by Jamie Hawke
“Ignore them,” Ebrill said. “We need to get you back… asleep.”
“Seriously?” I replied, considering how drained they were.
“Sweet dreams,” Steph said, nodding for me to get to it.
I chuckled, but more at the thought that I had no idea how I would actually fall asleep amid all the chaos. My heart still thudding, I lowered myself to the roof, unable to take my eyes off Steph and Ebrill. These two beautiful, amazing women were going to fight off anything that came my way, right? They could handle themselves, as they had proven.
Yet, there was some serious power out there trying to get at us. The shisa could help but I still wasn’t at ease. I was about to push myself back up to say we could try again later, that this wasn’t going to work, when Ebrill lowered herself to my side, put a hand on my forehead, and whispered the same spell that Fatiha had cast on me earlier.
This time, though, as Ebrill said, “Gorffwys” and my surroundings faded to dreamland, I embraced it as a pleasant warmth tingled through me, a quick dream as my mind hazed and I imagined Ebrill’s hands in many more places than just my forehead.
88
In the third instance of me going back in time, or to Ebrill’s memory, I appeared in a bed. Ebrill was sleeping on her side. For the longest time, I lay there, watching her sleep, until her eyelids fluttered open and she saw me there.
Her mouth moved, her eyes showing confusion, but then, instead of saying anything, she leaned in and kissed me.
I blinked, caught off guard by that.
“They had me convinced that I was hallucinating,” Ebrill whispered. “That you only existed in my imagination.”
“I’m as real as you.” My hand went to hers between us, feeling her smooth, gentle skin. Odd, how it felt so much more delicate, almost fragile, compared to her gargoyle self.
She brought my hand to her hip and allowed me to move it, to…
Someone cleared their throat. I turned to see the redhead from before. At the moment, I couldn’t recall her name.
“You’re back.”
“Wait, you saw me last time, too.” I frowned. “How were you going to try and make Ebrill sound crazy?”
“You remember my name?” Ebrill asked, grinning wide.
“I do.” I paused, smiling and holding her gaze.
“And I’m Aerona,” the redhead said. “Sorry, but… there was simply no sign of you. We had to assume you were an illusion or something. Maybe a ghost.”
“Yet, you tried to tell me it was in my head,” Ebrill said, turning on her friend.
“Ebrill, you know you’re fragile, you know—”
“Fragile?” I practically laughed at the word in relation to her. When both looked at me with frowns, it registered that I had done something wrong. “What?”
“She…” Aerona hesitated, looking over to Ebrill, then closed her mouth.
“I have a disease,” Ebrill said. “They aren’t sure what it is, exactly, but the doctor is certain I won’t last long. Maybe a year, tops.”
“Something tells me you’ll live much longer,” I countered with a chuckle.
Neither seemed to appreciate the humor, considering that they didn’t know about her existence far in the future, but that triggered my memory and reminded me why I was there to begin with.
“The Liahona,” I said, looking them straight in the eye. “We’re going to need it.”
Both immediately reacted to the word, although in different ways. Ebrill perked up, eyes going wide, while Aerona pounced, took me by the shirt, and had a glowing wand in my face.
“You should not know such a word,” she spat, eyes full of disdain. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”
Mind racing, the only thing I could come up with was the truth. “Ebrill sent me to get it, to wake Kordelia, and maybe others. Seven in total, including those two. From the future, I guess.”
Aerona’s fierce, blue eyes moved from side to side, scanning me for any sign of lies, but finally she lowered her wand, then concealed it in her robes where it had been hiding before. She spun on Ebrill. “Explain.”
“How can I?” Ebrill asked. “He’s speaking nonsense.”
“You must have said something when you last met, cast a spell that skewed his memory, something.”
Ebrill shook her head. “Although, this does explain, in a sense, why he continues to show up and fade as he does. Some sort of strange, magical travel.”
I nodded. “And if you could tell me where I am…?”
The two ladies glared at me for a long moment, then Ebrill said, “Avalon, of course.”
Avalon sounded familiar, but as hard as I racked my brain, it wasn’t connecting. Maybe Avalon was some city in England? My magic was still doing the voice-translation thing, so I wasn’t actually sure if they had accents, and couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.
“Come, we’ll show you,” Aerona said. “If you’re who you say you are, then you might be the final piece of this puzzle.”
“Where to?” Ebrill asked.
“He needs to meet Rianne.”
“Are you certain?”
Aerona glanced back my way, then motioned us on. “Only if he’s telling the truth. At the moment, I’m taking the chance.”
Ebrill allowed a hint of a smile at those words, so I did too. Even more so when she took my arm in hers and whispered, “Stay by my side. I’ll keep you safe,” and offered a wink.
I chuckled, nodded, and we walked on.
We exited what appeared to be a guard post, since others were stationed outside with more along the wall, which seemed fairly far out there. These guards were tall and lean, some with dark skin and shocks of white hair. When one passed without a helmet and eyed us, it took me a moment to realize that her ears were pointed.
“Drow?” I asked.
“The best guards that money can buy,” Ebrill replied. “That seems to disturb you.”
