A Sacred Grove (Chronicles of an Urban Druid Book 2)

by Auburn Tempest

  “I hate you right now.”

  I don’t blame him. As he bumps and bangs off the forest floor, he looks a little like a rag doll. He’s making really good time though, getting to wherever we’re going.

  I dodge the patch of prickly scrub the divining rod pulls him through and wince. Yeah, I’m not going to be popular for a while over this one. “You’re doing great, Em! Love you.”

  Bruin is in his spirit form, and I feel his presence on the wind that encircles us as we run. He’s no doubt monitoring the surroundings as we push through, making sure we’re not going to be attacked by any more maniacal otters.

  “I may have put too much oomph into the spell. My bad.” Note to self: with Iridan’s magic still within me, I didn’t judge my juice properly.

  Well, at least we know the divining rod has enough power to take us where we need to go. Hopefully, that also means we have enough to drill down through the shield when we get to wherever it takes us.

  I’m still contemplating that when Emmet launches over the bank of a stream. He hangs in the air for a good long time before he splashes into the water and disappears.

  I stop at the stream’s edge and search the rippled surface. “Emmet? Emmet, where are you?”

  A few racing heartbeats later, Emmet breaks the surface coughing and sputtering. A moment after that, he regains his footing and stands in the center of the stream.

  “Are you okay?”

  He’s doubled over, hacking up water, and gives me a wave of assurance. When the cough and sputter stops, he runs a rough hand over his hair and blinks away the water in his eyes. “So, being in charge of the divining rod… Not as much fun as I expected.”

  “I am genuinely sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

  He wipes his hand over his face and shakes his head, throwing off excess water like a Golden Retriever. “Okay. I’m here now. What next?”

  “I guess I join you in the middle of the stream.”

  Emmet’s grin widens. “Well, good. Come on in, the water’s fine.”

  I take off my shoes and socks and wade in the first couple of feet. “Frickety-frack, Emmet! Fine, my ass. It’s freaking freezing.”

  Emmet snorts. “Mid-September. What did you expect?”

  Still grumbling, I join him in the center of the stream and slip my hand into the pocket of my khakis. I close my hand around my peridot’s natural shape, the smooth round surface of my Ostara turd stone, and the hematite I bought at the crystal shop with Sloan. While focusing on where my feet connect to the silt at the bottom of the stream, I sink deeper and draw power.

  I close my eyes and send the command straight down from where we stand. “Stone to water.”

  I sense as my intention morphs the previously impenetrable stone into a shaft of water. Testing the funnel, I figure I made it about three or four miles down. I draw a deep breath and send down another wave of power. “Stone to water.”

  Come on, magic...bubble up to us.

  We wait, standing there covered in goosebumps. Emmet’s lips are purple, and I take his hand in mine.

  “Internal Warmth.” I sigh as a rush of heat suffuses my body and chases away the chill. “Better?”

  “Much better. Thanks, Fi.”

  I keep his hand in mine and close my eyes again. It’s easier to focus on things now that my teeth aren’t chattering and my muscles aren’t locked in a hypothermic spasm. Come on, magic. Where are you?

  “Stone to water.” As I cast the spell for the third time, I sense the last of the shield’s stone breaking away. The fae magic holds a warm, swirly purply-pink energy, at least in my mind’s eye. I see it mixing with the water now, filling the funnel down almost seven miles.

  “It’s coming.” I’m relieved. “Close your eyes and call it, Emmet. Can you feel it?”

  “No, but you’re a much stronger caster than I am.”

  “For right now, maybe, but not for long. You guys are gaining on me.”

  We stay silent for a little, and I focus on the approaching magic. After millennia of being dormant, it’s slow and listless, mixing with the stream water in a half-daze.

  I plant my feet deeper into the silt and call it again. Once it knows how to find freedom, I believe it will find its way into the stream, flow into Lake Simcoe, and begin its journey through the waterways toward Lake Ontario.

