by Shea Balik
A Flicker of Hope
Druid’s Curse 2
Kegan Tulach already knew that monsters were real. He’d faced them. Watched in horror as they killed those he loved. Then run from them. It was his response for the past two years. But now, on his twenty-first birthday, running wasn’t an option. He had nowhere to go. It was time for him to face his worst nightmare.
There weren’t many people who could do what Bjorn did. Fight monsters and live to tell the tale. It was a job thrust upon him as a kid. If he had known the true hell that would be cursed upon him, he would have preferred to die even though he’d only been fourteen at the time. Now, years later, he had hope that the curse would come to an end. The question was, would he choose the death he’d so desperately craved for more than a millennia, or would he do the one thing he swore he’d never do? Choose love.
If Kegan and Bjorn can find a way past their fears, they may discover something worth living for - each other.
Copyright ©2019 Shea Balik
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover by: Harris Channing
Edited by: Avril Stepowski
ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED:
Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest.
Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.
WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
If you find a Shea Balik e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
About the Author
CHAPTER 1
Winter Solstice
Red strips appeared along McAlister’s body as if he were being fed through a freakish bread slicer. The agony and pain that should have been in his light blue eyes, wasn’t there, only surprise and regret. When his gaze landed on Kegan for the briefest instant, fear replaced it all as his mouth opened as if to yell something to his brother…
Jolting awake, Kegan Tulach’s heart raced as sweat covered his body, drenching the bedding. It was as if he were back at his home more than two years ago, watching as his family died.
The fear had lived within Kegan ever since, but now, another emotion had edged its way in to share space side by side with that terror – despair. Today, more than ever, that horrible sense of his impending death descended over Kegan as his eyes landed on the too bright numbers of the bedside clock.
6:15 A.M. Dec 21, 2018.
What he hadn’t expected was to have a new emotion settle over him – calm. Maybe it was because finally, the day he’d dreaded more than any other had arrived. The beginning of the end for him.
Today he turned twenty-one. If only fate wasn’t against him surviving the day.
It should be a day of celebration, but Kegan knew better. There would be no party. No family gathering. No going out with his friends for a night of doing what could only be described as acting like idiots while they drank themselves stupid.
Despite the time, it would be several hours before any semblance of light illuminated the sky on the darkest day of the year. That was doubly true since he was in Alaska, in an effort to be as far from anywhere too populated for the hell that would come for him.
It meant traversing the unknown terrain, with its freezing cold temperatures and minimal light, but it was worth it if he could save those who were innocent from dying if his worst fears came to pass. Not even the appeal of exploring a new area of the world that he’d yet to see gave him any peace for what lie ahead of him that evening.
As much as he was dreading the day, Kegan rolled out of bed anyway. There was no point in lying there, wishing for things to be different. He was born into this life, whether he’d wanted to be or not. His fate had never really been his to decide. Hiding under the covers wasn’t going to change his destiny.
Sitting up, he placed his feet on the fur rug that lay along the floor next to his bed. He imagined the husband and wife that ran the bed and breakfast he’d been staying at for the past three nights had placed it there to keep their guests’ feet from freezing any more than necessary.
Not that it mattered today. He was too damn numb as to what this day would likely bring for him to feel… well, anything but bone deep fear. He just wished he knew where the sensation of acceptance that was floating around inside of him was coming from.
He’d been fleeing for two fucking years to avoid not only what had happened, but what he knew would take place if he didn’t keep running. If only he believed that would work. Maybe that’s where the detached apathy of his fate was coming from.
There was no deviating from his life’s path. Even being in the far reaches of Alaska, in the middle of December, wasn’t going to be enough to save him from facing what he’d been avoiding for more than two years. Like it or not, it was time to man up and deal with the curve ball life had thrown him.
A harsh laugh burst from deep in his throat at the absurdity of that thought. Sure, his life had been changed, but at least he was still alive. The same couldn’t be said for the rest of his family.
A tear leaked from the corner of his eye as images from that horrific day cascaded through his mind like a gruesome slideshow. Except, instead of being able to, at the very least, close his eyes, it was as if he was strapped to a chair with his eyelids taped open, forcing him to watch, no matter how much he struggled to turn away.
Thick blood, too prevalent to ignore, obscured his field of vision. Even now, after more than two years, the metallic scent would hit him like a sledge hammer, causing him to gag no matter where he was, or what he was doing. But it was the screams that haunted him the most.
