From the Ashes (Force of Nature Book 1) (35 page)

“We need to get on the roof to assess the situation better. We can't see shit from in here.”

“I'll go now,” Dean said, once again disappearing from sight.

“Can you get her up there?” Jase asked Kat, the weight in his stare implying the ramifications for failing at the task should she accept it.

“Yeah. Go find your brother,” she said, waving him off.

“I'll see you in a minute,” he said, kissing my forehead.

“Men,” Kat scoffed, rolling her eyes. “They always leave...” As she laughed at her own joke, she dragged me down the hall to a staircase at the very end leading up to the second floor. Somewhere I hadn't yet been. “There has to be an attic or something. I can punch a hole in the roof if we can get to it.”

“You mean before the place burns down?”

“Something like that.”

We searched the second floor for an attic access with no success. After what seemed like an eternity, I located a panel inside one of the closets.

“Kat! I found it.”

Without skipping a beat, she had it open and was thrusting me up through it, following right behind me. Soon we were standing on beams that spanned the length of the building, the open framework of the pitched roof in plain view.

“Jase!” I shouted. “Where are you? We're in the attic!”

A sharp cracking noise echoed through the vast space and the silvery light of the moon shined through the escape hole that Jase had just made for us. He popped his head in to greet us, though the news he had to share wasn't so welcoming.

“We have a problem, ladies,” he said, grabbing my hands to pull me up. Once I was through, he handed me over to Dean, who immediately forced me down flat on my stomach. Kat was at my side a moment later, the four of us lying on the roof, surveying the situation.

And it was grim.

From our bird's eye view, we could see exactly what had happened to the pack. The tree line that encircled the property was peppered with werewolves—some in human form, some not—all of whom were trying desperately to get past some barrier that we couldn't see. Kingston, coward that he was, had eradicated that threat in the easiest way he could. He didn't have to fight them—he had seen how well that had ended for his crew last time. Instead, he’d decided to just remove them from the variables in play. He'd known they were there all along, and we’d played right into his hands. Knox and his boys were no longer a threat because they couldn't get to Kingston.

And if they couldn't get to him, they sure as hell couldn't get to us.

“Shit! What do we do now?” I looked frantically from face to face, hoping that one of them would hold a shred of hope in their expression, but none did.

“They're going to burn us out,” Jase said calmly. “He won't risk coming close enough to Dean or me to get hurt. They'll burn down the building right out from under us, or they'll smoke us out. Either way, he'll be ready for us.”

“Well, I'm not going to sit up here and burn,” Kat spat, pushing to her feet. “If I'm going down, it'll be fighting, not lying here waiting to die.”

Jase and Dean smiled, both of them standing as well.

“Jensen always could pick 'em,” Dean said.

“He sure could,” Jase added.

I scrambled to my feet, the cool night air harsh against my skin, a stark contrast to the heat of the roof. If we planned to get off of the building before flames erupted around us, we didn't have much time. It was time to act.

“Piper,” a voice taunted from below. “I'm afraid your hiding place is about to expire. I'd really love to finish our chat before you die. Be a dear and come down to join us. Your friends can come, too. I have plans for all of you.” We walked over to the edge of the roof to find Kingston staring up at me, his army of warlocks flanking him tightly. A silvery blue glow peeked out from under his leather jacket, one that matched the color of the fire he’d created.

When I looked to the boys for ideas on what to do next, I found the two of them silently staring at one another.

“I don't see any other way,” Jase said to Dean, looking pained by whatever conclusion he'd come to.

“The way I see it, we only have two options. Bring down Kingston and his mob, or bring down the magical wall keeping the wolves out. And since I don't know how to do the latter, we need to figure out how to do the former,” Dean replied.

“I won't be long,” Jase said, now turning his attention to Kat and me.

“Where are you going?” I asked, the desperation in my voice plain. “You can't leave!”

