"Holding up just the same. I think it's scared of the stake," she said as I felt her chin nuzzle my cheek.
"Good." My mind began to quiet.
"Tomorrow, it'll get a taste of it and Ileana will be gone," she said, the latter part tangled on a yawn.
"But first, we have to end the game," I mumbled. "Checkmate."
"Mhmm," she said, as soft purrs rose from her center, lulling me deeper into sleep.
Checkmate.
***
The next morning, our kitchen again looked like a battlefield of Changers readying weapons. Crossbows, composite bows, spears, clips of wooden bullets, and a spread of guns littered the table. Hank, Barron, Caden, Mal and Henry huddled around the table, talking strategy and possible assaults Ileana might plan. Adia listened to them as she gripped her walking stick, her eyes narrowed on something beside Barron that I couldn't see. Xany fussed making sandwiches in the kitchen. Mom stood beside the open front door with her arms crossed over her chest, talking to someone outside. Vanessa stood with me as I looked out at the others. They were all going to battle for me. Again.
In the shoulder harness Caden gave me, I had my unloaded gun tucked on the left, and Ileana's flask secured in the right holster. Vanessa helped me adjust it some as I fixed the clips on my belt.
"Who's my mother talking to?" I asked her.
"Dakota. She won't let him in the house," she said as she rubbed my back in a circular motion. The gesture soothed me slightly.
"Why not?"
"That's a question you know the answer to, Shawnee."
"I know but he's her mate for heaven's sake." I looked up at Vanessa and she caressed my cheek, a soft, protective gesture that had me leaning into her touch. She's trying so hard to trust me. If I let her down again, how can I even trust myself anymore?
"She's protecting you."
"I know." I took a deep breath. "I'm going to go over there."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "Don't go far, okay?"
"I'll be right here. Mal's there." She nodded toward the kitchen. Mal glanced over at the two of us. My mate bonds fluttered softly in my chest, serene and synchronized in a way that told me we were all together in the moment. I took solace in that as I broke away from Vanessa to approach my mother.
I walked up behind her, noting the slight motion that tensed her shoulders. She turned to me, extending her arm.
"Hi," I said, moving into her embrace.
"O'siyo, Dodi," she said, kissing my forehead before drawing her eyes back to Dakota. He stood there, one step down from the landing, wearing a cowboy hat and boots. His thick wool coat pulled tightly around him. Beneath the hat sat the cheekbones of my father, but the rounded face, brown eyes, and healthy teeth belonged to a different man. Dakota didn't speak but he smiled, lifting his hand to wave at me. I returned the gesture as images flashed through my mind. I'd seen him before, a few times. Not in my recent memory but something older, primal even.
"Hi, Dakota," I said, though instinctively leaning closer to my mother. "I don't think it's nice to freeze your mate, Mom. He's a Breeder after all."
"He can handle it," she said through a light chuckle.
"I'm a tough old man," he said, though I caught his wince at the very end. My father's voice erupted from his mouth, but while looking at him, it wasn't nearly as disturbing. I gripped my mother's arm, staring heavily at Dakota. He quieted immediately under my mother's glare.
"It's all right, Mom. It's not so bad when I can see him," I reassured them.
"Tla, Dodi. Upsetting you is not all right." Mom turned, leaning against the doorframe to face me.
"I'm not upset at the moment." I drew my gaze back to Dakota. "Say something again."
"Like what?" He tipped his hat to me, a gentle smile on his lips. A familiar smile that I found myself warming too, oddly enough. Memory flooded me as the image of a young fawn flashed through my mind. It's ankle, bloody and scraped, caught in some chicken wire.
"Did you teach me something about a baby deer?" I asked, tilting my head as I looked at him.
"Ah, yes. You were very little then when you found it caught in the garden fence. You tried to help it, but couldn't. You fetched me and together we freed her, and fixed up her leg. She followed you around for weeks after that," Dakota's delicate, deliberate words sounded nothing at all like my father's. There wasn't an ounce of harshness or hatred. I could almost feel the neurons in my brain firing and restructuring to reprogram the sound of his voice to something safer.
