Hannah quickly found herself standing in front of the garage, hands on her knees, and breathing heavily. The crappy thing was, she ran regularly, but apparently to no avail. It didn’t help that only a fine sheen of sweat covered Rhea’s exposed skin, and she seemed otherwise unaffected by their run through the woods. In fact, the Native American woman went around hooking up the trailer as if she had just walked in from the main house.
“You’re a machine,” Hannah breathed. “Damn you.”
Rhea chuckled. “You’re too soft.”
“I grow plants... and bake,” Hannah stated in her defense. “Exercise is something to be feared and avoided, if at all possible.”
“As you’ve said before,” Rhea replied. She finished with the ATV, and tossed Hannah a set of keys. “Take that one.” She pointed to the camouflaged four-wheeler closest to her.
Hannah finally caught her breath, and made her way to the ATV. The “garage” was more like a small warehouse, filled with tools and machines to match any auto-repair shop in the state. This was Rhea’s playground, and Hannah was more than happy that it was, because she didn’t know squat about cars. Gas, brake, steering wheel... yeah, that was about it. She straddled the massive four-wheeler, strapped on a camo helmet, and fired her up.
Rhea took the two-seater with the trailer, and followed Hannah, as she flitted off into the woods. The spot on the map where the spell had marked was less than a mile away, but, given the heavily wooded terrain, it would take some time to get there. That left Hannah alone with her thoughts and fears.
Hannah still couldn’t figure out why Dominic and his crew would be out on the fringes of Coven’s Grove. It must have had something to do with the things he’d said about Dongle Tower. They’d been pressuring Miranda for years to tap into the resources buried under her land, but she hadn’t budged. No one would be doing any drilling as long as Coven’s Grove was there. Her thoughts drifted back to Dominic and their relationship. She still wasn’t sure if she could handle Dominic being her guardian. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things she didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to let that prevent her from trying to make a life for herself, or trying to make the world a better place.
Once Hannah thought they were close to the location, she cut the engine and got off the ATV. Rhea did the same, and walked up beside Hannah.
“If I shift, it’ll be easier to find them,” Rhea said.
Hannah nodded. She had no doubt her friend could find Dominic; she’d counted on it, in fact. Rhea’s innate power was shapeshifting, which opened an endless amount of possibilities when it came to finding someone. Hannah just hoped that the spell had gotten them close enough for Rhea to do her thing.
Rhea stripped out of her clothes, exposing her far-too-perfect body.
Not a single tanline. Hannah rolled her eyes. If only.
From what had been explained to her about shifting, she knew there were several different ways it could happen. Being a witch, Rhea’s transformation was fairly painless, although, after seeing her change a few times, Hannah would beg to differ. When Hannah had said as much to Rhea, the Native American woman had informed her that werebeasts had the worst of it. Apparently, the change for those poor creatures was quite a bloody affair.
The strain on Rhea’s face was evident as she brought about the transformation. Her striking human physique distorted horribly as the snapping sound of bones reforming echoed off the nearby trees.
Hannah closed her eyes to banish the image of Rhea’s deformed figure from her mind. Unfortunately, haunting imagery like that was rarely expelled from the mere shielding of the eyes. She knew the vision of those twisted limbs would remain in her memory until her dying day. Regardless, Hannah averted her gaze for the duration, and didn’t face her friend until she felt the probing of a wet nose on her hand.
A tall, yellow-eyed wolf backed away from Hannah, and sniffed the air. Rhea’s coat was black as coal, making her hard to see in the broken moonlight that shone through the high canopy. Her ears perked up as she turned southwest, and a low, rumbling growl reverberated deep in her chest.
Hannah looked into the darkened woods, worry for Dominic grating her nerves. It was time to go find out what the hell was going on, but she’d be next-to-useless if she didn’t do something about the darkness. An incantation that would brighten the existing light came to mind. It was basic magic, so ingredients wouldn’t be necessary. She recited the words quickly, as magic surged through her veins. Within seconds, the shadowy forest surrounding her glowed with moonlight, and no longer emanated the eeriness of the unknown. Hannah took a deep breath, then spoke with a heavy voice, “Alright, Rhea, let’s go find them.”
