The Iron Cursed

by J. M. Briggs

  “Shut up,” she whispered. “Shut up.”

  They didn’t quiet. As the figures came closer, the voices only grew louder. They buzzed like insects burrowing to escape. A wild, high pitched flurry of sounds that no longer meant anything. Alex bit her lip. The figures were getting closer. A flash of red behind her rippled outwards to force some of the ghosts back and was followed by blue bolts. The voices protested.

  Brekszta was watching her with narrowed, calculating eyes. She was waiting for something, but Alex didn’t know what. Dark silver magic flared around Alex’s fingertips, thrumming in the air, and she glanced towards the figures. Her fingers twitched to attack, but the voices were too loud in their protests. Brekszta tilted her head and seemed to be listening to something. Then she shook her head and smashed a foot down on the narrow wall.

  “No, no, no! You aren’t listening!”

  “Look, end the spell and we’ll talk!” Alex shouted. “Humans seeing magic is dangerous!”

  Her words seemed to surprise Brekszta, and there was a flicker of something in the Old One’s eyes. Shaking her head, she made a sound of frustration and tangled her long fingers in her loose dark hair. There were soft pained sounds coming from her, but Alex couldn’t understand anything she was saying. Brekszta looked up at her suddenly, her eyes wild and the dark blue magic shuddered all around her. With a scream, Brekszta waved her hands and the magic rose above them like a tidal wave.

  Throwing up her hands, Alex released a blast of dark silver magic. It and the incoming wave collided and the air crackled with energy. There was an explosion of sound around them and Alex’s ears rang. Grimacing, she sucked in a sharp breath and tried to coax Brekszta’s magic towards her. It pushed back. Then it gave and Alex’s magic swept forward. Panting, Alex’s legs shuddered. All of her energy was drawn out of her and into the swirling magical storm.

  Thankfully, she was able to pull some back. Her knees locked. Dark silver spun around her, surrounding Alex in a shimmering dark wave before spinning together into a large orb. Brekszta shrieked, but there was still blue magic surrounding her. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Alex licked her too dry lips and struggled to take another breath. Everything was hurting now. Her muscles were on fire, too hot and too tight.

  The tornado of magic calmed and Brekszta smiled. Her magic stretched out, linking once more to the thin strands spread across town. Like the web of a spider, each one was latched to a victim. Looking into the coffee shop, Alex’s stomach tightened as she scanned the people slumped over. Over her head the strands were stretching out at least across campus, but maybe further.

  Swallowing, Alex reached for the stray wisps of magic in the air. She dared not touch the strands. The flickers of dark blue magic turned the color of iron, swirling together into Alex’s hands. Brekszta made an odd sound of irritation. The orb of magic was the size of a grapefruit and pulsing softly as it floated beside Alex.

  “No, you’re not doing this right!” Brekszta snapped. “Listen to me! Listen! Listen!” Her frantic tone was back. Her eyes were too wide, too dark, and glittered with something that made Alex and all the voices retreat.

  More magic flowed into Alex’s orb just as Brekszta glared. With a shriek, Brekszta threw more magic at them. With a shout, Alex brought up her hands and pushed out a wave of her magic, catching Brekszta’s attacks. Bolts of red and blue shot past Alex. Lightning arched off Alex’s hands, striking Brekszta in the chest and knocking her back several feet.

  “Alex!” Nicki called. “What do you want us to do?! Do you want us to attack her?!”

  The question made her pause. They couldn’t see the strands. They could see the attacks, maybe see the cloud of magic around her, but they wouldn’t be able to see the traces of her spell. Nodding, Alex didn’t dare speak again. It was enough, Nicki and Aiden both stepped forward. A ring of fire appeared around them, expanding outwards and forcing back the ghosts. Nicki punched the air and a wave of pressure hit Brekszta, who screamed in frustration.

