Druid Master Read online

  “I—” I stole a glance to my left, looking for Macha, but she was gone.

  “Never mind, just get your ass in here before someone sees.” Fallyn stabbed the Bowie knife into the doorframe, then she grabbed me by the shirt and dragged me into the room. After closing the door gently and quietly, she turned around, brow furrowed. “So, do you want to tell me why you’re here? Did Dad send you, or is something up with the Pack?”

  Finding myself at a loss for words, I glanced around the room as I gathered my thoughts. The space was small, maybe fifteen feet square, and fitted out like a college dorm room with a single, small bed, a few tables, a desk, and another room that must’ve been an en suite bath in the corner. Various weapons hung from hooks on the walls, and a nearby open closet displayed a wardrobe consisting of everything from tactical clothing to evening wear.

  A collection of small electronics sat on the desk, including an earpiece and what looked like a tiny surveillance device, along with a set of precision tools, a soldering iron, and a magnifying lens on a stand. A few file folders were spread out nearby, the contents spilling out in a thick jumble of handwritten notes, typed documents, and black and white photos. Weird.

  Finally, I allowed my gaze to drift to Fallyn, who looked much the same, if a little leaner and in better shape. The gray fatigue pants, web belt, black tank, and tactical boots she wore were utilitarian and well-worn. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing the strong cheekbones, straight-edged, Roman nose, full lips, hazel-bordering-on-yellow eyes, and fair, rosy-cheeked complexion I’d come to know so well.

  Those yellow-hazel eyes had narrowed at me while I stared. Fallyn cleared her throat as she crossed her arms beneath her chest. “Words, Colin. Sometime within the next century, if possible.”

  “Er, hang on a second and let me gather my thoughts.” I chewed my thumbnail, hoping some of Fionn’s good ol’ fae magic might clear my mind. “What’s the last thing you remember? I mean, when’s the last time you recall speaking to me?”

  Obviously sensing that something was amiss, Fallyn set the Uzi down on her bedside table. “Well—and I don’t mean to be insensitive, as I know you’re probably still mourning the loss—but it was when your Uncle Ed was killed. Right before Dad sent me here, until things cooled off with the Circle.”

  “Ew, boy.” My heart sank, and I slumped down into a hard-backed chair that was not meant for slumping. “You’d better have a seat, Fallyn—we have some serious catching up to do.”

  7

  “Run this by me again? You and I were lovers?”

  We’d been speaking for the better part of twenty minutes. Fallyn’s tone was incredulous, but not derisive. Yet, she still wasn’t fully on board with my story.

  “Yes, and it’s been over a year since Ed passed. Shit, I haven’t seen you for seven months—longer, if you count all the time I spent inside the Grove.”

  “What’s this Grove again?” she asked, screwing up her face as she tilted her head like a puppy. “No, never mind that. We were sleeping together?”

  “Yes, Fallyn—with nakedness and everything,” I said with an exasperated sigh. “Look, someone here has mind-wiped you, like your lead alpha—”

  “Alpha Prime,” she corrected.

  “Optimash Prime, Amazon Prime, Prime Directive—who gives a shit? They messed with your brain. That’s what I need you to focus on right now.”

  Fallyn snickered coquettishly behind her hand. “Wow, Golden Boy. You must’ve really gotten addicted if you went through this much trouble to try to get back in my pants.”

  I threw my hands in the air. “I give up. Macha, do you mind?”

  “I mind not,” the goddess said as she appeared next to me. “But you’d better ask her if she even wants to do this before I reverse what her alpha prime did to her.”

  “What the fuck?” Fallyn said as she reached for her Uzi. “How’d she get in here?”

  “Fallyn, meet Macha, Celtic war goddess and one of the three Morrígna.”

  “Also, goddess of fertility, land, and monarchy, among other things.” Macha gave me an apologetic look. “Oops, it seems I’ve been noticed. Whatever you two decide, you had best decide quickly.”

  “What’s she getting at?” the she-wolf asked archly.

  “She’s a powerful goddess, Fallyn, and she can remove the memory block, or mind-wipe, or whatever your ‘Optimus Prime’ did to you.”