Everything from a child laughing, to a cat’s yowl, or even the rusty hinges of a gate moving would send him back into that terrible moment when his world had turned upside down. He wasn’t sure which was worse, reliving those moments, or the crushing guilt that never left him after he’d ab
andoned those he loved to save himself.
He’d wasn’t sure how to forgive himself for being a coward. Hell, he wasn’t sure he wanted to forgive himself. It didn’t help that he was still running.
At the same time, Kegan wasn’t sure how to stand and fight. Not after what he’d witnessed.
Thick rivulets of dark red blood had run down his brother’s body in ribbons as he was shredded. An ear-piercing scream was all Kegan could hear, not even the roar of the crackling bonfire could come close to competing with the sound.
It wasn’t until his brother, McAlister, had dropped face down onto the ground, his insides too clearly visible for him to still be alive, that Kegan even realized it hadn’t been his brother who’d been the one making the sound. It had been him.
When black, soulless eyes had turned his way, those animals…Kegan shook his head. No. Those hadn’t been animals. They’d been nothing he’d ever imagined, even when watching horror movies. He still had no clue what they’d been. The stories his family had told him through the years didn’t explain their gruesome sight, or just how they had come to be there.
If only his almost nineteen-year-old self had believed that part of the story, maybe he could have done something, been prepared. Kegan ran a hand over his face as he tried to wipe the images of that day away.
He’d been a stupid kid. Then again, the sheer shock on his parents’ faces when those things appeared told him, he hadn’t been the only one. He just wasn’t sure if it was because they’d just shown up out of thin air, or their monstrous forms that had been the bigger surprise. Not that it mattered, for either way, none of them had been ready for them to be there for that auspicious occasion.
McAlister’s twenty-first birthday.
It was how Kegan just knew that today was his reckoning. He would be killed, just as his brother had been. He had no proof, but Kegan was unequivocally certain that those…things, would come for him, just as they had his brother.
He turned his head to glance at the bedside table where he’d kept the gun he’d purchased after that horrific day. Would it be better to put a bullet in his head now, or risk being torn apart? A choking sob ripped from deep within Kegan’s chest as every single moment of his brother’s birthday replayed in vivid detail.
***
October 10, 2016
“You are such a dork,” Kegan teased McAlister as he’d walked by the bathroom to find his brother still styling his hair. He’d started thirty minutes earlier. “You know it’s only the family, right?”
McAlister had always been a bit more vain of the two of them. Kegan couldn’t be bothered to worry about things like placing each and every hair perfectly, making sure no wrinkle marred his clothing, or, God forbid, his posture wasn’t ramrod straight.
Too often, Kegan slept in his clothes, and didn’t feel it necessary to change them when he got up. It wasn’t like that they were that dirty - usually. Even if they were, so what? It was summer and he spent most of his days outdoors, so it wasn’t as if anyone would notice.
Between playing hoops with his friends or hiking the many mountain trails that surrounded his home town of Jackman, Maine it wasn’t as if he wasn’t sweating shortly after he woke up. In the summer, anyway. In the winter, he figured the many layers of clothes, especially outerwear, meant he could wear the same outfit several days in a row without anyone knowing.
His ability to wear something several days in a row had saved Kegan when he’d decided to backpack across the U.S. He was hoping to head to Europe and Asia in a couple of weeks, but his parents had insisted he return for McAlister’s twenty-first birthday. Not that he would have missed it.
They may not have a lot in common, but that hadn’t kept McAlister and Kegan from being best friends as well as brothers. McAlister was the one person Kegan could tell anything. When he’d figured out he preferred guys to girls, it had been his brother he’d told first.
He’d also been the first one Kegan had told that he hadn’t wanted to go to college. When his parents had lost their damn minds, it had been McAlister who had talked them down off the cliff. Kegan owed his brother for that feat.
That was only one of the reasons he was there to celebrate. The other? As much as Kegan hated to admit it, he was curious. Their family were descended from ancient druids. To Kegan’s dismay, that lineage brought with it a lot of damn work, if anyone had bothered to ask him, which they didn’t.
Eight times a year, they lit a bonfire on the back half of their property and performed a ritual that involved reciting a boring chant as well as steps that resembled a dance. Although, he sure as hell hadn’t danced like that at the clubs he frequented.
Thankfully, no one had to see them. Well, obviously family, and on occasion other druid families would join them, but since they were required to do the lame-ass dance too, Kegan didn’t complain – much.
