Dwellers of Darkness (3 page)

“You hadn’t figured it out?” Cooper gapped at Gabby. “It was pretty obvious after he returned that night.”

“Honestly, I didn’t really want to think about the two
Sasquatches humping each other in the woods.” Gabby shrugged.

“Shut up!” My hands covered my face. I was embarrassed enough.

“Yeah, guys.” At the sound of Eli’s gravelly voice, all three of us spun around. “I think shutting up would be wise.” His tone was jarring like someone chewing on ice. Cooper and Gabby quickly dispersed to the other side of the room, abandoning me.

Cowards.

Cole yelled over the crowd, “Everyone is here, so let’s get this meeting started.” Eli and I didn’t move. Our eyes sealed on each other.

“After you.” Eli’s tone was unpleasant as he nodded toward the sofa. Trepidation filled my lungs. Pivoting, I hurriedly vacated the area and headed to the couch where Kennedy and Jared were.

My mom sat in the corner, her watchful eyes still switching from me to Eli. I hadn’t even noticed her come in. She had always been good at slipping in and out of rooms almost undetected. She played a lot of practical jokes on me as I grew up. As a little girl, I looked at my mother like she had superpowers.

It turned out she really did; she was a Fairy, a noble Fay. An “encounter” with a high-Demon had produced me—a hybrid creature known as a Dae. Daes were outlawed in the Otherworld, and almost all had been hunted down and killed. The Queen led most of the Otherworld to believe we were evil and would only kill and destroy. Daes were powerful, probably too much so. But her desire to have us eradicated was enhanced by a prophecy hinting a Dae would kill her with the Sword of Light. I could hear Lars’ voice in my head, reading the text:

By one of the Light, Darkness will take its revenge.

A bloodline that cannot be repressed will rise to power.

A descendant will take the throne.

Blood will seek to kill you.

She who possesses the Sword of Light will have the power
.

The prophecy was a thorn in my side. I had always thought the Queen was after me merely for my powers, but her incentive to capture me went beyond this because the prophecy may or may not be about a Dae. For good measure, she wanted to cover all her bases.

Cole took his place at the front of the room. “There’s a lot to catch up on, and many things we need to discuss, but let me address a worry you might have.” His attention turned to me. “We have redone the security ward around the property. There will be no repeat of Lorcan coming for any of you again.”

Lorcan’s name brought feelings of hatred to the surface. I longed to hunt him down and kill him. At least I didn’t have to worry about him returning to the ranch and trying to kidnap me or take Kennedy again. I had run out of friends and family for him to threaten me with.

“No longer can any of them get in here.” Cole shifted his stance. “But the enchantment only warns of unknowns trying to get in, not out. Only the six of us Dark Dwellers are part of the spell, so if you others wander off the property, we won’t know, and you might not be able to get back.”

“Speak for yourself,” Cal’s voice came from the window. He and Simmons flew in and headed for me.

“Pixies don’t count,” Eli quipped from the wall where he leaned. “
Sub
-Fae never count.”

My hand immediately went to my forehead. This was not something you said to pixies.

“Wh-wh-what?” Simmons puffed up with offense, buzzing toward Eli. “What did you say, sir?”

“He said we don’t matter, Simmons.” Cal’s annoyed voice filled my ear as he landed on my shoulder.

Eli’s lip curled up. “What’s wrong? Did I offend thee, little man?”

Simmons huffed and blustered from Eli’s rudeness. He pulled at the plastic sword, a swizzle stick, attached to his pants. “You have, sir. I challenge you to a duel.”

Eli snorted with laughter. “I’ll go get some kid’s action figure so you can fight something more your size.”

Even from across the room I could see Simmons’ face redden as Eli riled him more and more. “Eli,” I cautioned. “Enough!”

Eli sneered at Simmons but kept his mouth shut.

“Simmons, you’re not fighting anyone. He’s just trying to provoke you.” I waved Simmons to me. Cal had already settled on my right shoulder, ignoring Eli’s needling words.

