by Steve McHugh
“You up to it?” Fiona asked him.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Me, too,” Mac replied. “No one asked, but I’m good.”
“We’ll lean on one another,” Morgan told him. “Everyone forgets that we were hurt.”
“I’m thinking of raising the issue with HR back in Avalon,” Mac told her.
“Avalon has an HR?” Remy asked. “I thought Elaine just kicked people when they annoyed her.”
“It’s close enough,” Mac said.
“Are you done?” Nabu asked. “We should go.”
Everyone stopped and watched him walk into the forest. “He is not dealing with this all that well,” Mac said.
“He’s not used to having so much happen in such a short time. His powers can’t keep up with processing all the new information,” Diana said. “Makes him grouchy.”
The uninjured members of the group reached the outskirts of the forest after an hour’s run. Diana had sprinted ahead, but Wei and Remy had easily caught up with her. Mordred and Nabu had joined them soon after, and they all paused at the sight of dozens of dead blood elves littering the field at the rear of the palace.
“What the hell happened here?” Wei asked Mordred.
“A battle,” Remy said. “The ground is scorched. The bodies are a little on the crispy side. And some are in more pieces than I really want to count. Oh, and the trees over there are still smoking but don’t appear to be aflame.”
“Lightning,” Diana said, pointing to several patches on the ground. “Nate did this.”
Morgan and Nabu turned toward her. “You sure?” Morgan asked.
Diana nodded. “There’s evidence of fire and lightning, and some of these elves are partially buried in the ground, as if something dragged them into the soil but only enough to cut them in half. Shadow magic did that. I’ve seen its use before. I’ve seen the aftermath of sorcerers cutting loose.”
“I’ve never seen magic do this sort of devastation,” Remy said. “There are a hundred bodies here. At least. Nate killed a hundred blood elves by himself?”
“Magic is stronger in Shadow Falls,” Nabu said. “Unpredictable and wild. But I have to admit to being impressed.”
“Something made him angry,” Mordred said. “Nate isn’t the kind of person to use his magic with this little regard for his surroundings. And he did that.” Mordred pointed to the hole where a large part of the palace used to be. Pieces of the wall littered the field and steps leading up to where it had once been.
“My God,” Elaine said as she reached the battlefield.
“That’s appropriate, as it seems that Nate is a god here,” Remy said. “The vengeful kind, too.”
“He slaughtered these blood elves,” Elaine said.
“This is why you don’t piss off a sorcerer,” Alan said.
“This is why people are scared of them,” Fiona replied. “Especially here. And especially Nate.”
Mordred walked away from the conversation, ascended the steps to the rear of the palace, and walked through the destroyed wall. He saw Galahad immediately and sprinted over to him, dropping to his knees and trying to find a pulse.
“Galahad!” Mordred shouted. “Galahad.” He channeled his light magic and placed his hands against Galahad’s chest. Yellow glyphs lit up over Mordred’s arms, turning almost golden as he poured more and more magical power into the light magic he used to try and revive Galahad.
He didn’t know how long he tried to revive his friend, but no matter how much magic he used, Galahad remained motionless. Eventually he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Mordred, he’s gone,” Morgan said, crouching beside him, gently pushing his hands off Galahad.
“No, I just need to use more magic,” Mordred said. “He’s not gone. He can’t be. I never got to say I was sorry. I never got to tell him he was a good king. I never . . . I just need to try harder.”
Mordred placed his hands back on Galahad’s chest and continued to use his light magic, the power spilling out all around him, barely contained inside the building.
Remy walked around to the opposite side of Galahad’s body and placed one of his hands onto Mordred’s. “He’s gone.”
Mordred stopped his magic and shook his head.
“He’s gone, Mordred,” Remy said again. “I’m sorry, but no magic is going to bring him back.”
“He was my friend,” Mordred said. “I can’t lose friends. I spent so long trying to hurt them that I need to make that up to them. I need him to know how sorry I was.”
