The Iron Sword

by J. M. Briggs

  Alex retrieved her water bottle and took several greedy gulps which made her feel a little recharged. Pulling out two cereal bars, Alex tore one open and closed her eyes. Her arms and legs were sore, but it wasn’t too bad, just a lingering sense of doing too much. The rush of excitement was beginning to fade, but nothing could shake the sense of satisfaction that was thrumming in her chest. Listening to the soft rustle of the breeze, Alex nibbled on the first bar and sighed as she began to relax.

  “I wonder if we’ll ever be able to do some of these spells,” Bran said some time later ending the silence that had fallen in the glade. “I mean we’re supposed to visualize stuff happening, but how would that work on something that we can’t see.”

  “Merlin has indicated that he can affect people’s memories, which is something you can’t see,” Nicki pointed out, tugging a leaf from her hair. “So it must work somehow.”

  “Maybe it’s only when we’re still learning that visualization is needed,” Aiden offered with a small shrug. “When you think about it, you’d need to have perfect control to affect someone’s mind safely. I mean magic is a form of energy and if you used too much then you could really hurt someone.”

  “That’s a fair point,” Nicki agreed. “When I’ve healed it is exhausting and very difficult to keep control of my magic. And to be fair I don’t know that much about biology or physiology so when I heal it’s really the magic doing something that I’ve only given it a vague instruction for.”

  “So maybe when we’ve got more control we’ll be able to do some of this other stuff?” Alex asked, glancing down at the descriptions of spells to help find your way, see through walls or move at faster speeds. “If we’ve got a strong connection to our magic then maybe it becomes a question of just willing something to happen or visualizing the final effect you want it to have.”

  “Maybe,” Aiden agreed with a pleased smile. “Which is why coming out here today to experiment was a good idea.”

  “We’re never going to hear the end of it are we?” Bran asked with a warm chuckle that made Alex smile.

  “Oh eventually you’ll hear the end of it,” Aiden promised, his large smile still in place. “But come on guys, doesn’t this feel awesome? Taking a step in our own direction as mages. Merlin and Morgana are great, but this is a different time! We’ve got potential of our own.”

  A laugh escaped Alex and she shook her head fondly. Aiden’s love of being a mage, his energy was something that she’d never tire of. It was strange to remember that less than a year ago she’d been pushing him and his insistence about magic being real away.

  “Guys,” Bran called sharply, his voice tense. “There’s something moving over there.”

  Glancing towards Bran, Alex saw him leveraging himself up on his walking stick and looking into the forest. Nicki and Aiden both turned to look over where he was pointing. Alex set the book to the side and pulled herself to her own feet using a low hanging branch on the tree. There was a strange shadow in the trees. One of the large nearby bushes snapped loudly making Alex jump.

  “There’s nothing there,” Nicki told them, but her voice sounded a little unsure.

  Then a shadow stretched out of the forest towards them. Glancing up, Alex’s eyes widened as she realized the sun was directly overhead and her eyes flew back down to the strange shadow that was growing longer.

  “There’s nothing there,” Nicki repeated, grabbing Aiden’s arm and pulling him back from the forest. “Guys, nothing is casting the shadow.”

  It slinked out of the forest, a darkness over the ground with nothing casting it. Stepping away from the tree, Alex sucked in a sharp breath and opened her palm, summoning all the magic she had left as the shadow darkened to pure blackness, completely hiding the ground beneath it. Then it moved towards them.

  8

  Living Shadow

  Taking a few steps away from the Shadow, Alex studied the shifting mass of …. blackness with a growing sense of unease. It slunk over the ground slowly. Her mind kept stumbling over that fact, trying to make some sense of it. Glancing towards the sky, Alex’s stomach flipped when she saw nothing that could possibly be casting the shadow.

