Blood of the Maple (18 page)

“Holy crap.” Amara took a step back, brushing at a few that had lit on her clothes. “What was that?”

Selena, her mouth open, kicked Ash right in the shin. “What the fuck have you done?”

Ash bent to rub his abused leg. “Me? What the fuck did you do? You’re the witch, not me!”

“Keep your hands to yourself, or I swear to God I will turn you into a houseplant.” Selena took another step back, whether from Ash’s sudden anger or from the desire to remain untouched, Amara wasn’t sure. She was betting on the second. Selena had never backed down from Dragos at his worst. She doubted Selena even knew what she was facing this time, but she’d never back down from anything.

Just this once she should.

Ash’s expression smoothed to its usual calm appearance. Amara wasn’t fooled for a moment. “Amara needs assistance—magical assistance.” He closed his eyes and glided toward the forest. “Mina is calling.” He opened them and gestured toward the women. “Follow me.”

Amara shrugged. “Come on, people. Let’s get this over with.”

Selena sighed and stalked after them, her boot heels sinking into the soft earth. “No one mentioned a nature hike, damn it.” Selena glared at the trees. “Where’d Sparky go?”

Amara choked out a laugh. “Sparky?”

Selena shrugged. She really didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought of her. It was part of her charm, but she was too earthy for most people to handle. “Who called you? Brian?” Not that Amara minded. If she was pregnant, Selena was the best person to check her and the babe out.

“Yup. He was worried you’d need, and I quote,
the big guns.
No offense to Mel.” Selena slapped a mosquito off her neck. “Fucker.”

Amara laughed. “Don’t you mean
sucker?
”

“Hell, I didn’t ask for either, so it can keep its pointy little proboscis to itself.”

Amara studied Ash’s back, not surprised he’d returned without a sound. Her lips curled up in a smile.

I wonder if she’s earthy enough for a dryad?

“Parker’s on the move.”

Amara and Selena jumped, earning a sharp look from Ash. “Holy fuck. Greg?” Was Selena using her powers to make him heard again? She shared a look with Selena, who shrugged.

“Don’t look at me. I’m not doing it.”

“Look, it’s taking a lot of juice to make myself heard, so listen up. Don’t ask me what’s going on, but Parker’s on the move. He’s sticking to the shadows as much as possible so he doesn’t become a crispy critter, but he’s smoking. From what I can tell, he’s headed this way. And Amara? The beast is in full control.”

Amara stared at Ash and knew what had set her mate off. The fact that she’d been naked in front of the male dryad, coupled with the fact that she’d left with him wouldn’t have sat well with the beast. “Oh shit.”

“What?” Ash was mystified. “Why did we stop?” Apparently Ash couldn’t hear Greg. That was interesting. Why could she and Selena hear him, but Ash couldn’t?

“Parker is up and headed this way, and his beast is in control, not him.” Amara waved to Ash. “You need to leave. If you’re here, he’ll attack without hesitation.” And no amount of chanting would stop him this time. She didn’t know which of them would win, but she couldn’t lose Parker, and she couldn’t leave Maggie’s Grove if he killed Ash. Her roots were too deeply settled to move somewhere else. It would kill her.

And that would kill Parker.

Ash bowed his head and slipped away, there and gone in an instant.

“Neat trick.” Selena scanned the skies, her markings glowing, her eyes turning white. “Parker’s almost here.”

Amara was worried for her safety. Neither of them knew the
casuta,
and without it, she might not be able to keep him from attacking. “You should go.”

Selena’s markings flared. “No. I can help you calm him. I’m not a threat to you or your mating, and his beast will know that.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Oh well. Let me take a look at that.” Selena brushed her fingers over the mark on Amara’s neck. “Oh yeah. You’ve got something in there all right. Let’s see if I can get it out.” Selena closed her eyes and hummed, moving her fingertip in a complicated pattern on Amara’s neck.

The mark stirred under Selena’s touch, writhing with the witchdoctor’s movements. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Parker land. He was snarling, his gaze riveted to what Selena was doing. There was comprehension in those reddened eyes. The beast inside Parker understood Selena was there to help.

The story might have been different if Ash had stuck around.