“He knew,” Diana said softly.
“I saw Galahad about six months ago,” Mac said. “We spoke about you. He said he was proud that you’d turned everything around. That you’d fought the programming that was done to you.”
Tears fell from Mordred’s eyes, spilling onto Galahad’s cold body. “When we grew up together, he was always the best of us. We always tried to one-up him, but we never could. Especially with weapons. It was like he was one with them. It was a thing of beauty. Whoever did this will pay.”
“I think Helios did this,” Remy said.
“Then I will find and kill him,” Mordred replied.
“Nate beat you to it,” Elaine told him. “He died hard. We found his body outside. It’s not in one piece.”
“Good.” Mordred wiped his face. “Galahad and I fought alongside one another. We had one another’s backs, but I wasn’t here this time. For a thousand years we were enemies, but he was one of the first people I thought of when I regained my mind. I’d tried to kill him, but he was too good. I don’t know how Helios managed it, but I’m sure there was deception involved.” He leaned over and kissed Galahad on the forehead. “Goodbye, my friend.”
“You need to take a minute?” Morgan asked Mordred as he got to his feet.
Mordred shook his head. “Point me at something to hurt.”
A huge man appeared in the doorway, his body covered in splatted blood, one arm hanging loosely while the other held a spear. He saw Galahad’s body and dropped to his knees.
“Harrison,” Elaine said as the man cried out in pain and anguish for his king.
“Harrison,” Morgan tried. “We know it’s upsetting, but we need you to point us in the right direction. Where’s Nate? Where are the rest of the people he was with?”
“Fighting,” Harrison said. He exhaled and got to his feet. “You are Morgan and Mordred, yes?”
Both nodded.
“Galahad spoke fondly of you. Nate is missing, but his people continue to search for him in the city.”
“What do you mean, missing?” Mordred asked.
“We can’t find him,” Harrison said, occasionally looking at the body of his king before looking away. “I came to the palace to see if he’d gone toward the ruins. Blood elves had come from there.”
“There’s nothing out there but a lot of dead blood elves,” Elaine said. “So we know that Nate made it this far. What happened after that?”
Harrison shrugged. “We captured some blood elves; you can try asking them. They don’t even speak any language I’ve ever heard of, so we’re not getting anywhere fast.”
The group followed Harrison through the palace as he explained the blood-elf attack on the realm. “Do you need healing?” Mordred asked him as they reached the front of the building.
“I’ll be fine,” Harrison said.
Mordred sped up and stepped in front of Harrison. “Arm. Don’t argue.”
“Your magic will cause problems,” Harrison said.
“My light magic will be used to heal. If it gets out of control, I’ll only be healing people I don’t mean to.”
Harrison reluctantly nodded, and Mordred healed his arm. Once he was done, Mordred had to concentrate to stop the magic from flowing out of him. “I remember why this place isn’t good for me.”
“It’s not good for any of us at the moment,” Harrison said.
They stepped out of the palace, and the scene of destruction th
at lay before him took Mordred’s breath. A large part of the city closest to the palace had suffered the most fire damage. Several guards battled blazes threatening to consume more buildings.
“So, the fighting is over?” Morgan asked.
“Thousands of blood elves attacked us, and then they vanished. We found bracelets scattered around the city. Just blank copper bracelets, like the ones Zamek said he found in Tartarus. They’re up at the mountain preparing an evacuation.”
“Evacuation?” Elaine asked.
“We’re getting the people of Solomon out of here and to Tartarus. Arthur arrived in the Earth realm, and King Galahad went to see him, but they were attacked. Arthur was kidnapped by this Hellequin. King Galahad felt that Avalon would blame us and send a war party. We’re not sure how long we have, but we need to get people out of this realm.”
“Merlin was behind this attack,” Remy said. “He’s the My Liege character everyone’s been hearing about.”
“Sounds about right,” Harrison said. “Figures he’d be the evil bastard behind this.”
