Beneath the Dust (Force of Nature Book 4)

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  “Hey—”

  “Where are you?” Knox said, cutting me off. “I’ve been calling you for the last five minutes.”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t answer until now. I’m with Jase and Dean at the war—”

  “What the fuck happened?” he asked, panic thick in his tone.

  “What do you—”

  “I was meeting with Sherry, and suddenly Beatrice came flying in, eyes wide as fucking saucers, rambling about you being in danger. Apparently, her life debt ties her to you.”

  I took a deep breath, then told him about the meeting with the warlocks and the golems’ ambush. I didn’t want to out Liam’s involvement, but I knew there was no way around it, so I blurted out that he had popped up out of nowhere and saved me.

  I was met with total silence.

  “This is the part where you freak out like an overbearing ass, then I call you out on it, and you apologize—and do that thing with my neck that I love, if you were actually here—”

  “Piper,” he said, his voice low and tight and full of pain.

  “I’m okay, Knox. Really. Liam saved me. He’s a total badass, but you already knew that. He reminds me of you. Did you know he could still travel through Faerie?”

  More silence. “Does Merc know yet?”

  “No. We kinda just got it all sorted out. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him. P.S., I’ve been jumped into the warlock anti-coven, so that’s a plus…I think.”

  I heard Knox talking to someone in the background before he returned to our call.

  “I’m finishing up here now. I’ll meet you at home—preferably without any excitement between now and then.”

  “Okay…”

  “I love you, Piper.”

  The phone went dead before I could tell him I loved him, too.

  ***

  The expected fallout came the moment we returned. Merc was livid, and a livid Merc was one hell of a storm to weather. His anger wasn’t directed at me, of course, but I found myself between him and his intended targets, including his brothers, on multiple occasions. He blamed them for me being in a situation that had allowed the golems to attack. It took at least four attempts to convince him otherwise.

  “Merc,” I said, reaching up to grab his face. It was a bold move, and one that took a lot of deep breathing to keep the scary memories at bay, but I did it anyway. I wouldn’t let him make any more reckless decisions in that state. He’d already killed his father; he’d never forgive himself if he killed his brothers, too. “Like I said, it wasn’t their fault. It was a beautifully timed set of circumstances that led to my ambush. And really, it could have happened with them right at my side. Those things are practically unstoppable, and once they have you, your power is all but useless. I could feel them swallowing mine the deeper in I went.”

  The sound that escaped him made me question whether I was making things better or worse.

  I heard the familiar cadence of Knox’s footsteps heading down the concrete hall toward Liam’s cell. Jase had had the forethought to ghost us directly there when we’d entered the house. We’d had just enough time to lock Liam up before Merc and his wave of anger had descended upon us.

  Hopefully, Knox had cooled off a bit on his way home, or he was going to prove less than helpful.

  “Merc!” he called right before he came into view.

  The vampire king turned his narrowed eyes to the alpha. “It seems you left out a few details during our phone call,” Merc said. “Tell me, how is it you knew of this, anyway?”

  “The witch with the life debt to Piper warned me. I called Piper until she finally answered.”

  “How very interesting…”

  He didn’t sound interested at all. He sounded pissed.

  “Listen,” I said, releasing my hold on him, “I’m fine. The boys are fine. We did what we went to the warlocks to do. All is good. Just let it go, Merc. It doesn’t change anything.”

  “Except you now know that Liam can travel through Faerie,” Kingston shouted from his cell.

  Man I really wished he was still buried in the ground.

  “Shut up, Kingston!”

  “Are you saying he can open portals to the fey king’s land?” Merc asked, his unwanted attention now focused on the werewolf locked in his cage. The very one he’d killed his father in.

  “He can,” I said, trying to keep Merc from bowling me over to get to the prison door, “but I need you to listen—”

  “Oh, I’m all ears,” he said, not listening to me at all. “I want to hear about this.”

  “No,” Knox said, jumping in the way, “I’ll question him. He’s mine to answer to—my kind, not yours.”

  Merc stared Knox down like he wanted to tear him apart limb from limb. For a hot second, I was worried that he might try. So much for our ‘get along’ talk.

  But then Merc took a deep breath—and a step back.

  “Ask him if he is still working on the fey king’s behalf,” Merc said, his composure returning.

  Knox did as he asked. Liam’s response was as expected.

  “No. I am not.”

  “Are you using Piper to try to get back in with him?” Knox asked. “Is that your goal, to be reunited with the fey king in Faerie?”

  “No and no. I would not return if he begged—if my life depended on it.”

  “Truth…”

  Knox looked back to Merc, who gave a quick nod of approval. Apparently, Liam’s innocence had been established.

  “Release him,” Merc ordered. Nobody moved. “I am releasing him to your care, Knox.” The vampire king’s sharp gaze cut to Liam. “Do not make me regret this.”

  Liam rose as the sound of the prison cell opening rang out around us.

  “I mean, it’s not like he can’t get out on his own anyway,” Dean pointed out. Jase punched him in the arm to shut him up. That worked about as well as it ever did. “What? It’s true. I’m just pointing out the obvious.”

