Only Witness, The (22 page)

              He grabbed it, out of reflex, looked down at the object resting on his palm. He recognized it, how could he not? It was what should have been Finn's wedding band. Piper wore it around a leather cord on her neck. “Where did you get that?”

              “She said that it would convince you to come with me. Please hurry, Deacon, there's not much time. She's hurt pretty badly. You need to hear what she has to say. Please.”

              Deacon wondered if Lina used the word please often; he highly doubted it. She looked like she'd rather chew glass than say it again. “Lead the way.” He reached out for Vera's hand. “Hold up,” Houdini spoke up. “What about Susan?”

              “She's fine.” Lina replied. “I have a few friends, they're keeping an eye on her. She's in The Old Man's bedroom; Adelaide is with her. He's on the way out. It was poison. Smart money says it was in his tea. Tea that Piper prepared. Now, we're just really wasting time.”

              Deacon looked over at Houdini, knew that his friend would want proof Susan was okay, but he also knew that Piper was hurt, on the verge of death somewhere, they'd have to take Lina at her word. They couldn't wait. “She's going to be alright, Brother, she's tough. She doesn't need you riding to the rescue.”

              “What? Riding to the rescue? I am not a white hat, Prez. Why are we standing here talking? Let's get our asses moving.” Houdini started towards off in the direction that Lina had emerged from. “Where are we going?”

              Deacon knew where they were going. Generations back someone had built a small cabin, deep in the woods and near a lake. As kids, he, Piper and Finn had found it. They'd thought it was the coolest thing ever. They'd go there to swim, spend hours exploring the woods around it. As they got older it became Piper and Finn's favorite spot. Deacon had jokingly called it their first home.

              It would make sense that she would go there but how had she been injured? Deacon felt like his brain was going to simply implode, until Vera squeezed his hand hard and tugged him forward.

              He fell into step with her, following Houdini and Lina, who both moved through the forest with ease. Deacon could do it blindfolded, but he noticed that Vera was having trouble keeping up. “Babe,” he stopped. “Get on my back.”

              “What?”

              “It'll keep you from breaking something,” Deacon moved in front of her, crouched down. “I won't drop you, if that's what you're worried about. You've been on a piggyback ride before, right?”

              “When I was a child,” she replied. “This will definitely be my first wolf back ride, though.”

              “Wolf back?” Deacon looked over his shoulder at her, surprised that she could find any humor in the situation they were in.

              “Is that like a politically incorrect to say?” She grinned and then her face went somber. “I'm sorry, I'm all joking and...”             

              Deacon spun around, cut her words off with his mouth. He didn't want to hear an apology from her, not now or ever. The slightly lightened mood had been just what he needed to keep moving. Later, when this hellish day was done he was going to show her just how much he appreciated it.

              “You two good?” Houdini's voice broke them apart.

              “Be right there,” Deacon turned back around, felt Vera get on his back. She wrapped her legs around him, he held on to her thighs. She rested her head against his. “I don't know what we're about to see.”

              “I'll deal,” she replied grimly. “We'll deal.”

              One way or another, it was the truth. They continued to walk in silence. Deacon heard Vera gasp when they stepped into the clearing. It was an impressive sight, the large clearing, lake and the cabin.               It had been rundown when they found it, now it looked livable.

              Deacon lowered Vera down to her feet. “Pretty, isn't it?”

              “It's gorgeous,” she replied. Her hand found his, linked their fingers together. “We should get inside.”

              Piper was in the largest room of the cabin; there was no separate bedroom, just a small, closed-off bathroom. “Deke,” her eyes opened at the sight of him. “It's bad, Deke, it's really bad.”

              Deacon moved to her, knelt down at her side. “Tell me.”

              “It was something in The Old Man's tea, I had a cup with him. He called me to the house. Said that it was important I come see him. He wanted to talk to me.” Piper's voice was low, her eyes barely open. Her skin had a yellowish tint to it. Her body was shutting down.

