A Family Oath
Chronicles of an Urban Druid™ Book 3
Auburn Tempest
Michael Anderle
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2020 LMBPN Publishing
Cover by Fantasy Book Design
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
A Michael Anderle Production
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
First US edition, November 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-1-64971-328-5
Print ISBN: 978-1-64971-329-2
The A Family Oath Team
Thanks to our JIT Team:
Jeff Goode
Dave Hicks
Dorothy Lloyd
Deb Mader
John Ashmore
Diane L. Smith
Kelly O’Donnell
Rachel Beckford
Paul Westman
Micky Cocker
Peter Manis
Larry Omans
Editor
SkyHunter Editing Team
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
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Irish Translations
Author Notes - Auburn Tempest
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
About Auburn Tempest
Books by Auburn Tempest
Connect with The Authors
Other LMBPN Publishing Books
Chapter One
“Do you think my spear clashes with my outfit?” I pivot in front of the entrance mirror in my new kickass leather boots, silk blouse, and my ass looking fabulous in a pair of black culottes. Birga’s jagged Connemara marble spear tip is an olive green with veins of gray, brown, and black. My blouse is a vibrant emerald green to set off the russet red of my hair.
I’m not sure it’s working.
“I think you’re the only druid on the planet who would worry about it,” Calum shifts in behind me at the mirror, “but no, you’re totally rocking it. Isn’t she, Kev?”
Calum’s partner winks from the couch in the family room and finishes chewing his bagel. The guy is the blond, all-American type, and Calum was smart to snatch him up when they were young because he’s the real deal. “Nailed it. That is, if you’re going for badass sexy warrior chick.”
“As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I’m aiming for. Glad you picked up on that.” I flex my fingers and invite my enchanted spear into its resting place as a tattoo on my right forearm.
“I don’t like it one bit,” Da says, for the eleventeenth time. “Fiona, yer meetin’ the heads of all the most powerful magical sects in the city. Ye need to take me or one of yer brothers with ye.”
“Da, no. We’ve been over this. I was invited to have lunch with the Lakeshore Guild as the representative of Clan Cumhaill. There was no plus one on the invitation. Besides, I’m already sneaking Bruin in as my Killer Clawbearer party crasher.”
Da raises his finger with his scowl locked firmly in place. “Och, don’t fool yerself, missy. That is the only reason I’m lettin’ ye out the front door.”
I loop my purse’s strap over my head and free my hair from the collar of my fall jacket. “The fact that you don’t think I’m safe without a mythical grizzly bear to slaughter my way clear of enemies is insulting. And you can’t let me do anything. I’m a grown woman.”
“Yer twenty-three and think ye have the mysteries of the world figured out. Yer sorely mistaken, and I’ll not have ye losin’ yer life to learn that lesson.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes, knowing it’ll only set him off more. “Love you huge, Da. I’ll tell you all about it when you wake up tonight. Get some sleep. You’re super cranky.”
Dillan opens the hall cabinet and retrieves his sidearm from the gun safe. He’s dressed in his blues and ready to start on afternoons. “Spending all night in a tactical van with three sweaty men can do that to you. It’s even worse when you get absolutely nothing to show for it.”
Da grunts. “Ye don’t catch the big fish on yer first cast, my boy. Patience is a virtue, after all. Ye must play the game to win it.”
I grab my keys and zip them into my purse. “Which is why I’ll be perfectly safe taking this lunch meeting. Garnet has guaranteed my safety and will be my escort for the whole thing. I’ll play their game, and we’ll be more prepared with the added intel on what Toronto’s got going on.”
“Garnet Grant is a notorious criminal and old enough to be yer father. Remember that, Fiona.”
I crinkle my nose at the latter half of that sentence and won’t even open that for discussion. “I’m well aware.”
Emmet sticks his head out of the family room and points toward the front of the house. “Either your ride is here, or Janine and Mark ordered a limo to go to prom gangsta style.”
All righty. I check myself over once more in the mirror and head for the door.
“Ready and steady, Freddie.” Emmet holds his fist out for a bump. “You’ve got this, Fi. Represent.”
“Have ye got yer phone?”
“Yes, Da.” I lean forward, kiss his scruffy cheek, and give him a reassuring look. “Clan mac Cumhaill for the win. As Emmet said, I’ve got this.”
“I bet Daniel said the same thing while headin’ straight into the lion’s den. The man is literally a lion, Fi. Don’t let his smarmy smile fool ye.”
I wave over my shoulder as Da’s warnings follow me off the porch in the crisp, autumn air.
“Locked and loaded, sista,” Dillan calls after me.
“Always.”
