by LJ Rivers
“Astounding.” Charlie leaned in for a closer inspection.
Halwyn’s smile had returned to his lips, at least partly. “Another one of my secrets.”
“Like the true size of your cottage?” Erica downed the rest of her ale.
“Like that,” he agreed. “It is better to have outsiders see a small, insignificant shack than this house.” He motioned with his arm. “Always remember to grow some saliangrass around your home, my mother said. Put it in the right order in the soil, the seeds will make your visitors see something that is not there.” He got to his feet, and Brendan withdrew his arm. “So, it will soon be time for you to leave, Fae Ruby and your outsider companions. I have kept my promise, and so should you. It is the Avalonian way.”
“I would never dream of breaking it, dear Halwyn.”
“Dear?”
“To me, you are,” I said. “You saved my life and helped us when you had good reasons to be sceptical. And you serve Queen Morgana well. That makes you very dear to me.” I peeked up as I stood, making sure my head didn’t bump into any contraptions or dead animals as I straightened my back. “We know next to nothing about this world, and thus we need all the help we can get. I believe you are a man of honour, and I choose to place my trust in you.”
Halwyn breathed deeply, his chest almost bursting with pride.
“What I am about to tell you is something you cannot share with anyone.”
“I will take many secrets with me when I leave this world, and will happily add another to the fold.”
I glanced at the others around the table. One by one, they gave me a nod or a thumbs up.
“Not only am I a Fae, granted a wingless one, but I’m a direct descendant of the queen. Morgana’s blood runs in my veins. In my world—the Land of Eternal Sand—I learned about the portal, and my hope was to bring my grandparents back to Avalon. My grandmother is very ill, and my thought was that she might be healed by the magic that exists in this realm.”
I paused, knowing I had to divulge the other part of the story to make him see the severity of the situation. The Goblin sat quietly, his eyes locked on me but showing no signs of what he thought about my words.
“We need to speak with the queen. We have to warn her of the return of the Sorcerer who killed her sentries. He has escaped the Realm of Shadows and is coming to reclaim what he believes is his throne.”
“Son of Merlin!” Halwyn exclaimed.
“The very same. Auberon is back, and he wants his throne.”
The Goblin regarded me for several seconds as if trying to find the joke in my words. “Are you speaking the truth, Fae Ruby?”
“I swear it on my mother’s name, Elaine Morgana.” A lump formed in my throat, but for once, I welcomed it.
“How can I believe this? Your words contain such dire consequences for Avalon and the whole realm of Gwyn Fanon.”
That was the million-pound question. How could Halwyn believe me? Which, in turn, meant how could I convince him?
The Goblin looked at the necklace on the hook, a tear brimming in his eye. “When Her Majesty banished the usurper to the Realm of Shadows, she stripped him of his crown. Word was sent to his warlords to elect a new king for Mynydd Dewin, urging them to choose one who wanted peace with Avalon.” He scoffed. “No such king has emerged, and Bellion the Satyr has kept his fist clenched around the Northerners since that moment. The prince—” He spat the word out like he had found a bug in his stew. “I will never speak ill of my queen, but I disapproved of her choice to allow him to keep the title. Maybe it was her good heart that convinced her. He was, after all, her sisterson. Is, apparently.”
“Halwyn, you have seen what Auberon is willing to do to achieve his goal. Who else would come through the portal and slay the queen’s sentries? And who but Morgana’s own blood could open the portal?” This last part was a shot in the dark, as he couldn’t know I had opened it.
The Goblin drew in a deep breath and went silent, his eyes returning to mine, staring intently. It was like a don’t blink contest, and I was not prepared to lose. Finally, after at least thirty or forty seconds, and just when I was about to give my dry eyes some relief, Halwyn blinked.
“I have seen signs of your magic, and you cannot have come from any other place than inside Rhina’s Deep. So, I am inclined to believe you are a Fae, though a wingless one. I also think it is likely that you have come through the portal from the Land of Eternal Sand.” He paused again. “Will you warn the queen before you search for your grandparents?”
