Archdruid

by Tiffany Shand

  “You didn’t hurt me, and you won’t.” Ann stared at him. “Are you really going to leave?”

  “What other choice do I have?” Ed demanded. He tried to raise a mental shield inside his mind, conjuring the image of a stone wall. He didn’t know if it would work. “I need to be rid of this thing.”

  “We’re going to Trewa. My uncle is there. He and the other druids may be able to help,” she said. “You can’t just leave. Urien will be looking for you, too. If he captures you—”

  “You know I’d never betray you, but I can’t say you’re safe around me.”

  Ann reached up and cupped his face with her hands. “You can learn to control this, and I promise I’ll do everything I can to help,” she said, pressing her forehead against his. “Just don’t leave. I can’t lose anyone else right now.”

  “I’m a danger to you.” He pulled away, missing the feel of her closeness.

  Ann shook her head. “You made me a promise—we made a promise to always be there for each other. Always and forever, remember?”

  Ed smiled at their childhood promise. One of the few things that meant something. The memory calmed him and washed away some of his anguish. He’d been one of the Black Guard, a group of elite soldiers who had once protected and served the archdruid. He’d sworn to serve Darius. That vow now extended to her. He hadn’t stayed because of his vow or any promise he made to her. He stayed because she was the most important person in his life.

  “I remember, and alright, I won’t leave you—not yet.” Where would he go? Most of the races were either enslaved under the control of the different leaders or had sworn their loyalty to Orla. He doubted anywhere in the five lands was safe anymore. And who had more power than the archdruid herself?

  If anyone could help him, it would be her. Ed took a deep breath, trying to calm the growling beast inside the cage of his mind.

  “Good, because I know you can control this.” She squeezed his shoulder.

  Ed didn’t want to control it. He wanted to get rid of it and return to what he had been before. Now he didn’t know what he was. Ed couldn’t even use magic the way he once had, and he hated it. Being one of the Black and serving Darius had given him a purpose in life. Working with Ann had too. But he didn’t have any sense of identity any more. This beast felt strange, alien, and he hated the way it hungered for blood and death. How long would he be able to contain the beast before it fully took control of him?

  “I won’t accept this, Ann. I wasn’t born this way.”

  Splashing and the thump of a heartbeat made Ed turn his attention to the embankment. “There’s someone else in the water.” He moved to the edge of the bank and saw someone struggling to break to the surface. Long black hair hovered just above the surface as someone flayed about. “It’s a woman. I can’t see if she is a Gliss or not.” Ed spotted the figure of another woman in a leather bodysuit running along the other side of the shore.

  “Help the woman, I’ll get the Gliss.” Ann sprinted off in the opposite direction.

  Ed wanted to protest, but jumped into the water, surprised he didn’t feel any ice given the time of year. He swam toward her. Her head began to disappear, leaving only her hair floating above the surface. He dove under, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to the surface, then dragging her to the shore.

  “Are you alright?” Ed asked.

  The woman’s long hair fell over her face as she coughed. Her feet and ankles were shackled with chains. He inhaled to sense if she were a Gliss or not. Her scent remained masked by salt and the stench of seaweed and blood. Ed guessed she must’ve been a prisoner, and caught hold of the chains, breaking them apart. The beast gave him unnatural strength too. He did the same with the ones on her ankles. “It’s alright, you’re safe now.” Ed caught a trace of her scent: lavender. He’d know that scent anywhere,

  The woman pushed her hair off her face and stared up at him through blackened eyes. “Thanks for the rescue, wolfy.” Ceara smirked despite her swollen, crackled lips. She looked almost as he remembered, with pale white skin and dark—almost black—irises. Only a leather strip covered her breasts, and a larger strip covered her thighs.

  Ed snarled at the sight of the Gliss. “You!” He couldn’t believe he saved a Gliss, of all people. It didn’t matter she’d once been his foster sister. She still betrayed them by joining Urien. Because of her, he’d been turned into a beast. He made a move to grab her, and Ceara shrank back.

  “Not going to kill an unarmed woman, are you, wolfy?” Ceara said, pushing her dripping hair off her face.

