by Sarah Kleck
“We found him like this in the fog,” Jared explained.
“There’s nothing physically wrong with him,” Enid muttered, placing her hand on Jared’s cheek before focusing on Colin again. It was a tiny, tender gesture, but everyone could see how much Jared meant to Enid and how incredibly happy she was to see him alive.
“Looks very much like shock,” Enid diagnosed.
“Yes, he must have seen something horrible in the fog,” I said.
Enid nodded, giving me a look that seemed to ask what I had seen there.
“Ruth followed you into the fog,” Irvin explained, his voice strained from helping Jared support Colin. “Colin ran after her.”
“Did you see Morgana emerge from the fog?” Jared asked, as he finally managed to keep Colin on his legs.
“Saalllyyy.”
“No,” Irvin replied, breathing heavily. He had to raise his voice so we could understand him over Colin’s whimpering and the festival brouhaha.
“What about Ruth?” I asked. “She was there—she was . . .” The expression on Irvin’s face caused me to fall silent.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“She’s in the car,” he said curtly. “Gareth is with her.”
My jaw dropped. “You . . . nabbed her?” That wasn’t quite the word I was looking for, but it came pretty close to what I meant.
Irvin nodded. “She ran into our arms when she came out of the fog.”
“But her magic . . . didn’t she try to . . . defend herself?”
He thought for a moment before conceding: “She tried. But I think she doesn’t know how to use it.”
“She doesn’t know how her own magic works?” I looked at Jared in the hope he’d know what that meant. But he just looked surprised and uncertain.
“But how can that be?” I wanted to know.
“Why don’t we just ask her that?” Jared said.
We sat in the backseat. Jared put his arm around me, and I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Although I was tired as a dog, I stayed awake almost the whole drive. My thoughts would not stop spinning. Colin, who was finally becoming himself again, took his phone from his pocket as soon as he’d sat down on the passenger side and attempted to call Sally with trembling hands. He misdialed twice. So I took the phone from his hand, searched the directory for Sally’s name, pressed Call, and returned it to him.
“Sally,” he said, relieved when she picked up. He sank deep into his seat.
“We’re here,” Jared said, stroking my hair. I must have fallen asleep.
I lifted my head to find that we’d already turned into the headquarters’ underground garage. The other car was already there. I watched closely as Gareth led Ruth in handcuffs into the building. Gareth was no longer young, but few could take him on. As a former detective constable in the City of London Police, he exuded the requisite self-confidence and authority to intimidate anyone with a single look. But seeing Ruth in handcuffs was more than strange. She was my friend. At least, that’s what I thought.
We got out. Jared walked around the car and took my hand. He had hardly let go of me since we were reunited. My heartbeat accelerated as we walked up the stairs from the underground garage. Our steps echoed through the corridors. No one spoke.
Finally, we stopped in front of the ornamented, mighty double door. Colin pushed against it, then held it open for the rest of us. The others were already there. Gareth and Ian stood at the front of the room; Montgomery Grey and Judith McHallern, the two oldest members of the High Council, sat at the long sides of the huge table. Ruth had been placed at the head of it. I sat down beside Jared as the others also took their seats. Gareth and Ian remained standing behind Ruth. Enid, at the far end, placed both hands on the table and leaned forward in Ruth’s direction.
“Why did you follow Evelyn into the fog, Ruth?” she asked with a firm voice that demanded respect. The interrogation had begun.
Ruth avoided my look.
“Is this really necessary?” she quietly asked, rattling her handcuffs behind her back.
Enid’s face remained frozen for a moment, and then she nodded at Gareth. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, and undid the handcuffs with a metallic click. Ruth rubbed her wrists.
“Why. Did. You. Follow. Evelyn. Into. The. Fog?” Enid repeated.
I tried to read Ruth’s thoughts from her expression, but she turned away.
“Because of Morgana.”
“And that means?” Enid followed up, glaring at Ruth. Little progress was being made.
Ruth stared at her wrists, which she continued to rub. It didn’t look as if she’d answer any time soon.
