by Steve McHugh
I knew the pistol was loaded—I’d done it myself—but checked anyway. It was indeed loaded. While I could have always used magic against anything that might be considered a threat, not everything in the world of magic and monsters can be hurt with magic, and not everything can be hurt with a bullet to the head. But pretty much everything can be hurt by one of the two, so I knew with the gun at my side and my magic ready to go that anything turning up better be friendly, or better be ready for a hell of a fight.
The last three years, ever since Hera had taken control of London from Brutus, had been fairly quiet. No one had tried to kill me or rule the world, or been a problem that had required me killing a large number of people. Since getting back together with Selene, I’d told Tommy I was going to take a few months off. He’d agreed it was a good idea, and that Avalon and its people appeared to have everything under control. It looked like with Arthur back in the driver’s seat people were behaving themselves, at least for a little while.
I walked through the lower level of my house until I reached the bottom of the stairs. “Selene, you out of the shower?”
“Unwanted guest?” she asked, and walked to the top of the stairs, looking down at me.
“Not sure yet.”
The doorbell rang, and I activated the nearby screen, revealing who stood in front of the door. “Holy shit,” I almost whispered.
“Yeah, I can see who that is. I’ll stay up here, if that’s okay?”
I nodded, waited until she’d walked off before placing the gun on top of a nearby table, and opened the front door, revealing Arthur. King Arthur. Arthur Pendragon. My friend. A man who I never thought I’d be able to see walking around again after Mordred put him in a coma all those centuries ago. A man who mysteriously got better, and took control of Avalon. A man whom I wanted to trust, wanted to believe was going to usher us all into a better age, but I just couldn’t. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him; I just didn’t know where I stood with him. Besides, he was still working with Merlin, and Merlin was all kinds of nasty. He was someone I’d almost thought of as a father figure, but now he wanted me dead. It meant my time of visiting Avalon was past. Frankly, the whole thing made me more than a little weary.
“Nathaniel,” he said. The BMW was parked behind him, and two large bodyguards stood beside it, trying very hard not to look like they were watching the exchange.
“Nate,” I corrected.
“Nate,” Arthur said with a smile. “Can I come in?”
“Sorry, of course,” I almost stammered, pushing the door open and allowing King Arthur to enter my house.
Arthur removed his long black coat, revealing a gray and black business suit. He looked around for somewhere to put his coat.
“In there,” I said to him, pointing to the cloakroom door.
Arthur placed his coat inside and ran his hand through his chestnut hair before offering an awkward smile. He motioned toward the gun. “You expecting company?”
“I’m never sure these days. Too many angry people want me dead.”
“And they’d knock first?”
“I never said they were smart.”
Arthur laughed, and his demeanor changed, revealing just how tightly wound up he’d been beforehand. “How long has it been?”
“I’m not sure if you think it’s a little early for alcohol, but do you want a drink anyway?”
Arthur smiled. “Good Lord, yes.”
I took Arthur through the lower floor of my house to my study, where I removed a bottle of Yamazaki eighteen-year-old whiskey and poured two glasses.
“Japanese whiskey?” Arthur said, lifting the glass and inspecting it. “I expected you to be a Scotch man.”
“I’m a drink-what-tastes-nice man, and this is one of the best I’ve ever had. Certainly better than that swill we used to drink back when we were young.”
Arthur was ten years older than me, but we grew up as friends along with Galahad, Mordred, and several others. It was a friendship that had been tested many times over the years, and not all the bonds that we’d formed had weathered those storms. Mordred had been expected to be the king of Avalon back then, before he was taken and turned into a monster. Before everything we’d been working toward had to change.
“How’s being king again?”
“I’m not using that title,” Arthur said. “Which is fortunate, because you never used to use it, either, something I noticed you continued when you opened the door.”
I chuckled. “Force of habit.”
“Yes, well, the title of king was always a little strange. King of Avalon isn’t something that should exist. Avalon doesn’t need a king. I never wanted to be king of Camelot, or Avalon, or anywhere else in the first place. That was Mordred’s role. I was meant to follow in Merlin’s footprints. Meant to be the man to help Mordred unite the various mythologies of the world and bring peace. Didn’t quite work out how I’d imagined.”
I necked the whiskey. I needed the courage to ask, “It’s been three years since you woke from your coma. Why haven’t you contacted me?” Part of me was saddened that he hadn’t contacted me, and another part was both sad and maybe a little angry that he hadn’t reached out. It had made me question whether or not we’d been as close as I remembered. I’d brushed the thoughts aside at the time, but they’d stuck around to bother me.
Arthur placed his glass on my desk and sighed. “Officially, I’ve been very busy. No time to contact anyone, even old friends.”
“And unofficially?”
“I’m scared shitless that those people I trusted, and loved, and thought of as the best are no longer who I remembered. Too many people are all vying for their own little part of the Avalon pie, and playing politics to stop things from getting worse has been a full-time experience. I’ve been changing people in positions of power, trying to get those I trust to do a good job in places that they can help. Also, I knew you and Merlin had fallen out.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.”