  “Indeed,” Merc said.

  Knox stepped away from Liam’s cell, but the Original didn’t move.

  “If it’s all the same, I would prefer to remain where I am,” he said. “I think it might be best for the pack if I am not readily present.”

  “That is likely wise,” Merc replied. He headed away from the cell, ignoring Kingston as he passed.

  “Liam, are you sure you don’t want to come upstairs?” I asked.

  “I am certain, Piper. Thank you.”

  “Well I suggest taking the stairs instead of portaling to the kitchen if you need to eat,” Dean said before walking away. “Your free ride through Faerie could disappear at any time. Don’t want to get caught on the wrong side of the veil, if you know what I mean.”

  “He knows,” Knox said on Liam’s behalf. There was a note of pain in his observation that I couldn’t ignore. I wrapped my arm around his waist and led him away with Jase at our heels.

  “Try not to kill Kingston if he gets on your nerves,” Jase called back to him. “But if you do, nobody would blame you.”

  “I would,” a faint female voice called from behind us.

  We all whipped around to find the young witch Beatrice staring back at us with anger in her eyes—and fire in her hands.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “What is the meaning of this?” she asked, her glacial stare all but freezing us in place.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “What have you done to him?” she continued. “How long has he been your prisoner?”

  “You’ve got balls projecting here and demanding answers,” Jase replied as he drew a weapon I didn’t recognize from behind his back. “One swipe of this and your body will feel its sting, no matter where it actually is.”

  “Try me, vampire,” she snarled.

  “Beatrice,” Knox said, voice calm but lethal, “you did me a favor, so I’m going to do you one in return. I’m going to let you leave here unscathed and say nothing about this.”

  She cocked a brow at h
im. “And if I don’t?”

  “He’ll kill you,” Kingston said before Knox could share that sentiment.

  Beatrice looked at the warlock, her tight expression softening the second she set eyes on him. Then she turned back to us, and her face was cold as stone yet again.

  “He’ll try.”

  “Nobody is killing anybody,” I said, stepping past Jase. “Beatrice, why are you here? How are you here?”

  “She can astral project,” Knox said, “or so it seems.”

  “I can do much more than that. Come closer and I’ll show you.”

  “Nobody is showing anybody anything!” I yelled. “I just want to understand why you’ve come.”

  I knew I was in no danger because she owed me a life debt. Killing me would seem to be a tad counterproductive in that regard, so I approached her without fear. Much to my surprise, Knox and Jase didn’t argue.

  “I came to tell you something,” she said, the fire in her hands weakening.

  “Tell me what?”

  “I’m not saying anything until I talk to Kingston. Alone.”

  “That will not be happening,” Merc said.

  “Then I shall keep my message to myself.”

  “Not if it affects her life,” Knox argued, his reference to the life debt duly noted. The angry press of her lips told me she realized that her perceived leverage might not be as valid as she’d hoped..

  “I talk to him first,” she demanded. I nodded and took a step back to allow her near his cell. A second later, she was there, reaching through the bars to get to him. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

  “It’s a long story, Bea,” Kingston replied, smiling at her in a way I’d never seen before.

  “Why are you so dirty?”

  “Another long story.”

  Her nose scrunched up and she leaned in to sniff him. “You smell like burning…”

  That foreign smile of his widened. “I can’t argue that.”

  “Did they do this to you?” she asked, looking back at us. “Did they have you hidden somewhere down here this whole time?”

  “No, I’ve been away,” he said, pinning his dark stare on me. “I couldn’t have returned without them, that much is true.”

  Beatrice turned her attention to me and I cringed, not wanting to tell her the truth if she asked for it.

  “Did you bring him here, Piper?”

  I swallowed hard. “I did.”

  She slowly faced me. “Did you hurt him?”

  “Not in the process or since his return, no.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “But you’ve hurt him before?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you take his hands?”

  “Hardly,” Dean scoffed. “Piper doesn’t get credit for that one. My brother was all too happy to lop them off when Kingston tried to kill her.”

  Beatrice recoiled from Dean’s words as though she’d been slapped.

  “Why would Kingston try to kill Piper?”

  “He tried to kill all of us,” I said, hoping to find an easy way to explain. “Kingston has hated me for years because of who I am—or who he suspected I was. He’s been gone because of me. But the fey queen wants him for something, and I can’t let her have him. He’s down here to keep him away from her, since she keeps popping up on the property no matter how well it’s been warded. I’ve been assured that can’t happen here.”

  “Piper knew where I’d last been,” Kingston added, his voice warm and friendly and everything he wasn’t. “She dug me out of a real mess.”

  Jase choked on his surprise and covered it with a cough. “A deep one.”

  “What is the message you need to relay, Bea?” Kingston asked. “Why were you sent?”

  Beatrice’s harsh exterior fell for a moment, and she looked so much younger. So much more vulnerable.

  “I came on my own because I owe Piper a life debt.”

  Kingston’s body coiled like a snake ready to strike. “Why would you owe her that?” There was an edge to his tone—one that said he’d start raining blue flames down upon us all if he didn’t like the answer.