Parker’s tension eased, the snarl disappearing into weariness. Seeing him calm down, she relaxed and allowed the witchdoctor to work her magic.

Parker settled on the forest floor, the burns on his skin blistered, dripping blood onto dry leaves where branches had cut him. He psychically lifted a mound of dirt out of the ground, disturbing a chipmunk family that squealed in terror and chattered angrily at having their den disturbed.

Parker didn’t seem to notice. He lay down and curled up in the hole he’d crafted. With a wave of his hand, the dirt he’d set aside settled over him, sheltering him from the rays of the sun.

Her roots ran into the earth, but to be completely buried by it? Amara shuddered.

“Yeah. I know. I prefer a mattress myself, but to each his own.” She blew Selena a raspberry, but the witchdoctor only smiled serenely. “Hold still. I haven’t gotten it all out yet.”

Amara obeyed. What the hell else was she supposed to do? Curl up in the dirt with her mate?

“There. All done.” Selena smiled, her eyes returning to normal, the markings fading from her skin.

“Thank you, Selena.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. I got all of it out and gave you a spiritual inoculation against future infections. And for the record, you’re not pregnant.”

Amara sagged in relief.

“Yet.”

She groaned.

Selena patted her shoulder. “Honey? Prophylactics are your friend.” She looked around, a frown darkening her face. “Where the hell did I park my car?”

Amara pointed toward the parking lot. “And, Selena?”

Selena turned back. “Hmm?”

“Be nice to Ash.”

“Why?”

“Because he rules the forest you’re standing in, dummy.”

Selena made a rude sound. “Oh please. He ain’t the boss of me.”

The leaves overhead rustled. Amara coughed.

Selena waved, her expression nonchalant. “Bye, Amara.”

But for all her brave words, the witchdoctor sure hauled ass out of the forest, muttering the entire way.

Amara pulled out her cell phone and dialed the learning center. “Rock?”

“You’re taking a sick day.”

Amara blinked. “I am?”

“Yup. Brian called me, let me know what was going on. Is it taken care of?”

“Yeah. I feel fine. Listen, I—”

“No. Sick day.”

“I’m already—”

“Sick.
Day.
”

“Call Selena. She’ll tell you I’m fine.”

He sighed. “Amara. You’ve taken exactly three days off since you started working for me, and that was only because Glinda passed away. And you know I don’t count tree time as sick time. It’s written into your contract. Take a sick day. Hell, take a sick week. Enjoy your mate. I’ve got some things to work out on my end, but I think this will wind up being a good thing for everyone.”

Amara’s gut clenched. “You’re
firing
me?”

“What?” Rock sounded completely stunned. “Hell no. I’d fire myself first.” Amara began breathing again. “Now that you’re mated to Parker, there are some things that might get adjusted, that’s all. For the love of all that is holy, take some time off. Maybe find the bitch who’s after him and take her out while you’re at it.”

She headed toward the car park. There wasn’t much she could do for Parker while he was buried, but she gave a mental command to the forest to watch over him. The forest would alert her if anyone or anything disturbed him before his rest was over. “Yeah. Having some time off might not be a bad idea, but, Rock? I don’t want to take more than five days.”

Rock sighed. “Stubborn.”

“As a tree root.” She hopped in her jeep and started it, suddenly starving. She’d completely forgotten breakfast, and waffles sounded like a great idea. It wasn’t muesli, but a change was nice once in a while. Besides, heading to the local diner would allow her to gauge the townspeople’s reactions to her after the battle with the wicked witch.

“Fine. Do me a favor? Be careful, okay? I’d hate to lose my best friend to a psycho bitch.”

Amara grinned. “Will do. Bye, Rock.”

“Later.”

She dropped the cell phone on the passenger seat and headed off to find some syrupy goodness. She pulled up outside the diner just after three in the afternoon and was surprised to find so many bicycles parked out front. “What the hell?” Was school out already?

She entered the diner, and all conversation stopped.