  She didn’t dare look away again but heard the others moving around her slowly. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Aiden moving around the thing on her right, positioning himself to flank it. In a moment a small ball of fire was floating over his open palm as he eyed the strange darkness. The surface of Shadow seemed to thicken and then it shifted upwards as if growing out of the ground.

  Stepping back on instinct, Alex called her magic to her hands and waited. She could feel the crackle of the energy over her fingers, but none of her fellow mages were moving. The magic fluttered in her hands, but Alex felt the weight of exhaustion already creeping on her.

  The Shadow solidified into a vaguely humanoid shape with two arms and two legs, but its body was all rough and jagged spikes. The air around it shimmered and seemed to darken as a pair of dark red eyes opened and stared at Alex. In the middle of its head, a tear seemed to open revealing bright sharp teeth. A hissing sound escaped the Shadow and it took a small step forward, hunching its back which made the spikes more prominent. Its hands were nearly dragging on the ground, but Alex stepped back once more as a terrible chill swept up her body. Her hands ached and she shivered. A low snarling sound escaped the Shadow.

  It leapt forward, a blur of black, and Alex jumped to the right to avoid it. She hit the ground and rolled, nearly colliding with the tree she’d been reading under only moments ago. A loud half snarl-half scream reached her ears as she hit her knees and began to stand up. The sound sent a cold shiver do her spin, but Alex whirled around and backed up, trying to put some distance between the Shadow and herself.

  Fire erupted against the Shadow’s body thanks to Aiden’s fireball, but the darkness of the form rippled and the fire vanished with the Shadow barely reacting. The heat of the fireball vanished and a chill hung in the air around them. Alex sucked in a painful breath, her lungs tightening as the cold air hit her throat. The glade seemed to darken with every passing moment despite the sun shining down on them.

  A blast of water knocked into the creature’s side, causing it to stumble and catch itself on its long arms. Raising its head, the red eyes glinted in the low light and it opened its mouth. A terrible roar, dull and long that made Alex’s heart jump echoed around them. Her hairs all stood on end as goosebumps appeared down her arms and Alex fought back the desire to wrap her arms around herself for warmth as her teeth chattered.

  Raising her hand, Alex pushed her magic out desperately, picturing a simple lightning bolt striking the Shadow. The energy lashed out from her fingers and struck the Shadow, knocking it backward and into the center of the glade. Alex’s knees ached and her legs were starting to shake as a bead of sweat ran down the back of her neck.

  In the corner of her eye, Alex saw Aiden summon another ball of fire letting the magic flare and grow stronger. The Shadow spun towards Aiden, its red eyes glowing as it crouched forward on its front limbs. Fire blasted through the air, sending a wave of delicious heat through the glade, but Shadow didn’t even try to evade the fire. Instead, it raised itself up, allowing the fireball to hit it in the chest. The warmth in the glade vanished, the temperature dropped and Alex thought she saw her breath.

  “Aiden stop!” Nicki shouted nearby, “The fire isn’t helping, I think it’s getting stronger!”

  He swore loudly, his voice echoing as they all stopped and watched the Shadow. Leaning forward on its front limbs, it looked towards Aiden before its head turned all the way around to look at Nicki behind it. Alex shuddered and glanced towards Nicki who had a look of disgust and concentration on her face.

  Nicki raised her hand, it shimmered blue with her magic as a long icicle appeared clutched in her hand like a dagger. In a graceful movement, Nicki threw the icicle forward; it shot through the air, a blaze of blue magic surrounding it. Howling in pain as the ice struck
it, the Shadow twisted around and tried to dislodge the magical weapon. Ice crept over the creature’s side, covering three of the black jagged horns on its body.

  “Ice!” Alex heard herself shout. “Nicki hit it again!”

  The Shadow roared and sprang towards Nicki, reaching for her with long claws. Then it suddenly stopped, suspended in the air with its claws less than a foot from Nicki’s chest. Her friend stumbled back from the creature with a hiss. Looking towards Bran, Alex saw him glaring at the Shadow with one shaking arm thrust out in front of him.