  “Alpha Prime,” the two ladies corrected simultaneously.

  “Whatever! Bottom line is they messed with your head, but Macha can give your memories back to you.”

  Fallyn frowned. “I just don’t understand why she’d do that.”

  Suddenly, I found myself licking my lips—my mouth was very dry. “Something bad happened, and it was my fault. That’s why they wiped your mind, to prevent you from remembering.”

  “Was it my decision to do that?” she asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t know,” I replied.

  “If it wasn’t, then I want to remember what I missed. But I still don’t see why she’d do that to me. Do I even want to remember what happened? Should I?”

  I locked eyes with Fallyn. “Do you trust me?”

  “Colin, you’ve proven yourself to the Pack, sure. But we really don’t know each other—”

  I cut her off with a wave of my hand, my eyes pleading with her. “Listen to your gut, Fallyn—no, listen to your wolf. What does it say about me? Do your instincts tell you that I would lead you astray or hurt you in any way?”

  My pseudo-ex-girlfriend’s expression softened. Maybe she saw something in my eyes or heard the desperation in my voice. She closed her eyes, listening to a voice within that only she could hear.

  When she opened them again, the confusion that had been written on her face was gone. “I trust you. Fuck me sideways, but my wolf is saying I should.”

  Macha tapped her foot as she casually tossed some magic at the door. “They’re coming, and that won’t hold them for long.” She looked down her nose at Fallyn. “Are you certain you want this? There’s no taking it back, once these memories are returned to you.”

  Fallyn kept her eyes on me, nodding. “Do it.”

  I heard voices and footsteps coming down the hall toward the room, then something slammed against the door with a boom—something big. Ignoring the commotion, Macha stepped forward to place a hand on either side of Fallyn’s face. I felt a hum of magic, then the mystical, druid side of me heard a sort of loud pop that seemed to come from just outside the door.

  Fallyn’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she slumped bonelessly into her chair. Something growled outside the room—a deep, ominous, rumbling sound that shook the walls. I pushed Macha out of the way, grabbing Fallyn and hugging her to my chest.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I demanded.

  “I just returned almost a half a year’s worth of memories. The poor lass was bound to suffer some backlash from it. Never fear, a lycanthrope of her potential will shake it off in due time.”

  “Shit. This is not the way I expected this to go down,” I said, holding Fallyn’s head up as I looked at her face with concern.

  The door shook in its frame, and the growls grew even louder. “Time to go, druid. You can’t very well leave her here, or they’ll just erase her memories again. Grab your love and let’s be off.”

  Macha seemed quite eager to leave the premises, and despite the circumstances, that made me very suspicious. Out of curiosity, I scanned the door and hall beyond in the magical spectrum. Deific magic swirled in a ten-foot-tall, quadruped-shaped maelstrom on the other side of the door.

  “Tell me again, which goddess protects this place?”

  “I never said. We should leave now, lad, if you don’t fancy being eaten alive,” Macha warned.

  An eight-foot-tall, oval gateway opened in front of Macha, revealing a lush, verdant plain on the other side. Feeling no small amount of guilt for her current state, I picked Fallyn up and slung her over
my shoulder. With a parting glance at the soon-to-fail oaken door, I followed Macha through the portal.

  “Where are we?” I asked, glancing at our immediate surroundings.

  Fallyn was still out cold, so I chose to maintain my stealth-shifted form to carry her more easily. Werewolves were heavy as hell, after all, although I’d never tell her that.

  “You should recognize these lands, as they belong to you now,” Macha said as she gestured expansively all around. “We’re in Mag Mell, on the plains of Tethra. I chose this place because the girl’s ‘alpha prime’ would be hard-pressed to follow us to Underhill.”

  At that, I took a second to really look around. We stood on a rolling, grassy plain that was dotted by small copses of trees here and there, and crisscrossed every so often by bubbling streams and at least one flowing river. The lands spread away for miles in every direction except one, where a huge, and still somewhat ominous, mountain dominated the landscape. For some reason, the direction the mountain lay seemed like “north” to me, although I knew empirically that directions, time, and space were malleable here.

