A Gilded Cage (Chronicles of an Urban Druid Book 1)

by Auburn Tempest

  I can’t say I feel bad about that.

  Maybe the others will see their fearless leader dead in the grass and bug out. That’s probably wishful thinking.

  Before the next goon comes at me, I grab the spear and ready myself. My left arm is sloppy, but other than that and my hands being punctured and bleeding, and my muscles quivering like I’m about to collapse, I’m in top form.

  I duck a fireball and startle when someone bumps my back. It’s Sloan, and he’s taking on three.

  When I turn to block a parry, he gives me a critical once-over. “Ye look like shite, Cumhaill. Can’t leave ye alone fer a second. Lugh said ye needed savin’ again.”

  I snort while struggling to work Birga in my injured hands to learn her balance changes. She’s a magnificent weapon, and I see why Fionn loved her.

  “Me?” I strike away the guard of an attacker and wince as my arm lights up. I stagger to the side and stab forward, burying the spear tip into his thigh. “The last time I saw you, I was the one who did the saving.”

  “One time.” He thrusts a palm out and knocks another man flying. “Should we start keeping track?”

  “Hells yeah.”

  “Speakin’ of keepin’ things. Are ye keepin’ that pig poker in yer arm as a souvenir?”

  I glance at the hilt sticking out of my shoulder. “It’s an unconventional accessory choice, but I think I pull it off.”

  Sloan rolls his eyes.

  I sense the moment his magic tingles over my skin and try again to pull the dagger out. This time, it slides out like a hot knife through butter.

  “Better?”

  I throw the blade at the next opponent and bury it in his thigh. I was aiming for his chest, but I’m quickly running out of steam. “I had it under control.”

  “Of course, ye did.”

  “Come on, Birga. Let’s shed some blood.” Her energy surges beneath my tingling palms and I smile as her magic takes hold. The wounds on my hands close, my shoulder stops burning, and my muscles feel like they’ve been given a high-octane refuel for a second wind. “Um, wow. Fionn said you were a special girl. Thanks.”

  Bruin rears up on his back feet and lets out a thunderous roar. He shows his massive fangs, his maw dripping with blood. “Okay, I may have peed my pants a little.”

  Sloan laughs. “I won’t hold it against ye. Yer wee man there is wicked fierce.”

  The Killer Clawbearer show sends the last of the Barghest men scrambling and hobbling away. When the rings are clear of opponents, we take a moment to catch our breath. Da always said fights end quickly. Thank goodness for that. I need to get in shape.

  The moment everything quiets down, I pull my phone out of the pocket and call up our family What’s App group.

  All is well here. How are Aiden and the others?

  Emmet responds. Recovering. Nothing major hit. Meet you at home once they’re done bandaging him up.

  Liam responds. Are you sure you’re okay? I wanted to stay, but Sloan said I’d be more useful helping Emmet.

  We’re fine. Thank you for taking care of them.

  That taken care of, I draw a deep breath and look back at the carnage. “I get that this place is spelled so that only preternaturals can find it, but we can’t leave things like this. It’ll stink. I told Calum we need a cleaner to remove bodies.”

  Sloan’s head tilts, and he looks up at me through hooded eyes. “Cumhaill, will ye ever start thinkin’ like a druid? It’s as simple as a summoning spell.”

  There have to be almost twenty dead guys. “What are we supposed to summon to eat all these bodies? We don’t have many lions roaming wild in the Don Valley.”

  Sloan shakes his head and raises his hands.

  “Springtails, earthworms, snails, and slugs,

  Millipedes, mites, beetles, and bugs,

  Decomposers feast and flourish,

  Soil and bodies fully nourish,

  Rise from the ground in heaving swarm,

  Consume the fallen, life reform.”

  What starts as a low rumble in the distance soon becomes a thundering racket. Bruin and I watch from behind Sloan as his massive army of creepy crawling creatures come to consume the dead. The ground heaves and rolls with a sea of squirming bodies.