  “I can’t hold it long,” Bran groaned, his voice low and sharp.

  Nicki nodded and Alex started to move towards her. She saw Nicki bring her hands in front of her, take a deep breath and close her eyes. Blue magic spun out of Nicki’s hands, swirling in front of her like snowflakes on the breeze. Then Nicki’s eyes snapped open and she shoved the swirl of magic towards the Shadow. Just before reaching the creature, the magic sparks shifted and formed three long lances of ice. The Shadow made a short cry of alarm before the lances struck it in the chest and belly.

  The Shadow fell to the ground as Bran collapsed to his knees. Aiden rushed over to him and Alex ran towards Nicki, glancing at the fallen creature. It made a pitiful mewling sound as the ice lances began to expand, glistening ice spreading over the Shadow’s body. Reaching Nicki, Alex wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her back from the Shadow. The pained sounds had stopped, but the body was twitching and lashing about even as the ice continued to cover it. Then with one final twitch, the body began to fade away like a shadow gradually exposed to light. Nicki slumped against Alex and the ice crumbled to the ground, already melting in the warm sun.

  Somehow they made it down the hill, Bran leaning heavily on Aiden and Nicki leaning heavily on her with Aiden and Alex each carrying two backpacks. By the time they reached Alex’s car, Alex’s knees were shaking badly and she’d broken out in a cold sweat. She tossed her keys weakly to Aiden and he nodded wearily. They didn’t bother even putting their packs in the trunk, instead, they were piled into the backseat around the collapsing Bran and Nicki.

  “Morgana’s house is closest,” Alex gasped as she fell into the front passenger seat and clutched her hands together, trying to stop the shaking.

  “Right,” Aiden wheezed as he started up the car.

  As they pulled onto the small paved road that led up to the parking lot, Alex considered that she really should call Morgana, but her phone was in her backpack and she didn’t have the energy to turn around and get it out. A weak glance over her shoulder revealed that Nicki and Bran were both dozing off against the stack of backpacks, their faces pale and distant.

  “They don’t look good,” Alex muttered softly, shivering slightly. “Magical exhaustion.”

  “Will they be okay?” Aiden asked, keeping his eyes focused on the road even as his head started trying to drop.

  “Yeah,” Alex breathed, turning front in her seat again. “It’s just… exhaustion. I was the same way when I got out of the Sídhe tunnels last year. Morgana will know how to take care of them.”

  “What was that thing?”

  “It’s probably connected to what Bran saw in his vision,” Alex replied softly, her eyes searching the small turn off roads for Morgana’s.

  Aiden nearly missed the turn, pulling on the wheel sharply to make it. He shook his head and blinked twice as Alex looked in the back seat to make sure Nicki and Bran were alright. Their professor’s Victorian style house was a welcome sight as they drove up the gravel road leading to it. The tower’s white trim was gleaming in the bright sunlight and the front porch had several flower boxes perched along the rails. The sight of Morgana’s red sports car parked in the drive filled Alex with relief and she breathed a little easier.

  Aiden abruptly braked and the car fishtailed in the gravel for a moment before coming to a stop. Turning off the car, Aiden sighed in relief and collapsed against the back of his seat. Alex unbuckled her seatbelt slowly, her hands still shaking and kept telling herself to get up and out of the car. Someone needed to get Morgana, but she could barely move.

  Then the heavy wooden front door swung open and Professor Cornwall appeared on the front porch. She was dressed casually in jeans and an old faded t-shirt with her long dark hair piled on her head in a messy bun. For a moment she looked irritated, but then her eyes widened and worry took over her face. Rushing down the front steps, Morgana ran over to Alex’s side of the car and pulled the door open. The burst of fresh air made Alex feel a little more awake and she forced herself to sit up properly.