“I have to, Piper. I think it's the only way to defeat him. I need to speak to someone, though I realize now doesn't seem like an opportune time.”

“He's right, P,” Dean said with a sad look. “If we're going to take on this army, Jase needs to confirm something first.”

“Confirm what?” I pleaded, feeling abandoned.

“My suspicion,” Jase said as he stared down at Kingston. “No time to explain. Know that I will be back as quickly as I possibly can.” He crushed me to his chest, hugging me as though it might be his last opportunity. “I love you, Piper.” Pushing me away from him enough to pin serious eyes on me, he continued. “Buy me some time. Do whatever you have to to keep him talking. Exploit his arrogance.”

With that, Jase disappeared into the night.

“Piperrrrr,” Kingston taunted from below, impatience tainting his tone.

“Looks like it's now or never,” I breathed, glancing over to Kat. “Showtime.”

Kat took my hand and gave it a squeeze. I gave her a look of understanding, then she scooped me up in her arms and jumped off the roof. Dean's swearing was quickly muffled by the wind in my ear. Before I knew it, Kat and I hit the ground, rolling wildly across the yard.

Trying to push myself up, I fell back down again, my arm screaming in protestation. It was broken for sure. But not for long.

“Help me,” I whispered.

I felt the warm rush of energy course through me, healing me almost instantly. Now able to move, I looked over at Kat, who seemed no worse for the wear. She'd clearly transferred her momentum from the fall better than I.

Dean appeared out of nowhere, helping me to my feet as Kingston approached us, his confident swagger fully intact. Kat came to flank my other side, the three of us united against the army before us. A magical David versus Goliath.

Once again, Kingston smiled at me, amused by our bravado. He knew that he had the upper hand. I could only hope that his sense of security would make him careless. The second Dean saw an opportunity, he would undoubtedly take it. But he only had one shot at the warlock. He had to make sure it was the right moment.

The warlock's gaze fell upon Kat. He flicked his arm toward her, launching her far back into the wall that divided the pack from us. But instead of crashing against it as the others had on the other side, she flew right through it into Jagger, knocking him over. When she regained her footing, she too was locked out with the rest of the pack.

“And then there were two,” Kingston mocked, staring Dean and me down. “What to do with the big bad enforcer...” He tapped his chin as if in deep contemplation. “I'd hate to have to kill him so early on and have him miss the big finale. Perhaps I can find a way to keep him out of the mix for the duration.”

As if on cue, a wall of twisted blue flame shot up from the earth, encircling Dean. The cylinder of fire was narrow, and I feared that there was no way that Dean wasn't being burned alive (so to speak).

“Dean!” I screamed, lunging toward the flames.

“I'm all right, Piper,” he replied through the roaring fire. “Remember what Jase said!”

As I swallowed back my fear and anger, Kingston came closer, leaning into me in a conspiratorial fashion.

“I think that's a better place for your little friend, don't you?” he asked, his breath on my ear. He was far closer to me than I was comfortable with. “Don't worry. I'm not done with him just yet.” He leaned toward me, lifting his hand to shelter his mouth from the others as though he were about to tell me a secret. “Would you like to see my big surprise?”

He pulled away so that the light of the moon could illuminate the insanity in his eyes. He was drunk with power in a way I'd never seen before. He was going to succeed with whatever maniacal machination he'd concocted.

And it most certainly involved my death.

While I contemplated that, a swirling vortex of black opened up behind him. A portal to somewhere or something. I had zero desire to see what he was inviting to join our showdown, though I doubted it could make things any worse than they already were. But once I sensed who was about to step through the magical door, our connection as strong as it had been the night we’d exchanged blood oaths, I realized I was wrong.

“Why is he here?” I whispered, staring at Merc as he came to stand next to Kingston. His empty blue eyes eventually found mine, but they gave nothing away. It was like I was seeing him for the first time, like that night outside the mansion. Almost as if he didn't know who I was.

But once his hatred of me boiled to the surface, I knew he really did.

