Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove)

by Dana Marie Bell

  The man screamed so loudly Dragos was surprised the neighborhood didn’t erupt with people. “We didn’t kill her!”

  “Don’t lie to me.” Dragos gripped the man’s neck, tilting his chin up. He ran his fangs over his victim’s neck. “I can taste lies.”

  “Oh, God.” The man trembled in his arms. “I swear, she was dead when I broke in.”

  “Then you know who killed her.” The man reeked of the Van Helsings—that unique blend of gun oil, incense and animal piss that had saturated Blake so thoroughly.

  “Yeah. We were supposed to ransack the witch’s house, find out where Blake was being held prisoner. Mr. Carpenter is the one who actually killed her. We weren’t even here at the time.”

  Dragos sniffed. Mel’s blood was not on the man, but that didn’t mean a thing. “Carpenter was here? Mă leşi.” That was bad. If the head of the Van Helsings could come and go with impunity, none of them were safe.

  But there was no scent of deception on the man, no hint of a lie in his voice. He was telling the truth.

  “Do you want to see Blake Truillo?”

  His prisoner shook, his heart beating so loudly in Dragos’s ears he could barely hear the reply. “He’s alive?”

  Dragos nodded, his mouth still brushing against the man’s neck.

  “I don’t want to be a blood whore.”

  Dragos blinked “A what?”

  “I don’t want to get eaten.”

  Dragos pulled his fangs away. The man wasn’t making much sense. “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t wanna die.” The man... no, boy, was crying now. Hell, the Van Helsings were sending children to what they thought was certain death. Carpenter needed to be stopped.

  Dragos supposed if he was this terrified he’d start repeating himself too. “Shh.” He stroked the boy’s cheek, but that only made the tears worse. “Would you eat someone covered in animal piss?”

  That startled the boy. “Uh, what?”

  Dragos sighed. Hell, it had worked when Noah said it. Apparently Dragos was far scarier than he’d thought. “You’re covered in piss to hide your scent. I’d have to scrub you for a week before I’d...” Dragos allowed that thought to trail off as the boy’s eyes teared up once more. “Never mind.” He turned the boy, knowing he was no match for Dragos’s strength. “I can take you to Blake, but if he tells me that you are a danger I will kill you. So think carefully.”

  The boy stared up at him. “My name’s Cody.”

  His phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, already knowing who was on the line. “Parker.”

  “Dragos.” That English drawl came over the line, Parker’s voice full of annoyance. “We have the other boy.”

  Parker. Thank the gods it had been him who’d found the other boy. Anyone else would have snapped the kid’s neck out of hand. “Good. Take him to the mansion. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Got it”

  He hung up and turned his attention back to his own prisoner. “Please don’t kill us.” Cody was tearing up again, completely shattered by the revelation that neither of them had gotten away. His emotions were so strong, scenting the air around him so thickly that Dragos was reeling with it.

  This was no monster, ready to take out every supernatural in town. This was a kid, in way over his head. Dragos could relate. “I’m taking you to Blake. Remember what I told you. If he says you die, you die.”

  Cody whimpered, but he nodded.

  Dragos moved to pick up the boy, but Ash suddenly appeared. From his expression, something dire had happened. “What?”

  “Selena’s missing.” The silver sword flashed up. The tip landed against Cody’s neck. “And you know where she is.”

  The boy’s eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out cold.

  Ash cursed and dropped the tip of his sword before he could accidentally slice the kid’s head from his neck.

  “Good one. I’ve got a puppy you can kick later if you’re interested.”

  Without bothering to answer Ash took off, probably to accost the other poor boy who’d had the misfortune to be ordered to Mel’s house.

  Dragos sighed. Parker could handle Ash if need be, and if not, Amara certainly could. He’d take the boy to his house, introduce him to Eddy. Maybe between Eddy and Blake they’d be able to convince Cody that life in Maggie’s Grove would be far better than becoming a Van Helsing.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Mina?”

