CHAPTER ELEVEN

Aaron

Zak was, for lack of a better word, twitchy. Not a word I'd usually associate with my favorite Druid…. 'dick', 'stubborn', 'arrogant asshat', or various combinations thereof, yes. But twitchy? No. Something had gotten to him. Something had unnerved him at the house. He'd been so noticeably upset, that when he finished briefing us in his kitchen, Ezra volunteered himself and Tori to stay with Saber. Which seemed to chill him out for awhile.

Now, as I watched him walk the array, wearing his signature long black coat, black shirt, dark jeans, combat boots and decked out with three crystals and a fully loaded alchemic combat belt, his usual calm and collected composure seemed to be cracking. He kept rolling his shoulders, and pressing his gloved fingers in between each other, as if he couldn't get them to fit right.

It occurred to me then that I hadn't seen him wear his "Ghost' gear, or any combat gear, since the Ghost's untimely demise last year. And while it used to suit him, he wasn't The Ghost anymore.

Zak

Was I being reckless? I walked the array that Sam and I had drawn earlier, and gently placed the offerings at the four cardinal points. But I was having a hard time focusing as my thoughts kept drifting back to the very heated conversation that I'd eavesdropped on.

Last night, when Sam and I finally made it back to my house after our hardware store errand and Sam saw Saber on the couch, his eyes almost popped out of his head. He must have stared at her for at least ten seconds before he dropped the bags on the floor, turned to me with a sad, but also happy smile, and congratulated both Saber and I. He then proceeded to fawn over her for most of the evening. Well, until Saber started looking annoyed and I dosed his tea with sleeping potion.

When Dean arrived with the others later this evening, his reaction to Saber was similar to Sam's but edged with hostility. He'd shot me a glare and mumbled congratulations, before politely telling Sam they needed to talk outside, the grabbed Sam by the arm and pulled him out the door to the other side of the house. Naturally, I followed stopping at the corner of the house, just out of sight. Surprisingly, Dean was concerned about Saber's safety and was yelling at Sam for withholding the information that 'Zak's wife' was pregnant. Followed by a heated discussion about my mental health.

"Just look at him Sam. He's as messed up as we are! Maybe more."

"How do you know he's so messed up? I mean, you and I aren't exactly the greatest examples of mental health."

"C'mon Sammy, no one wears a poker face that well that hasn't had it beaten into them that emotions are bad news. Hell, look at me!"

"You show emotion."

"Yeah, sarcasm and bitterness. Fueled by copious amounts of alcohol and sex. What if she dies Sammy? What if things go sideways and she dies? Huh?"

"Dean…"

"Look at what Mom's death did to Dad! Look at what Jess' death did to you! What it's still doing to you! And we're not super Druids! What if he goes off the rails?"

"Dean! It's not your job to protect everyone! I'm sure he's got everything under control, she'll be safe."

"Yeah? Well, Dad thought Mom was safe too."

It was that last sentence that was bothering me the most. So, was I being reckless? Experience told me that I'd chosen a safe spot for the summoning, a small hill in a clearing surrounded by dense forest on both sides and over a mile from our house. Plus, Ezra had volunteered himself and Tori to stay behind with Saber… But now, every single 'what if' was running through my head… Last year, something like this would never have even crossed my mind; I'd had almost nothing. And nothing to lose. Now, I had actual friends, people who (shockingly) looked up to me, and I would be a father in the next month; things that I had never thought I would have. I had everything to lose.

'You are very capable Crystal Druid. Don't doubt yourself.' Ryker drawled in my head.

'Did you just compliment me?'

'Merely stating facts.'

The sound of Aaron laughing with Kai brought me back. I rolled my shoulders, adjusted my gloves again and decided to make a third pass on the array. This time as I passed Sam, I felt him follow me. Ignoring him, I knelt down to grab the chicken from its cage.

"Ready to summon a god, Zak?" I looked up and saw Sam standing over me, wearing a cheerful smile, and a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Hmmph." I nodded and gave him a small smile, "Time to make history."

Sam nodded, turned and gave Dean a nod, who cocked his gun and yelled, "Get ready guys! Let's gank this bitch."

I rolled my neck then sliced the chicken, spreading the blood across the outer line of the array. I wiped my hands on my jeans, stood up and started the incantation. The array glowed slightly as I spoke and no sooner had I finished the last word, there was a 'pop' and the whole valley lit up like it was high noon. When the black spots cleared from my vision, what stood in the circle's center was not at all what I expected…And with the valley still as bright as day, I could see him clearly. Like all Fae, he was tall and slimly built, with dirty, actually dirty, blond hair that grazed his shoulders, pulled half up. His features were ethereal, but certainly masculine. However, unlike every other humanoid Fae I'd ever seen, this one wasn't dressed in shimmering robes or ornate armor. No. This 'god' was wearing jeans, a green, long sleeve shirt pulled up to his elbows and construction boots. The only things that marked him out as Fae was the fact that he, was indeed, wearing a harp slung across his back and his slightly pointed ears.

"What the…?" The Fae looked around, brows scrunched in confusion, then his eyes came to me.

"Consort." He snarled, his amber eyes glowing with fury. Before I could get any words out, he rushed me and slammed both of his palms into my chest so hard, I flew back a good five feet and landed on Aaron, taking him down with me.

Aaron rolled me off of him and ran toward the Fae, sword alight. I could barely move, it felt like my soul had been ripped from my chest and I couldn't seem to get enough air. Coughing and gasping, I managed to roll onto my side and get to all fours. I looked up to see the Fae holding Ryker by the throat in one hand while the other was bracing a force field, defending himself against the Winchester's bullets as well as Aaron and Kai.

Agree to help me Druid, and I will be in your debt… a deep voice rumbled in my head.

What? I felt my mind splutter in confusion.

I can feel your wife and children's power.

My head shot up at that subtle threat, and I saw the struggle in front of me, Dean and Sam were shooting at the dome, but their bullets weren't getting in; Kai had run to the opposite side and was trying to land one of his throwing knives, but the Fae didn't seem to notice and instead was watching me intently, waiting for my response.

Agree to help me and I will be your teacher. I will teach you what has

been forgotten and how to keep your family safe.

Help you do what?

Don't worry about that now. Now, agree to help me or I will kill your friends.

We summoned you. You're too weak… You couldn't…

I didn't even finish my thought when he threw Ryker to the ground, leaving him stunned and gasping, then turned to Aaron. With a single gesture, a green vine shot from his left arm like a whip, and wrapped around Aaron's ankles, making him fall backwards with a grunt and lose his grip on his sword. The Fae dragged him into the defensive dome he'd conjured, and flipped him onto his stomach, then put his foot between Aaron's shoulder blades, making him wince. His hands were still free though, and he tried to shoot a flame at the Fae, but just as his hand ignited, the Fae stepped harder on his back and more vines shot from his arm, binding not only Aaron's wrists behind his back, but also his magic.

Do you want to test how weak I am? Then gave a sharp pull to the vine binding Aaron, and cocked his head at me.

Now, what is your answer Druid?

Alright! I agree.

"Stop!" I coughed. My hand still clutched to my chest, I tried to stand, but only made it to one knee. "Everyone, stop!" I managed to shout this time. Still on one knee, I was able to straighten a little and put my hands out in supplication and submission. "Lord of Great Knowledge, First Master of Druids, we yield!"

8