  There was a squeal of tires in the nearby parking lot. Alex tensed as thoughts of a student seeing the light show hit her. They’d pull out a cell phone and… a familiar magic brushed against hers. Relief flooded Alex’s system just before a bolt of leaf green magic blasted towards Brekszta. The stone retaining wall shuddered beneath her and a shout of surprise escaped Brekszta. She jumped back only for a layer of earth to rise up and mold around her feet.

  “Not fair!” Brekszta screamed. “Cheating!”

  Alex spun around. Merlin was behind them with a bag over his shoulder and Mjǫllnir in his right hand. He was panting and his cheeks were red. One of the voices was amused, but it quickly faded. Another voice shouted in joy when her eyes fell on the Hammer while another all but withdrew. Merlin nodded to her, but his eyes jumped past her to Brekszta. Alex held out her hand for Mjǫllnir and Merlin began to move towards her.

  “No!” Brekszta shouted.

  Alex sensed the magic before she saw it. The air filled with the sharp smell of Brekszta’s magic, like a cold night with a hint of decay. Strands of magic were stretching out further into the city. Alex’s mind provided visions of cars crashing and people falling into the street, or into running machines. Dark blue magic rained down around them and the figures flickered. Their pale forms shifted to dark blue and the faces vanished, replaced with empty vacant faces without eyes or mouths. They turned as one towards Merlin.

  “Merlin!” Alex shouted. “Throw me the Hammer!”

  With his left hand, Merlin released a wave of green magic. Silver magic rippled out from the parking lot. Alex could see Morgana running towards them. Bolts of silver ripped through the figures. Merlin raised the Hammer up with his right hand. Grunting, he threw his weight forward and released the Hammer. The world slowed down.

  Alex threw out a hand, sending threads of dark silver magic towards the Hammer. Mjǫllnir sailed through the air, twisting unnaturally as her dark silver magic wrapped around it. Holding out a hand, Alex called back the magic. The spark in the ancient iron metal flared to life. The triskelion on the side flashed and then the handle was in her hands. All around Alex the glimmer of the magical threads twinkled, but she hesitated.

  “Alex!” Aiden shouted.

  Looking up, Alex gasped. Brekszta had vanished into a whirling cloud of dark blue magic. It was lashing out all around them like a twister, ripping apart the ground. Her hair whipped around her face and the glass of the coffee shop shuddered. The magic crawled over her skin. Alex’s eyes jumped to the nearest of the ghostly figures as it reached for Merlin. The other mage slammed his foot on the ground and a massive rock spike rose up to impale the ghostly figure. It only stopped for a moment.

  Gripping the Hammer, Alex focused on the pulsing strands of magic passing by her. She swung Mjǫllnir, crashing the Hammer through the stream of magic. Dark gray magic rippled outward, cutting through the stream and several others. The released magic sparked in the air. Alex pulled on it, reaching out with her left hand. Her own magic rushed out and swooped around like a scoop to gather it up. Brekszta shouted something, but Alex didn’t stop to listen. She swung the Hammer again and broke through more of the strands, desperately hoping it wouldn’t hurt anyone. This had to stop. Distantly she heard voices calling to her.

  One of the figures touched her cheek. It was cold and not solid. Instead, it was like walking into mist. She looked without meaning to. Ilse was looking right at her. There were tears slipping from the familiar blue eyes. There were more lines around her face than Alex remembered, but her heart faltered for a moment. Gottfried was sobbing, begging her to do something, and sick with fear.

  “Alex!” Aiden shouted. “Alex!” A bolt of red shot through Ilse’s chest and the ghostly figure staggered. The features blurred and Alex tore her eyes away from the haunting blue ones. “You okay?!”

  She didn’t try to answer. More magic was gathering. Alex swung Mjǫllnir through another set of magical threads and watched them snap with sa
tisfaction before quickly gathering the magic. She waved her left hand. The orb was larger now and shimmered like a snowball in the sun. Brekszta’s eyes met hers, she opened her mouth to say something, but Alex didn’t want to hear anything more. With a squint of her eye, she sent the orb hurting towards her enemy.

