Song of Midnight Embers

by Dana Marie Bell

  Mollie wished she could wash off the dried blood and dirt, but until she spoke to Lore she was considered “evidence” and wasn’t allowed to.

  Yuck. Being evidence was itchy as fuck.

  “What really happened out there?” Mina handed Mollie a cup of tea and a couple of sugar cookies. “Did Bernadette attack you?”

  Mollie shook her head. “As much as I want to answer, I think it makes more sense to go over this once Lore is here.”

  “I understand, and you’re probably right.” Mina picked up a cookie and crumbled it between her fingers. “It’s just...” Her shoulders slumped. “I hate seeing Greer this way, so if there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”

  “Huh?” Mollie’s eyes went wide when Mina scowled at her. “You mean the fact that he looks sick?”

  “Sick.” Mina shook her head, the heat of her sudden anger practically blistering Mollie’s skin. “That’s one word for it.”

  Mollie slowly put down the mug of tea. She hadn’t thought that Mina of all people would be the first to attack her. Something must be seriously wrong with Greer for Mina to act this way, and that scared her more than the thought that she might be blamed for Lily’s death. “What’s the other word?”

  “Dying.”

  Mollie shook her head, uncertain she’d heard that sharply spoken word. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. Greer is dying.” Mina stood and paced toward the kitchen before rounding on Mollie once more. “And it’s your fault.”

  “How can it be my fault?” Mollie followed, wondering if she was about to have her second fight of the night in the middle of the Throne.

  “He’s your mate, Mollie, yet you rejected him for a wolf.” Mina shook her head, looking disappointed in Mollie. “How can you do that to him?”

  “Do what?” Mollie threw up her hands. “He rejected me more than once, but you don’t see me dying!”

  “He’s pining!” Mina’s voice rang out, filled with anger. The Throne reacted to the queen’s wrath, the movement of the earth beneath her feet nearly knocking her down. “He’ll join his tree and fade away to nothing soon if you don’t accept him as yours.”

  Mollie sat down hard. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “I...” She’d had no idea. She knew something was wrong with Greer, but no one had been willing to talk to her about him, especially not the dryads. Fuck. How could he be pining? He didn’t talk to her, didn’t glance her way, yet he was ready to fade away for lack of her? Her hands were shaking so badly she had to clench them in her lap. She didn’t know whether to be furious with him or to hug him so tightly he squeaked. “I’ll talk to him.”

  “You do that.” Mina looked up, some of the anger leaving her expression. “Lore’s here.”

  Mollie nodded shakily and got back on her feet. She’d have to deal with Greer later. Right now, she had to find out if she was going to jail. “I’ll follow you out.”

  Mina led the way up the enchanted stairs without another word. She pressed a button, and the Oak Throne slid aside, revealing the sacred circle of Ash, Oak, Birch and Yew. The circle had been there long before Maggie’s Grove had been founded, the town being named after the Queen of Oak who’d granted Dragos the permission to build the town as a paranormal sanctuary. It would still be there long after Mollie was gone.

  A number of wolves were there, milling around, grieving the loss of their beta. Allan Wulfenbach had been a good man, and a lot of people were going to miss him like hell.

  “Mollie.” Lore reached them and held out his hand. “Can you come with me, please?”

  Mollie nodded, glancing around the Throne for Greer, but he was nowhere to be found. Shit. Had he joined his tree already? “Where’s Greer?”

  Lore sighed. “From what I understand, he volunteered to stand watch over Lily Wulfenbach’s body until I can get there.” He shook his head. “Tonight has been a seriously fucked-up night.”

  The sympathy in his tone as he glanced toward the wolves wasn’t surprising, considering his father was one of them.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” It was the only thing Mollie could think of to say, and she wasn’t entirely certain it was appropriate. But she couldn’t stand there and say nothing, even if she’d been the one to kill Bernadette.

  Lore stared at her for a moment before leading the way out of the Throne. “Several of the wolves believe it was a fire elemental who killed Lily Wulfenbach. Do you know anything about that?”

  Mollie winced. “Yeah. Bernadette talked about it just before she attacked me.”

