Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove) (2 page)

They’d all thought Terri was near the pair
,
considering her obsessive need to lay claim to Parker.
Mina had fallen slightly behind the others
,
something
,
some tingling awareness that she was in danger
,
slowing her flight through the forest.

Terri had taken her
,
thrust one of those damned spikes into her
,
used her own power against her.
The witch had entered the Throne neat as you please
,
literally attached at the hip to Mina.
The Throne
,
sensing Mina’s power coursing through Terri
,
had let her in.
Mina had been in so much agony she hadn’t put up much of a fight.

Now they were all going to pay the price for Mina’s inability to sense Terri’s presence.
She’d never know how the witch had hidden within the seat of Mina’s power
,
but the mistake had been costly.
She hung spread-eagle from the branches of her oak
,
her head down
,
her limbs trembling with the effort to break free.
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.

Where the fuck was Iva?
If she had been here
,
Mina wouldn’t be crucified.
Terri would have been found and dealt with long before.
But Iva was missing
,
and Mina was beginning to fear the worst.

“
Hello
,
sweet.
”
Parker’s British accent was thicker
,
his voice mellow
,
nonthreatening.
Mina bet he could charm the birds from the trees if he wished.
“
Where’s Mina?
”

Terri paused.
“
Mina?
”

“
Oak
,
Terri.
Where’s Oak?
”

Terri shrugged.
“
Her?
Where she belongs
,
of course.
In her tree.
”

Mina bit back a groan as one of Terri’s vines writhed against her skin.
It burrowed under Mina’s skin
,
twisting inside her like a giant parasite
,
and for a brief moment she wished with all her might that Dragos was there.
If the mayor had been present when Terri did this to her
,
Terri would already be dead.

Where was he?
He should have been with Parker and Amara
,
but they’d come alone.
Mina could feel the echoes of a battle being fought not far away
,
but the sensation was dulled
,
filtered through the pain and the witch who held her captive.
Blood trickled down her skin where the vines and thorns kept her pinned to her tree like a bug.

Mina coughed and felt blood dot her lips.
“
’Bout time you got here
,
Amara.
”
Her voice was husky with fatigue and pain
,
but it took everything in her just to say the words.

Mina was dying
,
and unless they freed her soon they’d be looking for a new queen.
The Oak mourned
,
its branches twisting in an unseen breeze
,
unable to free itself from the clinging vines that held them both fast.

“
We were delayed.
”
Amara stepped into Mina’s line of sight.
The hamadryad was frightening in her protective form
,
well over eight feet tall and covered in nearly impenetrable bark.
She was tough
,
stronger even than a vampire
,
faster than a werewolf
,
and she had the entire forest at her beck and call.
“
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
,
and there was nothing Mina could do to stop it.
“
I
will kill you.
”

“
And my dog too?
”
Amara pushed at the weeds
,
appearing startled when they didn’t give.

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
,
her stench invading the grove with a poisonous perfume that dulled the senses.

“
I
don’t think so.
”
Parker took a step back
,
toward Amara.

Mina screamed as the weeds began writhing inside her
,
blinding her to everything else.
It seemed like an eternity passed before the weeds ceased their movements.
Mina’s screaming dissolved into sobs
,
her tree shivering as they shared their pain.
Terri’s pull on the oak’s power
,
her attempt to corrupt the Throne
,
was causing the great oak to experience an agony it had never before experienced
,
and Mina shared in that horror.

Gods
,
where the hell was Dragos?
The need for him nearly crippled her.
She wanted him to make it
stop.

“
Do you want them to suffer even more?
Feed from me
,
Parker.
Feed from me
,
and the others may go free.
”

Don’t do it, Parker.
She mouthed the words
,
unable to say them.
Not for me. Not for anyone.

