The Damned: Age Of Magic - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Tales of the Feisty Druid Book 6)

by Candy Crum

  Amelia snorted as Cathillian just shook his head in exasperation.

  Arryn laughed again. "He hates it so much when I do that! It makes it so much funnier."

  "It's not that I hate it, it's just so ridiculous that I can't even process it," he said.

  She shrugged. "Well, I find me hilarious. Anyway, no war yet on our side. The twins have settled in nicely, and they have acclimated pretty quickly, especially given where they came from. I imagine it would be quite a shock going from completely desert-ridden area to the forest, but they are managing just fine. Dante is growing like a weed. Like a magically grown weed. When we left, he was the size of a large medium-sized dog. I'm curious to see what he looks like now. How about you? How are things here?"

  "Things are good. Marie will be taking over my place soon, and I have been transitioning to the position of governor. The Academy has grown exponentially, and classes go from sunup to well after sundown; kids during the day, adults at night. There have been a rash of bandit attacks down south, and they have been trickling closer and closer to Arcadia, but from what I've found out from my friend in the dungeon, they have no plan of approaching Arcadia directly."

  "Oh, we know all about those bandits," Arryn said with a smile. "We killed a few on our way up north. Seems there is an entire group of them south of the Heights. I figure once the Dark Forest is secure, we can head down there and find out what the hell is going on. Besides, it'll be on our way. We promised our assistance to Bast and Cleo because they are offering theirs."

  Amelia let go a sigh of contentment. "I'd be lying if I said that wasn’t a relief. I haven't learned too much, but from what I have, it seemed like that was going to be quite a difficult task. I hate to ask you to do something like that, but if I'm to be honest, I trust you to do a better job of it than what the guards could. I've seen what you can do. Like the Queen Bitch herself, I'm pretty sure you're unkillable."

  Arryn laughed. "Don't let Her hear that. She'll come down and kill us all in our sleep. Besides, I've nearly died a few times. Speaking of which, the last time I nearly died, I managed to rescue my father."

  Amelia's eyes widened as her hands went to cover her mouth. "You did? That's fantastic! I'm so happy you found him."

  Arryn went on to tell the story of how she found her father. How they had lost several people in the attack with the dark druids, and the methods those bastards had used to get the best of them. Amelia stood there in shock and disgust as she listened to the story.

  "I'm sorry to hear all that, but from the sound of it, it'll all be over soon. I know you probably don't, but do you have time to hang out for a little while? Catch up?"

  Arryn smiled and shook her head. "Unfortunately, we don't. We need to get back to the Dark Forest. I wanted to stop by the city and pick up a couple things from my old house. My father had swords, and I wanted to stop by Girard's and see if my mother's painting is still there."

  "No worries," Amelia said. "The houses are both as you left them."

  They hugged one another and said their goodbyes. Arryn took one last look at the Academy on her way out, wondering if she would ever be there again.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Alaric and Jerick had been in the mercenary camp for a while, and it seemed that their discussions were finally coming to a close. The two Chieftains had been left alone with their people, while Locke and his men discussed potentially working with the dark druids.

  Alaric wasn't a very patient man, and his brother, Jerick, was even less so. They had nearly lost what little they had left when Locke returned with an answer.

  "Good evening, gentlemen," Locke said, his deep voice booming inside of the large tent as he came in and sat at a table. "Sorry for the wait."

  Alaric lifted a brow as he stared him down. "Yes, it was certainly quite the wait. We've been here for a couple days now, and we are running out of time."

  Jerick nodded his head. "We hope you've come to a conclusion, yes?"

  Locke stroked his thick, dark beard as he leaned back in the chair, dramatically pausing as he looked from one man to the other. "We have a counter offer."

  Jerick began to stand, but Alaric grabbed his arm to still him. "What might that be?" Jerick asked through gritted teeth.

  "You want us to help you take the Dark Forest back. We've heard stories about the druids our entire lives, and meeting you, I'd have to say I believe every one of them. That being said, if you're coming to us, that means you're not the biggest or the baddest. If you need help, the druids you face are even stronger. That means we are risking our necks and getting nothing in return."

