Sword of Darkness

by Kinley MacGregor

  Blaise shook his head. "Nay. He has never mentioned her to me."

  As Seren opened her mouth to ask him more, a sudden jolt shook the castle. The force of it was so severe that she staggered. Even the stones around them seemed to sing out in discomfort.

  "What is that?"

  Blaise opened the shutters to the windows to show her the group that was waiting there to kill them.

  Seren's jaw dropped as she saw the dragons and gargoyles hovering a small distance away. Dragon after dragon was diving toward the castle, only to slam and recoil against nothing before they reached it.

  Blaise cursed. "They're attacking the shield."

  No sooner had he said that than a large boulder came hurtling toward them. Seren instinctively ducked as it came perilously close.

  It rebounded harmlessly away.

  "What shield?" she asked.

  "Kerrigan's. He placed it around the castle before he went to get you."

  She let out a long breath in relief. "Then we are safe."

  Blaise didn't look so convinced. "So long as Kerrigan remains strong, aye. But once he grows weak…" She could hear the doom in his tone.

  "Why can't he just take us from here? Flash us out as he's done before?"

  "Because he knows what I know."

  "And that is?"

  "That you carry his child, and so long as you hold such power within you, Morgen can find us. It's what allowed her to track us here and why her army now sits camped around the castle."

  Seren went cold at his words. "How do you know I'm pregnant?"

  "Can you not feel it yourself?"

  She shook her head. "I feel the same as I always have."

  Blaise's violet eyes bored into her. "You may feel the same, but you're not. Your destiny has begun, Lady Seren. If Morgen takes you now, she will have possession of one of the most powerful beings on this earth. Your child will hold the power to resurrect Mordred and to bring the balance of power over to Morgen's side. May God have mercy on all of us then. There will be no one who can stop her."

  Nay, he was wrong. He had to be. "Kerrigan told me that my destiny was to marry a Lord of Avalon and to have his child."

  "Nay," he said, his voice laden with dread. "Your destiny was to birth the next Penmerlin and so you will. We only assumed that the father of your child would be one of the Lords of Avalon. That made sense…had they found you first. But instead of being born of their goodness, your child was sired by a demon lord. That babe you carry is a powerful instrument who will have a natural tendency toward malice."

  Her heart clenched at his words. "What are you saying?"

  "Blaise is saying that you have truly given me the greatest gift imaginable, Seren. With the child you carry, I will not only be able to rule the worlds of man and mage, but bring them both to their knees."

  Chapter 9

  Seren gave a nervous laugh at Kerrigan's dire prediction. "Careful, my lord, there for a moment, you seemed so sincere that I almost believed you."

  "He's not jesting, Seren," Blaise said in a bland voice. "He means it."

  She felt her mouth open slightly as the full ramification of Kerrigan's words hit her. "You would use your own child to further your own ends?"

  Kerrigan moved to stand so close that she had to tilt her head up to meet his fiery gaze. "I will do whatever I have to to remain where I am. I won't go back to what I was. Ever. Not for you and certainly not for the brat you carry. I warned you of such and I meant every word of it."

  Apparently so. And yet she couldn't imagine being so callous toward an innocent babe who had no say in his existence. "What did they do to you to make you care nothing for anyone, not even your own child?"

  His laugh was bitter and lacking all humor. "You never want an answer to that question, mouse. Your feeble mind is incapable of comprehending it."

  She nodded before she stepped away from him. There was an odd calmness to her that she didn't understand. She should be terrified of him, and yet all she felt was pity. Sadness. Anger.

  But through those emotions, she also had an epiphany.

  There was no way either he or Morgen would kill her now. Not so long as she carried this child.

  But unlike them, she refused to use an innocent life for her own gain. Blaise was wrong. The baby knew nothing of evil, and she was going to make sure that it never learned of it.

