“How was your day, baby? Did you girls have fun?”
Yup, still her baby. Her thirty-year-old baby. Rowan was an only child, and was a lonely only child.
“Yeah, it was great. Sucks we can’t see each other more often, but to be honest, we’d probably go broke. Spent too much, ate too much, and laughed so much my cheeks kind of hurt.”
“Well that’s the best kind of hurt you can have.” Her mom was silent for a few seconds.
“So, what’s up mom?” Ro figured she’d best get the ball rolling on this phone call if she was going to enjoy her hot bath and novel while they were both still steamy.
“I just wanted to tell you I love you.”
Uh huh. Rowan waited for the other shoe to drop.
“It’s just that, well, I’ve had a terrible feeling all day.” Clunk, there went the shoe.
This is not the first time her mother has said those words. Ro rolled her eyes, “Well everything is fine here. Are you and dad okay? Dad watching his sugar?” Rowan’s father had diabetes and clogged arteries. He thinks candy and bacon are his friends, if only the candy and bacon knew that.
“Yes, we’re fine. And don’t roll your eyes.” How did she know? “I have this feeling in my gut of impending doom. I thought I should call you and check to make sure you’re okay.”
Well there’s some drama from your momma for you. Ro assured her she was fine. House was locked up tight and the only thing she was doing tomorrow was going into the shop to finish the final touches on a new mirror she’d created. Satisfied, her mom hung up and Ro sank into the hot and steamy, book in hand, ready for an evening with Hotty MacHunky in her newest highlander fantasy novel.
Adam couldn’t believe it. She was found. The one they had been searching for. For truth, they had been in need of this chosen one for centuries, but it wasn’t until the Goddess Morrigan came to Adam nearly twenty years ago to say that the Shadow Breaker had been chosen, and then charged him with a new quest to find her. She was a precious, unique weapon–the one who will break through the darkness shadowing their worlds and balance the scales once more. Waiting this long was a small drop in the bucket of life for Adam, but for a mortal, time is short and life is shorter. He had no idea if he’d find her in time or if her death would beat him to the finish line in this very precarious race. And now she has finally been found: a true miracle. They’d been searching blindly for years - having no idea what she looked like, how old she was, or even if she was human or Fae. Talk about a needle in a haystack. This hunt was more like finding a pin of light in the sun itself. Ava had called Adam that very afternoon to say that she met the girl at her tent at a Renaissance Faire. What the hell a Renaissance Faire was, he had no clue.
Rowan. Her name was Rowan. A natural at divination, Ava had predicted that the Shadow Breaker would be drawn in with the crowd and find his or her way to Ava’s card table eventually. Magic always seeks magic. Ava had been going to these things for years in hopes to be right – and she was (usually is, Adam grimaced). But what she didn’t predict was what kind of human the Shadow Breaker would be. They had been searching blindly for years, Ava, Adam and his Druid friend, Devlin. The Goddess Morrigan had given them a charge, but not much more to go with. Such is the way of the Gods. They leave you to figure things out on your own most of the time. Probably for their personal entertainment, Adam grumbled to himself.
Ava reported Rowan was a beautiful woman, full of fire and zest. She said you could tell by the way she held herself: confident walk, the way she laughed with abandon - she was a woman who enjoyed life. Eyes are the windows to the soul, Ava explained, and Rowan’s eyes were fierce. The stare she gave Ava was enough to send chills even down her half-Sidhe spine. Indeed, this was a woman to be reckoned with. Small in stature, she looked in her twenties, but they knew she was a wee older. Adam thought she was but a babe in Sidhe years. Too bad she wasn’t Sidhe, mayhap then they’d have more of a fighting chance. It was a little unnerving to know the fate of the worlds was very much in her small, oh so human hands.
Excited to track the woman down immediately, Adam called the Druid to tell him the news. Their wait was over. “Pack your things. Tonight. We have much to do in the morning,” and tossed his phone down on the desk.
