by Shea Balik
The End of Darkness
Druid’s Curse 1
Ryley Duggan resented his family for forcing him home on his twenty-first birthday to perform another stupid fire ritual, instead of letting him go out and get shit-faced like normal people his age. He’d never believed in the stories his grandmother told him about the reason behind what they were doing. That was, until he walked outside to the bonfire to see bloodcurdling creatures that no Hollywood studio had ever come close to replicating, killing his family.
Since an early age, Eirik had one job, to protect the ancestors of the one who’d cursed him and his friends. It hadn’t been what he’d ever imagined for his life, but after nearly a millennia Eirik had learned one thing, life never went as planned. Never had that been truer than when he’d rescued Ryley from certain death.
Now the two must learn to work together to save humanity. Will all be lost? Or will they discover a way to heal their hearts by opening themselves up to love?
Copyright ©2019 Shea Balik
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Smashwords Edition
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This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover by: Harris Channing
Edited by: Avril Stepowski
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
Dedication
Now is the time to honor the rebirth of the sun, to remember the light in the darkest part of the season with hope of good things to come, and the promise of a renewed life.
CHAPTER 1
November 2
Icy tendrils permeated the thin material of Ryley Duggan’s shirt, sinking into his skin, snaking through his veins, invading every cell, freezing them, until nothing could touch him. He wondered if he would ever be warm again. Fitting, after what he’d lived through.
Pristine white snow covered the ground as if mother earth had tucked her child into bed. It was serene and he was loathed to ruin its frozen beauty.
The horror from two nights ago swept through him, reminding him nothing in life would ever be perfect again. Not to him, anyway. The need to prove that had him lifting his foot to destroy the beauty around him to match what was in his heart.
The crunch of the frozen layer of snow underneath his shoe was new to him. He’d spent his entire life in Florida, never once experienced a winter like those in the north. A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips in satisfaction. The ability to obliterate the pure majesty of the landscape by leaving his mark on the land gave him a flash of both sadness and gratification.
All it took was one careless act to leave a life shattered with no ability to pick up the pieces and put them back together again. Just as his foot print would remain, soiling the ethereal splendor that surrounded him, so would the devastation that changed Ryley’s life forever.
The frosty air enveloped him in its chilly embrace. Ryley opened his arms to welcome the numbing effect so he wouldn’t have to feel his very existence crumbling at his feet.
Raising his face to the sky with eyes closed, Ryley clung to this one moment of peace. A soft flutter brushed across his face. He lifted his lashes and was momentarily struck by the sight. Snowflakes gracefully floated in the air to land on anything in their path.
Too enthralled to even realize what he was doing, Ryley stuck out his tongue, like a child, to catch several of the flakes. Spinning around in wonder he let himself take in the surreal tranquility that enfolded him in that moment and let go of everything else. It was as if Mother Nature sensed his need to forget by laying this breathtaking experience at Ryley’s feet.
But the ache in his chest was too strong to ignore for long. Reality was quick to yank him back into its never-ending grip. Like a sick magic show, the cold snow turned to a burning hot fire, as he watched the ones he loved more than anything else die before his eyes. A nightmare he prayed he would wake up from to find it nothing more than a vague memory. Instead, he was plagued with guilt for not being able to save those he should have protected.
No amount of pinching himself or closing his eyes woke Ryley from the hell he was forced to endure. What should have been the ultimate day of achievement had ended in a horror that his brain played on a loop of torment.
His heart raced and his breath caught in his throat. Life-giving air refused to be inhaled as he struggled to release the knot growing in his throat. Panic seized hold of Ryley, refusing to let him out of its tenacious grip.
A hand touched his shoulder. A deep voice rumbled in his ear. “Breathe.”
It was only one word, but it forced the building hysteria back until it was nothing more than a slight nuisance on the edge of his senses. Precious oxygen was pulled inside of him once more in great gulps that left him bent over with his hands upon his knees.
Irritated at the man who once more had saved him, Ryley glanced over, only to have his unruly dick twitch at the too handsomely rugged man, who had to be at least five inches taller than Ryley’s own six-foot frame. Light brown hair with streaks of honey shot through the wild, untamed strands, a strong chin and eyes that were richer than any emerald he had ever seen made the fierce warrior more gorgeous than any man should be.
