Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove)

by Dana Marie Bell

  It wasn’t until one of them moaned that Mina realized that all these skeletal corpses were actually alive.

  She wanted to break something, smash this place so that the Van Helsings could never do this to another living being ever again.

  “Shh, Mina. It’s all right. We’ll save them.”

  She didn’t even realize she was crying until Dragos brushed away a tear.

  His dragon’s eyes told her he would not let this go. The beast was roused, either by the sight of their people’s suffering or her grief—she neither knew nor cared. Dragos would kill each and every man and woman who had a hand in this atrocity.

  Noah’s massive form padded past her, daintily stepping over and around the bodies on the floor. His people began to pick them up one by one, carrying them gently up the stairs toward Dominic and the healers.

  “Holy fuck.” She had no idea when Gideon had entered the building. He was supposed to be leading the black, keeping the Van Helsings off the wounded. “I knew I was needed in here, but I wasn’t sure why.” His grip on his broom tightened as he swallowed convulsively. “I’ve got a life to take.”

  “No.” Dragos stepped around Gideon. “I have a life to take.”

  Gideon glared at Dragos, not the least bit intimidated. “No offense, Mayor, but this was done with the help of a Maggie’s Grove witch. It will be set right by a Maggie’s Grove witch.” He cocked an eyebrow at Dragos arrogantly. “Unless you plan on denying me that.”

  Dragos took a deep breath and a step back toward Mina, but his eyes remained shifted. “Very well, Gideon.”

  Gideon’s smile was pure evil. “Don’t worry.” He glanced around the room, taking in the bodies. “When I find him, I will make him suffer.”

  “Selena!” Ash darted into the room and stopped before one of the gurneys.

  “Oh, gods.” Mina followed, halting at the sight of Selena. It looked like she’d been there years instead of days. Her skin was gray and waxy, her pretty brown curls hacked short. An IV was in her, pumping gods only knew what into her.

  Ash ripped the IV out and carefully lifted her in his arms. “Mina...”

  His tortured expression told her everything she needed to know. His loyalty to her warred with his need to see to the well-being of his mate. “Go. Get her to the healers.”

  She’d barely finished speaking before Ash took off, his speed making him a blur. The IV continued to drip to the floor. “Shit.” Mina shivered. “We need to find Iva.” If they’d done this to Selena, who they’d had for only three days, gods only knew what they’d done to Iva. They’d had her for months.

  Dragos gently stroked her arm. “Do you know where she is?”

  She closed her eyes again and concentrated, finally pointing toward one of the doors in the back wall. “That one.”

  Noah must have heard her, because he smashed through the door as if it weren’t even there. He led the way into the room, but before they got very far he froze. Mina couldn’t see around him. “Noah?”

  He quivered, sniffing the air and scaring the hell out of her even further. Behind her, the sound of movement ceased. His wolves must have reacted to their alpha’s scent, because they began to crowd behind her, forcing her farther into the room and closer to Noah.

  Dragos pulled her to the side, and finally Mina could see what had Noah so transfixed. She cursed under breath at the sight of a human holding an emaciated Iva by the hair, a knife at her throat. Iva’s eyes were so blackened they could barely open, her skin so white Mina was surprised she still breathed. Her thick black hair was lank and dim, cut in ragged patches—some long enough to touch her shoulders, some exposing bruised and bleeding scalp wounds and scars.

  Mina wanted to scream. Iva had loved her hair, had considered it her one beauty. It had been below her waist, a shining fall of black silk she’d brushed and cared for with the same enthusiasm she tended her tree.

  The man holding Iva shook her. “Back off. Let me out and I’ll let her go.”

  She could hear Gideon chanting under his breath, the witch preparing a spell that would more than likely obliterate the man holding Iva.

  Noah growled so savagely Mina damn near pissed herself in fear. She’d never heard that tone from the wolf before. Even Gideon stopped chanting, the sudden silence filled with nothing but the sound of the alpha’s rage.