  Alaric nodded his head. "More or less, though I already offered to help take the Heights for you. That’s not exactly nothing, though I can see why that would be a concern for you. So, what is it you want?"

  A young woman walked into the tent, her eyes downcast to the ground. She was in little more than a leather bra and leather shorts that the dark Chieftain wasn't even certain would cover anything if she were to bend over. From what he had seen, this was how most of the women in the community dressed, even those as young as sixteen.

  The young woman handed Locke a beer and slightly bowed her head, careful never to look them in the eye. She began to turn, and he reached out, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around to sit on his lap.

  He gave a rather disgusting smile as he stared at the girl. "What do I want?"

  Jerick growled as he shook his head. "You. Not your dick. What the fuck do you want from us in return for your service?"

  Locke laughed as he pushed the girl off his lap. She fell to the ground, landing on her knees and momentarily looking up, before he roughly lifted his flattened hand. Fearing the strike that she knew would soon come, she quickly looked back down to the ground and scurried out of the tent as quickly as possible.

  "Hmm, well, we have a fight of our own. The Heights contains the mines that are full of exactly what we need: amphorald crystals. We need all of those that we can get. The problem is the rearick. Short, stocky little bastards, but they can fight. We are ex-Hunters and ex-Arcadian Guard, but they are pretty powerful. Certainly, not to be underestimated."

  Jerick sighed, and Alaric was quick to reach out again, hoping to still him. "And you want us to help you, what? Take the Heights? Because as we’ve said, we already agreed to that."

  Locke took a long drink from his beer, a stream flowing from each corner of his mouth and down his beard. He set it down on the table hard, the liquid sloshing around and several drops spilling out onto the table.

  "I want those little fuckers dead. We only need a couple dozen of them. We put them in chains and force them to do the digging. That's all we need. The problem is we not only have to take Craigston to make this happen, we need to take the Temple, as well. If those mind fuckers get even a whiff of what we're planning, they will come down, and that will be a hell none of us want to face. Physical magic is good, but if you can weaken them from a distance like you did with my men, you're exactly what we need."

  Alaric and Jerick both smiled as they looked at one another. "Tell me," Jerick said. "Have you ever heard of Manchineel?"

  Locke looked at him with confusion. Shaking his head, he said, "No, I can't say that I have."

  Jerick began to tell him all about the plant and what the smoke could do. With their training, if they could sneak around the Temple without being heard, and get close enough without being within range for the mental magicians to get into their heads, they could set the fires and blow the smoke into the Temple. Unlike the druids, the smoke would kill them; there would be no saving themselves.

  They would choke on their own blood, their lungs filling with it as they suffocated.

  "I like the way you think," Locke said. "I think you have yourself a deal. From the sound of it, we can take the Heights with ease. The problem is, we can't use that smoke on the rearick. If we do, we’ll kill them all, and we still need a few to do the mining."

  Alaric waved a hand. "No wor
ries. We have plenty of ways to take them out. So, we have a deal? You help us take the Dark Forest, we grow the plants that you need and teach you how to use them without injuring yourselves in the process. Then we will help you take the Heights in return."

  Locke nodded his head, reaching his hand out. Alaric stood and accepted it, shaking as they made their agreement.

  "Good," Alaric said. "Now, show me these magitech weapons I've been hearing so much about. Maybe it's time we modernize ourselves a little, at least for the battle to come."

  ***

  Sven had just woken up, ready to get a start on the day. He would be heading back to Arcadia with his brother on a gem run. The rearick had been changing up their patterns to confuse the bandits, but it seemed they were wising up to it.

  They had planned to leave much earlier, but had been forced to stay as Tavich wasn’t too excited to let anyone leave Craigston for any reason and wanted to wait on those that were out to return.

  The brothers had discussed talking to Amelia, but hadn’t yet been able to make the trip. She seemed like a pretty alright woman, and according to his brother, Ren, she was more than all right. She was a fighter. He couldn't help but respect a strong woman, especially a pretty one like that.