That hadn’t been my order of priorities, but it seemed I no longer had a choice. “You have my word.”
Come on! Say it!
I decided to push a little more. “I will always remember your help, Halwyn of Crochan, and when I meet the queen herself, I promise to convey my feelings to her.”
For some reason, I felt like placing my hand on his shoulder. As I touched him, he stepped off his chair and slowly bent down on one knee.
“Then I believe you.” The depth of his words seemed to register as his eyes widened. “Milady Morgana. Please forgive me. I had no intention—”
I dropped to my knees, too, lifting his chin with the back of my fingers to face me. “You have nothing to beg forgiveness for, Halwyn. You are my friend. That is if you want to be. I strongly desire to be your friend, should you allow me.”
He breathed heavily, tears brimming in his eyes once more. “You honour me, Lady Ruby.”
Knowing it would be a futile task to make him skip the title, I put my arms around him in a tight embrace. “I don’t know if this is a tradition here, but where I come from, a hug is a way of sealing a friendship.”
As I let go, Halwyn rose to his feet. “Then all my new friends should get a hug.” He reached out to Brendan, who embraced him. Soon, all the others had joined in. Even Kit got something that could pass for a hug, although he squirmed out of it rather quickly.
“You must take some food, herbs, and water with you. And then I want you to rest for a couple of awrs. I’ll wake you when it’s time. Come, wolf.” He pointed at Erica. “Help me carry everything, please. You can fit in here.” He waddled to the small door leading to his secret, at least to anyone on the outside, storage rooms.
After packing, and about two hours of much-needed shut-eye, we stood outside the cottage that was really a house, looking at the gate. We had come through it during star-time, as night was called here. Now, however, as the dark sun of Gwyn Fanon cast a dim glow of what could hardly pass as daylight over the fields, we started down the path to the shore. Each of us had a belt around our waist, with various herbs and potions in small leather pouches. Brendan and Jack carried the heavy water skins, while Jen and Erica had sacks of food on their backs. Charlie still had her backpack in addition to the various pouches in her new belt. She looked ready to take on the world.
“Should you meet any creature you don’t want to be eaten by, throw a handful of Leaves of Unsight at them and run. Run fast and don’t turn around.” Halwyn waved at us, and without waiting for us to wave back, simply turned and went inside.
“Not one for long goodbyes, I guess,” Jack said.
“But I hope he likes long hellos because I will give him the longest ever when we meet again,” said Charlie, her voice trembling. “I just hope I see this Bellion dude first.”
Jack shrugged. “Not sure that’s something we should hope for.” A wolfish grin spread across his face. “But hey, I’m game if we do.”
And with that, we trotted through the gate and started the descent back to the shore.
Chapter Seven
I glanced at the sand streaming through the hourglass, which wasn’t really sand, but arnofiol. Rather than rushing down, however, it trickled like water from a faulty faucet. As long as we made it across before the sand had finished its descent twice, we would be OK. At least, that was what Halwyn had said. My internal clock told me it should be morning, and while the darkness of the night had abated, it was s
till gloomy, and clouds gathered above.
Mud sloshed over my feet as we soldiered on across the stretch where the sea had recently flowed. Time seemed but an abstract concept with no rising sun in the sky, along with a sheet of clouds obscuring whatever light there might have been. I turned the hourglass once more while Brendan and Charlie were immersed in a quiet conversation next to me. I didn’t contribute much as my mind was preoccupied. The three Shifters held up the rear, while Kit chased along the water’s edge ahead, checking out every stone and shell he could find, touching them with his paw and jumping back as if they might be hiding an enemy.
I smiled at my cat, briefly wondering how he had managed the trip through the portal so well, while Charlie and Brendan hadn’t. Maybe the fact that he was an animal made him more resilient. Raising my gaze from Kit as he dived forward, trying to catch an invisible foe, I studied the landscape, squinting to make sense of what little I could see. There was nothing but rocks, seashells, and seaweed ahead until we reached the shore on the other side; the inky black shape lay as a promise ahead.
