The Iron Cursed

by J. M. Briggs

  “That’s it,” Merlin’s voice said. It was gentle but thick with emotion. A hand took the teacup from her and set it on the desk with a soft clink. “Just breathe, Alex.”

  She obeyed and took another breath. Her magic responded and evened out, wrapping around the knot in her chest protectively. The ache eased and Alex blinked her eyes to clear the tears. She could hear Merlin making soft comforting sounds as if she was a child. Yet something about it was very familiar. Embarrassment hit her and she didn’t dare move. She rolled her lips together and nervously waited for Merlin to say something, anything.

  “I’m sorry,” Merlin finally said. “I’m not sure how to help you with the memories, Alex.” There was a heavy silence and Alex heard a door outside open and then close. The distant sounds of voices could be heard, but neither of them spoke for several minutes. She closed her eyes and let some part of her draw comfort from the weight of Merlin’s hand on her head. “Are the memories difficult?”

  “I’m not sure.” Alex swallowed and twisted her hands together even as she kept her eyes down. “They’re just… there.”. It was a terrible explanation. “There’s just an awareness that wasn’t there before. I… I can hear them sometimes,” Alex said. The declaration was met with a soft gasp. “They aren’t loud, but… they’re there.”

  Alex grimaced at her own words, but she had no idea how to explain it. Dread was quickly replacing embarrassment as a certainty set in that she shouldn’t have told Merlin. She waited for him to say or do something, but he was silent. Alex almost looked up at him but couldn’t deal with the thought of his expression at this revelation. Instead, they were both silent and Alex focused on the sounds of people in the hallway and outside on the lawn. The ticking of the wall clock became louder with each passing moment until it was almost unbearable.

  “Do you think that’s why you’re having difficulty coping with your parents’ death?”

  The question sent an icy wave down Alex’s spine. She straightened up sharply and shifted away from Merlin’s hand. Before she could think better of it or Merlin could move, Alex grabbed her bag and stood up. She made it to the door with Merlin was only a few steps behind her. Alex didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop moving. The whispers were silent as her own panicked thoughts raged.

  Walking out of the office, Alex ignored the surprised look she got from the receptionist near the department door. She didn’t even bother smiling or looking pleasant. Alex pulled open the door and stepped out into the main hallway. There were students moving about alone or in small groups, all of them minding their own business. A few looked her way as she stepped into the flow of traffic and then they backed off. Alex clenched her hand around the strap of her bag as the other formed a fist. Someone brushed against her shoulder and Alex turned her head to give them a dark look. Their eyes widened and they scampered away.

  She quickly took the stairs down to the main floor and pushed her way out into the fresh air. A warm breeze tickled her face and sent her long blonde hair into her eyes. Alex didn’t care. She stepped off to the side and inhaled deeply. There was the smell of the lake and the mountain evergreens on the wind. It seeped into her skin and Alex’s fingers relaxed.

  Closing her eyes, Alex hissed as the truck appeared once more. Her chest tightened and the air rushed out of her as her knees trembled. She couldn’t make her eyes open. One of her hands found the brick wall behind her and grabbed onto a small rough edge. It was solid and real. The scraping of her fingertips against it took over and the truck vanished. Opening her eyes, Alex swallowed and pushed herself off the wall, walking away from the building as quickly as she could. She’d be hearing about this soon enough.

  8

  The Outsider

  He was never going to get used to this. At least that’s what Lance thought now, even as a little voice nagged at him that if it kept up he probably would. In his seat at the side of the room, Lance did his best to sit still and not disturb the mages. It wasn’t easy. His mind was still reeling slightly from even being welcomed to the meeting again and not being given research to do as soon as he entered. On the other side of the small table by Merlin’s window sat Jenny, who at least managed to look much calmer than him.