  "I am truly sorry for whatever miserly mother spawned you, Kerrigan. No child should be born to a mother who doesn't love it." She narrowed her eyes on him to let him know exactly how much she meant her next words. "But I am not she, and this child is mine, and feebleminded or not, I will fight to my death for it. Do you understand that?"

  He looked less than convinced. "Fight with what? I could break you in twain."

  Seren moved to stand by his side. She lifted herself up on her toes to lessen the difference in their height. And she met that cold, eerie gaze without flinching. "Prepare for battle."

  Kerrigan would have laughed had she not said those words with such growling sincerity that he actually believed her. "Why would you fight for a child you don't even want?"

  "As you told Morgen, you gave it to me, and I protect what is mine. You should have chosen a more pliant vessel to carry your seed, my lord. This one will never stand to see her child harmed in any manner, and I will do whatever I must to see him or her safe. I assure you, you have battled much, but you have never faced a mother bent on protection of her babe. There is no power on this earth or beyond it more powerful, I assure you."

  He was completely baffled by her conviction. "I will kill you, Seren."

  "You will have to." She stepped away from him and turned to Blaise. "I would ask one favor of you, please."

  The mandrake exchanged a puzzled look with him. "And that is?"

  "That if I do indeed die before my child is grown that you make sure my baby knows that I gave my life for him. That I would have spared him all pain had God willed it, and that I regretted the fact that I wasn't a warrior to fight, but that I did fight with all I was worth…for him."

  Blaise gave a solemn nod. "I will tell him."

  "Promise?"

  "Aye."

  And with those words spoken, she left them alone.

  Kerrigan didn't move for several heartbeats as his anger mounted. "That stupid little fool."

  Blaise still stared after her even though she was no longer in sight. "She's not so stupid, I think."

  "And what do you know of it?"

  Blaise's violet eyes showed some inner pain. "Truly nothing. My mother was like yours. Selfish and cold. She cared nothing for me. But what I wouldn't have given to have had a mother like Seren."

  A wave of disgust curled Kerrigan's lip. "Bah! You'd be a weak-kneed sop. Our mothers gave us an even greater gift. They made us strong."

  Blaise met his gaze with an unexpected fire shining brightly in them. "Cruelty isn't strength, my king."

  "Then what is?"

  "A woman who is willing to fight to the death two people she knows she can't defeat to protect a child that is defenseless."

  "That's not strength. That's stupidity."

  One corner of Blaise's mouth quirked up as if something amused him. "And so is holding a castle against your enemies when you know you can't hold it for long. Tell me why you haven't handed Seren over to Morgen?"

  Rage shot through him as he fought the urge to reach out and strike Blaise. "You overstep your bounds, servant."

  Blaise lowered his head with a subjugation Kerrigan knew he didn't feel. "I do indeed. But I notice you haven't answered my question."

  What was there to answer to such a ridiculous inference? "What do you think? I love her? I don't. I have nothing but disdain for one such as she."

  And still Blaise's expression mocked him. "Funny. I have nothing but respect for her. I think she's a remarkable creature and I think, deep down, so do you."

  Growling, Kerrigan took a step toward the mandrake, who quickly and wisely vanished
.

  His temper was snapping all around to the point that even the air around him was charged with it. It crackled with power and rage. But the truth was, he didn't know what made him angrier. The fact that Blaise had dared to say it or the fact that it was true.

  He did respect her. Deeply. No one had ever fought for him. Not by choice anyway. Blaise and the others served him because they were afraid of him.

  But Seren…

  She would die to protect a child she didn't even know. His child. And in an odd way, it was almost like protecting him.

  "You are a simpleton," he sneered at himself.

  Seren could care less for him, and her bravery had nothing to do with the fact that he was the father of this baby. Like as not, she'd gut him if he ever offered her the chance. Just as Blaise and any of the others would.

  But against his will, his thoughts drifted to what Blaise had said. The mandrake was right. He would have given anything to have had kindness as a child. Just once in his life to have had someone to even look on him with compassion or care.