  “Just because you’re unarmed doesn’t mean you aren’t dangerous. Stop calling me that.” He glared at her. “You stopped being my sister a long time ago.” Using his childhood nickname wouldn’t make him feel any pity toward her. Not after everything she’d done.

  Ann hurried over to them and frowned. “Ceara, what are you doing here?”

  “I was being held prisoner on the island—before it sank,” Ceara said and scrambled up. “I’m guessing that was you?” Ed caught her wincing as she fell back down.

  They hadn’t seen Ceara since she’d helped in their last attempt to stop Urien a month earlier. Ed had hoped that would be the last time they ever saw her again. Just because she’d helped them didn’t make her an ally.

  “Let’s kill her and be done with it.” Ed made a move toward the Gliss.

  Ann caught hold of his arm. “Don’t,” she said. “She’s hurt.”

  “Ann, the only good Gliss is a dead one,” he snapped. “She’ll go running back to Urien—”

  Ceara snorted. “Do I look like I want to go back to Urien or the Gliss?” she demanded, rising on wobbly legs. “I’d rather die than go back to them. I’ve been imprisoned ever since we last saw each other.”

  “We can’t let you go either, can we?” Ed retorted. He couldn’t believe Ann seemed to be taking pity on her. Since when did they help Gliss? They killed them; they didn’t help them. Gliss were the enemy.

  Ceara’s body had black and purple bruises covering almost every inch of it. Ed knew full well what the Gliss were capable of.

  “Let me stay with you,” Ceara said to Ann. “I can help you. You know I helped the resistance for years whilst I worked for Orla. Maybe I can help you stop Urien.”

  Ed snorted. “Yeah, right. You’ll betray us, like you did when we went to meet you in that bunker. You kidnapped me and turned me into a beast.” He crossed his arms. Ann, you can’t be serious about working with her. She’ll use us just like she did last time. We can’t afford to trust her again.

  Ann knelt to examine the bruises. “You need healing.”

  “Magic won’t work very well on me. I’m a Gliss.”

  Jax, get here now, Ed ordered. Hurry.

  Jax swooped down in his crow form then shifted back into his human one. “What’s wrong?”

  Ed motioned to Ann, who had just removed the last of Ceara’s shackles.

  “Holy crap!” Jax exclaimed and raised his staff. Light flowed around him as he hardened his skin and prepared for a possible attack.

  “Stand down!” Ann said she rose to her feet. “No one is killing her.”

  “Jax, keep an eye on the Gliss.”

  Ed grabbed Ann’s arm and pulled her aside. “Ann, we can’t have a Gliss travelling with us. Especially not after everything she’s done. She’ll lead Urien straight to us.” He kept a grip on her arm.

  Why is she even suggesting such a thing? Jax asked.

  Ed conjured a mental wall so Ann wouldn’t overhear them. Your guess is as good as mine.

  “She’s not in any fit state to run off. She needs help.” Ann tossed away the metal cuffs.

  “Why would you help a Gliss? You hate them as much as anyone,” Ed said. “Surely you can’t trust her. Her wanting to help us is ridiculous. Look what happened the last time we trusted her.”

  “She helped me escape when Urien held me captive.” Ann pulled her arm away from him. “She hates him.”


  “That doesn’t make her an ally.”

  “She and I were friends once. She used to be your sister.”

  He glowered over at Ceara. “Yes, that’s what makes her betrayal all the worse. She’s the reason why I got turned into a beast. Gliss are incapable of being benevolent. They revel in pain and torture,” Ed said. “I don’t know why you’d even consider taking her with us.”

  “Xander asked me to help her. And after everything she showed me when I was held prisoner, I trust her. She doesn’t need to prove her loyalty for me.”

  His eyes narrowed. Ed knew she’d had dreams Xander since Urien had possessed him. Even he couldn’t believe Xander would suggest such a thing, not after Ceara had cheated on him with Urien. Ed knew the dreams were probably just a trick sent by Urien. No doubt he’d just be toying with his sister’s emotions to manipulate her.

