Rocking into the Night: Wartime Druid Saga, #4

By Shawn McGee

In the epic conclusion of the Wartime Druid saga, druid Corey Norwood returns to the real world only to find himself a stranger after living two centuries in an alternate timeline. Disoriented, he must piece together fractured relationships and gain the trust of allies he does not remember.

With an apocalyptic clash on the horizon, Corey's military expertise compels him to take command, despite resistance from those who doubt his abilities. Armed with cunning tactics from centuries of battlefield experience, Corey prepares to win the coming battle. But his fixation on victory blinds him to the human cost, threatening to destroy the world he's desperate to save. Forced to choose between the people he loves and the annihilation of all he holds dear, Corey teeters on the edge of obsession, sacrificing everything in his race to protect the Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Assetstor
• Release date: May 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224911004

Shawn McGee

Shawn McGee writes fantasy and is an IT professional with hobbies in mathematics and gaming. Along with his current series he is writing a new gaming system. Please this book as reviews are the life blood of independent writers. You can join Shawn's discord channel, join his email list, and find out all the book information at https://worldofgeoe.com

Book preview

Prologue

Xaverie stared through maroon curtains at the glow of Fey light on the ground. The green grass and flowers sparkled full of life. It turned his stomach. Worse was the pathetic reaction of the other sanguine. The druid and his curse of Fey powers on his land made this a disgusting haven of life instead of an area of blood magic and undeath.

Despite the potency of his vampiric blood, daylight still brought him pain when the ground remained covered in the abomination of Fey power. He was stuck inside like the lesser of his kind. He longed to walk in the sun without pain once again.

Boots stomped four houses away on the pavement between houses. The privileged guards of Void’s Harmony, adorned in Boots of Blood, patrolled the streets. They rounded up weaker vampires. It was only their relationships that kept them from the list of those to be sacrificed. If they were full vampires, they’d be elite guards.

He twirled the knife he saved for final blows. The weight of the maroon wolf-hide hilt twirled above the black blade in his hand before he sheathed it.

Mindful of the risks, he avoided its poison touch by holding the white cow leather, and placed it in his back-sheath under a long coat.

The damnable druid of the Southeast Territory, Corey Norwood, had provoked a response from the feeble leadership of vampires. The pathetic excuse of leaders voted to awaken a Vampire Lord. They hoped to be considered among his trusted vassals, without realizing that Vampire Lords only recognized competence.

As a former noble and successful assassin, Xaverie had long abandoned any notion of pitying his own fate. He had taken countless lives over centuries, eliminating targets that others deemed impossible. Yet, his insistence on the impossibility of any vampire assassinating the druid on Fey grounds caused scorn by those who did not understand the complications. He told them to cover our territory with blood magic and lure the druid, and then it was possible. Let the druid stand on Fey covered lands and they’d need an army.

Of course, two armies sent to capture the druid’s fiancé failed. Fighting a druid on Fey powered lands showed the incompetence of the leadership.

The ivory handles opened the cherry wood cabinet, where Xaverie acknowledged the scarcity of his options. He checked his emergency bag, and it was as complete as when he packed in a month ago. A Vampire Lord would restore the blood magic of the territory and kill the druid, but the cost was too high.

Dravin, his brother, had a plan. He always did. It needed an assassin’s skills, but that’s what brothers were for. No matter how audacious this plan was, they were out of time. Living under a Vampire Lord or dying at the hands of the druid were the only choices.

A few centuries ago, fearing a brief life as an assassin, he made a list of every emotion to experience. His life goal from that point forward became what his brother dubbed, ‘a completeness of the soul.’ The list was tossed when it got down to one experience. He’d loved and lost, hated, and killed dispassionately. The last experience left was the regret of killing someone he loved. The experience of finding someone new, loving them, and being forced to kill him because of orders or uncontrolled circumstances.

Though his assassinations changed the world, it was a completeness of the soul he’d been chasing this century. He’d been living simple lives with simple people. Now he’d taken refuge in a vampire territory to regroup for what came next.

It was his own fault for not seizing what he wanted. That was the problem of a long life. You could not spend centuries seizing every moment.

Two steps from his door, a lone figure with a distinct limp approached.

Come in, Dravin, Xaverie called out before the expected knock. The door opened, and his limping brother slipped in with practiced stealth. No pursuers followed or called out to the guards—a testament to the younger vampire’s skills.

