Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove) (22 page)

It was Dragos who answered. “She’s got schedules—times when the witches shore up the defenses, times when they’re weakest. She made damn charts and forwarded them to Harold Carpenter.”

“It’s how they’ve slipped in and out of town so easily. They knew exactly when to come in and when to get back out.” Ash’s fists landed on the desk. “But we still don’t know anything about
their
defenses. Apparently the exchange wasn’t mutual.”

“Parker?” When the vampire turned to Amara she took hold of his hand. “What about Greg? As a ghost, he should be able to slip through just about anything. He could go in, get us the information we need and get back out before they even realize he’s there.”

Parker swore under his breath. “Bloody hell. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Will it be safe? They managed to take the witch doctor, a dryad
and
a werewolf enforcer.” Dragos shook his head. “I don’t want to risk Greg if we don’t have to.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

He sighed roughly. “Go through Kate’s paperwork and pray one of them was extremely stupid?”

“Well.” Parker’s cheeky grin couldn’t hide his concern. Greg was his best friend, living or dead. The thought of him in danger did not sit well with the vampire. “So far stupidity is the only thing we’ve found with any regularity. I say let Greg try, if he’s willing.”

“He’s right, Dragos.” She put her hand on her lover’s shoulder. “As a ghost, Greg should be undetectable.”

Dragos nodded. “Ask him and Brian. If they say yes, send him in. But make sure Brian is somewhere outside the compound. As a physical medium and his spouse, his connection should give Greg some strength.”

“Go in at night. That will also give Greg strength outside Maggie’s Grove. Ghosts naturally strengthen at night, and lose that strength during the day.” Ash hadn’t taken his eyes from the computer screen, but instead of staring angrily his hands were moving on the keyboard, searching for who knew what.

“That will also allow you to keep an eye on Brian.” Amara stroked Parker’s hand. “Love, it’s the best idea we’ve come up with yet, and you know it.”

Parker reluctantly nodded. “I’ll call him.”

“Tonight?”

“I think it best, before they discover Kate is...indisposed.” He left the room, Amara right on his heels.

“They might know already. I think Kate was in league with a demon.” Both Ash and Dragos drew in startled breaths as Mina continued. “Amara doesn’t think the Van Helsings knew. I’m not so sure, but I could be wrong.”

“The Van Helsings fight supernaturals—they don’t consort with them.” He stroked her cheek, calming her. The man had faced Van Helsings before. He probably knew what he was talking about. “I’m siding with Amara on this one, my Mina.”

That eased her mind somewhat. Still, Mina wished she could take this burden from Parker. He’d lived through Greg’s death, watching his best friend slowly waste away from cancer. Losing him would kill something inside the man permanently. “I’ll keep going through the stuff we found in the safe. Maybe I can come up with something and we won’t have to involve Greg at all.”

“What safe?”

“Ash, keep searching Kate’s files.” At Ash’s nod she pulled Dragos from the room to show him. “That one.”

“Ah.” He grimaced at the sight of the broken picture. “Sorry about that.”

“Mm—hmm.” She shoved some papers in his hands. “Start reading, Mr. Ibanescu.”

He cleared his throat. “Yes, dear.”

“I’d better not find a love letter.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Are you listening to me?”

“No, dear.”

She bopped him on the head with the stack of papers, but it was hard to contain her smile. “Dork.”

“Yes, dear.”

Chapter Sixteen

Kate mysteriously died while they went through her belongings. Dragos had his suspicions as to who had murdered her. The neat slice across her jugular had Ash’s signature all over it. Ash had dealt with the body with the same brutal efficiency he showed in everything else.

Whether her soul had died as well was not an issue for the dryad—only that her body could not be used against them. If Mina was correct that a demon had been consorting with Kate, using her for its own purposes, then it had still been a portal for the creature.

Now it was not, and Dragos couldn’t find it in him to be angry with Ash. He would have done the same if he hadn’t been so terrified for Mina. A
demon
had been playing around in her mind, trying to drive her insane.

