by Skye, Sariah
Bash rose his hands in surrender. “Just stating facts, bro.”
Ava, your protectors? Real immature.
Um, be in my head a bit longer. You’ll find I’m probably much worse.
That shut the sword up, finally. Good.
“All right.” Mathias’ forehead pinched between his eyes and his fingers were pressed to his temples. “Bash, you and Mordred start on some potions. Ava, you, Rhys and Xan get swordfighting. Trystan and I are going to the club. We need to meet with Link and the attorney to get this mess sorted out.”
“Are you sure we really need to do that? We’re talking about a war here,” Trystan objected.
“Yes, because after this war, we’re still going to need a livelihood. So we need to fix this now before it gets any worse. Now let’s go. And—” he pointed a stern finger in Xander’s direction. “Hands off Ava.”
Xander rolled his eyes and snorted with annoyance. “Right, right, fine…”
“Let’s go,” Mathias commanded, and Trystan reluctantly followed after giving me a quick cheek kiss, and Bash and Mordred followed them towards the house, leaving Xander, Rhys and I behind.
“So then there were three,” Xander said, folding his arms over his chest and giving me an apprising look. “Ready to fight, dearest?”
“Generally, yes. But I’ll learn to swordfight too,” I replied with a grin, and he groaned, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to get the swords,” he grumbled, walking off, saying he’d be back, and grousing that he “walked right into that one.”
“So, you ready for this?” Rhys asked me, with an unusual seriousness he didn’t usually have.
I shrugged. “Do we have a choice?”
“Nope.”
Rhys grinned, clasping Xander on the shoulder, not flinching when Xander sneered, and pushed his hand away. “That’s the spirit.”
Chapter Eight
“So, are we ready to get started?”
“No.” I didn’t bother to take my head out of the fridge as I searched for something really bad for me to eat before we got the “fight” started. Damn you Mathias… Seriously I didn’t understand the no-junk food thing. We were going to have a long chat about that later.
I felt a pair of hands on my ass, though, and I grinned slyly, looking back over my shoulder at the person attached to the pair of hands. Xander, of course. “I thought Mathias said no hanky-panky.”
“Just getting it out of the way,” he replied, with his sideways smirk and a flirty look in his dark eyes. I shivered at the heat in it and wished I could step back and meld into him. I almost did, when there was a popping sound that startled me nearly out of my mind.
“Are we ready for this? Yeah? Thought so. Let’s go!” Rhys blurted out, and before either of us could protest he grabbed my hand, and blinked us out into the yard.
“Rhys!” I scolded, as I lost my footing and landed flat on my ass in the yard. There were a handful of giggles behind me; a couple of witches had witnessed our little “display”. I waved awkwardly.
Rhys held out a hand to me, while he grinned widely. Reluctantly, I took it. “Do not take this as an invitation to grab my ass.”
“I make no promises,” he said, helping me easily to my feet, and I let out a long sigh.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, brushing off my clothes, my tone practically a whine.
“Uh, helping? That’s what Mathias told me to do, right?” Rhys replied, like it was obvious.
I slapped my face and groaned into my hand. “Yeah of course but… teleporting in and scaring me while Xander had his hands on my ass? That wasn’t cool.”
“I know. I really wanted to see where that went dammit,” Rhys said, with a disappointed frown. “But Mathias made me promise not to let anyone sex you up or anything, and Xander is one of the worst ones for that.” He wiggled his brow playfully at the thought.
I arched mine. “Since when are you Mathias’ whipping boy?”
Rhys’ mouth dropped open in awe. “Oh, does he do that? I could get behind that!” He let out a peal of laughter at his own lame joke, as he fell to the ground and giggled like an immature child.
“How in the hell are you like, a thousand years old, huh?” I demanded, biting my grin so as not to show my amusement
“Oh, wizards don’t mature until two-thousand. Everyone knows that,” Rhys supplied, with a scoff.
“By the gods…” I channeled my inner Mathias—try not to think about that too hard—and now I was understanding how easily he could get annoyed with us. It was a cold day in Hell when I had to be the voice of reason. A very, very cold; nipple hardening, dick-shrinking cold day. Now I wanted to bust out laughing myself thinking of frozen, micro-dicks. Maybe there was just something innately childish about cambions, because it didn’t really seem Rhys and I had grown past toddler-hood sometimes.
