Terri shrugged. “Her? Where she belongs, of course. In her tree.”
Amara darted a glance at the huge oak that dominated the grove and gasped. Mina hung spread-eagle from the branches of her oak. Her head was down, her limbs trembling with effort. Her feet brushed the top of the carved-stone throne that sat high on its roots. Lesser thrones sat before the Oaken Throne, one each for Greer, Ash and Iva.
Something writhed against Mina’s skin, and she wheezed. Amara bit back a horrified gasp when that something burrowed under Mina’s skin, twisting inside her like a giant parasite. The pain had to be excruciating. Blood trickled down her skin where the vines and thorns kept her pinned to her tree like a bug.
Mina’s gaze was dull and bloodshot. Crimson dotted her lips. She coughed once and winced. “’Bout time you got here, Amara.” Her voice was husky with fatigue and pain.
“We were delayed.” Amara stepped forward, knowing Terri would get a good, long look at her. “Hey, bitch. Did you know that’s my man you’re messing with?”
“He’s mine!” Terri shrieked. Weeds sprung up around Amara, trying to block her in. “I will kill you.”
“And my dog too?” Amara pushed at the weeds, startled at their strength. Fuck. Had Terri managed to gain control here? If she had, their chances of survival had dropped to nil.
Parker snorted. Apparently he was no longer under the witch’s control. “Really, Terri. Bad form. Let the women go, and we’ll have a nice chat, hmm?”
“Come here, Parker.” Terri wiggled her fingers in a come-hither gesture that was beyond obscene. Her stench invaded the grove, a poisonous perfume that dulled the senses.
“I don’t think so.” Parker took a step back, toward Amara.
Mina’s back arched. Her head flew back. She screamed, the sound full of petrified agony.
“I don’t think you understand. Come here, Parker.” Terri pointed toward the ground in front of her as Mina screamed and screamed. “Take your time. I can wait.”
A low growl came from him, but he put one foot in front of the other and stopped where Terri had pointed. Mina’s screaming dissolved into sobs.
Whatever Terri had done to Oak was bad, possibly fatal. Mina’s skin had taken on an ashen tone, and she shuddered with each labored breath she took. Amara hoped the witchdoctor would be able to fix Mina, or all hell would break loose. When Dragos saw Mina’s wounds, he would go ape-shit.
“Do you want them to suffer even more?” A parody of a smile crossed Terri’s lips and Mina groaned. “Feed from me, Parker. Feed from me, and the others may go free.”
“Even Amara?”
She drew in a sharp breath. He couldn’t possibly be thinking about drinking the swill running through Terri’s veins.
If he did, there wasn’t enough mouthwash in the world to get that taste out of his mouth.
“Even Amara. She won’t matter to you once the spell is complete. Our suffering will be over, Parker. We will be together forever.”
Parker leaned back and took a deep breath. “And Mina will be set down, unharmed?”
“I can’t promise she won’t be damaged. My friends can be enthusiastic when I give them a task.”
Amara shuddered, remembering the wicked weed that had tried to tunnel inside Parker. Amara rooted her feet into the earth, drew back her hand and slammed it into the weed with all her strength.
The weed bent.
Parker leaned back and took another breath so he could speak again. He was trying not to breathe in Terri’s overwhelming stench. “And what task did you give them?”
She drew back her hand and hit the weed.
There was the faintest cracking sound.
“I needed the forest pliant. This was the fastest way.” Terri ran her hands down Parker’s chest, and he trembled. “I have to admit, I’m enjoying the taste of power. It’s so deep and rich and dark. The things I could do with it are endless.”
Shit. Terri had tapped into Oak’s control over the forest. Amara drew her hand back a third time and gave the weed one more whack.
It broke. Amara was free.
“I don’t think so.”
Another weed sprang up where the broken one lay, covering it, making the base stronger than the first had been. She watched the new weed sink into the old, sucking it dry of what life was left in a matter of seconds.
“You didn’t think I’d give up that easily, did you?”
Amara looked up to find herself eye to eye with the witch. “Hello. You must be Terri.”
What remained of Terri’s eyebrows crookedly rose. “And you are?”