Of course, the chiseled muscles that seemed to cover his entire body didn’t hurt either. Ryley still wasn’t sure the story that he had been sent to save Ryley could be trusted, but as much as he hated admitting it, the wave of lust that flowed through him each time he glanced at the devastatingly handsome man-made Ryley want to trust him
Eirik. Ryley knew it to be a name from
the old world. Norwegian would be his guess. Either way, his deep voice with the slightest hint an odd accent, sent shivers racing down his spine each time he spoke.
Refusing to let his thoughts wander to what it would be like to kiss Eirik’s firm lips, Ryley focused on how much he hated this man for not warning Ryley’s family of their impending doom.
His testiness only increased when he noticed Eirik was eyeing Ryley like some little kid instead of the twenty-one-year-old man he was. Sure, Ryley may have just caught snowflakes on his tongue, but he had needed the reprieve from the images that were emblazoned in his brain, reminding Ryley of all that he’d lost.
It might be nothing more than an illusion, but Ryley needed that moment of contentment, no matter if it caused him to appear more like a child than the adult he was. The knowledge that he’d failed to save his grandparents, parents, and older sister weighed heavily on Ryley’s conscience.
His gaze flicked to the SUV parked a few feet away. At least he’d managed to rescue Meghan, sort of. His little sister was the light of Ryley’s life. He would have done anything for her. Tears sprang from his eyes as he thought of what he’d done to her. It pained him to know that the hope he’d had for both of their futures would never come to pass.
Not willing to dwell on the deeper meaning, Ryley bent down and picked up a handful of snow with his bare hand. Within a few moments his fingers were turning numb and he willed it into his heart.
“Come on, Ryley, we need to keep going.” Just like that - reality slammed back into place, this time refusing to release him from its tentacles and give him another moment of peace. Dropping what was left of the fast melting snow, Ryley didn’t say anything as he returned to the truck and the one person he hated more than anything.
Resentment at the intrusion bubbled up inside. Eirik may be drop dead gorgeous, like some Viking warrior straight out of Norse mythology, but Ryley couldn’t stop blaming him for not getting there sooner to stop his family from being slaughtered.
He tried not to wince when he slammed the door shut, the sound causing the large SUV to shutter from the force. No doubt about it, Ryley was being a brat. Eirik didn’t necessarily deserve his petulance, but Ryley found it impossible to prevent his anger from rising like the flames that had licked the sky as it engulfed his family’s home.
He glanced back at Meghan, relieved to see his childish action hadn’t woken her.
Eirik gave Ryley an odd expression as he put the vehicle in gear.
“What?” Ryley had to bite back the urge to apologize when he heard his voice. The growly tone reminded him of an injured dog warning others away. The deep resonance vibrated through the vehicle.
Great. If he didn’t learn to control himself, Ryley was going to wake Meghan for sure.
Instead of being intimidated, Eirik’s eyes flashed with a fire that caused Ryley’s heart to start pounding. His hands dampened with more than a little fear as he stared into those green eyes that sparkled as if they were gems cut from the earth.
He had no idea who Eirik really was, just that he’d saved Ryley. Well, Ryley and his sister, Meghan, who, thankfully, had still been in the house when the rest of Ryley’s family had been attacked.
For that reason alone, Ryley knew he needed to stop lashing out. The closeness he shared with his little sister would have broken him completely if he’d lost her, too.
He dared to look away from Eirik, who had regained his control, if his blank expression was anything to go by, and glanced back to where Meghan lay sleeping. Bandages were wrapped around her hands and along the right side of her face.
Guilt once more swamped Ryley, knowing he was to blame for her injuries. He hadn’t known he was even capable of using… Ryley turned back to the front, unable to bear the weight of his crime.
“Hey.” Eirik reached out. His fingers traced a path along Ryley’s jaw, forcing him to once more stare into emerald eyes that were filled with remorse, instead of the fire they had been moments ago. “You helped save her. Those burns will heal but she’s going to need you when she comes to grips that you’re all she has left.”
Eirik was right. The question was, who was going to help Ryley cope? Resentment reared its ugly head once more. “No one asked you.”