  Yet he’d gotten the text like all the others. When he’d pulled up with Jenny in his truck Morgana had opened the door for them. The older mage had even said hello without any underlying irritation in her voice. Merlin had greeted them with nods and provided them with glasses of iced tea. He was even confident that they hadn’t been poisoned. While Lance was aware that he’d been seated at the side of the room; he couldn’t ignore the fact that he was here with the mages once more.

  Alex was of course near the center of the room in one of Merlin’s large plush armchairs with Morgana hovering just behind her. Merlin was seated across from Alex on the sofa with Nicki and Aiden on either side of him. Bran was in the second armchair and they were all watching the Brownie Timothy as he bounced up onto the coffee table beside the plate of sandwiches. Lance rubbed the leg of his jeans as nervous sweat built up on his palm. There was something hanging in the air that put him on edge; something he couldn’t put his finger on.

  “Does anyone need anything?” Morgana asked. She even looked over towards him and Jenny. The woman’s green eyes locked on his own and Lance found it difficult to speak. Warming up to them, or not the woman still terrified him. He shook his head and touched the glass of iced tea on the table beside him. “Very well; Timothy wanted a chance to speak with everyone.”

  “Yes, yes,” Timothy said quickly. The Brownie rubbed its hands nervously on the front of his small doll coat. Its small eyes turned towards Alex. “I’m leaving to find my kin. Mages need to know more of what is happening since the spell was broken. My family can help us learn what has happened.”

  “Will you be safe?” Alex asked. She leaned forward and Lance almost smiled at the obvious concern on her face. Even after everything, she still just wanted to protect others. It was reassuring. “I mean, they won’t hurt you for having been around us?”

  “No no,” Timothy assured them. “In old days Brownies always lived with humans and helped them. Only stopped when humans didn’t want to know about magic anymore.” He paused and tilted his head. “Even now most still don’t.”

  “But we’re mages,” Alex said. “Doesn’t that change anything? I mean, they won’t see it as helping the enemy or anything like that will they?”

  It took Timothy too long to answer. The Brownie looked uncomfortable and unsure. With each passing moment, the expression on Alex’s face darkened. Then she looked over at Merlin with cold gray eyes.

  “He’s not going then!”

  “Alex, we don’t know what will happen,” Merlin said. He held up his hands in a calming gesture, but Lance could tell it wouldn’t help. “We haven’t asked him to go.”

  “Mages need to know,” Timothy said. Then he scuffed his foot on the top of the table. “And I need to know what has happened to my kin. I need to know if they are alive or not.”

  The mages all flinched, expect for Merlin and Morgana, but even they looked slightly distressed. A long exhale escaped Lance as he waited for some sort of explosion. It didn’t come. Alex slumped back in her chair. All emotion was gone from her face; she just looked thoughtful or maybe bored. There wasn’t a trace of her rage from a moment ago, or guilt, or sadness. Just nothing, and that made a cold weight settle in his stomach.

  “It wasn’t our fault,” Morgana said. Her voice was thinner than usual. “None of us cast that spell, and we did not actively go out looking for Faeries to fight. Scáthbás cast the spell and sent those Faeries after us. With our magic, she must have known that she was sending them to their deaths. She was just gambling on one of them getting lucky at some point.” Morgana’s voice was stronger now and she looked at all the younger mages in turn. “We had to defend ourselves, and you found the solution as quickly as you could. There was nothing more you could have done.”

 
“We still killed a lot of them,” Alex murmured.

  “Alex,” Merlin called. “In the last attack, you freed as many as you could. Even before breaking the spell you freed those you could nearby and protected them from the rising blood spell. The only reason Timothy is even standing safely in the bounds of Ravenslake is because you built an exception into the spell.” Something about Merlin’s voice was soothing and it seemed to roll down Lance’s spine. There was a faint hum to the voices and a hint of something in the air. Lance vaguely wondered if he was using some sort of magic. “Release your guilt,” Merlin urged. “You and the others did everything that you could.”

  “And now I want to help,” Timothy said. He was smiling up at Alex again with that slightly adoring look. “Mages need to know how Faeries are reacting.”