By Danu, Adam was a ferocious wreck, already kicking into battle mode to the point his legs had him pacing and his hand itching for his sword. It had been a long time since he felt like this. Bloodlust started to pulse in his veins causing his muscles to bunch and flex. Thighs thick and hard, he paced like a caged animal in his room. Lorcan. That whoreson was out there hiding, and now Adam had a way to find him and the way was Rowan.
Adam and Lorcan have a long history together and they had unfinished business. As two of the original seven Fae created by the Gods, they were warriors that protected their lands under the Goddess Morrigan’s hand. They were Sidhes, the strongest and most powerful of the Fae. But Lorcan wanted more than a sword and his honor, he wanted power.
Greedy and selfish, Lorcan wanted his own domain and fell from grace after trying a ruthless and corrupt attempt to seize a power belonging only to the Gods themselves. Lorcan was cast out of the Faelands and banished from all other Fae worlds. He was a great loss to the Fae, or so Adam once felt. Lorcan was a damn skilled fighter. But the Gods saw him for what he truly was – weak, selfish, and greedy.
Cast out and stripped of most of his power, Lorcan was forced to live in the human world, a degrading punishment indeed. He suffered much. Too much iron, too many humans and not enough magic to help him sustain even a basic level of power. Mayhap the Gods thought it would humble him to walk among the lowly, but it only fuelled his need for more power. Walking tirelessly through the Highlands, Lorcan searched for some lesser Fae hidden in the trees or under a rock. He planned to coerce the stupid creature into helping him, suck their energies dry if he could. But none such gullible creature was found... until one day when he heard the ranting of a small boy under a tree. As he crept closer to the child, Lorcan watched in awe as the boy’s aura pulsed and vibrated in swirls of vibrant colors. The boy was a very young Druid.
The child was but fourteen summers old, young and green in the ways of the Fae, and clearly just starting to practice his magics. He was pleading for the Gods to save his mother and young sister from the plague that had reached his village. Ah, the Fates were smiling down on Lorcan for once, how simple this would be. Lorcan took advantage of the desperate boy, tricking him into opening a forbidden door that had been locked with the promise of returning with healing powers to help his sick mother and sister. Said the God Belenus himself had sent Lorcan to the boy after hearing his pleas for mercy to spare his family from such illness. Backing his claims, Lorcan shed his glamour and showed his true form, revealing himself to the young Druid, proving that he was indeed a creation of the Gods. Lorcan looked the part too, fierce and strong, though with little power of his own now, Lorcan still stood over seven feet tall, had black wings that stretched the length of his muscular body, and a face of an angel. The young Druid fell for his lies. Desperation can lead to stupidity; it was what Lorcan was hoping for.
Anxious, scared, and foolish, the Druid used what little Fae magic he had already, along with the guidance of this newly found saviour, to unlock a realm that Lorcan told him about. It was a place abandoned and long forgotten to the Fae. Lorcan had remembered it from a battle he’d fought long ago. It was the perfect hiding place for the banished Sidhe.
Blood was offered, words were said, and a hole opened like a spread of black smoke in the air. Lorcan disappeared into the blackness, barring entrance to any outsiders, and left the gullible Druid behind to bury his family. What cares had he for such petty things as family and love? Druids were few and only barely more than human and certainly not as superior as the Fae. Lorcan did not think they were worth the trouble that the Gods put into helping them all the time. Fools. All of them are weak and stupid fools.
Never looking
back, Lorcan stepped into the abandoned realm and looked around. The place was dark, hard, and as cold as his soul... if he had a soul. “This will do for now.”
Walking around the cavernous dwelling, Lorcan had to come up with a plan to gain his powers back. It took much time and risk to figure out how to gain energy, but eventually Lorcan figured it out. He started collecting the weak souls left wondering the moors by luring them with promises of light and peace – a simple ploy that worked time and time again for the desperate and needy spirits. They’d come to him for help and peace, and he’d suck them dry of their energy. Every soul added a precious bit of power to his stripped magic. Soul by soul, Lorcan slowly started to build his powers again. Each one he drained turned into shadows and eventually demons.