Oh hell. It looked like every dryad in Maggie’s Grove was sitting in Harry’s, scarfing down pancakes, salads and veggie burgers galore. They stared at her, their faces slack, their eyes wide. Shit. She’d forgotten practically everyone ate at Harry’s, whether they lived in town or on the mountain. She pointed toward the door with her thumb and began shuffling away. She’d rather eat anywhere else. Like Siberia. “I’ll go now. It’s okay. Don’t get up.”

As one, the dryads stood and began walking toward her.

“Hell.” Amara opened the door and ran for her jeep, hoping the Children of the Corn had taken the hint. The first touch to her shoulder told her they hadn’t. She whirled around, ready to defend herself.

Soft butterfly touches on her hands, her hair, her arms and her legs confused her. Each dryad took a turn stepping forward and touching some piece of her skin that was exposed by her uniform.

Each one closed his or her eyes in grief afterward.

This was the first time any of them had come close enough to touch her. She had no idea what they were feeling or sensing, but from the way some of them had begun weeping, it couldn’t be good. She wanted to shrink, disappear until she wasn’t faced with their hatred anymore. This was ten times worse than someone crossing the street. “Please. Leave me alone.”

The dryads stared, most of them with tears in their eyes. Not one moved.

Amara swallowed. They’d surrounded her jeep. She couldn’t leave without possibly hurting one of them. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the coming blows, physical and spiritual. “Why?”

Of all the people who’d chosen to attack her, the dryads were the only ones who were absolutely safe from retaliation. It went against all of her instincts to protect and defend, and now she finally understood why. As a hamadryad, it was her job to keep them safe.

The bastards.

“We’re sorry.”

That was the last thing she’d expected them to say. Amara opened her eyes. Around her, the dryads sat, some on the ground, some on her jeep, keeping her penned in with nothing more than their bodies. “What?”

The one who seemed to be their spokeswoman stood. Amara recognized her as one of the dryads who used to cross the street when she approached. That shunning had hurt more than any of them would ever know. “We’re sorry.”

“Glinda loved you, but she didn’t
know
you,” another one, this one male, said.

A third piped up. “And because of that, neither did we.”

“We followed the lead of Oak, Ash, Birch and Yew. They avoided you, so we did too.”

“But we didn’t understand
why
they did.”

“We thought they avoided you because you were different, not because Glinda asked them to.”

“We knew you were different. We sensed your pain, but we couldn’t make ourselves help you.”

“We were cruel to you.”

“We’re sorry, Amara.”

“So sorry.”

“So sorry.”

“We’re going to help you,” the spokeswoman said firmly. Amara, shocked, stood speechless, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “We’re going to help find the one who is after your heart. When we find her, you’ll know.”

Amara didn’t respond. She couldn’t. She was light-headed, afraid she might pass out.

They’d
accepted
her. They’d
apologized
to her.

She looked up.

Nope. Sky’s still there.

When she faced them again, some looked heartbroken. Others were stoic; still others were quietly crying. She could
feel
their pain, their remorse. Their heartache. It twisted inside her, made her want to howl, to punish whoever had caused them this much grief.

But how do you punish love? Glinda had never intended to hurt any of them, but she had, and now they all had to live with the memories.

The spokeswoman looked around and sighed. “We’ll leave you to your breakfast.” The crowd walked toward their bikes.

“Wait.” Someone had to take the first step in healing the breach love had accidentally caused. If they could come to her, apologize to her, then she could do her part to mend the rift. “Have breakfast with me.”

They sagged in relief, sighing and smiling and patting her skin once more. “Yes, please.”

“Thank you.”

“We’d like that.”

The chattering crowd surrounded her, suddenly eager for waffles and eggs. Amara stuck close to the spokeswoman as they reentered the diner. “How did you know I was coming here?”

The woman smiled. “You’re our hamadryad. We
always
know where you are, but we didn’t understand why until Oak explained it to us.”

She sat in the booth with a thump. They always knew where she was? “Do you always know what I’m doing?” That had the potential to be hideously embarrassing, didn’t it?

Blushes and giggles. “No, but a lot of the time we can guess.” One of them actually batted his lashes at her.

Amara didn’t know if dryads could sink through linoleum, but she was determined to find out.

