Underground Druid_A New Adult Urban Fantasy Novel

by M. D. Massey

  Guts had taken point, and scouted ahead with Jack. He’d let us know if anything nasty was waiting for us. Crowley, Sabine, and I traveled behind them, down a trail that winded through a never-ending procession of those humongous mushroom trees. Hemi was pulling rear guard, about ten meters behind us.

  “Anybody smell that?” I asked as we marched single file down the trail. “It’s kind of a sickly-sweet smell, like rotting meat and flowers.”

  Crowley was the first person to verify what my nose was telling me. “It’s Underhill that you’re smelling. The flowery portion of that bouquet is what it used to smell like—or so I’m told. And the rot underneath? That’s the decay, and the reason why the fae are so eager to get out of here.”

  Sabine was right behind Crowley, and thus far the silence between us had been almost painful. When she spoke, it immediately got my attention. “You two should probably keep quiet. We’re almost certainly being followed, and there’s no telling what’s hiding in this forest.”

  “Forest is kind of a strong word, don’t you think? Giant mushroom patch might be a better description. I wonder if they’re hallucinogenic?”

  “Indeed,” Crowley replied. “Or highly poisonous—take your pick. Virtually everything in Underhill is compellingly beautiful and surprisingly deadly.”

  “Fine, don’t listen to me,” Sabine muttered. “I’m just a pretty face, after all.”

  I whispered over my shoulder to Crowley. “She’s right, you know. We should keep quiet.”

  At that moment, a distant howl pierced the eerie quiet of the Carrollian forest. That was one of the stranger things I’d noticed during our first few minutes in Underhill—the quiet. You just didn’t realize how much noise there was in a conventional forest, until you were traveling through a patch of giant mushrooms. They didn’t creak or rustle at all; they just kind of stood there and swayed back and forth silently.

  The eerie silence almost made me welcome the howling. Almost.

  Another howl answered the first, farther off into the distance. Then more answered the call. Apparently, we were being hunted.

  Crowley chuckled. “It seems it’s too late now for subterfuge. I believe we have a pack of cu sith on our tail.”

  Cu sith were giant wolf-like dogs bred and raised by the fae to guard their property or simply to hunt and kill humans. Some could be friendly, even helpful at times, but most weren’t. I’d killed my share during my time as a Hunter, so I didn’t see their presence as being much of a problem.

  “How soon will they catch up to us?”

  Crowley’s response was clipped. “Minutes.”

  “That quickly? Sounds like they’re several miles away.”

  He grunted. “These aren’t like the cu sith back on earth. Those are just puppies. The ones following us? Probably as big as horses, and covering ground just as quickly. They have our scent now, and won’t easily give up the hunt.”

  I considered the information he’d just shared and decided on a course of action. “Sabine, please run ahead and let Guts and Jack know that we have a tail. We’re gonna try to leave a surprise for them, and then catch up shortly.”

  Sabine jogged down the trail away from us muttering expletives, most of them directed at “pig-headed misogynists.”

  “Colin, out of curiosity—what did you do to get her so hacked at you?” Crowley asked.

  “Oh, I kind of strung her along… and then I slept with a girl she hates.”

  “Intentionally?”

  I stopped and began scanning the surrounding areas, looking for a good choke point—someplace to set up an ambush. “The stringing along part was completely unintentional. We were just friends—good friends, in fact. I just didn’t realize that she had such strong feelings for me. But the sleeping with Belladonna part?”

  “Hmmm… I don’t think I want to hear this.”

  I cringed inwardly. “Oops. Sorry about that. I’m not very good at reading people, and I wasn’t really sure if you still had a thing for her or not.”

  He stared at me from within that damned shadowed cowl of his… or maybe not. It was hard to tell, because he was using shadow magic to hide his face.

  “Here comes Hemi,” he said, changing the subject.

  Well, I guess that answers my question.

  Hemi sprinted up the trail toward us with a worried look on his face. I noted, and not for the first time, that he moved surprisingly fast for such a big man. “You heard ’em, eh?”