  “That’s disgusting.”

  He rolls his eyes at me. “Yer a druid. Ye can’t only make friends with the cute and fuzzy animals of the world. Every creature has its place and its purpose.”

  In five minutes, the job is done, and the horde recedes. Gone are the last vestiges of men and clothing. Left are the polished bones and abandoned weapons.

  Sloan raises his hands once again.

  “Bearded vultures, tortoise, deer,

  Wolverine, and grizzly bear,

  Feast upon the bones of men,

  Restore the circle once again.”

  The creatures of the wild heed his call and fill the inner circle of the standing stones. When Sloan looks at me expectantly, I give in. “Okay, that was pretty spectacular.”

  His grin makes him ridiculously good looking. It’s a good thing he doesn’t smile much, or I might rethink my ‘no men until I’ve got my druid-self sorted’ decree.

  Hey Red, can I join the fun?

  I grimace as I look at the animals gathering to consume the bones of those men. The first few crunches make me wince. “Sure, buddy. Have at it. I’m going to head out and check on Aiden and the others. Meet us at home later, eh?”

  Will do. Although, that brown bear looks like she might need an escort back to her den. Don’t wait up.

  As he lumbers into the ring of the stones, I turn toward the six cars in the parking lot. “Oh, crap. What do we do about those?”

  Sloan shrugs. “Well, the Barghest owes you a car, since they killed yer death trap. I say pick one fer yerself, and yer brothers can figure out the others.”

  “Don’t speak ill of the dead. Molly wasn’t a death trap.” Still, I study the selection, liking the idea. If Fionn was known as the Robin Hood of his time, I won’t feel guilty about reaping the bad guy spoils.

  My attention zeros in on a steel gray SUV with two charcoal racing stripes that go up the hood and over the roof, all the way to the back. “That one is super sexy.”

  I move closer, cupping my hand against the window to look inside. “Leather interior…ooh, it’s niiiice. And it looks brand new.” I spread my arms and hug the car. “Pikachu, I choose you.”

  It’s not locked. Then again, why lock a car when it’s in a parking lot protected by magic, and you’re here with all your demented assassin buddies?

  “Yep, this will do nicely.” I slide into the driver’s seat and breathe in the new car smell. I reach over and pop open the glovebox to grab the manual. Reading the front cover gives me a wicked case of the giggles.

  “What is it? What’s so funny?”

  I hold up the booklet so he can read the make and model of the car. “It’s a Durango Hellcat. I love it.”

  He snorts and arches a brow. “A fitting match, then. Now all ye need are yer keys.” Sloan laughs and turns back to the bone-crunching feeding ground. “Shall we?”

  “Gross. You had to ruin it.”

  It’s nearly six that evening by the time Emmet and Liam drop Aiden at home and drive everyone else back to the house. Sloan and I have been back long enough to clean up, throw together a potato casserole, switch plates on my Hellcat, and finish the spellwork to change the ownership into my name.

  Yeah, baby.

  “Seriously?” Dillan and Calum say at the same time. “What? You get first dibs because you’re a girl?”

  I prop my hands on my hips. “No. I get first dibs because Molly got mangled and I was still standing at the end of the battle. You can take these and sort out what you want or don’t want. Sloan will help you spell the paperwork.”

  Da shakes his head. “What happened to us being law-abiding citizens the rest of the community look up to?”

  The boys look down at the keys and gr
oan.

  “Da? Can’t we at least check them out?” Emmet asks. “Calum and I have been sharing for two years.”

  “If we can’t each have one, maybe an upgrade,” Calum pleads. “C’mon, Da. Let us at least look at what’s there.”

  My father gives them one of his looks and sighs. “Fine. Yer free to look. Send me the license and registration for all of them. I’ll run the plates and see if there’s a Mrs. Barghest anywhere who will miss her car. Otherwise, I’ll consider an upgrade.”