Avalon!
The place of my childhood nighttime stories, a fairytale and a long-forgotten dream on Earth, now rose beyond the sea ahead, and we were about to erase the distance between it and Crochan island. This wasn’t how I had pictured this world. Not that I had spent much time imagining Avalon. Up until a few days ago, I hadn’t believed it was possible to return, and though I knew it existed, it had always felt more like something from a story than an actual place. I almost asked Charlie to pinch me again, as I had by the portal, but then I recalled how it had stung. Besides, I couldn’t deny what I was seeing with my own eyes, even if there was practically no light. This wasn’t an illusion—or a dream. It was real. After everything I had endured over the past year, it had finally led me to this—a land I thought lost. I hadn’t a clue what this meant for what lay ahead. All I knew was that I had to find my grandparents and rescue them from Auberon. What did he want them for, anyway?
I took a swig from one of the water skins Halwyn had given us and held it out to Brendan.
He tore his gaze away from the shape on the horizon and all but drooled. “Don’t mind if I do. I’m parched.”
I pushed him playfully with the flat of my hand. “Well, Snow White, at least you’re not snoring your way through this adventure.”
“Ha!” He sipped on the water skin. “Did you even try to kiss me before Halwyn used that magical herb on me? Who knows, I might have woken up as a prince.”
“And what if true love’s kiss didn’t work, Mr Charming? What then?”
“Then it wouldn’t be true love,” Charlie quipped. “But you guys don’t need to test that theory. However, if I ever fall back under like that again, I’d be happy for you to find me a prince to test his luck.”
Brendan snickered. “What’s wrong with a princess? We’ve got one right here, and I happen to know she already loves you.”
“True.” She stumbled as her foot sank a few inches too deep into the mud.
With a swift motion, I grabbed her forearm before the swan-dive could come to its completion.
“My princess,” Charlie sang.
Giggling, I shook my head. “Come on, silly, we need to keep moving. I don’t particularly want to get trapped out here when the tide rises again.”
“I hear ya. Onwards we go.”
Brendan passed her the water skin, and she tilted her chin up, her eyes turning saucer-sized behind her glasses. At times I thought she was even more bedazzled by this whole ordeal than I was. And perhaps that was true. For someone who had always wanted to be able to wield magic, immersing herself in books of wonders, this had to be like stepping into one of her dreams.
“I can’t believe we’re actually here. That silhouette over there,” Charlie waved the water skin in front of her, “is Avalon!”
“Don’t be fooled, young mistress.” Brendan held his arms out for us, and we both placed a hand in the crook of each. “All is not as it seems.” His ominous voice was mocking, but I feared the joke was on us.
Charlie handed the water skin back to Brendan, and he hooked it to his belt. My nerves stood on end, not knowing what we would face once we stepped ashore. The revelation that Morgana was alive still baffled me. I had family here. Well, my grandparents and father aside, that was. What would she think of me? Would she know me on sight? I mentally slapped myself. Of course she wouldn’t. While time hadn’t passed as much here as on Earth, I was still more than fifteen hundred years down her bloodline. I absently turned the hourglass, noting how close we were to reaching the shore.
Pain lanced through my mind. I staggered and let go of Brendan’s arm, my hands rushing to my head. The horizon vanished, replaced by grainy images of the seafloor. A large, fiery red insect, reminiscent of a dragonfly, buzzed an inch above the mud, and a paw slapped at it. Kit’s paw. What the fudge? I yowled—or Kit did—and another figure loomed above me, like some kind of troll-like creature had risen from the water, which was slowly washing its way up the mud again.
The pain stopped, and I shook the images from my mind.
“What’s wrong?” Brendan crouched next to where I sat on my knees.
“Kit!”
He turned his head away, then tugged at my arm. “Run!”
“But—”
“Run, Ru.”
I scrambled to my feet, looking for Kit. Ahead, the creature I had seen in my mind towered over Kit like a ten-foot-tall shadowy giant. Kit hissed, slapping his paws in the air, but standing his ground.
