Sword of Darkness

by Kinley MacGregor

  Laughing gently at her, her mother had wrapped it back up in a piece of brown cloth. "Keep this put away, child. Always. Let no one know that you have it."

  "Why?"

  "Because it, like you, is very special and dear, and I don't want anyone to take either one of you away from me. One day you will know exactly what to do with your loom. Until then, keep it with you and hidden."

  No sooner had her mother packed away the loom than Seren had forgotten those words. Her mother had arranged her apprenticeship only a few weeks later, and then her mother had died.

  After that, Seren had hated the loom that reminded her of the mother she'd lost. She'd kept it hidden away, along with all the painful memories of her mother's death. It was only after Mistress Maude had caught her last year using the store loom for her personal project, and punished her for it, that Seren had remembered her mother's loom.

  There in the faint moonlight of the room she shared with the other apprentices, after everyone else had gone to sleep, she'd carefully unwrap it and bring it out at night to weave. And as she worked, the loom had ceased to be such an eyesore. It'd become beautiful to her, and in time, it'd become a friend.

  There were times when she could have even sworn that it talked to her. Madness surely, which was why she'd never mentioned it to others. But she knew in her heart that the loom had somehow helped her make her cloth. That it directed her stitches.

  Could it really be magical?

  Nay, her mother would have told her if it were. Her mother would never have kept such a secret from her. "I don't believe you."

  Blaise gave a short, evil laugh. "Well, I'll offer to stab Kerrigan to show you proof of it if he promises not to kill me for the affront."

  Kerrigan narrowed his eyes on the mandrake as he pulled his dagger from his belt, then handed it to Seren. He removed the black steel vambrace from his forearm and exposed a portion of the red tunic sleeve. "Try and stab the fabric you created."

  Seren honestly thought the man was insane. Both of them. The last thing she wanted was to harm him, but still he insisted that she stab him with the weapon.

  Taking the dagger, she stared at him. "This is ridiculous. I'll only make you angry when I cut you."

  "Nay, I promise. Try and stab the cloth."

  Hesitant, she did as he asked. Sort of. She touched the dagger's tip lightly to the cloth and tried to push it in just enough that she would do nothing more than prick his skin.

  The cloth held it.

  Frowning, Seren pressed it harder, and still the tip of the dagger refused to breach the scarlet cloth.

  Nay…surely she was dreaming.

  She tried even harder to stab it. And again nothing happened.

  "This can't be," she whispered as she fingered the undamaged cloth. There wasn't a single thread pricked by the dagger's tip. "I cut it with shears and I stitched it together. Why won't it part now?"

  "Neither of those is a weapon of war," Blaise said in a low tone. "You can't be stabbed with a sword or dagger, but a pair of shears…deadly stuff."

  Kerrigan nodded. "The loophole."

  Seren scowled at the two men as they continued to talk about things that confused her. "What has the cloth to do with an archer's window?"

  Kerrigan looked confused an instant before he appeared to understand her. "‘Loophole' is another word for a way out of something, Seren. A small out. Such as, your cloth is impervious to weapons of war, but not to common everyday instruments such as shears or needles."

  "Beware a fence post or farmer's hoe," Blaise added dryly. "The tip of one would go right through it."

  Kerrigan nodded. "It would seem that that is why you were able to sew and shape the cloth, but when I tried to stab Blaise earlier with my dagger, the cloth protected him."

  Blaise gave her an impish grin. "Every one of the sacred objects has a secret that will render it useless. Usually the Merlin who was given the weapon knows the source of its weakness as well as its strengths. Your mother probably died before she could share the loom's secrets with you."

  Seren still didn't want to believe it, but how could she not? There was no denying that the dagger was no more effective against the cloth than it was against the armor.

  "I'm a Merlin," she breathed. "But why don't I have powers?"

  "You do."

  She looked up at Kerrigan as he took his dagger away from her and sheathed it. "How so?"

  "When Brea was here—"

  "Brea was here?" Blaise snapped, interrupting him. "When?"

