The Iron Bound

by J. M. Briggs

  The Iron Bound

  Book Five of the Iron Soul Series

  J.M. Briggs

  © 2016 by J. M. Briggs

  © 2016 by J. M. Briggs

  All rights reserved. No unauthorized reproductions permitted except for review purposes.

  Published by J.M. Briggs

  www.authorjmbriggs.com

  Printed in the United State of America

  First Printing 2017

  ISBN 978-0-9991171-0-1

  For my Discovery Land teachers Sharon Rhodes, Sherry Castle, and Kathy Taylor. Thank you for years of good memories, even if you did tell my parents when I misbehaved.

  1: Cost of Magic

  2: Dinner with Mages

  3: A Man Named Thor

  4: Mage Meeting

  5: Nightmares

  6: The Strangers

  7: Reincarnates

  8: Slice of Life

  9: The Mysterious Pair

  10: Back to the Forge

  11: That’s Okay

  12: Impatience

  13: The Adamses in Ravenslake

  14: Realities of a Mage Life

  15: Question of Survival

  16: Third Date Unlucky

  17: Dark Phone Calls

  18: Alliance Born

  19: Stillness

  20: Blood Spell

  21: An Old Soul

  22: The Enslaved

  23: The Brownie

  24: Dark Tidings

  25: Facing the Dream

  26: Darkness Below

  27: Fear Awakens

  28: The Queen’s Spell

  29: Tale of Arthur

  30: The Dvergr

  31: Waking the Mage

  32: Arthur Returns

  33: Hammer of Thor

  34: Outside Looking In

  35: What Will Come

  1

  Cost of Magic

  Magic was all she could think about as the windshield wipers came to a stop and she set the parking brake. Alex had managed to keep her mind off of such things for most of the drive thanks to the nasty winter weather and loud music, but now she was back in Ravenslake. Exhaling, Alex eased her fingers off of the steering wheel and turned off the car. The snow was thankfully beginning to ease and a campus snow plow was already at work in the parking lots.

  She was back in Ravenslake: back in a town plagued by supernatural events and the site of most of her adventures. Alex just sat silently in the car and listened to the soft thrum of the heater and watched snow begin to collect on her windshield. There’d be magic lessons again, probably even more now that Arthur’s true nature was revealed. There were too many things to worry about. Not only did they have to worry about the Sídhe breaking through the one Iron Gate they had, but also descendants of fae creatures attacking them plus Arthur himself. Magic had come with far too many strings attached. Shaking her head, Alex told herself to stop being so damn maudlin and get moving.

  Alex fumbled in the car for a moment to pull on her heavy coat before climbing out. She grabbed her backpack and duffle bag from the back seat and headed straight for the sidewalk. There were other students in the parking lot unpacking their vehicles and the snow was trodden down on the outer edge of the parking lot towards the sidewalk. As she walked towards the dorms, she could see the university arboretum which looked dark and lifeless alongside the lake. The South Santiam River to her left was silent with a layer of ice across the top.

  Gallagher Hall stood amidst the snowdrifts as an impressive looking four-story brick building and in the dim lighting of the cloudy day looked more than just a few years old. The pale bricks looked dark and dirty while the green metal accents were almost hidden thanks to the roof being covered with snow. She was about to set her things down to dig out her access card when the front door was pushed open by someone buried in a heavy winter coat, hat and scarf rushing out. Catching the door with her foot, Alex hopped forward as the person hurried past her before slipping inside herself.

  The front room was blissfully warm and a small group of older students was gathered in the main kitchen laughing while the smell of cookies wafted over to her. A couple more students she didn’t know were lounging on a small collection of sofas by the front door. Alex ignored them and headed for the elevator, going straight up to the fourth floor. The elevator dinged and she stepped out into a rather plain hallway with muffled voices echoing around her.

  Setting her bag down in front of the door marked 415 Alex pulled her wallet out and found her keycard. The door beeped as she entered her code and it scanned the key just before it unlocked with a soft click. She pushed the door open and nudged her duffle bag into the room with one foot.

  “Oh, hi Alex,” a tired voice greeted.

  Alex shrugged off her backpack and was in the process of taking off her coat to hang on the coat rack when she caught sight of an older woman walking into the entry room. Her roommate Nicki was shifting nervously and toying with one of her long red braided pigtails. Alex instantly recognized the older woman as Nicki’s grandmother.

  Samantha Russell had changed a bit since the last time Alex saw her. The local artist had dyed her hair again so it was now short and brown with hints of purple and blue scattered throughout. She was wearing a long blue smock sort of thing with a white scarf and some of her own ceramic jewelry over pinstripe slacks. The eccentric and friendly look was ruined a bit by the way the woman was staring at her. It was a mix between fascination, pity, and anger. Swallowing, Alex forced a small smile and resisted the urge to reassure the woman that being the Iron Soul didn’t mean that she chose who was a mage.

  “Alex,” Samantha greeted in a rather tight voice. “Welcome back.” She forced a small smile that was very uncomfortable. “How was your holiday?”