  "Get out of my sight, worm. You sicken me. I should have drowned you at birth. I don't even know why I bother to feed you now. Begone from me, you sickening dog. I don't even want to look at you."

  He flinched at the sound of his mother's voice tormenting him from the past. And it was followed by the look of shock on her face the day he'd finally found the anger and courage to stab her and end her insults once and for all.

  He'd felt nothing at that time. Nothing but a relief so profound that it corroborated the priest's words. He was hell-spawned, and to the devil he would eventually return.

  So be it. At least he would finally be welcomed someplace.

  Seren stood in the open window where she could see the army of dragons and gargoyles who were waiting to drag her back to Camelot.

  "You won't win, Morgen," she said in a low tone. "Not if I can help it."

  "Would you sell your soul to keep that baby safe?"

  She turned her head to find the ghost of Lancelot behind her. "Such a thing isn't possible."

  He arched a brow at her. "You don't believe in the devil?"

  "Of course I do. But he wouldn't barter my soul for so trivial a matter."

  "What if the devil would? Would you?"

  It was a perilous question. How far would she go to keep her child safe? The mere thought of hell terrified her. It, like her future, loomed in front of her with all manner of unknown torments and challenges.

  She glanced out the window again to see the army of damned warriors. They might not live in hell itself, but all of them lived in a place of torment, the likes of which she'd never known before. They had no light. No freedom. They knew only Morgen and her cruelty.

  It was a place she wanted to avoid and one she definitely didn't want her child to see.

  "Nay," she said in a low tone. "I wouldn't trust the devil not to trick me. Safe the child would be in Morgen's hands, but I don't want that for him. I would only barter the devil if I could possess the strength and skills to keep him safe myself."

  She saw respect in Lancelot's transparent eyes. "I know one way that would keep you both safe."

  "And that is?"

  "The sword Caliburn. The one that Kerrigan wields. Whoever holds that sword is immortal. With it and its scabbard, you can never be wounded or bleed. You don't need a warrior's training. All you need is to have it in your possession."

  What was it with the sword that all she met wanted to take it from Kerrigan? No wonder the man was so distrustful. But she had no way of knowing if she could wield such a sword or the power it contained. Not without a man's strength. "Are you serious?"

  He nodded grimly.

  "How can I trust you?"

  "Can you not?"

  But what if he lied? Dare she even believe one bit of what he said? "If I take his sword, he'll kill me."

  "Take his sword and he won't be able to." Lancelot lowered his voice to a tempting and seductive tone. "Imagine, Seren, absolute power. Immortality. No one would ever harm you or the babe. Ever."

  Still she wasn't so sure about it, but before she could say anything more, he faded from her.

  Irritated, Seren started to call him back until she saw Blaise approaching her from the other end of the hallway.

  "What are you doing here, my lady?"

  "Thinking."

  Blaise laughed deep in his throat. "I usually try to avoid that as much as possible as it most often leads me to mischief or mayhem."

  She smiled in spite of herself. The mandrake had a way with words. She actually liked him a great deal.

  "So what were you thinking of?" he asked as he neared her.

  "Something Morgen said about Kerrigan while we were fleeing Camelot. She told the gargoyles to take his sword. She said that if they took his sword and scabbard that he was naught but a mortal man. Is that true?"

  She saw the indecision on his handsome face as he debated on what to answer. "Do you think it is?"

  "Aye."

  "Then you would be wrong. Kerrigan isn't like other men anymore. Morgen saw to that. But without his sword and scabbard he can be killed."

  Seren cocked her head as she considered his confession. "Why would you tell me this?"

  Blaise flipped his long braid over his shoulder before he answered. "Because I trust you to do what is right. Kerrigan is a formidable enemy, but he makes a far better ally." Blaise bent low to whisper in her ear. "He is a lost soul, my lady. Everyone gave up on him long ago and cast him aside as worthless. Don't be like all the others."