“
Even Amara?
”

No!
If Parker drank from Terri
,
there would be no stopping them.
They’d take over the whole forest
,
Maggie’s Grove
,
and it wouldn’t stop there.
Mina had to get free
,
had to
—

“
Even Amara.
She won’t matter to you once the spell is complete.
Our suffering will be over
,
Parker.
We will be together forever.
”
The raw joy in Terri’s voice nearly made Mina vomit.

“
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.
”

Mina watched—her vision bleary with misery—as Amara rooted her feet into the earth
,
drew back her hand and slammed it into the weed with all her strength.

The weed bent
,
and Mina took a deep
,
shuddering breath.
If Amara got free
,
she would save Mina.

Parker leaned back
,
probably trying not to breathe in Terri’s overwhelming stench.
“
And what task did you give them?
”

She heard the faintest cracking sound.
Amara was breaking free
,
and Mina barely managed to contain her joy.
Connected as she was to Terri
,
the witch might sense her hope and prevent Amara from coming for her.

“
I
needed the forest pliant.
This was the fastest way.
”
Mina closed her eyes
,
unable to watch as Terri ran her hands down Parker’s chest.
There was not enough hand sanitizer in the world to get
that
off you. “
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.
”

Damn it.
Mina could feel Terri in the back of her mind
,
tapping into her power.
If she held too long
,
Terri would poison the forest
,
but if she died
...

If Mina died
,
the forest would be free.
A
new oak would arise eventually
,
taking Mina’s throne and her power.

“
I
don’t think so.
You didn’t think I’d give up that easily
,
did you?
”

Mina opened her eyes to find Terri practically nose to nose with a still-imprisoned Amara.

“
Hello.
You must be Terri.
”

What remained of Terri’s eyebrows crookedly rose.
“
And you are?
”

“
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.
It also shoved the weeds deeper into Mina’s sides.
She couldn’t even muster a scream.

Terri jumped to her feet.
“
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 in 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 all hell broke loose.
Terri’s hold on Mina loosened
,
but there was little Mina could do except silently cry for help.

With all her being
,
boosted by the power of her oak
,
she called for Dragos.

She wanted Dragos.
Where was he?

Why hadn’t he come for her
,
saved her?

Her consciousness was fading fast
,
lost in the pain and the battle at the very heart of the forest
...

* * *

Mina woke with a scream, barely hanging on to her sanity.

They’d come, the powers that be in Maggie’s Grove, and they’d saved her from Terri—healing her physical wounds and as much of her spirit as they could. But nothing could change the fact that Dragos had come too late, had barely been there.

He hadn’t saved her, and Mina was having a hard time letting that go.

Oh, he’d seen to it that she healed, at least physically. He’d hovered over her, fed her and pampered her, but he’d bowed to her hysterical demand that she be returned to the Throne. She’d ignored his arguments, his attempts to persuade her, even the bribes he offered her. The only thing that she wanted was her tree, and for the nightmares to end.

If anything, they were worse now that she’d left Dragos, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it to anyone but the other ruling dryads.

“This is getting really old.” Greer Berkley was leaning against his tree, sweat dripping down his brow and darkening his pale blond hair. The orange streaks looked like fire. The singer had an unusually serious expression was on his face, the strain of trying to heal Mina’s psychic wounds showing in his creased brow and pale lips. Usually he had a smile for everyone and a carefree laugh that lightened every mood.

She expected that kind of expression from—

“And it isn’t the end.” Ashton Ward, the other male of her court, was also leaning wearily against
his
tree. The emerald green of his eyes had dulled to olive, his bright green hair mussed, as if he’d been running his fingers through it repeatedly.

Only Iva was absent, her yew growing weaker by the day. His sword, the symbol of his guardianship of the forest, appeared in his hand. He still felt guilty about what had happened to her, as if he was personally responsible for Terri getting her hands on Mina. Unfortunately, as his position was that of the forest’s protector and defender, he was right. Nothing Mina could say would take that guilt away from him. “There’s something more at work here, something I can almost taste.”