Dropping his hand from Ryley’s face, Eirik gave a deep sigh. For a second, Ryley was sure Eirik was about to say something else, but he must have decided against it, since he drove out of the little rest area.
Staring blankly out the window, Ryley gave one last look at the footsteps he’d left, marring that once pristine snow-covered ground, never to be the same. An apt metaphor for how his own life would forever be changed. A shudder went through him as the past two days played again in his head.
CHAPTER 2
October 31
“It’s about time you got here,” his grandmother, Maureen Lorcan said, scowling at him. The woman was batshit crazy and scarier than anyone Ryley had ever met.
Ryley held back the sigh that wanted to escape, for the last thing he wanted was a lecture from this woman. Thankfully, Ryley’s mom walked in and threw her arms around him. “Ryley, you made it.”
Like he’d had a choice.
Then his mother was pushing him back out the door. “I need you to go pick up Meghan from the dance studio. Make sure to hurry, there isn’t much time.”
Halloween, a night Ryley had dreaded since he turned eight and he’d finally realized his family wasn’t like everyone else. Things that normally occurred on this day for his friends, like haunted houses, Halloween parties, and trick or treating weren’t something he was allowed to participate in, which really sucked since it was also his birthday. No, they celebrated Samhain with the Féile na Marbh, the Festival of the Dead.
What should have been a day filled with candy and friends, consisted of bonfires, chanting, and dancing, something Ryley detested with a passion, mainly because he had never had anything close to rhythm. Although the steps weren’t actually performed with music, Ryley had the unique ability to be out of step with the rest of his relatives. Even when they weren’t dancing, he often felt that way around his family.
Grateful he wouldn’t have to help set things up, Ryley got back into his car and went into town to pick up the one person in the family who still could make him smile, his little sister, Meghan. As excited as he was to see her again, Ryley couldn’t stop dreading the night to come.
As a child of about three of four, he’d been terrified of the bonfires and would scream and cry until he was finally allowed to go back in the house. The older he got, the less the fire bothered him.
He’d tried to tell his parents that he could feel the flames pulsing with strength, but they’d waved off his concerns as being over imaginative. But that experience never diminished, even to this day.
It was as he turned into a teenager that Ryley truly resented that he was forced to participate in his family’s archaic traditions. Rituals took away from his time with friends for a belief in the old ways that Ryley assumed was nothing more than folklore.
Yet, no matter how many times he complained, his parents would demand his attendance. When he tried to appeal to his grandma on his father’s side, she patted his hand and assured him one day he would be grateful for these times with his family.
Fairly certain that wouldn’t happen in his lifetime, he even went to his grandmother on his mother’s side, which wasn’t something he ever dreamt he’d find the courage to do. Grandma Maureen may only be five-foot-three and most likely didn’t even weigh a hundred pounds, but he’d seen the strongest of men cower before her.
It had been no surprise to Ryley when he approached her, he received her hard stare and a cryptic message that made not a whit of sense. “Stop whining. The day will come, far sooner than you think, when you will be tested. If you fail, so does the world.”
What the fuck?
Ryley should have known better than to ask her for help. He had no one to blame but himself for that mistake.
There were other families similar to Ryley’s. They too practiced the old ways by celebrating the solstice and equinox, but no days were as important as Samhain and Beltane. Not even Ryley’s birthday. Until now.
Even though he was in college and lived two hours away, he was expected to be home every year for each of the celebrations. Ryley turned twenty-one that day. He’d wanted to go out with his friends and celebrate. Now that he was legal, he’d planned on getting shit-faced drunk. Yeah, he’d done so many times already, but that was with his fake ID. This time he could do so with his own driver’s license.
Why did it matter? It didn’t. Which is why he’d ended up coming home. Or, at least, that’s what he tried to tell himself, for he refused to accept that he felt compelled to return to his family on a night he should have been celebrating himself, not some stupid ritual. It was as if there wasn’t a choice, which according to his parents, there wasn’t. But it went far beyond their influence.
Deep inside, Ryley could sense a presence within him that wanted out by whatever means necessary. It was the only time in Ryley’s life that fear became a living breathing thing inside of him. If the stories his grandparents and parents tried to teach him were true, he would come into his powers that night.