He was going to have his own nightmares after this.

It had taken all day for the others to finish going through Kate’s belongings, but they’d finally found the key to breaking through Carpenter’s defenses. They’d informed him the moment he’d woken from his day sleep.

When Greg had returned from gathering information on the compound, Brian had taken one look at his lover and turned white as a sheet. He’d feared for Parker’s Renfield until they all realized that Greg had somehow been hurt during his reconnaissance. Brian wouldn’t say how Greg had been injured, explaining that none of the living could truly understand except, perhaps, Selena. The Van Helsings had more power at their disposal than they’d feared, and Dragos had decided to bring out the big guns in response.

Apparently, the two had their first major argument when Greg insisted they’d be joining the battle, and it had taken an entire evening on Greg’s part to get the frightened Renfield to agree. Even so, Dragos wished he could tell them to go home. Brian was still pale, his hand clasped tightly around what appeared to be thin air. His lover was at his side, and their unique bond would help tremendously when the Maggie’s Grove forces moved in.

Damn it. He
hated
putting his people at risk, especially the ones like Brian. Brian was no combatant. But... he was needed, and he was here. There was nothing more Dragos could ask for.

Armed with the information Greg had gathered, Dragos had sent out the call, requesting volunteers to raid the Van Helsings’ compound. There was barely any time to gather, but his people had come through for him. For Maggie’s Grove.

Tonight was the night. They were going to free the prisoners at the Van Helsing compound or die trying.

“
No dying
,
Mr.
Ibanescu.
”

Dragos smiled at his
sotiei
, standing proudly next to him, Amara right at her side. Ash also stood on the stage with Dragos, Parker, Noah, Trajan and Greer. Mollie, as the unofficial head of the elementals, was also there, along with the new coven leader, a black witch by the name of Gideon Brantley. Despite Selena’s talk about how black witches weren’t necessarily evil, Dragos wasn’t certain he was happy with the coven’s choice. He’d have to wait and see.

If the man proved himself, so be it. If he turned out to be anything like Kate, Dragos would destroy him without hesitation.

He would not risk his people again.

“
She had you bespelled.
Let it go.
”

“
When our people are home safe and sound
,
I’ll consider it.
”

He looked out over the crowd and smiled grimly. Dragos hadn’t seen a gathering of the population of Maggie’s Grove like this outside of a town hall meeting in years, and it would be a while before he did again. The town hall had been demolished after Terri nearly brought it down around their ears, so this meeting was being held in Dragos’s ballroom.

It seemed everyone wanted some payback against the Van Helsings. After sifting through Kate’s papers and computer files, he’d realized that more people had been taken prisoner than he’d known. Why hadn’t he been told about the kidnappings?

All of those present had a relative who was missing or had turned up mysteriously dead.

Hell, even some of the town’s psychics had turned out. He recognized one who had the power to see things happening over long distances, and another who could speak into the minds of those he knew. They would come in handy as far as coordinating the attacks was concerned.

Looking out over the crowd Dragos caught the eye of the dark-haired, dark-eyed man standing with the rest of the psychics. Lore nodded to him but didn’t move, and his grim expression said all that needed to be said. Lore was ready for battle, to bring their people home.

“He’s volunteered to lead the psychics and Renfields and keep them safe.” Parker gestured toward the crowd waiting for them at the edge of the town. “Let’s go find out how deep this rabbit hole goes, shall we?”

“From the stuff that was found in that Kate person’s house, it’s pretty damned deep.” Trajan wasn’t thrilled to be separated from Eddy, but he’d agreed to come along and help put an end to the Van Helsing threat once and for all. “I’m thinking of changing Eddy, you know.”

Trajan growled.

“He’ll be better able to defend himself, and he won’t lose his psychic abilities. But I’ll only do it if you both agree.”

At Dragos’s raised brow Trajan huffed. “What’s involved in this changing?”

