Arcane Rising: The Darkland Druids - Book One, R Nicole [suggested reading TXT] 📗

“Not a chance, lass. Not. A. Chance.”

16

The kitchen was more modern than I expected.

The cook stood before me, assessing me with a cool gaze. He looked middle-aged with his greying hair and lined face, but time was deceptive when it came to Druids. He could be over a hundred for all I knew.

“I’m Arnold Elinian,” he told me, crossing his muscled arms over his chest.

“Elinian?”

He snorted with annoyance. “Elder Shor is my cousin.”

I didn’t think it was in my best interest to answer, so I waited.

“It’s not my choice to have you here, but Rory insisted. You disturbed the peace of my kitchen and now you must restore it.” He jabbed a finger at the sink, which was piled with dishes, trays, and various pots and pans.

My eyebrows rose and I asked, “By washing the dishes?”

“And the ovens.” He kicked the toe of his boot against the door. “Don’t forget the grease traps.”

Druids struck me as the vegan type, so why they even had a grease trap was beyond me. I hadn’t seen a scrap of meat since I’d been down here.

“Plant-based oil,” the cook said, reading my expression. “Hot chips are a universal delicacy.”

I looked at the oven as if it’d jump up and bite me. “Isn’t there a prism for this?”

Arnold gave me an offended look and shook his head. “Colour isn’t intended for household chores, girl.” He turned and picked up an apron from the table and threw it at me. “The sooner you begin, the sooner you leave.”

I caught the apron against my chest and nodded. Sounded good to me, but I knew he didn’t intend for it to sound like an incentive. He wanted me to leave because I was nothing but trouble.

The cook sighed at my stationary form and clicked his fingers. “Snap to it, girl. Lunch is less than four hours away and we need those trays.”

Well, no time like the present. I picked up a bottle of dishwashing liquid and squirted it into the sink. Yellow soap pooled in the bottom and the lemony scent filled my nostrils. At least it was going to smell nice…until I reached the grease trap.

I was about to turn on the tap when a boom echoed from above, making the entire kitchen shudder. Pots and pans clattered as they swayed, and the cook set down the knife he was holding. The other Druids stopped what they were doing and looked at the ceiling as another boom shook the Warren.

“What was that?” I looked up, a growing feeling of dread blossoming in my stomach.

“Chimera!” someone called out from the hallway. “The Chimera are trying to break the portals!”

The dishwashing liquid bottle slipped from my fingers and fell into the sink. “The Chimera? Here?”

Arnold glared at me and opened his mouth to reply, but a commotion made him fall silent.

“There she is! Take her!”

I turned just as Vanora grabbed my arm.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. “What’s going on.”

“You friends are here,” she snarled, “Fae.”

“But—” The words died in my throat when she slapped me, her palm cracking against my cheek.

“Dùin do ghob,” she hissed. “You’re going to face the consequences, Elspeth Quarrie.”

I was dragged from the kitchen, Vanora’s grasp biting into my arm. Druids stepped back as we passed, none of them speaking up for me. They began to follow, their hatred growing with every step.

“Vanora, stop,” I cried. “What’s going on?”

“I said shut up,” she hissed as we emerged into the main cavern. “The Chimera are at our door, just as you planned, Fae.”

The Druids gathered around Salle, shouting angrily as Vanora dragged me across the cavern.

“You’ve got this all wrong,” I pleaded. “I didn’t bring anyone here. I wouldn’t—”

“Shut up, bò bhrònach,” she hissed. “You have no voice here.”

She shoved me away and I stumbled, falling against the willow.

Prisms ignited, wrapping around my wrists and twisting around my legs and middle. I cried out as I was forced against Salle, my back scratching painfully against the trunk. My arms were wrenched out to my sides and my feet were bound together by biting threads of Colour.

When I raised my head, I withered underneath the hateful glares of dozens of Druids.

Darby stood before me, her malice adding to my rising fear. “The Warren has been our sanctuary for eight hundred and fifty years, and she’s been here barely a month and we face losing it to the Chimera! We should have never taken her in!”

Calls of agreement added to the crackling energy holding me in place, and I felt the searing burn of Colour dig into my flesh.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Colour wasn’t meant to harm… I struggled to hold onto my tears and squash down my panic.

“Gordan should have never gone through those portals!” Darby screamed. “He brought this calamity down on us by bringing her into this world!” She whirled, the back of her hand striking me across the face.

My head snapped to the side and for a moment, I felt nothing. Then all at once, stars bloomed in my vision and pain ripped through my cheek. Warmth trickled down my skin and I knew I was bleeding.

I am on trial…one I could never hope to win. Just like a witch in the Dark Ages, if I drowned, I was innocent and if I revealed my power, I’d be burned alive. Either way, I was doomed.

Was this what it had come to? Violence? Druids were meant to nurture. They were meant to be wise… But I knew I was right when I told Delilah that a poison had taken root in their hearts. The Darklands had been denied and this was the cost.

Colour rose within me, but it wasn’t the only power that simmered underneath the surface. The threads I’d used to weave all those flowers were waiting for me to call, but so was the unstable force that had almost taken away my essence.

This was lightyears beyond the bullying I’d endured in high school. I wanted nothing more