Ruby Morgan Box Set: Books 6-10

by LJ Rivers

  “We might have to land at Wenhaven and move you over to Amalli and Hondo,” he shouted.

  Morgana turned and moved down Hondo’s back. She leaned out at an odd angle. I had to remind myself she had wings, and that her moves weren’t as crazy dangerous as they appeared.

  The queen shook her head. “She’ll make it. We can’t risk stopping now. We’re flying slow as it is, and Wadlow’s soldiers have more griffins at hand. Avalen port is only half an awr away.”

  I rechecked the hourglass. I had turned it three times since we started, making it an hour and forty-five minutes. We made the flight north in less than that. Morgana was right. If Wadlow’s griffins were on our tail, we had no time to waste.

  My grandfather coughed, tugging at my waist. I had tucked his arms inside my belt by my hips, somewhat securing him. “How did you find us?”

  “The queen has scouts and spies in Mynyddlen Hollow, the town next to Wadlow’s castle.”

  “I know of it. Auberon was greeted like a king when we arrived.”

  I sighed. “He is king. Their king. If only he could be content with that.”

  “There is no way, I’m afraid. Lili and I had got no further than just outside the mouth of the big cave when Reeve Yeats came through the portal, followed by your father and the Hopkins wolves. All of us went down to the poor sentries by the shore. They didn’t stand a chance. I asked him to spare them, but he said he could not risk any witnesses.”

  “One of them lived long enough to tell us what happened.”

  He coughed again, sounding like pneumonia was running in his lungs. Bailey let out a meow and somehow made it sound like he was worried for my grandfather. As was I.

  “We stayed on the boat for three days,” Llewellyn croaked. “Or moons, as I think they count them here.”

  “They do. Somehow it’s safer to travel by night. Halwyn, a Goblin, told us about it. He saved our lives in Rhina’s Deep. The cave, I mean. It flooded.”

  “Oh, my child! Auberon barred the opening.”

  I shrugged. “We made it, that’s all that matters. And once we get back to Avalen, Lili will have the best healers in all of Avalon around her.”

  “Y—you think they can make her illness go away?” His voice rose an octave.

  I wanted to say yes, but the word didn’t pass my lips.

  “There!” Brendan pointed. “Avalen port. And behind it, Avalen and the castle!”

  “You did it, you beautiful, magical wonder,” I said in Cree’s ear.

  She responded with a crowing noise. Morgana turned and smiled, giving both Brendan and me a thumbs up. Clumsily, I raised my right hand and returned the gesture, biting my lip to keep the laughter at bay.

  Five minutes later we were gliding over the lights of the awakening city. Two boats were already out of the port, and voices were shouting and pointing at us. Or maybe the pointing was something I just imagined, as it was still too dark to see the details.

  We flew past the road to the city, and Morgana’s castle rose into the air in front of us. Cree flapped her wings, trying to ascend the walls. She couldn’t. As Hondo and Amalli disappeared above, she banked right to avoid crashing into one of the guard towers by the outer gate.

  “Come on, Cree! Take us down wherever you want. You don’t have to fly any longer.”

  But the griffin flapped her wings harder, a sharp squeal emanating from her throat. She took us around the castle, only just clearing the rooftops. Ahead, the mountain range rose majestically into the dim sky. Cree swung left, heading straight for the castle walls again. I knew where she was going.

  “All right, girl,” I urged. “Take us there. I believe in you!”

  She responded with another heartwrenching sound and worked her wings harder than ever. Slowly, as the wall approached, she ascended, foot by foot. Pance by pance. Until she cleared the top of the wall.

  Almost.

  Something jerked the immense animal, and a crashing sound ensued behind us. I turned briefly, catching a glimpse of the rocks tumbling down from where her foot had struck the top of the battlement. Cree squealed and plunged downwards. Bailey hissed behind me. Ahead, some hundred pances, stood Hondo and Amalli. They opened their beaks and squawked as if cheering their beloved Cree on.

  She stopped flapping her wings and instead sailed towards the path leading to the other griffins. Morgana and Brendan had dismounted, and Brendan was holding my grandmother in his arms.