Parker sat up and spit dirt out of his mouth. “Well. Isn’t this pleasant?” He hadn’t spent a night in the earth since…well, since he’d dug his way out of the stuff when he’d felt someone walking over his grave. He stood and brushed off. “Greg?”

“Here.”

He picked an earthworm out of his pocket and dropped it back into the hole he’d slept in. “Why aren’t I home in my nice, warm wife?”

“Because your beast is a jealous, macho asshole.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, shaking out yet more dirt. “And?”

“Ash visited this morning.”

“So?”

“Amara was naked.”

Parker winced. “Is he alive?”

“Oh yeah. She got him out of the bedroom and thought you’d gone back to sleep. When she left with him, your beast decided someone was trying to steal your mate. I got to them before you did and warned Amara. She got Ash to do a disappearing act, you dug your bed and lay in it, and Amara went out for breakfast with every dryad in the tri-state area.”

“Oh.” He stared at a chipmunk chattering at him in a shrill voice and wondered what he’d done to piss it off. “That explains a lot.”

“The good news is Selena said she got the infection out of Amara and that she should be fine.”

“Infection? What the hell happened while I was sleeping?” He tried to shoo the chipmunk way, but the little rodent wasn’t paying him any attention.

“Some sort of pollen got pushed under her skin when you fed. Selena said it was pretty bad, but she fixed it and gave her an inoculation of some kind. I didn’t understand what she meant, but I don’t understand half of what she says. For a witch, her powers are pretty strange.”

“How so?”

“She can do things most of us can’t, but can’t seem to do things a lot of us can. Remember how I said witches are connected to the earth? It’s like Selena’s connected to the spirit world instead. It’s freaky.”

Parker didn’t give a crap what world Selena was anchored in. “Amara’s all right?”

“Yup. Clean bill of health.”

“That’s good to know.” Parker pulled off his shoe and dumped dirt on the rodent’s head.
That should show you who’s boss around here.

“She also said Amara isn’t pregnant yet.”

Parker paused in the act of putting his shoe back on. “Pregnant?” He howled in pain as the rat masquerading as a cute forest creature took a bite out of his ankle before scampering away. He landed on his ass right back in the hole he’d dug himself. “Pregnant?” He could feel his voice rising each time he said it.

“I told you to make little vamplings, didn’t I?”

“I thought you were joking!” He shoved his foot into the shoe, ignoring whatever it was that wiggled against his big toe. The fucker would be smooshed soon enough. He had more important things to worry about, like pregnant wives and impossible dreams. “I’m a vampire. I can’t impregnate anyone!”

“According to Selena you can. She said she’s not sure what all you’re capable of, since you’re the only vampire of your kind, but she suggested you consider wearing a raincoat on your little man from now on.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. Selena kind of confirmed you
could
become a papa.”

He rolled his eyes and got back on his feet. “Wonderful.” He wondered how Amara had taken the news. He figured if she didn’t fling something at his head when he saw her next, she’d taken it well. “I need to get back and check on Amara.”

“Uh, Parker?”

“Hmm?”

“Behind you.”

Parker turned. Two glowing green eyes stared at him from between two bushes. Slime slithered across his senses, leaving a wet, icky trail behind. It was akin to sticking his hand into a jar of fresh snot, and he didn’t like it, or the woman attached to the sensation, one bit. “Hello, Terri.”

The eyes blinked. “Parker.”

That voice sent a shiver down his spine. Where once his urge to flee had overwhelmed him, now all he wanted was the witch’s neck between his hands, her blood dripping on the ground. The only problem with that was he didn’t think Mina, Ash and Greer would appreciate having toxic waste dumped in their forest. “Long time no see.” He smiled and prayed she’d view it as an invitation. He needed to grab her, take her out before she hurt anyone else. “Come on out, pretty. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“You’ve been a bad boy, Parker.”

Parker flexed his fingers. His claws slipped free, ready to shred the flesh from his enemy’s bones. She’d harmed his
sotiei,
infected her with something. For that alone she would suffer. “Have I now?” He allowed his accent to thicken, remembering how she loved it when he whispered naughty things in her ear. He’d use that against her, lure his prey out and pounce.