“So, what happens now?” Fiona asked. “Arthur is missing, and they’re going to start a war with Shadow Falls before Merlin takes full control. I worked for them; I believed in them.”
“You were fired by them, too,” Remy pointed out.
“First of all, I’d keep quiet about your Avalon connections,” Harrison said. “People will find out about Merlin soon enough, and I figure everyone in Avalon is going to be painted with the same brush.” Harrison nodded to several guards resting on the steps to get back to their jobs. “Secondly, I’m going to help people, and then we’re going to figure it out. Going to Tartarus sounds good. Too easy for people to attack us now.”
“Who’s in charge?” Diana asked. “With Galahad dead, who’s in charge?”
“Caitlin, his daughter, I guess. She’s the only one of the council anyone genuinely listens to on a regular basis, and she’s the only one I wouldn’t pick a fight with. Or maybe him—he arrived about an hour ago.”
A tall man walked toward them, his bloodred shirt and black trousers at odds with the sneakers he wore. “Elaine,” he said, shaking her hand.
“Hades,” Elaine said. “They have Nate.”
Hades nodded. “I know. We need to talk.” He looked at Mordred. “All of you. There’s a lot you don’t know.”
“Agreed. The only thing I really want to know is, will I get to kill everyone responsible for what happened here today?” Mordred asked.
“Unfortunately it’s more complicated than that. Arthur has been taken by this Hellequin character. It’s believed that Merlin is My Liege.”
“We know,” Mordred said.
“We’re thinking of just giving out cards explaining it,” Remy said. “It would save time.”
“In that case, come with me,” Hades said. “We need to find Nate before Merlin gets what he wants.”
“And what does Merlin want?” Elaine asked. “Apart from blood and death.”
“All of the realms bowing before him,” Hades said. “All of humanity cowering in what he believes is its rightful place.”
“Oh, just that,” Remy said.
“Now is not the time for jokes, Remy,” Hades said. “Merlin wants to rule everything. And it appears that he wants Nate and Arthur standing beside him as his right-hand men.”
CHAPTER 31
Mordred
Realm of Shadow Falls
Mordred remained calm for as long as he could, but by the time they had reached Leonardo’s home, and people had said their hellos and checked that loved ones were okay, he was chomping at the bit for more information.
“You doing okay? It’s been a lot to go through since you were shot,” he said to Morgan, hoping to distract himself from the thought of Nate being in Merlin’s hands.
“Sore, and I don’t think I’ll be doing a lot of hand-to-hand combat in the near future, but I’ll live.”
Mordred looked over at Fiona and Alan, who were at the end of Leonardo’s living room, holding each other’s hands. He went over to them. “How are you?” he asked Alan.
“I’m probably not going to sleep well for a while,” Alan said, “but I’ve been in the care of people like them before. I won’t let them break me.”
“Good. I’m glad we got you all out of there before anything worse happened.”
“They killed the rest of my team, didn’t they?”
Mordred nodded. “A gang of werewolves in Moscow did it. They’re mostly dead now. Or really wishing they were.”
“I never thought I’d be thanking you for coming for me.”
“I never thought I’d be saving your ass,” Mordred said with a smile. He turned to leave but stopped when Fiona grabbed his hand.
“I’m sorry about what I said to you. I see your face, and I see the horror and fear it caused, but you’re not him anymore, and I should have dealt with that better.”
Mordred wasn’t really sure what to say to that. People apologizing for thinking he was still a monster was something he still had issues getting used to. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry about Galahad,” Alan said. “He was a good man.”
Mordred nodded, unwilling to say anything for fear it would lead to him breaking down. Remorse and hurt would have to wait until Nate was found and Merlin stopped. “You want to explain what’s happening?” he asked Hades, needing to focus on something other than his lost friend.
Hades stood as silence fell around the living room. “We have someone working within Merlin’s organization. He managed to get details to me a few hours ago, and I rushed here. Unfortunately I was too late to help, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Who’s in his organization?” Selene asked.
