Page 47 of Druid Dreams

York was sitting with his back against one of the trees growing through the porch. His teal and green eyes were turned up to the canopy above us as he soaked in the rays of early morning sunlight. He looked better than he did when we found him last night, but it would be awhile before he was back to himself. I sank to the wooden floor beside him, content to observe nature unfold around us. The Underworld has forests and oceans similar to Earth, yet none of it felt as peaceful as this. We soaked in the quiet tranquility and minutes passed before York heaved a resigned sigh and forced his attention to me.

“She’s really mad at me, isn’t she?” He questioned me softly. I could hear regret twined into his words and his eyes closed as he waited for my reply.

“I think she’s more hurt than anything, York,” I admitted to him. “You didn’t trust her. You didn’t tell her what was going on. To her, you just disappeared. No explanations. No goodbye. Nothing.” I grimaced as I told him the truth he needed to hear.

He opened his eyes and they swelled with unshed tears. He clenched his jaw to hold them at bay. When the first tear trailed down his cheek he looked away from me and back to the sky. “She’s my mate. What was I supposed to do? Tell her? Do you know what she would’ve done, Stone?” He asked me with a hint of fear in his voice. “Exactly what she did last night, except she’d have done it by herself. I couldn’t risk her getting caught.” His tone was rough with emotion as he pushed the words out. His hands were fisted so tightly that his knuckles were changing color.

“We’re all her mates. It’s not like I don’t understand your side, because I do. I also understand hers though.” I wanted to remain a neutral party in their issues, but I knew he needed someone to talk to. York had been my friend for years. I would always be honest with him.

“No,” he whispered. “She’s not just a potential mate, Stone. We sealed the mate bond.” He paused to let his statement sink in and I turned wide eyes to him. “I never said anything to her about it. I thought that she knew, but after some time I figured out that she wasn’t aware of it. She’s so powerful that she didn’t notice any new abilities, but I did. My own power increased considerably. Magic I’d not been able to wield before was as easy as breathing, like second nature.” He blew out a strained breath and I waited for him to continue. He’s frustrated with himself, but also with her. I get it. I probably would be too.

“I filled her greenhouse with plants from my kingdom. I shouldn’t have been able to do that without seeds. I did though, with nothing but the thought of missing my homeland. I grew them with no seeds or soil. Not even water. Look.” His request was urgent. York opened his hand, palm facing up and as if out of thin air a flower bloomed. Not an earthly flower. It resembled a daisy but the petals were twisted and warped. It was a deep plum color with a feather-like texture, and the stem it grew from curled around his wrist like a delicate bracelet. Over the years of our friendship I’d seen him create many things, but never from nothing.

“So,” I started as my fraying thoughts began to form, “That time you and Vaughn were sword fighting in the backyard at our old house and you lost a couple fingers?” It made me smile thinking about it. Back then? Not so much.

He chuckled as he nodded his head. “I stitched my fingers back on with grass from the yard. That shouldn’t even be possible. It wasn’t sterile, that’s for sure. Still, somehow the earth magic healed me. I've got no scars or suppressed motion. It’s like it never happened. I healed as fast as Novak would have, but it worked more like how Vaughn heals his injuries with his ice.” He flexed his fingers and smiled down at them.

“And that was after you sealed the bond?” I needed clarification. What could Sloane do if she had been practicing with his earth magic? Her possibilities really would be limitless when she was bound to us all.

“Yeah, man!” He exclaimed, breaking me out of my thoughts. “That’s what I’m saying. Think about what could have happened if those idiots who kidnapped me had found out that we were mated. She was already powerful, and she’d barely dipped past the top of her well. Every time she takes another mate we all grow, not just her.” He stopped to let me think about what he was saying before he explained more.

