Falling Into Place (39 page)

James tried to jerk free again, and finally
looked down to see the vines wrapped around his legs. He growled in
frustration, sweeping his hands down as the vines disintegrated. He
stumbled forward, slinging the same spell in their direction.

Liz darted past Tremaine, sweeping her arm
and James’ spell to the side. Her other hand came up with a bolt
aimed at James. He took it in the chest and was flung into a tree.
His clothes smoldered as he slid to the ground.

She let her magic engulf her arms, flowing
up her body as she closed the distance and wrapped her hands around
his throat. James’ grabbed her wrists, and instead of fighting, he
flooded her with his curse.

Memories tore through her, all the horrible
things she’d been through, but this time it pissed her off. She
held on and reversed the curse, pushing it back into him. He cried
out, his hands clawing at his face as the roots of the tree twisted
and wrapped around his arms and legs.

His body burned, the tree caught fire as the
trunk split apart to engulf him, pulling him into the depths of the
trunk until the fire died.

Four arms pulled her from the tree. They
dragged her back and she tried to twist free, to take her magic
from them.

“Shh now, we’re fine,” Tremaine murmured, no
trace of pain in his voice. She looked over and saw her magic
twisting around him, not harming. She turned her head and found
Robert staring at her with a look of astonishment.

Her magic died down, the wind settling, the
fire dying, and the electricity fizzling. She panted as they
enveloped her in their embrace, pinning her between their bodies.
“You’re okay?” she whispered.

“We’re fine. I don’t understand it, but
we’re fine.”

Tremaine murmured against her ear, “Thank
you for not shutting us out for real.”

“I knew how ticked you would be if I tried
that.”

“I would have, but Robert would have zapped
us past the shield if it had come down to it.”

Robert nodded. “I would have, but we should
find Amethyst, and see what happened to Jarvis.

* * * *

Amethyst sat huddled in the cave behind the
waterfall. She figured it was the best place to stay out of sight.
As soon as she shot off the top of the falls and started her dive,
she felt her connection to Hayden slide back into place and felt
him tense up even as she sliced through the water.

She knew he would come to find her, she knew
it would be all right. Now, she had to wait.

The cry of a hawk startled her. Amethyst
thought it sounded like Fallon, but she froze for a second, until
she heard Brody call out.

“She down there?”

Amethyst dove under the falls and surfaced
beyond where the pool had stilled. She swam to the boulder and
climbed up to wave at Brody.

Fallon swooped down beside her and landed,
shifting back to her natural form. Amethyst flung her arms around
her.

“Thanks for scaring the hell out of me.
That’s a really long drop,” Fallon grumbled

Amethyst laughed nervously, looking away as
she stepped back. “It was the best I could do. I didn’t figure
either of them were stupid enough to try to come after me if I
dropped a hundred plus feet.

“I’m coming down.” Brody said. She looked up
in time to see him headed down feet first into the pool of water.
The splash flowed over both Fallon and Amethyst.

Fallon smirked at Brody. “You’re lucky I
love you,” she teased.

He grinned. “Hey, Ame. I thought I could
keep you company while my bossy woman goes to find Robert for a
quick trip up.” He caught Fallon’s gaze. “There’s smoke though. I’m
sure it’s some spell, but it’s been pretty dry.”

Fallon nodded. “I’ll be back shortly.” She
shifted and flew up over the rise.

“You had us all worried,” Brody told her.
“You okay?”

“Yeah, I got away before anything
happened.”

“How did they get you?”

“Uh, there was a gunshot, or what sounded
like a gunshot, and when I went back, it looked like Hayden had
been shot. He was bleeding. I went back there, and as I stepped
through the door, he shrank down to a man who looked like his skin
was wax and had melted.” She ran her hands through her hair and
looked up at the sky. “When I came to he was there with
Jarvis.”

“They didn’t hurt you?”

“No. They scared me, and don’t tell Hayden
this, but I had to let Jarvis think I might let him get somewhere
with me. As soon as the iron cuffs were off I kicked him in the
nuts and ran.”

Brody grinned. “You broke his nose too,
Ame.”

She shrugged, her eyes darting away. “Fallon
taught me to knee them in the balls, grab their ears, and ram their
face into my knee. I didn’t want him coming after me.”