Amara reached deep into the earth, smiling at the response she got from the forest. The cavalry was on its way. “Let me think. You’re the bat-shit crazy bad guy.” Amara’s smile turned evil. “Guess that makes me the hero.”
Up from the earth sprang a huge rocklike formation that batted down the weeds like bugs and knocked both Terri and Amara off their feet.
Terri jumped to her feet faster than Amara. “How?”
Amara rose and punched the woman right in the nose, sending her sailing across the Throne. “It’s good to have friends.”
Terri howled, and her weeds answered, lifting from the ground and writhing around, but the ground rebelled against the invader. It heaved and moved in a quake that would have destroyed a lesser place.
The mountain did not like having Terri there and was showing her the best way it could, with a little help from Rock. The huge park ranger strode into view, batting weeds aside with massive fists. He’d called on the powers of his element, armoring himself against the thorns that tried to rip into his flesh. The deep, grating sound of stone grinding against stone accompanied him as he stomped across the Throne, decimating everything in his path. Almost half the wolf pack fought at his side, their claws and teeth ripping and tearing with deadly accuracy, their alpha at the front of the battle.
Rock and the wolves entered the fray, and leaving Amara free to concentrate her efforts on Terri. She took a brief moment to wonder where the rest of the wolves had disappeared to, but the mountain took her attention. She could barely stay on her feet.
Terri did her best to evade the flying debris the battle between the mountain and the weeds was throwing up, but both Amara and Terri found themselves pelted. Amara ignored the stinging bite of the rocks, her barklike skin absorbing the blows with ease. Terri, on the other hand, sprayed bits and pieces of herself all over the place, chunks falling off with each hit. She screeched with wrath, dancing around like a lunatic, trying to evade the rocks.
She completely missed seeing the hamadryad haymaker that once again sent her skidding across the Throne.
Terri hopped back to her feet with remarkable speed and flung out her hand, screaming in a strange language. A thin green light surrounded her hand; the witch was casting some sort of spell. Amara braced for whatever Terri was preparing to throw at her. From the hatred in Terri’s voice, she’d bet it was supposed to be lethal.
Arms circled Terri from behind. “Now, pretty, we wouldn’t want to do that, would we?”
Terri grasped Parker’s arm and jerked. “Get off!”
“That wasn’t what you were saying that night in the desert,” Parker cooed. “Don’t you remember how sweet it was?”
Terri stopped struggling. Her head tilted to the side, her eyes closed to half-mast. Her breaths came in short pants. Around her, the erupting earth died down as the forest itself seemed to listen to Parker’s crooned words. “I remember. I remember the night, the sound of the cicadas.”
“The strum of the guitar in the distance. You danced so beautifully.” Parker’s hand drifted down Terri’s mold-covered stomach to brush the dandelion growing beside her navel. “You were like a living flame. Remember? Remember how it was?”
Terri moaned, going lax in Parker’s arms. “I remember.”
“Do you remember the crackle of the wood as it burned in the bonfire? The sparks dancing from it, lighting the sky? The way the fire
light danced across your skin, warming it, teasing it?” He swayed, taking Terri with him, dancing to a beat only the two of them could hear.
Amara was going to kick his ass when this was all over.
Parker wasn’t looking down at Terri anymore. He was looking beyond Amara, toward the wood. He nodded once and placed a soft kiss on the side of Terri’s neck. “Do you remember what it felt like to burn with passion?”
Terri shuddered. “Please, Parker.”
“Do you?”
“Yes! Please!” Terri’s head fell back against his shoulder. “Please love me.”
Parker’s eyes closed for a brief moment. When he opened them, they’d turned red. Hunting eyes. “No.”
His claws ripped through Terri’s stomach before he spun away, out of her reach. Terri bent over, gasping, stunned at the betrayal. “Parker!”
Mollie, fire sparkling along her skin, her hair a rippling sheet of flame, stepped next to Amara. She raised her hands, palms out, toward Terri. “Burn.”
