The Iron Bound

by J. M. Briggs

  Opening her eyes, Alex shoved one hand forward and sent the lightning leaping off of her fingertips and arching through the air. The bolt struck the first of the Redcaps, making the creature snarl loudly as it lashed at the air viciously. Then the bolt jumped, striking the next small pixie-like target. Alex grimaced as the attack began to dissipate into the air, but didn’t have time to reflect on her failure to achieve a longer effect as the first of the Sídhe creatures reached the porch and Alex moved down the steps to engage it. More than half of the attackers had been destroyed in their initial spells, but as the creature exposed long talon-like nails to the cold night air Alex had no time to consider the speed which they’d dispatched the first forces.

  She dodged the first swipe of its claws and began letting her magic gather into an orb against her palm. Bringing up her hand, Alex released the built up charge of magic by pushing it forward. This time she skipped the mental command for a lightning bolt and watched as the orb shot ahead, lengthening into a bolt only a split second before striking the Síd. It was blasted back off the porch as the energy burned a hole in its sweatshirt and exposed steaming skin below. A snarl pulled Alex’s attention to her right as a Redcap leapt off one of the porch railings towards her. A swirl of yellow magic threw it back past the railings and into the snow beyond as Bran came rushing down the stairs of the porch to join her. Fire swirled over their heads and illuminated the snow as Aiden provided support from his position on the porch.

  Another one, a pixie this time, came running at her with needle-like teeth exposed. Bringing her hand forward, Alex gripped her right wrist to aim before releasing a bolt of lightning. This time it was strong enough or the creature was weak enough that even the simple attack caused it to dissolve into the familiar ashy dust. She glanced towards Bran as his magic formed a bolt of yellow magic that sailed into another of the creatures and destroyed it. A pair of creatures further back were struck by a fireball that exploded and caused another rush of steam from the snow.

  The creature that she’d blasted back earlier was stumbling to its feet and shaking its head as if dazed. Alex paused her movement even as her magic flowed into her open palm and began to hum gently against her skin. It staggered towards her, silvery blood leaking from its mouth and a strange tilt to its head that made the porch light cast odd shadows across its face. Then it rushed for her.

  “I’m sorry,” the creature stammered out from between clenched teeth. With a cry, it slashed through the air at her. “I- can’t- we are bound.”

  A column of fire dropped from the sky and swallowed the fae creature up. There was a brief dull scream of pain before the body began to vanish amongst the flames. Staring into the fire, Alex felt her chest tighten as if a cold hand was squeezing her heart. The strange words of the prior fae creature echoed in her head and Alex was once again hit with the dizzying feeling that she was forgetting something important.

  “Alex!” Aiden called over. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Swallowing the knot that was trying to form in her throat, Alex nodded. “I’m fine. Nice spell.”

  “It’s a new one.” Aiden grinned and rubbed his hands together eagerly. “I like it: nice and precise on what I want to damage.”

  Looking around slowly, Alex squinted her eyes at the tree line trying to make out if there were any more creatures lurking about. The relief she felt at the end of the battle was dulled by the looming sense of dread and guilt that she couldn’t quite shake off. Rubbing her hands against her arms, Alex glanced towards the boys who were also moving back towards the porch and locked eyes with Bran for a moment. He offered her an understanding nod and Alex felt a tiny bit better. She paused at the base of the stairs and looked around at the trodden snow, and marveled once more at how quickly all the evidence of the creatures vanished. There were a few slowly fading traces of silvery blood and lines of ash in the snow. Well, where there was still snow after the fire throwing show.

  Straightening her shoulders, Alex strode up the stairs to the porch and didn’t look back at the others. Her heart was still pounding and her mouth was dry as the strange words the creature had said echoed in her head. Alex couldn’t help but feel an inkling of doubt creeping up her spine. It was easy to see that the Queen was controlling them and there wasn’t much choice, but still… there was a bitter taste in her mouth that she couldn’t deny.

  Alex shrugged out of her coat once she was inside and looked up to find her parents waiting anxiously in the doorway with wide eyes. She glanced towards the window and noted with a sinking heart that the drapes were open. Morgana caught her eye and cleared her throat behind her parents. Nicki was next to her with a sad little smile.

  “You two alright?” Alex asked even though she could clearly see them.

  “Only a few attacked us,” Morgana replied dismissively. She strode across the room and gently took Alex’s arm as she examined Alex for injuries.

  “One of them talked to me again,” Alex whispered. “It said they were bound.”

  “We already knew that.” Morgana sighed, brushing a finger over Alex’s cheek before she cleared her throat and looked over at her parents. “As you can see, the mages are becoming very practiced at dispatching threats.”

  “But those things… those were fairies?” her dad asked in shock. Her mom was frowning and gripping her dad’s arm. “Real fairies?”

  “Of sorts; there are variations of them of course, but they all share a weakness to iron. At least they used to before they began to adapt to our world.”