“I’ll bite him three times—”

Trajan growled.

“It’s not like the mating bite, Trajan. I won’t sleep with him. I’ll merely exchange blood with him. After the third time he’ll essentially fall into his first day sleep, and when he wakes he’ll be a vampire.”

“He’ll never walk in the sun again.” Trajan stared out over the crowd, but Dragos knew his thoughts were with his lover. “Eddy was meant to bask in the sun.”

What could he say to ease Trajan’s fears? “He’ll be able to fly with you.”

Trajan exchanged a glance with Dragos. Both dragons understood what it meant to fly with a lover, the slide and dance of aerial foreplay. It was something Dragos would never experience with Mina, but for Trajan, it was still a possibility. “Fine. But if he does take you up on your offer, I want to be present when you do it.”

Dragos nodded. “Then let’s do this.” He stepped up to the edge of the stage, ready to address the volunteers. “Ladies and gentlemen.”

The crowd quieted, turning toward Dragos. He saw fear, eagerness and sheer determination in their gazes.

His people would no longer be victims.

“The plan is a simple one.” He pointed, and Dominic lit up the projector. He’d put up a plain white sheet, and the image of the Van Helsing base showed up fuzzily. “We know now what each of these three buildings house.” He took the pointer Noah held out to him and gestured to the smallest of the buildings. “This is their administrative office, where they have their servers. The group that heads in there will have to steal the computers or hard drives and get out. They’ll defend it, so some of Noah’s enforcers will be going with you.” He nodded to Greer. “Greer and Mollie will be spearheading that group, with some of our psychic mediums to help them communicate with the ghosts. If you have any questions or problems, let them know.” The people who’d volunteered to handle the data extraction murmured their understanding. “The second-largest building is housing. Several Van Helsing families live there—”

“Excuse me.” A young vampire he barely knew raised her hand. “How have they managed to live right under our noses? Under the
government’s
noses? We know they have weapons in there. You’d think Uncle Sam would have come by now to check them out.”

“That’s part of what we’re hoping to find out from their files. But remember, this is mostly a search and rescue mission. Emphasis on the rescue. If any of our people are alive in there, we get them out. That’s our top priority.”

Noah stepped forward. “While Dragos leads the rescue team, my beta, my brother Allan, will be dealing with the soldiers and the housing complex.” He held up his hands as some of the white witches in the crowd protested. “I swear, my people will not harm any of the children. Allan is himself a father, which is one of the reasons I asked him to do this.” Allan, with his dark hair and eyes, had an uncanny resemblance to Noah. But where Noah was all hard edges, there was a softness to Allan that welcomed all who approached him. It was obvious he did not have the level of power his brother did. “He’s mated to a naiad, and their children are currently safe in their beds. Which they won’t be if we don’t do this.” That quieted them down. “I give you my word, if their parents resist and are killed, we’ll take the kids in here. Dragos’s Renfield, Eddy, has already volunteered to help integrate them into our society.”

“Blake has agreed to remain and possibly take Renfield training. He’s also offered to help integrate any children that get taken in by us. His friends will be joining him, at least for now.” Dragos pointed toward the largest building. “This is the scientific facility. We’ve got proof they have some of our people there. If so, that’s where they’ll be holding Iva Yamauchi and Selena Giannone.”

“That’s also where security will be the tightest, and where they’ll have the greatest defenses, which is why Dragos and I are going in there personally.” The wolves seemed unsurprised by their alpha’s decision, but some of the townsfolk called out again. Noah held up his hand. “Some of the town’s ghosts have volunteered to go in first. If they can mess up the Van Helsing’s electronic protections in all three locations, we should be able to get in and out with minimal damage.”

“If they can’t?” a voice called out.

He exchanged a worried look with Dominic. “Then we fight.”

Dom clicked through to the next picture. They’d made a list of the defenses they’d have to break through in order to take the compound—pouring through the data Kate had and the reconnaissance Greg had provided until they’d been exhausted.