"I remember that," I said. "You told me she's—"
"'Lost her mother and wanted to eat the alfalfa,'" we said at the same time.
"Yeah," I said as he spoke the exact words together.
"She healed up well after that." Dakota nodded, his eyes twinkled a bit in the morning sunlight.
"She left me in the summer when she grew up but visited often. We could tell by the scar on her leg," I continued. The good memory, unusual as it seemed, had me more relaxed.
"Dakota is a veterinarian," Mom told me. "Shawnee's a doctor." She drew her gaze back to Dakota, her brows flicked upward once.
"That doesn't surprise me. At all. " Dakota's chest broadened, his smile steadfast. Was that pride in his expression? I couldn't quite tell.
"She is very special," Mom said, taking my hands in hers. "And brave."
"Just like you. Thanks, Mom." I squeezed her hands. "Bring your mate in the house. You live here, too."
"I will consider it, Dodi. Thank you for your strength." She brushed her thumbs over the back of my hands.
"It runs in the family." I smiled and hugged her. She patted my hip when I released her, leaving her with her mate.
Back inside, Vanessa leaned against the arm of the sofa as she watched and listened to us in the doorway. The urge to rush to her hit me in the gut. She caught me in hug and lifted me off my feet. I sensed Mal's eyes on us, knowing that he was smiling.
"You did good," Vanessa said, kissing me softly as she set me down.
"It wasn't too bad," I said after the kiss ended. "It's easier when I look at him and hear him at the same time."
"I think," she said, glancing over my shoulder as Mal approached. "I think it's easier because you've chosen to face it more than anything else."
"I've got a lot more facing to do then." I invited Mal into the embrace and he pulled both of us into his muscle-y hug.
"She's brave," Vanessa told him.
"In ways we can only imagine," he said. "Caden wants us to head to the site early just in case. We're leaving in a few minutes."
"Just in case of what?" I asked.
"He's worried Ileana might try something like a stealth attack. Adia kept watch on the spot all night. June is there now. We'll all go and wait until sundown," he explained.
"Xany's going to freak out about having to wait that long." I laughed softly just thinking about it.
"Don't remind me," Mal grumbled.
"Let's go then." I took a deep breath. "Into the battlefield."
Xany and the wolves huddled around the table, gathering up weapons and ammo. Mal nodded toward my shoulder holster.
"Load your gun," he said.
"I hate doing it," I said, slipping the gun front the holster. The cool metal pressed against the palm of my hand hinted with a power that felt more like fear. I checked the safety before loading the clip and setting it back in its place. My mother disappeared for a few minutes. When she returned, Dakota wasn't with her.
"All right, everyone." Hank waved us over. "We're headin' out all together."
"Finally," Xany said, packing up the bags of food and water along with her trusty crossbow.
"We have a long wait until sundown, Xee," I reminded her.
"At least we'll be there already," she said, taking Caden's arm when he offered it.
In time, we bended out in small groups to the site where Izzy met her final demise. A bonfire burned strong as June piled it high with the help of her mate.
Leftover snow littered the ground at our feet, mingling with dead leaves. Mom and Adia appeared beside us. Their eyes bolted in my direction as the expression on their faces changed at the same time. My mother's eyes widened, flashing red. Adia made to reach for me as she gasped but it was too late.
As soon as Vanessa released me, a force caught me around the torso. My feet tore from the ground and I shrieked. Mal grabbed for me, latching onto my arm. Shouts of chaos erupted as panic washed over the faces of the people around me. I took Mal with me as my body spiraled out of control a foot off the ground. A sharp gust of something thrust us twenty feet away from the Sept to land in a heap on the ground beneath the fat trunk of a tree. Mal hit the ground first and I found myself in a sprawl on top of him.
"Don't!" My mother shouted and everyone froze in their place except Vanessa. Caden and Xany appeared in an awkward half-run pose. Barron stumbled and Henry landed on his rear. Vanessa raced over to us, lifting us from the ground.
"We're good," Mal called out as he lifted me off of him. "What the hell was that?" He asked, resetting me on my feet as I caught my breath. "You all right, love?"