  “Yesss!” Their palms meet over their heads in a high-five. “Sloan. Do you think you can poof us over there?”

  “What about dinner?” I demand.

  “We’ll be back in fifteen,” Dillan responds. “Twenty, tops.”

  “You’re going too, D? You have a new truck.”

  “I’m not interested in getting one, but I still want to check it out. I am a guy.”

  I look at Sloan, expecting him to protest, but by the look on his face, he’s as eager as the rest of them. “What? I’m a guy too, ye know.”

  “Can we take Birga?” Emmet eyes Fionn’s enchanted spear in the corner.

  “Not on your life.” I stare at their expectant faces and wave them off. “Go on. Safe home. Stay outta trouble.”

  “Yes, Mam.” My brothers grab hold of Sloan’s arms to hitch a ride.

  When those three are gone, the house is always markedly quieter. I flop into my seat at the table next to Liam and Da. “Another exciting day in the Cumhaill household. Did you tell Granda all is well?”

  Da nods. “He and Mam were horrified when Emmet heard ye scream and get taken. They sent Sloan in the blink and thank the Fates they did. He’s a powerful young man.”

  I nod but have no interest in talking up Sloan in front of Liam. Instead, I squeeze Liam’s wrist. “Thanks for helping to evacuate everyone. The worst part of the whole thing for me was having Da and the boys there and unable to defend themselves. I couldn’t have done what I did if it weren’t for you and Emmet getting them to safety.”

  Liam takes a swig of his beer. “We would have been there sooner, but Sloan said we had to drive. If he’s this all-powerful transporter, he should’ve poofed us straight there.”

  “He can only teleport to locations he’s already been. It’s a GPS thing. I’m glad Emmet knew where the stones were. Only Calum, Bruin, and I had been there.”

  Da nods. “It was a team effort all around.”

  The timer goes off on the casserole, and I turn the oven off but leave the food inside. Grabbing the water jug, I open the lid and run the water cold before sliding it under the faucet. “Da? You know how you said my biggest fault is thinking I’m indestructible and refusing to ask for help?”

  He grunts and offers me a wry smile. “I recall sayin’ somethin’ to that effect a time or two.”

  “Well, this is me asking for your help now.” I return to the table and sit. Taking his hand, I meet him in the eyes. “I need you to take your powers back so you can help us grow stronger. I’m not good enough to lead the boys, and if they’re not good enough, they’re going to get killed.”

  “Sloan can—”

  “Sloan’s great,” I interrupt. “I value everything he offers and is willing to teach us, but you’re our da. You know us better than anyone—our strengths and our weaknesses. I need you to help me make this druid thing work.”

  Da pegs me with a tired gaze. “Why is this so important to ye, Fi? Ye were never interested in such things before.”

  “I never knew such things existed. Think about it. Someone from the fae realm is in our city amassing an army of minions for something. I don’t know what the Barghest is all about yet, but Skull Trim said his master had big plans. If he attempts to take advantage in the city, I intend to stop it.”

  Da stares at me for a long time, his expression hard.

  “Come with us to Ireland. Help us find the Fianna fortress and recover the treasures Fionn wants us to have. Please, Da, help me—help us.”

  He sighs, and his stern expression softens to a sad smile. “Ye remind me more of yer mam every day, mo chroi. She never did back down from a fight. She’d be proud of the woman ye’ve become.”

  I lay my hand on his and squeeze. “Help me. Clan Cumhaill can be the first of the Nine Families to expand out of the homeland and remain a druid force to be reckoned with. I know it. I feel it in my everything.”

  “All right, Fiona. If it’s the only way to keep up with the chaos that is sure to ensue in our lives, I’ll take back my heritage powers and help ye become an urban druid.” Da purses his lips and takes another deep swallow of Guinness and raises his glass. “To the purity of our hearts, the strength of our limbs, and may our actions always match our speech.”

