Dragon's Gift - The Druid Complete series Box Set

by Linsey Hall

  Lachlan finished in record time, then shifted back. We joined him, leaping over the dismembered demons and continuing on. The alarm continued to sound, pounding through my head and making my brain hurt.

  Twenty yards later, the hallway abruptly stopped. A metal door blocked our way.

  I stepped back and looked at Lachlan. “Work your magic.”

  He grinned and pressed his hand to the metal. Tension thrummed across my skin as I waited for the door to heat. I stepped back, giving him room, and Jonnie followed. It glowed red and began to sag, then in a whoosh, the metal dropped, molten and puddling on the floor.

  Lachlan leapt over it.

  “Nice.” I took a running start and jumped over the metal.

  We continued on, sprinting down the hall and looking for any kind of exit.

  When the stone building began to tremble, my breath caught.

  Oh crap.

  Something bad was coming.

  Right in front of us, the hallway broke apart. Light shined in as the hall began to swing.

  “How the hell is that happening?” Jonnie asked.

  “Crazy magic.” The ground beneath me shifted as the hallway swung left, revealing nothing but open sky. Finally, the hall stopped rotating. About twenty feet away, I could see the top of the exterior castle wall. At least, that’s what I thought it was.

  I crept forward on trembling legs, hoping the ground wouldn’t give out beneath me. What I saw at the end made me gasp.

  The hallway had swung out so that it now hovered over the open courtyard, which was about a hundred feet below. My stomach pitched as I stared down at the demons.

  They roared, apparently having caught sight of my face. One threw a fireball at me. The orange flame hurtled upward, and I lunged back, desperate to avoid it.

  Lachlan caught me.

  Jonnie crept to the edge and peered over, then lunged backward. An orange fireball flew through the air a moment later.

  He turned to us. “I have a plan.”

  “Good, because I got nothing.” I was still shaking from the horrible view downward.

  “Can you make your shield again?” he asked.

  “I think so.”

  “You need to know so.”

  A memory of it faltering against the Kobolds flashed through my mind, but I ignored it. “I’m pretty sure.”

  Jonnie frowned. “Good enough.”

  “It’s the best we’re getting.”

  He grinned. “Excellent, then.”

  He explained his plan, and I wanted to vomit. Lachlan looked leery as well, but it was our only option. We both agreed.

  Jonnie edged up to where the hallway broke off and looked back at us. “Okay, get ready.”

  Lachlan and I both nodded.

  Jonnie’s magic flared on the air, that strange new car smell, and a heavy wooden board appeared in front of him. It was twenty feet long and two wide.

  Lachlan joined him, and they pushed it out across open space until it caught on the top of the exterior curtain wall twenty feet away.

  Jonnie pointed to Lachlan. “You’re up, man.”

  Lachlan stepped toward the edge and raised his hands. His magic filled the air, and briefly, time stopped. Silence descended and the demons below froze.

  “Nice.” Jonnie grinned.

  Then the spell broke. Fireballs flashed upward. We lunged back.

  “Crap! What happened?” I asked.

  Lachlan crept toward the edge and peered over, then cursed. “They’ve got a time manipulator too. He blocked my spell.”

  “Aw, hell,” Jonnie muttered.

  “I can shield us as we cross,” I said. “But it’s going to be iffy.”

  “It’ll have to do,” Lachlan said. “I’ll keep their time manipulator from freezing us.”

  I sucked in a deep breath and called on my shield magic, getting ready to protect the bridge and us.

  “Let’s go!” Jonnie darted out onto the bridge, and I followed, Lachlan bringing up the rear.

  I put all my attention toward the shield that protected us from below. It had the added benefit of making sure I didn’t focus on the demons who were trying to blow us away. Red light flashed at the bottom edge of my vision, no doubt fireballs slamming into my shield. I could feel every single one like a physical blow.

  “You’re doing great,” Lachlan said.

  I kept my gaze on the board and the wall ahead as I walked, forcing my magic to keep the shield alive.

