Hannah (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #2) (20 page)

Dominic rubbed his chin. “What does history have to say?”

“You should start feeling different. Stronger maybe, or faster, or both.”

He nodded, his dreads brushed against his well-formed shoulders. “I was going to ask about that. I noticed when I went to get our clothes. I moved faster than I ever have before.”

“You’ll also be able to find me,” Hannah continued. “Without a map or device. You need to only trust your instincts.”

“Kinda cool.” Dominic smiled. “You can’t get away from me now.” He wrapped his arms around her.

“Like I’d want to,” Hannah replied into his chest. She took a deep breath, filling her nose with his woodland scent. “We should go.”

“I know, but I don’t want to.”

She smiled. “Good answer.”

Hannah settled into one of the padded lawn chairs off the back patio of Coven’s Grove. The others had already taken their seats, and were fidgeting restlessly.

The two lovebirds had arrived late. After leaving the glade, Hannah and Dominic had enjoyed a pleasant walk down to her cottage where they had showered. Unfortunately, scrubbing each other’s naked bodies led to another bout of sex, which then led to another shower. Once they had finished, they had made their way up to the manor where they were greeted with a mixture of sour looks and knowing snickers.

We’re as bad as Alix and Troy,
she thought with a slight smile.

Miranda currently wore her usual expression of composed calm, but Hannah could sense irritation in the matriarch’s steady gaze. Rhea stood to Miranda’s side, stoic as always, but there was a hint of resentment as her eyes passed over Hannah and Dominic.

A stab of guilt pierced Hannah’s heart. Not long ago, she and Rhea shared a sisterhood of solidarity—together in their loneliness. That was shattered now, and there was no going back.
I’m so sorry, my friend,
she thought with no small amount of self-loathing.

Nathan and Monica sat together, as did Alix and Troy. Both couples seemed enough at ease, though their awkward silence set Hannah’s already shaken nerves on edge. Perhaps words had been exchanged before she and Dominic had arrived.
We shouldn’t have been so caught up in ourselves
.

The last of them, Nancy, sat away from the others. Her demeanor had changed considerably since last night. She was no longer the brokenhearted, weepy girl who had lost a lover. Now, her intense gaze and rigid posture spoke of rage. She was going to be trouble.

“I’m glad you saw fit to join us this morning,” Miranda said, with a touch of contempt.

“Please, forgive us,” Hannah blurted as she looked around at everyone. “We just...well we, we bonded last night.”

Nathan and Monica’s brows came down in puzzlement. Nathan leaned forward and said, “Never heard it called that before.” His mouth twitched with amusement as he looked Dominic up and down. Obviously, the ex-marine had no idea what Hannah was talking about, or at least the
whole
of what she was talking about. That fact didn’t make his comment any less embarrassing as Hannah took in everyone’s reaction.

Broad smiles stretched across Alix and Troy’s faces. Alix snickered, but quickly smothered it with the back of her hand. Rhea’s already present frown deepened; her suspicions concerning Hannah and Dominic’s relationship, if she truly had any, were just confirmed. Nancy’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, but that didn’t come as a surprise. Miranda’s reaction, however, was truly unexpected.

The biggest smile crept across the matriarch’s face. Hannah had assumed that Miranda would be irked about Dominic becoming her guardian given the current situation, but that was far from the case apparently—the woman seemed downright elated.

“Tell me, Dominic,” Miranda said, getting to her feet. “Will you vouch for your friends? Can you promise me that they will keep our secret?”

“I will,” Dominic said without hesitation.

“We can make our own promises, too,” Monica stated, matter-of-factly. Her red hair appeared even more disheveled now that it was styled, but she seemed more herself after getting a night’s sleep.

“True,” Nathan agreed. “We’ll keep our traps shut.”

Miranda accepted their promises with a nod, and then slowly looked over at Nancy. Everyone followed her gaze with an expectant air. Nancy looked back at them, fire in her eyes.

The hope Hannah felt ceased as the pit of her stomach tightened into knots.
Oh, hell
.

“Doesn’t anyone remember what happened yesterday?!” Nancy shouted.

Dominic leaned forward. “No one has forgotten anything, Nancy. We just—”

“Then what the hell are we doing?!” Nancy interrupted. She glared at Miranda, who stood silently watching the display. “Look, I could give two shits about your magic tricks, lady. If you need me to say I won’t tell anybody, fine, I won’t tell anybody. It’s not like anyone would believe me anyway. What I want is for us to take some action against those assholes who killed Kevin.”

“We need to get things straight between us,” Dominic said, gesturing to everyone. “We will take action. I want to go public with the information we’ve found.”

“And, what good is that?” Nancy retorted. “They killed Kevin!”

“I know!” Dominic came to his feet. “But blind vengeance isn’t going to help us get everyone responsible.”

Nancy looked at him with daggers. “It’ll help me.”

A sudden prickling sensation danced up Hannah’s arms and down her spine. As intense as Nancy was getting, that wasn’t what caused Hannah’s skin to crawl. Something had crossed onto Coven’s Grove land. Something that meant to do harm.

Hannah glanced at Miranda and Rhea. Based on the shocked expressions on their faces, they both had felt the ward go off as well. The grove wasn’t impenetrable by any means, but the three of them had taken precautions to make the property as protected as they could.

“We can resolve this later,” Miranda commanded. “There are intruders on the property. Everyone needs to go inside.”

