by LH Nicole
“Yes,” he said. “Tampering with a possession created by the black Dragons isn’t something one undertakes lightly.”
She held out the paper to him. “Do we open it?” He nodded, and Aliana slid her finger under the seam, tearing off the seal. This time it was her hands shaking as she unrolled it and studied the strange markings. “I don’t get it.” She handed it to Merlin. “What is that, some kind of Dragon language?”
Merlin studied the paper, turning it to the side and then holding it up to the light streaming in through the window. “It’s runes, the language of the Druids, but…” He trailed off, lowering the scroll. “It’s concealed.” He placed it next to the box. “Hold your new ruby over this and will it to reveal its secrets.”
Aliana channeled the swirling power. At first nothing happened, and then suddenly the characters blurred and moved on the page. When they finally stopped, Merlin’s eyes scanned over it, getting wider as he read on. His face paled.
“What?” she asked. “What does it say?”
“You said you took pictures of the ruins before you shifted to Silzik, correct? I need to see them.”
“But—”
“Now!” he commanded harshly.
She wanted to tell him to go shove his arrogant commands, but she saw something she’d never seen in him before: fear, deep-seated fear.
Pulling out her camera and queuing up the images, she handed it to Merlin. He scrolled through slowly, looking back and forth between the images and the unrolled parchment.
“What’s going on, Merlin?” she asked, about ready to explode with worried anticipation.
“Those carved images.” He handed the camera to her and cleared his throat. “Those images and this note both refer to the alignment of the planets.”
“The one Mordrid needs to get his crazy power and take over world. We already know about that.”
“This box is one of the few instruments in existence that would be able to hold that power.”
“But…” she said when he didn’t continue. The dread that had built within her chest doubled in size.
In an un-Merlin-like show of distress, he ran his hands through his styled hair and growled.
“You’re scaring me,” she said.
“The scroll and the images tell of the power that will be unleashed during the eclipse, but they also give a warning.”
“A warning of what?” Her whole body trembled.
“A warning that the only way to stop the realms from being overrun is for a daughter of Avalon to absorb the power, sacrificing her own life in the process.”
21
My magical senses have been going haywire since we returned from the field with Wade. They calmed for a brief moment after Rothik arrived, but since Arthur and the others returned and Aliana saved Galahad, they’ve raged out of control again. I can feel strange, almost combative magics inside the house and around the barrier that protects us. But Merlin told me days ago he felt nothing strange. Am I losing it? A selfish part of me hopes that I am—maybe then I could escape Guinevere’s ghost.
~Lancelot
A WRECKING BALL COULD’VE HIT ALIANA and she wouldn’t have felt it. She sat back on her heels, hands falling to her lap, trying to process this new disaster. Merlin watched her carefully, like he was afraid she’d run screaming from the room, and boy did she want to, but she couldn’t. If she did, that would mean what he’d just told her was real, that she was actually going to be killed because of Titania’s twisted scheming.
“Aliana,” Merlin said softly, his hand reaching toward hers but stopping halfway across the table. “I’m truly sorry.”
“This can’t be happening!” She stared at the ruby on the back of her hand. “She said I was the last person she’d ever let be hurt. I’m her blood. This is her elaborate scheme—why would she say she’s protecting me if she knows I need to sacrifice myself in the end?” She smacked her palms onto the small table and pushed up to her feet.
“The Fae queen has power over many things, but controlling a cosmic event isn’t one of them,” Merlin said.
“She put me squarely in the path of this destruction. Why?” Aliana raged, restlessly pacing.
Merlin steepled his fingers, his pale eyes reading over the note again. “I don’t know.” Still seated on the floor, he looked up at her, and she could see the dire weight of the situation weighing on him. “We need to tell the king and the others.”
“No!” she cried immediately, her eyes widening. “We can’t tell them!” She stormed over to the Druid, glowering down at him.
Merlin’s expression hardened. He rose to his full, imposing height with ferocity in his cutting pale blue gaze. “They need to know.”