  Mina straightened on her throne. Something was wrong. The Van Helsings were leaving the forest far more rapidly than she’d expected. They’d skirted around the edges, barely passing through the protections, and now they were almost gone. It was strange, and when it came to the hunters, strange always meant more trouble. “Dragos. The Van Helsings—”

  “Have Selena.”

  Mina leapt from her throne with a curse. “Greer.” If they got out of the forest with Selena, Maggie’s Grove would lose one of their most important citizens. Greer got to his feet and called his sword. He might not be able to hear her conversation with Dragos but he probably recognized her tone of voice—worried. “How did they get her? Weren’t you right there?”

  “We left to find Mel. She stayed behind to cast a binding spell on Kate, but when Ash went back to check on her, she was gone. I don’t have the details, but you should know he’s on the warpath.”

  Shit. If Ash left the forest to track Selena down he’d either be captured or killed. Or worse. “Tell me where he is.”

  “Gone. I’m taking the boys who broke into Mel’s to my house, and Mina? They are boys, cannon fodder as far as the Van Helsings are concerned. Carpenter wants Blake back, and he killed Mel to try and get information on where he’s being held.”

  Aw, crap. Mel’s sister was going to be pissed.

  Mina wasn’t going to be the one to call her. When Rhiannon Owens found out her half sister had been murdered she’d swoop into town and raise holy hell. “I’m surprised they were able to take her out.” Rhia had made sure her little sister could take care of herself before “allowing” her to live in Maggie’s Grove.

  “I didn’t get a chance to examine the body, but I’d say she didn’t get a chance to put up a struggle. She’s been dead for a few days.”

  “Which means they’re coming and going as they please.” Perhaps it was time to return to the old ways of doing things. Dryads and weres were more than capable of policing the perimeter. The wolves ran through the forest frequently, and the dryads knew how to move around without being seen. They’d come to rely far too heavily on the spells of the witches, and now the whole town might pay.

  Just as she hit the edge of the Throne agony engulfed her entire being, driving her to her knees. She collapsed, aware that somewhere Greer was shouting at her but unable to respond.

  Rough bark pinched at her skin, and the agitated rustle of leaves filled her ears.

  I’m going to kill Kate when I get my hands on her.

  She was once again pinned to her tree—

  “Think you can flaunt your relationship with Dragos in front of me? Think again.” Kate stepped right into the center of the Throne, her four-inch heels not even sinking into the rich soil. It was like she was walking across a tile floor.

  That miasma surrounded her—but it moved around her, an independent shimmer that blurred her one moment and exposed her the next. It was the oddest thing Mina had ever seen.

  She stared down into angry blue eyes that glowed with yellow fire. “He’s mine.”

  “I hate to tell you this, but he’s left you alone, run off to save Selena of all people.” Kate tsk’d, the sound abnormal in her echoing voice. “You’d think Ash would have made his move on her by now. If he’d kept her busy in bed, I wouldn’t have had to make her disappear.”

  “You knew?”

  “That she was going to attempt to bind me? Yes.” Kate smiled grimly. “I was there, outside her house. I wanted to find out what she knew about me.”

 
“Mel’s dead.”

  Kate sucked in a breath. For a brief second, grief swamped her features. “That, I didn’t know.”

  “The Van Helsings killed her.”

  Kate shook her head. “Stupid, stupid bitch. She should have told them what they wanted to know. The boy wasn’t worth her life.”

  “Did you know they were kidnapping us? Experimenting on us?”

  “The money was good. Great, in fact.” Kate shrugged. “Besides, I thought they’d kill my enemies, and then the witches would close the perimeter once more.”

  Mina couldn’t believe her ears. For all the emotion Kate showed they could have been discussing grocery shopping. “Everyone will know it was you who let Van Helsings into Maggie’s Grove. Give it up, Kate.”

  “Not if you and Selena die. You’re the only ones who can prove I had anything to do with it.”

  “Dragos knows, and he’ll save Selena.”