  “The fey king attempted to abduct her,” Knox said bluntly. “Piper prevented that from happening.”

  Kingston turned his darkened gaze to me, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

  “Nobody deserves to die the way she would have.”

  The corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. “Except me.”

  I had no response to that, so I left it alone.

  “I need to speak to him alone first,” she said, uncertainty in her tone. It was plain that she didn’t know what to think of it all—where her allegiance should lie. “Will you leave us?”

  “No can do,” Dean said, stepping toward her. Magic crackled in the air in response. “You can toss spells at me all day long, sweetie, but the result won’t be any different.”

  She pinned angry eyes on Merc. “What do you say, Vampire King?”

  “Tell us the message, and I will consider letting you see the prisoner alone. Otherwise, leave now.”

  Beatrice rose to stare at me. “I didn’t see it before, but I do now. Your resemblance to her is strong, if one bothers to look closely enough...” She took a step closer, but the others tightened their ranks around me. “Good luck with the fey queen.”

  Without another word, she disappeared from sight. Guess her life debt didn’t really cover the message like Knox had suspected.

  “Just when I think shit can’t get more interesting,” Jase muttered under his breath.

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “Dean, stay behind for now just in case she returns. Jase will work on assigning a guard rotation to make sure she doesn’t get Kingston alone. Life debt to Piper or not, I do not trust her.”

  “Agreed,” Knox said.

  The four of us left Dean behind and made our way out of the prison, headed for the stairs.

  “So the big bad warlock has a heart somewhere in that empty chest of his,” Knox mused. “Who’d have thought?”

  “Perhaps we can use the girl to leverage him into aiding us,” Merc said.

  “We still don’t know who the lock is,” I pointed out. “Maybe he can’t help us find—”

  “He can,” Merc and Knox said in unison just as Kat appeared in the hall.

  “Then let’s go beat the answer out of him and then eat, because I’m starving.” Kat sashayed toward us, mischief in her eyes.

  “Your assistance won’t be necessary,” Merc said, stopping her short.

  “Oh, I’m not going to assist, your highness. I’m going to do the job. That asshole and I have a score to settle.”

  She turned back to the stairs, her laughter echoing through the hall. The rest of us followed, tension weaving through the group. All kidding aside, we couldn’t afford for anyone to kill Kingston just yet.

  Not until we found the lock and broke the spell.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I’d secretly hoped that the prior day’s shenanigans would have postponed the coronation, but much to my dismay, it was still very much on. Security for the event was a hot topic among the enforcers and wolves alike. Kat, however, took the cake with an opinion that shocked the hell out of everyone at the impromptu meeting, including me.

  “Liam should be there,” she said as though that fact were obvious. “We need all hands on deck to make sure this party goes off without a hitch, and from what I’ve heard, it sounds like he has a few handy tricks up his sleeve.”

  “I’m assuming you aren’t going to suggest we should let Kingston loose, too,” Merc said casually, though there was a note of concern hidden in his tone. He seemed to think Kat was being more reckless than usual.

  “Fuck no. Did you miss the part about ‘without a hitch’? That fucker is exactly the kind of hitch I’m hoping to avoid.”

  As the murmuring regarding her questionable sanity began to gain strength, I stepped in on her behalf.

  “She’s right,” I said. “L
iam proved himself yesterday. And I don’t want any casualties tomorrow night. Liam could help with that.”

  “Or he could cause them,” a wolf said from the far end of the room.

  “Piper and Kat are right,” Knox said, his sharp gaze slicing to the wolf who’d spoken out of turn. “I’ll talk to Liam—see if he’s got any other tricks up his sleeve we don’t know about that could be helpful.”

  He got up from the table and walked out of the room.

  “Good. Now, the rest of you should know your roles in this by now,” Merc said, addressing the others. “We want this coronation to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible, but not so quickly as to arouse suspicion. The vampires know there is a tentative truce at the moment, so they will be expecting a sense of ease tomorrow evening, whether or not it is warranted. The goal is to indulge that without falling victim to the façade in the process. We cannot afford to let our guard down for even a moment.”

  “My uncle has updated the wards to the perimeter, but I can see if he will stay,” I said, turning to Merc, “if you think that would be helpful.”

  “He can work the entrance with Knox. Ensure that no one and nothing suspicious makes it onto the premises.”

  I nodded, then pulled out my phone to ask for Drake’s help. Moments later, he replied that he would.

  “We will spend the rest of this evening in preparation. See Jase and Dean about the particulars.”

  As if dismissed, everyone got up and made their way to whatever they were supposed to be doing. Kat caught my arm and led me to where Grizz sat in the hall, furry as the day he was born and glaring at everyone that walked by.

  The bear was clearly in a mood.

  “Did someone eat all the mashed potatoes again? They know those are his favorite…”

  “The bear can fend for himself,” Kat said as we passed him. He gave a light snarl, then turned and walked toward the foyer. “Testy, testy…he’s going to be a shit date tomorrow night.”

  “You’re going with the bear?”