“That's not the best news we can hope for but its progress. If they manage to break their code then maybe we can be one step ahead of the ALF for a change and they can lead us to Mordred,” Chelsea said.
“I hope so. I'm getting tired of not knowing what they'll do next and always being on the defensive, Sebastian told her.
“Do you think they'll be okay while we're gone?” she asked him.
“Bruce comes on strong, but he'll do fine. He has a great team,” Sebastian said.
“We have lives that most people would consider exciting or terrifying and we do it without reservation time and time again. In all my time as a Warden, in all the fights we've been in, I haven't had butterflies in my stomach since...” she said but then stopped.
“Since when?” Sebastian asked.
“You'll think it's silly,” she said.
“Try me,” he replied.
“Since that day in Canada, after the wendigo when we had sex for...well I was going to say the first time, but I guess it was just the first time in this life, I was scared I was jeopardizing my career and excited all at the same time. It was like a roller coaster,” she said.
“I remember it well. I knew without a doubt it was going to get me kicked out, but I looked in your eyes and didn't care,” he said as he pushed her back on the table.
“Sebastian, we're in the C&C!” she said as he pulled off her pants and bioweave then move his head between her legs.
“Sebastian!” she moaned. “We can't do this here.”
“This is the command center and I'm in command. Lay back and enjoy it. That's an order,” he told her.
“Yes, sir,” she said and gasped. She grabbed his head and started grinding against his face. “By...your command...Lord Marshall...sir...” she said between gasps.
#
Morgana sat in the luxurious hotel room. The lounge chair was facing the window and the sun was setting, casting an orange glow over her as she sat and basked in the fading warmth. She had been searching for weeks and found no sign of her son and took a rare moment to rest and unwind before moving on.
She had tracked every magical anomaly; ever hint of power she could sense and nothing. She bore several wounds of various degrees of injury from some of the more monstrous sources of power she located but healed fast and would be fine in a day or two.
Her coffee was running low, so she stood to refill her cup and as she turned, her son stood to face her. She gasped partially from the unexpected person in her room and partially from fear and excitement. He had not aged and still appeared a man in his early twenties. His long black hair had been cropped short and barely reached his collar. Her instincts were torn between hugging him, attacking immediately and running.
“Mordred...” she said quietly.
“Mother. It has been a long time,” he replied.
“Are you here to kill me?” she asked.
“If I were here to kill you then you would already be dead. I came to talk,” he said.
She walked past him to the coffeepot and filled her cup. She made him a cup without thinking and offered it to him which he accepted. She motioned to the sofa in the antechamber and sat on one side of it. He sat on the other and faced her, sipping his coffee.
“If you're not here to kill me, then why did you come?” she asked.
“Because you want to kill me. You have been hunting me, and I want to know why,” he said.
“I don't want to kill you, but I want to stop you from killing anyone else or getting yourself killed. You've done and continue to do horrible things. You have to stop,” she replied.
“From your point of view, they're horrible. From another, I am a hero. I don't seek death but sometimes it is necessary,” he told her.
“A hero? You work with betrayers and kill those who would preserve peace. How can you call yourself a hero?” Morgana said to her son.
“I know the truth you kept from me. The ones you call betrayers were the ones betrayed. You and your Council oppressed them and forced them into subjugation. They only wanted an equal place in your society, an equal position on your council. When they failed to do that diplomatically they turned to violence,” Mordred said.
“Oh, my poor baby. You have been lied to so much. I should never have hidden who you are, what you are. I should have told you the truth as soon as you were old enough to understand it. The drebs weren't oppressed. They were our friends, our brothers. Baldric's second was a dreb, the head of clan D’vox. The city protectors and many of the Vanguard were dreb. Members of the royal court were drebs. They were as highly placed in Atlantean society as a race could be. It's how they were so effectively able to pull off their attack. My family and clan D’vox had been friends for generations,” Morgana told him.
“It's a likely story and one of convenience,” he replied.
“My son, my dear son. Whatever lies have been told to you please know I have not always told you everything, but I have never lied to you. I love you and your sister so much and to know I might lose one of you is too much to bear. Please don't ask me to lose a child...” Morgana said to him then stopped realizing what she was saying.
“Sister? Tell me about her,” Mordred ordered her.
Morgana looked at him. She had revealed something potentially dangerous to Chelsea, but she was tired of hiding things. She tried to resist the geas, but it was difficult with his level of power. On some level, she didn't want to resist. She wanted her family as whole as she could make it. She wanted both her children.
“You have a sister, in a way. I've tried to keep it hidden from you to protect her in the hopes she would never become part of this fight but it’s too late. She is who she is, and a thousand rebirths will never change that. Your sister is Malka, the last queen of the Atlanteans. When the drebs attacked, when they betrayed their king and queen, that queen was my daughter. She died that die but is reborn continually thanks to the actions of a dragon,” Morgana told him.
“Chelsea. Guinevere is my sister. Does she know?” he asked.