  “We did, and Crowley said these things are bad news. They hunt in packs and they’re big—real big.” I turned to Crowley. “Besides their increased size, I take it they’re just like the cu sith back home in all other respects?”

  His hood bobbed once.

  “Good. That means they hunt by scent.” I dug around my Craneskin Bag until I found what I was looking for—a huge can of bear spray that I’d stolen from CIRCE way back when.

  CIRCE had billed itself as a cryptid relocation nonprofit organization. But what they really had been was a front for Crowley and Fuamnach’s schemes. After Crowley had disappeared following our fight, they’d shut down for good. But not before I’d managed to steal some choice items from their armory.

  I motioned for Hemi and Crowley to step back. “You guys might want to head up the trail a ways. I’m about to spray the shit out of this place with two-percent capsaicin. Trust me, you do not want to accidentally inhale this stuff.”

  After they’d given me plenty of room, I began to spray the trail and surrounding vegetation. I hoped that the cu sith would get a good whiff of pepper spray and that it’d throw them off our trail. But before I could make much progress, Hemi yelled a warning.

  “Mate, we got company!”

  I quickly scanned the area just in time to see a huge, black, wolf-like dog exit from the foliage on the right side of the trail ten yards ahead of me, his tongue lolling.

  “My, what big fucking teeth you have,” I muttered under my breath.

  I looked back where Hemi and Crowley were standing and saw that two more cu sith had exited the forest on the other side of them. I looked to my left and right and saw yellow eyes peering out at me from the shadows to either side of the trail.

  “They’re trying to box us in!” I yelled. “Back to back, now!”

  I drew my sword, since I didn’t think that a 9mm round would do much good against creatures this size. The three of us stood in a tight triangle formation as the pack began to close in from all sides. Crowley was spooling up some sort of spell, while Hemi chanted and stomped out a haka—which meant he was activating the wards in his tattoos.

  And me? I was trying to figure out how we were going to survive. I could shift in an instant, and very likely save myself. But Crowley and Hemi might be torn to shreds. I racked my brain for an answer.

  “Which one is the leader?” I asked my companions.

  Crowley nudged me with an elbow. “Hmmm… that one, I think.” He pointed to my left down the trail from where we’d come, to the first cu sith I’d seen. Since the cu sith were closing in, he was nearly within range of my bear spray.

  “Alright. Be ready to move, because I’m about to punch us a hole.” C’mon a little closer, you overgrown mutt. The pack alpha edged toward us a bit, baring his teeth and growling. That’s it, just a little more…

  I lunged forward and hit it full in the muzzle with the bear spray. The thick orange fog completely enveloped the cu sith’s head, getting in its eyes, nose, and mouth. The creature couldn’t help but breathe it in, and it began to snap at the mist, which only made it worse. Soon it was blinking rapidly, pawing at its face, and whining up a storm.

  “Run, now!” I shouted, and took off through the gap that had been left by the momentarily distracted leader of the pack. I ran within a few feet of him, barely evading the creature’s jaws as it angrily snapped at anything and everything around it.

  The other cu sith hesitated to follow, confused as to whether they should assist their leader or chase
down their prey. But soon one of them broke off and sped after us, and the rest of the pack followed suit, leaving their befuddled, pepper-sprayed leader behind.

  “Into the forest!” Crowley yelled, as he turned and fled into the giant mushroom stalks just off the trail. He cast a spell over his shoulder as he ran, and three shadowy figures that vaguely resembled us continued down the trail. “It won’t fool them for long,” he said.

  I let him and Hemi pull away so I could use the rest of the spray on the surrounding plants and stalks, in order to confuse our scent. Then I hauled ass after them, noting that they were circling around in an arc to catch up with the rest of our party.

  I didn’t know how I felt about leading these creatures to Guts, Sabine, and Jack, but I didn’t want to be separated, either. So, I followed their lead and ran on a path parallel to the trail we’d been following. Howls and yips soon came from the forest behind us, and we heard the pack crashing through the mushrooms, hot on our trail.

  I spotted a low ridge ahead and pointed to it. “Up there—we’ll have to make a stand, and that’s as good a place as any.” We three headed for the ridge and began scrambling up it, hoping that a bit of higher ground might prove to be an advantage.

