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

led them here, but it was me they wanted. If I wasn’t here, then they’d follow me and leave the Druids alone. Rory and Jaimie… They would be safe, and the others could continue their hateful lives in peace.

Suddenly, I remembered the dream I had the first night I arrived in Edinburgh. What are you doing here? Get out! Run before it’s too late!

“Dad,” I whispered. I was a Spirit Walker; Delilah had said it herself. Dad had been trying to warn me.

I continued to pace, my rage building. I was powerless. I had nothing to offer. I didn’t know who I was or what I was capable of. I was useless.

I lashed out, my fist flying towards the closet door, but instead of my knuckles colliding with hard wood, my outstretched arm blurred, passing through layers of reality and becoming transcendent…and passed straight through the solid door.

I pulled back, holding my hand against my chest, the anger shocked completely out of me.

Was it my Fae power? It had to be. I wasn’t ascending, I was… I didn’t know the name for it, not yet, but I understood now.

It was how I was going to escape.

I grabbed my jacket and scarf, snatching my little coin purse and passport out of my bag. Shoving them into the inside pockets of my coat, I threw it on and knotted the scarf around my neck. Doubling back, I found my fingerless gloves and beanie. At least I had the good sense to remember it was winter outside.

I had to leave while I still had the chance. The Warren was in an uproar, so if I was quick—

A loud meow echoed through my room as Ignis appeared out of thin air and began to move in figure eights through my legs.

“No, Ignis,” I murmured, wiping at my tears, “you have to stay here. I can’t protect you out there, okay? Stay with Rory. He’ll keep you safe.”

The cat yowled in protest, tapping his paw on my leg.

“It’s me they want,” I murmured, kneeling and scratching behind his ears. “Once they realise the Druids cast me out, they’ll leave them alone. The Chimera will follow me to the ends of the Earth to possess my power. They won’t come back here.”

Ignis head-butted my hand, purring loudly. He was a special cat and his human soul was a rare and precious thing if he cared about a broken outcast like me. Delilah was right about that at least.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let them catch me. Rory taught me well.”

With that, I rose and took a deep breath. I hope this works. Getting stuck inside a block of volcanic rock would suck.

Calling on my power, I phased through the wall…and into the city above.

17

Hurrying down the narrow close, I pulled my beanie down over my green hair and huddled into my jacket.

When I’d phased through the wall, my clothes and everything in my pockets had come with me—a handy side effect. I’d also landed in the courtyard of Edinburgh Castle, giving me another clue as to the range of my unknown abilities. I hadn’t simply walked through a wall and emerged on the other side.

Maybe I teleported. Folding reality like the Druids did with their portals and dematerialising to another location with my Fae magic. Seemed logical, or as logical as things got in a world full of witches, fairies, and shapeshifters.

What was the term for Druids? Mage? It didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Luckily, no one seemed to notice a green-haired woman appear out of nowhere. The horde of tourists taking selfies with the castle behind them were too busy trying to get their pout and the castle in the same shot. Still, I managed to cast an illusion around myself, just like Rory taught me.

I hastened down the stairs, emerging from the close and finding myself on the southern side of Castle Hill. I hadn’t sensed anyone following so far, but I wasn’t an expert.

Turning onto Grassmarket—it wasn’t called a street or a terrace or a road, just Grassmarket—I found myself amongst a swathe of tightly packed market stalls. Some were selling arts and crafts, others wine and spirits. Local farmers were hawking organically grown produce, a man was selling pastries and other baked goods, and a woman had a bright yellow stall with jars of honey stacked on the table.

I looked at all the faces, waiting for the moment one of them changed into a grey-skinned monster, but none did. Tightening my grip on my illusion, I skirted around the edge of the market.

I had no idea where to go. What did people do when they were on the run? They found someplace to hide, but if I wanted the Chimera to follow me and leave the Warren alone, I had to make a commotion.

I wandered down the street, trying to come up with a plan. That’s when I caught sight of my reflection in a shop window and winced. I looked as bad as I felt.

My cheek was red and angry, the skin split open, and the black eye Darby had given to me yesterday was an epic shade of bluish-black.

Raising my hand, I pressed at the cut lightly. It was a reminder of everything that was wrong with me.

Blinking away fresh tears, I turned and walked the other direction. I passed statues, landmarks, museums, and shops. I dodged traffic and crossed roads. I wound through alleys and forgotten paths.

It wasn’t long before I found myself at the foot of Arthur’s Seat. The extinct volcano rose over Edinburgh, its ragged crags beautiful and wild, its head touching the low-lying clouds.

I decided to cross the road and join the tourists strolling along the path.

Soon it turned into something more closely resembling a trail and I picked my way over the uneven terrain. At the top of the rise, I found the remains of a building—a wall with a crumbling arch, a window, and a door. A faded marker told me it was the remains