“She does. She doesn't remember everything, but she remembers enough. She knows who she is and who you are,” his mother replied.
“You risk her life by telling me,” he replied.
“I want you and your sister to both live. I want my children to be my children and not each other's enemy. Stop this stupid war. Help us stop the drebs. They are using you,” Morgana said.
“I know they are using me, but I use them as well. I have things under control and when all is said and done, I will be victorious. I will not kill her or Sebastian if I can avoid it, but I will also not stand between them and the drebs,” Mordred said.
“The drebs are our enemies here. I made mistakes. I know that. I kept your ancestry secret and left your training in the hands of your father,” she said.
“I could never call him a father. I was a student to him, not a son,” Mordred told her.
“Then don't. He's not the kind of person we need in our lives. Come back to Camelot with me. We're your family,” Morgana told him.
“I can't make excuses for my mistakes. I made them and must accept that. I just want my son back and to not lose either of my children. Just come back to me. Just be my son again,” she said as her eyes watered.
Morgana reached across the couch and pulled her son to her. He felt the wetness of her cheeks as they brushed against his when she pulled him to her and saw the tears in her eyes. She held him tightly and cried softly.
“Come back to me. I love you,” she said as he teleported away, and she held only empty air. She sobbed deeply.
When Mordred arrived at the library, he noticed his shoulder. The dark black leather of his jacket was stained with red circles, one for each tear that touched it. He took off the jacket and tossed it away then went and retrieved it. He ripped the stained cloth off the shoulder and held it in his hand. He felt pain from it. Not physical pain but an ache in his heart and he felt a tear fall from his own eye as he did.
Morgana sat in her suite with Sebastian and Chelsea. She was sipping on a cup of coffee and looked tired and weary.
“I am so sorry about what happened in Greenland,” she told the two.
“I really thought that was for the best. Alexander needed a way to gauge your physical skills and that seemed like a good idea to me. I may have been around a long time, but I have been staying quiet and keeping to myself other than the times I spend teaching Alexander. I didn't realize how it would affect you. It wasn't meant to make you question your authority. The people we involved are loyal to you and it was never meant to undermine your leadership.”
“I have gotten over it for the most part. You need to understand something. We are fighting a war. We may not be in tanks and fighters and much of that war is hidden from the public but we're still fighting it. We can't allow anything to fragment our ranks. The one thing that makes us stronger than the one we fight is that we have a strong team and are loyal to each other. That kind of incident must never happen again,” Sebastian said.
“Never,” he said, stressing the word. “We want you to be involved but I am in command here. I make the decisions and if and how we train under Alexander is something we will decide. Not him and not you.”
“Sebastian, you're being a bit harsh, aren't you?” said Chelsea.
“No, I'm not. Morgana had her chance, as did Alexander. They chose to make the Seal whereas we choose to fight. I have been absolutely adamant since the beginning that the Masters would not be taking over. There will be absolutely no breaking of chain of command and no dissension in the ranks. Is that understood?” he asked.
“It is. I'm sorry,” Morgana said.
“Sebastian! What the hell are you doing? She meant well and deserves another chance. Lighten up,” Chelsea said angrily.
“And she'll get one. I want to meet with the dragons. I want to know everything,” he told Morgana.
“That's...that's not possible. They're very reclusive and don't meet with mortals. They only allow me to see them because I'm Atlantean born,” Morgana replied.
“Then it's a good thing we're not mortals, isn't it?” said Sebastian.
Morgana looked shocked but didn't speak.
“How long have you known? When were you going to tell us? Were you even going to tell us?” he asked Morgana.
“I've suspected but it's impossible to say for sure. I didn't tell you because I don't know for certain and I didn't want to interfere with your natural progress,” Morgana said.
“You already interfered. You wanted Alexander to train us because you knew. You wanted someone who knew both Atlantean magic and how to fight to teach us. You wanted to turn us into soldiers for your cause,” Sebastian said.
Morgana stood up. “You don't know anything. I wanted to wake you up. I want you to be who you are. You're Vanguards. For a thousand years, the order of the Vanguard kept us safe. It's ironic you chose their name for your new order. Somewhere deep down, you remember. They were warrior mages without equal. Our kings and queens were always chosen from their ranks. The dragons chose only the strongest to safeguard us from the dangers of the world and you will need that strength if you are going to survive this.”
“Atlantis was not a safe place despite the rosy picture that has been painted for you. In our world magic was the supreme power and just like today, there were those who abused it. Tyrants of unimaginable power rose up. Beasts of destructive strength unseen in thousands of years roamed. We were safe because of the Vanguard. You,” she said looking at Sebastian and Chelsea, “were both members of that order.”
“The lives of the Vanguard were in peril constantly. You two were among the most powerful seen in generations yet knowing what you faced I feared every day for my daughter's life. I watched her grow into that power and fall in love with her commander. You. To know that one day she might fall to some ancient monstrosity or power-hungry mage or have her heart crushed if her lover fell, it was torment.”