  Cree descended fast, the ground approaching at a deadly pace. Just before we crashed, though, she raised her head and arched her wings, finally touching down as light as a feather, no more than ten feet from Hondo’s left wing. As my grandfather and I slid down the side of the griffin, she collapsed on the path, breathing heavily.

  “Get the spears out,” I cried. “Help me, B!”

  Morgana shook her head. “She has done us proud, and now she’s resting in the Light.”

  “What are you talking about? We’re three Fae here, and she’s still—”

  But she wasn’t breathing. Her heavy breath seconds earlier had been her last. I fell to my knees next to her closed eye, tears flowing like the waterfall behind Morgana. “It’s not fair! We could have saved her if we had stopped!”

  “Let her Essence flow into the Light with dignity, Princess.” Morgana folded her hand on my neck. “We still have time to make her sacrifice count. Your grandmother is weak, but as you said, we are three Fae here. Let’s use our magic together.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  After the three of us had tried, and failed, to heal Lili in the grove outside, Morgana led the way into Nimue’s Grove beneath the waterfall. We walked through the narrow path in a line. Morgana took the lead, Lili was in Brendan’s arms, then Llewellyn and me last, with the new and improved Bailey keeping up the rear. He was still on the heavy side but had gained more of a spring in his step.

  Once we stepped onto the turquoise sand, Brendan put Lili down, and my grandfather sat next to her.

  “I never thought I would come here,” he said. “It’s so much more than I imagined.”

  I crouched by Lili and brushed my knuckles down her cheek. “We’re here, Grandmother. Hang on.”

  She glanced up at me, a weak smile on her lips. “How blessed I am to have known you, child. You have your mam’s heart.”

  I refused to cry. “It’s not over yet.”

  Leaving her in my grandfather’s care, I stood and melted into Brendan’s open arms as Morgana took my place.

  “The Lady herself is waiting for you, my child.”

  Lili chortled, leaning her head back to face Morgana. “No one has called me a child for a very long time, My Queen.”

  “You may be old, but you are my descendant.” Morgana touched Lili’s shoulder. “It is time.”

  My grandmother sighed and slumped back into Llewellyn’s arms, as if greeting the queen had stolen every ounce of her remaining energy.

  “How exactly do we do this,” I asked.

  Morgana swept back a few strands of hair that had come loose from her braid. “She must drink from the fountain. It’s the only way. There is no other place in this world as infused with the power of Enchantium as the water in that base.”

  I gulped. While I liked the feel of Nimue’s Grove, the water gave me chills, spurting forth a well of dreadful memories. “How?”

  Brendan gave me a squeeze. “It’s just water,” he whispered. “You have faced greater enemies than this.”

  I leaned into his warm body. He was right, but fear wasn’t a rational feeling, it simply was.

  “Well, we used to have a chalice,” Morgana said, “but it was lost sometime after Nimue’s death.”

  I froze. The chalice? “I think I know where it is.”

  Morgana spun round, as if searching for the object in question. “Where?”

  “My father has it.”

  With an unqueenly roll of her eyes, she threw her arms up. “Well, of course he does,” she said in an exasperated ton
e. “That sneaky sisterson of mine. I must say I’ve had my suspicions, but he couldn’t possibly have taken it with him to his prison. How do you know this?”

  “I found it on Earth, among Auberon’s possessions. I’m sorry to say that he stole it back from me, but I don’t think he was the one to bring it to Earth. Someone else must have taken it through the portal, and at some point, my father was able to locate its whereabouts. He had plenty of time. I don’t know how it all fits exactly, but I do know he feels it’s important that he has it.” I wrung my hands, touching my ring. “There’s something else.”

  Morgana raised an eyebrow and waved her hand for me to continue.

  “Remember I told you I had seen this place before? When I found the chalice, Nimue spoke to me, and she showed me glimpses of Avalon.”

  “She did what? On Earth?”

  “She did. Granted, I wish her words had been more clear than they were. I didn’t understand anything of what she was saying, but I guess it makes more sense now. Sort of.”