You’re packing? Dravin sounded surprised.

How far? Xaverie asked. He kept his ears opened and was ready to move on a moment’s notice with a change in the search pattern of the guards.

His brother chuckled. Six hundred years and you still surprise me. Southeast Territory. His footsteps said he carried extra weight. He had packed as well.

That’s why he waited for his brother’s plans. The Southeast Territory should be dismissed out of hand. Despite the unexpected location, he had no choice but to put his trust in his brother. He placed his bag over his shoulder before two sets of boots in his brother’s hands—red from the inside, with Fey green glowing underneath, caught his eye.

It’s my biggest idea yet. Dravin bounced with excitement. This must be big news. He had the smile that still caught Xaverie off guard, even after centuries.

Outside, the noises changed. A car drove along the road. Regular humans pulled off a highway for supplies, or perhaps they’d become lost. They’d feed the weak sanguine today. That was what humans were good for.

Desper... Xaverie didn’t finish the word before his brother interrupted.

It’s not desperate. This sets us up for centuries. Dravin’s fangs gleamed in his peculiar smile.

Of course, living for centuries with his brother was better than passing. There was still the goal of killing someone he loved.

Taking the boots, Xaverie hesitated. The Fey power on the bottom and the destination of the Southeast Territory. The druid? He needed to hear more.

He’d seen the current druid when Donald Abernathy trained the young boy. Even back then, he was something special.

Last month, they assigned Xaverie to kill the Curia’s monsignor if the druid’s team failed. That day, he witnessed the rebirth of the Scion in her full angelic power gifted from Celestia. She teamed with the druid, and the formidable pair destroyed the Curia’s troops after dispatching the Monsignor. The Monsignor’s defeat was thorough and violent.

The tides had changed here—or maybe they changed long ago and the brothers had been complacent.

His brother held a plan that was the best chance to live for more centuries. It was what his brother did—he planned. They’d tied their horse to the wrong leadership—these weak vampires—and now they needed to move on.

Xaverie had procured food, counting on his brother having a plan. I have a meal for us and a gift for the leadership. It should buy us a day.

Good. I have a contact who will give us up-to-date information, Dravin opened the feeding room.

What information is not up to date? His brother’s plans never needed more input.

Like you, the druid and Scion scare me. I’m keeping tabs on every Abernathy and any hint of those two. His brother led the way into the room with the crying family.

Feeding, they drained the two teenage children, making sure they’d become actual vampires. They kept the parents close, knowing that when the teens, driven by hunger, killed their parents, their humanity disappeared. These fresh vampires wouldn’t be the empty shells the leadership had been creating over the past year. These teens had the spark and would have been Realized. They’d make strong vampires.

The search pattern changed. The clomps of the searchers had drawn closer. No more waiting, said Xaverie.

As they stepped out into the blinding sun, the magical boots shielding them from the Fey magic on the ground, he couldn’t shake the feeling of resignation. If they killed the leadership and stopped the foolishness of summoning a Vampire Lord, the burden of caring for countless feeble vampires would fall on them.

With the elite guards absent from the forward operating base, the brothers only needed to avoid the gates. They cut through a trailer park and entered the sparse woods. After a few miles, they stepped onto the main road outside the base. How far had this group of vampires fallen that no one had challenged them?

Ahead of pursuit, he allowed the experience of happiness with his brother. You surprised me. I can’t deduce where the boots came from. His brother had not relayed the rest of the plan. The smile gave away how he took pride in his recent actions.

I stole them from the leadership, Dravin replied matter-of-factly, revealing that this plan had been in motion for weeks.

This also meant there was no return.

An hour later, his brother mesmerized a human, and the man drove the two east. Now, we have time. Tell me the plan. He peered out the window at the road signs marking their distance to Birmingham and Atlanta.

Marrianna has made three requests with a ‘name your reward’ offer. It scared the leadership, and they kept it secret.

The assassin shook his head. Not dealing with the Nephilim who desired to break the universe might be the smartest move the Leadership made. But the Nephilim kept her word on rewards.

All three requests are in the Southeast Territory, said Dravin.

The wait had gone on too long. Stop right there. Tell me how we survive the druid. Xaverie controlled his anxiety. His full blood reservoir pumped the fresh blood through his body. The Southeast Territory meant death with the druid and Scion located there.