“Good, from what Preston said, the bastard
deserved far worse, but I’m certain Hayden and Preston have that
covered.”

She grimaced. “Somehow, I don’t doubt that.
They can both be very protective when they feel the need.”

“And you can be very proactive. You got out
of the situation without any harm.”

She grinned back at him. “Yeah, it’s good to
have big tough teachers who can show me a thing or two.”

* * * *

Liz melted between them. Her head laying on
Tremaine’s chest. She trembled as the adrenaline faded away. “You
guys okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, and you’re fine,” Trem murmured into
her hair.

“We’re fine.” Robert kissed her
shoulder.

“Good,” she muttered. “You can loosen your
grip then. You’re squishing me.”

“I felt that curse again. Is that why you’re
trembling?” Robert asked softly, turning her face to get a better
look at her.

“He tried, but I gave it back to him. And
did I seriously make the tree eat him?”

Tremaine chucked. “That was some pretty
freaky shit, but you got rid of him.”

“You were right.” She looked into Trem’s
eyes. “I didn’t need a long drawn out revenge. I just needed him
gone. And now he is.”

“Got that right.”

A hawk landed beside them, and then shifted
into Fallon. Liz arched a brow. “Hey, find Amethyst?”

Fallon was busy staring at James hands and
feet that were sticking out of the tree trunk. “Is that him?” She
asked with wide eyes.

Liz sort of shrugged and nodded. “You can
blame me for that.”

“That’s a druid thing, or sometimes fae.”
Her brow arched. “But you’re a mage?” It came out like a
question.

“Apparently, I’m a hybrid.” Liz snorted. “Is
Amethyst all right?”

“Yeah, I need a little help. She’s at the
bottom of the falls, and they are pretty high. Brody’s down there
too. He didn’t want to leave her all alone.”

Robert shook his head. “He’s no better than
Preston about the translocation.”

“Sure he is. He doesn’t complain if he
throws up.” Fallon nodded in the direction had she flown from.
“It’s not too far from here. Down the river, maybe a mile.”

“We’ll head back to Hayden and Preston.”
Tremaine said. “At least I don’t hear Jarvis’ screams anymore.”

“Just one favor,” Fallon looked Liz in the
eyes. “Don’t tell Amethyst how you killed James.” She glanced at
the tree. “That would freak her out, because somewhere along the
way she’s picked up a few tricks with plant life.”

Liz’s brow arched. “Don’t worry. I’m not one
who’ll want to talk about it.”

Robert squeezed Liz’s hand. “We’ll be right
back.”

* * * *

Preston sat against the wall of the shack,
as far away from Jarvis’ beaten and battered body as he could.
Hayden had gone ballistic, beating Jarvis until every last one of
his bones were pulverized.

“I think he’s dead,” Preston shouted.

Hayden slammed his fist back down, splashing
more blood before his gaze snapped up. His big chest heaved and he
nodded once.

“Dude,” Preston grimaced, “you need to go
take a dip in the river before you scare the fuck out of
Amethyst.”

Hayden scrubbed a hand over his face,
smearing the blood…
And was that brains?
The big fae looked
down at his hand and winced. “You have a point.”

He lumbered to his feet and gave Preston a
dark look. “You may want to step back. I don’t want her to see this
mess.”

Preston moved out of the way and walked
toward the river.

He heard shifting dirt and creaking plants.
He turned back to see the ground crumble away as the shack and the
evidence fell into the sudden sinkhole. Preston stood frozen,
watching as the ground closed over the mess.

“Now that’s handy.” Preston turned back to
the river and dropped to his knees to wash his face and hands. At
least, he had gotten out of the way before Hayden lost it and beat
Jarvis into a bloody pulp… literally.

“Yeah, best if my little nymph doesn’t know
all the details.” Hayden walked past Preston and dove into the
water.

There was a pop, and before Preston could
turn around arms wrapped around his neck. “I missed you.”

Preston turned to hug Amethyst back. “Missed
you too. I’m sorry. I won’t shut you out again.”

“Good. It gets lonely when you aren’t being
a turd.”

He grinned. “I’ll remember that, short
stuff.”

Hayden emerged from the water. There was
still blood on his clothes, but he no longer looked like the killer
in a slasher movie.