  “Dragos will be too busy trying to save you.” For a moment, true regret highlighted her features. “If you had just stayed in the forest, he never would have found you. I’d be his mate, and none of this would have been necessary.” Kate’s expression turned grim. “You know, I think it’s time for a new Queen of the Forest.”

  Mina managed to gasp past the agony, “Three times.”

  Kate cocked her head to the side.

  “He’s finished. Bitten three times.” Mina gritted her teeth against the scream building inside her.

  Kate’s face went blank, her eyes unseeing. Her form faded, the torment easing as whatever Kate was doing took her attention off of Mina. Only the shimmer remained, but it too was frozen as if its attention remained with Kate.

  What the fuck was that? It was like...

  Like Kate was communicating with it.

  Mina was no longer certain it was part of her nemesis. If that were so they had bigger problems than a witch who’d betrayed them. It meant something else lived within the witch, something Mina had never before faced.

  In that moment, Mina began to struggle to free herself. This was her mind, her body, and Kate and her tagalong did not belong here. She would kill the witch for threatening her bond to Dragos.

  Mina would make sure Kate could never inflict this kind of suffering on her lover.

  She was going to kick this bitch out of her head once and for all.

  Struggling, tugging as hard as she could, Mina slowly began to pull herself free of the thorns that held her pinned to her oak. She ignored the ripping and tearing sensations as best she could, screaming when it became too much. The searing burn of flesh being rent made her want to puke, but she pushed through it, freeing her right arm before Kate could stop her.

  “No!”

  Thorns began to pierce her flesh again, but Mina persevered, pulling herself gradually away from the stinging embrace of the weeds. She fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from a thousand different cuts, but she was free.

  She lifted her head and grinned at Kate, aware of how she must look. Blood stained her teeth, her lips, and here—in the seat of her power, inside her own mind—she began to glow. She was the Queen, seated in her Throne, and she was about to kick some ass. “My turn.”

  She stood as Ash’s quiet strength began to flood her. Greer’s healing powers closed her wounds as he sang a quiet tune in her mind. Dragos lent his flame—his passion for her burning within, visible without. His belief in her was absolute.

  She would win, and when he returned to her, she would claim him.

  Kate took a step back and kicked her heels off. “Time to end this.”

  “I agree.”

  Mina made the first move before the witch could gather her strength, wrapping vines around Kate so tightly the other woman shouldn’t have been able to breathe, let alone chant.

  But this was a battle of minds, not bodies, and Kate didn’t need breath to cast a spell.

  Kate broke free of the vines, and barely a second later Mina found herself surrounded by a thousand stinging fireflies of light.

  The pain they inflicted was nothing compared to what ripping away the thorns had done. Mina ignored them, instead using the power of the earth to force Kate to stagger back, breaking her concentration and dispersing the fireflies.

  She called her sword to her before Kate got her footing, swinging for the other woman’s head, hoping to take it from her shoulders.

  Kate leapt out of the way and called her own weapons, twin daggers that she wielded with ease and familiarity. Both were razor-sharp, well-polished blades with worn leather handles that had seen a lot of use over the years—not gilded and sporting funky cutouts like you’d see on an ornamental dagger. These were the daggers of a woman who knew how to use them.

  Kate had apparently fought her way to where she was, if only in her own mind, and now she was prepared to do the same to make Dragos hers once and for all.

  Mina took the initiative, eager to take down her enemy. She lashed out, drawing a long line of blood down Kate’s arm.

  Kate retaliated, her daggers flashing, slicing one of Mina’s fingers, leaving her hand wet with blood. The sword handle immediately became slippery and she tightened her grip.

  She would not lose to Kate because her sword slid out of her hand.

  Back and forth they went, Mina’s reach making up for Kate’s speed, the women evenly matched as their blades rang against each other. Sparks flew as Kate’s dagger drew down the length of Mina’s sword, and only her own leap out of the way prevented Kate’s other dagger from sinking into her side, ending the fight, and Mina’s life.