“Kegan,” McAlister didn’t even hesitate to step away from the mirror and pull Kegan in for a hug. “You’re just jealous you can’t get your hair to stay in place,” his brother teased when he stepped back to check his appearance once more in the mirror.
“Yeah,” Kegan deadpanned. “It’s why I backpacked across the country, just to find that miracle gel that will tame my hair.”
McAlister tilted his head back and laughed. Then he threw his arm around Kegan’s shoulders to lead them downstairs. It was time for the ritual. Unlike the others, this was only to bring forth his brother’s powers.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Kegan asked, curious if his brother was nervous. He didn’t seem to be, but McAlister had a way of appearing calm during the most tense situations. It had been what made him such a good quarterback in high school. No matter how many defensemen had gotten through the offensive line, McAlister still found an open receiver to make the play before anyone could sack him.
His brother’s blue eyes sparkled as he smoothed his hands down the tunic he wore to check for wrinkles, which Kegan could have told him there were none. “I can’t wait. I just hope it’s something that will help keep the Fae out of our realm.”
The desire to deny the Fae existed had Kegan biting his tongue. It was an argument they’d had for as long as he could remember. One they likely would continue to have for years to come. But Kegan wasn’t willing to ruin his brother’s big night.
On a druid’s twenty-first birthday, they were supposed to gain a magical ability. It was why they needed to perform a ritual. Not one of the eight they did throughout their year, but still, just as grand. For already he could smell the smoke as his parents had lit the bonfire in the field behind their house.
Despite the fact that Kegan had wanted to laugh at the absurdity of his brother’s words, he had a hard time denying the tradition when his own parents had abilities non-druids didn’t have. It was also the reason his brother argued so adamantly that the Fae were real.
Kegan honestly couldn’t say one way or the other. What he did know, was no one had seen the Fae in hundreds of years. Even if at one point they had existed, either they no longer did, or the veil that separated their realm from the human world kept them apart. It had been that possibility that had kept Kegan performing the rituals, even when backpacking.
He couldn’t light a huge bonfire like his family did, but he figured a good old-fashioned campfire was just as good. It was also why he’d returned home. It was hard for him to accept they would receive some sort of magical ability on their twenty-first birthday. He needed to see it.
His mother had the voice of truth. Okay, so that one Kegan had often argued that most mothers claimed the same thing. But, no matter how much he’d like to dismiss her claims, he’d been unnerved more times than not when she knew lie from fact. It had made sneaking out to run around with his friends challenging. Well, not the sneaking out part, but no matter how good he was at lying, she always knew the truth.
His dad, on the other hand, had the ability to manipulate all plant life. The first time Kegan had witnessed his dad take a small br
anch, stick it in the ground and in less than a minute a full grown tree stood before him, he’d fainted. It wasn’t his finest moment.
The thing was, no matter how many times his dad did it, Kegan was still freaked out. Druid or not, Kegan didn’t like the idea that the stories his parents told might be true. If they really could perform magic, then the Fae coming through the veil might be real, and that was something Kegan wasn’t ready to contemplate.
***
Too bad, less than an hour later, he’d not only had to accept the truth of their heritage, but Kegan had been forced to confront the ominous weight of his lineage.
CHAPTER 2
“Please, tell me I’m fucking dreaming,” Kegan cursed out loud to no one, since it was just him in the middle of the wilds of Alaska as he once more tried to run from his fate. Or, at least, it had been until…He shook his head, sure his eyes were playing tricks on him.
It couldn’t be real. He’d told himself that for the past two years. Deep down, he’d known he hadn’t been hallucinating the night of his brother’s birthday, but he’d still hoped. Now, with the…he still didn’t know what to call them, coming his way, those hopes were crushed beneath the hooves and claws of those headed right for him.
Way too damn early, by the way, thank you very much. The sky had only recently started to grow less dim an hour ago. If he could have moved, Kegan would have checked his phone to verify it, but based on what he’d already experienced up in the Yukon, it was only around noon. The ritual couldn’t be started until six. How was he supposed to do that if they were already coming for him?
“If that’s your idea of a dream, I don’t even want to know what your nightmares are like,” a deep voice from behind him yelled above the howling winds that surrounded them.
Kegan whirled to stare, opened mouth, at the speaker, who had to be out of his ever-loving mind. Albeit, he was drop dead gorgeous with his short, dark brown hair and just the right amount of scruff covering his face to scrape along the inside of Kegan’s thighs while sucking his dick.