  The knife moved, drawing blood. Iva didn’t even flinch—her gaze distant, her expression completely blank. She’d been away from her tree for far too long, and soon nothing anyone did would be able to save her. “Back. Off.”

  “I don’t think so.” Dragos moved so quickly he was a blur to all her senses, coming in behind the man and ripping his head from his shoulders.

  Iva slumped to the floor as the man’s last convulsive movement made the blade slice across her throat.

  Noah howled, the room shaking as the alpha transformed back into a man and raced to the fallen dryad. He picked up the knife and slashed his wrist, forcing his blood into Iva’s wound.

  “What are you doing?” Mina tried to stop Noah but Dragos was suddenly there, holding her back.

  “Look, my Mina. Look at them.”

  Mina turned her head to find every wolf down on one knee, their heads bowed. A low, rumbling sound came from each of their throats as their alpha kept cutting himself and holding the bleeding wound to Iva’s neck. “Oh, fuck.”

  Dragos nodded and held her close, no longer trying to stop her from getting to Noah. Instead, he was comforting her. “She’s his mate.”

  She nodded. Noah would allow no other near Iva until he’d calmed his beast, not even Mina. At least she knew his wolves would defend Iva to the death, each and every one of them.

  Iva was safe.

  Now she had to find the motherfucker who’d done this to her and kill his ass. Then Gideon could blow the place sky-high for all she cared.

  “Let’s go find Mr. Carpenter, my Mina, and show him how we really feel.”

  She smiled grimly. “An excellent idea.”

  Still it took everything she had to walk out of that room, to leave her sister behind, even knowing Noah would kill anything or anyone that came close to her. As her mate, Noah’s blood would heal Iva’s wound, but there were a lot of others who would need to be tended to by the witches.

  That was going to be a lot of fun. If anything happened to Iva while under their care...

  She shuddered.

  “I’ve asked some of my witches to come down here and help the dryads remove the victims.” From the look in Gideon’s eye he was just as angry as she was. “This is...”

  “An abomination.” Dragos began opening more doors, appearing relieved when the other three seemed to be empty. The old bloodstains were testimony that it hadn’t always been so.

  Most of the wounded had been taken out by the time they were done checking the rooms, the witches and dryads making short work of the rescue. They made their way back up the stairs to the main part of the building.

  Mina looked around and prayed they hadn’t missed anything. Anyone left behind would die when her dryads pulled the building down. “Any idea how things are going in the server area and the housing section?” The building rumbled beneath their feet. A quick glance toward the window confirmed what she already knew. Vines covered everything so thickly that barely any light was getting in. “We need to go.”

  Dragos nodded, then bellowed, “Noah! Time to go!”

  The building shook again, plaster dust raining down on them as something deep inside the building groaned with a tortured metal sound. Dragos and Mina exchanged a worried glance before running toward a door.

  Gods, let her people have left a way out. They were so upset by what they’d found in this building they might have forgotten not to close everything off. She could feel their grief and fury, could sense the energy they were pouring into growing the plants that would be the ultimate demise of the building.

  The wolves, led by Noah, came running out of the basement tortur
e chamber. Noah had an unconscious Iva cradled in his arms, his expression grim as he led his people to a blocked-off exit door. “Clear it.”

  The wolves began tearing at the vines, leaving Noah enough room to carry Iva, then began shuttling the rest of the people out. Mina and Dragos were among the last to leave, making sure all of the wolves escaped before allowing the dryads to complete their work.

  “Get back. When this goes down we have no idea what will happen. There could be hidden explosives.” Dragos shifted. “I’m going to go check on the othersss. Get your asssesss back to the trucksss.”

  Noah barely acknowledged Dragos, but he obeyed, leading his people and the majority of the noncombatants away.

  Mina stared at Dragos, waiting patiently until that massive head bent toward her. She rubbed her hand over his scales, delighted when he closed his eyes and purred for her. Who knew such a massive beast would purr? “Be careful up there.”

  Dragos rubbed his chin against her palm. “I promisssse. Now, back up so I can take off.”

  Mina moved away from both the building and Dragos, keeping one eye on him and one on the dryads. It was almost ready. The building was beginning to sway—her people joining Noah’s at a safer distance.

