The Druid Chronicles: Forbidden Love: Book One

By Lost Soul

My name is Charlene Roberts, or as my friends call me, Charlie. I'm a sergeant in the Seattle Police Homicide Division, but I also am a Druid that hunts demons and witches preying on my city. I have been tracking a demon who's killed eighteen women in my city, and with the eighteenth victim, we caught him on video committing the murder.

I soon find out that I am not the only one hunting my prey. Natalia, a female demon, joins me in hunting the same demon who killed her lover centuries before. After I'm wounded in a shoot-out, I find myself falling for her as she nurses me back to health.

Just where will this forbidden love go? Join us in a wild adventure of twists, turns, and surprises to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889823988

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Preface and Disclaimer

1 The Hunter and the Hunted

2 Bait

3 Forbidden Kisses

4 Revelations, Recovery, and Falling

5 The Uninvited Guests and Trip

6 A Plan Comes Together

7 The Coven Visits

8 Grief Struck, New Powers, and Reflections

9 Teaching, Yearning, and Reflecting

10 Lessons in Control

11 Malcolm and the Surprise Journey

12 Dinner, Horses, and Dancing

13 The Return to Work

14 Picking up the Pieces and Moving On

15 Exploring and Teaching Katherine

16 The Proposal, Chase, and Disaster

About the Author

The Druid Chronicles

Forbidden Love

Book 1

Lost Soul

Copyright © 2023 Lost Soul

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2023

Written by John TJ Holcomb as Lost Soul

Pseudonym property of Lost Soul

Cover Design by Lost Soul

Self-published

This story is a work of fiction. No reproduction or use in other material without my express permission.

ISBN 979-8-88982-397-1 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88982-398-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Dedicated to my beautiful partner and love of my life, Angel Cross.

Preface and Disclaimer

Good morning to all. My name is Charlene Roberts, and I’m one of the main characters in this story. I work as a sergeant in homicide at the Seattle Police Department, but I do not exist. This story and the murders I investigated with my team and friends never happened in the real world. Although this story is based in Seattle, it is in no reflection of what living in this city really is like, and this could be based in any city in the United States. This is not a political glorification of gun violence, gangs, or any crimes referenced in the story my team investigated.

This story has nudity, references to sexual assaults, and active shooter incidents that are fictitious and in no reflection of the gun violence humans are so addicted to. I have taken great pains to make this story not about race. I do not endorse violence of any kind, nor do I endorse or glorify death. There is no path to immortality and living forever, so please do not follow the examples in this story or the events surrounding. I am a lesbian in the story, along with many of the main characters that you will meet, but that’s only a small part of the storyline.

The battles referenced, both from my past lives and current, are loosely related to historical events but still fictitious. Demons, witches, and the paranormal do exist in your world, and this is not an attempt to make anyone aware of anything out there or to glorify it in any way. There are no names of spells, nor is this book a tool to teach people how to cast spells. In this book, I can fly along with other main characters. Please do not attempt this, as it is impossible to do in real life.

Thank you for reading this story, the first of many in a series. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

1 The Hunter and the Hunted

The phone rang early in the morning, long before the sun came up, and I groaned and rolled over, looking at the alarm clock.

Three in the morning. It’s either another homicide case or a wrong number.

The caller ID answered the question, and I sighed, answering the phone.

Let me guess. This is Publisher’s Clearing House calling, and I’ve won an all-expense trip for a month.

Your vacation I think is going to wait, Charlie, the male voice said. We have another murder, and it’s the same pattern as the others.

I sighed. Damn it. That makes six this month alone. Send me the coordinates. I’ll be there shortly after I dress.

Will do. But don’t take too long. The chief really wants this guy caught.

I hung up the phone, staggered half asleep to the shower, and turned on the warm water. I slipped off my nightshirt and stepped in the shower, letting the water cascade down my back and over my breasts as I closed my eyes.

I sense evil out there already, like someone’s watching me right now.

I picked up the sponge and the soap and began my shower, trying to get the sensation out of my mind.

I must be getting paranoid, or I’m losing my mind.

I washed my hair twice and started to step out before the hair on my body stood on end as I caught the glint of red eyes in my peripheral vision. I turned in that direction, but the eyes disappeared as fast as they had appeared.

So something wants to play.

I dried my hair and slid on my clothes before heading to my car. It was another cool March night in Seattle, and the skies were cloudy as I got inside and started the car. Devon texted me the address on the west side of the city, and I sighed, knowing it was a thirty-minute drive.

The joys of a homicide detective, Charlene. You wanted the nightlife to hunt them.

Yes, I wanted to become a homicide detective since the academy but not by myself. The memories always flooded my mind on the long drives across town, and my heart always longed to be together again.