  “Damn, Fi. If it’s taking this long to get to the surface, how long will it take before it gets to the disgruntled magic users of Toronto?”

  I don’t want to think about that. Too long, I expect.

  When I sense it’s nearing the surface, I look down by our feet and wait. I draw the first deep breath I’ve managed in two days and call to the energy.

  “That’s it. Come to Mama.”

  I now understand how the Wyrm Queen felt waiting for her eggs to hatch—watching and waiting. Knowing it’s coming, but not fast enough.

  “This is a little anticlimactic.”

  Emmet chuckles and squeezes my hand. “It’s always an adventure with you, Fi. There’s no one I’d rather stand balls-deep in a freezing stream with.”

  My smile grows as the water around us swirls purply-pink. “We have our first win. Yay team.”

  “Off to the next beach, or do you want to check out the Naiad’s magic pond?”

  “I suppose I have to give him his powers back.”

  Emmet sighs. “I suppose. But if he morphs into a duplicitous dick and attacks us again, we take them and keep them.”

  “Agreed. Done deal.”

  It’s close to three in the morning when I pull into my parking spot in the back lane. Calum’s and Emmet’s new Lexus is in its place, so the others must have finished quicker than us. I slide out of the passenger’s side and drag my lead legs beneath me as Emmet and I trudge into the back yard.

  “Long day?” Da asks. He’s sitting in one of the wooden Adirondack chairs on the edge of the grove.

  “Yeah.” I flop onto the ground beside him and look up at the stars. I used magic to dry off, but being cold and wet so many times today has left me achy and with a bit of a chill.

  “Night.” Emmet doesn’t stop to chat. He drags himself up the back steps and into the house.

  “Night,” Da and I both say back.

  “How did Calum and his group do?”

  “They seem confident the first phase of the mission was a success. Now we wait.”

  I yawn and smile when the doe from the grove steps cautiously out of the trees and lays in the grass beside me. She sets her long neck onto my chest, and I stroke her velvety ears.

  “Yep. Now we wait.”

  Chapter Twenty

  I wake in my bed with no memory of how I got here, but thankful that someone scooped the unconscious girl off the grass and brought me inside. One thing I love about a century-old home is that it talks to you if you take the time to listen. This morning, I’m too wiped out to do much more than lay there and listen. Someone’s in the shower, a couple of people are puttering around in the kitchen, and someone is—

  My eyes pop open, and I find Liam sitting in my reading chair beside the window. “Hey, trouble.”

  I relax back into my pillow and exhale. “Geez, you scared me.”

  “Sorry. I have the day off, and we haven’t spent any time together since you guys got home from your big quest. I thought we could hang out and you could tell me all about your magical adventure.”

  I roll onto my side and stretch. “And here I lay, sleeping your day away.”

  “Nah, you’re good. Your dad and Calum told me about your big day yesterday. He said you were physically and magically wiped out by the time you got home.”

  “True story.” I sit up, flip back my quilt, and head to my dresser. After grabbing some clothes, I open my bedroom door wider so I’m first into the bathroom when whoever’s in there now finishes.

  Growing up in a family with five older brothers, you had to be strategic to get bathroom time. “So, what do you want
to do today?”

  He shrugs. “What were you planning on doing?”

  “Honestly, more of the same. Yesterday we hit a dozen spots where we thought we could release ley line magic from beneath the stone. We’ve only scratched the surface on that and need to continue.”

  “Is there a lot more to do?”

  “I think so. It’s running a lot slower than I imagined, and there are going to be a lot of empowered people annoyed with us unless we restore the magical balance.”

  Liam’s ice-blue gaze sparks with adventure. “I’m game. Hiking. Swimming. And watching you do your thing. Sounds like a perfect day off.”

  “Thanks. I can’t take my foot off the gas just yet.”

  “Because of the warlocks and vampires who will end you for stealing their magic?”

  I roll my eyes. “My, my, someone has been chatty.”

  “So, it’s true, then. You’re in the crosshairs again?”

