AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Those charges were dropped,” he retorted.
“We’ll see about that,” the woman stated. “Load them up.”
Daphne and Baptiste were placed in the back of the van with a glowering Marissa. The doors slammed shut and a spell dropped over the vehicle, muffling outside sound.
Marissa muttered, “Sorry. If I’d known Ralph would be such a snitch, I wouldn’t have taken you back to my place.”
“Not your fault,” Baptiste replied through a tight jaw. “Did they say what we’re being arrested for?”
“I asked and was told it wasn’t my business. I said fuck yeah it was, since you put me in cuffs. The boss said he was proving a point about my conduct.” Marissa’s lips pursed. “Something’s not right about this. They came way too well prepared. How did they know to bring iron cuffs for a dryad and silver for a werewolf? Not to mention the silver netting isn’t from our armory.”
Daphne’s lips pursed. “Someone warned them we’d be coming.”
“They didn’t just warn, they equipped them,” Baptiste growled. “And I’ll bet I know who.”
“Your uncle must have contacted the local authority.” Daphne understood right away. “But how did he know where we were going?”
At that query, he shrugged. “No idea, but I should have known he wouldn’t give up so easily. I’m sorry. Seems like this mock arrest might be more about me than you.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Marissa interjected as the van came to a halt.
“Meaning what?” Baptiste questioned.
“The first thing the boss asked me was if I had a dryad with white hair inside. She knew about Daphne.”
Baptiste glanced at Daphne. “Did my uncle know what you were?”
She shook her head. “We never interacted.”
“Could it be scent that gave her away?” Marissa asked.
Before anyone could reply, the doors to the back of the van opened. An agent in full body armor pointed at Daphne. “You. Come with me.”
Rather than move she asked, “Why?”
“Do as you’re told,” he snapped.
“Where are you taking her?” Baptiste surged to his feet but had to hunch in the confined space.
“None of your business.”
Marissa took a softer tone as she said, “What’s going on, Dylan? I thought we were all going to headquarters.”
The guy glanced sideways before uttering a whispered, “You guys are, but the boss lady says the dryad is going elsewhere. There’s an unmarked sedan waiting with some dude I’ve never seen before driving it.”
“You know this isn’t right,” Marissa argued.
“It’s okay,” Daphne stated, shuffling to the open door. “The Mother knew and seemed to think this would advance my quest.”
“Now might be a good time to pull your psycho shit,” Baptiste advised.
“I’ll be okay, Beast. Try and steer clear of your uncle while I deal with matters.” Daphne hopped to the ground, eschewing the offered hand.
Outside, the sky lightened as dawn prepared to break. Her favorite time of day. Sun was life and its warm touch always brought joy.
Daphne needed no prompting to walk to the parked car with the woman in charge standing by it, but she did stop to eye her and say, “The Mother sees you and knows what you’ve done.”
The woman only showed the faintest of reactions before sneering. “And yet she does nothing while her so-called paladin is taken into captivity.”
