Druid Dreams

by M F Adele

  “It’s her,” I told Levi on a hushed breath. “She’s here.”

  “Good, man. I’ll go tell her where you are.” He stood and I shouted at him. “No!”

  He looked baffled before I explained. “No, if you go out there she’ll kill you too. She doesn’t know who you are or how you’ve been helping me. If you want to stay alive then you’ll listen to what I say. Okay?”

  “O-okay,” he stuttered.

  “Go to the top of the stairs and open the doors. Do not go out. Just swing the doors as wide as they’ll go and then come back down here. Leave all the other doors open that lead to us. Grab the keys to the cells off the wall and pick one to sit in until they come to get me. I’ll keep you safe, but you have to follow my lead.”

  He jerked his head in a nod and bolted for the stairwell. I didn’t know if he was going to come back or not, but I hoped he would. I hope for a bunch of things at this moment, but I’ll play it by ear. Levi came through the last doorway a minute later with the keys hanging in his hand as he made his way to my cell. He opened the barred door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. He angled his head at me, terror clear on his stricken face.

  “Take a seat. It should only be a few minutes,” I enlightened him with a new vibrancy to my voice. I didn’t move from my corner though. I closed my eyes and listened for the first sounds of rescue, the light padding of Sloane’s boots, or the defeated screams of her enemies. The first thing I heard was muted shouting followed by a furious symphony of guttural growls.

  “What was that?” Levi screeched loudly.

  My ears rang as I forewarned him with a single word, “Hellhounds.”

  “W-w-what? What d-d-do you mean b-b-by hellhounds?” He was terrified. With good reason. Helios was frightening on his best days.

  “My mate has hellhounds that guard her. They sort of look like regular dogs. Just, uhm, don’t try to pet them, okay?” I teased him, remembering when he first arrived at the camp and attempted to pet a fox shifter.

  “Y-y-yeah, no p-p-problem man.”

  “Calm down, Levi. You’re going to be fine.” I tried to reassure him, but he looked like he was on the verge of passing out.

  We listened to the yelling for a few minutes. Our position underground with all the doors open made it sound like the volume was turned way down. From the stairwell I heard a grunted moan, and a body rolled out of the doorway. Two males walked in after it. I recognized them once they stepped under the light. Palmer leaned over to brush blood from his khakis, letting out a frustrated groan when it smeared. Stone’s pitch black demon body slowly morphed into his Asian appearance as he continues to walk towards us.

  “Fucking Druid,” he drawled looking displeased with me as I stood weakly. It’s more energy than I had before they got here though.

  “Fucking Demon,” I countered and was rewarded with a sharp toothed smile. “Pull your teeth back in before you scare the human to death, Stone.” I chastised him.

  “Who tha fuck is he?” Palmer eyed Levi.

  “This is Levi. He’s the reason why I’m still alive. We won’t be killing him today.”

  “Aye, okay. I believe ye. I’ll let ya take that up with Sloane. Keys?” Palmer’s impatience was unusual. He’s either worried or wants to fight. Probably both.

  “Levi, hand me the keys, please.” I requested gently. He took his shaking fingers and reached in his pocket, setting the keys in my hand with widened cartoon-like eyes. “It’s okay. These are my friends, Palmer and Stone. They won’t hurt you.” I spoke to him like a parent would a small child while shaking my head. He was panicking, but he nodded his head and let go of the keys. I tossed them to Stone. He opened the door and sauntered over to me, pulling my arm across his shoulder to support some of my weight. “Come on, Levi. Stay with us and whatever you do, don’t run.”

  “Sloane hasn’t really gotten started yet. She caused enough of a scene for me to drag Palmer through the shadows so we could find you. We have strict orders to keep you out of the fight though.” Stone told me while helping me up the stairs and out into the fresh night air. My first dose of fresh air in 858 days. Power seeped into my bare feet with each step I took across the dirt path. It crawled up my body at a snail's pace, awakening my dead limbs.