Jared pounded his fist on the table. Everyone jerked with fright. Especially Ruth. She swallowed.
“Morgana had something that belonged to me,” Ruth finally answered. “I wanted it back.”
“Your magic,” Enid said.
Ruth nodded.
“How did you make it through the fog?” Colin asked. He seemed to consider it a personal humiliation that she’d made it and he hadn’t.
“I was . . . prepared for what was waiting for me in the fog.”
Colin leaned back angrily, crossing his arms over his chest. Clearly that answer was less than satisfactory for him.
“How did Morgana end up possessing your magic?” Jared asked, pressing on. The sooner we found out Ruth’s story, the sooner we could search for Morgana.
Ruth exhaled. “It’s not exactly my magic,” she started.
We all looked, astonished, at each other.
“It’s . . . well, it was my mother’s.”
“Mary Hayman was a magical being?” Irvin asked, trying to play down his amazement with a soft tone.
Ruth nodded and lowered her head.
That explained why Ruth didn’t know how to handle her abilities, just the way it had been for me. I had to learn how Nimue’s magic worked. Ruth obviously hadn’t had time to figure hers out, and I could imagine it was difficult to practice while handcuffed. She didn’t really know what she was capable of.
“My mother was a light guardian,” she quietly explained. Suddenly, she raised her gaze and looked at me for the first time. “Light guardians are peaceful creatures. They shine light into dark places and can brighten even the darkest night.” She seemed to be choking back tears. “If the light magic falls to a creature like Morgana, the light turns to darkness. It gives her the power to turn even the brightest day into the darkest night.” Ruth paused, staring into space. “Light magic passes from generation to generation. After my mother’s death it was to pass to me, and after my death, to my daughter.” Ruth sounded incredibly sad.
“What happened?” Irvin asked.
“Morgana lured my mother into a trap and threatened to kill me if she didn’t turn over her magic.”
There was dismay throughout the room. We all knew what that meant. Mary had given her magic and, with it, her life to protect her daughter. From the corner of my eye, I saw Enid turn her head and look at Gareth in shock.
Jared also saw it. “What does that mean?” he prompted Enid.
Ruth was silent for a moment but then fixed on Jared, who raised his eyebrow, which I interpreted as a warning. The air around him began to crackle. It was probably best if she put all her cards on the table. It was not particularly advisable to continue to irritate Jared.
“When Mary Hayman discovered the secret of Legatum Merlini,” Enid began, “Karen ordered Gareth to kill her.” She looked at Ruth, who had frozen. I searched in vain for a sign of surprise on her face.
Gareth, who remained in his guard stance behind Ruth, cleared his throat. “I decided against it,” he said. “Instead, I told Mary to disappear because the Order would never give up looking for her. I led Karen to believe I’d killed Mary.” He cleared his throat again. “To be honest, I believed that Mary had run.”
Enid gave Gareth a long look. I could read her face like a book. As unreasonable as it ma
y have seemed, at that moment, it was clear that she blamed him for the death of the Calmburry family. Had he killed Mary as Karen had demanded, she would not have run into Morgana’s arms and put the witch on the trail of the Calmburrys. Enid left all that unspoken, but I knew what was going through her mind.
But if Gareth hadn’t been who he was and hadn’t resisted Karen’s orders, I, too, would be dead. My fate would have been sealed the moment he found me in Fleetwood. I was the last one who should think poorly of what he had done. Or, rather, had not done. Should a man be faulted for refusing to kill an old woman? Hardly.
“If I’ve understood it correctly,” Jared said to Ruth, as if he had listened in on a conversation inaudible to all others, “it was in your interest for a struggle to arise between Evelyn and Morgana.” He gave her a penetrating look before continuing. “Should Evelyn win, your mother’s magic would return to you. Should she lose, everything would remain the same.” Jared stood up and slowly approached Ruth, stopping in front of her. “At the very least, it was in your interest to get Evelyn to Avalon.” He was silent for a long time, staring at Ruth. Then, without turning away from her, he raised his voice. “Claire, come in.”