  With a sudden kick of dust Dragos was off, circling the building once before he veered off to check on the area where the housing was.

  A great cracking sound rent the air. The horrible building toppled, dragged down by the roots and vines that had infested its mortar-and-brick facade. She covered her eyes with her arm just as the dust that blew up from it billowed over them, coating them with fine red powder. Mina spit, trying to get it out of her mouth. “Ugh.”

  “Mina.” Amara, once more human, touched her arm. “We need to get you in the car.”

  “The others?”

  “Loaded. Brian says Greg and the other ghosts have been keeping an eye out, running back and forth between the three areas. So far, we’ve only suffered minor casualties.”

  “Good.” She’d felt only one of her dryads die, but the other leaders would have to deal with their dead and wounded. It would be a while before Maggie’s Grove would be back to normal, if it ever was.

  “The victims are also loaded. Parker and I protected them when Gideon went into the building with you.”

  Mina glanced around. “Where is Gideon?” He hadn’t been that far behind her, but she hadn’t seen him since before the building collapsed. She prayed the witch hadn’t been trapped inside.

  “I...don’t know. I haven’t seen him since we left the building.”

  “Please tell me he got out of the building.” Wouldn’t that be wonderful if they’d managed to kill the new coven leader after less than a week?

  “I think so? He’s pretty strong, and he knew the plan.”

  Mina bit her lip. Damn it, she needed to find him. It was possible that, with the energy he’d expended, Gideon had passed out somewhere, helpless against any Van Helsings left in the area. She doubted they’d managed to find and kill them all. “We need to get him.”

  “I’m with you.”

  “Me too, me too!” Parker appeared at Amara’s side. “Don’t even think I’m letting you go have adventures all on your own, sweet.”

  Amara might grumble under her breath, but both Mina and Parker could tell she was pleased he’d appeared.

  Mina led the way back to the husk of a building. The rubble was so deep, she couldn’t see anything but brick and the broken teeth of beams and struts. “Shit. If he’s in there we’ll never find him.”

  Parker wrinkled his nose. “I can smell old blood and some new, but I don’t know Gideon well enough to find... Bloody hell. What is that smell? Why do I smell that?” He shuddered. He’d stayed behind with Brian, keeping his Renfield safe, and sane, for Greg’s sake. Now that the ghost was back, Parker was free to come with them. “What the hell was in there? I know it was their ‘science’ building, but it shouldn’t reek like a weeks’ old battlefield.”

  “A torture chamber.” Mina kicked one of the bricks. “If Gideon is in there, he’s dead.”

  “I’m hoping he went after Carpenter.” Parker rubbed his hands together gleefully. “I can’t wait to see what our new coven leader does to the bastard.”

  “He did say he wanted to kill Carpenter personally, but we don’t know where Carpenter is. It’s possible his body is in the rubble, along with his soldiers.”

  “Not bleeding likely. I highly doubt Carpenter was guarding these people in the middle of the night. I’d bet he was in one of the other two buildings, either sleeping or plotting or wanking off to evil porn. Or, you know, whatever evil assholes do in the dark.” Parker glared off toward the housing complex. “Greg is heading out to check on it.”

  “That leaves the computer area.” Mina started walking. If Carpenter lived, he’d get away, rebuild, bringing Van Helsings to the area in even greater numbers. Maggie’s Grove would have a war on its hands—one it might not win.

  “Mina, perhaps we should let Dragos deal with—”

  She scowled at Parker and summoned her bow.

  “Nice night for a stroll, isn’t it?” Parker began to whistle nonchalantly, smiling sweetly when Mina rolled her eyes at him.

  The building ahead of them collapsed, much like the science building had. Only this time they didn’t find themselves covered in red brick dust. “Shit.”

  Parker’s expression turned grim. “Contact Dragos. Find out if Carpenter was inside.”

  “Dragos?”

  “Yes, draga mea?”

  “Can you find out if Carpenter is dead or not?”

  “Give me a few minutes.”