  As soon as he walked outside, he could smell the fresh morning air. The dew was still settled on the grass, and a little fog had settled on his lake. He went out to his barn and readied one of his horses, a good girl named Sadie; his most trusted one.

  After packing everything he needed, he climbed onto Sadie's back and took off toward town. He was just far enough away that he didn't have to listen to the drunkards stumbling around, but close enough that he could get there quickly.

  As expected, his brother was already at Ophelia's, brew in hand, waiting for him.

  "It's about time. I never thought ye'd show."

  Sven rolled his eyes as he dismounted. He walked up and punched his brother in the arm, stealing the beer right out of his hand. "The sun ain't even all the way up yet, ye lard. Quit givin’ me shite."

  Ren went for the beer, but Sven quickly drained it.

  "Thanks. I needed that ta deal with yer petty shite this morn," Sven said.

  Ren punched his brother in the face, the action fast enough that the older rearick didn't have a chance to prepare for it. He unleashed a laugh, twisting his jaw back and forth before closing his mouth again.

  "Pretty sure ye hit harder as a newborn babe. Little brother, ye wouldn’t be goin’ and gettin’ soft on me, now would ye?"

  Ren growled for a moment before his scowl faded and he, too, broke into laughter. "Yer about a right twat this mornin’, ain’t ye? What crawled into yer panties an’ got ‘em into a bunch?"

  Sven was about to answer when shouts broke out. "What is that? What's happenin’?"

  Ren looked ahead, his brows furrowing as he shook his head. "They’re rushin’ through with a cart. That must be the crew ol’ Tavich was a waitin’ on."

  Sven's eyes closed for a moment, his fists tightening at his sides. "Fuck me."

  Nodding, Ren said, "Yeah. If I was a bettin’ man, an’ we both know that I am, I'd have ta say that cart is full o’ dead an’ injured."

  Sven didn't say another word before walking back and quickly mounting his horse again. He kicked at her sides, and she took off with a start. They caught up with the cart in only a matter of moments.

  "What happened here?" Sven asked, though he already knew.

  "Those damn bandits!" Randy, one of the men helping get them into the medical building, said. "They got us again! We fought most of ‘em off, killed quite a few. The rest scattered, but we lost a few of ‘r own. Somethin’ needs ta be done."

  The sound of horses trampling through caught Sven’s attention, and he turned to see his brother ride up.

  "Well?" Ren asked.

  "Just how well do ye know Amelia?" Sven asked, irritation in his voice.

  Ren shrugged. "Well enough, I'd say. She's a good lass. What did ye have in mind?"

  Sven’s nostrils were flaring with every breath he took. He felt rage at how much loss their people had seen from the greed of the bandits. It didn't seem to matter how many they killed; there were more coming all the time, and they had no idea where they were coming from.

  "I’m gonna go talk ta Tavich. No work today," Sven said. "In fact, there won't be any more work at all. Not until this gets settled. I’ll make sure of it."

  Sven turned to several men that were running up, one of which was the foreman at the mine. "Hey! Will," Sven said.

  The man he called Will stopped, his red beard blowing in the wind. "What is it? I need ta see ta the men. I need ta make sure they're gonna be all right. I'm hopin’ I don't have ta make another stop ta talk ta widows."

  Sven shook his head. "From what I was just told, there are a couple that died, a few more injured. Listen, I know we all need the coin, but not this bad. From now until further notice, until I find out what the feck is goin’ on around here, the mines’re shut down. If I catch any of ye in there, I'll rip yer heads off meself. We don't need any more widows. I'm goin’ to Arcadia ta settle this. We don't know where these bandits are comin’ from, but it's just as much Arcadia's problem as it is ours. The only difference is they have an army."

  "Amelia will help us if we ask," Ren said. "She's strong, and she serves justice. She's not gonna let this go."