  "And if he kills me?"

  "I don't think he will."

  How she wished she had his faith. "That's easy enough for you to say since it's not your life hanging in the balance."

  He smiled at her. "True. But I have lain in your hands the way to destroy him. What you do with that information is up to you." He started away from her, then paused. Even though he couldn't really see her, his pale eyes were searing with their intensity. "Don't disappoint me, Seren. Kerrigan is the father of your child, and he's risked much to keep you from Morgen."

  "And he threatens to kill me with virtually every breath."

  "But you're not dead yet."

  The "yet" was the key part. But then she had dared Kerrigan to do it and he had tossed away the dagger. It gave her hope that she was reaching him. She could raise her child alone, but it would be much easier if the babe had a father.

  "No matter what he blusters, he won't kill you, Seren. Trust me."

  Seren sighed as Blaise withdrew from her. Well, at least now she knew Lancelot had been honest with her about the sword. Take it from Kerrigan and he wouldn't be able to harm her.

  Neither would Morgen.

  But the last time she'd gone near Kerrigan while he slept, he'd stabbed her and had almost killed her.

  There had been only one time when he'd removed his sword…

  When he bedded her.

  It would be a bold move on her part. And if she failed this, his anger would be boundless. She couldn't even blame him. Taking his sword would leave him vulnerable to anyone who came near him.

  But it would protect the baby…

  Her.

  Do it, Seren.

  It could very well be her only hope.

  Hours went by as Kerrigan contemplated the strength of Morgen's army. He could summon the gargoyles in to the castle one by one and slay them. But to deplete the gargoyles would weaken him greatly and leave the dragons unchecked. Since gargoyles were made primarily of stone, only they could successfully battle one of those beasts. Dragons' breath would incinerate any living creature, but in the case of gargoyles, it only charred them a bit and left no lasting damage once the flames cooled.

  It made them perfect dragon fodder, which made them valuable allies.

  Perhaps he should try and woo some of them to his side. Definitely something easier said than done since, as a rule, the gargoyles hated him. He hadn't been exactly nice to them i
n the past. Like the mods and graylings, they were servants to do his bidding.

  As for the dragons…

  The mandrakes held no more love for Morgen than the gargoyles did, but the problem was that they cared even less for him.

  Perhaps Seren was right. Kindness did have its benefits.

  Kerrigan scoffed at that. What was he thinking? Fear was a much more potent motivator, and it was definitely the one he preferred.

  But it all came back to one question. "How did I get myself into this?"

  He and Morgen had always existed under a truce. Now he'd breached it for a bit of fluff that had no use for either of them. Seren's child would be able to command the Round Table and all who had sworn allegiance to it.

  More than that, the child would be able to wield his sword, Caliburn. He swallowed at the sobering thought. With the birth of his child, he would become obsolete. It was why he'd always taken care to never impregnate any of Morgen's court, or her. Unlike those not of his bloodline, his child could wield the full power of his sword. With that sword, his child could rise up and slay him. And with Morgen guiding the child, it would only be a matter of time before the fey bitch turned his babe against him.

  It was a frightening thought. Like so many before him, he'd laid the foundation of his own destruction. In one moment of thoughtless passion, he'd lost control of himself and sired his heir.

  His successor.

  He heard the sound of small footsteps approaching. He turned from his window to find Seren entering the room with a large platter of food. She was still dressed as a squire in a brown tunic and hose, with her pale hair plaited down her back.

  Frowning, he watched as she placed the platter on a small table not far from him. "What is that?"

  She looked down at her fare. "Dandelion salad with cowslip and berries. It was all I could find out in the kitchen gardens. I made a light sauce with the berries and water for the salad. It should be quite tasty." She met his gaze. "I thought you might be hungry."

  He was famished, but there was nothing there that could nourish him. "Nay, Seren."

  "You haven't eaten anything all day."

  "I am quite fine without."