“No, they don’t!” Her hands went to her hips as she steeled herself to do battle against the strong-willed Druid. She couldn’t lose this fight.
“I won’t lie to Arthur about this,” he growled.
Struggling to keep her emotions in check, Aliana said, “You already keep things from him and the rest of us. This shouldn’t be any different.”
His eyes lit with his orange magic, and his rolling power filled the room. But Aliana refused to be cowered by his bullying tactics. She pushed against his magic with hers.
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he told her. “You’re emotional and throwing out baseless accusations.”
“That’s crap! I don’t know what secret you’re so desperate to keep from all of us, but since you have no problem keeping it, then you can keep this one, too!”
“I won’t let you run around knowing you have a death sentence on your head without telling the others.” He took a dangerous step toward her. “Knowing you and your reckless impulsiveness, you’ll do something stupid and get yourself killed before you can stop Mordrid!”
Aliana glared at him, refusing to back down. “And what happens when you tell Arthur? What do you think he, not to mention Galahad and Wade, would do?” Merlin straightened, his features pinching together. “They’d lock me away to keep me safe and alive. They’d try to stop Mordrid without me and get themselves killed.”
Merlin cursed under his breath and turned away. “We can’t keep this from them. They’d never forgive me for not telling them.”
“That’s your cross to bear. I think that should be doable considering you’re not the one fated to die!”
Merlin growled and wheeled on her, his temper flaring like his magic. “Locking you away may not be a bad idea. That way you’ll remain safe until the final battle.”
Aliana drew back as if he’d hit her. “You wouldn’t!”
Merlin stormed up to her, pushing into her personal space. “I would, and you know Galahad and Arthur would support me in this decision!”
Her hands shook as her nails bit into her flesh. “We’ve seen what happens when you guys go off without me. All of you would’ve died fighting Mordrid and Morgana in England if I hadn’t been there to kill those black knights. If I hadn’t found my mom’s old pendant, we would’ve never known where to go on the Isle, and we wouldn’t have found the thing Mordrid needs to follow through on his psycho plans for world domination!”
Her emerald gaze held his orange-flecked blue one for an intense moment. Ripping his eyes from hers, he turned away, running a hand through his hair. Aliana’s breath whooshed out of her as Merlin’s power pulled back, lightening the heavy tension in the room.
“They can never know, Merlin,” she said when he didn’t turn back to her. “You know it as much as I do. No one, not Arthur, Galahad, the girls, Dagg, or any of the others can ever know.”
“This is bollocks!” He growled like a wounded animal, but his curse lacked the heated determination that had filled him only moments ago.
She thought back to Camelot, remembering the sorrow and regret and hope she’d seen not only in Arthur and Galahad, but in the other knights, as well. Even Merlin, Lancelot, and Wade had seemed encouraged when they’d been told what Titania had said about Camelot b
eing restored. Aliana understood now that the quest went beyond saving the thousands of lives that would be lost in a war. She wanted more than anything to see Arthur and Camelot restored to their rightful glory. All of her knights deserved to have their lives back.
“One thing you’ve made perfectly clear since we’ve met is that this is my destiny.” She ignored the pounding of her pulse and the knife that dug into her heart. “Freeing all of you from this prophecy, helping Arthur stop Mordrid once and for all, and helping to save the world is my purpose.”
He kept his back to her and stayed deathly silent.
“Swear to me, Merlin. Swear an oath to me that you won’t tell them for any reason!”
“I can’t, Aliana,” he groaned, turning toward her. She was taken aback by his tortured tone.
Dropping her hands from her hips, she hesitantly laid a hand on the Druid’s arm. “Everything you’ve done, the way you’ve pushed me, is because you know beyond a doubt that stopping Mordrid is more important than one person’s life.”
His muscles constricted under her touch, but then his shoulders sagged. He looked out the window as if searching for some kind of solution outside. “Then you need to make an oath to me. You need to swear to me that you won’t do anything to jeopardize your safety and your ability to fulfill this prophecy.”