“How do you know...?” Alix began, but then hesitated, working the answer out on her own. “Never mind.” She and Troy headed for the back door.

Nathan and Monica no longer doubted the witches’ abilities apparently, as they quickly followed Alix and Troy into the manor.

Nancy got to her feet and looked at Miranda. “Do you have any weapons?”

“Yes, now hurry.” Miranda didn’t wait for a reply as she turned on her heel to go inside.

Hannah took hold of Dominic’s hand. “C’mon. We need to lock the place down.”

Rhea stayed behind, stripping out of her clothes.

“What is she doing?” Dominic asked, puzzled.

“She can shape change,” Hannah said. They had been running for their lives at the time he might have seen Rhea do her thing, so, even if he had seen her change, it obviously hadn’t registered.

“Ah, I see,” Dominic replied.

“She’ll scout out the intruders.” Hannah just hoped Rhea would be safe. The woman tended to be a bit reckless when she was upset. She spared her friend a glance in hopes of making eye contact with the Native American beauty, but no reciprocating gesture was offered.

Hannah couldn’t spare any more time fretting over her friend’s hurt feelings. She had a job of her own to do. She dragged Dominic into the house and up the stairs. They went from room to room, locking shutters and barring doors that led to the second story veranda.

Alix came jogging up the stairs when they were about halfway finished locking the place down. “Let me tat you guys. I’ve already done everyone else.”

Hannah gave her a curious glance, but stopped what she was doing. “This should be interesting.” She’d never actually experienced Alix’s power.

“Yeah.” Alix smiled. “Haven’t done tats on you before. You shouldn’t feel anything, but then again, you’re a witch.” She gestured downstairs.“Miranda didn’t feel anything, though I’m not sure if all supernaturals are affected the same way.”

“Guess we’ll find out.” Hannah held out her arm, hoping for the best.

Alix gently touched her forearm, focusing her gaze intently.

Hannah squinted, and waited for something to happen. She had seen Alix use her power several times before without incident, but the story of Troy flying across a room after being subjected to the purple-haired girl’s ability kept popping into Hannah’s head. Any second, she’d be blown out one of the shuttered windows.

Not so much as a tingle prickled Hannah’s skin. No electrical shock. No excruciating pain. No explosion. Nothing. Just a beautiful emerald vine, coiling up and around her arm gave any indication that Alix was performing magic. Once finished, the detail of the tattoo was breathtakingly life-like with flaxen blooms and shaded leaves seeming to pop off of Hannah’s exposed skin.

“Whoa,” Dominic exclaimed as he came out of the Northern room. He strolled over and ran his fingers over the impressive tat. “That’s amazing.”

Alix blushed. “It’s the magic, really.”

Dominic shrugged. “Still cool.”

“Glad you think so,” Hannah interjected. “You’re next.”

When Alix did her thing to Dominic, the tat ended up being just as realistic as Hannah’s but different in form and design. Where hers was floral in theme, Dominic’s was of the earth. Overlapping plates of stone decorated his arms like a suit of armor. The coloring was subtle, blending nicely with the chocolate hues of his skin.

“Wow,” Alix said, as she took a step back to admire her work. “Never seen that before.”

Hannah frowned. “I thought you came up with the imagery in your head before you released it?”

“Sometimes.” Alix nodded. “But not always. With protection tats, I just think of its purpose, not what it looks like. The actual design reflects something about who I’m putting it on—their inner self maybe. I don’t know for sure.”

Dominic laughed as he rolled up his sleeves. “That is so cool. What does it do?”

“It should protect you from harm, temporarily at least,” Alix answered.

“Don’t go nuts, though,” Hannah said hastily. “I don’t want you getting yourself hurt, or...” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Hannah’s right,” Alix said, as she turned to go back downstairs. “Think of it as a bullet proof vest that can only take a couple of hits.”

“Will do,” Dominic replied. He looked over at Hannah with a meaningful gaze. “I’ll be careful, if you will.”

“As careful as I can be.”

Once in agreement to not act as fools, the pair finished securing the upstairs, and headed down to the main level. Hannah had expected to hear the bustle of others busy at work getting the place ready for an assault, but was surprised when not so much as a shuffle of feet touched her ears. She quietly peered around the great room, and down the two main hallways, from the foot of the stairs.

Not a single person was in sight.

Hannah was about to call out for Miranda when Dominic’s hand gently pressed against her mouth. He brought a finger to his lips in a quieting gesture, and then signaled for them to head back upstairs.

Fear gripped Hannah, threatening to seize the air from her lungs. Her legs trembled as she followed Dominic up the stairs. She moved as lightly as she could, though every step felt as if it sent thunder rumbling through the house.

What the hell do we do now?
Hannah thought. If the intruders were already inside the manor, then her friends were in serious danger, not to mention she and Dominic. There was also the fact that they didn’t even know what they were facing.
Shit, we’re totally caught off guard
. Hannah needed to get outside near the trees to be truly effective, but everyone could still be in the house.

Dominic led her into one of the suites on the southern side of the manor. It had a beautiful four-poster bed, and a matching dresser on the opposite wall. It was one of Hannah’s favorite rooms, especially with the floor-to-ceiling French doors that led out onto the veranda. Not that those details mattered at the moment, but they were hard to pass by without a bit of notice.

“I should be outside,” Hannah whispered.