  “Uh, going home was good.” Alex glanced towards Nicki, suddenly unsure if her roommate had told her grandmother about magic. “It was good to see everyone.”

  “Did you explain to them…” Samantha trailed off and shook her head as Nicki flinched behind her. “About…”

  “Yeah,” Alex answered before the woman had to say the word ‘magic’. “I did: it wasn’t easy, but we managed to get through it and still have a decent visit.”

  “And your family isn’t worried?” Samantha asked in a sharper voice. “They actually let you return?!”

  “Well, legally I am an adult.” Alex refused to look to Nicki for help even as she wanted to run. “And well, this is what we are, and if we don’t fight back then other people suffer. Eventually, we will too, in another way.”

  It sounded weak to her ears: it had the dozen or so times she’d tried to go over it with her own parents. What excitement they’d had about her having magical powers had dimmed with the truth, and Alex had wondered more than a few times if sharing all of it had been the right choice. Nicki coughed lightly and shifted in between them. She hugged her grandmother while Alex tried not to shift under the weight of the woman’s gaze. Samantha Russell then looked back at her granddaughter and cupped her face gently. Her eyes were suddenly teary and Alex made a point of looking at the wall decorations. The door closed behind her a moment later and a loud sigh escaped Nicki.

  “Sorry about that,” Nicki said. “She’s… well, she’s not taking it so well. She was really excited about the magic; absolutely lost it when I made an ice sculpture for her, but it wasn’t good when I told her the rest of it.”

  “The rest of it,” Alex repeated with a snort. “You mean the fact that there are other universes and they sometimes invade our world? Or maybe that mages exist to serve as white blood cells of our world against invaders? Or did you mean that there are Old Ones from other universes that are waking up and some of them are completely insane thanks to being in our world too long? Or that yo
ur roommate’s ex-boyfriend who we all thought was the reincarnation of King Arthur was really a traitor who almost killed me? Or that you spent a week in Wales finding a magical cup to heal your best friend who nearly died to save said roommate?”

  “Long drive I take it?” Nicki raised an eyebrow at Alex.

  “Yeah.” Alex groaned, slumping onto the blue couch. “Long week and long drive. The roads were shit.”

  “You never did say much about your parents’ reaction,” Nicki said. “Was it bad?”

  “Same as you, mostly. Not the magic thing; they thought that was neat.” Alex almost smiled. “It was the other stuff… the whole magic is a result of our world being invaded thing and my… ex-boyfriend is actually an enemy of our world.”

  “He hasn’t called again right?”

  “No; I haven’t heard anything from Arthur in the last week and a half,” Alex assured her. Then she groaned and rubbed her neck. “God, it’s only been a week and a half; how is that possible?”

  “Sorry. So they didn’t take it well?”

  “My parents weren’t exactly thrilled. It took a rather long philosophical discussion about responsibility and the knowledge that I was failing my purpose to reassure them at all. Not sure it really worked, to be honest.” Shaking her head, Alex snorted a little. “I almost gave my mom Merlin’s phone number so he could deal with her.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “You know that Merlin and Morgana are a bit… obsessive about the Iron Soul,” Alex scolded lightly. Nicki’s lips turned up into a smile. “I wasn’t quite ready to deal with that can of worms. My parents were having a hard enough time with the reincarnation thing.”

  “How much did you tell them?”

  “I tried to keep it simple,” Alex replied. She toyed with a strand of her long blonde hair. “Every day there were a few more questions and dazed looks. Honestly, in a lot of ways, I’m glad to be back. Walking on eggshells and worrying about what is going to happen next isn’t a great way to spend a holiday.”

  “Yeah… as you saw my gran is more than a bit worried.”

  “When did you tell her?” Alex sat down on the sofa and rubbed the back of her neck.

  “Two days ago.”

  “Why wait so long?”

  “It’s not an easy thing to explain,” Nicki said. “You know that your family wasn’t exactly jumping for joy according to you.”

  “I know, must be hard just being across town.”

  “Yeah, I sort of envy you, with your family being in Spokane,” Nicki admitted. “At least they’ve got some distance to help them process everything.”

  “Except that now I’m worried if they are going to be safe,” Alex said softly. “You can at least keep an eye on and protect your grandmother. Me, I’m just hoping that Arthur doesn’t try to go after them.”

  The words hung painfully in the air. and Alex tried to think if she could do anything more to protect the house. Her parents had been silent as she hung iron horseshoes over the doors and windows, and she was already plotting ways to add a layer of iron inside the doorways themselves. But that only protected the house; she couldn’t secure the hospital where her mother worked or her father’s office with iron. Then there were her brothers-

  “Stop worrying about it,” Nicki ordered. She gave Alex a sympathetic look. “We just have to keep doing what we can and stay in contact with our families. Maybe Merlin and Morgana will have some ideas for protecting your family.”

  “What, like magic rings to make them invisible to anything from outside our world?” Alex asked, only to pause in consideration.

