Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 10:00:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Gay Writer <gaywriter72@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Druid - Chapter 17

Chapter 17
Oblivion


	It took longer to get the house work done than I had expected.
There were several days of laundry and a considerable pile of dishes from
our breakfast guests, but I was almost finished when Bry walked in the side
door to the kitchen.

	The sky had since clouded over and the wind, blowing through the
window just above the kitchen sink, raised goose-bumps along my flesh.
Everything seemed to be taking on the grey cast of winter beneath the dense
cloud cover.  If it had been colder, I would have guessed there might be
snow.  Instead, the chill in the air and the grey sky made me wonder if
this was any indication of how our day was going to be.  Even Shadow seemed
antsy as she traveled from room to room checking my progress, or whatever
it was she was doing.  She was well overdue for her nap and I wondered if
it was the prospect of more visitors and food that prompted her vigil.

	"Any word from Jack?"  Bry kicked off his shoes and leaned against
the doorway as I finished drying the last breakfast plate.

	"Nothing yet... but there are so many clans, I'd be surprised if we
hear from him before late this afternoon."  With the last breakfast plate
stowed away, I shut the cupboard and hung the dish towel in the handle of
the refrigerator door.

	"So how did renewing the wards go?"  I poured myself a cup of cold
coffee and sat at the kitchen table.

	"Everything went pretty well..."  Bry let out a small sigh and
diverted his eyes to the floor.  "Until I couldn't get back in the yard."

	"What!?"  I didn't mean to raise my voice, and obviously he was
okay, but now I needed to know.

	"Well... I thought that it might be good to renew and... well maybe
add a little to the wards..."  Bry continued to study his feet and a soft
pink flushed his cheeks.  I could sense more frustration than embarrassment
coming from him, so I fought the urge to interrupt.

	"Anyway... when I was done the first time, I was at the end of the
driveway... and when I tried to walk back to the house, I was thrown back
over the fence across the street and into the field."  Bry dug at his heel
with the toe of his shoe as he continued.

	"It's okay now, though.  I fixed it."  Bry lifted his head and
looked at me as if waiting for approval.

	I was tempted to question him about it and make sure that the wards
were properly in place, but I trusted Bry, and it would have been an insult
to second guess his Magick.  He had the knowledge but, as I have found in
the past... knowing how to do something is not necessarily the same as
performing the task.  Tomorrow I would take ward duty and then I wouldn't
have to worry.  Until then, I was going to be a little on edge, but it
would have to wait.  Okay... I lied.

	"Exactly how did you fix..."  I didn't get the chance to finish my
question.

	A thunderous explosion filled the room and the kitchen walls
exploded into shards of fire, wood, and dust.  Just as quickly, the room
was silent except for the tinkling of debris settling around me.  I was
pinned and couldn't move.  Smoke and dust choked the air and stung my eyes
as I tried to get my bearings.  The air was hot and burned my lungs as I
tried to gasp even the slightest of breaths.

	It wasn't until I tried to move that I knew I was in real trouble.
My left shoulder screamed with pain as I shifted.  A wooden plank had
splintered in the explosion and was plunged through my shoulder.  The usual
body check to make sure everything still worked, did nothing but bring me
sharp agony.  I panicked, and struggled to breath beneath the weight of the
debris that pinned me to the floor.

	I tried to calm myself, but not being able to breath stole my
resolve.  Seconds later I heard Bry's anguished screams.  Another explosion
erupted somewhere above me and I felt the intense heat and weight of it
against my chest as the pressure threatened to split me in two.  A
sickening crunch flooded my ears and I knew it was my ribs cracking beneath
the concussive force of the second explosion.

	"Move you idiot!  You are druid!"  The thought entered my mind and
I willed myself to a place just outside of the house.

	There was too much damage to my body and too much pain to avoid the
attack.  As I turned my head, a heavy scaled crimson claw sped toward me
and batted me away as though I were an annoying insect.

	As I soared through the air I saw our attacker.  A mammoth red
dragon let loose with a third blast of fiery death, and the remainder of my
home exploded into such a spray of destruction I wondered if I was
dreaming.  It seemed like there was more to the pile of cascading rubble
than what was there when it was whole.

	It wasn't the type of dragon some use as decoration in their homes;
the cute menacing kind that is placed here and there to accent an empty
corner.  This beast was the height of a bus and nearly twice as long.  Its
savage claws were yellowed and resembled ridged ivory hooks that had been
long since stained to a more golden hue by age and neglect.  It seemed more
a snake with legs than a dragon, but I knew from borrowed memories that
this is what it was.

	There were no scales to protect its body.  Instead, the skin was a
sickening landscape of dingy crimson bulbous knots like an armor of slick
red tumors.  From the latest impact against my body, I knew they were as
hard as granite and held a razor's edge like ocean coral.

