The Dawnvel Druids by - (summer beach reads TXT) 📖

The abomination just giggled again as the gash closed itself once more.

“Holy crap.” Bobby gasped.

The thug ran at him, but before Bobby could try to dodge, a shape collided with the gargoyle and both figures smashed into the wall. As she hurried over, he realised Simone had thrown Tarin into the garg attacking him.

Tarin seized her gargoyle and threw him right back at Simone, causing them both to sprawl in a pile of limbs. This left him and Tarin alone on that side of the room. She swivelled to look at him, licking her lips. Worse, the curtain was aflame and quickly spreading. The whole house would burn down soon.

He continued to back away, until he met the wall. Simone was battling the other gargoyle as Tarin stalked toward him. He had nothing nearby he could make weapons out of either.

“Come here little boy,” Tarin cooed. “I won’t hurt you. Promise.”

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She lunged for him suddenly. Bobby dived to the side, but her long nails raked him across the shoulder. He felt no pain, but saw his blood splatter across the wall and then blossom on his shirt.

Tarin raised her bloody nails to her lips, licking drops of his blood off them pleasurably. “Hmm, you taste good, little druid.”

Tarin reached for him, but he ducked beneath her outstretched arms, trying to make for the door and escape. He’d taken no more than a couple of steps when her boot slammed into his back, driving him to the floor.

Before he could scramble to his feet, she’d flipped him over and sat on top of him, hand wrapping round his throat and pinning him down. Bobby struggled frantically, but she was far too strong.

She used one thumb then to tilt his head back, exposing his neck to her. Tarin opened her mouth wide, fangs salivating as she brought them down. Her teeth were an inch from tearing open his throat when a flash of bronze ripped Tarin’s throat open instead.

She spluttered and choked, her hands leaving his neck to go to her own as blood spewed out. Tarin stood up hurriedly, but the bronze flashed again, plunging into her chest this time and piercing the heart.

Tarin gasped one last time, before her body crumbled into pieces of stone.

Bobby looked up to see Dreg above him, flicking Tarin’s blood off the bronze sickle in his hand. In his other hand was a wand, which he raised as he strode to the partially-charred gargoyle pinning Lana to the table.

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“Lavardun!” Dreg roared. Abruptly, an invisible force seized the gargoyle, yanked him away from Lana and then, as Dreg brought his wand up sharply, the monster shot up into the ceiling only to slam back into the ground, unconscious.

“Urolen,” Dreg said next, using his wand in an overhand swipe. Vines crawled out of the wooden floorboards to wrap around the garg like ropes, binding him to the floor.

Finally, Dreg turned to the blazing inferno in the corner of the room. “Iquill.”

At his command, water fired from his wand until the fire was doused.

Bobby pulled himself to his feet as Simone finished off the last gargoyle, shouting something unintelligible. A thick, purple mist spewed out of her wand to consume the monster. In moments, the spell seeped into him, dissolving his body as it touched. The garg screamed in agony before crumbling into stone.

“Believe us now, mate?” Mo laughed weakly, picking up one of the rocks from the gargoyle he destroyed.

“We have a guest?” Was all Dreg said, his tone polite.

“Yeah,” Simone panted, wearily raising her wand again. Her wand ignited and the shards of glass covering the floor rose into the air before swiftly flying back into place and joining together. In seconds, the front windows were as good as new.

“We just battled actual gargoyles,” Bobby panted, looking at the piles of rubble that had been bloodthirsty monster’s moments before. “And the girl was a faerie?”

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“Yep, and Carinath are the worst kind,” said Simone.

“Only the worst kind of fae that exist in the mortal world actually,” Dreg added.

“Tarin might’ve got him,” Lana pointed at Bobby viciously, as if he’d done something wrong. Lana appeared more irritated at her clothes getting creased than almost getting killed herself.

Simone strode over to him, her eyes going to the blood on his shirt.

“It’s okay, a scratch won’t infect you, only a bite.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him down onto the sofa before leaning over him.

“Infection? What do you mean, Cairnath spread plague or something?”

“No, they can turn others into one of them.”

“What!” he exclaimed. “Anyone can turn into those monsters? Would have been nice to know before now.”

Simone grabbed his t-shirt by the collar and ripped it down the middle, exposing his chest and the scratch wounds.

“Whoa, steady on.” Bobby became incredibly self-conscious about his pasty and stick-like body as the beautiful girl leaned in close. He wasn’t used to being this close to anyone, let alone someone like Simone. He was filled with the scent of exotic flowers as her face was inches from his own. He avoided making eye-contact and his whole body tensed.