The blast of heat knocked Amara back a step. It damn near scorched her. Terri shrieked, the flames engulfing her body, the weeds catching fire faster than Amara would have expected. Mollie kept the flame going, roasting the witch with her inner fire. She followed Terri around the Throne, careful to keep the fire from touching anything else within the grove other than the bits and pieces that had fallen off the witch in the rock blasts. What few sparks did land on the native greenery around the great Oak, Mollie swiftly reabsorbed, much to Amara’s shock. Fire was the hardest element to control, but Mollie appeared to be a master.
Terri was reduced to a smoldering pile, but Mollie kept the flame going. Across the funeral pyre from Mollie Selena chanted, cleansing the soul of the fallen witch even as Mollie’s fire cleansed the body. Soon nothing was left but a pile of ash. The markings on Selena’s face faded, Mollie’s fire slowly died and quiet once more entered the grove.
“You two okay?”
Selena snorted. “We weren’t the ones going toe-to-toe with her. Are you okay?”
Amara nodded, staring at the pile of ash, stunned it was finally over. “Ding-dong, the witch is dead.”
Selena sighed. “She was dead the moment her curse hit her. That wasn’t Terri—that was more of a construct, with the drive the curse gave her and a body that would never die. She would have chased Parker through eternity until he gave up, found his true sotiei and killed her, or something caused his death. Once Parker died, the curse would have released her body or, more likely, found someone new to focus on. The only thing I did was try to ensure she can’t get back up again.”
“Wow.” She couldn’t begin to imagine what Terri would have been like in a couple more centuries. Would she have had even the basic appearance of a human, or would she have been a shambling mass, unable to communicate but hell-bent on claiming her vampire? “Wait. She could get back up? Like a fucking phoenix?”
Mollie groaned and settled on the ground. “Thank the Goddess. I wasn’t happy about killing a person, no matter how badly they needed it. A thing, on the other hand? That I have no problems with.”
Selena sat next to the fire elemental and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Terri was long gone. I’m certain the spell she was trying to cast wouldn’t have worked. It requires a soul to do magic, and hers had long ago vacated the premises. I cleared out the curse, but that’s all I had to do.” She smiled up at Parker. “Any desire for vegetable juice now comes from the fact that your sotiei is a hamadryad. You’re clear.”
Parker smiled back. “Good to know. And thanks, Selena. Mollie.”
“You’re welcome.” Selena nudged Mollie.
Mollie grimaced and muttered, “No problem.”
Dragos landed in front of the women. “Are you all right, ladies?” His eyes glowed red, and his accent was suspiciously thick, but otherwise he seemed to have himself under perfect control.
Selena and Mollie nodded. “Check on Mina.”
He stared at the Oak, and his body went rigid. No matter the language, a curse was recognizable, and Dragos was letting them fly as he viewed what had been done to his sotiei. From the shocked look on Selena’s face, she knew exactly what Dragos was saying.
Dragos flew to the Oak and began freeing an unconscious Mina from her bindings. Odds were good the queen of the wood would find herself in Dragos’s bed before the night was over.
“She had one of Terri’s burrowing weeds inside her. It was how Terri was so much stronger here. She used that connection to siphon off Mina’s powers and torture her at the same time.”
“Ouch. I’d better take a look before Dragos drags her off.” Selena struggled to her feet, jumping when Ash suddenly appeared before her. He grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. “I’m fine, Mr. Ward. I’ve been hauling my ass off the ground all by myself for years.”
Ash didn’t reply. He kept hold of Selena’s arm and escorted her to Dragos and Mina, his expression grim. It didn’t take long for the witchdoctor to pronounce Mina healed, but when she was done, a fine sheen of sweat dotted her forehead and her hands were shaking. Dragos lifted the unconscious Mina into his arms and flew off before anyone could protest.
Amara studied the pile of ash closely. “You said she might come back. Are you sure?”
Selena shrugged wearily. “Who knows? But to be certain she doesn’t, I’d scatter those ashes as far and wide as possible. Either that or dump them in the deepest ocean in a sealed container that won’t rot.”
“A very tiny container.” Parker held his finger and thumb barely a millimeter apart. “Lots of tiny, sealed, nonrotting containers.”