  Kerrigan held his hand up to silence him. "You shot the lightning blast at him. I thought at first it was a holdover from your having taken Caliburn from me."

  "She took Caliburn, too? When the hell did all of this happen?"

  Kerrigan gave him a peeved glare. "While you were sleeping. We were also attacked by three gargoyles."

  Blaise gaped. "And I slept through all that?"

  "Apparently. I always said you were worthless. Now we have proof."

  Blaise made a face at him.

  "Children," Seren snapped, trying to keep them on topic, "could we please stop fighting?"

  The men turned hostile glares toward her.

  "Well, you were behaving as such, and if you persist, I shall make you go to separate corners."

  Blaise's expression turned wicked. "I'd rather you give me a spanking."

  Kerrigan's eyes flamed. "Try it and you'll have a disembowelment instead."

  "Children!" But even though she said it harshly, she was totally enchanted by their playful air. It was such a welcome change from Kerrigan's normal frightening demeanor. Who knew that he could tease in such a manner?

  "Back to the point," Kerrigan said. "Seren has manifested powers. To what other extent she has them, I don't know." His gaze turned dark as he faced her again. "We need to find that loom of yours before Morgen does. Whoever has it can use it."

  That was simple enough. "I left it in my room, tucked in my small chest where I keep all my personal items."

  Blaise gave a low whistle. "You go for that loom and Morgen will know it in a heartbeat."

  "Aye," Kerrigan conceded as he turned toward Blaise. "You'll have to do it."

  "Oh no," Blaise said, his eyes wide. "I'm not suicidal. Skewered and basted dragon is not something I want to see on a menu."

  "It will be if you don't go. Neither of us can afford for Morgen to find that loom. Imagine an army of Adoni swathed in cloth that no sword can pierce."

  Blaise looked sick to his stomach. "And imagine trying to convince an army to attack them with shears. It's almost comical." He sighed. "Very well. Get us out of here and I shall go for the loom."

  "They won't let you."

  The men stared at her. "How so?" Kerrigan asked.

  "It's in our room where no man is allowed to venture. Not even Master Rufus is allowed there. Mistress Maude makes certain that we are safe from any male company."

  "Then what do we do?" Blaise asked.

  "Teach me to use my powers."

  She could see the instant hesitancy in Kerrigan. "I don't think that's a good idea."

  "Why not?" she and Blaise asked together.

  He looked at the mandrake. "You know the reason. Once she begins to learn, the battle begins."

  Blaise rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "She was born of goodness. She should do fine."

  "What battle?"

  The men ignored her once more. "Why hasn't she felt her powers before now, Blaise? I'm thinking her mother must have bound them."

  "To hide her most likely."

  "Or to protect her."

  Seren whistled. The men looked at her with widened eyes.

  "Good sirs," she said between her clenched teeth, stressing each syllable carefully, "please notice that I am here in this room with you and would like to be included in this discussion since it is about me and my future."

  "Sorry," Blaise said sheepishly.

  Kerrigan made no such apology. "Inside of every being there
is a constant war being raged. The part that tells us to do what is right and what is decent and the part of us that is self-serving. The part that wants what it wants regardless of who is hurt getting it. Think back to when you held my sword. You heard its voice. Felt its lure. Now imagine that call amplified to such a state that it becomes deafening to all else."

  She remembered that sound well. It had been frightening. Truly. "It was deafening, and I did return the sword to you."

  Blaise made a sound of disbelief. "You returned Caliburn? Are you mad?"

  "Nay," she said, looking at him. "Its power wasn't meant for me."

  "And it scared you," Kerrigan said.

  "Aye, it scared me."

  His dark eyes caressed her with warning. "Now imagine that power belonging to you. Solely. That is the power of a Merlin. You can destroy or you can create, but you can never do both. The final decision of how you use your power is entirely up to you. But once chosen, it can't be undone."