As I approach the curb, Garnet Grant slides out of the black Hummer limousine’s back seat and straightens. The man is equal parts elegance and arrogance in a black-on-black suit and possesses enough sculpture in his frame to make a girl’s inner butterflies flutter.
He also has a gift of coercion—less sexy—but thankfully, that doesn’t work on me.
I’d like to think I’m immune because I’m not that girl. You know, the type of girl to get swept away by the man’s stunning amethyst eyes and panty-dampening deep voice.
Truth is, it’s more likely my shield protecting me.
The Fianna crest that appeared on my back the day this whole druid adventure started is a double-edged sword. It protects me from the dangers of the hidden realms of magic, but it’s also a beacon that draws those dangers straight to me.
Ironic, right?
“Lady Druid.” Garnet dips his chin.
“It is my pleasure to be your escort for the next few hours.”
“I want her back in one piece, Grant,” Da snaps. Oh, goody, he followed me out. “Not a scratch on her, or I’ll raze the fuckin’ city and burn down yer house of cards.”
“Da, stop,” I hiss.
“It’s fine.” Garnet straightens beside me. “You have my word, Niall. May I call you Niall?”
“No.”
Emmet chuckles as he slides into the mix.
Garnet doesn’t seem to care one way or another. “I give you my oath, Mr. Cumhaill. For this luncheon, I will guard your daughter with all I am and return her to you exactly as she is now, breathtaking and whole.”
Okay, I appreciate the solemn vow and all, but I could do without the bit about me being breathtaking.
Because, ew, Da’s not wrong.
The man might look like he’s in his early fifties, but aside from being the Grand Governor of the Lakeshore Guild of Empowered Ones, he’s also Alpha of the Toronto Moon Called. As a lion shifter, he’s bound to age well and could be sixty or seventy for all I know.
“If he tries anything,” Dillan joins the testosterone party at the curb and pats his gun at his hip, “send him to the dragon queen to get munched.”
I catch the slight twitch of Garnet’s lips as they rise over his canines. Yep. Good one, Dillan. Rub salt in the wound. I did send one of Garnet’s men to their death at the hand of the dragon queen—well, at the teeth of her, I assume.
I didn’t mean to.
Well, I sorta did…and sorta didn’t.
Hey, I told him to stop groping me and roughing me up. He deserved it. I think so, anyway.
By the look on Garnet’s face, I doubt he’d agree.
“No one will be sent to the dragon’s lair to get munched.” I offer Garnet an apologetic smile. “The only munching today will be lunch. Now enough jabbering. Goodbye, family, go inside and let us leave.”
As my grand protectors turn and grumble their way up the walkway, Da stands his ground and crosses his arms. “Not one scratch, Grant.”
Garnet straightens, and a growl rolls from his chest that echoes and vibrates through mine. When his eyes flip from purple to gold, I feel the magic of his lion ascending. “I gave you my oath, Cumhaill. You would do well not to question my honor.”
Awesomesauce. “Okay, buh-bye. Love you all.”
I close the distance to the passenger door, but before I grab for the handle, Garnet reaches around me and opens the door. I offer him a smile and slide into the back seat.
He rounds the truck limo and climbs in on the driver’s side. By the time he looks at me, his eyes are amethyst once again. “Never a dull moment with your family, is it, Lady Druid?”
I rub a hand over my face and sigh. “Nope. It’s endless fun, twenty-four-seven.”
Garnet leans forward and knocks on the opaque privacy glass that divides us from the driver. The truck engine rumbles to life with a beefy growl, and we pull into motion.
“I’m sorry they were rude. They get a little heavy-handed when it comes to my safety.”
“They are your pride, and you are their only female. I don’t suppose it’s much different from how the males of the Moon Called protect our females.”
My seat belt clicks as we pull away from my house. “I suppose not.”
“Males posture when they get protective, Lady Druid. It’s a fact no female has much control over.”
I glance out the window and track our progress as we drive off my street and head along Wellesley toward Sherbourne. “It occurs to me that I don’t know where we’re going. Does the Lakeshore Guild have a head office? Are your gatherings catered? Are we meeting in a restaurant? What should I prepare for?”
Garnet sits back and runs and a strong hand over the knee of his fine, tailored slacks. While I’ve never noticed him wearing rings before, today he has a large, silver signet ring on the ring finger of his right hand.
“What does the symbol on your ring mean?”
Garnet flexes his fingers to show me and points. “This is the insignia of the Lakeshore Guild. The pentacle, of course, represents the unending connections of the elements—earth, wind, fire, water, and spirit. The Centurion’s helmet in the center represents the honor of battling for our people. And this sigil dates back to Babylonian times as the symbol for truth and justice.”