To all our surprise, Claire McAdams, Madison’s mother, entered the room. Had she been listening at the door?
I prepared to receive her typically hate-filled look, but instead her gaze was neutral. As if I only played an incidental role in what was to follow.
Claire stepped to Jared’s side, raised her hand, and slapped Ruth.
I flinched. “Are you nuts?” I shouted, leaning over the table.
I couldn’t believe Jared had allowed this. Didn’t he realize Claire’s intentions? I could see no sign of surprise on his face. He had actually approved of Claire striking Ruth!
Jared raised his hands. “Listen to what Claire has to say first, Evelyn.”
I was baffled. It wasn’t long ago that Jared had sent Claire away, but now he was allowing her to barge in here and slap Ruth in the face?
Foaming with rage, Claire turned away from Ruth. She looked at me with glistening eyes.
“This woman used you from the start,” she said, lowering her pained eyes. “You and . . . Madison.” Her voice broke as she uttered the name of her dead daughter.
Searching for answers, I looked at Claire, then at Ruth, who stared at the floor.
So, Ruth had used me after all! She had followed me into the fog to recover her mother’s magic should I vanquish Morgana. She had used the situation to her advantage. But . . . could I reproach her? She had become Morgana’s victim as much as I had. Maybe I would have done the same thing in her place. So she followed me; so what? Should I feel used for that? Maybe a little. Though I could also understand why she had done it. But something in Jared’s look told me that this was only part of the truth. Why did Claire think Ruth had used Madison? As far as I knew, they hadn’t even known each other.
“What does she mean by that?” I asked Ruth.
She was silent.
“Speak!” I demanded, walking over to stand in front of her. “What does Madison have to do with this?”
She looked into my eyes but remained silent. It was Claire who answered. She looked at me, then shifted her ice-cold stare to Ruth.
“You took my daughter to Glastonbury, didn’t you?” she said. “You sent her into the fog to lure Morgana.” Claire stepped closer, clenched her teeth, and hissed: “You gave her Nimue’s amulet.”
“What?” I shouted. “No, it cannot be. Madison ripped it from my neck. At the swimming pool.” I went around the table.
“Oh, really?” Claire retorted. “Did you see that it was Madison?”
“I’m sure that . . . I saw Madison at the pool, and then—”
“Did you see Madison rip the amulet from your neck?” Claire forcefully interrupted.
I was silent as I struggled with the confusion.
“No,” I finally answered truthfully.
“Because it wasn’t her.” Claire’s voice sounded calmer now.
I looked back and forth between Ruth and Claire. Then to Jared. He was focused on both of them.
“Claire’s telling the truth,” he said. “At least, she believes she is.”
I looked at Ruth. She was silent. I just couldn’t believe it. It had really been her. She had ripped the amulet from my neck, then slammed my head as hard as she could against the tiled wall. Had injured me on purpose. In disbelief, I tried to read some reaction, some emotion on her face.
“I trusted you!” I shouted, outraged, at Ruth. I didn’t know whether to reach for her throat or cry. “I trusted you,” I repeated, more to myself than her.
“I’m sorry, Evelyn,” Ruth mumbled.
“I’d feel that way if I’d been caught,” Colin growled.
I put my hand on my forehead.
“All our talks, everything you said, only served to send me to Avalon? Jared and I almost died—do you understand that?”
“That was never my intention,” Ruth objected. “I took the amulet and gave it to the girl, yes. And it was supposed to look as if she’d stolen it from you.” Ruth looked at Claire. “She was supposed to lure Morgana out of the fog.” She swallowed hard. “I’m terribly sorry about what happened to the girl. I . . . I thought I could take on Morgana myself.” Again, she lowered her eyes.
Claire appeared close to fainting. Irvin had to support her while she held her hand over her mouth and attempted to suppress her loud, desperate sobbing—a devastated mother mourning her child. I felt incredibly sorry for her.