Simmons grumbled and came to me. Of course, when he tried to land, he slipped and fell into my lap, which only roused his ire more. He was a ball of rage. Even Cal was smart enough not to comment on his landing skills. Simmons stomped off my lap and sat on the sofa arm, crossing his arms, sulking. He thought of himself as the best flyer in the realm. He was. He simply had a problem with the touchdowns.

“Okay, can we get down to business now?” Cole looked at the ceiling, trying to keep himself calm. “Ember, we would like to eventually add your blood to the spell. You are a part of us now, and it would be good for you to know how to get back. Kennedy, Lily, I think you both know it is safer if you don’t leave or know how to get back here if you do.”

“I think it’s wise,” Mom responded. “I don’t think you need Ember’s either. If we leave, believe me, we won’t return.”

I cast my mother an exasperated look.

“Let’s allow Ember to decide.” Cole’s response was icy.

“Okay,” I broke in, turning to my mom. “I think we have more important items on the list. We need to come up with a plan to rescue Dad, Ryan, Josh, and West. Let’s concentrate on them and, for a moment, let go of whatever issues you guys have with each other. I get it. Fay and Dark Dwellers don’t like each other. Get over it.”

A strange silence befell the room. Magic and tension swirled and slammed into each other like clothes in a washing machine.

Mom cleared her throat. “You’re right, Ember. Their release is the most important thing.” She directed her statement toward Cole.

He studied her for moment, and then nodded. “Agreed.”

“I think the first thing you should do is tell this poor girl what she really is.” My mom swept back her long, auburn hair. Every head jerked in her direction. I knew instantly who she was speaking of, but Kennedy looked around the room trying to locate the subject of Mom’s comment.

“How did you know?” I asked. Even the Queen hadn’t detected Kennedy. How did my mother?

“I smelled her.” Mom’s hand immediately waved back and forth. “I mean, I sensed it coming off her. Her powers won’t stay dormant forever. She’s coming of age. Before, ignorance was best, but now she is a part of this, and she can only protect herself with the truth.”

My gaze darted to Kennedy who still glanced around with a confused expression. Her eyes grew wide when she noticed everyone watching her.

“What? What is going on?” Her anxious countenance turned to me for solace. “Ember?”

I looked at my hands twisting together on my lap. “Ken... uh... this isn’t going to be easy to hear or accept...”

“You’re a fuckin’ Druid,” Eli spat and shrugged at me as I gaped. “What? Now she knows, and we can move on to acceptance.”

All attention turned to Eli.

“Seriously, what is your problem?” I glared at him. “You don’t blurt something out like that.”

“We are wasting time. One of my brothers is being tortured. We don’t have time to coddle her.”

My fierce glare pinned him. I hated that a part of me agreed. Time wasn’t on our side. The Queen could decide to kill or torture them at any moment. Aneira’s twisted mind seemed to know no bounds.

“I’m sorry. What?” Kennedy sat forward, looking at all of us like we had just fallen off the crazy train.

Actually, it’s not far from the truth.

Scooting along the sofa, I leaned over, and gripped her hand in mine. “Ken, it is true. I know logically you’re going to want to fight this, but you
are
a Druid.”

“I’m a what?” Kennedy balked. She had been adopted and always realized her parents weren’t her biological ones. She knew nothing of her blood relations, but I don’t think she ever expected this.

I squeezed her shoulder. “Believe me; I understand how you feel right now. It seems impossible and goes against everything we’ve been taught to believe in as humans. But it’s real, Kennedy. There are such things as Fairies and Demons as you know now. I’ll bet if you let yourself think back, somewhere in you, you’ve always suspected you were different.”

“Different? Different, yes, but a Druid? An actual Druid
... no... that never occurred to me.” She shook her head. “Druids are human, right?”