“The most joyous day of my life was when you were chosen to succeed my husband as the next liege. I knew that day I would never feel that pain again and then the drebs betrayed us and I watched you both die. As that dragon carried me away from the battle I begged to be taken back. I cried and pleaded in the hopes I could save you both even though I knew in my heart it was too late. I even tried to teleport but the magic they unleashed wrought havoc on the weave.”
“I have seen you two so many times throughout the ages and you never knew me. You didn't remember. I tried every magic spell I could, and nothing could break through. Whatever Asala did to you is beyond my power to undo. You had no memory of who you were, but you were still you inside. You both still gravitated to whatever cause needed heroes. I have seen you die so many times and every time, every single time, it hurt more than the last.”
“Do you know what it's like to lose a child? How about to lose your child a hundred times? How about to feel that death thanks to a connection through magic. Even if we didn't meet in that life, I have felt every single time you died. Both of you. You became such a part of my family you were like a son and I feel that same connection to you that I do my daughter. Never knowing if you would find your children again, if you would see your daughter's smile, if you would ever be able to hold your daughter again and know that she knew you is torment.”
“You want to know why I didn't tell you that you might have ascended? Because of your own god damned bravado. If you knew you were a Master, you might get cocky and take more chances. You might try to find Mordred on your own and he will kill you because you are not ready.”
“You want to know where I've been? I haven't been to Avalon. Absillion refused my audience. I have been traveling this world night and day looking for Mordred. I wanted to find him before you did in the hopes of saving all three of you and I didn't find him, but he found me. He came to me while I was in Africa and confronted me. I begged him to stop this fight. I pleaded with him to give up his conquest. The drebs have brainwashed him and he believes them more than his own mother. He let me live and left.”
“I have a chance this time to have you two back, really back, and I do not want to risk that. My son is already dead. My son died for me long ago and was turned into the monster he is now but not my daughter. Not Malka. Malka is alive and remembering and I don't want to lose my daughter again,” Morgana said. She sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest in a fetal position then put her arms and head on her knees and started crying.
Chelsea sat beside her and wrapped her arms around her mother. “You won't lose me. Not this time.”
“I... I don't know what to say. I can't imagine the pain.” Sebastian reached out a hand and took Morgana's.
He sat with Morgana and Chelsea for a few minutes while Morgana pulled herself together.
“Stand up. Please,” Sebastian said.
Morgana did her best to hold herself together as Sebastian helped her stand. He put his arms around Morgana and Chelsea and pulled them close.
“She's right. You won't lose her this because we're going to win,” he said.
“You should realize it's not just her. I love you like a son and don't want to lose you any more than her. You were part of my family for almost fifty years before the betrayal and you're as much a part of my heart as Malka is. I didn't like the idea of my only child marrying in the order, but I couldn't stand in the way of love. In retrospect, I'm happy I didn't try. You two were made for each other,” Morgana said as her tears faded.
“Let Alexander train you both. He hasn't lied to you. I've taught him to access the weave the way Atlanteans do but beyond that, he's a warrior like you. When he wasn't training with me or monopolizing the commercial military markets, he was training in other things. He's trained in martial arts, weapon techniques, machines, medicine, he is as brilliant as he is strong. If this were Atlantis, he would be a Vanguard, maybe even a king. He can help you awaken what you've forgotten,” Morgana said to them.
/>
“Okay, but on one condition. No more secrets. The one thing you've missed is that my team works because we are a family. We work as a unit not as individuals and you should be part of that family. I know you have lost so much and what we have here pales in comparison but it's a start,” Chelsea told her.
“My dear, nothing would please me more. The important part is that we have each other. No more secrets,” Morgana told her.
“I have one condition of my own,” Sebastian said. “I want to know how to find the dragons. It's time the Vanguard and dragons got to know each other.”
“Even as a Master I don't think they will grant you an audience,” Morgana replied.
“I don't plan on asking first,” Sebastian said. “I want their help.”
“That's a very risky idea. If you go, let it just be the two of you. They stay out of the affairs of the world, but they might not react well to more than just you. They don't meddle in the affairs of the fey, but they do stay informed. They know of you and your team and what you've done and still do. They don't consider you evil, but they do consider you aggressive and warlike. They might perceive it as a hostile action if you bring others with you. They can be dangerous if angered,” Morgana replied.
“So can we,” Chelsea said.
The redhead took a deep breath. “No more secrets. They live in what we call Mt. Sidley, known to them as Avalon. They dwell in the ancient ruins around the dormant volcano,” Morgana told them with some hesitation.
“I will tell you though, you are wasting your time. They won't help you in this war. They are all but pacifists. The destruction of Atlantis was the last violent action they undertook, and it had been many thousands of years prior to that since a dragon had caused harm except under direct threat.”
“It's not the fight we want help with, though that would be nice. We want the barriers torn down. You said you couldn't break our memories free, it was beyond your power. Maybe it's not beyond theirs,” Chelsea said.
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