  The orb dropped on Brekszta. There was a short scream, but the energy swirled and rippled around her. All of the magic rushed into her body, making the Old One’s eyes glow the color of iron. Beneath her skin a dark gray color took over and spread further and further. It was familiar to Alex, that sight of magic spreading beneath the skin, but she couldn’t place it. Brekszta took a shaky step towards her. Around them, all the ghosts vanished.

  Alex swung Mjǫllnir once more, this time hitting Brekszta in the middle of her chest. Lightning flashed off of the metal and an explosion shook the air. The rest of the magical threads vanished. Alex’s feet slid back across the sidewalk while Brekszta stumbled back.

  “You don’t understand,” Brekszta groaned. She wrapped her arms around her body as if that could keep it from falling apart. “I was trying to help! You are… we’re all going to… was trying to help.”

  “Help?” Alex sneered at the being. Anger filled her chest as every nightmare replayed in a flash before her eyes. Every time she’d seen that truck bear down, every face that had haunted her and every death she’d relived. Every moment that she’d been afraid to sleep in case more memories came forth. “How was driving me crazy helping?”

  “The lies have to die,” Brekszta whispered. Her voice was fading away. “Or we all die. The lie has to end.”

  “You were going to destroy me,” Alex said. “I was losing myself to all the others!”

  “You are the lie,” Brekszta answered.

  Their eyes met and Alex was silent as the Old One flickered. Brekszta’s image was fading faster now. She could see the energy breaking off. There was nothing to hold it there. Brekszta couldn’t control her own form anymore. Then Brekszta laughed, but there was no sound. The Old One reached towards her one last time. Alex didn’t move as sparks of energy brushed over her. There was no flesh anymore, no matter or substance, but she still felt something.

  A dying world. The image of that dead world flashed through her head again. Then there was another, this one unfamiliar but just as barren and dark as the first, with a blue star shining above it. Then Brekszta was gone. Alex exhaled slowly and scanned the area. There were faint traces of energy, but they were dissipating through the air, leaving only a lingering scent of ozone. It was like there had been a thunderstorm, and nothing more.

  The lie. Alex shivered and turned around. Bran wasn’t far away, a yellow dome surrounding him and her brothers. She walked towards him and he dropped the protective spell. The lie. Brekszta’s last words echoed in her mind. She didn’t want to think about them, didn’t want to give them any power over her. And yet, those dying worlds pulled at something in her chest.

  Kneeling beside her brothers, Alex gently reached out to brush back a strand of hair from Ed’s face. They were still asleep. There were fading flickers of magic in their bodies, but it was fading away. They and everyone else would wake soon. Sighing in relief, Alex became aware of the others gathering around her and looked up. The ghosts were gone. A wave of grief made her throat tighten. She looked back at her brothers. Someday, that’s what they’d be. In another fight, in another life, they’d be the ghosts just like Galath, Ilse, and Eigyr.

  You are the lie. The words echoed again and Alex forced a smile for the others. Bran helped her up and Morgana quickly offered suggestions on how to clean up the area quickly. Merlin left to deal with the cameras and Morgana offered to take her brothers back to the hotel. Nicki and Aiden had already broken off and begun to repair the windows of the coffee shop and the retaining wall. Alex just nodded in agreement at their suggestions and kept her hand wrapped tightly around Mjǫllnir.

  35

  Concerning Family

  One of the worst things about the day after magical combats was the way the world just kept going. The sun was already high in the sky when they gathered the next day at Merlin’s house. There was a soft breeze keeping the summer heat at bay, and it carried hints of pine with it. Nothing had changed. Merlin’s house was cozy as ever. Across the river students were heading off to their finals and turning in project and papers. Hopefully no one failed to finish a final paper due to the unplanned nap.

