The Iron Sword

by J. M. Briggs

  Arto didn’t know how to respond, something that must have been clear on his face. Cailean sighed softly and patted his shoulder. “Just think on it lad; what you want may matter very little and I know you think this war is nearly won, but never underestimate what can surprise you. Be ready for anything and take advantage of any chances that you get.”

  His father-in-law walked away, leaning a bit more heavily on his staff than Arto had noticed before. Frowning, Arto shook his head and rubbed his hands together as he tried to ignore a flutter of nervousness in his gut. He kept walking towards the roundhouse and entered it with a grateful sigh. Walking over to the small bed, Arto sat down and carefully set Cathanáil to the side, but within arm’s reach and laid back. He closed his eyes and pushed Cailean’s concerns from his mind.

  The future would come soon enough and he had more immediate issues to worry about, including yet another iron gate.

  25

  Warnings

  Alex zipped up her winter coat with a soft smile as Arthur opened the front door of Gallagher Hall for her. The lights from the dorm made it difficult to see the stars, but it was a clear night and Alex shivered at the reminder that it was only going to get colder as she tightened her scarf. Next to her Arthur chuckled and reached over to take her gloved hand with his own.

  “Damn, it’s getting even colder,” Alex muttered, her teeth chattering.

  “Winter does that, and December is the darkest and coldest month of the year,” Arthur replied in a teasing voice.

  “December just started!” Alex protested with a pout, kicking at a nearby pile of snow that had been shoveled up by the dorm.

  “We don’t have to leave campus if you don’t want to.”

  “No,” Alex replied quickly, shaking her head and tugging him away from the doorway. Nearby another student swiped their keycard and dashed into the dorm building. “We need to get away for a bit.”

  “If you insist,” Arthur said warmly, picking up his own pace and falling into step with her. They were quiet; enjoying the company and the soft crackling sound of their feet against the packed down snow on the sidewalk.

  “Are we going to need to dig out your car?” Alex questioned, glancing towards Arthur as they headed into the parking lot. His grip on her hand tightened to keep her from slipping, earning a pleased smile from Alex.

  “No, I dug it out earlier today when I went on a grocery run.”

  “Please tell me you got something other than hotdogs and those terrible microwave burgers.”

  “Sure, I got cereal, milk, bacon and apples,” Arthur told her with a grin as they drew closer to his car which was now alone in the corner of the parking lot.

  “Bacon? Are you actually going to cook something in the main kitchen?”

  “You can do bacon in a microwave,” Arthur informed her with a look of superiority.

  “Can’t be as good,” Alex protested, stepping back so Arthur could unlock her side of the car first.

  “I’m not saying it is,” Arthur replied with a grin as he walked around to his side of the car. He beamed at her and added, “It’s nice to be having a silly conversation. Feels like it’s been forever.”

  “Yeah,” Alex agreed warmly, tugging the door open. “How long has it been since we went on a real date?” Alex asked, knowing she had a silly smile on her face as she climbed into Arthur’s car. “Three weeks?”

  “At least, we went out for dinner and a movie right before Thanksgiving break,” Arthur reminded her with an equally silly smile as he climbed in and buckled up. “Otherwise we’ve either been on campus or at one of the professors’ houses.”

  “Or you’ve been off with the team,” Alex added as they pulled out of the parking lot. “I know you love football, but I’m really glad the season is over.”

  “Me too,” Arthur agreed quickly. “I do love it, but classes, training, games, traveling and magic lessons are a lot to juggle. I’m just happy I don’t have a job too.”

  “Yeah, I remember figuring I’d get at least a part-time job when I came to college, but obviously that didn’t happen.”

  “You could babysit or something like that,” Arthur reminded her gently as he steered them out into the Friday night traffic. “Just to get out and about a little.”

  “I’d be too worried about attracting the Sídhe to some helpless kids,” Alex told him, unable to stop a small shiver going down her spine. “I don’t want to go through that again.”

  “I wish I could have helped you then.”

  “I know,” Alex told him gratefully. “But it’s okay and we’ll get through this.”

  “Yeah,” Arthur muttered, his jaw clenching for a moment. “Is it terrible that I wish Chernobog would just get here already?”

  “No, I totally understand, it’s hard waiting and dreading something. I was worried that he’d show up during Thanksgiving break.”

  “Morgana and Merlin would have been here.”

  “Yeah, but so were Aiden and Nicki and I don’t want them to have to face him without us,” Alex countered quickly. “We’re a team; it’s better that way.”

  “You’re right of course,” Arthur agreed with an easy going smile. “So how is final prep going?”

  “It’s okay, though I do wish that Thanksgiving wasn’t so close to the start of Christmas break. I have a week to calm down and try to relax only to come back and have all the professors talking about finals.”

  “Is Merlin giving you a hard time?”