Xander was going to come out here and think we’d lost our minds.
“Let’s just get this over with, huh?” I groaned out, pushing dirty thoughts aside and kicking Rhys in the leg to prompt him upward. He teleported into a standing position and frowned sourly.
“I still don’t know why we’re doing this. The sword will do everything for you. You don’t need to know how to fight or anything,” Rhys said, scowling.
“Because all magic has a weakness, wizard,” Xander said, startling him as he came up behind us. Xander’s presence was so strong to me, I wasn’t startled. Maybe it was because of his magic, I could always feel a light charge in the air when he was around, like just before an impending summer storm. I peered over my shoulder and smirked; he carried two swords, and he was deftly spinning them in his hands, around his body, like he was trying to confuse Rhys.
The wizard rolled his eyes, and waved his hand, releasing a blast of green magic. No one knew quite what that green stuff was, but I assumed it wouldn’t feel too good to be hit with.
Xander, the expert, agile swordsman, dodged the magic with no effort, smirking a sidelong, smug grin at him. He was completely egging him on. I stood back a few paces: this I had to see.
Rhys narrowed his eyes some, summoned another ball of magic, and flung it at Xander. With barely a swipe of the sword, Xander deflected it easily. Rhys glowered and frowned, and Rhys summoned magic in both of his hands, and shot them one after another at Xander. With a quick spin in the air, Xander deflected both blasts with absolutely no effort. Rhys was positively pissed now, and started lobbing magic blasts at him, one after another in rapid succession. Xander just laughed smugly, and with agile moves deflected them all, actually propelling one of the blasts back towards Rhys. He was horrified for a brief moment and ducked, and the magic whizzed loudly and out of control at one of the cottages that was halfway through the yard. Several of the witches lingering nearby to watch us had shrieked and scattered, and I watched Xander’s mouth drop open, and he began to swear. Dropping the swords quickly, I felt a blast of cold and heard him shout a single word, and he shot a blast of ice from his hands that formed a quick wall that took the magic’s brunt.
“Oops,” Rhys said innocently, batting his eyes at us.
“Okay, but see what I mean about magic having a weakness?” Xander pointed out, grabbing one of the swords with his hand, tossing it in the air deftly, and catching it with the other hand, thrusting it in his direction.
Rhys rose a brow, and laughed uncomfortably, teleporting back a few paces. “Yeah, but that’s regular magic. Excalibur is totally different.”
“How so? It’s made from magic, containing magic, isn’t it?” Xander challenged.
I swallowed thickly, feeling the “sword” buzz against my wrist. I wanted so badly to open my mouth, but I couldn’t. I found myself feeling actually mentally strangled when I tried to form a thought. Rhys caught my troubled gaze, and smirked. He waved his hand and stepped towards me. I glared, noticing that everything around us was immobile.
“Did you just freeze my fiancé?” I demanded, perturbed.
He glanced over at him
and shrugged. “A little.”
I just groaned. “What do you want?”
“You know something about the sword, don’t you?” Rhys asked, lifting a brow and appearing entirely smug.
“I don’t know what you mean!” Was my squeaky reply.
Rhys lifted his head and stared down his nose at me, grinning slowly as he appeared to be pondering something. “I think you do. I also think you can’t say.”
“I—”
“No no, I get it.”
I sighed loudly, gripping my hand over the “cuff” over my wrist, and willing the blade into its full form. I lifted it before us and frowned. “Do you know anything about it? That you can tell?”
He shook his head. “All I know is there is a secret between the sword, and the wielder. Something that no one alive right now has no clue to except you. I have no idea what it is. I just know that you plus that sword equals invincible.”
“Invincible?” I scoffed dismissively.
Rhys smiled wickedly. He flicked his hand once, and halfway between him and I, a blast of dark magic erupted. I wanted to panic, but I felt a surge of heat permeate my body, originating at my right hand. In an action that wasn’t entirely my own, I reacted quickly, slicing the blade through the magic. It effectively dissolved and exploded into nothing. My mouth gaped, and I stared at the sword in awe. “How did—?”