Hannah crept through the thick underbrush, trying to be as quiet as possible. The fact that she couldn’t turn into a wolf dampened the attempt, but she hadn’t been discovered so far, so she felt confident that she still had the element of surprise on whatever it was she was sneaking up on. She spotted a fern that was easily the size of the four-wheeler she had driven to get here, and knelt beside it to get a better look.
Fifty or so yards back, the ground had begun to vibrate from a low thumping sound that must have come from some type of large machinery. Now that Hannah was within sight of the slow-chugging mechanism, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. She assumed it was some kind of drilling rig, but she’d seen those before and this thing looked a lot different. It was way too advanced with its shiny chrome pipes and blinking lights to be a fracking set up. Not to mention, there were no roads or trails for trucks to haul all this junk in or out. It was like the whole thing had just dropped out of the sky.
As odd as the scene appeared, the usual grimy oil barrels that accompanied drill sites littered the area in tall stacks around the perimeter. Whatever was going on here, it definitely had to do with oil.
Men dressed in hardhats and reflective vests moved about, working pipes and barrels just like any other drill site. Rhea was nowhere to be seen, but Hannah had no doubt that her friend was near.
Hannah’s booted feet crunched on the densely packed leaves as she moved closer to the barrels. She gritted her teeth in frustration. I suck at this sneaking shit, she thought as she continued up next to the barrels. They were organized on pallets; each bundle was wrapped together with chains. Hannah snuck around the side of one of the pallets, and then froze in her tracks.
Kevin, the tall lanky guy from Dominic’s group, was laying next to the weird-looking oil rig not twenty feet from her. His eyes were wide open and blood was leaking from a large hole in his forehead. Two other bodies that appeared to be oil workers laid next to him, just as motionless.
Hannah shuffled back between the pallets, and slammed her back against the oil barrels. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her failing nerves, but the image of Kevin’s vacant stare filled her mind’s eye, making her tumble into a panic that much faster. Her breath quickened. Oh, god. What the hell am I supposed to do now? Hannah’s mind raced. She’d never seen a murdered person before. On TV sure, but never in real life. Kevin didn’t look real. He looked like some wax version of himself—pale, stiff, and lifeless.
Tears welled in Hannah’s eyes. She hadn’t known him very well, but that didn’t matter. He was part of Dominic’s crew, and he was dead. Dominic had been telling the truth, about the danger at least. Hannah had no doubts about that now. She wiped her eyes, and forced her breathing to slow. Get a hold of yourself. She would have to get control of her emotions if she was going to have any chance of saving Dominic... and possibly herself, for that matter. Her breathing finally steadied as she sealed off the fear that might break her spirit, and numbed herself to the atrocity of Kevin’s murder.
Hannah glanced at the surroundings beyond the perimeter of the site. This man-made clearing was the only open area for many acres. That was good. She would use her control over the trees to tear this place apart if she had to.
The sound of soft panting came from behind Hannah, drawing her attention.<
br />
Rhea’s yellow eyes shined in the darkness, reflecting light from the many spotlights set up around the camp. The black wolf turned, and trotted south, after she and Hannah had made eye contact.
Hannah crept away from the barrels and followed Rhea back into the forest. They made their way through the dark thicket around to the other side of the encampment. The lights from another small clearing that Hannah hadn’t seen from her previous vantage shined beyond the many silhouettes of trees and undergrowth.
As they approached, Hannah could make out two rows of army-green tents, and what looked like a latrine on the far side of the clearing. These people had been here for some time. Months, most likely. What the hell have they been doing out here? A chill went down Hannah’s spine at the thought. She had the sinking feeling that this operation was somehow tied to the contamination of the stream. If that were true, then she would have no choice but to do something about it. First things first, though, she had to find Dominic.