  Kate kept trying to tangle Mina’s sword arm, driving in close to Mina’s body and snatching at her.

  If she got hold of Mina’s arm and managed to bind Mina against her body, Kate would be able to drive her other dagger right into Mina’s side. She didn’t try to stop Mina’s overhand blow, instead sliding away, using her dagger to force Mina’s sword off to the side. “You’re good with those.”

  Kate shrugged. “Practice makes perfect.”

  The next time Kate tried to close in and bind her arm, Mina swiveled as well, bashing Kate in the face with the pommel of her sword. Kate staggered back, unprepared for the blow. “So it does.”

  Mina spun around her opponent, allowing the drag of the dagger down her sword. She got hold of Kate’s wrist in her free hand and pulled, knocking Kate off balance.

  But it cost her. Kate’s other dagger raked across her side, a line of fire that would gradually weaken her.

  She needed to end this fight quickly.

  If Kate hadn’t lost her balance, she’d already have won, her blade stuck in Mina’s side.

  The clang of metal against metal filled the Throne as the women fought across, each one taking turns driving the other back. Mina’s blood continued to flow—both from the wound in her side and the one on her hand—glittering drops that had no meaning in the real world, but were wounds to her mind.

  Kate drove forward again, aggressively going for Mina’s wounded side. Mina saw her opening, a slight lowering of Kate’s parrying dagger.

  “Do it.”

  Greer’s voice echoed in her head, giving her the courage she needed to end this battle.

  The dagger bit into her side, the cold pain making her gasp. As she stared into Kate’s eyes, the surprise there made her smile, despite the pain. “Goodbye, bitch.”

  Mina, who’d given Kate the opening just so she could do this, drew her blade across Kate’s neck, slicing her open. She drew down her blade and pulled free of Kate’s dagger, lurching back with a cry as the pain nearly sent her to her knees.

  But that was the difference between Mina and Kate.

  Kate’s hands went to her throat, her eyes wide as she desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Mina’s was already slowing down as Greer’s steady song kept her from dropping. Without him, both women would be lost.

  Instead, her enemy fell to her knees, unable to stay on her feet, too frightened to use her magic. Hers was not th
e power of healing, and she toppled over, gagging in her own blood. The shimmer that had surrounded her started dissipating.

  Kate looked up at Mina, her gaze terrified as her eyes glazed over—life leaving them before she could heal herself.

  Mina stood over Kate and watched her die, her heart heavy. As the forest queen she was both a giver of life and death. It was the natural cycle of things, that one life end so another could begin.

  But she hadn’t wanted this, never wanted this. She’d never liked Kate, but she hadn’t wished her harm, either. Kate had to have known that once Dragos and Mina met they were destined to be together. Kate had left her no choice, and now Mina had to wonder if her death here would mean a soul death, a body death, or merely the death of Kate’s mind.

  “I don’t know, my sotiei, but I am glad you won.”

  “Selena?”

  “They are beyond the perimeter. The Van Helsings are gone.”

  Mina cursed under her breath as the world around her faded...

  * * *

  She opened her eyes to find herself standing in the Throne, Greer off to one side and humming under his breath. “Greer?”

  He held up his finger, and the lingering soreness drifted away. Whether or not the battle had been real, it had physical repercussions she hadn’t expected. The last of the pain in her side faded away just as Greer toppled over.

  “Greer!” Mina raced to his side and turned him over, sighing in relief. He was pale, but his breathing was steady.

  “Apparently your wound was worse than we thought.”

  The sheer rage in Dragos’s mental voice shook her. “I’m fine, love.”

  “Thanks to Greer.” He paused. “Love?”

  “Go check Kate’s house. She might have information on how the Van Helsings have set up their defenses, things young Blake may not have been privy to.”

  “At the very least she might know where they took Selena. Thank you, dragâ, I was not thinking clearly.”

  “Take Ash—he’ll want to be there anyway. We will get both Iva and Selena back.”