Rhys laughed gently. “It’s Excalibur. Just trust the sword, and it’ll never steer you wrong.”
Listen to the wizard. I’ll never steer you wrong, was the strange voice inside my head.
“Right…” I said hesitantly. “How do I know though it’s not some trick?”
“Because the moment the sword is attempted to be wielded by someone dark—or evil rather—it goes dormant. That’s what happened with Arthur,” Rhys explained.
I sighed. “I still don’t understand, then, how did my father get it? And why didn’t it activate for him?”
“No one is exactly sure. Lancelot claims that Arthur thought he was on his deathbed during an intense battle just before Camelot was taken from earth and sent to its new realm. The witches of Avalon, including myself, performed an intense spell that was years in the making. It was a blood ritual, binding the spell weavers to the magic to spirit it away. They gave their lives to assure the safety of the isle and preserve Camelot. Of course, I didn’t die because I can’t. That was what your great-grandmother and her coven did to save us all. You know…” His eyes narrowed slightly, as he looked me over. “You look like her a bit.”
“Yeah? What was her name? It’s never mentioned in the movies or anything,” I observed, and Rhys smiled warmly.
“Efa, actually. Now that I think about it…” Rhys said, scratching his chin. “’Efa’ is Welsh for ‘Eve’. Ava is a variant of Eve… so it’s like you were named after her. Huh… I’ll be damned. Maybe Morgaine wasn’t so nuts after all.”
“Yeah?”
“Then again who knows?” Rhys shrugged. “But Efa took me in when no one else would. She was an amazing woman. I have no idea who my parents are, obviously. But Efa and the witches there were the closest thing I’d ever had to family.”
“How did you end up with them?” I inquired.
Rhys shrugged, his expression was somber. “I’m not sure completely. Efa said that I was left on the doorstep of someone in one of the villages, but within hours I was doing… weird things.”
“Magic?”
“Yeah. Even as a baby I was all poof! Magic and badass and shit,” Rhys said, with a devious wink. “But obviously no human could handle that, so I was given to the witches of Avalon. Efa was their priestess, and I was encouraged to hone my abilities and not hide them. Avalon was a bit different then, not quite as powerful as it is now. And as you know living there makes you…” he waggled a brow and I snorted; yeah, I knew exactly what that meant. Then his bright grin dropped as he eyed me carefully. “She really would be proud of you. I’m sorry that you didn’t get to meet her, and I’m also sorry that history somehow erased her.” His gaze dropped, as if remembering something faraway and painful. I was going to reach out for him, but he looked up and grinned at me brightly; the moment over. “—Shall I unfreeze your fiancé now?”
“Sec. Really… tell me honestly. Can I trust this damned sword—really. You can at least tell me that, right?” I asked, with a lifted brow.
Rhys eyed it and then me. “Yeah, Ava, you can. Of that I have no doubt.” The sword’s hilt heated in my hand, and Rhys’ tone was entirely serious.
“All right then. Yeah, unfreeze him,” I said, and with a snap of his fingers, Xander was in motion again.
“I—Rhys you didn’t freeze me, did you? So help me—” Xander glared at the wizard.
Rhys chuckled impishly, and shrugged. “You want to see the sword in action? Do it. Fight Ava. Try to kick her ass, I dare you.”
“Rhys!” I shouted in dismay.
“Oh come on. I can’t fight her…”
I narrowed my eyes, setting my hands on my hips. “What now?”
“Avie… I love you, I can’t hurt you,” he said pleadingly, starting towards me with his swords at his sides.
“Fine. I will. Let’s get this over with. I need a bath after this, and I know Ava is going to want to get laid,” Rhys said, laughing lowly at me as I snarled at him. Rhys summoned more magic in his hands, and flung it at me. I knew Xander tensed, panicking quickly before the magic flew at me, but I was able to deflect it with no issue. I didn’t even have to tell my body to move, it just… did. Rhys tossed more at me, and with a surprising dexterity I didn’t posses, I easily moved to deflect those as well, lifting or dropping my hand and moving the sword in response.