  It began to falter as I neared the other wall. One of the fireballs blasted up past my shoulder, the heat searing me.

  “Hurry!” I shouted.

  Jonnie picked up the pace, and I followed, desperately trying to keep my footing and the shield in their proper positions.

  Another fireball broke through, this one nearly plowing into Jonnie. It missed our bridge by inches, thank fates.

  A moment later, Jonnie leapt onto the top of the stone wall, scrambling to safety. My shield was really faltering by the time I reached the wall, the repeated blows having damaged it.

  Jonnie reached for me and dragged me over. The wall was about fifteen feet wide, a massive structure that had to be almost impenetrable. It was crenellated, with those big square protrusions that were common on medieval castles and provided great cover for guards and archers.

  I turned just in time to see a fireball slam directly into the back end of our bridge, the part that was so far away it wasn’t protected by my shield. The wood splintered and Lachlan wobbled.

  A millisecond later, the bridge flipped, disappearing out from under him.

  Fear stabbed me in the chest as he lunged, reaching for the stone wall. His fingertips grabbed it, and he clung on. Panicked, I knelt to help him up, but he’d already heaved himself onto the wall.

  “Holy fates, that was close,” Jonnie said.

  “I’m so sorry.” I pulled Lachlan up, though he didn’t really need my help.

  “Not a problem.” He grinned at me, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead. “We’re all here.”

  “Phase two.” Jonnie stepped back and raised his arms, magic flaring on the air.

  Huge coiled ropes appeared at his feet, and Lachlan got to work tying them off to the crenellations.

  “So, you don’t like heights?” Jonnie asked.

  “Nope. About as much as I like taxes.” Which I’d never paid since I’d always lived off the grid.

  “Could have fooled me.” Jonnie bent and grabbed a rope. “Good luck, and try to be quick.”

  I grabbed my own rope, and Lachlan did the same. We stood at the edge, our backs to the wind, and I looked at him.

  “You’ve got this,” he said.

  “I do.” After the Eiffel Tower, the freaking beanstalk, and finally, the damned devil climb we’d just done, I was a freaking pro.

  I dropped off the edge, rappelling down as fast as I could.

  Muffin kept pace with me. You’re doing great! I’ll catch you if you fall!

  Ha. As if. My weight would take us both down.

  I ignored the thought and focused on the climb, determined to make this happen. By the time I felt solid ground beneath my feet, sweat was dripping in sticky lines down my back.

  Jonnie turned to us. “We’ve got to split up from here. I can’t be caught. You good?”

  “We’re good,” I said. “Thanks for the help.”

  “And good luck on your mission,” Lachlan said.

  Jonnie saluted and ran off, headed who knew where. I turned to Lachlan. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  We sprinted along the edge of castle wall, headed back toward the tunnel that led to the main part of the city. We had to get out of this annex before the guards spotted us.

  Unfortunately, things never worked that easily.

  By the time we reached the tunnel, more guards had spilled out of the castle entrance.

  “Where the hell were they hiding?” I panted. It’d been easy to sneak in, but getting out was hell.

&n
bsp; In a flash of light, Lachlan shifted into his black lion form. I leapt onto his back, and he thundered down the tunnel, huge paws eating up the ground. If we could just make it into the main part of the city, maybe we could get lost until Shen came to pick us up.

  We were halfway there when another army appeared, right in front of us. More mercenaries. At least twenty of them.

  Shit.

  We were blocked on both sides, trapped in this tunnel with millions of pounds of water all around.

  The Cats of Catastrophe appeared, which only affirmed that we were screwed. They only came when crap really hit the fan.

  Princess Snowflake III galloped toward one of the oncoming mercs, her white fur blowing in the wind. She’d look a bit ridiculous as a defender if I didn’t know what she was capable of. But even I didn’t expect what came next.

  She stopped and opened her mouth, shooting a blast of flame that was so big it filled the cavern, immolating the oncoming demons.

  “Holy fates,” Lachlan said. “She learned a new trick.”