  “That could be Urien posing as Xander, trying to trick you into taking pity on her,” he said. “Urien must have known we’d come here. He’ll use her to spy on us with.”

  “I know the difference between my brothers.” Her brow creased.

  “Orla tricked you into telling her how to free Urien’s soul.” He knew that was a low blow, but he had to make her see reason. They couldn’t risk ever trusting Ceara again.

  “I trust my instincts, and they are telling me to help her.”

  Sage came over. “I agree with the others. We can’t have a Gliss with us,” said the other druid. “Kill her. It was her kind who killed Flora. She should die.”

  Ceara glowered at Sage. “Of course you would blame me for Mum’s death. I didn’t kill Flora. I loved her; she was a mother to me.” She made a move to get up again but stumbled back. She hit the ground, hard.

  “Didn’t do anything to save her, did you?” Sage snarled and pulled out a knife.

  Ed’s eyes widened. He’d never seen Sage threaten anyone before.

  Ann gripped Sage’s wrist. “Don’t. Killing her wouldn’t be what Flora would want.”

  Sage threw the knife to the ground in disgust and yanked her arm away from Ann. “How would you know what Flora would want? You didn’t know her like I did. That bitch killed her.” She jerked her hand at Ceara. “You are just letting her get away with it.”

  “I do know Aunt Flora loved her foster children more than anything. You’d be dishonouring her memory by killing Ceara. No one is going to kill her, that’s an order. For all of you.” She glanced from Ed to Jax then back at Sage. “Am I clear?”

  Ed couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever given them orders. Guess she’s more of the archdruid than she likes to let on. I knew the old Rhiannon Valeran was in there somewhere.

  “We need to get moving,” he said. “Urien will sense something’s wrong. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

  Ann drew a circle and traced different symbols on the ground. “Ed, help Ceara up, and everyone gather inside the circle.” Ed opened his mouth to protest. “Just do it,” Ann snapped.

  Ed yanked Ceara up, and the five of them reappeared a few miles away in a large field full of dried grass and brambles. A ditch overgrown with nettles sat off to one side and a few large black horned cows sent curious glances their way. The scent of grass and nettles made Ed long for the smell of the sea again.

  Ed’s fangs ached to come out and hunt one of them down. What is wrong with me? Damned beast. He clenched his fists and yanked his leather fingerless gloves back on.

  Ceara sagged against him, her legs unable to hold her up.

  “There’s a village not far from here. You and Jax go see if they have a healer.” Ann rummaged through her pack. It looked like a plain leather satchel with a flap over it that fastened shut, but the bag had been charmed so it could hold an enormous number of items.

  “I’m not leaving you and Sage alone with the Gliss.” Ed crossed his arms.

  She rolled her eyes. “Go, I’ll be fine. Do you want me to make that an order too?”

  “Ann, he’s right,” Jax said, gripping his staff. “We can’t have a Gliss. She’ll turn on us just like she did five years ago.”

  “Go, both of you,” she snapped. “We’re not going anywhere until Ceara’s wounds are tended to.”

  Ed and Jax headed out to the nearby village of Mirstone. Grey stone houses with thatched rooves littered the cobblestone streets. The smell of vegetables and stew filled the air as they passed different stalls of merchants selling their produce.

  He didn’t like the fact they were still within the borders of Caselhelm, but Ann couldn’t remain out of the land for too long without weakening. They always had to move around places on its border and remain one step ahead of Urien.

  “Has Ann lost her mind?” Jax asked. “We can’t have a Gliss with us. Not her. She’ll kill us.”

  People called out to them, asking them to buy things. They couldn’t afford to waste good coin on things they didn’t need. Ed wanted to get to Trewa as soon as possible.

  “I don’t understand either.” Ed shook his head. “She must feel sorry for her. Ceara helped her escape after Orla captured her and brought Urien back.” He dodged a woman carrying buckets brimming with water. Some of it sloshed over his boots.

  “She’s still bloody Gliss!” Jax lowered his voice. “She betrayed us all once; what’s to stop her from doing it again?”

  “I know, but Ann is the archdruid. We can’t—”

  “I may have sworn fealty to her, but we don’t have to take orders from her like we did with Darius. We’re all friends, right?”