That was the beginning of The Darkness.
As time passed, Lorcan grew stronger with every soul he snared and brought back to his dominion. It wasn’t long before he created a small army of his own. Scouring the countryside, Lorcan ordered his shadows to have the remaining Druids in Scotland brought back to him dead or alive in his hasty attempt to get rid of the one who gave him entrance to his realm. It was something he should have done immediately, but was too distracted at the time to think clearly. Stupid and eager, greedy and short-sighted, that’s what Lorcan had been that day. The little twerp had no doubt run to tell whatever Fae was helping him about what had happened. Lorcan was sure that the boy’s misuse of magic would cost him is life. The Gods did not take kindly to rule breakers and trespassers. Not wanting to risk the chance of the Druid’s survival, Lorcan captured or slaughtered all Druids he could find in Scotland over the next few years and feasted on their souls and sucked in their power and energy. Twas a glorious feast indeed.
It was all Adam’s fault. Adam had been charged by the Goddess Morrigan to tutor the Druid fledgling in the ways of Fae magic but had not explained the necessary precautions against their trickery. Sidhe and all other Fae are generally cunning and self-serving. Adam had barely started on his lessons with the boy before realizing it was going to be nothing short of a miracle to tame his youthful curiosity of small trivial magics. It had only been a few months since Adam was sent to the young boy, and getting him to pay attention was harder than getting a hobgoblin to bathe. The child was hard-headed, young, and preoccupied with thoughts of battle and bravery. Adam had sympathy for the boy, left alone to care for his mother and younger sister while his father and older brothers fought a battle far from home – twas tough to be left behind. Being a warrior himself, Adam still craved the sensations that came with battle: bloodlust, adrenaline and rage. ‘Tis a fine wine that should be enjoyed drop by bloody drop.
And now instead of fighting a war with men, like he was created to do, Adam was fighting another type battle with a wilful child. Truly, the boy had the attention span of a gnat and was more interested in lighting candles and chatting with the animals in the wood than learning the deeper arts. But Adam reminded himself time and time again that it was a beginning, and they had time to train. Or so he thought.
Every Druid had the same duty, but is given a special gift that was unique to them. Some Druids could manipulate time, others could control the weather, and some, like this boy, could talk with animals. There were several other powers and gifts that the Gods bestowed upon the Druids for their service, but they all have one thing in common: duty. All Druids were to keep the balance between the human world and the other Fae worlds. Twas the only way ensure the survival of all within them.
If the balance was to tip over, bloodshed and destruction is all that would reign. For the Fae, and especially the Sidhe, were selfish by nature, much like humans. Greedy and lusty, they cared only for self satisfaction. Lorcan was a prime example of that very fact. Adam had not thought more on Lorcan after he had been cast out centuries ago. Stripped of most of his power and left with a small bit to survive, the chances of him enduring the human world were assumed slim. Oh how wrong he had been.
Misjudge is not the word for it. Catastrophic is closer.
Thankfully, Adam was able to keep the boy hidden and safe from the darkness that was cast over the Highlands. The Goddess Morrigan came to Adam on the moors that same day. She told him what the boy had done and how to keep him hidden and safe from total destruction. There was more to this young Druid than meets the eye, Morrigan promised. But truly, Adam didn’t see it. Regardless, Adam spirited the boy and his withering dying family out of Scotland and brought them to Ireland, where Adam’s powers were strongest.
Sadly, the boy’s mother and sister died a few days later, leaving Adam to care for a mourning child that was a shattered mess of guilt, sadness and vengeance. As they piled the last of the rocks on his family’s graves, out in the most secluded area of their new home, the boy made a blood oath to have his retribution.
