The Iron Seal

by J. M. Briggs

  Avani nodded slowly. Alex looked over at Jenny and met her friend’s eyes for a moment. But they didn’t speak. They all sank into that strange limbo of waiting. They’d already turned down the television, but images were still playing out. None of it was of any interest. Jenny’s phone beeped, and Lance looked down at it, smiling at something.

  “Did someone call Morgana and Merlin?” Alex asked. She honestly couldn’t remember.

  “I did,” Bran said. His voice was gentle and patient.

  Giving him a grateful smile, Alex nodded. “Thanks, we’ll need to bring them up to speed.” She rubbed her forehead in a weak attempt to stop the growing ache behind her eyes. “Hopefully they can learn more.”

  “You probably could as well,” Bran said. “If you weren’t so tired.” At her confused frown, he nodded to her hands. “Headache?”

  “A bit.”

  “Could be that cloaking spell you did. None of us have really used magic like that before.”

  “Maybe,” Alex said. “Or it could be old-fashioned frustration.”

  “Also possible,” Bran said. “But if you need to go and rest, I’ll stay until Morgana gets here.”

  “No.” Chuckling softly, Alex shook her head. “No, let’s not put Morgana into an overprotective warpath. If she comes and I’m not here it might not be pretty.”

  “Fair point,” Bran agreed. “You three can go if you want.”

  “I’ll stay,” Avani said. “I’m a bit tired after the confusion spell, but my nerves are on edge.” Avani shook her head and Alex noted that her hands were trembling. “I won’t be able to rest. I’d rather stay with you.”

  “We’ll stay,” Lance said. “It’s not fair for you to have to stay here alone.”

  Smiling, Alex nodded. The sentiment warmed her chest. It was easy to worry about Lance and Jenny, to tell herself that they didn’t belong in the middle of this. And then one of them would come up with a clever idea, make a needed observation or make her feel less… alone wasn’t the right word. Disconnected, maybe. Alex frowned at the direction of her own thoughts before deciding that was probably it. What with magic and living with mages, a magician, and a Brownie, it was easy to get swept up in things. Jenny and Lance were at least still mostly normal.

  Footfalls in the hall made Alex turn her head. She recognized the stride and the click of the shoes. Sitting up in her chair, Alex stretched her arms and yawned before shaking her head to wake herself up. Morgana strode into the room, her long hair flowing behind her due to her speed. Then she came to a stop with her eyes checking over each of them in turn, starting with Alex and instantly going back to her when finished.

  “Nicki and Aiden left,” Alex said. She shrugged a little, trying to dismiss it as unimportant.

  “Yes, I can imagine they would be uncomfortable here,” Morgana said. Her green eyes softened for a moment, and Alex relaxed. Of course, Morgana would understand. “How are the rest of you?”

  “We’re fine,” Lance answered. “No one got hurt.”

  “What happened, exactly?”

  “There were Red Caps in the alley,” Alex answered. “So, we went outside to check it out while Lance, Jenny, and Avani stayed inside the diner. We took care of the Red Caps and came inside. We were all back at the table when this stranger came up and started talking to us like he was Arthur. Then he collapsed and hit his head.”

  “I see,” Morgana said carefully. Her voice was tight with anger and worry. She glanced back at the door. “Ambrose is finding out what he can from the nurses and doctors.”

  “Yeah, they haven’t told us anything,” Alex said. “Which I do understand; we aren’t the guy’s family, but-”

  “We need to know,” Morgana agreed. “Especially given that to do this, Arthur would have needed to interact with the man. This isn’t something that can be done over the phone.”

  Alex wasn’t sure if that was reassuring or not. Her stomach turned at the idea of being able to track Arthur down. Morgana crossed the room and sat down next to her.

  “What did he say?” Morgana asked. “Exactly?”

  “Uh, he didn’t say anything specific. It wasn’t a supervillain monologue or anything like that. He told us not to become too confident. Said that we couldn’t protect ourselves and couldn’t protect the world.” Alex didn’t look at Morgana. The memory of Arthur’s barb at her parents’ murder stung too much. “Nothing detailed.”

  “He may be trying to scare you,” Morgana said. “Or testing his abilities. If he can control people, then that opens up some new possibilities for him.” Morgana’s expression tightened. “You said that Nicki and Aiden headed back to the house?”

  “I’m not sure,” Alex said. “Probably, but-”

  “Call them. Tell them to keep an eye on Cathanáil and Mjǫllnir,” Morgana ordered. “If Arthur can control someone or even program someone like this, then he might be able to use them for missions.”

  Nodding, Alex dug out her phone. There was a flutter of panic growing in her chest. She didn’t think that Arthur had the sword. The man had collapsed, and he hadn’t had it. If Arthur had been able to get it from the man before he came to the diner, he probably would have gloated. But maybe this was some kind of distraction. Hitting the speed dial for Nicki, Alex waited impatiently for an answer. Maybe a text would have been better, but she wanted, needed to hear Nicki’s voice.

  “Hey, Alex,” Nicki greeted. “You okay?”