  Boy, had she. The fire was too great for us to even pass through, so that way was cut off.

  The demons coming from the other end began to shriek, chaos erupting amongst themselves. Red slashes appeared across their faces and chest, so fast that it looked like an invisible lawnmower had gotten to them.

  Bojangles.

  Damn, that cat was mean when he wasn’t chasing butterflies.

  Muffin hovered near my head, wrinkled face close to mine. There’s more coming. The city got the intruder alert. You can’t go that way.

  Crap. I relayed the message to Lachlan.

  He frowned. “We’ve got to go out into the sea.”

  “How long could our air bubbles hold?” We could make our own passages, but we couldn’t make oxygen. We’d eventually breathe it all up.

  “I don’t think it matters. We have to risk it.”

  Princess Snowflake III’s flame was starting to falter, and Bojangles’s demons were beginning to calm down a bit. We were losing our advantage.

  “Yep, do it.” The charm that Shen had given me had a tracking beacon on it, so he should be able to find us. “Shen should be here soon. We’ll make it.”

  Lachlan stepped up to the edge of the tunnel, his magic filling the air. The water bowed outward as he forced it back. I followed him into the new tunnel he’d created.

  “I’ll do what I can, then you take over,” he said.

  We pushed our way through the water, Lachlan building more and more tunnel as we walked, forcing the water away from us.

  Muffin hissed. Incoming!

  I turned, catching sight of demons spilling into our new tunnel. “Cut them off!”

  Lachlan glanced back. A second later, water splashed in on the demons.

  Our tunnel was cut off from its air source. We were officially in our own little bubble, deep under the Atlantic Ocean.

  “How long do you think we have?” My breath heaved, sucking up as much oxygen as possible. I forced myself to slow. We couldn’t afford for me to freak out right now. Totally not an option.

  “No idea,” Lachlan said.

  We made our way across the seafloor, putting as much distance as we could between us and the demons who pursued us. The ground beneath my feet was a combo of mud and sand, and we passed coral heads that were larger than I was.

  I turned to check our progress and caught sight of the Fish Men swimming toward us, spears in their hands. “Oh crap. They’re coming.”

  And that was the major downside of not having gills and flippers. I might’ve been able to breathe underwater, but I was still as awkward as a human. I didn’t stand a chance.

  Lachlan still had enough power to keep commanding the water to move out of the way of our air bubble, but I added my power to his. We needed to move faster.

  This was like the slowest, weirdest chase in the history of magic. At one point, a giant grouper stared at us with his huge eyes.

  Too bad you aren’t a fishy Snow White, Muffin meowed. You could tell that big tasty fish to attack the demons.

  That would be convenient.

  But I couldn’t, and the demons were so damned close. Their bright green eyes glowed through the dark as they neared. I drew my sword from the ether, ready for them.

  “They’re coming,” I said. “You keep the bubble going. I’ll fight.”

  Muffin meowed. Fish Men for dinner!

  When the first one broke through our barrier, I lunged, stabbing with my sword. I pierced him through his gilled throat, then kicked him in the stomach and forced him back into the water.

  The trauma to the edge of the bubble caused air to flutter away from our main compartment.

  Oh no.

  Every attack would make our bubble smaller. And was the air already getting harder to breathe?

  I shook away the worry and focused on the next Fish Man. He burst through, followed by a partner that I hadn’t noticed. I went for the first guy. Muffin went for the second.

  I swiped my sword across his chest as he jabbed out with his spear. I dodged the spear, and green blood poured from the wound. He roared.

  Muffin attacked the other, claws flying as he flew around the Fish Man’s head.

  I kicked my wounded Fish Man out of our bubble, then did the same with Muffin’s.

  We could do this!

  We just had to hold them off until Shen got here. Not much longer.

  Right?

  We kept moving and fighting, moving and fighting.

  Then the attack came. A dozen of them. Reinforcements, maybe. Their eyes glowed in the ocean as they neared.

  “Take Shen’s pill!” I shouted. “Incoming!”