  “She attacked you?” Lore took a flashlight out of his pocket and pointed it toward the forest floor. “I need you to lead me to where her body is.”

  Mollie nodded and took the flashlight. “Follow me.”

  They walked in silence as Mollie took Lore to Bernadette’s body.

  Bernadette had shifted back, her human form scorched in several places, her stomach almost gone from the heat Mollie had generated. Her hands and legs were rigid. Rigor mortis was beginning to set in, which meant Mollie had been in the Throne longer than she’d originally thought. “There.”

  Lore kneeled by the body, seemingly unfazed by the stench of death.

  Mollie, on the other hand, had seen her fair share of battle while defending Maggie’s Grove, but she’d never known the person she’d killed before. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying to ignore the way Bernadette’s eyes were half open while a fly was crawling on her cheek. She swallowed hard, hoping she wasn’t about to spew all over the place.

  He examined Bernadette’s hands, the wounds all over her, using a pen to tilt her up. “I’ll need to get the coroner out here,” he said with a sigh. He stood and shook himself, then glanced around the area. “Why aren’t any of the trees scorched?”

  She shrugged. “I made sure the fire didn’t touch them.”

  The glance he shot her was sharp. “Can anyone else do that? Keep scorch marks away from, say, buildings?”

  Mollie gulped. Oh, hell. “I don’t know. I do know I’m one of the most powerful fire elementals in town.” It was one of the reasons she led them. “There are one or two who might be able to do it. There might also be spells that could light a person on fire without touching his or her surroundings, but you’d have to speak to Gideon or Selena about that.” Gideon was the local coven leader. If any of his witches could perform a spell like that, he’d be the one who’d know, or at least suspect, who was capable of it.

  She bit her lip as a sudden thought filled her. “Has anyone told Frisco that one of his is dead?” Frisco McCoy was the head of the water elementals. Lily might have been part of the pack through mating, but she was still a naiad, still one of theirs. Mollie, Frisco, Ian “Rock” Rockford and Zander Vasilakis ruled the elementals in much the same way Mina, Ash, Greer and Iva ruled the dryads. While Mollie didn’t know Lily Wulfenbach all that well, her death would affect some of her closest friends.

  “He’s been contacted, but we’re leaving the details of her death out of it until the coroner takes a look at her.” Lore scowled down at the ground. “Not that there’s much left to examine.”

  “What about a post-cog? Could they take a look and get a reading from Lily?”

  Lore shivered. “I really hope I don’t have to do that, but if I do, I’ll send for the best.”

  “Who would that be?” Mollie shivered. Shorts and a tank top just weren’t cutting it anymore.

  “JC Woodward.”

  Ugh. Mollie knew who that was. John Carpenter Woodward was a huge pain in the ass to deal with on a good day. On a day when he was asked to use his powers, he was a grumpy asshole who’d leave Oscar the Grouch in tears. Not even the kindest vamps in town wanted the man as their Renfield. “Can’t we just eat broken glass? It’ll be less painful on the wa
y out.”

  Lore laughed bitterly. “Don’t I wish. But the man is good at his job, and that’s what I’ll need if the coroner doesn’t come up with anything useful for me.” He shook his head. “Now comes the hard part, Mollie.”

  “Let me guess. I’m under arrest?”

  “Not yet, but I do have to take you down to the station and get a statement.” Lore took the flashlight and glanced around. “From what I’m seeing here, there was one hell of a fight.”

  “Yeah.” She rubbed her arms. “I hope the others took pictures of my wounds to show you.”

  “Me too, or this is going to go much worse for you.” Lore helped her over a fallen tree. “If you’re unmarked while Bernadette is singed to a crisp, you’re going to look guilty as hell.”

  “Even if Greer healed me?”

  “Everyone knows Greer is your mate. He’ll say whatever is necessary to protect you, as will the rest of the dryads, if only to protect him. And Dragos is suspect as well, since he’s mated to Mina.”

  Damn. “Noah was there. He saw me stumble into the Throne and pass out.”