  Once we hit the top of the cliff, I reached into my Bag and pulled out my sniper rifle, popping out the bipod legs and dropping to a prone position at the edge of the short cliff.

  “Crowley, can you confuse them a bit?” He nodded. “Hemi, watch our backs, and make sure none of them sneak up on us.”

  I kept both eyes open as I scanned the forest below, waiting for the first cu sith to show itself. “There.” One of the huge canines popped out from behind the mushroom trunks, loping along with its head close to the ground, following our scent.

  I placed the crosshairs on the tip of the creature’s nose, leading it off slightly.

  I exhaled and squeezed the trigger, and the crack of the rifle echoed off the ridgetop. Thankfully, my aim was true, and the great beast fell to the forest floor. A quick glance through the scope showed that I’d hit it right between the eyes.

  Another member of their pack must’ve seen the wolf go down, as a howl of agony echoed from just within the concealment of the forest. From this angle, the canopy of mushroom caps blocked much of my view, making it difficult to spot any of the pack while they were within the tangle of stalks below us.

  But I knew there were more on the way. That first howl was matched by several more, coming at us from the front and both our flanks. “Shit. I can’t take more than one out at a time with this thing,” I muttered. “You guys get ready to fight.”

  The cu sith began edging out of the forest, and I began taking shots at will. I wounded some, and one or two lucky shots put my targets out of action, but it wasn’t enough. More of their pack had joined them, and at least a dozen of the huge canines were charging at us from all directions. I stood and prepared to shift, ready to fight to the death to protect my companions.

  Out of nowhere, a great roaring sound echoed from the other side of the ridge. It sounded like a cross between an elephant’s trumpet and a lion’s roar.

  Crowley’s head began swiveling left and right inside his hood. “Ollie?” he asked.

  I had no idea who Ollie was, but based on the loud crashing noises coming behind us, I had a sneaking suspicion we were good and rightly fucked. Cu sith were charging up the ridge from both sides, and that way was our only route of escape.

  Another trumpeting roar sounded from the backside of the ridge, almost on top of us from the sound of it. Then a huge green wyrm with scales the size of saucers came crashing out of the forest at our backs, breathing smoke from its nostrils and dripping venom from a very large mouth filled with foot-long, spear-like teeth.

  The thing had to be a good forty feet long, and it looked like it meant business.

  “Don’t worry about the wyrm!” Crowley shouted. “He’s a friend!”

  The wolves were upon us now, and we each set to the task at hand. I shifted, shredding another set of decent clothes, and leaped at a cu sith that was lunging for us, wrestling it to the ground like a cowboy wrestling a calf. It had quite a bit of size on me, and soon I was hanging onto its neck while it shook me around like a rag doll.

  I squeezed until I heard something crack, and the thing yipped. Then it collapsed and was still. I turned to see Crowley blasting cu sith to either side of him as he backed toward the wyrm. Hemi was doing damage with that huge whalebone spear of his, thrusting and ducking and spinning—and looking like he was having the time of his life.

  But the wyrm was the real star of the show. Whenever one of the pack lunged at Crowley, it would snap the thing up in its massive mouth. Two loud crunches later, and the cu sith was a bloody lump traveling down the wyrm’s throat and into its belly.

  I only had an instant to take it all in, then I was back in the fray. I cracked a cu sith across the jaw as it snapped at me, stunning it. Then I reached into my Bag and grabbed my war club, bashing it over the head—once, twice. The great black canine dropped, and I stomped its skull for good measure.

  There were more, maybe a dozen of them, but they were hesitant to press the attack. We’d decimated more than half their pack already, and with that huge dragon-thing at our backs, it was now at least an even match. With a snarl from one of the larger cu sith, they slunk off down the ridge, disappearing one by one into the forest below.

  The huge wyrm reared its massive diamond-shaped head above us as it let out an ear-splitting roar. It watched as the last cu sith retreated into the forest, puffing smoke from its nostrils and roaring one last time.