  Seren let her gaze drop to the floor as those words echoed in the quiet room. Now she understood Kerrigan and what had turned him into who and what he was. "You chose to destroy."

  He nodded.

  "Why?"

  "I had no knowledge of good or decency. When the Lords of Avalon showed up, wanting me to join them, I laughed in their faces. Why should I use my power to help those who had spat on me? To the devil with them all."

  Seren cocked her head as she stared at his handsome face. "And yet you are helping me."

  He looked away.

  "There is no shame in doing something that is right, Kerrigan," she said softly. "People lash out at what they don't understand. And I am sorry that they lashed out against you. But it doesn't mean that you can't change."

  "She won't turn," Blaise said quietly. "It's not in her nature."

  Kerrigan hesitated. He wasn't so sure. He knew just how seductive that darker part of power was. Seren had only come up against it briefly. It permeated everything until it consumed like a fire. She was a small woman who knew nothing of malice. Nothing of power.

  "I don't want to ruin what you are, Seren. The power will change you. It always does."

  Still she met his gaze unflinchingly. "And I want to be able to protect myself. You can't give me the strength of a warrior, but you can give me the magic of a sorceress."

  He couldn't fault her for wanting that, and if he failed tomorrow, she would be alone in the world. Alone with his child.

  God's blood, how he didn't want to teach her something that could eventually hurt her. But he didn't really have a choice in this. If something happened to him, she would be defenseless, and he better than anyone knew what happened to the defenseless in this world.

  He couldn't leave her like that. Leave her prey to something like him. Not when he had the ability to stop it.

  "You realize there isn't enough time to train you? Whatever you learn, you won't be able to use it." At least not if he went by conventional means.

  Disappointment filled her eyes.

  The sight of her defeat slammed into him.

  Don't. Besides, what do you care? She's nothing but a pawn to carry your child. But he knew better than that. This little mouse had come to mean a great deal to him, and that scared him more than facing all of Morgen's army with no sword and no armor.

  He bit back a curse at the truth. And he knew what he had to do. He only hoped that by helping her, he wasn't about to destroy her.

  Chapter 12

  "Blaise," Kerrigan said quietly to the mandrake who was still in his chair. "Give us the room."

  Blaise's eyes flared as if he understood what Kerrigan was about to do. For a second, he expected Blaise to argue.

  He didn't.

  Instead the dragon got up and headed for the door with that silent walk that had always reminded Kerrigan of a ghost gliding.

  He waited until they were alone before he returned to Seren's side. He still couldn't believe he was about to do this. Never in all these centuries had he ever helped anyone.

  No one.

  But Seren was right. He couldn't stand by and see his child abused as he'd been. He couldn't leave it alone in the world. Morgen would kill them both if she had a chance and raise the child in who only knew what manner. His best course of action would be to arm Seren so that she could fight the bitch as an equal. If he unlocked her full powers, then she could be quickly trained and shown how to use them to fight Morgen and her army.

  Hoping he was making the right decision, he unbuckled the sword from his hips and forced himself to prop it against the chair. But it was hard. He never liked to let the sword go for more than a few seconds at a time—something that had often pissed off Morgen since he'd always made love to her with it in his grasp.

  But all that was behind him now.

  Seren wasn't sure what to expect as Kerrigan pulled her back to his front. He leaned his cheek against her head as he murmured something in a language she didn't understand. Wrapping his arms around her, he rocked her gently in his embrace as a strange redlike haze encircled them.

  Breathe easy. The words were spoken inside her head as Kerrigan continued to chant softly in her ear. But it was hard to obey. The haze seemed to choke her. It was too thick to breathe. She felt as if she were drowning. Gasping. It was unbearable, and her lungs burned from the effort.

  Just as she was sure she would die from it, she felt a sharp pain at her neck. A scream lodged in her throat as she dug her nails into Kerrigan's thighs.

  Kerrigan growled at the taste of Seren's innocent blood. His stomach cramped in pain, but he ignored it. This was a ritual that was older than time. One practiced by the very first of their kind.