  “Huh. And when you say these lands belong to me, what exactly do you mean by that?”

  The goddess furrowed her brow as she considered my question. “First, you inherited these lands by right when you defeated Tethra, the land’s former ruler. Normally, they’d have already been taken over and claimed by another party, as you left them unprotected on your departure. However, you also infused the land with druidic power when you planted that seed on your previous visit. Now, the spirit of these lands resists all such incursions, awaiting the return of its new master.”

  “Wait a minute,” I said as I adjusted my grip to make Fallyn more comfortable. “You mean I’m a king here in Underhill?”

  Macha wavered a hand back and forth. “Of a sort, albeit a king without subjects. Much the same as Tethra was, come to think of it, and he managed to maintain ownership of his holdings quite well, without the benefit of any vassals or armies. But be advised, the other powers that be here in Mag Mell will not stop trying to rob you of these lands. In fact, they might be planning an invasion as we speak.”

  I frowned. “They can have it. It’s not like I ever plan to make a home for myself in Underhill anyway. I have a hard enough time staying away from the fae and Tuath Dé as it is.”

  Macha’s voice took on a chiding tone. “Child, I don’t think you realize just what this means for you. Underhill is magic, and magic is power. The more of Underhill one controls, the greater the magic they have to draw on. That is why the various factions here fight so viciously amongst themselves, and it’s also the reason the Earthbound fae and residents of Underhill have been at odds for so long.”

  “Because their connections to Underhill siphoned off the magic that makes this place hum.”

  “Precisely,” she said with wink. “However, you took care of that issue most handily when you turned on Niamh. Unwittingly, your actions stabilized the land as well. Flipping place was falling apart until you pulled that little stunt. If you ask me, Badb and Fuamnach should be throwing you a grand ball instead of hunting you down.”

  “Oh, I’m so happy to have helped the Fair Folk of Underhill,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “That’s all well and good for the fae and Tuath Dé who live here, but it doesn’t do a thing to help me in my current situation. I need a place to let Fallyn rest until she recovers, and I also need to plan my next moves.”

  The goddess laughed humorlessly. “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You do have an entire territory in Mag Mell at your disposal, after all.” She made a circular motion in the air, and a portal opened in front of her an instant later.

  “Wait, where are you going?”

  Macha gave a flippant wave as she stepped through the portal. “I’ve things to do, lad, and I’ve spent more than enough time and effort helping you ‘rescue’ your lover. Do remember our deal, as something tells me you’ll be gathering your fiann erelong.” Before I could protest her departure, the portal winked out of existence.

  “Well, that’s just fucking great,” I muttered.

  Instinctively, I reached out to the Druid Oak to request an extraction. The connection was there, but not nearly strong enough for clear communication, just as it had been the last time I was here. On that occasion, the Oak had tracked me down all on its lonesome, so at least I had some hope it might do the same thing again.

  Since it didn’t look like Fallyn would be waking any time soon, I laid her down in a comfortable-looking spot on the soft grass. Once I had her settled, I took a cross-legged position next to her, chewing my thumbnail as I focused inward to take stock of my situation. As usual when I tapped into Fionn’s power of magical insight, my mind cleared and any confusion vanished, replaced by the sort of clarity you only got from several good nights’ sleep and an unhealthy dose of Adderall.

  Alright, let’s see if I can manage to get a bit of clarity regarding my next steps.

  The problems and challenges I faced were manifold. I had at least one goddess and a powerful Tuatha sorceress after me, and I’d likely just earned the enmity of another, unidentified goddess after “abducting” Fallyn. I’d lost my mentor and had suffered the unfortunate experience of discovering that the happy, mostly idyllic childhood I recalled was a complete lie.

  In addition, the mother I’d until recently remembered as being a loving, if somewhat absentminded, single parent turned out to be a disapproving, sociopathic tiger mom on steroids. Never mind that my girlfriend had her mind wiped of any memory of our relationship, and I had no idea how she was going to respond to me now that those memories had been returned. Finally, I was stranded in Mag Mell on lands that may or may not be in danger of imminent invasion—and I had no way of knowing whether I could repel said invaders.