              Everything inside Deacon was frantic. They needed Susan, they needed a hospital. “We're going to get you out of here, Piper. Going to get you a doctor, you're going to be alright. I promise, you're going to be alright.”

              “No, I'm not. And I know that. It's okay. You have to listen, he told me a story. I thought he was crazy at first. At the end I believed him. Finn. They killed Finn. He made a mistake. Chose wrong.” She stopped speaking, started to cough.

              Lina moved forward, offered her a tissue and a trash can. “Whatever she ingested, it's moving through her system quickly.”

              “Was quick with him, too... with my father. He was sorry, Deke. Sorry for so many reasons.” Piper's voice was raspier than it had been, even lower. “It should have been you. Not Josiah.”

              “Save your strength,” Deacon ran his hand over her arm. “We're going to get you out of here. Get you a doctor.”

              “No,” she shook her head. “And that's okay. I'll be with him soon, with Finn. Nothing has been right without him. “Left my shit at your house, journals. You should read them. I need you to read them.”

              Deacon didn't give a flying fuck about journals. He wasn't ready to watch someone else he loved die. He'd already lost so much, and that was just in the past twelve hours. “Finn's going to have to wait for you, Piper. You can't die. You can't!” His voice broke as her eyes shut. “No! God damn it, Piper!”

              She was gone. Deacon knew that she was gone, but he couldn't stop trying to wake her; he shook her even as tears streamed down his face and his throat felt raw from his sobs. He lifted her from the couch, cradled her to him so lost in grief that he forgot anyone else was in the room. He forgot everything.

              Deacon had no conception of how much time had passed when Vera came over and laid her hand on his back. “Deke?”

              The first instinct was to snarl at her but he bit it back, drew in a deep breath. “I can't leave her here like this, I won't.”

              “I'll see that she's taken care of,” Lina spoke up. “Treated with the respect she deserves, I give you my word.”

              “Your word?” Deacon set Piper down gently, rose to his feet. He walked towards the blonde, towered over her. “Why should you word mean a thing to me?”

              “Because I'm here to help. When The Old Man called me and asked me to come, I knew that I had to. There's really not time to explain. I'll make the arrangements for Piper, have my people pick Vera up from here. It's safest that she and the other human stay here.” Lina braided her long hair as she spoke.

              “Fuck that,” Houdini spoke up. “No way in hell I'm staying here. I've got your back, Prez.”

              “I'll stay here,” Vera spoke softly. “I'll stay with Piper, make sure that she's taken care of.”

              Deacon nearly sighed with relief, he'd been standing there attempting to figure out how to tell Vera he needed her to stay behind. He knew that he needed all his concentration, all his focus, and he wouldn't have it if she went with them. He'd known that it was going to be bad when they arrived but now he knew it was going to be worse than he'd imagined. He wasn't just going to kill Master. He was going to challenge Josiah as well. He was going to take back the town and rebuild his club if it killed him.

              “Thank you,” Deacon moved forward, cupped her face in his hands. “Stay with her and I'll be back for you, I promise. I will be back for you.” There was no way that he would leave her behind.

              “I know,” she pressed her hands to his chest, “stay safe, please stay safe.” Her voice cracked but she held back her tears. Deacon could see them in her eyes.

              “I can leave Houdini here with you,” he offered, wanting to somehow soothe and calm her.

              “No, I want him with you. I'll be fine. I've got my gun and a knife. Just like a video game, a piece of cake.” Except it wasn't like any video game and they both knew it. Deacon had so much that he wanted to say, but he held back. There was no time to waste, he felt his rage building inside of him. This time he intended to release it, let the wolf run wild and whatever happened, he'd deal with the consequences. “Go.” She stretched up, kissed his lips.

              Deacon didn't need to be told twice. Houdini and Lina were with him as he left. They didn't speak, there was no need to say anything. A glance at Lina made Deacon wonder if she knew more than she was letting on. Her expression was one of calm, not one of someone heading into an unknown battle.

              Just a few steps into the woods, Deacon changed. He couldn't fight it any longer. The pain was all consuming yet followed by a high he didn't have the words for. When four paws hit the slightly damp ground and the dark scent of earth filled his nostrils he was free.