  “Morgana, there was this thing in the woods, like a living shadow. We stopped it, but-”

  “It’s okay Alex,” their professor assured her in a soothing voice. She placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder and looked into the back seat. “Any injuries?”

  “No, just bruising and exhaustion.”

  “Good,” Morgana said with a visible smile of relief. “Let’s get all of you inside and call Merlin.”

  Morgana helped Alex out of the car and said nothing when Alex nearly fell to her knees. Leaning against the car, Alex held the back door open so Morgana could gently shake Nicki awake. With gentle movements, Morgana helped Nicki climb out of the car and, supporting the girl, helped her up the stairs and into the house.

  With a brief burst of energy, Alex reached into the backseat and started tugging at their backpacks in order to wake Bran. Next to her, Aiden was unfolding himself from the car. Bran woke up with a soft snort and looked towards her with glassy eyes.

  “We’re at Morgana’s,” Alex explained softly. “She’s helping Nicki inside. She’ll be out in a moment.”

  It took Morgana another minute to return, but when she came out she headed straight for Bran who was trying to shift himself around to get out. Aiden stumbled over next to Morgana and together they helped Bran climb out of the backseat. Through the car’s windows, Alex watched as Bran carefully got on his feet and leaned on his walking stick to stay upright. Despite protests from him, Aiden kept hold of his left arm and walked him up the stairs and into the house.

  Morgana watched them go inside the house before she turned her attention to Alex. Opening her mouth, Alex began to explain what had happened, but Morgana gently shushed her and wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders. Unable to resist, Alex fell silent with a relieved sigh and leaned against Morgana as they climbed up the porch and went inside.

  The parlor was just as Alex remembered it with the large old fashioned looking red sofas and two large soft looking armchairs. Warm sunshine was streaming in through the three large windows, illuminating the whole room without the use of lights. Nicki was stretched out on the shorter of the two sofas and already snoring gently. Bran was stretched out on the longer sofa and Aiden was already sleeping in one of the armchairs. Morgana squeezed Alex’s hand gently as she walked her over the second armchair. Sinking down into the chair, Alex moaned softly in relief and let her head fall back against the plush back. She closed her eyes but was aware enough to hear Morgana moving around the room, checking on all four of them before her footsteps headed away towards the back of the house. Morgana returned a few minutes later carrying a pile of blankets.

  Protesting weakly, Alex told Morgana that she wasn’t cold, but the moment Morgana tossed the blanket over her Alex felt a little better. Her fingers shifted, clutching at the soft and thick material and she felt her body relaxing further into the chair. Despite her intention to stay awake and explain what had happened, Alex’s eyes closed and she sighed happily, drifting off comfortably.

  Alex’s eyes snapped open and her heart jumped when the front door opened and banged into the bench by the doorway. Looking towards the entry with wide eyes, Alex clutched at the armrests of the chair. She closed her eyes as something moved further into the house, trying to look asleep even as her ears strained to hear what was happening. Morgana’s footfalls came quickly back into the living room.

  “Quiet Merlin,” Mo
rgana hissed softly as she passed Alex’s chair. “Honestly Ambrose have you no sense?”

  Opening her eyes a little bit, Alex peered around the corner of her armchair as Professor Yates came around the corner with a sheepish smile. His expression turned serious as his eyes swept over the living room. Alex settled back in her chair but made no effort to draw his attention. A soft snore escaped Aiden as his head rolled to the side and snuggled his cheek into his own blanket.

  “What happened to them?” Merlin asked Morgana in a low voice.

  “Alex described it as a living shadow,” Morgana replied in a sharp voice with barely concealed anger. “And given the dark form that Bran saw in his vision, it can only be Chernobog.”

  A series of strange words escaped Merlin, none of them sounded pleasant and Alex saw Morgana nod firmly in agreement.

  “Of course he’d be the first one to fully wake,” Merlin huffed, raising a hand and running it through his gray curls. “And he’s already strong enough to be sending out his shadows.”