“You slept with that woman.” Terri’s voice was full of righteous anger and insane pain. “How could you do that to me?”

Easily.
Amara was ten times the woman Terri was, even when she’d been human. “A man has needs, Terri.”

That turned out to be the wrong thing to say. An inhuman shriek of rage drove the birds from the trees. “You are
mine!
”

Parker grinned. “Then take me.”

“Parker, no!”

He ignored Greg’s shout, intent on taking out the witch who’d made his unlife miserable. Tenacious vines bound his body so quickly he had no time to react. He was cocooned, only his eyes left free of the wrappings.

Not quite what he’d planned on, but he could work with it. She was up to something, so he’d allow her to hold him until he found out what it was. He felt none of the magic that had kept him in the iron cage all those years ago. Misting through the vines should be no problem.

Now that he wasn’t running away from her in terror, he got his first good look at her, and was horrified by what he saw.

She’d changed drastically since New York. She no longer looked human. Still curvaceous, she walked in the form of a woman, but where a human’s skin was rich with the flush of red blood, Terri’s skin had a sickly greenish cast. Her hair was the dry, pale brown of dead leaves. Her eyes glowed brightly enough for others to see by. Weeds sprouted from random spots on her body. A dandelion bloomed above her navel; crabgrass had replaced the hair of her mound. She smelled of rancid vegetation, like a compost heap that had sat too long in the sun, too rotten to use. “Did you think I would let you hurt me?”

Parker tried to shrug, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak, gagged by the greenery.

One cracked green hand reached out, covered in mold. “I missed you, Parker.” Despite his struggles to move away she stroked his nose. “I’ll make you a deal. You leave with me. We become what we were always meant to be—husband and wife. Vampire and blood donor. And I will allow the town of Maggie’s Grove to live.” She gestured, and the gag was removed.

“You can’t destroy an entire town, Terri.”

She smiled. “It’s already begun.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t want to, you know, but you forced my hand. You’ve turned down every invitation I’ve given you since you got here.” She ran her fingers across his lips. He had to resist the urge to spit her taste back in her face. “If you don’t leave with me, every single plant in Maggie’s Grove will rise up and tear it apart from the inside out.” She tilted her head. “I wonder what my thorns would do to the tender flesh of an infant?”

He gritted his teeth. “You’ll have to show me.”

“Oh, Parker.” She grinned, her yellowed teeth rimmed with algae. He tried not to gag at the overwhelming stench that poured from between her lips. “Very well. This won’t take long.” The greenery covered him once more, this time obscuring his eyes as well. He had no idea what was going on, but he was transported more swiftly than he’d thought she was capable of.

She’d grown stronger since the last time he’d seen her, and that terrified him.

He bided his time. She had to be bluffing. Even Terri wasn’t crazy enough to attack an entire town filled with supernaturals and their mates. They’d hunt her down with their last breaths and make her pay for what she’d done to their lovers, their families. She wouldn’t know a second’s peace.

The plants parted enough for him to see that she’d taken him high up onto the mountain, where his view of the entire town was unobstructed. People’s screams as they tried desperately to defend themselves, their homes, assaulted his ears. Glittering magic lit the night sky with silent fireworks. Fire flashed here and there, controlled by the resident fire elementals. Howls rose in challenge as the weres defended their own.

He gritted his teeth as the faint, tinny sounds of fire and police sirens raced along the streets. Fires had broken out here and there, seemingly uncontrolled. “Greg,” he whispered, hoping his friend would understand. He was no longer certain how fast Greg could travel, but if he’d beaten Parker to the forest to protect Ash, then he was betting on
very.

“On it.”

“Stop it, Terri.”

Her finger tapped her chin, and yellowish-green pollen flew into the air with each tap. Parker had never been more grateful for the absence of the need to breathe. “I don’t think so. Not until you agree to my terms.”

He was bound to Amara. If he so much as sank the tip of his fang into Terri, he’d be in unbelievable agony. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re poisonous?”

She patted his cheek, leaving behind spots of slime. “I’m not poisonous to you, Parker. You know that.”

He kept his reaction from his face, but only barely. Maybe Greg was wrong. Perhaps she didn’t know about
singele sotiei.