  “Again? When haven’t I been?”

  The bathroom door opens, and Dillan comes out dressed in his uniform.

  “You off to work?”

  He nods. “No rest for the wicked.”

  “Same.” I grab my clothes and head toward the cloud of humidity oozing from the shower. “Safe home. Love you.”

  “Same.”

  After a shower and breakfast, Liam and I meet up with Da in the grove. For a guy who gave up being a druid almost forty years ago, he seems to be gravitating to it now. ”Howeyah, oul man.” I lean in and kiss his cheek. “I figured you’d be at the station by now.”

  “I had court first thing, then came home to change.” His gaze moves from me to Liam. “You two heading out?”

  I pull out the list of places on today’s waterway magic tour. “Yep. I figure if we rinse and repeat what we did yesterday, it’ll help. Calum’s with me, and Aiden and Sloan have already gone out. Do you feel anything yet?”

  He shakes his head. “No. Nothing yet.”

  Me either. “Tough times never last. Tough people do.”

  “Right ye are, mo chroi. Right ye are.”

  By six-thirty, the sunlight has lost its luster. The golden warmth is gone and replaced by the cool, gray light of the promise of cooler days. Liam, Calum, and I have had a full and exhausting day, and are about ready to wrap up and pack it in for the night.

  On the bank of yet another river, I watch and wait while Calum finds our next location. “With Samhain coming up, we should plan a celebration. Do you think your mom would consider a theme night or something fun at the pub?”

  I unbutton my long, winter coat and step into the icy water where Calum stands with our divining rod pointed straight down.

  A couple of lessons I learned yesterday were to wear water shoes today so I don’t have to keep taking my shoes on and off, and to wrap myself in my floor-length winter coat to keep my seats dry and preserve my body heat between icy dips. Magic is great, but I don’t have much to spare for body warmth by the end of the day.

  I consider our second day a success. We made another six stops today along the Rouge River System, and while I can’t feel the effect in the air yet, I can feel it tingling around my legs beneath the water.

  “I think once we hit the Laurentian waterway and around Quebec and spend time branching out, we’ll have transformed what magic looks like in Canada.”

  “Have you ever wondered about not transforming it?” Liam is sitting on a large rock on the bank, looking concerned. The day’s enthusiasm has worn thin, and we’re all tired and ready to go home.

  Calum and I both stop what we’re doing to look up.

  “What do you mean by that?” Calum asks. “Not free the trapped magic?”

  “I mean, Canada has gotten along fine with little or no fae or magic-fueled people. Sure, if you’re releasing magic it’s better for you and your grove creatures and your boss and her tree, but is it better overall? What will the evil druids and the warlocks and the vampires do with the boost in their power? Maybe the lack of ambient magic is the only thing holding the bad eggs at bay.”

  I have considered that but dismissed it as quickly as it entered my mind. The truth is, we need the influx of power to fuel the good guys. If that emboldens the bad guys, we’ll deal with it as things come.

  “I hear what you’re saying. Honestly, I don’t have an answer. The last thing we want to do is contribute to the opposing team, but right now, they’re pulling power from blood sacrifice and torture. Is it better that they might be able to access ambient magic? The people who aren’t bled out on the altar might think so.”

  Calum nods. “She’s right. Evil is as evil does. If they’re determined that the lessers rue their existence, whether the power comes easier doesn’t change their intentions.”

  “Stone to Water.” I send the command into the ground and get this process started. Reaching down, I connect with the earth beneath me and sense that the stone isn’t as thick here as it was in some of the places we’ve encountered over the past two days of doing this.

  Mark a point in the win column.

  I draw a deep breath and send down another wave of power. “Stone to Water.”

  Calum takes my hand in his, and it’s warm and strong. “Internal Warmth.” He sends a rush of heat into my system, and I breathe deep and groan at its decadence.