  “When we get to Vaughn he’ll mist you to the treehouse. Stay there until we get back. There’s a bag of clothes for you on the couch and I stuck some soap and clippers in there so you could clean up. You need a hot shower and a haircut, Druid.” Stone rambled as we walked towards the fight.

  “Vaughn should be waitin up ahead for ya. He can take yer man too.” Palmer waggled his eyebrows at me with his insinuation. I wished I had the energy to waste so I could punch him in his smartass mouth. “We’ll figure somethin’ out when this is all by.” He waved his hand around and turned to Levi after addressing me. “Do ye need to grab anythin’ before we go?”

  “N-n-no,” Levi pushed out.

  “Grand. Let’s get ya outta here before we run inta any of those enemies Sloane was makin’.” Palmer smiled excitedly as he led the way for us.

  We wandered through the tents for about twenty more feet before Vaughn stepped out of one with Novak. They hustled to us, and Vaughn stopped before me. “You look like shit,” he complimented.

  “You too, Fae.” I almost thanked him, but I knew better. “Were you two sharing one last kiss before the fight starts?” Novak made a kissy face at Vaughn and started leaning in.

  “Fuck off,” Vaughn chided as he shoved Novak’s face with a palm to his forehead. “You ready to go, York?”

  “Never been more ready in my life,” I admitted with a laugh.

  “And who’s this guy?” Vaughn hitched his thumb in Levi’s direction.

  “York’s friend. Human. Saved his life. He’s coming back with us.” Stone cut to the chase with easily understandable facts for the control freak.

  “His mind is clean. Take him. Palmer can fight with us.” Novak solved the questions Vaughn was going to ask before they spilled from his mouth.

  “Alright, lets go.” Vaughn wrapped his arm around my shoulder and Stone let go. The cold passed over my body before I could even blink. We landed in an inviting living room full of wooden furniture. Vaughn showed me where the closest bathroom was as he placed a hunter green backpack in my hands. “I’ll bring the other guy back. We should have enough clean clothes for him to wear. But, York, if Sloane freaks out…” he started.

  “Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll handle her,” I interrupted. “I couldn’t leave him to die, Vaughn. He’s the only reason I’ve lived this long.”

  “Handle her,” he laughed. “That’s funny. We’ll be back after the fight. Try to get some rest.” His last words were spoken through water as he misted out of the hall and to the camp grounds. It took him seconds to get there and back with an unconscious Levi in tow. “I tossed him on the couch,” he yelled to me through the bathroom door. “He passed out, and he’ll probably be nauseous when he wakes up. I’ve never misted a human before.” Then he was gone again.

  I inhaled a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror while I waited for the water to run hot. I do look like shit. The heat of the shower washed away my anxiety as I stepped in. It swirled all the dirt and filth that covered my body down the drain. I hadn’t been this clean since the day I was taken. I lathered the soap and cleansed every inch of my body twice before rinsing and cutting the water off. I look a little better now, but I still need a haircut. I took the clippers and buzzed them over my head, leaving less than a half inch of hair behind. Then, I trimmed my facial hair up and hopped back in the shower to scrub my scalp and wash the excess hair off my body. I rubbed my skin again and again, trying to get the feel of the underground cell off of me. My skin was a raw, dusty pink color before I stepped out and dried off. Now I look like myself, minus the haunted look left in my eyes. I hope that will go away with time.

  It felt good to be clean. It felt even better when I sunk into the oversized r
ecliner in the living room and popped the footrest up to get some sleep. Until Levi woke up screaming.

  Palmer

  Monday Early Morning

  After Vaughn disappeared with Levi I turned my attention to Novak. “Where’s Sloane?”

  “She’s playing hide-n-seek.” He grinned at me like that was the answer I sought.

  “What d’ya mean?” I didn’t like the idea of her hiding or being by herself. I knew she was strong, but she should still have some backup.

  “She killed a couple guys, and then went for a joy run around the camp. They haven’t been able to catch her yet. She’s playing with them while she cuts them down.” Novak explained a little better.

  “Shouldn’t we help her?” Stone asked us all.