The druid had killed dozens of vampires. An assassin with six centuries of experience knew to fear him. Our territory in the Delta has been at war with them for a century. Every incursion of ours ends in failure. Yet, the lone druid walked into our territory, took over our sensing pole, and walked out while we hid in our houses. He poisoned the land with life and Fey magic.

The residual Fey power simmering below the surface of the land caused an ache that living creatures couldn’t fathom. The druid had escalated the war and now full vampires suffered.

Dravin showed his fangs in that weird smile of his. The Realized Council mocks us too. They call our war ‘a feeble and failed grab at respect.’ To answer your real question. His brother pulled out a report. Because the Southeast has become vulnerable.

Xaverie accepted the packet. As he read, skepticism and tension knotted his brow. The report stated incredible news. Do we have proof?

I have a confirming report from my contact who was there. She sat three seats away from the druid. He handed over a second report.

The second report confirmed the unbelievable news. The druid had lost his memories and disappeared. Rebecca Adams, the Scion, had moved to the Chesapeake Bay Territory. 

See? Dravin asked.

Yes. The weight of uncertainty lifting. Do you have an outpost? Let’s get up-to-date information. What are our targets?

Capturing Nicole Hendrix is one target, but not one I recommend, Dravin warned.

The fiancée of the druid was a foolish choice. Next.

Steal the Blood Seal or kill a girl named Hannah Cassidy.

Locations? Either option sounded fine.

Both in Buford, Georgia. But I have a scout, and we’ll meet my contact in Douglasville.

How long do you anticipate before they detect us? There were others in the Southeast Territory even if they weren’t as deadly. Xaverie leaned against his blade on his back and pressed against the one on his leg.

The boots are working to protect us from detection. We appear as low-power druids when we wear them but reap the benefits of walking on blood-powered lands, Dravin explained, his strange smile offering reassurance. Changes shook the Leadership of the Southeast Territory. Their Territory Head left his grandson in charge, and the young man’s strong start has collapsed into indecision.

Xaverie would have to see that. The Abernathy family trained from birth to lead the territory. Nathan Abernathy had shown competence at every task given to him under his grandfather, Preacher Jon.

The neighborhood the car drove through had declined. The dilapidated neighborhood lacked danger. It was a broken place with no hope.

Arriving at a house with a repaired porch, memories flooded Xaverie. I remember this house. I was the first investigator on site forty years ago.

Yes. The council declared it off-limits, so I bought it with a thrall of mine and have used it with impunity. His brother flaunted his disdain for the vampire leadership openly, but this had been a surprising purchase. It was the location of a spectacular failure of the vampire leadership.

He stepped into the drive and touched the ground. The old druid, Donald Abernathy, killed a handful of fresh vampires, released the prisoners, and stole the payment from the Curia. He finished his killing at this house fast enough to stop the Curia. The leadership couldn’t even claim to have delayed him.

Memories came back of the slaughter’s aftermath. The old druid’s joy in killing vampires was clear. He even listened to music while he killed the vampires, despite the rain. A woman had watched the scene and needed to be killed after interrogations.

He mesmerized the car’s driver to continue two hours north.

The walk up the stairs allowed him to put those memories aside. They should have seen the tide turn in favor of the druid back then. Inside, they got up-to-date whereabouts and waited for sunset.

I hate this territory! Dravin tossed a fresh report on the crushed red velvet couch. There is a vampire—an ally of the druid guarding half of the seal.

Did he marry a werewolf? Xaverie joked. A vampire and a druid as allies struck him as preposterous.

Dravin turned with his fangs bared. No, but he is friends with one. He is friends and business partners with a hunter and friends with the druid. There was no smile. Hatred covered his brother’s face.

Hunters, druids, and werewolves were natural enemies of vampires. Werewolves and hunters were natural enemies too, but not in the Southeast Region. The Territory of Love, as Dravin called it, proved successful.

Every other territory is witch-based, shaman-based, vampire-based, and whatever. They could have stayed druid-based and not change everything up, Dravin ranted. Instead, it’s all a big love fest and no natural enemies exist. He handed his brother a picture.

An old man sat with the druid, another large man, and a vampire. The old man was obviously a werewolf in human form. They drank beer, a human drink. They were laughing in the photo.

The large man is Miles, the hunter.