“Does the Guild live up to all that?”
Instead of giving me a quick, pat answer, Garnet thinks about it. “We strive to, although like any organization, there are things that can be improved and those who fail to share the long-term vision. We are a work in progress, but I’m proud of what we do, yes.”
“Is this luncheon something you often do?”
Garnet sighs. “These are all the wrong questions.”
The snap in his voice is harsh, but I try not to let it get to me. “Okay, then what are the right questions?”
“You need to worry less about the location, the lunch arrangements, and my ring and more about the intentions and alliances of the people you will encounter.”
I’m not keen on his tone, Red, Bruin communicates on the mental frequency he and I share from our bond. Are we walking into a hostile camp?
I rub the spot on my chest where I feel his spirit wriggle inside me. Not sure. I get the feeling that I might end up owing Da an apology. Damn, I don’t want to eat crow on this.
Forewarned is forearmed. We’ll take whatever they throw at us and be ready.
I draw a calming breath and focus on the “right” questions. “Are you saying I’ll find this luncheon unpleasant?”
“Physically, no. I gave you and your family my word that you’ll come to no harm and I meant it.”
“Buuut?”
He lifts his knee and turns toward me on the wide bench seat. After stretching his arm across the back of it, he taps the leather of my headrest. “I did as you asked and looked into the events leading up to the Vow of Vengeance leveled against you by the hobgoblins.”
“And?”
“You were indeed targeted from the beginning. I apologize that Barghest took out personal grievances against you using their power and standing within the Lakeshore Guild. That’s not what our organization is about.”
As we move through the streets, I track where we are. If something happens later, I’d like to know where to take my complaints. “So, if you know they targeted us, and you know Barghest is a bunch of dark, necromancer dickwads with an ax to grind, why do you think I’ll have an unpleasant meeting? Shouldn’t people apologize and make nice?”
Garnet arches an ebony brow as if that suggestion offends him somehow. “You assume the other Guild Governors care about internal sect squabbles. To them, you’re an unknown startup who possesses more power than you should and has become embroiled in our business.”
“Embroiled? I’m more of a slow roast girl myself. I don’t recall getting embroiled in anything of my choosing.”
“Be that as it may, you and your family have killed close to thirty card-carrying members of the Guild over the past few months.”
“In self-defense.”
He lifts his broad shoulders and tilts his head from side to side. “That’s your take on it. The leader of the Barghest has a different tale to tell.”
“Who, Droghun? Yeah, I’m sure he does. That creeper tried to drug and paralyze me so he could drag me into the shadows of the forest and do goddess only knows what to me. He offends me on every level. Forgive me if I don’t put much faith in anything spewing out of his mouth.”
Garnet frowns but I have no idea what part of what I said offends him. “He claims you have illusions of grandeur and conspire to take his seat as Druid Guild Governor.”
I laugh. “And join a bunch of creepy, power-driven misogynists out to squash anyone who doesn’t play by their rules? Yeah no, I can’t see me fitting in at that roundtable.”
His lips purse and the truck fills with the low rumble of his lion’s growl. “Is that how
you see me?”
I sigh and take a moment to consider. “I think you are definitely power-driven and would have no problem squashing someone who crosses you, but no, I don’t believe you’re creepy enough to try to strip me down as a blood sacrifice or overpower me with drugs and paralytics because you don’t have the balls to come at me head-on.”
He shakes his head. “But that’s all I get? I rank just above rapists and spineless psychopaths. Well, one thing’s for certain, a male always knows where he stands with you.”
I bite my bottom lip and groan. “Sorry. It’s a family trait. I don’t filter well. I’ve ended more than a few friendships by telling it as I see it. In truth, you rank quite a bit higher than that, and you’re gaining points all the time.”
He flips his fingers and waves that away. “No need to apologize. Your experience thus far with our organization is tainted, to say the least. I do, however, intend to prove to you that the Lakeshore Guild of Empowered Ones is more than what you think.”
I doubt that but where there’s life there’s hope, amirite?
“Even if I think your boy’s club of dictators and delinquents should come out from behind their iron curtain to get a fresh air perspective on what’s going on in the city streets?”
He dips his chin. “Yes, even then.”
* * *
I’m not sure what to expect as Garnet opens my door and offers his hand to help me out of the truck. A corporate center in the heart of the city maybe? A private dining room at a swank restaurant? What I don’t expect is to step down from the chrome running board of the Hummer-sine and be standing at the Toronto Harbourfront looking at the Jubilee Queen Riverboat Cruise ship.
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