My name is Charlene Roberts, or Charlie as my friends call me, and I’ve been a detective now for almost six years. I spent four more years as a regular police officer before getting my chance, and I jumped at the chance. Ten years before, I was twenty, deeply in love with my fiancé, and destined to marry. Tara was a year older at twenty-one when she graduated from the police academy. She joined Seattle Metro and worked the streets for a year until I graduated and joined her, getting an apartment in the middle of the city, and began planning our wedding, a wedding that never came.

Why the long face? Tara said.

I just hate the idea of you going undercover. It’s too dangerous.

Tara smiled, rolled over onto her side, and kissed me deeply on the lips. We have three months before our wedding, and you already sound like my wife worrying about everything. We’re both police officers, Charlie. It comes with the job. Besides, I will have five people watching me ready to spring into action in a second. Come on, let’s get a shower together.

We kissed and made love in the shower, but that nagging sensation never went away.

I watched her dress into street clothes and leave for the station to meet her team. Never once did I think she wouldn’t return. Her age and beauty gave her lieutenant the idea of undercover work, luring out the predators targeting girls fresh out of high school for the sex trade. Her client gave her a drink, knocked her out, and found the wire under her bra. The last sounds her team heard were two gunshots and silence, and they stormed the hotel room. They found her tied naked to the bed with two gunshot wounds to the head, but the suspect left no trace in the room. I remember the funeral walk in the rain, dressed in my best uniform, following behind her coffin, the rifles firing their salute, the chaplain handing the American flag, and going home to the empty bed. I slept on her side for months after, holding onto her favorite nightshirt and crying. I wanted desperately to find the bastard who killed her, but he made a mistake. The bullets from his gun led detectives straight to him, combined with DNA, but he went down in a hail of gunfire instead of spending his days on death row.

Part of me died that night Tara died, but my resolve to become a police officer never wavered, and if anything, it became stronger. The only time I climaxed those first four years came from my knee in the middle of someone’s back as I arrested them. It wasn’t until I busted a notorious gang member when my old captain called me into his office, and I met Devon for the first time.

Good work out there, Capt. Joseph Myles told me. I wanted to be the first to congratulate you.

For what, sir?

The mayor of this great city made a promise when elected to promote more women into homicide and other high-profile positions. Your work as a police officer on the streets hasn’t gone unnoticed, Charlie, so I’m giving you that chance to prove everyone right.

I looked at him, wondering if it was a joke, but Captain Myles was serious. I don’t know what to say, sir.

He smiled, patting me on the shoulder. I know the last four years have been unbearably hard. Tara was a great officer and deeply missed. But you cannot blame yourself forever for her death. You always wanted the chance when you graduated to work homicide, and you deserve that chance. This is Devon Alexander, your new partner. He’s been in homicide for ten years now. Learn from him and get these creeps off the street.

I looked at Devon and sighed.

He finished a long drag on his cigarette before putting it out and shaking my hand. I’ve heard a lot about you. I look forward to seeing you out there with me.

I shook his hand, resisting the urge to break his wrist as he undressed me with his eyes. All men are fucking pigs. This one’s going to be fun to work with. How long will he wait before trying to take me to bed?

We walked out to the cruiser together, my eyes betraying my thoughts.

Up to some coffee, Charlene? I’m buying.

Sure. There’s a diner around the corner. Thanks.

We decided to walk the three blocks to the diner rather than drive.

The captain said you’re widowed. I’m deeply sorry.

So was I, three months before our wedding.

He nodded as we got to the diner, got a table close to the door, and ordered two cups of coffee. I’m divorced. My ex couldn’t handle the late nights and wondering if I would come home. Took our three-year-old daughter with her and moved across the states. I pay half my check in alimony, and she blocked me from visiting, thinking I’m a bad influence.

Sounds like we’re both damaged goods. The life of a police officer. No wonder many of us never make it.

Alcohol or the muzzle of your service revolver? he asked, the wisdom that comes from experience.

Alcohol mostly. Suicide makes it harder to reunite with your wife in heaven if you go to hell instead.

That explains the thrill-seeker side of you I’ve heard rumors of.

I grinned at him, sipping my coffee. It was only one hundred fifteen miles per hour on the motorcycle.

The report mentioned something higher. Also, a reputation for skydiving and pulling your chute at two thousand feet. World record cliff dive from two hundred feet, free dive record at six minutes. Shall I go on?

I looked deep into his soul and sighed. You did your homework, didn’t you? The partner with the death wish fascination no one wants. Does it mention anything else? Bra size, for example?

Just a misconduct write-up for breaking your last partner’s nose after he groped you. He missed the part in your file that said you hold a third-degree black belt and are lesbian. They fired him, didn’t they?

I nodded and sighed. It was worth the write-up. He gave the force a bad name.

I’m glad that you’re on our side and to have you as a partner. He chuckled.

Six years later, I found myself driving up to the crime scene and getting out of the car. A dozen officers were combing the house for clues as I walked in. Devon greeted me in the living room with a cup of coffee.