  “What do you think you’ll find?” Nicki asked. She was toying with the end of her braid of red hair, looking almost as nervous as Alex had been. “Do you think they’ll be angry with you?”

  “Most will be happy to be freed,” Timothy assured her. He nodded determinedly. “Some may be angry, but I’ll tell them to spread the word that Scáthbás did it, not the Iron Soul.”

  Opening her mouth, Alex seemed ready to argue for a moment, but then nodded and pressed her lips together. Lance saw Morgana’s shoulders relax in relief as his own frown deepened. Timothy was looking up at Alex nervously, clearly picking up on the tension in the room.

  “Thank you for helping us,” Alex said. “Just be careful, okay?”

  “I’ll be careful,” Timothy promised. He glanced around at all of them. “Mages and friends be careful as well. I’m not sure how the other Faery creatures will respond to all these changes.”

  Then Timothy jumped off the table and bounced towards the kitchen. Leaning forward, Lance tried to catch sight of the small creature, but he was gone from view too quickly. He glanced towards Jenny, who shrugged. Lance wondered if Timothy was leaving now and grabbing supplies. Though, maybe Timothy could teleport or was waiting until nightfall. His head ached a little at the thoughts, and Lance nearly groaned at the reminder of how poorly he understood what was happening around him.

  “He’s more confident than I would be,” Bran said. He was turned in his chair and looked into Merlin’s kitchen. Shaking his head, he smiled at all of them. “But maybe he’s right to be. This is a strange situation: I assume there isn’t a precedent for it.”

  “Not as such,” Merlin agreed. “In the past we have formed alliances with beings from other worlds that live here.” Merlin leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and tented his fingers in front of him. “But yes, this is a bit more than anything that has ever happened before. Sadly, the creatures do seem to have recognized that it wasn’t just the Queen’s magic affecting them, which isn’t good for us.”

  “It is not Alex’s fault,” Morgana said. Her voice rang with authority.

  “Of course not,” Merlin agreed. He gave Alex a soft smile, but her expression remained blank. “It just highlights the danger of our enemies gaining control of the Iron Artifacts that the Iron Soul has made in the past.”

  “Still, it is connected to me,” Alex said. She almost managed to sound nonchalant, but her fingers tightened against the armrests. “Let’s face it: Arthur probably has magic because of how he was made. Piggybacking on the Iron Chain’s magic or something.” Her jaw tightened, and Lance glanced towards a visibly worried Bran. “‘Course he still has magic now; the breaking of the Iron Chain didn’t change that. He was able to scramble that driver’s head and use him to kill my parents.”

  The thick awkward silence was back. In the corner of his eye Lance saw Jenny grimace and make an abortive move to stand. Guilt mixed with understanding filled her face and Lance was reminded once more than Jenny understood what it was like to lose a parent. His eyes moved across the mages quickly. Nicki was watching Alex was worry, and he noted for the first time how tired she looked. Wondering if Alex was keeping her awake at night, Lance looked toward Aiden, but he just seemed at a loss. Bran was watching Alex thoughtfully and his fingers were toying with something in his hand. Lance caught a flash of metal. His throat tightened in response.

  “Speaking of which, Alex, how are you today?” Merlin asked. He coughed a bit as if speaking was a chore. There was something heavy in his brown eyes that made Lance feel like he was falling, and the look wasn’t even directed towards him. “How are you sleeping? Any nightmares?”

  Alex tensed at the question and the temperature in the room seemed to drop. Lance noted Bran straightening up his chair and Nicki grimacing. Morgana shifted and put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. For a moment no one said anything.

  “I have some nightmares.” Alex’s voice was almost dismissive. “It isn’t pleasant, but I’m okay.” She nodded and forced a painful looking smile. “One day at a time.” Then she shook her head. “And honestly I’m not the priority. Hopefully, Timothy can bring us back some information, because we need to know what the Queen is up to now. Arthur hinted that they’re still interested in trying to locate Cathanáil. Do you think there’s any chance they’ll find it?”