  Originally, the blood ceremony was used to marry the powers of the Pendragon who ruled the people to the Penmerlin who commanded the elements. The Penmerlin would be killed afterward, leaving the powers solely with the newly crowned Pendragon so that he could better rule his people.

  But he had no intention of killing Seren. Pulling back, he licked his lips as he turned her around in his arms. Her eyes were no longer her own, they were now black from the dark magic that had corrupted him. The magic that fed and nourished him.

  She was drunk from it. She was no longer pure. No longer innocent.

  His heart breaking at what he'd done to her, Kerrigan opened the neck of his armor and bent his head for her. She wasted no time in taking what he offered.

  Kerrigan cursed as she sank her teeth into his neck and pulled his powers into her own body. They were joined now. Two souls sharing all the knowledge of a Merlin's abilities. His blood carried in it all he'd learned. All he'd experienced.

  Unlike him, Seren wouldn't have to learn her powers. They would course through her now, along with the ability to wield them.

  The room began to swim as he was weakened even more.

  She clutched him to her as she greedily drank his essence. Afraid she would consume too much, he pulled back.

  She advanced on him.

  Kerrigan caught her in his arms. "Enough, Seren! If you take too much, you'll kill me."

  Her eyes were no longer human, they were completely red with the black pupils showing him a reflection of himself. He looked pale. But he was still in control here. Not her.

  "I want more." Her voice was deep, demonic.

  Kerrigan ground his teeth at the sound he despised. He'd given her the very worst of himself. And he hated it. "Nay."

  Seren shrieked as that word echoed in her head. It was strangely painful, and the new creature inside her rebelled at its utterance. It clawed at her, demanding that she take Kerrigan now and make him pay for the pain he caused by denying her.

  How dare he tell her nay!

  She leaned her head back as an invisible wind whipped through the room, sending her hair flying about her. It was warm and wicked, licking her flesh, making her wanton. She licked her lips hungrily as her entire body demanded appeasement.

  She'd never felt anything like this before. I
t was power. Raw and uncomplicated. Hissing, she let it pour through her until she was able to channel it into the palm of her hand. With a laugh, she unleashed it against the table that was closest to her.

  The table splintered into ashes.

  Oh, this felt good. Too good. Nothing could stop her now. Giddy with that knowledge, she started for the door, only to find Kerrigan in her way.

  "Where are you going, little mouse?"

  "There's no mouse here," she said in a voice that seemed to echo in her head. "I'm going to face the bitch and kill her."

  "Nay, Seren. You're not that strong yet."

  "Watch me." She started past him only to have him grab her. She sent a blast at him that he deflected.

  Enraged, she moved to attack him.

  He wrapped himself around her, pinning her limbs so that she couldn't move.

  Seren screamed out.

  "Shh," he whispered against her ear. "Let the power flow through you. Don't let it consume you. Give it a few minutes and it won't hurt anymore." His deep voice began a soft, gentle lullaby that her mother used to sing to her long ago when she was just a child. It reached down deep inside her and touched something alien. Something soft and quiet.

  Her anger retreated as she remembered being a small child in her mother's lap.

  "Be good for me, Seren. Always." It was her mother's tender voice she heard crooning to her, not Kerrigan's.

  And then the evil returned. It sneered and fought against those tender thoughts. It wanted vengeance and gore.

  What do you need with goodness? Banish it. Laugh at it. You have your own power now. You need no one else. Take it and use it to hurt all those who dared to hurt you…

  That voice was overwhelming and cold and it brought with it a flurry of images that burned her.

  Indeed, something inside her crackled and popped, and unleashed a torrent of memories that weren't her own…

  She saw a younger Kerrigan. Dressed in meager rags, he was only ten-and-eight summers in age. He shook in terror as he held his sword above his head. It burned in his grip, yet still he held it tightly within his desperate grasp. He could hear the echoing laughter that rang in the trees of the dark forest that surrounded him, but he saw nothing of the woman who made such a sound.