Page 29 of Druid Dreams

“Also yes.”

“Are you going to explain any of this?” I propped my elbows on the tabletop and folded my hands under my chin.

“Are you going to ask me a question where the answer needs to be said in more than a one word statement?” He smarted back to me as he matched my position. Okay, he’s got me there. I filtered through my questions and realized that most of them could wait.

“Right,” I addressed myself. Flipping to professional Sloane, I started up the negotiations. “Let’s get down to business then. How much is this going to cost me and what are the stipulations that you require?”

“Hmm,” he reclined his head towards the ceiling as he made a show of thinking about my questions. He subtly adjusted his body so he could face me better before dropping his eyes back to mine. “I'll just require your company… this time.” He smirked at me. “Why don’t you sit in my booth tonight instead of yours? I’ll answer all your questions while I set up, and in between pushing my fancy buttons you can answer mine. Deal?” He waggled his eyebrows and extended his hand across the corner of the table for me to shake. I debated my opinions for a moment, but honestly, spending time with Novak sounded like fun.

I hesitantly agreed to his terms. The playful look in his eyes was enough to give me pause over my decision. Whatever. I’ll take the consequences as they come. There wasn’t much time left to plan anything out. It was 5pm already, and we needed to be at the club by 8pm for him to have time to set up. We needed to go to their apartment and get his equipment. We had to get ready. Well, I have to get ready, and he needs shoes.

“Right,” Franklin intercepted what was sure to be an awkward moment where I was still trying to believe what I’d just found out, and what I’d just agreed to. “Here are the new cell phones,” he spoke as he started handing us phones with sticky notes holding our names on their cases. “These are for Jack and Grim,” he directed as he passed me two more. “Your new laptop has already been set up and left on your desk. Palmer has another, and when you and Novak return in the morning we can transfer his stuff to this one for him to use while we send them off to be checked. I’ll have the search of the property done before you get back and I’ll text you if I find anything, though, I don’t expect to.”

“Novak and I will head to the apartment and pack a few bags. Text me what you guys need.” Stone spoke to the group. Vaughn looked exhausted, and I didn’t think he’d had any sleep. Palmer was messing with the computer from CBP and didn’t seem to hear a word Stone said. Briggs was already dozing in his chair with his head resting on his arms where they sat crossed over the table top. They need sleep.

“I’m gonna go jump in the shower and wash all this filth off.” I motioned my hands around my body. Stone and I came in covered in dirt and dried blood. “Franklin can show you guys around the house when you’re ready. Make yourselves at home.” I had too much shit running through my head to be any more polite than that. “Franklin, when I’m done you can drop me off with Novak. Then, go buy whatever supplies we may need for the trip to Kentucky that we don’t have here or in storage. I’d like to have all the weapons and bags packed so we can leave in the morning. Also, get a rental van too. I don’t want to take any personal vehicles that can be traced back to us. Am I forgetting anything?” I’d been slowly backing up to the door as I spoke. The dried blood didn’t really bother me, but the dirt? Yeah, I don’t like it.

Tomorrow was going to suck so bad, but I’d get to kill some bad guys so that would help. Then it would suck some more as we made our way back to wherever we ditched the van. I wondered briefly if I could teleport people. Probably best not to practice that on my mates.

“I’ll have everything ready, Madam,” he assured me before my mind really derailed.

“One last thing,” Palmer regarded me before he continued, “I, ehh, think I may have found a spell ta turn yer hellhounds into somethin’ other than dogs. I don’t know what yer limits with magic are, but I could probably change them into somethin’ like mice that would fit in yer bag.”

“Thanks, Palmer,” I smiled coquettishly at him. I hadn’t found a limit to my magic yet. I’d have to explain that eventually. But not right now. “Send me a picture of the spell when you get a minute and I’ll see what I can do.” I winked at him as I exited the basement and made my way back to the ground floor of the house.

As I leaped up the stairs two at a time that led to my bedroom, I let my mind wander over the last two days. Too much had happened and I hadn’t had a moment to digest it. I started shedding my clothes as soon as I shut my bedroom door. I made it to the bathroom and stepped into the shower before I even turned it on. The blast of baltic water brought me back to reality for a brief few seconds before I nose-dived into the rabbit hole of spiraling emotions all over again. Except, this time I let it happen. I didn’t stop the tears that fell from the corners of my eyes. I needed this breakdown to happen now, not tomorrow when we walked into an unknown situation, and not later tonight when I wasn’t alone. Right now. It was going to happen and then I was going to move the fuck on. Let me list the shit I’m dealing with:

I bought a company to put a stop to a horrible drug that hit the black market, then realized the previous owner's son had started stalking me.

I found out I had mates. Plural. And one of those mates was the asshole that broke my heart two years ago.

I found out my parents may have been bugged, and I was being followed by someone other than the stalker I’d carelessly collected.

I needed to make alliances and build an army, even though I had no idea what that meant.

Then, I found out the fucking Druid mentioned above was kidnapped and in deep shit, and we had to rescue him before he was killed.

The thought of bringing York back into my life was what had me really and truly twisted. I wasn’t ready to face him. Not by myself anyway, but also not with an audience.

Time to pull my big girl panties up and dry my eyes. I've got shit to do. The rest of this breakdown will have to be penciled into my schedule at a later date.

Sloane

Saturday Late Afternoon

I threw on some light grey jeans and a black crop top when I got out of the shower. This is one of my favorite tops. It crisscrossed between my breasts and wrapped around my neck and waist. The back was open and exposed, and the fabric felt like a well-worn t-shirt. I admired the way it hugged my chest as I waved my hand around my hair and magicked that shit dry. I then twirled my fingers to add some beachy waves to my straight silver locks. Sometimes I found myself loving magic. Sometimes, I was bitter that I had to learn it on my own and not from my mother. That was the cycle of my life on any given day.

Snapping my fingers, I applied my makeup. There was no way I could do makeup so effortlessly by hand. Magic is cheating, I know, and I don’t care. You use what you’ve got. Now I just needed shoes and I’d be ready to leave. Wait, scratch that. I stuffed a short black skater skirt in my purse first, and then I started searching for shoes. Shoes, shoes… Why can I only find one of almost every pair of shoes I own? Mother fu-

“Helios!” I snarled his name as I marched down the stairs and stomped through the house, “You rotten fucking hound! Where are my shoes?” I yelled, completely forgetting there was actual, live people in my home that would hear me screaming at the hellhound.

“Here,” Palmer tossed me one of my black Vans and a half chewed tennis shoe. “I've no idea whose who, but I snatched these from the red one before he made it out the back door.”

“That’s Helios. He didn’t burn you, did he?” Palmer didn’t realize how lucky he was to still have eyebrows, or pants. Or fucking skin. He’s a brave one to go toe-to-claw with Helios so soon.

“Nah, but you’ve got a burn mark on the outside of yer door now, because I slammed it right in his fire breathin’” face.” He huffed a laugh and rubbed his hands together looking embarrassed.

“Thanks. That asshole stole half of my shoes. Atlas will bring them back though. He’s the fawn one. He’ll be nice if you see him running around. Cronus is the brindle one, dark with stripes in his fur.”