  The deflection was painfully obvious and Merlin looked unhappy, but to Lance’s surprise he didn’t push. Instead, the eldest of the mages shook his head sadly and picked up his iced tea. He took a sip while the rest of the room waited. Lance looked over at Morgana. She was staring down at Alex with a soft and sad expression, her hand still resting on Alex’s shoulder.

  “We still have the issue of waking Old Ones,” Merlin said. He turned his gaze around the room, eying each of them in turn. “Some like Sif are allies, but there are others who, like Chernobog, have gone mad over the years. Hopefully, most of those that wake will be on our side or at least willing to stay neutral, but I fear we should be prepared for some new enemies.”

  “What does that have to do with the sword?” Bran asked.

  “These Old Ones have been sleeping in water. They have an affinity for it, and that may help them to find the sword. When Arthur lost his grip on it the sword was carried through the waters of the world. That tunnel doesn’t last forever, so the sword was released somewhere. It will be in a place with water, but that could be anywhere from the oceans to a swimming pool. Obviously, an ocean is the most likely place and an Old One could get lucky enough to stumble upon it.”

  “Have you had any thoughts on how we might find it?” Aiden asked. He looked uneasy and a touch embarrassed. In any other setting, Lance would have reminded him that what he’d done had been for the best. Arthur with Cathanáil would have been worse than just losing the sword. Lance knew that in his gut and he wasn’t even sure of the extent of the sword’s power. “Do you think Alex could find it if she worked with Bran?”

  “There is still the issue of retrieving it even if they could focus in on it,” Merlin said. The mage pressed his lips and hummed to himself for a moment. “But I suppose with Alex gaining more control it might work if she gathers up some magic to help her. Even if we can’t get to the sword, perhaps we can at least confirm that no enemies have it.”

  Alex shifted in her chair, an odd look of excitement and dread on her face. She tilted her head and seemed to be listening to something as her eyes went vacant. Frowning, Lance leaned forward to try and get a better look at her face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. Alex nodded in agreement and shuddered a little, earning her another worried glance from Morgana.

  “It’s worth a try,” Alex agreed. “Have you heard anything from Sif?” Her voice went a little higher at the mention of Sif’s name.

  “Nothing yet, but I’m sure Sif will be in touch soon.”

  “Hopefully she’ll stay safe,” Alex said. There was something in her voice, something distant and yet deeply invested. “We wouldn’t have been able to break the spell if she hadn’t found the potion.”

  “Yes,” Merlin agreed. “We were fortunate that she tracked down Cyrridven’s last home. With some luck, she’ll be able to tell us more so
on.”

  A long sigh escaped Alex and her fingers dug into the armrests of the chair for a moment. Then she straightened up and forced a little smile. “Okay,” Alex said breaking the silence. “We have the start of a plan, or at least a way to gather some information.” She gave them all a wide smile that failed to reach her gray eyes. They remained too dark and too shadowed for Lance’s nerves. “Anyone have anything else to report?”

  The conversation shifted slowly to a discussion about new spells to try. Nicki wanted to work on telekinesis with Bran while Aiden had plans to go through his RPG books again for new ideas. Lance took advantage of his placement off to the side and studied the mages. Part of him disliked the separation that was apparent by where Merlin had placed him and Jenny, but it gave him the ability to really look at all of them. Alex was toying with her hands and staring off into space. Her head tilted a tiny bit and Lance got the impression she was listening to something he couldn’t hear.

  Nicki kept sending glances towards Aiden. Her worry and fear for his recovery still hadn’t completely faded, even after a couple of months and their trip to Paris. Aiden was looking between Merlin and Morgana uneasily and they were both sporting fixed little smiles. Those two had practice at looking calm even when they weren’t, but Lance thought he saw a glimmer of apprehension in their eyes.