  “Yeah, Novak and I were checking tents for stragglers when you guys found us.” Vaughn sounded like he was underwater as he spoke. His body formed in front of us and we all started walking while he kept talking. “She said to pair up and take them out. Briggs and the hounds are tightening up the perimeter, forcing everyone to the center.”

  A bolt of lightning struck right in front of my feet. We all jerked our heads to the left and saw a group of males standing together. It was a face off, but our odds were too good. “Why don’t yous keep goin? Stone an’ I will take care of these eejits.”

  “Yeah, we’ll keep checking the tents,” Novak proclaimed as they spun in the opposite direction.

  Stone tempted me with an ecstatic, “Ready to kick some ass?” When I nodded my head he began to morph his lean 6’0 frame into the monster he kept hidden within. Stone as a demon took some getting used to. If I had to put numbers on his growth, I’d say he was at least a foot taller and nearly 200 pounds heavier. His skin was so dark he looked like a moving shadow. His horns twisted out of the sides of his head, a few inches above his pointed black ears. They swoop out and up, and curl towards each other behind his head. His horns are pretty fucking cool.

  Stone was enough to make any sane male run away in terror. He loved the thrill of a chase. Apparently, just like our mate. Three males turned and ran, leaving two gaping shamelessly. Stone unfurled his leathery wings and lifted to the sky, tail lashing back and forth as he slowly ascended. The only way to see him in the sky was to follow the absence of stars as he glided through the night in search of his prey.

  “Are ye for running too, or will ye stand and fight?” I called out to the last two males. I didn’t know what they were, but that didn’t change anything for me. I wanted to fight and sling some magic of my own. Maybe test out this medieval weapon the old Vampire showed me before I went to sleep last night. I thought he had called it a dire flail. It was a three foot pole with a foot of chain on either end. Attached to the chains were large metal spheres covered in spikes. He said I could feed my magic through it. I liked the way that sounded and the ease at which I could sling the weapon around. It felt like an extension of my limbs when my power flowed through it.

  No one moved, and I grew tired of just standing there so I threw up my hands. “That’s grand, yas don’t have to fight me, but I don’t fancy yer chances with the Demon.” That got them moving. I waited until they got closer, then decided instead of drawing my weapon I’d use my favorite move. It’s a classic. I drew my fingers in so my hands looked like guns and aimed them both at the incoming males. With a childlike “pew, pew,” I squeezed my bottom two fingers and shot bright orange magic rods straight into their chests. The sound effects are for me.

  They collapsed to the ground in heaps. I blew the invisible smoke from my finger guns for good measure. Handy little trick that is. I swaggered over to them and pulled the magic from their weeping wounds before dissolving it back into my hands. Laughter rang out behind me and I froze in my tracks. Sloane skipped over with a manic grin on her bloodied face. She placed her hands on my chest as she leaned into my ear and whispered “that was really dorky, but so fucking hot.”

  “Ye liked that, did ya?” I gave her a cocky smile, setting my hands on top of hers.

  “Mmm, very much,” she confided.

  “An’ if I did it again ta the gobshite that was followin’ behind ya? What would ye do?”

  “Do it and see.” She waggled those silver brows at me, and her eyes twinkled with mischief. My cock lifted to attention with a vengeance, straining to break free of its zippered cage. I groaned as my mind whirled in a terribly inconvenient direction for a split second. I was a patient male, but I was ready to see her naked and tied to my bed. I wanted to break out some toys and tease her until her moans turned to whimpers and they were all I could hear. That’ll have to wait though.

  The guy behind her kept stalking closer. I let him move in as I memorized the details of her face. I leaned in and took her mouth in a fierce kiss, pulling her body against mine with my left hand while aiming my right. With a flex of my fingers we heard the thump of a body dropping. She broke the kiss to look over her shoulder and then back to me. I smirked at her with a smug attitude, waiting to see what she had in mind. “Now what?”