  Sven snorted. "Well, it's been goin’ on fer this long. That stunt we pulled against the bandit group with Amelia and the earthmover was a good show, but it’s still carryin’ on. We need ta stop this now. We need ta find out where it’s comin’ from and put ‘n end to it."

  "I'll do what I can here," Will said. "You get ta Arcadia an’ get us the help we need."

  Once again, without saying a word, Sven squeezed Sadie's sides, and she took off. It wasn't safe for only him and his brother to travel the road to Arcadia, but the way he felt right then, it would take the Matriarch and the Patriarch to save the souls of anyone who dared try to stop them, and he knew damn well neither one of them would stand in his way.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Being back in her old house, and even visiting Girard’s house again, was quite emotional for Arryn. In the end, instead of taking her mother’s painting back with her, she decided to give it to Amelia for safe keeping. Amelia had promised to hide it in a place where it couldn’t be damaged, and no one would find it, bringing peace to Arryn’s mind.

  She had wanted to bring it back with her to the Dark Forest, but she didn’t want to risk the dark druids attacking and something terrible happening. At the same time, she didn’t want to leave it in Girard’s house or her childhood home for fear of someone breaking in and destroying the home or their possessions.

  The swords, however, were another story. She retrieved all three from behind the door in her childhood home, excited to get them back to her father.

  Riding into the Dark Forest, she and Cathillian looked at one another with curiosity as they saw a massive stone wall surrounding the southeast corner of the druid territory. It seemed to expand one hundred feet or so in each direction.

  “Well, that’s both new and interesting,” Arryn said as she looked it over.

  Cathillian nodded. “Apparently, the twins have been very busy.”

  The two made their way inside, heading for the village. When they got there, Elysia ran out to greet them, a broad smile on her face.

  "You're back! How was the trip?" Elysia asked.

  "Eh, it was pretty good. I tried to sell your son to Amelia, but she didn't want him. Maybe next time, though," Arryn said.

  Elysia looked at her with furrowed brows. "Exactly how hard did you try?"

  "Mother!" Cathillian scolded. "I'm your baby boy. How dare you? You know you would die without my adorable face to greet you every day."

  Elysia laughed. "If that's what you think, then sure, Son." She turned to Arryn and whispered loudly, "Next time, take me with you. We’ll get a great deal, and
they'll actually take him."

  Cathillian shook his head, making a tsking noise. "Sometimes I just don't know about the two of you."

  Arryn smiled and gave him a wink. She dismounted as she saw her father walking around the fire. He was wearing druid clothing and had a smile on his face. He looked genuinely happy.

  "How has he been doing?" Arryn asked.

  Elysia turned to follow her gaze and saw Christopher leaning over to take something that Corrine was handing him. He smiled as the little girl reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his own arms around her, hugging her tight before releasing her.

  "He's adjusting nicely," Elysia said. "It was rough at first. While you were gone, he was having bad dreams again. Zoe and I worked our magic, and he seems to be benefiting greatly. The nightmares have almost disappeared completely."

  She smiled and nodded. "That makes me so happy to hear. I was worried what would happen while I was—"

  There was a loud growl, and Arryn was tackled to the ground.

  She twisted her face from side to side, her eyes closed tight, and her expression scrunched up as she tried to protect herself from the attack of incessant licking. She gave a hard shove, and Dante backed off. As she wiped her face, she was finally able to open her eyes, and they widened further.

  "What the hell?" she finally managed.

  The white tiger, which up until the week before had been a cub, stepped forward and gave her a headbutt, rubbing his cheek against her. The surprise came from just how far down he had to bend in order to do so. Looking at him now, he seemed to be nearly the size his mother was when she first found them. She would estimate him at only around a hundred pounds lighter than she had been at that time, but that was it. And in tiger terms, one hundred pounds was not a lot.

  "What happened to you?" Arryn asked with a smile as she reached up and scratched his face.

  She could feel him almost beaming through their bond. He was so happy and so proud, and the fact that he was able to sneak up on her and take her down to the ground without anyone noticing him made him even happier. He was a proud big-little boy, and she made sure to send her love and happiness right back through the bond to him.