Rhea’s hackles raised, and a low growl rumbled from her chest, as a man armed with some kind of automatic weapon stepped out from one of the tents. He was dressed in all black, with ammo belts crisscrossing his chest and small pouches hanging from his hips. The man made his way over to the latrine, did his business, and then went back into the tent.
“Shit,” Hannah whispered. “Not just guns, but big guns.” She scanned the camp once more.
This clearing didn’t have the cover of oil barrels like the other one. Freshly cut tree stumps were the only thing that might provide any hiding places, but even using those would be risky. If she had had the correct materials, Hannah could have made herself invisible. Unfortunately, the components for that spell were rare and expensive, and Coven’s Grove wasn’t limitless in its resources. The good thing was that there weren’t any workers in this area. The man in black had been the only person in sight.
“All right,” Hannah said. “I don’t know if they’re in there, but it’s our best bet. You’re my backup, so stay outta sight.” Hannah patted Rhea’s shoulder. “You with me?”
Rhea whimpered, but nodded in assent.
Hannah got on her hands and knees, and then crawled army-man-style out to the first stump. She felt naked and exposed, away from the cover of the forest, but continued on to the next stump, and then the next, until she was no more than ten feet away from the tent she’d seen the man come from. So far so good, she thought, catching her breath behind a particularly large oak stump.
A thought occurred to Hannah now that she was about to confront someone with a machine gun: She had no idea how she was going to take out someone with a machine gun. Magic wasn’t really an option, unless she got the gunman closer to the trees. Casting the more powerful spells outside of her innate ability required components, which, in her haste to find Dominic, she’d left behind. For this part of the rescue, she was on her own.
Brilliant.
Panic reared its ugly head again. This time, urging Hannah to get up and make a break for the woods. Biting hard on her lower lip, she forced herself to remain still. She rummaged through her pockets in the hope of finding some form of salvation. Her fingers dug relentlessly to find...
Nothing.
Hannah squeezed her eyes shut. The universe hates me.
A thunderous noise, much louder than the constant thump of the strange machine in the other clearing, dropped from the night sky. The sound was actually familiar. It was a helicopter. A big one. The bulbous belly of one of those double propeller choppers lit up as the spotlights from the other site pointed upward. The giant helicopter slowly descended until it was about fifty feet off the ground, and then stopped, hovering in place above several pallets of oil barrels.
Hannah gawked at the flying monstrosity. She’d never actually seen one of those, either. Dead bodies and giant helicopters. It’s starting off to be one hell of an evening.
“Move it, move it, move it!” someone yelled from behind the oak stump. “C’mon, we don’t got all night!” Men in black rushed past Hannah’s hiding place toward the other site. They must have come out from the other tents. There were fifteen of them in all, and, thankfully, they hadn’t seen her.
Hannah had curled into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible. Her attempt at becoming a mouse worked as the men continued to jog over to the other site. They joined the workers that were busy hooking chains and cables to the heavy lines dropped by the mega-chopper.
So that’s how they did it. Realization dawned on Hannah. All of that equipment had been brought in by air. The weird pumping machine was a drill. It had to be. Despite the horrid implications this new invention posed, Hannah couldn’t help but be impressed. Dongle Inc. had found a way to sneak in and take what they wanted without anyone being the wiser.
“Son of a bitch,” Hannah whispered, shaking her head. Her fear turned to anger as she finally understood what was going on here. She got to her feet, ready to stomp her way over to the men in black and workers alike. A lesson needed to be learned, and Hannah was going to teach it to them.
“Hey,” someone from behind her said. “Don’t move.”
“Shit,” Hannah replied, peeking over her shoulder.
She’d missed one. The first guy in black, who had gone to the latrine, stood at the front of the tent, pointing that nasty machine gun at her.
“Turn around, and get on your knees,” Latrine said.
Hannah turned, but didn’t get on her knees. “You really should be more careful. There’s no telling who might mosey into this place.”