“Yes, they have magic equal to Fae but are human. They were members of the priestly class of Celtics and had spiritual powers.” Cole could sense her heart rate racing out of control. His commanding tone was calming and soothing.

“Magical? Spiritual powers? Like what? What are they exactly? What do they do?” Kennedy’s voice hit a higher notch.

“Each
Draoidh family has different strengths, but Druids in general were philosophers, healers, seers. They practiced magic and used enchantments and spells to prepare charms.” Cole responded.

“Seers?” Kennedy clenched at her shaking hands. I understood why this one caught her attention the most. She had always been “sensitive” to people, almost knowing before they did what they were thinking or feeling. She was in tuned to everything around her.

“Training to be a seer takes decades, but the gift is in you.” Cole glanced at Owen, jerking his head for him to jump in.

Owen
lurched forward awkwardly. “Ms. Johnson, Kennedy, I concede this is scary, but you need to know how extraordinary and special you are. You are the last known living Druid. You should not even be alive, but whoever your parents were they went to extreme measures to keep you alive by hiding you with humans.”

Cole rubbed his forehead. “Not really helping, Owen.”

“I am the last living Druid? What does that mean? Why? Hiding me with humans? I thought I was human.” Kennedy wailed. Jared’s arm went around her shoulder as he tried to comfort her.

Owen cringed, now understanding his excitement did not extend to her. “Technically you are human, but like Cole said being a Druid makes you special.”

“Special? How?”

“For one thing, you will live for centuries.”

I could feel the panic boiling under Kennedy’s skin. I stepped in before it exploded all over the room and asked, “Maybe if you start from the beginning and explain more about the Druid history?”

“Of course,” Owen concurred with a nod. “In pre-Christian times, around two hundred years before Christ, the
Draoidhean were responsible for religious teaching and practices. Even though they were human, they knew of the Otherworld and believed in the Celtic gods and goddesses. Their sacrifices and connections to the earth made them grow in power. I personally think the gods started to prefer them over the Fae, and it’s why the gods granted them ‘special status.’ The gods enchanted their blood so the Druids could go in and out of the Otherworld freely. Their lifespans were extended. The higher your rank, the more magic power you had and the longer you lived.

“Just like any group, some wanted to take advantage of this increasing control. The gods did nothing. The Unseelie King also had many Druids working for him and ignored their growing powers. By the time Aneira took the throne, the Druids were more formidable with magic than the Fae. They derived their magical powers from both the Otherworld and the Earth realm. They could create unbreakable spells and curses and hide things even the Queen’s power could not undermine.”

Owen pushed his glasses farther back up his nose. “The Gaullish were the most powerful of the Druids, which I believe is the blood line you stem from, Ms. Johnson. They were the mediators between the mortal world and the gods, straddling both planes. Aneira feared and hated the Gaullish the most. She tried to annihilate the entire race.”

“They’re all dead? Why? Because she was scared? How could she get away with something like that?” Kennedy’s questions tumbled out. She had grown up with democracy, justice, logic. The Fae world did not work this way. If the ruler wanted you dead—you were dead.

There was also another reason Aneira hated the Druids. My stay with Lars had opened my eyes to what lengths Aneira would go. They had hidden the Sword of Light. Aneira thought killing the one who crafted the spell would cause it to break or lose power. It didn’t. Aneira then killed every Druid, but still the enchantment did not break. Kennedy had survived. If Kennedy was from the elite lineage of Draoidhean and her family snuck her into Earth’s realm and hid her among humans, she might be the only barrier between Aneira and this sword.

“The Otherworld is not a democracy. Aneira rules it, and her word is law. She does not take kindly to those who resist her authority. If they do not comply, she finds a way to destroy them.” Owen glanced to me, then back to Kennedy.

“So what about these Gaullish? They were my family?” Kennedy still looked like a frightened kitten, wide-eyed and ready to bolt.

“It’s more a classification of Druids. I do not know for sure what family you come from, but if I were to guess, it would be the family
Cathbad.”