"I'm fine." I coughed, brushing the pine needles from my jeans.
Vanessa's eyes, yellow with black slits, bore down on me until she saw that I was fine. She gripped my arm, glancing about the wooded area around us. Save for the caw of a crow and the crackle of the fire, everything seemed fine.
"None of you leave this spot," my mother said, pointing around us. She released her command and the Sept moved on their own accord as she walked forward, her moccasin-covered feet paused about a meter in front of me and my mates. "Step toward me together."
"What happened?" I asked as my mates guided me forward. They crossed to where my mother stood but when they tried to take me with them, my legs locked. I stumbled as Mal and Vanessa each had hold of one of my arms. "Stop, don't pull." I winced.
"What's going on?" Caden came up behind my mother with Xany in tow.
"The protective barrier ends here." Mom tapped her foot on the ground. "She has been removed from it."
"Well get her back in! Hurry up," Xany shrieked, grabbing me by the waist of my jeans.
Caden's deep chocolate eyes darted all over me from head to toe, his fear shooting through me like a bomb. Mal's grip on me trembled and Vanessa began to growl. She stepped outside the barrier to stand behind me, her back against mine in a protective, ready gesture.
"Give that to me, Shawnee. Right now." Caden reached his hand out, nodding toward the gun holster. "The heart."
"What?" My own heart thundered in response to the fear of my pack. "Oh." I removed the flask and handed it Caden. Mal yanked me inside the barrier so hard that my feet left the ground again. I held onto him as Caden's body went soaring past. He landed in a crouch, gripping the flask. Vanessa remained outside the barrier instinctively grabbing Caden by the shirt.
"It's the heart," Xany said. "It can't come inside."
"At least we know the enchantments work," Adia said as she approached. "Give it here."
"Good thing we showed up early. Last thing we needed was for Shawnee to tossed right into Ileana's arms like a bouquet of wedding flowers." Xany huffed and released her grip on me.
Caden handed Adia the flask as she stepped out beside him.
"Don't take it away. I want her to see it," I said, releasing Mal to stand beside my mother as we watched Adia.
"Dia will remove the heart for safe keeping," she said, opening a leather pouch at her hip. Adia pulled out what looked like a long string of cotton balls soaked in something red. She tipped the flask and held the cotton at the mouth.
Vanessa cringed and Mal squinted. I didn't understand why. My mother's lips pursed and Caden shook his head as if he heard something disturbing.
"What's going on?" Xany asked.
"Just watch," Adia said.
We continued to look on. After a few minutes, something slimy and black rose from the opening of the flask. It made a slight suctioning sound and moved as if it were a prune with caterpillar legs. The shriveled heart, with tiny ventricles and muscles preserved for centuries, pressed one of its small openings to the red cotton. The softest, grossest little slurping sound followed. Adia wrapped the pruney heart in the bindings. It pulsed like a human heart, slowly, rhythmically, as if comforted by the warm bedding.
"That's human blood," I said, nodding toward the cotton.
"Yep. Leech heart can't resist it." Adia handed me the flask and tucked the bloody little heart into a separate leather pouch.
"That…" Xany gulped. "Was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen." I had to admit, her face appeared slightly green.
"Where are you taking it?" I asked. Without the heart, what control did we have over Ileana? If things got bad, how could we end her?
"Dia take it to the cabin and remain there with it. When you're ready, Anadaya will fetch me, okay? Okay," she said, answering herself.
"Don't go anywhere with it. It's… it's mine." I gripped the flask tightly in my fist.
"You can stake it when its time," Adia reassured me. After a glance to my mother, she was gone.
Mom ushered us all back inside the circle toward the bonfire. The Sept gathered, murmuring amongst themselves about vampire lore and voodoo. Mal drew me to sit beside him on a fallen log while Caden and Xany spoke with my mother.
"Thanks for making that a soft landing." I patted his knee as he placed his arm around me. I tucked the now empty flask back into the holster. Vanessa joined us, sitting cross-legged in the snow in front of us. Her body heat melted a circle around her. She watched me, wide-eyed, her fingers digging into her ankles as if she held on to the very fringes of control.