“Him?” Kingston asked, as if he hadn't just brought the enforcer through the portal. “He's here for the main event.” At that moment, Kingston extinguished the cage of fire entrapping Dean, who rushed to my side, pushing me behind him. “Ready for your part in this?” Kingston asked him. “I was rather excited when I saw that you and your Neanderthal brother had found Piper. That you'd be here to witness her death, but then something dawned on me.” He lifted one of his arms up before his face, turning it back and forth as if he were inspecting his hand—the hand that Jase had cut off. “It's unfortunate that Jase isn't here for this, given that it was he that did this to me, but you'll suffice.”

“You'll be missing more than that when I'm done with you,” Dean shouted before charging the warlock. In the blink of an eye, Dean was on his back with Merc lying on top of him. The two were struggling with one another, an evenly matched pair. Or so it seemed.

Dean seemed as though he were fighting to get free. Merc, however, was trying to kill his brother. I screamed at the sight.

“Stop! Merc! You'll kill him!”

My words didn't faze him at all.

“This is going to be so good,” Kingston said in my ear. “I'll try to drag it out a bit, but I can't make any promises. That mate of yours has crazy on his side, and there's just no accounting for crazy in a fight.” I lunged toward the pair still wrestling for control on the ground, but Kingston's iron grip pulled me back against him. No matter how hard I struggled, I could not escape him. “It won't be long,” he whispered, licking the lobe of my ear.

I was crying now, desperate to do something—anything—to stop the madness playing out before me. Merc had never shown violence toward his siblings. Why was he now? What had gone so wrong between them that he would attack Dean without provocation? And most baffling still: why wasn't he trying to kill Kingston? Or me?

My window of opportunity to stall was now clear.

“How are you doing this?” I growled at him, still wiggling violently to escape his grasp.

“I thought you'd never ask,” he said, tightening his grip on me. “There's a funny story behind that, if you're interested in hearing it.”

“I'm listening.”

“A long time ago I heard a rumor about your boy there—a story about his instability and his gifts—and why he was put away.” I listened to him as I watched Merc pummel Dean until he was nearing unconsciousness. His body lay on the ground, barely moving. With every blow Merc delivered, I knew Dean was closer and closer to fading. Once Merc deemed it time, Dean would have no means to defend himself against a stake to the heart. “I tucked that information away at the time, hoping that one day I'd be able to discern whether or not it was true.”

“Your point?”

“Now, now. No need to rush,” he chastised. “When Merc returned, that little rumor came back to me and I wondered...” His grip loosened on me slightly, allowing him to spin me around in his arms to face him. “I wondered if the reason you and your friends succeeded in the alley that night had less to do with their prowess and more to do with his rumored ability, because I know that I wanted you dead one minute, and the next, the spell I'd sent after you had disappeared and I stood still while Jase took my hands.” My heart stopped for a beat while my mind processed what he was saying. Merc had made him stop his attack on us that night, but only once he’d thought I would perish because of it. Once he’d thought he would lose me. “And then, of course, I learned of your bonding—the interesting change of heart the king had that evening—and everything became clear to me.”

“Who told you about that?” I asked, unable to hide the contempt in my voice.

“A little birdie,” he replied with a smile. “But that's hardly important. What's important is what I did with that information.”

“What did you do, Kingston?” I breathed, fearing what he was going to say.

His smile widened.

“Merc!” he shouted. “Enough.”

I wrenched my head to an uncomfortable angle, turning to see Merc stand like a puppet on a string, leaving Dean limp on the ground at his feet.

Oh my God...

“You see, Piper,” he continued, grabbing me by the chin to force my head back around to face him. “Nature—magic—it works within a system of checks and balances. For each and every force, there is an equal and opposing force. It made me wonder if the gifts that made him powerful enough to influence the minds of all the supernaturals around him would in turn make him susceptible to the same, providing one was capable of such magic.”