Page 51 of Toadstools and Vampire Kisses

Jack shakes his head, giving me a sympathetic look. “A good try, however. Whether we like it or not, she’s coming through. We can only pray that she can be delayed until Reynard arrives.” He grimaces. “Hopefully soon.”

“Do you really think he is coming?” I ask, not entirely optimistic as I send out another volley of vines as I attempt to draw the hedges up further only for the same results to happen.

He flashes me a smile and nods. “Don’t think that just because she’s here that you can count him out yet. I know my cousin and would know if he were dead… and he would have to be to not come for you.”

The entire hedge groans loudly then, interrupting anything further he might have said as it shakes violently, and streams of light begin to pour in amid the snapping and tearing of the wall. Jack’s arm bands out in front of me protectively as he presses me behind him. I’m about to bite his head off for it since he needs to be protecting his own damn self too, but the look he gives me over his shoulder is stark.

“It’s the dragon claw,” Jack growls as he hunkers down, pressing closer to us, his wings spreading wide like a shield. “I heard that she had a necromantic weapon made from the remains of a dragon that could tear through anything, but I hoped that the rumors were grossly exaggerated.” His expression is bleak as he looks over at me. “Take the children and move deeper into the labyrinth. I will try to buy you some time.”

“Jack? Wait—” A particularly loud snap revibrates around us, the entire section of the hedge wall drawing back as if something powerful had it caught between its jaws.

“Go now!” he shouts, his fangs flashing. “Stay ahead of her the best you can and throw everything possible into her path until Reynard finds you. Hurry!”

I spin around, dragging Tiffany with me as I hurry the children down the nearest path to head closer to the maze’s center. I draw up and close the hedges behind me as we run. Distantly I can hear Jack’s shout of challenge and the bloodcurdling sounds of violence. The children hear it too and begin to cry, but I herd them quicker, my eyes scanning the area for the perfect place to hide them.There!A small alcove is situated just around that bend with several benches among the lilacs that bloom all summer. I can wall them off in there and lead the vampire queen deeper.

“Tiffany, quickly! You and the children go through there and go all the way back. I’ll seal you in.”

“Fran, you can’t leave us alone,” Tiffany whispers desperately, gripping Alice’s hand tightly in hers.

“I most certainly can. Get your asses in there, and keep Beast with you, Davie,” I order. “Now go. We only have a limited amount of time to get this done.”

Davie bravely nods and squeezes Beast to his chest before shooting down the path, followed by the other children. Only Tiffany lingers to give me one last frantic look before she too follows after them, and I draw the thick mantle of greenery behind, closing up the path behind them in their wake until all that’s left is that small seating area where they can hide. Jack screams, bringing tears to my eyes, but I continue to work though my skin crawls the entire time as I hear the maze moan under the assault that comes from it. I close my eyes with a little prayer to the old gods that the children remain safe as I grab up my skirts and run for all I’m worth, cutting a very clear trail down the path.

I aim for the center of the maze, my heart in my throat as the bushes shatter and rip apart as the vampire queen barrels for me. There’s no time to attempt to make any more walls between us than what I did as I fled with the children, I just pick up my speed, my breath burning in my lungs as I continue to run, grateful at least that she is coming directly for me rather than stopping.

The kids will be safe.

The center is a perfect square that normally blooms with all manner of flowers, big enough to fit several people comfortably, the altar that I had joined Reynard on sits encased with deep shadows since I sealed the maze rather than bathed in its customary moonlight. It is a beautiful spot, especially in the height of summer, but it is also the center of the maze’s power where its spirit rests at its core. I can feel its essence bend around me in welcome, the thick hedges rapidly drawing the rest of the way together. There is a certain peace that settles over me there, one that lasts for several heartbeats before the hedges quiver and begin to bulge. My lips thin as I stare at them, the green wall bending and groaning as if under terrible pressure, and I turn to face the threat as I slowly back up toward the altar.

When Titania finally bursts through, it’s with the savage rip of long bone claws tearing plants from the ground as she clears her way. Several bloody cuts mar her, and her hair has begun to tangle from her battle with the hedge, making her look as feral as the inhuman light shining within her eyes. Her lips curl back in a vicious smile as she steps through the gaping hole she carved. She brushes away stray holly leaves from her shoulder as she regards me.