  One problem at a time, Colin. First up—figuring out just what Macha meant when she said I had the entire territory at my disposal.

  Underhill being a magical creation, and Mag Mell being a part of Underhill, it seemed every territory had a unique persona. At least, that’s what I’d deduced on my previous visit to Mag Mell. The last time I was here, I’d convinced the spirit of this land to shorten my journey to Tethra’s fortress.

  From a druidic standpoint, Tethra’s territory had been badly abused by the Fomorian. Like most of our kind, he was a ruthless killer through and through, and he had no use for nature or natural beauty. Instead of nurturing the land, he’d exerted his will to make it as harsh and unforgiving as possible, turning it into a rocky desert wasteland almost completely barren of life.

  When I’d first opened a mental channel with the land, it had nearly overwhelmed me with feelings of desperation and sadness. Communing with it had been a lot like communicating with my Druid Oak, as it conversed in images and impressions rather than words and phrases. After I extracted my consciousness from the staggering flood of emotions and images the land sent to me, we came to an agreement. It agreed to help me reach Tethra’s hold, and I agreed to do my best to kill the bastard.

  Once that had been settled, on instinct I planted a seed from my Grove in the dry, desert soil. After I slew Tethra—with the help of a rogue master vampire named Le Boucher—the Druid Oak homed in on that seed, and when it appeared, the land blossomed in its presence. Intrigued and encouraged by that result, I’d used druid magic to bring water here from deep within Underhill before I left, hoping the gesture would continue to help heal the land.

  Apparently, it had worked. If I was lucky, the land would remember me, and maybe even help me find a place where I could chill until Fallyn woke up.

  Here goes nothing.

  After slowing my breathing and entering a druidic trance, I again reached out to the land, or rather to the spirit of this territory. It took a few moments to home in on it, as there was so much going on here in the way of growth and life. Not only had the formerly desolate plains been overrun with new flora, but animals had also started to make their home here.r />
  As I sent my consciousness out to search the area, I came across deer, rabbits, squirrels, moles, ferrets, foxes, all manner of birds, and a few larger magical entities that I avoided disturbing. Finally, after mentally flitting around the surrounding lands for half an hour or so, I detected another presence beneath all that activity and proliferation.

  Wow.

  Before the land’s persona had given me the impression of a forlorn shade, appearing as nothing more than the dried-up husk of a once healthy and vibrant ecosystem. But now? Now, it was…

  Just as I was connecting with the spirit of Tethra’s lands, I was bowled over by a deceptively heavy and incredibly strong female ball of werewolf fury. On opening my eyes, all I saw was yellow eyes, claws, and teeth. I landed on my back with Fallyn straddling me, a position I’d dreamed about many times since I’d last seen her, although not in this context.

  “You son of a bitch,” she shouted as she slashed at my face with hands that had somehow sprouted claws, even though she was still in her human form. “I’ll fucking kill you if it’s the last thing I do!”

  I fended her off as best I could, but I was still in my stealth-shifted form. That meant I was a tad less strong than she was, but a bit faster, thankfully. Before the human skin on my forearms was shredded too badly, I grabbed her wrists, pulling her off balance as I bridged my hips, rolling her to my right. Now, instead of me being in the disadvantaged, bottom-mounted position, Fallyn was on her back, and I was between her legs.

  It might seem like I had the upper hand, and as far as gravity was concerned, I did. However, in jiu-jitsu this was a neutral position, as the person on bottom could easily control and attack if they were skilled enough. When I rolled over, I’d held on to Fallyn’s wrists—mostly because I wasn’t trying to hurt her, but also to keep her from clawing my eyes out.

  By maintaining some physical control, I gained a brief respite that allowed me to get a good look at Fallyn’s facial expression and demeanor. Sure, she was obviously trying to kill me, but I had no idea why. Well, I had some idea, but was this just due to disorientation after having her memories returned? Or did she really blame me for all that happened to her?