  “A bit yeah, I mean he just wants me to do well. Unlike all of you, I’m actually studying one of the professor’s subjects as my major and Merlin is my advisor. We actually had tea yesterday to go over my classes and my studying schedule.”

  “Tea?” Arthur laughed, “He and Morgana aren’t actually British you know. At least I don’t think they consider themselves to be.”

  “They predate the idea of British by like a thousand years,” Alex agreed with a laugh. “I don’t know, maybe they lived there recently. It would explain the slight touch of an accent that they have.”

  “That sounds like stretching to me,” Arthur informed her doubtfully.

  Alex was about to retort, trying to come up with something witty when her phone rang. Alex wrestled her phone out of her jean pockets with a soft huff as the seatbelt dug into her shoulder. Without glancing at the caller, she raised it to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Alex. Morgana,” the older mage greeted quickly. “I need to speak with you and Arthur. Nicki said that you’re together.”

  “Uh yeah, we are,” Alex said.

  She was aware that Arthur was pulling the car over and stopping them at the side of the street just past Central Diner. On a Friday night, it was a coveted parking spot, but Alex was getting the feeling that they weren’t going to be using it.

  “Excellent: come to my home immediately. Merlin will be here shortly.” The call ended and Alex looked at her phone with a frown. After a split second, she stuck her tongue out at it and then sighed loudly.

  “That was Morgana,” Alex informed Arthur with a sigh, leaning her head back against the headrest. “She wants to talk to us. Immediately.”

  “Us as in us or us as in we need to call the others?”

  “Don’t know; she talked to Nicki so they know,” Alex groaned, reaching up and massaging the side of her head lightly. “Damn it! Was it too much to ask for one Friday night off?”

  Arthur gave her a soft smile before he returned his eyes to the road and carefully pulled them out in traffic. He made a right hand turn to start them in the opposite direction towards Morgana’s house. Alex looked out the window and bitterly noticed all the students walking out on Main Street and vanishing into restaurants and shops.

  “Sorry honey,” Arthur apologized gently, sending a flash of guilt through Alex.

  “It’s not your fault, sometimes I just wish…”

  “That we could be normal sometimes,” Arthur offered with a smile.

  “No, not normal exactl
y,” Alex admitted, playing with a piece of her blonde hair. “I mean I do enjoy magic and I’m not so ungrateful for the chance to be a part of something so important. Plus I got to know you, Nicki, Bran, and Aiden because of it. But it would be nice to be able to schedule time off without feeling worried about leaving Ravenslake or a crisis happening.”

  “You’re a better person than I am,” Arthur admitted with a laugh.

  “Why’s that?”

  “I felt no guilt when I got on that plane to go back to California for Thanksgiving,” Arthur told her with a grin. “I got to see my mom and I felt like I was away from this chaos for a little bit. Maybe that’s selfish…”

  “No, it's human,” Alex assured him with a soft smile. “When the time comes you’ll be right there with the rest of us and that’s what matters.”

  The smile Arthur gave her made Alex feel warm and her head a little light. She basked in the warmth as they crossed the river and followed the road into the hills. The houses rapidly became further and further apart from each other until only lighted windows gave away their positions beyond the fences and trees. Finally, the well-lit Victorian style house of Morgana came into view and they turned onto the gravel drive. Through the windows, Alex could see Merlin pacing in the living room. By the time Arthur turned off the car and the headlights went dark, the front door was open and Morgana was waiting for them.

  “Thank you for coming,” Morgana called out to them as she pushed the screen door open, sending light across the snowy front yard. “Come in.”

  Only Morgana could make an invitation sound so much like a command, Alex internally grumbled as she climbed the porch stairs. The professor was dressed in jeans, slippers and to Alex’s surprise a very comfy looking flannel shirt that was at least one size too large. As they stepped into the house, Alex was greeted with the smell of fresh cookies and a hint of some kind of tea. A bit of her irritation melted away as she unwound her scarf from around her neck and shrugged out of her coat.

  Arthur stepped into the living room ahead of her, his shoulders tense and straight. Looking around him, Alex spotted Merlin sitting on the sofa with a small plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of him along with a map that was spread out over the coffee table.

  “Ah Arthur, Alex thank you for coming,” Merlin greeted them kindly as he waved them over. “Please sit down.”

  “What is this about?” Arthur asked, taking a few steps forward and glancing towards Morgana who had moved over to join Merlin on the sofa.

  “I’ve been scrying regularly for Chernobog, trying to track his location and movements,” Morgana explained, gesturing towards the armchairs in the room.

  With a glance towards Arthur, Alex sank into the nearest one and tilted her head slightly to get a better look at the map. It looked like it might be a map of the town of Ravenslake, but it was much too large, showing the whole of the lake, part of the South Santiam River and up into the forest hills.

  “Any luck?” Arthur asked doubtfully.

