Hannah (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #2) (13 page)

When Hannah looked at the map, she found a small smoldering hole in the parchment where the funnel had last perched. Her throat still ached from drinking the potion, but she managed to speak in a croaked whisper, “He’s not far from us.”

Rhea nodded as she looked down at the map. “Looks like old man McClery’s land.”

Hannah frowned.
What the hell could Dominic be doing at McClery’s place?
John McClery had died the middle of last year, and, as far as she knew, nobody lived out there.

“I’ll get the ATVs,” Rhea said.

“There could be more than just Dominic out there,” Hannah replied. “I’ll need the van.”

Rhea pointed to the little scorch mark on the map. “You won’t be able to get out there with the van. We can hook the trailer up to the two-seater.”

Hannah couldn’t argue with the woman’s logic. That area was dense forest, especially since she had started manipulating the flora on Coven’s Grove. Hannah’s project had spilled out into the neighboring properties, which was part of the reason why Miranda had been trying to buy McClery’s land. As of yet, the matriarch’s attempts to persuade John’s children into selling had been unsuccessful.

The trailer wasn’t set up to take passengers, but it was better than nothing. Hannah nodded, and grabbed the map. “Okay, let’s do it.”

Rhea spoke a few words of magic, summoning several globes of light that slowly circled her athletic form. Without further delay, she led the way back to the garage at a sprint, the little orbs remaining near her the whole time. Even with the magical light, the trail was hazardous, and Hannah had to watch her step as she ran close behind Rhea.

Hannah quickly found herself standing in front of the garage, hands on her knees, and breathing heavily. The crappy thing was, she ran regularly, but apparently to no avail. It didn’t help that only a fine sheen of sweat covered Rhea’s exposed skin, and she seemed otherwise unaffected by their run through the woods. In fact, the Native American woman went around hooking up the trailer as if she had just walked in from the main house.

“You’re a machine,” Hannah breathed. “Damn you.”

Rhea chuckled. “You’re too soft.”

“I grow plants... and bake,” Hannah stated in her defense. “Exercise is something to be feared and avoided, if at all possible.”

“As you’ve said before,” Rhea replied. She finished with the ATV, and tossed Hannah a set of keys. “Take that one.” She pointed to the camouflaged four-wheeler closest to her.

Hannah finally caught her breath, and made her way to the ATV. The “garage” was more like a small warehouse, filled with tools and machines to match any auto-repair shop in the state. This was Rhea’s playground, and Hannah was more than happy that it was, because she didn’t know squat about cars. Gas, brake, steering wheel... yeah, that was about it. She straddled the massive four-wheeler, strapped on a camo helmet, and fired her up.

Rhea took the two-seater with the trailer, and followed Hannah, as she flitted off into the woods. The spot on the map where the spell had marked was less than a mile away, but, given the heavily wooded terrain, it would take some time to get there. That left Hannah alone with her thoughts and fears.

Hannah still couldn’t figure out why Dominic and his crew would be out on the fringes of Coven’s Grove. It must have had something to do with the things he’d said about Dongle Tower. They’d been pressuring Miranda for years to tap into the resources buried under her land, but she hadn’t budged. No one would be doing any drilling as long as Coven’s Grove was there. Her thoughts drifted back to Dominic and their relationship. She still wasn’t sure if she could handle Dominic being her guardian. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things she didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to let that prevent her from trying to make a life for herself, or trying to make the world a better place.

Once Hannah thought they were close to the location, she cut the engine and got off the ATV. Rhea did the same, and walked up beside Hannah.

“If I shift, it’ll be easier to find them,” Rhea said.

Hannah nodded. She had no doubt her friend could find Dominic; she’d counted on it, in fact. Rhea’s innate power was shapeshifting, which opened an endless amount of possibilities when it came to finding someone. Hannah just hoped that the spell had gotten them close enough for Rhea to do her thing.

Rhea stripped out of her clothes, exposing her far-too-perfect body.

Not a single tanline
. Hannah rolled her eyes.
If only
.

From what had been explained to her about shifting, she knew there were several different ways it could happen. Being a witch, Rhea’s transformation was fairly painless, although, after seeing her change a few times, Hannah would beg to differ. When Hannah had said as much to Rhea, the Native American woman had informed her that werebeasts had the worst of it. Apparently, the change for those poor creatures was quite a bloody affair.

The strain on Rhea’s face was evident as she brought about the transformation. Her striking human physique distorted horribly as the snapping sound of bones reforming echoed off the nearby trees.

Hannah closed her eyes to banish the image of Rhea’s deformed figure from her mind. Unfortunately, haunting imagery like that was rarely expelled from the mere shielding of the eyes. She knew the vision of those twisted limbs would remain in her memory until her dying day. Regardless, Hannah averted her gaze for the duration, and didn’t face her friend until she felt the probing of a wet nose on her hand.

A tall, yellow-eyed wolf backed away from Hannah, and sniffed the air. Rhea’s coat was black as coal, making her hard to see in the broken moonlight that shone through the high canopy. Her ears perked up as she turned southwest, and a low, rumbling growl reverberated deep in her chest.