He’d use that against her, use her lust and her tainted love to keep Amara, and the rest of the town, safe.

She held up her finger and pressed it against a thorn on one of the plants surrounding him. A drop of green, sluggish…
stuff
came out of the wound. “Would you like a taste?”

I’d rather drink raw sewage.
Although from the scent, her blood wasn’t that far off. “No, thank you. I already ate.” He caught the reddish eyes of a vampire on the hunt and prayed Terri didn’t notice. Dragos crouched in the trees above her, and he knew the cavalry he’d sent Greg to fetch had arrived. It was time to stop the madness, time to make sure she never hurt anyone again.

Parker turned to mist and freed himself from the coiling plants. “You made a grave mistake, Terri.”

“Oh?” Terri backed up, but if she was frightened, she hid it well. Perhaps she still thought she had him over the proverbial barrel.

Well, she’d just have to find out how adept Parker was at rolling that barrel. He’d crush her with it. “You pissed off the mayor.” The plant she’d wrapped him in began coiling once more around him.

Terri froze, and so did the plant. “What?”

“That would be me.” Dragos dropped to the ground, grabbed Terri’s head and twisted it clean off her shoulders. He tossed the head aside and stepped around the twitching corpse, waving his hand in front of his nose. “Phew. What the fuck is that smell?”

The plant that had wrapped itself around Parker slowly slid to the ground, its branches turning brittle, its leaves drying up. “A bad plant.”

Dragos’s brows rose. “Your tormentor, I presume?”

“Yes. Thanks for the assist.”

“No problem.” Dragos dusted off his hands. “In the words of your wife,
that was one weed that needed pulling.
”

Parker chuckled. “Need a hand down there?”

“It would be appreciated.” Dragos lifted off the ground. “Come on, Parker. Amara’s waiting.”

Parker slid into the air, eager to see his mate and take a long, hot bath.

Amara yelped as fire licked up the side of the building and nearly singed her bark.

“Sorry.” Mollie Ferguson shot ball after ball of fire at the weeds surrounding The Greenhouse, but it was too little, too late. They’d already breached the windows, cracked the mortar between the bricks. If they couldn’t stop this soon The Greenhouse would suffer the same fate as the town hall.

She grabbed another vine and began ripping it from the brick, trying not to wince as brick dust landed in her hair. “Terri, you bitch, get your ass out here and face me!” She growled when there was no answer.

Amara had never been so frightened in her life. All over town plants had risen and attacked the people around them. Houses were on fire as elementals tried to stop the encroaching army of thorns and brambles. The earth trembled beneath her feet as the earth elementals tried desperately to hold on to roots, to prevent the weeds from moving forward. Air elementals whipped around in a frenzy, using their own powers to try and pull the plants from the ground, ripping them in two and shattering more than one car window in the process. The water elementals had taken the lesson learned at the town hall and drained the plants of water, killing them instantly.

And it wasn’t enough. Maggie’s Grove was losing to a single insane witch who somehow held the power of the land itself in her fist.

A firebolt singed Amara’s hair. “Weed,” Mollie panted, and that was all she needed to know.

Mollie was ringed in fire. Her body had become a living blaze. Amara was impressed; she’d never seen her so angry before—or so human. She could almost like this Mollie.

A root threatened to trip her up, but a werewolf who’d joined in the fight pounced, forcing it back into the ground. Amara turned her attention back to the battle at hand. She reached down deep, searching for a plant or tree that wasn’t under Terri’s control.

There. A birch, not too far away, and another, this one an oak. Roses responded to her call, impatiens and daffodils waving their blossoms, ready to fight for their home.

Amara linked to them and used them, but unless something happened soon it was a losing battle. Already the dryads of the town had begun to drop from exhaustion. She could sense them as they fell and prayed to the Goddess someone got them to safety.

The roots of the great oak rose, smashing at Terri’s weeds with mighty blows. The birch swayed, slashing with its branches; the roses slithered along their trellises, using their thorns to cut vines from brick. The impatiens dug as deep as their shallow roots could, trying to block the moss that crept closer and closer. Even the grass tried to help, creating a thick blanket the moss couldn’t cross.