  The expression on her face must have been amusing because Nicki chuckled and shook her head fondly. “Maybe; we’ll see what you can do. I’m still not too clear on the limits of making magical items myself,” Nicki observed with a tiny smile. “I bet I’d be awesome at making magic items.”

  “You’d use your games and RPG books for ideas.” A soft chuckle escaped Alex at the thought.

  “Your point?” Nicki grinned and tossed her auburn hair over her shoulder dramatically. “We have the benefit of hundreds of years of human imagination in literature, art and yes games to give us ideas. Think of it as a way that the rest of humanity is helping us fight!” Her pale skin flushed slightly to match her red hair as her blue eyes widened in excitement.

  “Yes well, if you figure out how to make a dancing sword be sure to let me know.” Winking her gray eyes, Alex offered Nicki a smile. “I look forward to watching you torment Merlin and Morgana is the process though.”

  A knock on the door made both of them pause, and Alex glanced towards it curiously before moving over to it. Opening the door, Alex was braced for an RA, neighbor or even Morgana or Merlin, but was pleased when she found the boys waiting in the hallway. Happiness rushed up through Alex’s chest at the sight of the smiling Aiden. His dark brown hair was a bit of a mess, but his brown eyes were all but sparkling. He was beaming at her and before she could say a word he stepped forward into their dorm room and swept her up in a hug. Her feet bumped the wall as he walked her into the living room area laughing.

  “Aiden!” Alex laughed, clutching at his shoulder. “Put me down before you drop me!”

  “Ah, my hero returns!” Aiden announced. He walked further into the room while Nicki laughed behind them. “Welcome back Alex!”

  “Aiden Bosco put me down!” Alex demanded. Clinging to his arm as she began to slip, she could smell the lingering scent of books from his family’s bookstore on his shirt that was unexpectedly comforting. “Aiden!”

  Thankfully, he did as she said and set her back on the ground even though he was still laughing. The door closed and Alex took a few breaths to stop giggling. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face and stepped back to take Aiden in. There was almost nothing to indicate that he’d been on death’s doorstep only a week and a half ago. Gone was the pale complexion that lying in a coma had given him, and in its place, his healthy half-Italian glow was back. For a moment Alex couldn’t even breathe and felt tears prickling at her eyes. Aiden’s smile softened, and a soft half-laugh and half-sob escaped Alex. Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around Aiden and held him tightly, squeezing her eyes as his arms came up around her.

  “I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I’m so sorry, Aiden, if I hadn’t-”

  “Hey, we all thought that Arthur was on our side,” Aiden said gently. “I just glad that I was able to save you.” He chuckled a little and eased his grip on her. “You scared me pretty badly, Alex.”

  She nodded weakly, unable to imagine how it must have been for Aiden. Bran’s vision had sent him rushing to the other side of Ravens Lake looking for Arthur and her as the Old One Chernobog emerged from the water. He’d been fighting off a horde of Chernobog’s shadowy monsters to reach them, only to see Arthur stabbing her with a sword.

  “I left town too quickly to properly thank you for knocking Cathanáil out of Arthur’s hands.” Alex offered him a weak smile. “It’s easier knowing that at least he doesn’t have the sword.”

  “Yeah, but we don’t have it either.” Aiden’s smile faltered. “That’s less good.”

  “We’ll find it,” another male voice assured them both. Alex blushed in embarrassment as she turned to find Bran calmly watching them while she’d all but forgotten he was there. “We found the Iron Chalice to save you after all,” Bran reminded Aiden.

  Then Bran smiled gently at her, looking relieved at seeing her, and Alex grinned in response. She shifted away from Aiden and stepped forward quickly to hug Bran. He still smelled a bit of his mother’s bakery and Alex exhaled in relief into his shoulder. Legs trembling a little, she stepped back and tried to smile. At least the loyal mages were all back together again. But then she noticed that while the metal leg brace he’d worn for the last year and a half that she’d known him was gone, he was still using a cane. Bran followed her gaze to the cane and chuckled before he leaned it up against the wall.

  “It’s f
or appearances,” Bran explained. “The story is that I underwent a new surgery during break and am doing special physical therapy. I’ll keep the cane through this semester to help sell that.”

  “Which sadly means that we’ll lose our nice big room next year.” Aiden sighed as he sank down onto the couch. “Pity; I like that room.”

  “Honestly next year we should probably rent a house or something,” Nicki said. “That way if the Sídhe come looking for us there aren’t other people around.”

  “And there goes the happy mood.” Aiden pouted, shaking his head at Nicki.

  “Just make yourself at home,” Nicki retorted.

  “Thank you, Nicki,” Aiden said, giving her a wide smile.

  Nicki chuckled and shook her head, gesturing for Bran to take a seat. He sat down next to Aiden as Nicki plopped back into the armchair, leaving the black ottoman filled with Nicki’s crafting stuff for Alex to sit on.

  “So Bran, uh, how did your mother take it?” Alex asked.