  “That clever sister of mine. What did she say?”

  I pondered it for a moment, then recited Nimue’s words. “‘This is Avalon. As it was, as it became, and as it could be once again. You have many choices ahead of you. Do not take them lightly.’” I stared at the liquid surface of Nimue’s lake. “I don’t know how important the words were because what really got to me was what she showed me. I’m still not sure if what I saw was the past or the present, or simply a portrayal of something and not actual real-life images.”

  “I told you she’s not entirely herself. She communicates with me every now and again, but she’s not especially coherent.”

  Llewellyn cleared his throat. “Ladies, my apologies, but could this not wait? Lili is slipping away.”

  We turned to her, and my heart clenched. Lili’s eyes had drifted shut, and her breath was more laboured. Dark veins crisscrossed under her paper-thin skin.

  “Certainly, Llewellyn, you’re quite right.” Morgana stepped to the edge and unfolded her wings. “Since we do not have the chalice, there is a substitute by the fountain. It’s not Enchantium-made, however. The Goblin who made the chalice your father now holds is long since dead, and from what I’m told, her family are slaves in Mynydd. I’ve tasked another few Goblins to work on a new chalice, but they have had trouble replicating it so that it contains the power of the Enchantium without it breaking during the attempts at making one.” She hesitated, looking back at Lili. “Let’s hope it’s enough.” With the beat of her wings, she took off and sailed to the fountain. She bent down by its base and picked up a bronze chalice, which she continued to submerge into the water. She nodded to herself and flew back, handing me the chalice.

  “Here, Grandmother,” I said. “Drink this.”

  Llewellyn held her head as I brought the chalice to her lips. She parted them ever so slightly, and I tipped the chalice, so the water trickled into her mouth.

  She gulped, coughed, but kept drinking until there was nothing left.

  “Now what?” I asked Morgana.

  “Either she comes to, and we should see a significant change—”

  “Or?” Llewellyn put Lili’s head in his lap, stroking her hair away from her face.

  Morgana didn’t reply.

  So, we waited. Bailey slinked around my grandparents, wailing and pawing at Lili as if attempting to coax her back to health. My grandfather continued stroking her hair, whispering inaudibly in her ear. Why was she not recovering? I squeezed Brendan’s hands, which were wrapped around my waist. Not even a bat of her eyelids. Her ragged breath was shallow and weak. Had we failed? Why wasn’t Nimue’s lake enough?

  I wrenched myself free from Brendan’s arms and turned to the water. “Nimue, if you can hear me, I have my third wish. I want my grandmother to return to health. Please save her.”

  The water lay still, as if giving me a resounding “no”.

  “Your third wish?” Morgana asked.

  “Yes. Nimue granted me two wishes back on Earth, but she didn’t want to grant me my third. Something about it being the wish of a child and that she would hold on to it for a better one, I guess. This has to be it.”

  Morgana slanted her head. “Princess, I’m not sure why you think Nimue would be able to grant you wishes. It’s not in her power to do.”

  “But she did. And she still has one more to give.”

  She touched my arm gently. “While I would like that to be true, I do not believe it is so. She still has power, that is true, but to create something from a wish? And transcending worlds at that. It doesn’t seem—”

  “Nimue!” I shouted, ignoring my queen. “I want my third wish!”

  Water shot out of the fountain’s base and splashed into the lake, creating waves. The air whipped up a breeze, and the space filled with light reminiscent of the sun. The waves rolled over the surface, and droplets rained on my feet. Something stirred around the platform—a figure.

  Morgana took a step forward. “She’s here.”

  The figure moved, though I couldn’t see what she looked like. Dipping in and out of the water like a shade, she slowly closed the distance between us. A ghostly image rose from the lake, shimmering white wings extended as she hovered above the surface. The ghostly image flickered as if she were a mere projection with a lousy signal. Her body was nude, though I couldn’t make out any curves or details. Gleaming white hair billowed around her face, and she locked eyes with me. Silver eyes, rimmed in blue.