Xaverie understood his brother’s hatred. It was not natural. The Territory of Love should be a disaster, not a resounding success. But they had a job to do, and they’d continue going over the information.

The information brief verified the ideal conditions. The Scion was still in Virginia and the Druid missing.

Their brief stop ended at sunset. That’s when the alarm sounded in Void’s Harmony. The vampire shrills entered their minds over hundreds of miles and a territory crossing. There was no search for the brothers. The appeasement using the new vampires worked.

Outside, a new car pulled in front of the house. It was more in the style of the two vampires. Dravin drove and merged into traffic on the outskirts of Atlanta on the way to Buford, Georgia.

Xaverie, preparing himself for the silent and traceless killings ahead, meditated. The tension lingered with a glimmer of relief. This time, they have a fighting chance. But all the emotions had to go.

HIS MEDITATIONS BROUGHT refuge to his soul. A cleansing of the haunting memories of harsh days. He reflected on a mission when he first encountered the druids of the Southeast Territory. A normal job to him to New York City to kill a man over a week. This man cashed out his company the day before it declared bankruptcy. Destitute holders of his worthless company saw him laugh as the stock market crashed. It was the beginning of what humans called the great depression and what vampires called a feeding frenzy.

The man took a week to die as contracted. The ones who pooled their last monies came to visit him in his anguish. Xaverie returned to his home with the job finished. The panhandle of Florida may have lacked grandeur, but it possessed enough comforts and became his home.

Fires smoldered, and the staked hearts of his clan littered the beach. The relentless Druid, Donald Abernathy, transformed hundreds of square miles. A search led him to find the remaining traumatized vampires. The Mississippi Delta became their refuge. Dozens of vampires died from the onslaught of one lone druid and his relentless Fey powered bullets.

Xaverie waited for his brother and when Dravin returned a month later, the two of them traveled to kill the druid. Assassination attempts and skills were not enough. Donald Abernathy was a relentless killing machine. Worse, the druid apologized and let them go.

His haunted voice stayed with the vampires. I’m tired of killing y’all. Please leave.

That comment wounded deeper than any of his weapons and never healed.

The old druid trained the new druid, Corey Norwood. Corey Norwood was worse than a relentless killing machine—trained as a killer from puberty. He brought life and love everywhere and if you didn’t like his vision; he killed without a second thought.

A shiver down his back alerted his senses to the present. He did not rid himself of his emotions, but it was too late. There’s a vampire here. Xaverie’s senses were much higher than Dravin’s.

We’re early. The girl is in a car an hour north on the road. I’d like to scout the Blood Seal, said his brother.

A brilliant strategist sometimes forgot the tactical. Escape plan, then. He looked at the open parking lot—plenty of paths to escape.

His brother stopped in front of the car. Good call. At most, they have one flyer. We fly north, find the girl, and kill her.

With an escape plan in place, they moved forward.

Two young men stood outside the store under the overhang. Another pair of men walked out of the adjoining camping store. They joked with each other, the slight man taking the lead. The four waved at each other. That meant they were regulars at these stores.

Prepare flight, Xaverie hissed. Humans that used magic were called Realized, and they clumped together. These could be humans with magic.

As soon as his mind focused, Xaverie’s senses flared just as a werewolf pulled them into the Realm of Shadow. Vampires thrived here, too. The act showed how strong he was to move others to a different realm without consent. The creature stormed toward them from a mile away and ran at supernatural speeds.

They weren’t alone in the Realm of Shadows. Two of the humans were Realized and entered the realm with them. The Territory of Love outnumbered them. They faced a vampire, a werewolf, and two Realized humans. His brother’s disgust at the territory proved accurate.

Behind me! Xaverie drew his poisoned blade and shrouded the two in blood mist.

Khalil, catch! The enemy vampire tossed a shotgun to one of the young humans.

Next to him, the slight man opened his jacket, and sunlight poured from his chest. Light of the sun pelted them as if it were noon on Earth and not dusk in the realm with diminished light. The light blinded them. Without the boots of his brother, they’d be dead. This normal looking man possessed the ability to kill vampires himself.

Emergency escape! shouted Dravin. The escape plan helped, and they both transformed.

As bats, they fled north. Desperate beating of their wings evaded the pursuing werewolf and the light. The wind rushed against their wings as his heightened senses detected the growls of the pursuing werewolf grow closer.