  “We’re fine. Still at the hospital. Morgana says to keep an eye on Cathanáil and Mjǫllnir,” Alex said. “They’re in my room. She’s worried that Arthur might try to steal them.”

  “Oh,” Nicki said. “Yeah, that makes sense. Can’t believe we didn’t think about that. We’re on our way now. I’ll text you when we get there and check on things.”

  “Thanks.”

  The call ended, and Alex exhaled, looking over at Morgana. “I hope you’re wrong.”

  “I do too,” Morgana agreed. She was frowning and drumming her fingers on the armrests. “I should have thought of that possibility earlier. We need to work on those spells. Ideally, make an alteration to the blood spell so that even someone who is controlled couldn’t come close.”

  “It could be possible,” Alex said. “I’ve changed it before.”

  “Yes, you have,” Morgana said. “We’ll work on it, Alex.”

  “It feels like that’s all we ever say.”

  “Magic is complex,” Morgana said. “It is one thing to conjure a fireball, and another to provide a standing pool of magic with specific instructions. Of course, it takes more time, energy, and planning. I promise you that Ambrose and I are working on it. We want you safe, and we want a solid foundation from which to fight Arthur and Scáthbás.

  Pressing her lips together, Alex held back a sigh. That made sense, but she didn’t like it. Moments like this just highlighted why school was a waste of time. If they could just have focused on the magic, then they’d have surely had something set up by now. Morgana gave her a warning look. The older mage probably knew exactly what she was thinking. Putting a hand on her shoulder, Morgana guided Alex down into a chair and sat next to her.

  “Patience,” Morgana said. “I know that’s rich coming from something as old as I am, but patience. We don’t want to risk the integrity of the blood protection spell because we rush ourselves. You saw the power it can contain even after centuries in Glastonbury.”

  “Fair point,” Alex said. It was, but she was still irritated. It did seem that you could never argue with Morgana.

  “Just focus on this for now,” Morgana said. “We’ll figure out the spell.”

  At least she didn’t say that it would all be alright. Morgana knew better than that. Alex knew that plenty of her lives had been tragic. Her phone beeped, and Alex quickly checked the latest text message.

  “Aiden and Nicki are back at the house. All’s quiet and the hammer and sword are still there.”

  “Good.” Morgana exhaled, and her shoulders
eased. “That’s good to hear. And I suspect that Nicki will spend the evening working on the spell.”

  “Very likely,” Avani agreed. “She is very creative and very driven.”

  “Yes.” Morgana smiled in amusement. “Even when she first learned about magic, she wanted to know all about making magical objects. Of course, iron is usually used for holding magic, but she does have a lot of interesting ideas.”

  “I’m looking forward to seeing what she creates.” Avani’s smile was softer now, and Alex sat up with interest. In her chair, Jenny was smiling knowingly, and Lance just looked amused. “She showed me some of her ideas the other day. She has a notebook full of things she wants to make and ideas for how to bind the magic using symbols.”

  “Nicki is very creative,” Morgana agreed. Even her green eyes had a twinkle in them now. “I confess that the sort of enchanting that Nicki wants to do is something that Merlin and I lack the talent for. Iron is what we always turn back to for enchantments. The best we’ve managed is the slight cloaking spell on your dagger scabbards, but even that isn’t absolute.”

  “Still,” Alex said. “There are some things that I wouldn’t mind her figuring out how to make. There are some neat old myths about the scabbard used with Excalibur.”

  “True, though I doubt there is any spell in the world that could be placed into leather to make the bearer invulnerable. Though I’d be glad if there was.”

  Then they heard footfalls, and everyone went quiet. Jenny was still looking at her phone, but her posture was tense as they waited to see who it was. Merlin walked into the waiting room, his shoulder slumped and his eyes tired. The conversation was completely forgotten. Jumping to her feet, Alex inhaled sharply and braced herself. The others all moved closer. Morgana was the calmest and set a hand on Merlin’s shoulder.

  “Did you learn anything, Ambrose?” Morgana asked.

  “They don’t expect the man to live,” Merlin replied. Shaking his head, he glanced towards the nurse’s desk. “They believe it was a brain aneurysm.” Merlin shifted and looked at each of them. “He was brain dead upon arrival here. He’s hooked up to life support now. They are waiting to speak with his family about potential organ donation.” At their horrified looks, Merlin held up his hands in a calming gesture. “I can’t say for certain if Arthur caused this or aggravated an existing problem.”

  “The man did look exhausted,” Lance said softly. “I doubt that helped.”

  “Yes,” Merlin agreed. “But the fact remains that whatever Arthur did is unstable.”

  “You and Morgana have affected minds before,” Bran said. “And tonight Avani-”

  “Oh god,” Alex gasped. “Avani cast a spell to confuse everyone in the diner. Two people had come in, and we had to go and-”

  Morgana grabbed her arm, and Merlin put his hand on the top of her head. Both of them gave her gentle smiles. Almost on reflex, she started to relax a little.

  “It’s okay,” Avani said quickly. “My family has used it many times. It helps us stay hidden. There are no aftereffects you need to worry about.”