  “Adapt to our world?” her mom repeated carefully with a calculating look towards Morgana. “Are they or are they not invaders?”

  “It’s complicated.” Morgana rubbed the furrow between her eyes. “You aren’t completely off the mark with your question I’m afraid. While they are not creatures native to our world… they are born here and live here. In essence, they are both: they are native and yet their species are from different universes. They are part of the reason why there is always at least a low level of magic.”

  “Then what’s their history?” Her mom’s arms crossed defensively across her chest as Alex’s father wrapped an arm around her waist.

  “Some are descendants of the warrior Sídhe who were trapped on this side of the Iron Gates three thousand years ago. The humanoid ones are the descendants of true Sídhe while the others are descendants of creatures from the same branch of the Tree of Reality of the Sídhe who were enslaved by them.”

  “We had something of an alliance with them once,” Merlin said. The statement earned him surprised looks from all of the young mages. “It was during the proto-Viking period,” he told them dismissively. “When the Sídhe were trying to break through the Iron Gates were… altered.”

  “That is not the biggest issue we have right now,” Morgana said. “I understand that fighting them while knowing they don’t have full control is… difficult.”

  Alex swallowed and avoided the eyes of her mother and father. Morgana had just hit on an uncomfortable reality that she personally had been avoiding. Nicki caught her eyes and gave her a sad smile, which reassured her that the others were aware of it too. But she didn’t think that they were trying to talk with her fellow mages. That seemed to be confined to her.

  “I understand,” Morgana continued gently. “But until we understand how the Queen and Arthur are doing this we have no other options. We don’t know what would happen if we tried to contain them. Without knowing how the Queen is doing this, we have no way of knowing what else she might do through them. And should we try to hide from them I’m afraid that Arthur may just have them attack Ravenslake or your families.”

  “You think that’s a possibility?” Her dad looked between Merlin and Morgana. “Alex had us put up horseshoes, and after seeing those things we’ll be keeping the iron poker in the bedroom.”

  “I’m afraid that the iron protections Alex put up in the house for you might not be enough,” Merlin cautioned gently as if trying to soothe a frig
htened stray animal. “Unfortunately, Morgana and I have concluded that Arthur is most likely a half Sídhe being. We aren’t certain how the Queen was able to create him, though her control of the Sídhe descendants in this world may indicate that she used one or more of them as a source for Sídhe flesh. His half-human nature means he can bypass iron completely.”

  “What if I used a spell like the one at the Tor near my house?” Alex asked. A shiver went down her spine as she remembered how her blood had reactivated Arto’s ancient spell. “Wouldn’t that keep him away?”

  “Maybe,” Morgana agreed carefully. “His loyalty to the Sídhe would allow the spell to impact him, but speaking from experience the effect is lessened after the initial casting.” Alex wanted to ask about Morgana’s experience but based on how the woman’s face tightened she decided against it while her parents looked nervous.

  “You think he’d come after us?” Then her dad shook his head and snorted. “Of course he would: this is war to them.”

  “And Arthur was the mythological basis for Mordred in another life,” Merlin added with a dark expression. “The stories about him are largely true, minus the incest of course, and he is a twisted creature.”

  “He killed his own uncle: stabbed Arto’s father in the back.” Morgana’s eyes flashed and her hands curled into fists. “The reality is that we need to think seriously about how to protect your family from him, Alex.”

  “And this time we don’t have the benefit of warriors that we can station around them.” Merlin’s statement did nothing to lighten the mood.

  “It’s not just my parents,” Alex observed sadly as she looked over at them. “Aiden and Nicki’s families are local, but there’s also Bran’s mom to be worried about, and Jenny and Lance’s families. Hell, Jenny’s dad knew Arthur and his mother for years.”

  “And you didn’t explain the danger to your mother Bran?” Morgana asked with a stern look.

  “I didn’t think she could handle it yet,” Bran admitted, shifting between his feet. “To be honest… I really didn’t think about the possibility of Arthur going after her.”

  “He might not, but we have to consider the possibility,” Merlin said. “Aiden, Nicole, perhaps your books could provide us with some ideas. A new spell; something powered by Alex’s Iron Soul powers could be of use.”

  “There are a few things that I could think of,” Nicki told him with growing excitement in her voice chasing away the melancholy. “Something like-”

  “Later Nicki,” Aiden cut off gently with a nod towards Alex’s parents.

  “Indeed,” Morgana agreed. “For their safety, in case there are more coming I suggest that your parents remain here for the night. Please take your things out of the guest room. I’m afraid you children will have to make do with the living room.”

  “That isn’t necessary-” her mom started to say.

  “I’m afraid that it is,” Morgana interrupted though her features softened. “Ravenslake is the center of our magical conflict. Right now this is where the Sídhe could try to break through once more, and this is where fae creatures are being sent. We will work on the problem of how to protect you further, but when you are in Ravenslake you need to be with mages.”