“It’s just… where I’m from, they aren’t on the same side as you.”
“Oh?” Aerona shook her head. “Never have trusted them, but nobody listens. They haven’t given us trouble for as long as anyone can remember, and are worth every ounce they’re paid.”
“But you don’t trust them?”
“That’s right.”
“I don’t understand,” Ebrill cut in. “Why would they turn on us?”
“Sorry, I can’t answer that. I’ll just say to be careful. Keep an extra set of eyes on them.”
With a nod, she continued and led me to a path where I froze, unable to believe what I saw. Not far out were walls with more guards and soldiers posted, but beyond that was a long stretch of moving shapes and fires scattered throughout in the dusk light.
“What am I looking at?” I asked.
“The invading armies,” Ebrill answered. “We’ve been under siege for months now, but more armies arrive by the day.”
It reminded me of the house back in D.C., but on a much grander scale. “Why are they invading?”
“To get the Liahona, to control Avalon and its magic.”
“I thought we were in Avalon.”
Ebrill grinned. “Exactly. And the Liahona is the key to its magic. If you watch closely, they’ll attack soon.”
“We shouldn’t waste time,” Aerona said.
“It’s dusk, it won’t be long.” Ebrill pointed to a group that had started moving toward the wall. “There, see. Must be a new group.”
As we watched, they began their assault, only to be surrounded by a thick fog of purple that swept down on them from the hills. Screams rose from below amid the clang of steel on steel, and Ebrill pulled me close.
“Are they… fighting themselves?” I asked.
She nodded. “The magic defends us, as long as we control Avalon. Which means, as long as they don’t get their hands on the Liahona.”
“I saw how the magic destroyed them. I don’t see why we should be worried.”
“We’ve been successful, for now,” Ebrill
said. “But they’re bringing in everything they have, including some sorcerers of great power.”
“Surely, nothing we can’t handle,” Aerona said, flustered.
She led us on again. Soon we were at a wall of wooden posts that was sharpened at the top. It was much smaller than anything I would have expected from a place like this, but as we entered I got the impression we were not at the home of the magic but more of a forward operating base. The inside was made up of crude buildings, a larger one with a standard out front showing a tree surrounded by a spiraling golden light.
A woman stepped out from beneath this banner, power emanating from her hands as they motioned me forward. The power resonated outward, her orange and yellow robes flowing back from her like the sunset incarnate.
“Rianne,” Ebrill said, voice almost a whisper. “This is her.”
For a brief moment, my heart seemed to freeze as Rianne’s eyes met mine. A flash of orange and yellow crossed her eyes and then was gone. She motioned us forward and we approached, others now appearing behind her who might have been there the moment she stepped out, or might have been there the whole time—I couldn’t tell.
We stepped up to meet with Rianne. She stood tall but looked at me as if we were old friends.
“If we don’t save the Liahona, all of civilization will come to an end,” Rianne said, as if she had been able to hear our conversation. She turned to address her followers. “Or, that’s the story we’ve all been told.”
“What do you mean?” Ebrill asked, looking at her with wide eyes. “I was under the impression that this was our last stand. Where we would defend it to the end.”
“There’s more to this man you see before you,” Rianne said, indicating me. “I’ve foreseen his coming, and he will be the one to usher our world into an age of light. An age where the enemy only exists in shadows, in stories people tell at night to scare their friends and children. You will take the Liahona, Jericho, and in so doing will banish their kind from our world… for now.”
“I don’t understand,” I admitted.
“They’ll find a way to return, but it will be far from now, at a time you are familiar with. At that time, you must be ready. We are weakened, too far gone already and, as you might know, we have traitors in our midst.”
“There has to be a way we can fight,” Aerona growled. “It can’t end like this—”
“It won’t,” Rianne replied. “You will return to fight. Stronger, more powerful. But first, you must do as I say. I’ve seen every possible outcome. While I cannot guarantee success, I can guarantee that every other way ends in failure.”
“What do we have to do?” Ebrill asked.
“Bring the Liahona to the edge of Avalon while I hold off the enemy. There, a spell will be cast to end the presence of darkness on this planet, by removing Avalon and the Liahona.”
“Aside from you, only Gertrude knows how to cast such a spell,” Aerona said.
“Gertrude?” I perked up at that, thinking no way could it be the same person. But when a flap to a back room opened and she stepped in, I had no doubt. “How…?”
She looked younger than the version of my aunt I had known, but not by much. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“This… this doesn’t make sense.” I turned to Ebrill for help, but she shook her head, lost.
Rianne, however, spoke up. “It will, in time. For now, go with it. Gertrude will accompany you with the rest of the team acting as your guide. You all must reach the Heart of the Mountain, where it will all make sense. Reach that spot, and the enemy will not be able to touch you—although, you might find a new enemy.”
“Meaning?”
“Legends… a legend of a protector under a curse.”
My eyes went to Ebrill, as I knew from the future that she had a special way with curses. She, however, looked lost.