  “Oh, and Gideon is missing.”

  “Ce pula mea? Wasn’t he right behind us?”

  “I thought so, but I was obviously wrong. He swore to kill Carpenter.”

  “And witches can use locator spells.” Another string of Romanian curses flew through her mind, the meaning of which she barely understood. “We know Carpenter has defenses against witchcraft. He could conceivably take Gideon.” A red dragon landed in front of her. “Climb on. I’m going to try and track Gideon by scent.”

  Mina did as instructed, climbing Dragos until she was seated just above his shoulders, her legs dangling on either side of his long neck. She leaned down and wrapped both arms around his neck and held on tight. “We’re going to try and find Gideon from the air. You two look for him on the ground.”

  “If you find any unconscious people, send someone to pick them up.” Dragos’s voice was so much deeper in this form, the low rumble of his words vibrating up her spine.

  Amara tilted her head, her expression confused. “And if they’re Van Helsings?”

  “We deal with that once we’re home. Better to bring in a Van Helsing than leave behind one of our own.”

  “Consider it done, Dragos.” Parker waved goodbye. “Have a nice flight, Mina.”

  Mina stroked her fingers down Dragos’s neck. “I plan on it.”

  Dragos took off once more, Mina clinging to his back like a monkey. “Contact the dryads and ask them to talk to the witches. They might be able to locate Gideon.”

  An excellent idea, except Mina’s powers didn’t quite work that way. She tried to send out feelers to her people, but while she could sense them she couldn’t communicate with them mentally. “Not in my set of superpowers, Dragos.”

  “Ah. Then we need to find another way to... There. I see some.” Dragos landed not far from the shattered computer building. “We need to find Gideon.”

  One of the witches pointed toward the housing area. “He went that way. Said he’d find the man responsible for all of this and make sure he didn’t see the dawn.”

  “Thank you.” Dragos took off again and headed for the housing complex.

  “At least we know he’s alive.”

  “And on the hunt.” Several witches swooped toward them, accompanying them in their flight. The black witches had apparently chosen to join the hunt for the
ir coven leader.

  One of the witches, a pretty little thing who couldn’t be more than nineteen or twenty, saluted Dragos. “Our orders are to see to it that you and the queen remain safe, Mayor.”

  “Mina’s safety comes before my own. Understood?”

  The girl grinned cheekily even as Mina smacked his thick, scaly head. “Understood, Mayor.” She did a loop-de-loop. “But Gideon’s orders are for both of you, and those are the ones I’m following.” She took off laughing, the rest of the witches darting around them, zooming along on their wooden death sticks.

  “Shit.”

  Their voices were so blended she wasn’t certain which one of them thought it first.

  A familiar flare of bright light drew Mina’s attention to behind the housing complex. She tapped Dragos’s neck. “See that?”

  That great, scaly head turned. “Yes, my Mina. I think we found our missing witch.”

  Dragos landed not far from Gideon. Mina slid off his back and raced toward the witch. From the screams she was certain he was in a battle for his life.

  What she found as she got closer was far different from what she’d thought it would be.

  Gideon was holding his hand up, palm out, toward a beefy older man who was caught in some kind of bubble. The older man’s back was painfully arched, his hands held out from his sides by an unseen force, his feet separated in the same fashion. She could see the man struggling against the force’s hold, but his limbs didn’t budge. Gideon’s will held him fast, kept him from escaping. A barely audible snapping sound caused the man to scream again.

  Gideon’s expression was terrifying. “Where are your masters?”

  The man was panting, pale and sweaty, but the glare he shot Gideon he was still defiant. “Fuck. Yo—ah!” Another snap, and the man screamed.

  Gideon smiled grimly. “Wrong answer.” He flexed his fingers and the fingers on the man’s right hand bent backward.

  “You’re going to kill me anyway.” The man panted. “Why should I cooperate?”

  Gideon tilted his head, like a child examining a fascinating bug. “You have two choices. After going into your scientific facility, I gave my word I would make the person responsible suffer. In case you hadn’t noticed, that would be you.”