  Fortified with warmth, I send another pulse down. “I think it’s too early to hit the panic button. We don’t know the players yet. Maybe the Black Dog is the worst of the worst and the rest of the Toronto preternatural and ethereal populations are benign and happy to live their lives without people bothering them.”

  Liam looks at me, his frown locked in place. It’s obvious he disagrees, but it’s too early in the game to take the ball and go home.

  “We’ll figure it out.” I hope I sound surer than I feel.

  “Maybe, but when? After magic freaks and killers overrun normal people? Who made you God, Fi? I know you mean well, but you’re in way over your head.”

  I draw a deep breath, pulling oxygen against the sudden weight on my chest. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  The ride home is silent and fraught with hostility. Somehow my day with Liam, one of my closest friends and a guy who means more to me than I can explain, turned ugly. He doesn’t approve of us trying to free the ley lines, but his opinion is valid. What cleaves through my heart like Birga’s blade is his shift in mindset. He drew lines in the sand, and somehow we ended up on opposite sides.

  “Bad day?” Sloan asks as I blow past him.

  I launch up the stairs, my wet socks slipping on the wooden steps. I stomp into the bathroom and peel off my clothes. After wringing out my socks and pants, I pull my shirt over my head and grab a towel off the shower rod. I snatch up my comb and pull it through my hair and curse when it gets stuck in the damp, tangled depths.

  The snap of the handle brings tears burning behind my eyes. I can’t stand seeing myself in the mirror and bolt across the hall and into my bedroom.

  Sloan’s there, and I shake my head and point at the door. “Don’t. Go. I don’t have the energy right now.”

  “What happened?” His voice is deep, his tone dangerous. “Are ye all right? Were ye attacked again?”

  I swipe at the tears leaking down my cheeks and pull open my drawers. Emotionally, yes. Physically, no. “Look. I’m cold and tired. Nothing happened that involves you or anything druid. I need a moment to get dressed and regroup.”

  He reads my expression. I don’t know what he sees, but he gives me his back and makes no move to leave. “Get dressed. Get warm. Then ye can tell me what the fool said that hurt ye so.”

  I drop my towel and pull on a fresh pair of yoga pants and a fleece hoody. With a balled-up pair of fuzzy socks in hand, I plunk down on the end of my bed.

  “He said ‘normal people.’” My voice chokes, and I can’t breathe. The dam breaks and Sloan is there, pulling me tight to his chest. “He asked me what gives me the right to make choices that affect no
rmal people living in Toronto. And what…I’m not normal anymore?”

  I pull away from Sloan’s comfort and start to pace.

  As I cross the room, it dawns on me that I only have one sock on, and I sink to the floor. “When did I become other to him? That hurts. I never expected it. Not from him. I’m not other. Am I?”

  Sloan takes a moment to consider his answer before he speaks. “In a sense, maybe, but I’ve been other my whole life, and it’s not so bad. I love my life and my gifts.”

  “I get that, but he accused me of playing God and endangering ‘normal’ people for my gain.”

  “Och, well, I doubt he believes that even if the words came out of his mouth. He’s scared, Cumhaill. Yer changin’ before his eyes. Yer in danger, and he can’t help. Ye need things he can’t give ye. Where yer lives have always been tightly knit, now yer branchin’ off in a direction that not only doesn’t he understand, but he’ll never be able to follow.”

  I accept the box of tissues when he holds them out. After a few steadying breaths, I realize Sloan’s right. Liam’s sad and scared, and yeah, things are changing with me. Big time. “Thank you. You get big points for not trashing him. I appreciate it.”

  “Trashing him would hurt ye, Fi. And if ye remember, I swore to ye back in Ireland that first visit that I’d never hurt ye again if I can help it. I never want yer tears to be because of me.”

  I hold up my hand and let him pull me to my feet. After a quick hug, I step back and smile. “I can’t believe I used to think you were such a haughty dickwad.”

  His mint-green gaze is lit with warmth. “As ye said once, I’m like a fungus. I grow on ye.”

  “You’re a good friend. I’m thankful every day for that.”