“Draining her power compared to other supes… is like solar panels compared to double A batteries. We all run out of power eventually, but she keeps soaking it in. The same things that energize us will energize her, but there’s six of us. We all feed off of different things. I’m not talking about food, Stone. I’m talking about walking across the dirt barefoot and replenishing my power. How fire makes you feel alive and ready to run a marathon. The same way shifting between forms never wears Briggs down. Think about that. Think about how strong she’s gonna be, how strong we’re all gonna be, when she’s taken all of her mates. Think about being encased in ice and having your flames burning hotter than ever, not dying out. Look. See if your heat wilts this flower.”

I summoned a small ball of orange and yellow flames into my palm and moved my hand closer to York. He didn’t pull away as the fire danced across the space between us. The flower didn’t wilt. It was almost as if it was impervious to the flames licking down the petals and around the stem. York’s skin didn’t burn either. I increased the heat, turning the fire light blue in color. This should be melting the skin off of him. He never even flinched from it. The flower remained untouched. I stared in wonder and disbelief as I sucked the flames back into my hand and touched the petals to see if they’d fall apart. They were hot, but that was it. It felt like it had been sitting in front of a space heater, not surrounded by hellfire.

“Do you see what I’m saying now?” He quizzed me.

“Yeah,” I acquiesced. “I see everything you’re saying and everything you’re not. This is a big deal, York. A huge fucking problem too, if the wrong people find out about this. You have to tell her.”

I looked up at the streaks of sunlight as I thought about the ramifications of what he’d just told me. Can we keep her safe? Will we be enough to keep her safe? The threat was far from over. Sure, we took out a significant player in the power draining game. Other farms would arise though. More people would start hunting her when word spread about her being basically limitless. Is she limitless? We needed to test her. Push her to the point of exertion and see how far she could go. We need to ask Jack.

Palmer was right about training with each other. We could all take lessons from her on movement. She fought as effortlessly as water flowing downhill last night. Not one obstacle stood in her way. We have to get stronger. For us and for her. We can’t be the weaknesses that bring her down.

“I know what you’re thinking, mate,” York pointed out as my emotions teetered on a knife's edge. My demon surged to the surface with barely contained anxiety over the mate we’d yet to claim. “We won’t be her downfall.”

“You sound confident,” I brooded.

“I am,” he acknowledged simply. “You’ll see. The Fates have spoken. The weapon is on our side. All we have to do is keep her out of the wrong hands and make sure she stays happy.”

“Oh yeah,” I laughed, “And just how do you plan to do that?”

“Well, I know this smooth talking Mage,” he countered. “He’s pretty good at working his magic. All I need to do is set the scene.”

I can tell you now, I don’t want any part of his plan. He was going to do her how he used to do Briggs. Piss her off and let Palmer smooth things over so he can swoop in and apologize. I didn’t think it was gonna work on her, but watching him get his ass kicked should be fun. Tomorrow.

“Tomorrow,” I repeated out loud. “Do it tomorrow evening. She’ll be in a great mood after Novak and I pay up on our debt.”

I dreaded tomorrow for more than one reason. Watching them argue would suck. Knowing he’d planned it would be even worse. Wearing a skirt for two hours while I cleaned nothing? That was humiliating. It’d be funny if it wasn’t me though. For once I was almost thankful that the Druid didn't ask me what we owed, but that quickly turned to suspicion when I noticed his lopsided grin. I made a decision right then and there. No more bets with Sloane. I'll let the rest of them suffer.

Sloane

Monday Late Morning

I spent an hour or more talking to Levi about his new position and the changes I planned to make at CBP. He would be starting next week, and we were both excited about it. Vaughn was freaking out because he didn’t call into work and let them know he’d be out today, or late. It’s only 9 o’clock. He’s not that late. It wasn’t like I didn’t know the boss or anything.

“Yeah, you should be worried. I heard your new boss is a dick,” Briggs joked with Vaughn and me. Novak whispered “Magnet,” gaining everyone’s attention at once.

“What!?” He questioned us with a guiltless voice. “You were all thinking about it. I just said it out loud.” He turned to Vaughn with his brow raised skeptically. “You didn’t notice when you were at the bar with her? Because I damn sure did.”