Devlin MacCullum will have his vengeance. No matter how long it takes, Lorcan’s blood will spill and his existence will be erased from this world and all others. Headstrong, eager and angry, Devlin vowed to do whatever was needed to see that his oath was kept.
Adam forced Devlin to change his family name to hide his identity; he was no longer called a MacCullum. Twas a blow to the boy’s pride, his family’s name was infamous among the Druids, but it was a necessary sacrifice to ensure his safety, lest he be discovered and killed. Together, they forged a new life in Ireland. It was just the two of them, a heartbroken Druid and a bloodthirsty Sidhe Warrior.
Devlin missed the Highlands terribly; he missed his brothers and da that were still there fighting. They would come back and Devlin, his mother and his sister would be gone. But even at such a tender age, the Druid decided he was not looking back, he would only move forward towards his goals of vengeance. Hiding was safer for Devlin, and would give him the time he needed to hone in on his magics and learn to fight like a skilled warrior. The Druid was on a mission of the worst kind and became obsessed with fulfilling his vow. Adam realized then that this conquest was going to be messy, long, and dangerous.
The Goddess Morrigan made it very clear that this Druid was important and necessary for the balance to remain between the worlds. Adam didn’t want to go against her commands, but his instincts were screaming to find Lorcan by any means necessary and smite the whoreson where he stood and be done with it. Being the Goddess of Battle and understanding his need to fight, Morrigan reminded him to be patient with this endeavour. This was not a war to fight in blind rage and vengeance. It was one that was going to take a great amount of strength and courage- not that Adam was lacking in either of those categories. But she reminded him of his first and most important task: to train and raise the Druid under his care. For now, they had no way of finding where Lorcan was hiding, but Morrigan said another would crack open the seal he’d placed on his veiled realm, and there will come a day that they will face a battle the likes of which Adam has never seen. She wanted Adam and the Druid to be ready when that day came.
Centuries of waiting with no sign of Lorcan’s hidden realm opening, Adam had almost given up hope. It wasn’t until one day, hundreds of years later, a shift in the universe rattled and tipped the balance of nature. Like a sonic boom, energies rippled out across the lands. The time had finally come. Although they felt the shift happen, neither Adam nor the Druid could sense where it was or who had caused it. Seeking guidance, Adam called on Ava, who was most skilled in the arts of divination and a person he trusted wholeheartedly. He tasked her with finding the one who broke the seal. For that person would be the key to destroying the Shadow Lord, Lorcan, and give them a chance to seek retribution long overdue.
Now, after centuries of waiting and training, Adam and the Druid will finally get to finish what was started.
Chapter 3
Rowan laid back with a sigh on her king-sized box spring and mattress that sat on the floor. She had no frame to lift the bed off the ground, and for good reason. Things can hide under there. Not that those “things” needed a hiding place around he
r. They seemed to perch on her dresser, the end of her bed, and against her windows without a care about being seen or not. Seeming more curious than scary, she tries her best to ignore them. Hell, they’ve been hanging around her for so long they’re more like creepy, crawly pets. Regardless, the thought of them slithering under her bed while she was sleeping was just too freaky for her. The bed stays on the ground.
Once in a while there were others that would visit. Dark and sinister, some the size of a child while others were over seven feet tall, and all of them with hungry eyes on her. Well, she assumed they had eyes, most were just solid black so it was hard to tell. The smaller critters that freaked her out the most were the ones that slithered and crawled up the walls. They just didn’t move right, like they had too many bones or maybe no bones at all. It was hard to tell but freaky as hell.
Scanning her room and confirming it was creepy- free, she turned on her TV and watched the depressing news about this weekend’s homicide count and who-done-what around town. Disgusted, Rowan scowled at the newscaster as she did a recap of the crimes and murders. What is the matter with people? Selfish, greedy idiots, every single one of them. The world is a beautiful place and ugly people doing ugly things really have a talent to destroy such beauty. Assholes. Annoyed and exhausted, Rowan turned the TV off and rolled over.
Shatter - Sins of the Sidhe Page 2