“What’re you doin…”

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He trailed off as Simone pressed her wand to his cuts and whispered,

“Estorate.”

Bobby sucked in a breath as it felt like a wasp stung his chest. He looked down in amazement to see the cuts stitch themselves together. His skin was red raw where the three wounds had been moments before, and now even the sting faded and he felt only a cold tingling sensation instead.

“So, I’m not going to become a Cairnath?” He needed to be sure.

“Nope,” said Mo, “you would’ve become a gargoyle first anyway.”

Bobby’s horrified expression must’ve been a comical sight as he looked between Mo and Simone.

“Sorry,” Simone said, “all of this is second nature to us, we keep forgetting how little you know. Basically, when Cairnath decide to infect humans they become undead. Only it takes a century for the victim to become a Cairnath.

Being the gargoyle is like a cocoon period, literally a stone cocoon for them at night. After a century of being a garg, they evolve into a true Cairnath.

Understand?”

Bobby slowly closed his mouth before nodding. “Jesus, it’d be easier if they were just vampires. You see them in movies all the time, but evil faeries and freaking gargoyles. It’s insane.”

“Sorry about your shirt.” Simone smiled at him. “I had to work quickly and make sure Tarin hadn’t dipped her nails in any poison. That would’ve complicated things.”

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“Bloody hell,” was all he could say in reply.

“So he’s to be our newest member.” Dreg’s dreadlocks fell to the side as he cocked his head at Bobby, studying him as if he was a curious insect.

“How did you know?” Mo asked.

Dreg shrugged. “You wouldn’t have brought him here otherwise. And we need a replacement for Zander.”

Bobby noticed there was a faraway look in Dreg’s pale blue eyes, like he was lost in his own thoughts and barely paying attention to his surroundings.

“Don’t use that word,” Lana snapped. “Zander can’t just be replaced.”

“Yes he can,” Dreg replied with no malice. “Everyone can be replaced. Our clan must have seven. That’s all that matters.”

Lana looked like she wanted to argue with him, but also that it was helpless to try. Dreg wasn’t paying attention to her anyway, his gaze lingering on Bobby.

“Do you like animals?”

“Uh, sure. I always wanted a puppy,” Bobby replied, frowning at the odd question.

“Do you love plants?”

“I like some flowers, sure,” he said slowly. This was like the weirdest job interview ever.

“I bet you never had a flower die on you have you?” Dreg pressed.

Bobby thought back to the time he’d forgotten to water the plants in his room at the orphanage for weeks, yet they hadn’t shown any signs of shrivelling.

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“And I’m guessing no dog has ever growled at you,” Dreg continued. “No cat has ever hissed at you and no horse has ever thrown you off.”

“Well, I’ve only ever ridden a horse once. Actually, it was technically a donkey ride at the beach when I was small,” he mumbled. “But no, it didn’t throw me off.”

He cast his mind back, thinking if an animal had ever growled at him, but he couldn’t think of one. Every dog he’d met had licked his hands and face like he’d covered them in peanut butter, and cats often tried to follow him home.

“So what you’re saying is, everyone who likes gardening and owns a couple of pets is secretly a spooky druid?”

Lana’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “This moron isn’t taking this seriously.

Let’s just assume he isn’t one of us and get rid of him. Even if he is destined to be a druid, another will come along to take his place once we’ve assured he’s out of Deverry.”

“Is she talking about killing me?”

“No, darling,” Lana said acidly. “I’ll simply spell you with the desperate need to walk to Scotland, where you can stay for all I care.”

“Ignore Lana,” said Mo. “She’s just being nasty because she wanted a hot chick to be our next clan member.”

Lana rolled her eyes. “I’m pansexual, not a lesbian. Nor am I that shallow.”

“Pah, you are so shallow,” Mo shot back. “You stopped dating that one girl because she wore an offbrand dress.”

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“She got it second-hand,” Lana cried. “You can’t blame me for that.”

“Whatever picky-percy.” Mo laughed.

“Have you ever seen a ghost?” Dreg continued his bizarro questions.

“Uh…maybe.” Bobby had never told anyone about that before. He was sure that posh man in the Victorian suit he’d seen in London last year was part of some sort of street theatre. But his skin had been translucent, which he hadn’t been able to rationalize to himself.

“Excellent.” Dreg smiled faintly. “Well, I better get back to my potion. Try not to make so much noise, it’s harder to concentrate.”

With that, the small boy left the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

“Yeah, it was just loud noise, not like our lives were in danger or anything,”

said Mo. “And you thought we were odd,” he turned to Bobby, chuckling.