“Shut up, and get on your—” he began. Latrine’s command was cut short by Rhea’s jaws. The black wolf had been sneaking up behind him before Hannah had even turned to face him. Her barks and growls were almost whispers compared to the sounds of the mega-chopper. No one but Hannah heard as Rhea tore the guard to pieces. Massive fangs sank into soft flesh. The man screamed, and tried to fire his weapon, to no avail. Within seconds, Latrine laid dead, his throat a bloody, gaping hole.
Hannah averted her eyes and hurried to the tent. Once inside, she was rewarded with the four remaining members of Dominic’s crew, including Dominic himself. They were bound and beaten—Monica didn’t even look conscious—but they were alive. Dominic’s eyes lit up at seeing her. He mumbled through his gag, and tried in vain to get to his feet.
Hannah rushed over to him, and tore the gag free. She kissed him deeply before he could talk. The taste of blood and lust filled her mouth. Thank goodness he’s still alive.
Something kicked the side of her leg. Hard.
Hannah reluctantly tore herself away from the kiss to glare at her assailant.
Nancy’s brows were drawn down in anger, and she mumbled something behind her gag that sounded a lot like “Really, bitch?”
Heat came to Hannah’s cheeks. Nancy was right. There was a time and place for a proper reunion, and this wasn’t it.
“You shouldn’t have come,” Dominic said. The urgency in his voice was laced with appreciation. “But I’m glad you did.”
“We have unfinished business. I’m not about to let someone else kill you when I might do it myself,” Hannah replied, half jokingly. If they made it out of this mess, she was definitely going to give him a piece of her mind. She looked down at the restraints wrapped around his feet and hands. “How do I get these ropes off?”
“Over there.” Dominic motioned to the other side of the tent with his head. “In our packs, there should be a knife.”
Hannah scrambled over to the packs, tearing the first one open. Camera equipment and protein bars were all she found. Next. The second one had similarly useless stuff in it. The third however...jackpot. She reached in and pulled out a large, black knife. The blade must have been ten inches long. Why someone needed a knife that big she didn’t care to think about. She unsheathed it, and hurried back over to Dominic to cut him free.
“How did you find us?” Dominic asked as Hannah cut his bonds.
“Long story that we
can talk about later,” Hannah answered. “We gotta get out of here first.” Once Dominic’s restraints were removed, she went straight to Nancy.
“Did you see Kevin?” Nancy asked, once her gag was removed. “He got away when we were first captured. We heard gunshots.” The look on her face was grim, as if she suspected what Hannah already knew.
“No,” Hannah lied. She wasn’t sure how Nancy would handle Kevin’s death, but she wasn’t about to find out right now. “I brought a friend, though. She’s waiting for us in the woods.”
Dominic shook his head as he removed the gags from Nathan and Monica. “I’m so sorry about this, Hannah. You’ve put yourself and your friend in real danger coming here.”
“We were already in danger, according to you,” Hannah replied. “So, what’s the point of waiting around until it comes to get us?”
“Well said,” Nathan chimed in, once he was able. “Thanks for savin’ our bacon.”
Hannah suppressed a chuckle and gave him a nod. “No problem, but you owe me.”
“Understood.” Nathan got to his feet, and then knelt to pick up Monica. She actually was unconscious, as Hannah had suspected.
Dominic went to the tent flaps, and peeked outside. “We need to move.”
“I’m ready,” Nathan said, shrugging Monica’s weight onto his shoulders. He grabbed several of their packs on his way over to stand behind Dominic. Nancy was quiet as a mouse, which was odd. Well, maybe not odd given the situation, but not what Hannah had expected from the woman. The usual bubbly snark was gone. It seemed reasonable to think that at least some of that personality would come out during a stressful situation. Perhaps, Hannah hadn’t been convincing enough when she lied about seeing Kevin, or maybe Nancy just knew he was gone. Either way, it didn’t matter now. They had to go.
Hannah (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #2) Page 9