They kept at top speed, their wings beating furiously, and caught an updraft. The two gained height without effort. They out-distanced the werewolf and entered Earth, leaving the darkness of the Shadow Realm behind.

The other vampire kept low and outpaced them. He must be traveling to warn the girl. No matter, they could take on one vampire together.

With renewed determination, he pushed back at the complaints of exhaustion from the body of the bat. Dravin’s reports made the escape likely. One druid circle would have slowed them or even trapped them. The druid out of the territory made the escape possible. That and the updraft.

The two brothers landed and took human form. They took stock of their situation and Dravin got his bearings from his plans. They’d traveled on their expected trajectory. The escape plan proved its worth.

They began the search for Hannah Cassidy with vampiric senses. Despite failing to scout the blood seal, they had the preferred target remaining. Dravin’s plan survived the encounter.

Xaverie could still gain his completeness of the soul by loving once again and killing this new love.

His brother motioned him down and landed in a copse of trees. Bad news. The vampire just warned the girl. Worse, the Scion is with them. Check out the red car. The girl handcuffed to the Scion is the target.

Xaverie didn’t need to have the Scion pointed out to him. He saw her announce herself in the horrible golden light of goodness. However, the Scion without a free arm and the girl unable to run, freed up possibilities. The plan lived and needed few alterations. No plan survives a first encounter with the enemy.

He reminded himself of Rebecca Adams. With incomplete weapons training, she showed vulnerability, but her potential outshined the druid. Where the druid spread life, the Scion brought the celestial light of goodness. Her mere presence ignited a celestial aura that ate the flesh of any vampire. She emanated beauty and love—a horrid being.

Arriving at a gas station, Dravin nearly jumped with excitement. I’ll provide the distraction, and you kill the girl.

Xaverie held up his hand. They were close and needn’t rush. The Scion.

Trees around the station limited visibility. The only witnesses had to come from the fast moving cars on the highway. Humorous that they hid in trees in a druid territory. But a druid territory without a druid gave them more options.

The anticipation of a kill awakened his nerves. If they achieved perfection for five minutes, their plan would succeed.

While the vampire enemy pumped the gas, the Scion walked the handcuffed girl to the restrooms. Her blonde hair was flat and unkept. Something hindered her in human form. The Scion’s transformation into an angel happened instantly. This needed a careful move.

Kill the teenage girl with instant lethality. Then they escape.

They needn’t discover why the Scion handcuffed the young girl or if she caused the hindrance. The price on Hannah Cassidy’s head was enough. They needed a distraction—but where?

The gas station lit up in Fey green light, and a pop sounded behind them. Bare feet walked and did not care if anyone heard. Only one man did not fear two vampires—the druid.

Terror cascaded down Xaverie’s stiffened spine as he turned to see the druid. Young Corey Norwood sauntered towards him.

The druid spoke in German, an accent from Vienna, much like Xaverie and Dravin spoke centuries ago. There are no other druids in the Americas, but your disguise is good.

His assassin’s calm slipped, and he gripped his hilt. Dravin’s information was wrong. The druid watched his lands even if he was not in them. But the druid was something else now. Something new emanated from the young man’s eyes. Age?

The black knife in the druid’s hands had found Dravin’s heart. The young druid moved faster than either could see and his brother hadn’t raised a defense. Blood squirted from the wound and soaked the frozen leaves.

Technically, the fight hadn’t ended—not without a wooden spike in Dravin’s heart. But the druid’s face showed the fight ended. The druid relaxed his stance.

Xaverie? asked the druid, stepping back. He pulled his killing blow and gave Xaverie another few seconds.

A chance to win this fight opened, but shock froze his arm. The druid never met him! How do you know my name? Recovered, he pulled out his second blade.

You left Emperor Leopold’s service to work for me. The druid’s face contorted in pain. The young Corey Norwood recognized him. Impossible! The druid never spoke German. Something changed. The change made Dravin’s plan fail.

The druid spoke with a smile using a natural Vienna accent. It is you. It sounds crazy, but we were best of friends in an alternate timeline. As an assassin without vampiric powers, we killed many together.

The druid talked while in a defensive position. He spouted facts from Xaverie’s and Dravin’s life, except the Druid hadn’t been there. He talked of an alternate timeline.

Xaverie would not have left Emperor Leopold’s service. The story made little sense. You confuse me with someone else.

Maybe