“So we have a shopping trip in our future? Great.” Greer plopped down next to Mollie. Mollie blinked at him, her eyes drooping. “Will Mina truly be all right?”
Selena stroked Greer’s arm, much to Ash’s annoyance. “Yes. Dragos will take care of her.”
“Where the fuck is Iva? Mina could have taken that bitch if only Iva were here!” Greer tugged on his hair and blew out an aggravated breath.
“Who’s Iva?”
Amara answered, “Iva Yamauchi. She’s Yew.”
“Ah. And she’s missing?”
“She’s been missing for almost six weeks now.”
“It’s why it took us so long to realize what Terri was up to. Without Iva, our powers are diminished.” Greer ran a hand through his pale hair. “I only wish I knew where the hell she is.” Greer jumped as Mollie crashed against his side. She’d passed out, her lips pale, her skin an alarming shade of gray. “Selena!”
“No. You’re too tired.” Ash tried to prevent Selena from helping Mollie, without much luck.
Greer looked up at Ash. “Please.”
Ash grimaced but loosened his hold on Selena. “I’m taking her straight home after this.”
Whose? Amara didn’t have the courage to ask.
Selena examined Mollie. “She’s exhausted, her flames low. Find a nice warm place for her to rest, like in front of a roaring fire, and she’ll be fine in no time.”
Greer lifted Mollie into his arms with ease. It was like she weighed nothing. “Thank you.” He nodded his thanks to Ash as well. “And thank you.”
“Like he has any say in who I help,” Selena grumbled. “I’m going home, people. It’s been swell, yet not.” Selena marched off toward the woods. “Where the hell did I park my broom?”
Ash shook his head, his lips curling in a smile. “Do me a favor, Amara? Get that dust contained. I have a witch to corral.” Ash took off after Selena at a jog. “Over here,” she heard him call out.
Parker looked at Amara. “It looks like it’s just the two of us, sweet.”
Amara glared back. “Yup. Just you, me and the charred remains of your ex-girlfriend. Sweet.”
Parker coughed. “I was trying to keep her from killing anyone.”
Amara shook her finger. “If you ever call anyone else sweet but me, you’ll have splinters in places people should never, ever get them except
in freak lumberjack accidents. Got it?”
Parker’s eyes widened with alarm. “Got it.”
“Good.” She poked her toe into the pile of ash. “How the hell are we going to clean up this mess?”
“Those lovely little sandwich bags that zipper shut?”
Amara loved the fact that her mate didn’t fear her. It was so refreshing to joke with someone who didn’t think she was strange, even while covered in bark and standing three feet taller. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “And you happen to have some on you? Maybe in the pocket of your jeans?” Because they certainly weren’t in the pocket of hers. She’d have to be wearing some first.
He studied the ash and draped his arm across her shoulders. He leered at her. “Fancy a trip to Sav-A-Lot?”
Amara groaned and hid her eyes. He might wind up with those splinters after all.
They pulled up to the house, dirty, tired and exhausted. Amara looked ready to collapse, her eyes closed, her head resting on the back of the seat. Thankfully there hadn’t been much traffic on the way home; Amara had ripped through her clothes and was dressed once more in nothing but Parker’s shirt.
Parker found he couldn’t complain about that.
“We’re home, sweet.”
Amara’s eyes drifted open. Her lips curled. “And our passenger?”
Parker glanced in the backseat at the multiple jars of ash resting within a cardboard box. He’d done exactly what he’d said he would, flying to the Sav-A-Lot and cleaning out their jam and jelly jars. In the end Amara had been worried Terri would break free of simple sandwich bags, and he’d been forced to agree.
They’d have to come up with a more permanent solution, but for now he was certain this would do. He’d carry Terri into the house and ask Greg to keep an eye on her.
“So far so good. Let’s get inside, all three of us.”
Her smile turned wicked. “And then I think it’s time we took care of something, don’t you?”
His brows rose.
Amara slid out of the jeep, his shirt riding up until he could see the edge of her ass. Suddenly Parker was feeling hungry, and not for blood. “Sweet?”
“Hmm?”
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