Aliana dropped her hand, hoping he hadn’t felt the tremors that shook her insides like an earthquake.
“Are you willing to make that oath to me?” Merlin asked.
She nodded, and Merlin held out his hand to her. His orange magic pulsed to life like the rays of the sun. Not sure what would happen next or if she was doing this right, Aliana mimicked him with her pink, bubbly sparks dancing in her open palm.
“I swear, on my honor as a knight and a Druid, I will not tell King Arthur or any other member of our Round Table that your life must be sacrificed to fulfill our quest and rid the realms of Mordrid.” His magic jumped from his hand, hovering between their bodies.
“I swear that I will not intentionally do anything that will jeopardize my own life and my ability to see this prophecy fulfilled and this quest completed.” Her magic sprang from her hand and combined with his. The bright ball of pure power split in two and shot toward each of them, hitting her chest dead center.
Aliana clutched her chest, fighting to stay on her feet. “Is it always like that?” she wheezed when the pain receded enough for her jaw to unlock.
“Yes.” Merlin rubbed his hand over his chest. A few drops of sweat dripped down his temples.
A sharp knock sounded at the door, and Aliana felt the cooling presence of her guardian beyond the old wood. Her gaze shot back to Merlin, silently reminding him that he couldn’t even tell Dagg. She quickly built an extra layer of protection around her mental hidey-hole, shoving the knowledge of her fate inside and locking it tight. Maybe by hiding it like this from the others, she’d be able to forget the sadness of her destiny for a while.
“We need to tell them about the box,” Merlin said, passing her and opening the door.
Aliana snatched up the small square of paper and stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans as Dagg and Galahad entered the room.
“What’s happening here?” the Dragon asked, circling his body around her shoulders.
Galahad came to her side, his eyes searching hers. “Lord Daggerhorne said he felt a strong magic. What have you two been up to?”
Aliana’s throat tightened. Her emotions were still raw, even in the soothing presence of Dagg and Galahad.
“Aliana showed me something she and Lacy found in Camelot.” Merlin’s hand swept toward the iron box of death. He seemed his typical, composed self.
“It was in a hidden room in Camelot. Merlin confirmed that it belonged to Morgana,” Aliana explained.
“Why didn’t you say something right away?” Galahad asked.
Aliana squeezed his hand and offered him an apologetic smile. “Titania showing up didn’t really give me much of a chance, and we already had so much going on.” Boy was she glad her gut had told her to wait!
Galahad’s hand tightened around hers before he let it go. He picked up the black box, turning it over in his hands. “Does it open?”
“It does,” Merlin said. “Now that I’ve confirmed what it is, we should take it to the others and fill them in.”
Galahad handed the box to the Druid and wrapped his arm around Aliana’s waist. She felt as if her heart had cracked. How could she carry on with Galahad now that she knew her fate? But could she ignore her overwhelming affection for him? Feeling all kinds of selfish, she leaned in close and wrapped her arm around him as they walked out of the office and back to the others.
When she didn’t hear Merlin’s footsteps behind them, she glanced back and saw the Druid pull a small vial from his jeans pocket. Frowning, she watched him flick away the stopper with his thumb and raise the ampoule to his lips to drink down whatever filled it. She looked down at Dagg and opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, but before she could, Merlin was right behind them. The only thing in his hands was the black box.
She wanted to ask the cagy Druid about the vial, but since he seemed to want to hide it, she knew he wouldn’t give her any answers. They were both already on edge, and she didn’t want to risk another confrontation, not after he’d just agreed to keep her secret.
It didn’t take long to fill the knights in on the iron box, and it took even less time for all the guys, even Arthur, to demand to know why the girls had kept it hidden. Before she or Lacy could defend themselves, a wave of warning shot through her. Her eyes went to Merlin, who nodded, confirming that he’d felt it too.