  He shrugged. “Ann can and will pull rank when she wants to.” He scanned the rows of houses. Up ahead was a set of small shops. All of them were tiny stone buildings with whitewashed walls and thatched roofs. Each one had a wooden sign hanging outside. More stalls surrounded them with people peddling their goods. “I should’ve mentioned about us wasting good coin too.” Damn, why hadn’t he thought of that earlier? Healers weren’t cheap, and Ceara needed a lot of work done.

  “Do you think she’s gone a bit barmy after losing Xander?” Jax remarked. “After all she’s been through, I wouldn’t be surprised if she—”

  “She’s not mad. Maybe she’s trying to fill the void left behind by Xander’s absence.” Ed eyed a stall selling fruit and bread. It would be worth stocking up on supplies.

  “With a Gliss? They aren’t exactly warm and cuddly people, brother.”

  “Let’s just get this over with.”

  “Why can’t we just tell her there’s no healer here?” Jax grinned. “That way we wouldn’t have to waste time or good coin on a healer. Maybe that will make her see reason.”

  “She’ll know if we lie to her.” Ed spotted the sign of an apothecary shop and headed inside. The shop appeared little more than one large room. The outside of it had walls that had turned grey with bits of white paint still showing underneath. Inside the room, the wooden floor was cracked and dirty. Shelves with different bottles, jars, and vials covered each wall, and different herbs hung from the wooden rafters. The air hung heavy with the smell from the different herbs.

  The smell made Ed want to gag. He didn’t like too many smells all at once. He took a deep breath, trying to get his senses to adjust to their new surroundings.

  An old woman with weathered skin and washed-out blue eyes appeared behind the counter. “Good day to you. What can I help you with?” She wore a plain blue smock, and her grey hair was tucked underneath a black headscarf.

  “We are looking for a healer,” Ed replied. “Our…travelling companion is injured.” He didn’t think telling the truth would go over well. If Ann wanted a healer, he’d get her one.

  “I’m an apothecary. I sell medicines, but I can help with minor injuries,” she said. “Where is the person who needs tending to?”

  Ed, you can’t seriously be considering making this poor woman help Ceara, Jax said.

  Ann told us to find help. That’s what I’m doing.

  “We need a healer, is there anyone her
e who can help with more serious injuries?” Ed asked, leaning against the counter. The scent of the herbs made his nose itch.

  “The nearest healer is several miles away,” she answered.

  “How do you feel about working on a Gliss?” Jax remarked.

  Jax, I never said to tell her the truth, Ed snapped.

  The woman’s eyes widened, and all colour drained from her face. “Get out, both of you,” she hissed. “Don’t come back.”

  Ed and Jax left. “Why did you mention she was a Gliss? If that woman spreads the word about Gliss being here, this place will be flooded with Urien’s forces.” He shook his head as they made their way back through the bustling marketplace.

  “If no one will help, maybe Ann will see reason. You weren’t going to leave Ceara here, were you?” Jax dodged out of the way of someone carrying two heavy buckets.

  “No, we can’t put innocent lives at risk. I thought maybe a healer would say she’s too weak to travel and we could drop her off somewhere. We’ll have to find another way to make Ann see reason.”

  Chapter 4

  Urien let a scream of frustration as Xander’s voice droned on inside his mind. How much more of this must I endure?

  “My lord, is something wrong?” a Gliss named Olivia asked as she touched his arm.

  He shoved her away so hard she hit the floor and rolled down the wooden steps of the dais. “Don’t touch me,” he hissed. “Someone report, have there been any signs of my father’s vault yet?”

  Olivia scrambled up. “What vault, my lord?” she asked, unsteady on her feet.

  “The vault. I’ve told you worthless fools to find the vault!” he thundered.

  Around him, the guards and two other Gliss all averted their gazes. They were used to his tirades and violent outbursts by now.

  “Useless fucking idiots,” he growled.

  See, even they doubt you. They might be afraid, but they don’t respect you like a leader should be respected, Xander goaded. Face it, you don’t know who you are anymore.