  Morgana nodded towards the kitchen and the others slowly trailed out. Merlin hesitated for a moment before catching Alex’s eye. He sighed softly and moved towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder for a moment before he followed Morgana out. The living room was suddenly very quiet and she was keenly aware of being alone with her parents who had just seen her fighting back fae creatures. Judging from the unease on their faces they were very aware of this as well.

  “Alex,” her mom started to say, only to trail off. She sighed and raised her hand to rub at her eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, we haven’t handled this smoothly.”

  “Well, I don’t think there’s a parenting book that covers this.” Alex twisted her hands together, chuckling weakly. “I’m not mad. I knew that I dropped a huge bombshell on you and that it would take a while to fully process.”

  “Ed was so excited.” Her dad shook his head, looking much older all of a sudden. “I just couldn’t understand it.”

  “Magic can be wonderful,” Alex told them softly. “I mean, it’s crazy too, but lately we’ve been working to replicate the sorts of things that you see in movies or read about. There’s something…” she trailed off searching for the right words. “Something remarkable and honestly magical about seeing the world change in front of your eyes. Bran understands the physics more than me, but knowing that I’m bending natural laws is amazing!”

  “Even with the risks?” her mom asked.

  “I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t get scary: it does and I have nightmares about some of the things that have happened, but…” She brought her hands up in frustration, unable to find the right words. “Look, last year… exactly a year ago, in fact, was when I finally got connected to my magic. It isn’t automatic you know: there was a lot of meditation and frankly, some soul searching. You have to know who you are before you can command magic and at first, I didn’t. I guess I still don’t completely, but anyway last year I was,” she paused and hesitated, knowing that she was going to terrify her parents further. “I was taken by the Sídhe into the tunnels. They captured me.” The faces of her parents paled as their eyes widened in delayed panic forcing Alex to keep going before they could start asking questions or expressing their worries. “I saved a bunch of kids that night.” Her eyes watered slightly and Alex took a shaky breath as she tried to get her emotions under control. “They don’t remember me, but they’re free and with their families, maybe even alive because of me and that feeling… it’s worth it. I promise you that: it is worth it to know that I can help people. The rest of the world, well human concerns, sort of fall away.”

  “Shit,” her dad swore after a long moment of silence. “What can we say to that?”

  “This is all insane,” her mom said sadly. “I mean, if you had told us that you just had magic powers that would have been exciting, but the rest of it…”

  “Well, it all still seems too crazy to be real sometimes.” Leaning back against the wall, Alex exhaled and felt more of the tension drain out of her. “Sometimes I just try to think of it like a story to get some perspective. What would a good character do here? What would they watch out for? I keep thinking about the different elements of great stories and worrying about what is going to happen. What’s my fatal flaw going to be?” She lost herself in thought for a moment but recovered quickly. “But maybe being naïve and wanting to be the love interest of the handsome hero was my fatal flaw,” Alex suggested with a small smile. “And that’s behind us now.”

  “It’s still hard to believe that Arthur was a traitor.” Her dad wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a quick, but comforting hug.

  “He was playing everyone, but at least he didn’t get the sword and wasn’t able to open all of the Iron Gates,” Alex said. “Then we’d have Sídhe in both England and Oregon.”

  “Alex honey, I know we can’t stop you, but please…” Her mom trailed off and brought her hand to her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes.

  “If I was a soldier I’d be in danger too,” Alex said. “Bran’s dad was a soldier and he died in the line of duty. Jenny’s mom died of cancer. Life isn’t safe in general. Being the Iron Soul wouldn’t protect me in a car crash unless I saw it coming like Bran did- oh god now I’m rambling like Nicki.” Groaning, Alex struggled to collect her thoughts. “I promise that I will be careful. We’re trying to navigate this war as smartly as we can. Merlin and Morgana are powerful, but they’re a bit stuck in their ideas for spells. Nicki and Aiden aren’t: we’ll come up with something to protect you and we’ll figure out what is happening with the fae creatures.”

  “Then what?”

  “We’ll stop them and build more Iron Gates to keep the Sídhe out for another three thousand years,” Alex said. Then she forced a grin. �
��And then it’ll be my future reincarnation’s problem.”

  A strange laugh escaped her mother that made Alex’s stomach turn over. Stepping forward, she wrapped an arm around each of her parents as they all fell into an uncertain silence. A moment later their arms were around her and Alex could only bask in the familiar warmth. Resting her head against her dad’s upper chest, Alex closed her eyes and just breathed.

  15

  Question of Survival

  115 C.E. Sør-Trøndelag, Norway

  The pounding of his hammer against the metal provided Thor with a focus point as he drove his frustration into the blows. On the anvil, the sword was beginning to thin to a dangerous level and part of Thor was already acknowledging that he’d likely have to redo it. His right hand glowed brightly with his pale blue magic as he pushed it into his hammer and watched it shimmer across the surface of the sword.