              There was no worry while within the wolf, no room for second guessing, there was only instinct. He ran as hard as he could, clearing hurdles in the form of fallen trees or bushes with long leaps. The scent of others began to take over the soothing scent of the forest. It was the part of Deacon that remained which made the wolf slow and then stop when it would much rather rush forward and rip throats out.

              Instead he waited, changing back when he heard Houdini and Lina come up behind him. Houdini tossed him the clothes he'd shed and held out his gun. “You ready to do this, Prez?”

              “Hell yeah,” Deacon looked over to Lina. “I know that you're a Stray, if you're playing me it won't save you, I'll still rip your head off and mail it to someone you love.”

              “Nice imagery,” she looked offended. “I suppose I can tell you I'm trustworthy a dozen times and you won't believe. How about I show you instead?”

              “How about you call your contact? Figure out where my sister and Susan are,” Deacon suggested. He'd come up with a plan, well something that resembled a plan, on the run over. Lina removed a phone from her pocket and began to text. “Houdini, I need you to go in quiet once we know where they are. Get 'em out. I'll provide the distraction with Lina.”

              “They're all outside now, on the back porch. There's no way to sneak them out unseen.” Lina slid her phone back in her pocket. “The preparations for the pyre have begun.”

              The Old Man's body would be burned, his possessions would pass to the pack since his last living relative had just died. As Leader, Josiah would preside over the ceremony; as a member of the pack, Deacon knew he should have been contacted, told to come at once. The fact that he hadn't been spoke volumes.

              “Where's Master?”

              “He is with Josiah, acting as one of his guards.” Lina replied. “There is no way I can see of you avoiding issuing a challenge to Josiah. Master is obviously his now, as are your other men. Are you certain that you're prepared for it?”

              It was something that he could hear Whiskey saying; it caused Deacon's chest to tighten to realize it. “No,” even now he figured honesty was going to be the best policy. “Houdini, go around to the front of the house, quietly. You should be able to figure something out to get Susan and Adelaide's attention. The plan is the same, get them out of there. Go.”

              Houdini nodded and then slipped away. Deacon gave him several minutes. The scent of fire was in the air. They were lighting the torches for the pyre, giving the pack a few more moments to pay their respects. He finished dressing and started to walk forward. Once he emerged from the woods he could see the pyre was set in the center of the yard. As expected, the pack was there, as well as shifters and, to Deacon's surprise, a few people from town. Humans like Rose who knew the secret and kept it.

              “Didn't think to call me?” Deacon spoke loudly, loudly enough that just about all conversation ceased. All eyes turned to him, some curious and others frightened.

              “Who says that I didn't? I doubt that your phone was tucked under your fur somewhere.” Josiah was on the back porch, Susan and Adelaide beside him. At the foot of the stairs, Master stood to the left and Fire to the right. “We will have a ceremony to honor his life at the next moon. We will change. We will hunt and it will all be in his name. Tragic as this is, he's gone on to a better place.”

              “Had help getting there,” Michael spoke up from his permanent position near Josiah, the man certainly took his bodyguarding seriously. “My money is on his daughter, she was seen fleeing the scene.”

              “Her name is Piper,” Deacon held back his anger, though his first instinct was to ram his fist directly into Michael's smug face. “And I highly doubt that she had anything to do with The Old Man's demise because she's dead herself.”

              “What?” Josiah looked honestly stunned. “What do you mean she's dead?”

              “I mean that she's dead, killed by the same poison used on The Old Man.”  Deacon let his words sink in for the crowd now watching with rapt attention. You could have heard a squirrel scampering through the woods, if all the furry woodland creatures hadn't fled at the scent of so many large animals gathered in one place.

              Adelaide let out a gasp that Deacon heard quickly. Her hand pressed over her mouth, the tears streaming from her eyes obvious even at a distance. He wanted nothing more than to go to his sister and comfort her, but he couldn't afford any distraction. Instead he continued to stare at her husband.