  Then, it lowered that huge head on its long, slender neck and nudged Crowley, purring and nuzzling him like a great big house cat. The wizard actually giggled and began fawning over the beast.

  “Ollie, how’d you find me?” he asked softly.

  “Friend of yours?” Hemi asked.

  Crowley looked over at the big guy. “My only friend, actually, when I was growing up. My adoptive mother gave him to me as a gift. I was supposed to train him to hunt down escaped human slaves, but Ollie here didn’t have the heart for it.” He scratched the thing behind one of its ear holes. “Did you, boy?”

  “An oilliphéist,” I said. “You had an oilliphéist for a pet.”

  He shrugged. “Things are different in Underhill.”

  Hemi chuckled. “You can say that again, mate. But you won’t hear me complain. Your pet dragon saved our lives.”

  I shifted back into my human form and shook my head, lamenting another ruined set of clothing. I had more in my Craneskin Bag, but I’d be running out soon. “He’s not a dragon, not really. Technically, he’s a wyvern—and a young one at that. See the two forelegs, and the absence of hind legs? That tells you he’s not a dragon.”

  Hemi frowned. “Coulda fooled me, eh? Anyway, no need to split hairs. He saved our asses.”

  I nodded. “That he did.” I yelled to the forest on one side of the ridge, “Guts, it’s okay—you guys can come out now.”

  Guts stalked hesitantly from the cover of the mushroom stalks, with Sabine and Jack in tow. “Took while to find druid. Heard dragon and roars led us to it.”

  Jack took one look at the wyrm and his face soured. “Serpents. Bah! You can’t trust anyone who’s a snake person, is what I say. Cold-blooded is as cold-blooded does, and like attracts like.” He crossed his arms and sat down on a short mushroom cap, as far away from Ollie as possible.

  Sabine marveled at the creature, forgetting her self-consciousness and shyness for a moment. I had to admit, Ollie was impressive. His iridescent scales shimmered in the strange light of Underhill, turning from dark green, to light fuchsia, to gold, and back to green again, depending on the angle. The beast fairly rippled with muscle, and his sharp white teeth and shiny black claws added to his intimidating presence. Yet intelligence shone in Ollie’s large serpent eyes—golden orbs flecked with silver and split with a vertical iris that visibly widened
and narrowed as he looked around.

  “He’s beautiful,” Sabine asked. “Can I pet him? Is he friendly?”

  Crowley chuckled. “Very much so, in fact. He’s rather protective of humans, which pissed my mother off to no end. He’s not too fond of fae, though. My mother’s guards were cruel to him when he was a hatchling. So be careful as you approach him.”

  Sabine advanced slowly, with her hands in the air. “I’m not going to hurt you, boy,” she spoke softly. The serpent snorted softly, shying away from her touch. “There, there,” she sang, humming a tune meant to calm and sooth the creature. Soon, the beast had warmed to her touch and was nuzzling her as well.

  “He likes you, I think,” Crowley marveled. “Uncanny.”

  Sabine smiled shyly. “I’ve always taken after the human side of my family, more than the fae. Caused me a great deal of trouble growing up. Maybe that’s why he likes me.”

  I pretended to ignore their interaction, and busied myself with pulling a new set of clothes from my Bag and getting dressed. I didn’t exactly know how I felt about Crowley being friendly with Sabine. Was I jealous? A bit. But what concerned me most was that I still wasn’t sure whether or not his friendship act was all a ruse.

  8

  Our travels went more smoothly for a time after the cu sith pack dispersed. Now that Ollie had located his master, it was apparent there was no way the beast would separate from him willingly. Despite his size, the wyrm did a surprisingly good job of disappearing into the foliage, and trailed along beside our party for the next several miles.

  Occasionally, Ollie would get bored with the relatively slow pace and slink off into the forest for a time. When he returned, he’d invariably be carrying a dead stag or wild boar in his jaws, which he’d drop to the ground in front of Crowley and nudge in his direction. One time he brought back a sizable round boulder, which Crowley flung far way via magical means, sending Ollie off to retrieve it.

  Jack continued to eye the creature suspiciously, much to the amusement of the rest of the party.