“Yes, well, Merlin is part of the reason I’m here. And Mordred, and you, and about fifty other things.” He rubbed his hands over his graying beard.
“That’s new.”
“The beard? I look distinguished.”
“I think the word is ‘old.’”
Arthur laughed. “Well, I feel old, so it fits.” His expression was suddenly serious again. “Why did Merlin let everything fall apart? I know that Elaine and her people did the best they could, but Merlin didn’t give them an inch of help. He could have worked with them, and Avalon would have been the place we’d always dreamed of. But now, we’ve got factions in Avalon working against other factions. Hera controls London, with Merlin’s blessing, and after unleashing a bloody dragon on the city.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t a fun night.” A lot of people died, and a lot more were hurt in Tiamat’s attack. An attack that only stopped because my friends and I managed to kill her.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“You were in a coma. You’re forgiven.”
“Speaking of which, have you seen Mordred recently? Tale has it he’s reformed, although many don’t believe it.”
“He was taken by blood elves and Baldr and tortured for the better part of a century. They made him think that we were his enemy and that he should kill us all. He’s still got issues, but he’s working through them.”
“You trust him?”
I nodded. “Without question.”
Arthur absentmindedly touched his chest where Mordred’s blade had punctured it. “I think it would be best for us to meet at a later date. To me, I was only attacked three years ago. After finding you in bed with Morgan. I should apologize for the way I acted, by the way.”
I shrugged. “Morgan and I stopped being anything close to a couple the day you were attacked. We’re cordial now, but I doubt it’ll go beyond that.”
“Even though you trust Mordred.”
“Mordred was driven insane by evil. Morgan just helped
him, thinking that was the best thing to do. We’re both very different people than we were back then.”
“A thousand years in a coma. I dreamed, you know, of Merlin and the paladins who helped keep me alive. I dreamed of being in that damn tank, and I was never sure what was a dream and what wasn’t. Didn’t feel like a thousand years, though. And then I wake up and everyone expects me to click my fingers and make everything better. And I have no damned idea how that’s supposed to work. I don’t even know what ‘better’ is.”
“Three years isn’t long to catch up.”
“No kidding. And Merlin seems to be withdrawing more and more. It’s not exactly helping matters. But I guess if he’s shut himself away in his tower, at least he’s not trying to kill anyone because they offended him.”
“You mean other than me?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear? Merlin went full mad king on the council. Started to threaten to kill people who didn’t follow my lead. Elaine and a dozen others had to have him subdued.”
“I’m sure he didn’t make it easy.”
“We’re remodeling the council chamber. That’s how easy he made it.”
“He’d been going down a slippery slope for a while.”
“It seems my waking finally turned that slope into a cliff.”
“You need help dealing with him?”
Arthur shook his head. “God, no. I’ve got people on it. Merlin can stay in that damn tower for as long as he likes, for all I care. Gives me time to deal with everything else.”
“So, if you’ll excuse my bluntness, why are you here?”
“You know Lucie Moser?”
I nodded. “We’re not exactly friends, but I trust her. Why?”
“I’ve moved her from the head of the SOA and given her a position within the council.”
“Good, she deserves it. She’s done an excellent job.”
“It means there’s an opening as director of the SOA.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Are you offering me a job?” The Shield of Avalon, or SOA, was one of three branches within Avalon. The SOA was a sort of combination of the MI5 and MI6. There were a number of reasons why I shouldn’t work for Avalon again, the foremost being that I left because Merlin was using the souls of innocent people to keep Arthur alive, but mostly I just wasn’t that person anymore.
Arthur shook his head. “No offense, but you’re not exactly the first person I’d think of to take a director’s job in Avalon.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Too many people remember Hellequin as the boogeyman of Avalon,” Arthur continued. “And too many of those know that you and Hellequin are one and the same. It would make things difficult.”
“‘Impossible’ is the word. Although I’ve been trying to change Hellequin from the boogeyman into something more positive.”
“I heard. People are saying that Hellequin is on the side of the right. You always were; you just had awful PR.”
I laughed. “Yes, PR, that was the problem. So, what do you want?”
Arthur took a deep breath, as if this were a conversation he’d rather not have. “I’ve heard mutterings. Concerns. Not quite accusations, and no one has come to me personally, but there are things being said.”
“About me?”
“Oh no, not you. Galahad. Or more specifically, Shadow Falls.”
I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Shadow Falls was one of the few realms that had discarded Avalon rule and struck out alone. Galahad was their king, and from all accounts he was doing a splendid job. There were people in Avalon who felt that Shadow Falls’ very existence was an affront to their honor, or some shit. “What about it?”
“There have been murmurs of them beginning to think they could take more of America for themselves.”
“Galahad wants to take over America.” It was all I could do not to laugh. “You’ve met Galahad, right?”
“Not for a thousand years, I haven’t,” Arthur snapped. “Sorry. Look, I want to know if you can go there and maybe convince him to talk to me. Just me and him. No, I don’t think he’s trying something, but if I could assure the council of that, maybe I could head off whoever is starting these rumors before they turn into something more.”