“Oh, you stupid, chivalrous cat,” I grumbled.
Brendan grabbed hold of my arm again, but I twisted away from him. “Not without Kit.”
A choir of howls rose above the gusts of wind and the crashing waves of the sea behind me. The three wolves moved in front of Charlie, shielding her from the creature, their stance mimicking Kit’s. Backs arched, fangs exposed.
I thrust my palms out and bent my knees, preparing for an attack.
“What in all things holy is that?” Brendan asked as he bent down, eyes on the creature, to wrench free a thick branch half-buried in the mud. With a firm grip on his makeshift weapon, he took a stand next to me.
“Whatever in Merlin’s name that thing is, it’s not getting its hands on my cat.”
The immense creature moved closer to Kit as if floating above the mud. My cat shrieked, an almost human sound, as the dark shape descended on him.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” I gestured with my hands to push the creature away with my telekinesis. The invincible force drove a hole in its centre, which quickly filled back up with blackness. It reared what I presumed was its head and flew past Kit, its sight now set on me. Not that it had eyes, as far as I could tell, but the intention seemed clear enough. I struck again, and its arms disintegrated, splintering into dark shards before they joined once more.
Brendan charged.
“No! B!” I screamed.
Kit sprinted past him in my direction as Brendan whirled around and slashed the branch straight through the creature. Its stomach parted, then quickly knitted back together again. No longer human, the wolves pounced and bit into the giant web of darkness. Erica yelped and rolled to the ground, blood oozing from thin gashes on her snout. Jen clamped her claws in, but the creature slimmed and changed shape as if flying away from her grasp. Like a storm, it shot through the air and spiralled towards me.
I ducked as it rushed above my head, a surge of wind tousling my hair and Kit clawing at my feet.
Where was Charlie? The wolves had protected her before.
Pivoting, I looked around in bewilderment. Charlie howled, her wand extended as she plopped down, chest first in the mud. Above her, the creature formed into the shape of a giant once more.
That thing would not hurt my friends. I hadn’t brought them all this way for it to end here. I roared and hurled a spear of fire at the creature. A wail, which was more like a choir of a thousand squeaky voices, whistled in
the air. The creature burst into a myriad of tiny figures with minuscule black wings flapping in the wind. One of the creatures was on fire. Its burning wings folded to its side, and it plummeted into the mud next to Charlie.
Another of the small creatures swung itself in my direction and stopped about a foot away. Its body was no bigger than my pinkie, its head disproportionally large with eyes like two brilliant sapphires. It stared at me, unblinking. The rest of the creatures were busy putting out the remaining flames on their wings by dipping into the water, which had crept ever nearer during the ruckus. Most of them were unscathed, hovering over Charlie and the flaming creature next to her.
“Ru!” Charlie yelled. “Stop it!”
A tortured symphony of wails sang in the air as I stared at the tiny being beside her. I gestured with my wrist and sent a handful of mud at the thing, dousing the flames. It whimpered, and a throng of its companions slowly alighted next to it.
The one in front of me cocked its head, flapping its batlike wings. It hissed, showing me an impossibly broad mouth filled with two rows of minuscule, razor-sharp teeth. Deciding it wasn’t going to attack, I hurried to the gathering by Charlie. Kit gave a warning hiss, then followed my lead.
Charlie was drenched in mud from head to toe, her hair sticking out in clustered spikes. I wiped a smudge of dirt from her glasses and crouched next to her. She looked at me with pleading eyes, and her lips quivered as she palmed the tiny creature and held it up to me. Its wings were but singed twigs attached to its body, and where the others of its kin had cobalt-blue scales, this one was bright red from burns.
“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled and reached out.
The cloud—they reminded me a little of bats—of creatures sailed closer. Perhaps murder would be a better collective noun for whatever they were. They all bared their needle-sharp teeth.
“I want to help,” I said. “Please. Let me make it right.”
They exchanged unblinking glances, then backed up. Kit pranced in front of me, tail held high, his attention firmly on the threat.