“But… you won’t be coming?” Gertrude asked, taking Rianne’s hands in her own. There was an intense intimacy there, one that made me see my aunt in a whole new light. Also, standing there with this woman from an ancient, magical time and place, made me realize that maybe referring to her as my aunt had been wrong all along. At that point, though, it had been so long—even if she wasn’t my real aunt, I didn’t care. Thinking of her in any other way felt wrong and confusing.
“I will defend our position here, keep them off your trail as long as possible,” Rianne said, and kissed Gertrude on the forehead. “We may see each other again one day, but… under very odd circumstances.” She looked around. “It’s settled, then. Gather the others and prepare to make the push through the pass. You must reach the heart of the mountain by morning.”
Aerona nodded in firm confirmation but Ebrill’s eyes showed worry. This wasn’t some simple escape the house mission, it was much more complicated. Whatever I had just become involved with was part of a battle between good and evil, and I was in the center of it.
89
Gertrude, as I had taken to thinking of the past version of my aunt, led us to an armory, where they geared up. Interestingly, it resembled the armor that the future gargoyle versions of Ebrill and Kordelia wore, although with more layers of clothing. Unfortunate for my eyes, but probably good for their health. The large woman, Yenifer, took up a spot at the door to keep watch while the men gathered weapons.
“Avalon,” I said to myself, then met Ebrill’s gaze as she fastened a sword belt around my waist. “Not the same as King Arthur and all that?”
She frowned. “Never heard of any King Arthur. The current ruler of nearby lands is Emrys Wledig, also known as Ambrosius Aurelianus.”
The name didn’t ring a bell, but I imagined that, with the link to magic and the Welsh connection, this had to be the same as the legend of Arthur. Maybe he hadn’t come along yet, or maybe that was all bullshit.
“We don’t answer to them, though,” Aerona said, apparently having overheard. “Too many problems of our own, as you might have noticed.”
Nodding, I chuckled. “Indeed.”
“Let’s get you a robe, at least, so you don’t look so out of place,” Ebrill said, guiding me to the corner where several robes hung.
I picked out a brown one, very standard and not out of place. “It’ll do.”
“This is so exciting!” Ebrill said, eyes on mine, hand taking mine to hold it between hers. She didn’t seem to care about the robe one bit. “I still can’t believe you were real, I mean, those other times you showed up… all in preparation for this moment.”
“I’m still not sure I believe it myself.” Leaning in and lowering my voice, I added, “What if I told you in the future, you… I mean, you and I are fighting another war, like this?”
“I would say that sounds like exactly what’s supposed to happen, right?” She laughed. “If they get to the Liahona now, we’re all doomed. But you’re going to take it from here, expel their forces, then rally us so we can fight anew.”
“Right.” I pursed my lips, not sure that any of this made me feel comfortable. While I had recently learned new magic spells, me being in charge of some incredibly powerful magical artifact and being the one to use it to fight off some evil army, or whatever would be left of them? “So, what Rianne was saying…” I froze, not sure if I should voice it out loud. Essentially, what we were about to attempt to pull off would mean the end of magic on Earth, at least as these people knew it. We would be ushering in the age of men, a time when nobody believed in magic.
Legends would be born, myths of a magical land where Arthur would go off to in his final days. Fairy tales, basically.
Would any of it exist? Based on the time I came from, the answer was yes, because I had been born with some form of magic. Then again, maybe my birth or something to do with when the Liahona was to return had ushered in some return of this magic? Could the Powers That Be have known this was coming, and as each day approached they grew stronger?
If so, this trip to the heart of the mountain was only the beginning of my journey. At le
ast I would have this woman at my side, and in her gargoyle form no less.
She was staring at me with a quizzical look, but when she realized my mind was back with her, she smiled. “There you are. Is everything as it should be?”
I nodded. “Worried, is all.”
“The road ahead will be dark, perilous…” She pulled me close and kissed me on the cheek. “And while I’m glad to have you here to protect me, I’m not exactly defenseless, I should let you know.”
My grin was enough to make her move in for another kiss. This time, her smooth lips pressed against mine. How odd that this version of herself had no idea that future her had given me a hand job already. It was like I had a secret from her, with herself, and that thought was a turn-on.
When movement came from below, I had to remind myself that this wasn’t the time or place. We were about to make a push for some location that sounded dangerous, and in theory we could get seriously hurt along the way. For some reason, it never even crossed my mind that I might die until later. Maybe it was the distraction caused by such beauty around me.
And that only got worse. Or… better?
The door opened, and two more female elves entered. One, I instantly recognized as Kordelia. The other was a stranger. Behind them came several others, a mix of male and female.
I nodded at Kordelia, who noticed but pointedly ignored me. Odd.
“If everyone’s ready,” Rianne said, taking up a position in the center of the room, “let us begin.”
Her eyes held a sorrow that didn’t make sense, except that I knew what was coming and assumed she did, too. This land, if it was really Avalon, was about to vanish from the Earth. This much was confirmed as Rianne briefed the newcomers, indicating me as the one to take the Liahona from this world.
“Him?” Kordelia asked, skeptical. The other one, who I now could better see, wasn’t bad to look at in the slightest. The warrior of the group, I guessed by her broad shoulders and the two axes hanging from her belt.
“You can’t sense it, but his magic is strong,” Rianne said.