  I squeal and kiss his cheek. “Slainte mhath!”

  Thanks for reading – A Gilded Cage.

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  Irish Translations

  Arragh – a guttural sound for when something bad happened

  Banjaxed – broken, ruined, completely obliterated

  Bogger – those who live in the boggy countryside

  Bollocks – a man’s testicles

  Bollix – thrown into disorder, bungled, messed up

  Boyo – boy, lad

  Cock-crow – close enough that you can hear a cock crow

  Craic – gossip, fun, entertainment

  Culchie – those who live in the agricultural countryside

  Donkey’s years – a long time

  Dosser – a layabout, lazy person

  Eejit – slightly less severe than idiot

  Fair whack away – far away

  Feck – an exclamation less severe than fuck

  Flute – a man’s penis

  Gammie – injured, not working properly

  Hape – a heap

  Howeyah/Howaya/Howya – a greeting not necessarily requiring an answer.

  Irish – traditional Irish language (Commonly referred to as Irish Gaelic unless you’re Irish.)

  Knackers – a man’s testicles

  Mo chroi – my heart (pronounced muh chree)

  Mocker – a hex

  Och – used to express agreement or disagreement to something said

  Shite – less offensive than shit

  Slan! – health be with you (pronounced slawn)

  Gobshite – fool, acting in unwanted behavior

  Slainte mhath – cheers, good health (pronounced slawn cha va)

  Wee – small

  A Sacred Grove

  The story continues with A Sacred Grove, coming soon Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

  Pre-order now to have it delivered to your Kindle on midnight October 25, 2020.

  Author Notes - Auburn Tempest

  09/22/20

  Thank you so much for reading A Gilded Cage—I hope you loved it.

  In these crazy times of stress and everything in the world around us demanding our attention, I appreciate the time you took to escape for a while with Fiona and her family as she learns about her destiny as an urban druid.

  What a year this has been. In October 2019, Auburn Tempest launched into the Urban Fantasy arena as my second pen name. After writing 20+ sexy/steamy romances under the pen name, JL Madore, I decided to try something different. My mom is a prolific action/crime author and we decided to co-author a witch/psychic series and mash-up our styles. I had never done a procedural book and she had never done anything fantasy. It was fun. While all my stories fall into the Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/Paranormal/Sci-fi genres, it was the first time I wrote a straight action/adventure plotline without all the pounding hearts and stirring passions. I enjoyed it.

  And while I love the series with my mom, I wasn’t writing them and wanted to
take the driver’s seat.

  I approached Michael Anderle early in 2020 about putting together a collaborative series. I recognized that he and I have many the same writing goals and personality quirks and thought we’d mesh well. We both want our readers to have a fun, rollicking ride, with minimal angst, lots of laughs, and to finish a book with a swell in their hearts and a smile on their faces.

  I hope that came through to you.

  Now, a year later, I’m writing the 18th book under the Auburn Tempest name. It’s been a whirlwind.

  Having two pen names is the best of both worlds for me. It means I have two creative outlets for storytelling. For many of you, this book might be the first time you’ve read one of my stories. I hope you’re a fan and you’ll join Michael and me for the next installment of Fiona’s adventure.

  A Sacred Grove.

  Wishing you all lives filled with laughter and love.

  Hugs to all,

  Auburn Tempest

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  September 22, 2020

  First, thank you for not only reading this story but also these Author Notes in the back!

  This series is one of my favorite fun series. It hits so many aspects that I personally look for to read on the weekend.

  So when Auburn said, “We both want our readers to have a fun, rollicking ride, with minimal angst, lots of laughs, and to finish a book with a swell in their hearts and a smile on their faces, “ she nailed it.

  Well, at least for me.

  When collaborating, I talk a lot to try and pull out of their life what appeals to me as a reader, and Auburn has had an amazing and varied life. I don’t want to share too much, but I would encourage you (especially if you write a review, do it there) to ask her where she has lived and what she has done in her life.