  “Yes and no,” Morgana admitted, giving Arthur an irritated look, clearly not impressed with his tone. “I haven’t been able to pin down his location, but tonight I got a sense that he is very close. We have to be ready for him to attack any day now.”

  She’d deny the small whimpering sound she made forever. Arthur reached over and put his hand on top of the one that was clenching at the fabric of the armrest. A glance at him helped her relax a little. His blue eyes were dark and sharp as he studied Morgana.

  “Close? Any sense of how much time we have?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Morgana admitted, shaking her head and giving Alex a soft look of apology.

  “For all we know he could be in the lake right now and simply gathering strength for an attack,” Merlin informed them, gesturing at the map spread across the table. “Morgana and I are planning to check the area daily for any signs of change.”

  “Is there any good news?” Arthur demanded with a sigh.

  “Yes, there is in fact,” Merlin replied brightly, straightening up on the sofa. “Morgana’s scrying has indicated that Cyrridven is awake and coming closer to us.”

  Alex perked up at those words and couldn’t help but ask, “Cyrridven. She’s the Lady of the Lake right? She has the sword?” She glanced towards Arthur and smiled as his eyes brightened and a pleased smile appeared on his face.

  “I’ll have the sword soon?”

  “Hopefully,” Merlin agreed with a nod. “We can only assume that the sharp rise in magic and the threat of both the Sídhe and Old Ones has woken Cyrridven. Under those circumstances, she’d know how urgent it would be to get Cathanáil to the Iron Soul.”

  “So what do we do in the meantime?” Alex asked, smiling at the notion that Arthur would have his sword soon. There was a nervous excitement in her chest at the idea of seeing the sword and seeing what kind of power it really had.

  “You kids need to focus on staying safe,” Morgana told them, giving Alex a firm look. “Stay with other mages as much as possible or at least nearby. Keep your phones on you and charged and your daggers in reach. Chernobog and the Old Ones don’t share the Sídhe’s great weakness to iron, but it is a symbol of the raw power of this realm and helps repel them.”

  “What about if he doesn’t make a move before we go home for Christmas?” Arthur questioned with a frown.

  “I’m not sure you going home for winter break is wise,” Morgana informed them, her green eyes dark with regret. “The danger is just too great.”

  “We went home last Christmas,” Alex protested.

  “Yes, but that was the Sídhe only and Merlin and I are very experienced in dealing with them. But the potential threat of Chernobog is much greater. It took us and several Old Ones working together to put him to sleep last time.”

  “If Cyrridven is on the move then it means that something very important and significant is about to happen,” Merlin added in gently as he looked between her and Arthur. “I know that it is difficult to be away from your families, but Morgana and I are simply unwilling to take chances.”

  “Chernobog has the power to level Ravenslake,” Morgana said softly, looking very tired and suddenly very old to Alex. “And the concentration of people in modern cities…. Ravenslake isn’t huge, but there are thousands of people here and if we can’t stop Chernobog quickly then he could hurt them.”

  “Or kill them all outright,” Merlin added ominously. “Aside from his power and his shadow creatures, Chernobog is physically large.”

  “So he could just crush the city?”

  “Well… he’s not Godzilla, but yes he is capable of doing a lot of damage.”

  Alex wasn’t sure if she should laugh at Merlin referencing Godzilla, stamp her foot in frustration or start crying at the idea of missing Christmas with her family. She settled on clenching her hands into fists and trying not to meet Morgana’s eyes.”

  “If Chernobog attacks sooner then we will be able to reevaluate this of course,” Morgana told them carefully.

  “Great, that would put the attack during finals week,” Arthur grumbled, giving Morgana a sharp look. “That’s not much better.”

  “I understand that juggling the two parts of your lives aren’t easy,” Merlin said quickly, drawing Arthur’s attention. “But don’t shoot the messengers.”

  “I understand what you’re saying,” Arthur told them. “And thank you for giving us the heads up that this is an issue. But if you’ll excuse us then I’m going to take my girlfriend out on an actual date and we’re taking tomorrow off.”

  “Arthur, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Morgana interrupted, looking towards Merlin with a nervous expression that made Alex worry.

  “Look Morgana,” Arthur said quickly, a nervous expression on his face. “I know that you just want to keep us safe and make sure that we’re prepared for whatever is going to happen, but we’ve been practicing every weekend; you even had us over on Sunday night after we all just got back from Thanksgivin
g. We’ve taken out seven shadows since Halloween and we’re doing okay on magical lessons. Finals are coming up fast and to be frank, we all need a weekend off. We need to study and recharge.”

  “Arthur, when Chernobog gets here-”

  “I know he’s very powerful and more dangerous than what we’ve faced before, but if we’re completely wiped out then we won’t be any good against him. He could be here tomorrow night and if we’ve used too much magic then we won’t be able to do much.”