	The creatures head seemed added as an after thought.  It was
enormous and feline with a mouthful of vicious fangs.  Fiery breath had
burned them black, though each was easily two feet in length and obviously
deadly.  Crescent shaped eyes glowed with a firefly light as it thrashed
about and heaved another decimating breath at the remaining rubble.

Bry's screams were cut short.  Even before I felt the crush of earth
against my body, I tried to sense Shadow and Bry.  Shadow was weak, and my
precious Bry... was gone.

	A well of emptiness engulfed me as I lay against the cold earth
awaiting my death.  A raging river of fire surged through every vein of my
body, and my ability to sense emotion seemed like a distant memory.  There
was nothing, not even the slightest joy of a sideways smirk or chuckle from
a fleeting happy thought.  Everything felt lifeless and intangible as I
struggled through the pain to stand.

	"Shadow!  Come!"  I slapped my leg twice as though she were in
front of me, but I knew she was buried somewhere beneath the rubble.

	Much to my surprise my little grey companion appeared at my feet,
battered and with a layer of too much blood and dust.  A deep growl
vibrated in her chest.

	Shadow's growl became a roar as she charged toward the dragon.
With each step she grew and changed into something I had thought
impossible.  It was something even Galen and Doris had only heard of in
passing: an albino Lupon.  Her grey curls merged into opalescent flesh as
she grew in size.  She was still only half the height and length of the
Dragon, but still a good two feet taller than our old truck.  If I could
have sensed anything I would have guessed the deafening Dragon's roar was
surprise, and the look in its hideous amber eyes was fear.

	I have always looked at Shadow with nothing but love, so I've
always thought she was beautiful.  As she transformed, I was awestruck.
Her dusty fur became a smooth shimmering mix of colors you find in mother
of pearl or abalone, and her eyes were a dazzling pink that glowed like hot
coals in the darkness.  Her nubby curled tail lengthened and the bob of
hair on the end morphed into a shimmering four razored club that sparkled
like stolen rainbows.  She was beauty and strength combined.

	There are many kinds of dragons in the world, though most keep
themselves in the few places that are still undisturbed by man.  Reptile,
Serpent, Feline, and Canine are the main classes.  Each has a vast array of
shapes, sizes, strengths and weaknesses.  Shadow was of the canine breed
and something I once believed to be merely legend.

	A flood of blue liquid erupted from Shadow's mouth as she leapt
into the air.  The dragon was frozen and Shadow crashed through the
creature like a pane of glass.  She landed to the side of the shattered
remains of our attacker, and I watched as she shook away her Lupon dragon
form like she did water when I bathed her.  She was back to normal, the
same curly grey furred Shadow I loved and cherished, but I couldn't help my
fear as she trotted back toward me.  She sat down and panted by my side as
though she had just been out for a leisurely run through the surrounding
cornfields.

	"Well that was unfortunate... I didn't know you possessed such a
remarkable... pet.  Still, one dead is better than nothing."  I spun around
but was only able to catch a glimpse of the creature.

	He disappeared but I recognized the nasal voice.  It was Raven.
The one who sent the shade, and the same vile piece of shit that killed
Galen.  It seemed that Raven had better timing than the people from
Brethren.  They were appearing all around us, but I couldn't look them in
the eyes.

	My chest ached.  The loss of Bry crept up and into my mind so
quickly that I suddenly wished I had died with him in the attack.  A cold
wet nose and the slurp of Shadow's tongue along my shin pulled me from my
dark thoughts.  I wondered if her death was something else I was going to
have to endure.  She and these strangers were all I had left, and it was
too little in comparison to all I had lost.  My Bry, the uncles, my god
father, Galen, Doris, and now my home were gone.  One by one they were
being taken from me like some sinister check list that fate held as he
whittled away at what mattered most to me in the world.

	The strength in my legs left me and I collapsed to the ground.
Shadow transformed again as the strangers from within Brethren approached,
but I didn't have the energy or will to care.  For a brief moment I wanted
to hate her for saving me, but even that took more energy than I could
muster.

	Shadow, now in Lupon form, roared at the onlookers, but it didn't
stop one of them from approaching.

	"Are you okay?"  I knew the voice and glanced over long enough to
see that it was the gypsy, Kevin, who had balls enough to walk up to Shadow
in her current Lupon form.

	"No... please kill me."  My voice sounded as weak and empty as I
felt.  I welcomed the darkness of oblivion as it filled my world and I
slipped into unconsciousness.


Thank you all for reading and I hope that the final chapter of The Druid
doesn't disappoint.  Special thanks to my editor Dr. Grant, who without his
help this would have been nearly impossible to do.  Yes... there will be
another book, but for the time being... this is it!  Take care and if you
have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to mail me at
gaywriter72@yahoo.com.

Thanks!