  Lore smiled. “That will help, especially if I can get him to give me a statement about the extent of your wounds and that Greer healed you.”

  “Great.” If Noah chose to lie about what had happened when she arrived in the Throne, she was toast. “How much further?” She could use a strong cup of coffee and a blanket. Man, it had been such a long fucking night. She was so ready to go home, grab some zees and pretend none of this was happening.

  “Not much. It’s just beyond the tree line.”

  Lore was right. Within minutes, they’d arrived at the road where Lore had parked his cruiser. Driving into the thick of the forest was impossible, which was why he’d had to hike it.

  “Hop in.” He put her in the back, but he didn’t cuff her, something she was grateful for. “There’s a blanket there if you need it.”

  “Thank fuck.” She picked up the blanket and wrapped it around herself, sighing in relief as the heat sank in.

  Lore drove them to town, taking her around to the back of the police station. He parked and got out, opening the door. “Don’t want anyone to see you until I’ve gotten people out to the forest to pick up Bernadette.”

  “Understood.”

  “Good.” He led her down the hallway, allowing her to keep the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. He opened a door marked Examination Room 3 and gestured for her to enter. “I’ll be right back with some coffee.”

  Mollie sat at the table and stared at the closed door before putting her head down wearily on the table. There was a camera up in the corner, a small microphone on the table and little else. Beige walls, beige carpet, even the table was beige. The only spots of color were the black camera, the black microphone and the ugly blue stackable chairs. “This is so not how I wanted to spend my night.”

  The door opened behind her, and she lifted her head. Lore handed her a cup of coffee and a candy bar. “Here, this should help.”

  “Thank you.” She sipped the coffee, moaning at the warmth and sweetness. Somehow he’d known that she liked sugar and cream. And the candy bar was perfect. She eyed him warily. “By the way, what is your gift?”

  Lore smiled and opened a notebook. “Now, let’s take this from the beginning. Why were you in the woods tonight?”

  Mollie put the candy bar on the table. “Well, you see, Carter and I have been working together on a little problem...”

  * * *

  The sight of Lily Wulfenbach was sickening. Greer stared at the remains of what had been a woman and swallowed back his bile. She wasn’t just burned. Most of her was reduced to ash, only portions of her legs left alone. Her bright red toenails were still visible, unmarked by the flames that had taken her life.

  It reminded Greer of some pictures of spontaneous human combustion he’d seen. To reduce someone to ash so quickly and thoroughly without scorching the surrounding area, the heat had to have been so hot that Lily wouldn’t have had time to cry out. She must have dropped where she stood, dead before she hit the pavement.

  Her cup of coffee wasn’t scorched. It had broken open when she fell, causing coffee to spill all over where her arm had been. Her outline was clearly delineated, marking her body out clearly.

  Poor Allan. No wonder the man had dropped dead in his house within seconds of her death. The sheer trauma of losing his mate must have sent him into shock. No doubt the coroner would call it a massive heart attack for any humans who looked into it, but the truth of the matter was he’d died of mate shock.

  Greer stood at the mouth of the alley as the coroner’s van showed up. The man who hopped out of the driver’s seat smiled at Greer and waved. “Hey, Mr. Berkley.”

  “Hi, Oliver.” Oliver Zuckerman was one of the town dryads. His tree, a sugar maple, was planted in the town square. “How’s school?”

  “It’s going.” Oliver grinned. “Dr. Kogon says I’ll make an excellent medical examiner someday.”

  “He will, if he can keep his mind on the task at hand.” Dr. Joseph Kogon got out of the passenger seat and began pulling on a set of blue gloves. “Gather what we need, Oliver. I’ll go over it in the alley and point out what you missed.”

  “Yes, Dr. Kogon.” Oliver winked at Greer and got to work. He opened the back of the van and hopped inside.

  Greer followed Dr. Kogon to Lily’s body. “I haven’t touched a thing.”

  Dr. Kogon nodded and bent down to begin examining the corpse. “Good. I hate it when amateurs muck up my crime scene.”

  Greer grunted and moved out of the way, letting the doctor work. If there was something to find in the devastation that had been Lily Wulfenbach, Dr. Kogon would find it.