  “She’s correct,” Merlin assured Alex. “You shouldn’t worry. I have controlled minds in the past without ever having problems. Our ability to go unnoticed and gather medical information that shouldn’t be released to me, for instance, is an example of using magic on the brain.”

  “Keep in mind that Arthur might have caused this on purpose,” Morgana said. “Just to alarm you. He knows that you don’t want people hurt, so this could be him lashing out at you.”

  “And we don’t know everything about Arthur’s magic,” Merlin added. “He is part Sídhe like Morgana and I, but he isn’t loyal to the Iron Realm. The source of his magic… how it works and the way it affects things are still a mystery to us.”

  “It’s probably tied to mine,” Alex muttered. “Through the Iron Chain.”

  “That is a possibility,” Morgana said. She squeezed Alex’s shoulder. “But we can’t know that for certain.”

  “There’s nothing more we can do here tonight,” Merlin said. “You children have done what you can for this unfortunate man.”

  “Is there nothing we can do?” Alex asked. “I mean, the Chalice could help him.”

  “No,” Merlin said. His eyes were stern. “Alex… he’s in the hospital surrounded by doctors. There’s already been one miraculous recovery here in Aiden. We have to be careful. Besides, I doubt the Chalice could restore brain function after this.”

  “But if he’s on life support-”

  “Alex,” Morgana said. “Our responsibility is to the Iron Realm. We have to be careful,” she said softly. “It would be too risky. We’d have to hide from the doctors since none of us are supposed to be there, hide from the cameras and hope that the Chalice worked.”

  “But we can!” Twisting around, Alex glared at Morgana. “We can help him. We should.”

  “We don’t know enough about what Arthur did to him,” Merlin said. She’d never heard his voice so cold before. “I don’t want to risk triggering something worse.”

  “Worse for him?” Alex scoffed. “I’m pretty sure it can’t get worse for him. He’s brain dead.”

  “No. Worse for us, for you,” Merlin said. “Arthur knows the legends about the Chalice. If I was Arthur, I’d try to find a way to destroy it. If the Chalice, a concentration of magic, gets close to that man, who knows what will happen.”

  “Do… do you think he’s done something like that?” Alex asked. “That helping that man would be a trap?”

  The expression on Merlin’s face answered her. Lowering her eyes, Alex swallowed. A little voice argued that maybe they were wrong, maybe they were giving Arthur too much credit, and that fear shouldn’t stop them from helping. But her side began to ache, a phantom pain from her sword slicing through her gut. She didn’t answer. She didn’t know how to answer. Morgana sighed and said something to Merlin that Alex didn’t pay attention to. Bran took her arm, and she felt Jenny squeeze her hand.

  “Come on,” Bran said. “Let’s go home.”

  “But-”

  “I don’t know,” Bran said softly. “I don’t know, Alex. I’m sorry.”

  Nodding, she fell silent and let the others guide her out to Lance’s truck. It was a tight fit, but they all piled in and headed for home. Leaning her head against the window, Alex watched the buildings go past while guilt and, strangely, a little relief churned in her chest.

  17

  Salvation Within Creation

  When Alex finally pulled herself out of bed the next morning, she had a pain in her neck and shoulders, as well as a sense of lingering guilt. Torn between wanting to know what had happened to Arthur’s victim and worrying that it was better to leave it alone, she took her shower and detangled her hair. The others were up and moving, judging from the footfalls in the hallway and the voices drifting up from downstairs. It wasn’t as soothing as she’d hoped it would be.

  Still, Timothy and Aiden were in the kitchen making waffles in a pair of waffle irons that Alex hadn’t even known were in the house. The dining room table was covered in food, and most of the others were already eating; only Nicki was missing.

  “Morning,” Bran said. There was an empty place next to him. “How did you sleep?”

  “Not great,” Alex confessed. Sitting down, she reached for a bowl of scrambled eggs and dished up a helping. “But I did sleep.”

  “Good,” Bran replied gently. “I know last night was hard.” Shaking his head, he sighed. “And the more I think about it the worse I feel, even as I realize that Merlin and Morgana were probably right. If Arthur could find a way to use our desire to protect others against us, then he would.”

  “Could we not talk about it?” Alex muttered. “I can’t this morning.”

  “Right, okay,” Bran agreed. “Sorry.”

  “So, where’s Nicki?” Alex asked.

  “Still in her room,” Jenny answered from across the table. “She was up pretty early this morning, b
ut hasn’t come down yet.”

  Aiden frowned even as he brought a plate with two more waffles on it over. “Really?” he asked. He pushed one of the waffles onto Alex’s plate. Nodding her thanks, Alex ate a mouthful of eggs. “No one has seen her?”

  “I knocked on her door,” Jenny said. “Told her we were making breakfast, but she said that she’d eat later.”

  “I hope she’s not in crazy art mode,” Aiden grumbled. He put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “I’m going to go and check on her. Can you keep an eye on the waffles?”

  “Sure,” Lance said. He started to stand up before faltering. “Uh, what do I do?”

  “Timothy knows.” Aiden gestured into the kitchen. “Just give him a hand.”