anyone?” Alysia asked. “If this goes down in the middle of Onyx, you’re going to have a lot of trigger-happy mercenaries wondering what this means to them.”

“Onyx belongs to Kral. If he can’t control his people, that’s his problem.”

“I’m technically one of those people,” Alysia pointed out. “Doesn’t that mean if I kill him in the middle of the fight, it’s his own fault?”

“You’re also one of my people through Frost, and arguably one of Sahara’s, given the way you two teamed up at SingleEarth,” Christian said. “Normally I’m not opposed to splitting hairs or outright cheating, but we don’t want to sever Onyx’s ties to the Mistari. It’s one of the most valuable political connections the guild has. There’s no point in taking Onyx if we destroy it in the process.”

“
Jeraha
is a fight to the death, isn’t it?” Alysia asked.

“Unless the combatants agree otherwise,” Christian answered. He couldn’t imagine Kral backing down until he was ready for a body bag.

“Just so you know,” Alysia said, picking up a couple of his discarded weapons and adding them to her own armament, “I don’t give a flying fruitcake about Onyx’s ties to the Mistari. If I need to decide between cheating and saving you, or playing fair and letting Kral kill you, you know which way I’ll go.”

“Yeah,” he said, though he also knew that if Kral took him out, it would probably happen too quickly for Alysia to do more than blink.

Kral had been around a long time. Maybe he
was
getting old, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still know how to fight. Christian could do a lot of damage in mere seconds with a touch, but so could a full-grown tiger.

“Let’s go,” he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

Alysia followed as he left the room. They both paused, blinking, as they entered the dim Onyx Hall.

“Ten to one she chickens out,” Christian said softly to Alysia as Kral’s voice reached them both through the darkness. He was across the Hall, working with one of the novices. Christian could see Sahara in silhouette as she watched him, the two cubs next to her.

“You might be surprised,” Alysia replied.

“Father.”

And there was Sahara’s voice, holding only the barest tremor. Alysia and Christian both sped their steps to reach the tigers as Kral replied, “Sahara, excellent. I need you to—”

“I need you,” Sahara interrupted, raising her voice above his, “to answer a question for me.”

Christian wasn’t sure, but he thought the continued wavering in the tigress’s voice was not just fear, but also fury.

Use that anger
, he thought.
Remember what you’re fighting for
.

“And I need you to answer honestly,” Sahara continued, “because I want to know that you at least have the courage to admit you would sink so low.”

Kral turned fully toward his daughter, and the novices who had been nearby backed away fast.

“Child, I suggest you watch your tone.”

Sahara ignored the warning and continued with her questions.

“Did you hire Maya to kill Cori?” she asked, not bothering to keep her voice quiet to avoid being overheard. “Did you pay her the equivalent of millions of dollars to torture to death an eleven-year-old human girl? Did you do it to frighten me? Or to teach me a lesson? Did you—” She broke off. “Was she really so threatening, just because she was human?”

There was the accusation Kral could not tolerate: not that he had had his daughter killed, but that her existence had been a
threat
to him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kral replied flatly. “Cori was—”

“Cori was my
sister
,” Sahara snarled. “She was your
daughter
! She … she was your tribe’s weakest child, and instead of protecting her, as was your duty, you had her murdered in an underhanded power play because you were worried she made you look weak.”

“She was proof that he’s mortal,” Alysia interjected. “His human blood is kicking in. He’s aging. Getting weaker.”

Kral’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at Alysia. “What is she—”

“Don’t look at her!” Sahara nearly shrieked, her voice breaking. “You face me first. Fight anyone else after me if you can, but first you’ll answer me:
Did you have Cori killed?
”

“So what if I did?” Kral snapped back. “I thought getting rid of her would make you stronger, but you’re still the same impulsive child you’ve always been.”

“I’m not a child anymore.”

Kral flat-out laughed. “You are my only daughter, Sahara,”
he said calmly, “so I will give you one last chance to back down. You know you can’t win a fight against me, and your so-called mate has never fought a tiger.”

Just hit him
, Christian thought.
Don’t let him talk to you. Don’t let him frighten you
.

“I …” Sahara hesitated.

“Back down, Daughter,” Kral said, “and maybe I will give you a chance to visit the Mistari main camps. You wanted to talk to someone about the boys, didn’t you? And it’s about time I sent an emissary there to relay my regards.”

She wasn’t going to do it. She was going to listen to his lies and manipulations. Christian’s entire body was tensed, waiting for this fight, and Sahara was weakening before his eyes.

“I’ve fought a tiger before.” The voice from the darkness made Christian jump. “And if I need to, I’ll challenge Christian first for the right to stand beside Sarik.”

Who the hell are you?
he thought, turning toward the vampire who had waltzed into Onyx as if he weren’t surrounded by vampire hunters. It had to be Maya’s boy. Sahara had called him Jason. Christian had dismissed Jason as the plaything Sahara had picked up to replace him after she left Onyx, but if he was here now, then he had to be a good deal more.

The question was, could he fight?

Sahara’s head whipped around to look at the newcomer. She drew a deep breath, as if inhaling strength.

Christian realized that whether or not Jason could fight, what mattered was that he was the inspiration Sahara needed. Christian stepped back, yielding the title of Sahara’s “mate” to the man who actually held it.

“I am Sahara kuloka Kral,” she said, her voice gaining power, “I am your daughter, and by the blood of the sister who died in my arms, I declare
jeraha
. I stand with my mate beside me. Will you face us?”