Hannah looked into the darkened woods, worry for Dominic grating her nerves. It was time to go find out what the hell was going on, but she’d be next-to-useless if she didn’t do something about the darkness. An incantation that would brighten the existing light came to mind. It was basic magic, so ingredients wouldn’t be necessary. She recited the words quickly, as magic surged through her veins. Within seconds, the shadowy forest surrounding her glowed with moonlight, and no longer emanated the eeriness of the unknown. Hannah took a deep breath, then spoke with a heavy voice, “Alright, Rhea, let’s go find them.”

H
annah crept through the thick underbrush, trying to be as quiet as possible. The fact that she couldn’t turn into a wolf dampened the attempt, but she hadn’t been discovered so far, so she felt confident that she still had the element of surprise on whatever it was she was sneaking up on. She spotted a fern that was easily the size of the four-wheeler she had driven to get here, and knelt beside it to get a better look.

Fifty or so yards back, the ground had begun to vibrate from a low thumping sound that must have come from some type of large machinery. Now that Hannah was within sight of the slow-chugging mechanism, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. She assumed it was some kind of drilling rig, but she’d seen those before and this thing looked a lot different. It was way too advanced with its shiny chrome pipes and blinking lights to be a fracking set up. Not to mention, there were no roads or trails for trucks to haul all this junk in or out. It was like the whole thing had just dropped out of the sky.

As odd as the scene appeared, the usual grimy oil barrels that accompanied drill sites littered the area in tall stacks around the perimeter. Whatever was going on here, it definitely had to do with oil.

Men dressed in hardhats and reflective vests moved about, working pipes and barrels just like any other drill site. Rhea was nowhere to be seen, but Hannah had no doubt that her friend was near.

Hannah’s booted feet crunched on the densely packed leaves as she moved closer to the barrels. She gritted her teeth in frustration.
I suck at this sneaking shit,
she thought as she continued up next to the barrels. They were organized on pallets; each bundle was wrapped together with chains. Hannah snuck around the side of one of the pallets, and then froze in her tracks.

Kevin, the tall lanky guy from Dominic’s group, was laying next to the weird-looking oil rig not twenty feet from her. His eyes were wide open and blood was leaking from a large hole in his forehead. Two other bodies that appeared to be oil workers laid next to him, just as motionless.

Hannah shuffled back between the pallets, and slammed her back against the oil barrels. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her failing nerves, but the image of Kevin’s vacant stare filled her mind’s eye, making her tumble into a panic that much faster. Her breath quickened.
Oh, god. What the hell am I supposed to do now?
Hannah’s mind raced. She’d never seen a murdered person before. On TV sure, but never in real life. Kevin didn’t look real. He looked like some wax version of himself—pale, stiff, and lifeless.

Tears welled in Hannah’s eyes. She hadn’t known him very well, but that didn’t matter. He was part of Dominic’s crew, and he was dead. Dominic had been telling the truth, about the danger at least. Hannah had no doubts about that now. She wiped her eyes, and forced her breathing to slow.
Get a hold of yourself.
She would have to get control of her emotions if she was going to have any chance of saving Dominic... and possibly herself, for that matter. Her breathing finally steadied as she sealed off the fear that might break her spirit, and numbed herself to the atrocity of Kevin’s murder.

Hannah glanced at the surroundings beyond the perimeter of the site. This man-made clearing was the only open area for many acres. That was good. She would use her control over the trees to tear this place apart if she had to.

The sound of soft panting came from behind Hannah, drawing her attention.

Rhea’s yellow eyes shined in the darkness, reflecting light from the many spotlights set up around the camp. The black wolf turned, and trotted south, after she and Hannah had made eye contact.

Hannah crept away from the barrels and followed Rhea back into the forest. They made their way through the dark thicket around to the other side of the encampment. The lights from another small clearing that Hannah hadn’t seen from her previous vantage shined beyond the many silhouettes of trees and undergrowth.

As they approached, Hannah could make out two rows of army-green tents, and what looked like a latrine on the far side of the clearing. These people had been here for some time. Months, most likely.
What the hell have they been doing out here?
A chill went down Hannah’s spine at the thought. She had the sinking feeling that this operation was somehow tied to the contamination of the stream. If that were true, then she would have no choice but to do something about it. First things first, though, she had to find Dominic.

Rhea’s hackles raised, and a low growl rumbled from her chest, as a man armed with some kind of automatic weapon stepped out from one of the tents. He was dressed in all black, with ammo belts crisscrossing his chest and small pouches hanging from his hips. The man made his way over to the latrine, did his business, and then went back into the tent.

“Shit,” Hannah whispered. “Not just guns, but big guns.” She scanned the camp once more.

This clearing didn’t have the cover of oil barrels like the other one. Freshly cut tree stumps were the only thing that might provide any hiding places, but even using those would be risky. If she had had the correct materials, Hannah could have made herself invisible. Unfortunately, the components for that spell were rare and expensive, and Coven’s Grove wasn’t limitless in its resources. The good thing was that there weren’t any workers in this area. The man in black had been the only person in sight.

“All right,” Hannah said. “I don’t know if they’re in there, but it’s our best bet. You’re my backup, so stay outta sight.” Hannah patted Rhea’s shoulder. “You with me?”

Rhea whimpered, but nodded in assent.

Hannah got on her hands and knees, and then crawled army-man-style out to the first stump. She felt naked and exposed, away from the cover of the forest, but continued on to the next stump, and then the next, until she was no more than ten feet away from the tent she’d seen the man come from.
So far so good,
she thought, catching her breath behind a particularly large oak stump.