“We have trouble,” he said ominously.
All the guys sprang into motion as they followed Merlin out the door toward the source of the cold warning. The girls glanced at each other and followed. Dawn and Lacy grabbed their weapons even though they knew the guys would never allow them to fight.
“Isn’t this convenient.” Everyone swiveled around to see Morgana and a dozen terrifying black knights melt out of the trees.
The guys advanced on the blond witch, who was dressed in another black and blue comic book villain outfit. Aliana summoned her bow from her gauntlet as Arthur drew Excalibur from its sheath. The others drew their hidden weapons, ready to fight.
Aliana raised her bow and summoned an arrow, furious that Morgana would try to attack them at her home. “You can’t get to us,” she taunted.
Morgana sneered. She and her monstrous brutes stopped a good fifteen yards from the house. Raising her hand, she threw a tiny blast of magic but it fizzled almost immediately. “I’m well aware that you’re protected here, but I have a piece of news that may interest you.”
“We don’t need any news from you,” Lacy snarled. Percy glared at his girlfriend, and despite their safety within the protection of the property, stepped in front of her.
Morgana chuckled. “Whelps should only speak when spoken to.”
Wade and Owen shifted, blocking Dawn when she would’ve moved to her sister’s side. The telltale slicking of a knife pulling free temporarily distracted Aliana as she turned and saw Galahad raise the blade she’d enchanted for him.
“If you have something you wish to tell us, you’ll direct your words to me,” Arthur said with Excalibur held proudly in front of him.
“Congratulations on finding your lost toy, cousin,” the witch said. “But my words are for the Destined One and her little Nymph friend.”
“What could you possibly have to say to us?” Aliana asked, keeping her magic arrow trained on the evil girl. She was tempted to let the bubbling magic fly, but she worried that doing so might somehow affect the barrier protecting her home and friends.
Morgana raised her palm toward the sun. Electric blue rays of magic filled the air, creating a large frame in the sky. An image appeared of a plump, balding man and a short woman with wild brown hair and cracked glasses. Bleeding and bruised, they huddled together in a
dank cell.
Aliana’s hand shook. Her magic arrow disappeared as fear gripped her heart in a vise. “Uncle Joe!” She took a step forward, but Galahad grabbed her arms before she could go any further.
“Mom!” Dawn cried. “You nasty witch!” She burst past Wade and Owen only to have both guys quickly wrap their arms around her and drag her back.
“They’ve got nothing to do with this!” Aliana’s voice came out steadier than she would’ve thought possible with the turbulent whirlwind of emotions stirring inside her.
“They have everything to do with this because they matter to you,” Morgana said, a superior look of smugness on her fine features. “I’m here to propose a trade. You have two items Mordrid wants.”
“And what would those be?” Merlin’s cold eyes focused on his former lover.
Morgana directed her icy hazel glare at Lacy and Aliana. “I believe you two found something of mine in Camelot. I want it back.”
“And the other?” Arthur asked, drawing the witch’s attention temporarily from the girls.
She scoffed. “I would think that’s the obvious one.” Her eyes flicked back to Aliana.
Merlin and Aliana exchanged a look, and she knew that because of their oath, she couldn’t agree to go with the witch even if she wanted to. But she couldn’t just let her uncle and Dawn’s mom remain as Mordrid and Morgana’s prisoners. “How do we know you two would keep your end of the bargain?” she asked.
“You’ll just have to trust us,” Morgana said, cackling.
“We will not—” Arthur started, but Morgana cut him off.
“I don’t expect your answer this moment. I’ll give you one hour to meet us and hand over the girl and the box. Merlin will know how to find us.” She leveled a cold, hate filled glare at Arthur and the Druid and flicked her hand, destroying the image of her prisoners. “And don’t try any of your tricks or I’ll gut them both.”
“No!” Aliana and Dawn screamed, struggling against the guys’ tight hold on them. The witch and her brood of black knights vanished in a shimmer of blue.