Dragos went through his notes briefly, assigning tasks to each of the supernaturals according to their talents. “The ghosts will mess with the electronics, as stated, and warn us of any unexpected surprises. The vampires will mist over the magical wards, disrupting them. Wolves will deal with any UV lights. Night fliers will soar overhead, taking turns to report in on any pockets of resistance—you’ll be our signal that all three teams are on the move. The psychics will coordinate over long distance. We don’t think the Van Helsings have any electronic way to monitor that, and if they have any psychics on their side at least ours will know how to fight it.”

“Understood.” Trajan folded his arms across his chest, a cocky grin on his face. The flying shifters had agreed to follow Trajan’s lead, as he had the most combat experience and had led others into battle before. Noah had given him permission after speaking at length with Eddy. He’d even gone so far as to welcome him to Maggie’s Grove—granting him de facto pack status, and lifting the ban on Trajan’s access to Dragos’s home.

Not that Trajan had ever obeyed that order.

“The elementals will deal with any explosives.” Rock—Amara’s boss and head of the Big Savage Mountain Ranger Station—took his place at Mollie’s side, edging out Carter, who was forced down to one of the stage steps.

“My dryads will deal with tearing down buildings and getting inside. If Terri taught us nothing else, it reminded us of the power of Mother Nature.” Mina’s vicious grin was echoed by every single dryad in the room. “No matter what they think they’ve killed off around their compound, they have not yet created a desert. There will be seeds there, seeds the water elementals will help us to grow.”

Gideon spoke up for the first time. The new coven leader was an attractive fellow in his late twenties, an unusual choice. Usually the coven was led by a woman. “The white witches, under Dominic, will deal with injuries off the battlefield. I’ll be leading the black into battle personally. We should be able to shield the injured long enough to get them back to Dominic’s group while dealing with any soldiers dumb enough to chase after us.”

None of the gray had volunteered, a fact that their new coven leader seemed disturbed by. But Gideon stood tall and proud, his gaze raking across his people before giving a nod of approval. “The witches of Maggie’s Grove stand ready, Mayor.”

“The wolves stand ready, Mayor.”

Dragos cocked an eyebrow at Noah’s respectful tone, but Noah ignored him.

“The psychics are ready, Mayor.” Lore crossed his arms over his chest. Dragos could make out the outline of a gun beneath his denim jacket.

Mollie grinned, and Greer took a step closer to her. “The elementals stand ready, Mayor.”

“My dryads stand ready, Dragos.”

“The fliers stand ready, my brother.”

Brian nodded respectfully. “The ghosts are ready, Mayor.”

Each of the supernatural species who had volunteers present called out. There was nothing more to say.

It was time to go.

Dragos floated off the stage. “We have no way of knowing what exactly their protections entail, which is why we’re taking cars instead of flying in. Remember, if you find yourself in over your head, you shouldn’t be afraid to call out for help. The psychics are listening. Someone
will
come.”

Mina stepped forward, every inch his
sotiei
. “Find your team leaders and get ready to roll out.” Her sword flashed into her hands, startling him. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to kick some ass.”

The doors to the ballroom opened and the people streamed out, each following their leader to waiting vans. They’d made a deal with the local car rental places, and gotten as many passenger vans as they could, with the understanding that the city would pay for any damages to the vehicles.

Dragos flew overhead, keeping an eye on the van Ash drove. Mina was in there with Parker, Brian, Amara and Greg. Greer drove the van Mollie was in.

The first set of vans veered off, heading toward a spot on the perimeter where the first team would breach the defenses, aiming for the living quarters. Dragos wished them luck.

Mina and the rescue team veered off next, and Dragos followed them. The van pulled to a stop just outside the range the ghosts and shifters had said the cameras would begin tracking them. Dragos landed next to the van as Parker, Brian, Amara and Mina emerged. “Greg?”