Another sleepless night, Charlie? he asked, smiling.

Off and on. Cannot shake the nightmares. What do we have?

Celeste Madison, eighteen. Didn’t show up for work yesterday and called us to do a welfare check. She’s in the back bedroom.

Same call sign?

He nodded. Naked, signs of sex, tied to the bed, and drained of blood. No obvious wounds. This makes eighteen in the last three years.

This girl had cameras. Look at the smoke detectors. They have cameras built in. Is there one in her bedroom?

We can check. Here’s a pair of coveralls.

I took them, handing him my coffee as I slipped them over my skirt and dress and the booties over my shoes. The last part was the latex gloves before finishing my coffee.

Let’s get on with it. Have a vacation to dream about.

He chuckled as we walked back to the back bedroom.

Celeste lay naked on her back, tied spread-eagle, and green eyes wide open.

I looked up at the ceiling and smiled. A young voyeur at heart. Get a search warrant for her computer please, I said to one of the other officers. I looked closer at her naked body and sighed. Wrists and ankles tied with clothesline three knots each, genitals freshly shaven, evidence of sexual intercourse. I hope her cameras were rolling. Get vaginal swabs of her at the morgue, and hopefully, we’ll get lucky this time. Take pictures of those knots please before the medical examiner cuts her loose. What am I missing? How are they doing this? There’s the same sensation of evil, demonic. Anyone bring a black light? Also, an infrared camera please.

What’s up, Charlie? Do you see something? Devon asked.

Just a gut feeling.

The forensics team brought both the black light and the camera into the room.

Shut the lights off please and close her curtains.

The closest officer to the window did so as I took the black light and waved it over Celeste’s body.

Look here, around her nipples. Swab those and test for blood please. I continued scanning her naked body before getting another hit with the light by her inner thighs. Swab those spots also please and take some photos. Let’s see what the infrared camera picks up.

I switched with Devon, taking the camera and handing him the light.

I looked through the camera and took a deep breath. That’s not good, Devon. Look with and without the black light. I showed him the two photos.

What the hell are those? he asked.

Runes. Those are spell runes. They look demonic in nature.

The technician finished the blood tests, showing positive.

The killer drained her blood through her breasts and genitals. We need to expedite the search warrant on her cameras.

Michelle, the coroner, arrived a few minutes later, shaking her head. This looks like the rest of the victims. Beautiful and young.

There’re cameras though on this one so maybe she recorded her killer, I said, pointing to the smoke alarm camera. Can you guess how long she’s been dead, Michelle?

Michelle looked over the body, taking temperature readings and checking for rigor mortis. About twenty-four hours but going to have to get her back to my lab. Do you have pictures of the ropes so I can cut them?

I nodded. They just took the photos. But we also have more. Look at these. I showed her the pictures and blood samples.

Michelle looked at the pictures, her eyes wide. This is out of my league. In my thirty years as a medical examiner, never have I seen something like those. This is a ritualistic murder. We need to do more tests at my office. Can I move her now?

Go ahead. We have everything we can from the scene, Devon said.

An hour later, the search warrant came in for Celeste’s cameras and computer. The forensics team bagged them carefully and sent them to the lab for further examination as we left the crime scene. I removed my coveralls and placed them in an evidence bag before heading to my car.

I’m going back home for a few hours. Let me know what the team finds on the cameras, I said before the hairs stood up once more on my body. It’s watching us. It knows. I pretended not to notice as I got in my car.

I started my car and looked in the rearview mirror only to see the red dots from the fence line across the street before they disappeared.

So who is hunting whom? I’m hunting a demon suspect and hunted at the same time.

I drove back the half-hour drive back home, trying to reign in my thoughts. I pulled in the driveway and went inside before taking another shower.

This is bad. I haven’t seen one like this in centuries. Why are they back now?

I turned off the hot water, stepped out of the shower, and froze, turning white seeing the mirror. Written in the fog was the word hi.

Neat trick. I locked all my windows and doors.

In my nightstand, I pulled out a bundle of sage and rosemary and lit it. So you wish to play? How dare you step foot in my house. I began purifying every inch of my house, every nook, every corner before taking holy water and blessing the mirrors.

Exhausted, I fell asleep in the bed naked, leaving the sage burning on the dresser next to my bed on a plate. Hours passed before my phone rang, startling me since I wasn’t expecting it. I picked it up and it was Devon.

Hey, Charlie. Your hunch paid off. We have a suspect.

Let me get dressed and I’ll be right there.

I got ready quickly, pulling my hair into a ponytail before grabbing my keys and purse and driving to the station.

So you finally made a mistake after eighteen murders. We finally get to see the bastard that we’ve been hunting for three years. My mind raced on what was on those tapes as I drove. Do I tell them what I am, what I