Tears ran down Ruth’s face. “I hoped my mother’s magic would pass to me as soon as I came close to Morgana. I had no idea how powerful she really was. After I saw what she’d done to the girl . . . Madison . . . I knew I couldn’t . . .” She swallowed and breathed a deep sigh. “A fight would have been pointless. So I followed her to the clearing.”
Images appeared in my mind: my flight from the headquarters, the damnati who had captured me and brought me to Morgana. Jared and Colin storming the clearing and killing scores of damnati. Jared’s attempt to save me . . . the pact with Morgana.
“I saw it all,” Ruth said. “I knew you were the only one who could do it. I knew you’d be strong enough in Avalon to challenge Morgana. So when these two”—she pointed at Gareth and Ian—“showed up at my home and said you needed help, I took my chance and encouraged you to go to Avalon.” I looked at her but she lowered her eyes. “You were the key. Only you could open the portal.”
“Bugger! We even drove you there,” Colin snorted.
“Then you calmly hid in the forest and waited to see if Morgana would kill me?” Outrage and incomprehension resonated in my words.
“I knew you’d make it, Evelyn.” She emphasized the words, as if it made a difference.
“That’s interesting,” I said sarcastically. Regret was evident in her face.
“It’s your fault my daughter’s dead!” Claire screamed, as if she feared Ruth might put me into a conciliatory mood. “You won’t get away with it!” Claire tore herself from Irvin and charged Ruth with her arms extended as if she was going to strangle her. Ruth reflexively raised her hands in defense. A huge protective shield of orange-glowing light emerged from her palms in a semicircle and hurled Claire into a corner. The massive table tipped on its side, and the chairs, with us sitting on them, slid across the room. Ruth appeared to . . . dissolve into light. She was briefly gone, then rematerialized. I blinked.
Ruth stared at her hands in total shock.
Claire pulled herself up and rushed Ruth again.
Ruth again pushed her palms in Claire’s direction—this time more deliberate, more targeted—swept her away, and disappeared into an orange glow.
Jared, back on his feet, charged at the being of light Ruth had become and attempted to grab her, but the light paled and disappeared.
“Jared, do something!” Claire shrieked.
“What the devil?” Colin mumbled.
“You must stop her!” Claire shouted.
Jared stood where Ruth had dissolved, then turned around. “She’s gone,” he said, and came over to me and helped me up. “Everything okay?”
I nodded and brushed the splinters from my clothes.
“No!” Claire protested. “After her! We must get her!”
“And how do you plan on doing that?” Enid asked.
“We . . . I don’t know, but . . .” Claire completely lost control. “Madison’s death was her fault!”
“Morgana killed Madison,” I said. “Not Ruth. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“But Ruth put her in that situation!” Claire yelled as if she were the only one who understood what had really happened.
“I’m sorry, Claire,” Enid objected, as empathetically as possible, “but Madison made that decision herself. No one forced her to go into the fog.”
“You can’t be serious! Irvin!” She turned to him, looking for support.
“I’m sorry, Claire.” Irvin took his stand. “Our top priority now is finding Morgana.”
“What?” She turned to Jared with wide eyes. “Jared, I beg you!”
“Finding Morgana is our top priority,” he affirmed. “That’s my final word.”
The council chamber door opened. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Karen!
“Oh, Jared, my boy!” She hurried to him and tried to hug him as Claire sobbed desperately in the background. Jared extended his arm to stop her.
“You’re all right,” Karen said, tears flowing down her cheeks. She attempted to duck under Jared’s arm. Had I still been in possession of my magic, I would have killed Karen on the spot. Jared gave me a look that told me he’d take care of it.
“Get lost,” he said in an ice-cold tone, then switched to a more formal tone. “I banish you for life.”
“You . . . what? You’re banishing me? That’s impossible; you can’t—”
“I can’t?” Jared raised his eyebrows in a threat.
“Jared, don’t be ridiculous,” Karen objected, smiling, and attempted to stroke his arm. He stepped back. Karen froze. She finally seemed to understand how serious the matter was and that she was lucky to only get away with being banished.