  Sloane snatched me so fast I almost stumbled over my own feet. She dragged me into the nearest tent and ran her fingers over my cock through my khakis before unsnapping the button. As she sank to her knees she took the zipper of my pants down with her, and my length sprang free from its confinement. “This’ll have ta be quick, Love. There’s a wee battle going on outside.” She looked up at me through her lashes without concern as she traced her lush lips from the base of my shaft up to the head. Her silk tongue darted out to lick at the precum gathering against my tip. She downed me fully in a single bob, showing me she had no qualms with her gag reflex. Then, she wrapped one hand tightly around my base while the other gently tugged on my balls, pushing and pulling as her mouth did the same. Her teeth lightly grazed my shaft every few strokes, her tongue swirling around before every pump.

  I plunged my left hand in her hair and grabbed her ponytail with my right. I started fucking her mouth in earnest as I grew closer to my climax. She relaxed her throat and gave me control. My cock started to swell in her mouth and I slowed just enough to rasp out, “This is it, Love. If ya don’t want me ta cum in yer mouth, pull it out now.” I picked my speed back up when she didn’t move away. A few thrusts later I felt the barest hint of her fang scrape across my head. The intoxicating flood of vampire venom hit my bloodstream in a nanosecond. I came so hard my knees nearly buckled. She pulled back and opened her mouth, showing me what I left. Then she swallowed, wiping the corners of her mouth with her fingers.

  “I’ll pay ya back for that when we get home.” I panted while I fought to catch my breath and zip my pants back up.

  “Yes, sir,” she mock-saluted me as she walked out of the tent fixing her hair. That fucking mouth of hers. I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss her or spank her for being such a smartass.

  We crept through the quiet grounds until we got closer to the center. The fight was still going on, but the numbers had quickly dwindled. Sloane raced forward, yanking a knife from her skirt. In her hand, it grew from a dinky two inches to nearly eight as she kicked a male in the side of the knee who was sneaking up on Vaughn. He tumbled to his hands and his good knee, keeping weight off the new injury. Sloane moved forward with predatory intensity looking for her next target. When he tried to get up she flicked her wrist backwards at her hip and sent the knife sailing through the air behind her. It sunk into the side of the attacker's neck. The sound of slicing flesh was unmistakable. She never stopped to look back, not even to aim or to make sure she hit him. I watched as he fell on his face in the dirt. With his last gargled breath the knife shot from his neck into her outstretched hand. She’s fucking confident.

  Stone and Novak stood in front of Vaughn, each one facing a different side. Vaughn was flinging icicles as fast as he could make them while also covering Novak and Stone as they fought in close quarters. Sloane and I weaved carefully between the guys, watching their backs as we scanned the darkness for incoming threats. The last of
the supernatural creatures came in a massive wave from one side. It looked like their bodies were being manipulated. Their movement was too organized. They all stepped with the same foot and used identical stances. It was their downfall. We wouldn’t discriminate. We’d kill every last one of them. They’ll all fall tonight.

  Sloane moved out of our formation and faded away. I couldn’t describe what she did exactly, but it was like she turned into a ghost. When she reappeared, she stood in the middle of the incoming attackers with no care in the world. She’s on a mission and this is taking too long. The one person she was looking for hadn’t been found yet. He was the one controlling the horde. I noticed the hounds and Briggs weren’t here either. Maybe he had been found, and that was why she was in a hurry. She flung her knives so quickly that it was impossible to track their trajectory. When one knife hit its target another appeared in her hand. She took out most of their numbers while standing among them. They never had a chance to notice before they dropped dead. She was devastatingly gorgeous in her homicidal rage.

  The last one left from the campground army came barreling towards me as I ogled Sloane. I swung my flail into the bear's head at the last moment, and Vaughn shot icicles through his chest. We followed Sloane as she made her way through the tents and hanging tarps. We headed back down the path to where we found York. The makeshift dungeon. The cellar style doors had been ripped off the hinges. When we descended the stairwell we heard the guttural growls of the hellhounds and Briggs talking.

  “I can’t call them off,” he was telling someone calmly. “They don’t listen to me. That one doesn’t even like me.” Sloane smiled as she stopped to listen to Briggs.

  “Please, please! I’ll tell you what you want to know! I’ll give you money! I’ll-I’ll…” a menacing growl quieted him.