“You okay, little nymph?” Hayden murmured.
Amethyst was up and in his arms in an instant.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I thought it was you when I
went out back. He looked like you, and you were bleeding. I should
have felt for our connection first.”

“Shh, I got you. I’m fine, and I would have
done the same thing. Did he touch you?”

She ducked her eyes. “Not much. I got out of
there before he had a chance.”

Fallon landed beside Brody and shifted. She
took his hand and leaned into him. He wrapped his arm around
her.

Liz and Tremaine caught up with them. Liz
took Robert’s hand. “It’s over. Finally.”

Robert nodded. “It is.”

“Just one thing,” Preston said. “With
Draecyn gone, and Jarvis dead, who is going to head up the enforcer
division? Because, I personally think you’d make a good leader,
Robert. And you’d be traveling a lot less because of it.”

Robert’s brow arched as he looked back. “I
don’t know about taking the reins. I’m not sure I even want to go
back after everything. There’s so much that needs to change on the
council.”

“And you could do that. I could help you,
but I’m no leader.” Preston smirked. “Just imagine the trouble I’d
stir if they put me in charge.”

Liz’s smile widened. “Robert could be
Magister, and you, Preston, could be Lieutenant. I think you’d do
better than you think.”

Preston snorted. “If you say so.”

Robert turned to Liz. “You wouldn’t be
opposed to me taking that kind of role?”

She smiled back at him. “You would be
stationed where you need to be, and it’s not like you can’t go
wherever you’re needed when you have to be elsewhere. Besides, the
idea behind the council is a good one. You have a better chance of
making the reality line up with the idea.”

Tremaine nudged Robert’s shoulder. “I agree.
I might even be willing to consult from time to time, if you were
in charge. Though, I don’t want to go back full time.”

Liz shrugged. “Me too, if they won’t freak
when they realize I’m alive. I don’t want to be made a target
because I’m different.” She sighed.

Preston shook his head. “If we’re
considering this, Robert and I can make that happen. Besides, I for
one, missed you and your attitude.”

“You only like it because you can’t rile
me,” Liz snipped back.

Amethyst sighed. “Can we get out of here? I
feel weird standing where everything went down.” She glanced back
at where the shack had been. Now there was just a mound of dirt.
“Uh, this is where they held me, right?”

Hayden nodded. “Trust me, it’s better this
way.”

Preston quickly added, “Yeah. It is.”

Two weeks later and Liz was standing in
front of the mirror, smoothing out the summer dress she wore for
Fallon and Brody’s bachelor/bachelorette party. Tremaine sat on the
bed watching her with a smile.

“You’re still stressing. He’ll be on time,”
he told her.

She turned toward him, her hands squeezed
tight into fists. “I’m not stressing over Robert. I know he’ll make
this work. I’m proud of him stepping up and taking this role. It’s
fitting for him.”

Tremaine stood up. He looked good in his
linen pants and white shirt. He closed the distance and tipped her
face up. “Then what’s bothering you, doll?”

She sighed. “I never really fit in with the
council. Now I may have to work with some of them from time to
time. I haven’t had to deal with those looks in a long time.”

“Yeah, but Robert already said you’ll only
ever work with us and Preston unless you choose otherwise. Plus, he
wants you as the druid/mage diplomat. Which is a new project that
you will not only excel at, but learn a few things as well.”

“I know.” She closed her eyes. “I still have
to confront Amalie. I wonder how she’s going to take the news that
I’m not only alive, but with two mages? She never seemed to care
much for our kind.”

“She’s a good woman, and I imagine she’ll be
happy to know you not only lived, but you’re doing amazingly well
for yourself.”

“Thanks to you.” She leaned in and kissed
him soft and sweet.

There was a pop and Robert’s arms came
around her. “Hey, love. I missed you.” He kissed her shoulder then
leaned over to kiss Tremaine as well.

She groaned, it was so damned sexy when they
did that. “How’d it go?”

“Well, everything is in place. We won’t be
called away unless it’s an emergency. I’ll be here most of the
time, but I’ll always be back if I do have to go out. And you,
well, everything is taken care of. Just let me know if anyone says
something they shouldn’t. I’ll take care of it.”