  Yet Alex couldn’t shake the sense of wrongness. The knot in her chest still hurt, but the dull ache was easier to live with. Brekszta’s spell hadn’t truly spread that far, and in a lucky twist of fate no one had died. Alex had expected something. Someone to fall down the stairs, some car to crash on University Drive or someone who fell asleep in a dorm kitchen. No one had. This event was simply an oddity that people could move on from.

  Looking down at her own steaming cup of coffee, Alex tried to sort out the wild and odd thoughts in her head. The others were moving around Merlin’s house calmly. Nicki and Avani were talking in one of the corners. There was a foolish expression on Nicki’s face and Alex smiled a touch at the sight.

  “We were lucky,” Merlin declared. “There weren’t many students, and with it being finals week most seem happy to believe that they just dozed off.”

  “What about the security feeds?” Alex asked. “Were you able to access them?”

  “Yes,” Merlin assured her. “Though Ravenslake isn’t exactly the most watched campus in the world. I did go over all the camera feeds just to make sure that there was nothing strange recorded. That was a bit more difficult for the lawn feed, so I just made that all static.”

  “That’s good,” Alex said carefully. She hesitated to call it a victory just yet. “What else do we need to do?”

  “I’m not sure; honestly we need to just stay aware and make sure that no one saw anything. There shouldn’t have been any other cameras turned towards the lawn, but we’ll keep an ear out for any rumors.”

  “So what now?” Aiden asked. “Today is the last day of finals.”

  “You are all done, correct?” Morgana asked.

  “I am,” Alex said. Her words were followed by agreements from Nicki, Aiden, and Bran.

  “Then we can seriously consider Avani’s request for you to head to India,” Morgana said.

  “Well, this weekend if we build another Gate I’ll consider Ravenslake secure, at least for the time being,” Alex said. She took another sip as Avani’s face lit up with relief. “If you and Merlin stay here then I’m comfortable with us investigating India.”

  “Just like that?” Morgana pressed. There was a hint of suspicion in the older mage’s voice. “Do you think that’s enough?”

  “Brekszta is dead and the Sídhe are locked up for a little while. I doubt that Arthur and the Queen will give us much time, so we need to move while things are quiet.”

  “And the Red Caps?”

  “There’s a limit to what we can do about the Fae who aren’t happy with the current state of things,” Alex replied. “We aren’t going to just change their minds. Not that easily.”

  “I’m sorry,” Avani offered. “I know this isn’t a good time.”

  “There’s never a good time.” Alex chuckled a little and inhaled the smell of her coffee. “There’s just the best opportunity.”

  Morgana’s frown deepened, furrowing her brow and making her eyes darken. Alex ignored her and took another sip. Bran was watching her with a hint of worry while Aiden and Nicki seemed excited. There was a flutter of excitement in her own chest at the idea of going to India.

  “That’s a fair point, I suppose,” Merlin said carefully. “Are you comfortable going without us? Perhaps the others could stay here and we could go with you.”

  A thunderous expression appeared on Nicki’s face and Aiden frowned. Bran pressed his lips together tightly at their reactions. Alex straightened up and set down her coffee.

  “I understand what you’re saying, but they don’
t have any history with Shiva, good or bad. Bran’s scrying ability means I want him to go, and we’ve proven with the Chalice and the Hammer that we make a good team.”

  “What about Lance and Jenny?” Morgana questioned. “Are you taking them?”

  The question made Alex pause. Part of her said yes, but another part of her wanted to say no. She carefully considered it. “I’ll talk to them. I don’t want to put them in danger, but they’ve been helpful in the past. They bring an outside perspective.”

  “They’d be more than welcome,” Avani promised. “My family home has more than enough space to accommodate all of you.”

  “Thank you,” Alex replied. She ignored the fact they’d be staying with Lokpal’s descendants for the time being. That was a can of worms for another day.