  “I got the kit, Dr. Kogon.” Oliver walked past Greer, holding a black bag. “The stretcher is in the mouth of the alley.”

  “Body bag?” Dr. Kogon asked without looking up.

  “On the stretcher, waiting for word from you.”

  “Good.” Dr. Kogon glanced into the back of the van and nodded. “Excellent work, Oliver.”

  “Thank you, doctor.” Oliver placed the bag where Dr. Kogon could reach it but out of the way of the body. Then he stood by Greer and watched Dr. Kogon work, his eyes bright with curiosity.

  Greer had no idea what the doctor was doing other than grunting a lot and writing things down in a notebook. Dr. Kogon muttered, “Oliver? Pictures.”

  Oliver reached into the bag and got a camera. He began snapping away, getting images of the corpse from multiple angles.

  A car pulled up at the mouth of the alley, one marked with the Maggie’s Grove Fire Department logo. The two people who climbed out made Greer want to growl.

  The first person was Carter Hayes, the fucking wolf fireman who’d taken Mollie from him. Why the fuck they’d sent him instead of someone else, Greer didn’t know. If Mollie was suspected of the murder of Lily, then having Carter on the scene had to be a conflict of interest.

  The other person had him relaxing slightly. Roxanne Dawson was next in line to be fire chief. She was no-nonsense when it came to her job, but the owl shifter was the life of the party outside it. He could tell she had her work hat on when she stepped into the alleyway with a quick greeting. Her dark brown eyes assessed the situation while her expression remained neutral. “Okay, boys. What do we have?”

  “Female, naiad, aged twenty-seven. Time of death...” Dr. Kogon grunted. “Currently unknown, but believed to be between 10:00 p.m. and midnight. From the time of death of the beta, I’m leaning toward eleven thirty.”

  That meant Mollie had been in the forest, following Bernadette, when Lily had been murdered. Greer relaxed. The time of death should clear her name.

  “Hmm.” Roxanne stepped forward, frowning as she took in the sight of the corpse. “Any signs
of accelerant?”

  Carter sniffed. “I’m not catching a whiff of anything. Want me to shift and double-check?”

  A wolf shifter’s sense of smell was enhanced in his human form, but in his wolf form he’d have the use of his wolf’s sniffer.

  “Nah. Looking at this, I’d say it was a fire elemental who did it.” Roxanne kneeled and pointed at something Greer had missed. “See this? Footprints.”

  “Small ones.” Carter kneeled next to Roxanne and sniffed, snapping his head back in surprise. “What the fuck?”

  “What do you smell?” Roxanne leaned closer and smelled herself, shaking her head in disbelief. “Why am I picking up a faint hint of Mollie Ferguson?”

  “Huh?” Greer straightened up from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “That’s impossible. Mollie was in her car when Lily died, driving into the forest.”

  Carter glanced up at him. “Her scent is faint, but it’s here. And no, I’m not wrong. I’ve been around her enough that there’s no way I’d confuse her scent.” Carter stood and scratched his head. “The thing is, I know Mollie, and there’s no way she’d kill Lily without a really good reason.”

  “She didn’t do it.” Greer was positive of that. She’d readily admitted to killing Bernadette. Why would she lie about Lily? It just didn’t make sense.

  “Can you be sure of that?” Dr. Kogon stared at Greer, his face expressionless. “Can you be certain she hasn’t lied to you?”

  “Yes.” Greer would bet his life on that.

  “I agree,” Carter added with a grimace. “Mollie wasn’t...” He glanced at the others and winced. “Damn it, I need to talk to the sheriff. If someone is after Mollie, then everything’s gone to hell in a handbasket.”

  “What are you talking about?” If it involved Mollie, Greer wanted to know.

  Carter sighed. “Mollie and I aren’t dating.”

  “Then what were you doing?” Because Greer had the right to know.

  “Mollie and I were following up on tips we’d gotten, good ones, from Dr. T.”

  At that name, both Oliver and Dr. Kogon stood straighter. “The head of the pathology department?” Oliver asked.