"You're like a bird in flight, love." Mal smirked, kissing my cheek.
Caden and Xany approached with Hank by their side. I took a deep breath, knowing that now was my chance to talk to them about our plan.
"I have something to ask of you all," I said.
"What is it, Miss Shawnee?" Hank said, crouching beside us.
"When Ileana gets here, I'm want to do the talking. She's made this about me, for whatever reason, and I want to be the one to end it." I looked between them. Nervous expressions met my gaze. "I'm not going to step outside the protection or anything, I just want to do the talking. She's not going to address any of you anyway, remember?"
"Like at her house," Xany said.
"Yeah. I want her to know that we figured this out on our own, solved her riddles. And that we have answers of our own." Or at least I thought I did. If my hunch is right, this could end favorably.
"Miss Shawnee, leeches like this ancient mightn't be the best fer listening," Hank spoke up. "But I understand your wishes. What do you think?" He looked to Caden.
"Shawnee has an agenda of her own. Always. She—"
"Knows more than I let on. I know," I finished Caden's sentence for him. A light chuckle escaped him as he nodded.
"What do you know this time?" Xany asked, crossing her arms over her stomach. "And why haven't you told us?"
"I don't know anything for sure. It'll all depends on how she reacts when she gets here. You will all just have to trust me, okay?" I gazed at my Sept, and pack family. My mother's expression mirrored Vanessa's, full of fear, but beneath it, a hint of determination. Determination to trust me or the situation, I couldn't be sure. Mal, firm beside me, took a deep breath as he nodded, his grip on me tightening. Caden and I shared a long stare as something inside me gave a great lurch. Our pack bond turned over inside me. He knew more than he let on, too. With a final sharp tug, he nodded. "Xee?" I looked up at her.
"Of course I trust you. As long as I get to see what goes down. I'm going for a headshot this time." She patted her crossbow. "That should slow her down some. Right in the eye." She pretended to jab her own eye.
"Ileana's been around for over a thousand years. I'm sure she's given these riddles to other people before, other foes. We were the first to figure it out. That's go
t to mean something," I said. "She underestimated us." My army is greater than hers.
"How do we know we're the first?" Xany asked.
"We've got her heart. Her voodoo magicked heart. And we've got it. It responded to her blood, got rejected by our protections. It's hers." I nodded, sure of that much at least.
"Do you think other ancient's learned the same magic?" Xany looked between us.
"There aren't many ancients left from my understanding," Mal said, glancing at my mother for support.
"Mal is correct. There are very few and those that remain, remain in silence. Hidden away from threats or exposure. The ones who do not kill, do not feed in the same way, are cautious to stay away. Their very nature is their destruction," Mom said, in her usual all-knowing sort of way. I smiled at her and it softened her expression. Dakota's presence changed her in a manner of speaking. For the first time, I saw deeper emotions in her eyes, and sensed something I couldn't identify. When this was all over, I'd sit down and talk with her. Why, why, would anyone send their mate away? I hugged Mal's arm to me and reached for Vanessa. She held my hand and I squeezed hers firmly. Sending away Gaia's greatest gift must have some deeper meaning.
"What do you think Ileana meant by worshipping the wrong god?" I asked.
"That is a mystery to me, Dodi," mom said.
"Me too." I nodded.
"Here here," said Xany.
We sat together, bundles of nerves on edge. The Sept snacked on Xany's food preparations while we waited. Xany paced, my mother meditated, and the sun sank low in the sky, casting long spindly shadows in the snow. Light flurries settled around us in the dim light of dusk. Would Ileana show up? Part of me hoped that we'd scared her away. Another part rooted for the endgame. Where good intentions triumphed over supernatural bullshit and I could return to a regular life. Not that life has ever really been regular, but more regular than this.
"Shawnee." Vanessa gave my hand a squeeze. "Don't kill things yet."
"I'm not." My brow crinkled as I pondered her statement. "Why would I kill things?"
"You're angry," she said.
Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 33