  I dug into my pocket and shoved the pill into my mouth, then swallowed quickly. It would help me breathe. For a little while, at least. My heart thundered as they neared.

  “You better scram, Muffin.” My voice trembled.

  I was afraid of heights, but also apparently of drowning thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface.

  Muffin disappeared, thank fates.

  The Fish Men attacked as one, surrounding the bubble and plowing inside. Such a huge attack broke the surface tension that kept the bubble in shape.

  The world exploded around me as our huge bubble turned into thousands of small ones that shot to the surface of the ocean, leaving us behind.

  Suddenly, I was slow and awkward, kicking and swinging my sword at the attacking Fish Men. They were graceful and agile, used to this strange world. I tried to control the ocean, but water rushing against water didn’t mean much. It had to interact with something, like air, for me to have any effect.

  From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Lachlan.

  Somehow, he fought with grace and power, wounding any Fish Man that approached. But they were too fast and too strong. Too many of them.

  I couldn’t create fire down here, nor wind, but I tried the earth, making the sandy bottom rise up and slam into the Fish Men that attacked. It wasn’t perfect—I was too slow underwater—but it held them off as I tried to kick my way to the surface, Lachlan at my side.

  But we were too far down. It’d take hours at this speed. We barely had ten minutes.

  We were screwed.

  15

  Panic started to tighten like a vise around my muscles. When I caught sight of the bright green lights cutting through the ocean, elation filled me.

  “Shen!” I tried to scream.

  But just bubbles came out.

  He seemed to hear a hint of noise, though, and turned toward us, cutting through the water with killer efficiency. He opened his massive mouth and roared, the sound vibrating the water around us.

  The Fish Men panicked, swimming away from us as fast as they could. Shen swam by, and we grabbed on, clinging to the spikes that protruded from his back.

  To the surface! I tried to scream at him. None of that diagonal long way. Straight to the surface of the river in Manhattan. I needed to get some frea
king air. Lachlan, even more so. He didn’t have my ability to breathe underwater.

  There was no way Shen could have heard us, but he wasn’t an idiot. He’d seen our situation when he arrived.

  The sea dragon shot for the surface, swimming straight up. The water tore at my hair as we ascended, and I clung to him. No freaking way I’d be losing my grip now.

  When we broke through the surface, I sucked in a happy breath.

  Oh fates, that felt good.

  Waves lapped at us as I gasped raggedly. A huge moon gleamed on the ocean. There was nothing for miles. Not a speck of land or a single ship. The air was cool and the ocean colder.

  I collapsed on Shen. “Definitely a one-time thing.”

  “Aye, I’ve seen enough of the realm of the Fomori.” Lachlan squeezed my arm.

  Shen huffed, then began to shoot toward shore. When we neared the city, he turned off the light that shot from his eyes and ducked down low in the water so he couldn’t be seen. Our pills had worn off, so he didn’t submerge us. If anyone looked, we’d look like a weird pair of synchronized swimmers, shooting through the water way too fast to be normal.

  It was strange, zipping through New York City on the back of a Chinese sea dragon, but I couldn’t appreciate it. All I could do was worry about my mother. The Protectorate would be actively gathering forces, though, and we’d be back there any moment.

  Shen found the first quiet, abandoned spot and swam to the shore, dropping us off.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  He nodded his big head, then dived deep into the river.

  I turned to Lachlan. “Can you make a portal?”

  He was already doing it. Magic glowed around his palm, and I stepped through the portal, letting the ether suck me in. It pulled me through space and spat me out in Scotland, on the front yard of the castle.

  The sun was high in the sky now, midday at least. Lachlan appeared next to me, and we raced into the main entry hall of the castle.

  It was chaos inside, full of people in battle garb. More flowed down the stairs and out of the halls, clearly joining the main force that would leave soon.

  Oh, thank fates.

  Love for the Protectorate slammed into me like a bus. It was my job to hunt the Fates. And the Protectorate would protect anyone who was under attack by them.