I didn’t even have to consider it. “Sure, I’ll go to Shadow Falls and talk to Galahad. He is not going to be pleased that he’s under suspicion, though. And you’d need to promise to meet on neutral ground outside of Shadow Falls’ realm.”
“I’m sure I can arrange that.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“That’s all I can ask. I’m trying to consolidate my power, but having rumors of Galahad using this time of flux to strike for himself makes things worse. I don’t want to believe he, or his people, are doing anything untoward, and I know I can trust you to sort this without it going further.”
Arthur stood and offered me his hand, which after standing myself I shook. He pulled me toward him and hugged me. Arthur was a large man, broad of shoulders and several inches taller than my own five-eight. The hug enveloped me, and when he released me, he stepped back and slapped me on the shoulder. “It’s been a long time, Nate. I’m glad you’re doing okay.”
“It’s good to see you again.”
I walked Arthur to the front door, opening it while he retrieved his coat.
“I’ll speak to you soon,” he said as he left my house. “Take care of yourself, Nate. I get the feeling things are going to get more complicated the longer it’s apparent that I’m not going anywhere.”
“Glad to hear it,” I told him, and closed the door after watching Arthur walk over to his bodyguards.
“So, that was weird,” Selene said from the top of the stairs.
“He wants me to go to Shadow Falls and see Galahad.”
Selene’s expression of confusion and worry mimicked exactly how I felt. “Why?”
I explained everything we’d discussed.
“He’s met Galahad, right?” Selene asked when I was done. “There’s no way they’re considering an expansion of territory. Why would they even bother? There’s exactly zero benefit for them going to war to carve out a few more states.”
“That’s one way of putting it.” We walked into my living room and switched the TV on.
“Are you going to go?” Selene asked.
“Yeah. I want to know what’s going on. And if I don’t go, someone else might take it upon themselves to get involved. Hera and her cronies have been quiet for a few years, and I wouldn’t put it past them to start something so that Ares or one of the others could get a chance to grab his own realm. I’m going to sleep on it, though. I need to think about the best way to tell Galahad what’s going on. I don’t want to make this worse.”
“And it’s you, so that’s a distinct possibility,” Selene said with a smile.
I’d have argued, but to be honest she had a fair point. “It’s not exactly the easiest situation to deal with. It’s been a weird day, and it’s not even noon.”
“No kidding, Nate. A new girlfriend and a visit from the king in the same day. It’s been quite eventful for you, hasn’t it?”
I laughed and turned the TV on to the news channel, watching in horror as they discussed an explosion that had taken place in a New York coffee shop several hours earlier.
“What the hell is going on?” Selene said after we’d watched several minutes of footage.
“There was an angel,” a woman said to a reporter. “He healed my son.”
“An angel?” Selene asked.
“Mordred’s in New York,” I said. “You don’t think . . .”
“That Mordred was there? It’s a hell of a coincidence. Unless he was the target.”
I picked up the phone to call Mordred just as the news cut back to the studio to report on a missing passenger plane and several other attacks around the globe. I put the phone down and listened to the reports of violence and death, with occasional cuts to various cities to talk to witnes
ses and journalists who were there.
“My Liege has finally made their move,” I said, afraid of what the future now held.
“Whoever they are, they just declared war on Avalon,” Selene said.
“Not just war on Avalon. From the sounds of things, they’ve declared open season on humanity.”
CHAPTER 3
Nate Garrett
After five minutes of watching more of the mayhem and insanity that were spreading across the globe, my phone rang.
I picked it up, with one eye still on the TV, and someone spoke before I was able to: “Nate, that you?”
“Tommy?” I asked. “You watching the news?”
“Living it, mate. It’s all gone a bit wrong. Mordred was in New York. He called Olivia, told her that the man claimed it was for ‘My Liege’ before blowing himself up.”
“Wait, someone blew themselves up?”
“Two someones, from the sound of things. With their own magic.”
That made me pause. “How?” I wasn’t sure what else to ask, because I’d never heard of anyone ever being able to achieve death by killing themselves with their own magic.
“Not a clue. I’m hoping you can come over to Basingstoke so we can try and figure this out. Olivia is on her way, too. Shit has well and truly kicked off. Bring Selene and Remy with you. The more heads the better. These bastards are going after humans, Nate. Right now the death toll is four figures, and I only see it getting worse.”
“I’ll be there soon,” I told him, and he ended the call.
“I assume we’re off to Tommy’s,” Selene said.
I nodded. “I don’t know what triggered this, but a lot of people are getting hurt because of it.”
“What about Galahad?”
“There’s no way he’s involved in this.”
“That’s not what I meant. What are you going to do about seeing him?”
“It’ll have to wait for now. I want to know what’s going on with people committing mass acts of terrorism. I don’t think Avalon is in any position to do this alone, especially if it’s bad enough that Tommy’s already involved. If we can help figure out how to stop it, we should.”
“That why Olivia is coming to Tommy’s?”