  “Ruby Morgan, daughter of Elaine Morgan, heiress to Morgana of Fay,” her voice resounded, soft and challenging at the same time, just like I remembered. “You came at last.”

  I stepped closer, careful not to dip my toes in. “I did, and I want my third wish.”

  Her eyes shifted to Lili and back. “An honourable request, but not the right wish. You need to ask for the right one.”

  I shook my head. “How is that not right? I wish for Lili to live her life without this sickness. My grandparents still have plenty of years to live. If you let them.”

  “I’m afraid Lili Helene does not even have an awr left in her, Princess. Save your wish and ask the right one next time.”

  “But—”

  “Silence!” Her face contorted, hair spinning wildly as if caught in a hurricane. The ground stirred, and I held onto Brendan to keep my balance, though we were both rocking from the movements. Sand rolled into the lake as a stream of water washed over it, parting the sand next to where Brendan and I stood, separating us from Morgana.

  I glanced back at my grandparents as the water reached Lili, lapping over her feet.

  Llewellyn clutched his arms around her. “No! You can’t have her!” he screamed.

  Tendrils of water reached for Lili as if they were arms. She gasped. It was as though I could see the breath of life leave her body, a near-invisible beam of light stretching from her and into my grandfather’s hands, like whispers of Lili’s powers. Her eyes fluttered open for an instant, then shut. Her body stiffened and lay still in my grandfather’s arms while a ghostly vision, not unlike Nimue herself, rose from Lili’s dying breath. The tendrils grabbed hold of the translucent image of my grandmother, embracing her and melting together. They swooped back to the lake, taking Lili’s essence with them.

  Llewellyn crawled on his knees down the sand, trying to catch up. With a desperate cry, he reached the edge just as Lili was pulled under. He wailed, splashing his hands in the water. “Give her back to me!”

  Nimue glared at him. “You have much to answer for Llewellyn, not of Morgana. Perhaps now you can clear your conscience. Lili Helene will live eternally by my side, and not by yours. This is a boon, not a punishment. Even if you do not see it that way.”

  In a flash of light, Nimue melded with the water and vanished. The lake lay still once more, and neither Lili nor Nimue was anywhere in sight.

  Llewellyn started moving into the water when Morgana grabbed his collar and flung him back on the sand, throwing him eight
feet away from the edge. Tears streamed down my grandfather’s face while Bailey yowled quietly and curled up by his side. Llewellyn hugged his knees, trembling while he wept.

  Morgana faced him, fire blazing in her eyes. “Atone,” she said with a thundering voice, sending icy shivers through my veins.

  Bailey hissed, and I stepped away from Brendan, tears wetting my own cheeks. “Morgana, can’t you see he’s—?”

  “Silence!”

  I clicked my mouth shut, every bone in my body infused with the power of her command. My heart hammered in my chest, and an all too familiar feeling of loss cocooned me.

  “Atone,” Morgana repeated, staring down at my grandfather.

  “She’s gone,” he sobbed. “My Lili is gone.” His eyes drifted to Morgana’s, and he jerked. “Auberon promised me she would live. He said Ruby was the key, and if I could only get her to Perllanafal, then I could convince her to open the portal so that Lili could come here to heal. He said it would work.”

  “What?” I found my voice again, and Morgana didn’t stop me this time. “You knew what I was? That’s why you invited me to Mum’s Essencebearing?”

  He nodded, his cheeks blossoming a violent red. “I’m so sorry, Ruby. If it makes any difference, Lili Helene was unaware of it. Auberon paid me a visit around the time of your mam’s death. He made promises. That snake broke them all. Once we arrived, he was supposed to take us to the Enchantium. I only wanted her to live. Every sacrifice, every burning, the deal I made with your father, it was all so we could come here, and she could live.”

  Morgana sneered. “What sacrifices?”

  I lowered my head. “The people from his town, descendants of Magicals you sent through the portal, they burned people—Don Hekals—as a sacrifice to Nimue, hoping one day she would bring them back to Avalon.”

  “Innocents?”

  “The townspeople played judge and jury, presumably abducting criminals, but that doesn’t make it right.”