“Finally, the cause of all of this. You are not as weak as I believed you to be, little witch.” Her eyes narrow on me speculatively as she begins to stalk forward, circling me. “I wondered what might have captivated Reynard about you so much that he would forget himself and actually take a mate. I had thought perhaps being a rescuer appealed to him these days, though he never had much patience for the weak before. I admired that about him. He would have been worthy of being a king.”

“I guess you must have done something to fuck that up then, huh?” I wheeze, pressing my hand to the stitch in my side.

Her expression darkens. “I miscalculated my would-be mate’s stomach for some of the necessary things of my reign. But I believed that our passion still remained.” Her expression grows calculated. “You have tasted it, haven’t you? That consuming burn that overtakes you with his hunger.” She grins triumphantly as I pale. Reynard and her? “Yes, I see that you have. It is incredible, is it not? So needy and demanding, I just needed to draw it out of him again and make him forget. I even took a bloodbonded mate in hopes that it would inspire some jealousy in him.”

“Didn’t you cast aside your mate?” I protest in confusion, my hands sliding over the side of the altar where a small storage shelf was built into it. I nearly sigh with relief when my fingers find it and dip in but manage to keep my face blank as I stare back at the vampire worriedly. “Reynard had to kill him, and you punished him.”

Her lips twist. “I did not punish him for killing that useless human. That would have been fine if he had not delivered the male’s remains with such cold scorn. That I could not so easily forgive. He was moved by nothing.” She hisses. “Reynard has no allure, as you know, but somehow that makes him even more untouchable, and even hunting down the lover who took his place did not break through that icy shell. Not even putting him into sleep and then having one of my loyal servants see to it that he was awakened after I fled so that we might finally be reunited again since he had some time to think over his mistakes.” Anger tightens her expression cruelly. “But he did not. He simply moved on with his life, nothing touching him at all. And still I had hope, until you. So you see, my little witch, this is where the tale becomes a sad one for you. Because the only way I’m going to finally break him so that I can claim him as mine is to get rid of you.”

“But y-you have a king,” I stammer, gathering my power around me as I touch in the root systems of the plants surrounding me and slide the ritual blade from its hiding place.

“A mere technicality, as is your place between me and Reynard,” she informs with a hard smile.

I don’t even see it when she charges. There is a blur of movement as I instinctively call upon the spiritual force of the hedge maze itself as I snap the dagger forward, cutting a sigil into my palm to heighten my power and connection to the maze. Pain shoots through my hand and up my arms but I ignore as I etch the fine line. I don’t cut deep enough to harm the nerves, but the blood pools rapidly, dripping from my fingertips as I lift it and pull all the plants of the maze to my command. Branches arch and sprawl forth as they grow; vines whip, curling around me. Green life floods my vision as I feel the terrible heat of the queen’s breath fan my skin and pray that this will be enough.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

REYNARD

Isail through the air, my wings beating rapidly as I hurl myself toward the maze garden, my heart pounding in my chest though not from exertion. My eyes skim the once neat but now twisted hedges of the maze as I fly overhead. The branches have curved over the top, concealing every path from my view. Although this is exactly the strategy I had hoped Fran would take, I had not anticipated how uneasy it would fill me to see nothing but the prickly barrier. Dipping through the air, I turn, skimming the perimeter, hoping that I catch sight of Titania still trapped outside its walls.

No such luck. Instead, there is a gaping hole in the side of a thick wall of hedges that worries me. Since my winds will do little good against the overgrown barrier other than to perhaps rip them up and potentially harm my mate in the process, I fold my wings and drop swiftly, catching myself just before my feet hit the ground, softening my descent. Even so, I hit the ground running, my wings folding behind me as I dive through the turns of the bushes that look half-dead from the wreckage.

A weak groan slows my steps as I turn toward a huddled figure half-covered in shrubbery. Leaning down, I wrench the heavy branches away, my eyes widening as I slowly uncover the wounded male lying in a pool of his own blood. His blonde hair is nearly blackened in some areas where the blood has matted down his hair, his handsome face lined deeply with pain.

“Jack,” I rasp as I pull more of the debris off him. I fling it away as fast as I can though I am careful not to touch him. “Jack, don’t you dare die.”

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