“Yeah, but that’s magic,” Xander insisted.
“Fine. Give me your sword.” Without waiting for reply, Rhys magically “stole” one of Xander’s swords and it appeared in his hand. Rhys got in position while I held the sword in front of me, and he charged.
Let me tell you, he wasn’t holding back. Rhys was damned agile, surprisingly, and he moved with expertise, thrusting and lunging with ease, spinning and attacking as easily as he breathed. The only thing more surprising than that was the fact that I was able to easily parry or feint with no effort. In fact, I didn’t even know what those words meant, but somehow suddenly? I did.
I told you you could trust me.
I smiled smugly to myself, nodding slyly. Rhys, breathless after a few moments, dropped the sword to the ground and submitted by bowing at the waist. “See? I told you she could do it.”
I looked over at Xander who stood, open-mouthed, completely surprised. “This isn’t another one of those sharpshooting things, is it? Like with the stunner?”
“Nope. I think Rhys is right. It’s all the sword,” I insisted, shaking my head in awe at it.
“To prove the point…” Rhys lifted, and tossed the other sword at me. As long as I carried Excalibur, I was able to catch its hilt in my hand deftly. “Drop yours, Ava.”
I carefully set Excalibur on the ground nearby and suddenly the new sword fell to ground. I smiled awkwardly. “See?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Xander replied, with a cocked brow, still holding his one sword and folding his arms over his chest, with an amused grin.
The normal sword was heavy and cumbersome, and I attempted to lift it across me in a defensive stance, and like I normally would have, I about tripped trying to move. “Okay, point proven. Use yours, Ava. This I gotta see.”
I exchanged swords, setting the other at my feet, and immediately felt the power surge through me. A little like how the Avalon magic felt, but this was pure, raw power. It was… pretty cool if I was being honest. With no effort, I lifted the huge, golden blade into the air, and grinned smugly while it lit up. It still reminded me of a lightsaber.
Not even waiting for Xander to have a go at me, my body felt propelled to charge at him first. I didn’t really realize I was doing it, but I deftly charged at him with it. Xander’s eyes w
idened somewhat but didn’t hesitate to deflect.
“This should be fun,” I said, with a deep voice that belonged to the sword.
Xander seemed surprised and was about to question me when I came at him with all the sword had. I lunged at him, sword pointed out and at the ready, and Xander easily combatted it away. I went again, and again, spinning, kicking, even switching hands at one point to fool him, and Xander parried and moved deftly. This went on for about ten minutes until both of us were hot and sweaty, and my muscles started to ache.
Finally, Xander had a weak moment where he was distracted. I glanced down at myself noticing that in our tussle, my boobs had nearly come free of my low-cut tee, and suddenly I felt my skin heat with a sort of resentful fury. I acted quickly, taking a fast leap, and bringing the sword down on Xander who barely had time to block by raising his own. I kicked my foot out at his calf, effectively bringing him down to the ground. He landed with a loud grunt on his ass, and I pinned myself over the top of him, straddling his hips as I pointed the sword with two hands directly at his throat.
Um, whatever you are, sword, I don’t exactly want to kill my fiancé, you know.
“Shit…” I muttered, again in a voice that wasn’t mine, and I quickly dropped the sword at his side. It felt like dead weight now suddenly.
“If that were a real fight, you’d be dead. Feel like believing me now, Jian?” Rhys asked, with a smug grin.
Xander and I both panted furiously, hearts slamming against our chests. Something in his eyes flared and under my hips, I felt something suddenly hard, straining against the zipper of his jeans. I smiled coyly.
“Holy shit Avie… I had no idea,” he said with quiet reverence. I shook my head.
“It’s the sword not me. I can’t do these things. I don’t know how it works I just know that it does.”
“Yeah, I see that now. Damn…” Slowly, Xander propped himself up, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as he leaned into me. He smiled his sideways, cocksure grin at me, and regarded me with such a hunger in his eyes, a surge of pure hot desire coursed through me. “Damn that was hot, though. I don’t care how it happened. But a little… concerning. How is it possible to be that good instantly? What sort of magic is in there?”