“That’s not something anyone other than me needs to know. He’ll make contact when and if he can, but in the meantime he was only just able to contact me about this attack, and Merlin’s role. Abaddon has taken Nate through one of the realm gates, although we don’t know where to. We know that Merlin is working with Ares, Abaddon, Hera, and pretty much everyone who’s been involved with the whole My Liege shit for the last few years.”
“We just saw Merlin,” Wei said. “In a Siberian mountain. Abaddon was there, too.”
Hades looked over at Mordred.
“I’m good,” Mordred said. “My father is the asshole I always assumed he was. Also, it looks like Gawain is helping somehow. I would assume that all of the paladins are under Merlin’s control. They’ve worked together for a long time. I don’t think that’ll change anytime soon. My father and I didn’t have time for a long chat.”
“Wait, your father is Merlin?” Selene asked. “As in Merlin?”
Mordred nodded. “Real kick in the crotch, isn’t it? I’ve known for a while now, but it’s not exactly something I like to brag about. He was never much of a father.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Elaine asked.
Mordred reached over and placed his hand on Elaine’s. “How are you holding up?”
“They took my memories,” she said softly. “I must have found out something that was big enough to be a threat. But then why not just kill me? Why leave me like this?” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “In the meantime, I need to do something. I need to help.”
“I don’t know what the plan is,” Hades said. “We have several captured blood elves, although they’re revealing nothing. My mole doesn’t know all the details yet, so we need to wait until he can get to a place of safety. In the meantime, Lucifer, Leonardo, Antonio, and Zamek are trying to get the elven realm gate to work.”
“I’ll talk to the blood elves,” Mordred said. “I speak the language.”
“You sure?” Morgan asked. “I know you’re on edge.”
“I don’t have a better idea,” Mordred almost snapped. “Nate’s in Merlin’s hands. Merlin is working with Baldr and Hera and everyone else who spent a century breaking me apart. What happens if they brainwash Nate? You saw the c
arnage behind the palace. He did that because he was angry and in a place where his magic was superpowered. Do you want him to get that powerful on a regular basis? To start using that kind of power on Merlin’s enemies? Because we all know where that’s leading.”
“I’ll take you,” Hades said.
“And what do the rest of us do?” Harrison asked.
“Help the injured,” Hades said. “Check for remaining blood elves. The attack is over, but we still need to evacuate these people. Zamek, Antonio, and Leonardo need to continue with their work. There’s a city full of terrified people here, and all of them need to be reassured that they’ll be safe. The blood elves came from the ruins and tunnels under the city. They’ve gone as quickly as they arrived. Causing panic and destruction was their aim. I’ve asked Caitlin if I can bring my people here to help, and she’s currently working with Rebecca and your guardians to allow them through.”
“We could use all the help we can get,” Harrison said. “Never thought I’d be saying that.”
“And getting Nate,” Selene said. “They came to get him, too.”
Hades nodded.
“The Fates said that Nate would become a monster,” Morgan said. “Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Elaine said the prophecy was a fake,” Mordred said. “But until she can regain her memories, I have no idea in what way.”
“I tried to take a look at her mind back in the cavern,” Morgan said. “But someone’s put in some serious magical blocks. I shouldn’t tamper with them since I don’t honestly know what they do.”
“I can ask around. Hopefully we’ll find something.”
“It’s fake,” Elaine said from the corner of the room. She looked over at Mordred.
“I know,” Mordred said. “But we don’t know how. And I don’t want you to hurt yourself trying to find out.”
Elaine screamed in pain and dropped to her knees, clawing at the floor in front of her as Fiona and Alan rushed to her side.
“Stop it,” Fiona said. “You can’t force the memories through.”
“Can . . . and . . . will,” Elaine almost shouted. “Ares.”
She stopped screaming and looked at Mordred. “Ares and Hera. Oh, Mordred, what did you do?”
