by L. H. Nicole
“You’re m-my pri-princess. It’s my…my…duty.” His eyes rolled into the back of his sockets as his last breath left him and his body went slack.
“No!” Aliana screamed. Her powers rushed inside her, her magic senses opening wide and absorbing all the energies around them. She felt Morgana and Viviane gather more power to attack, fueling her fury. “You won’t get away with this!” Aliana seized all the magic she could as Dagg wrapped himself tighter around her shoulders.
All the magic she corralled exploding outward like a rippling pink waves. The Goblin leader shrieked and squealed with his remaining army in the valley before he too fell dead on the ground. Her magic slammed into their enemies obliterating the cloud of gray magic and blasted Morgana, Viviane and Mordrid back through several trees.
Everything was statue-still for a long second as Aliana’s shoulders heaved from the magic backlash. The knights all stared at her in amazement. Then the world moved again and she pitched forward. Galahad got there first, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he knelt beside her. Falorn and D’varin took their dead friend from her slackened grip.
“What the hell was that?” Galahad demanded gruffly.
She shook her head, leaning against him as Dagg pushed healing energy into her. Aliana felt a few silver sparks fire up through her weakened bond with Galahad helping to heal her.
“You have more magic than I ever suspected!” Mordrid hissed through his heaving breath with delight as he steadied himself against a tree.
Aliana pulled out of Galahad’s arms, her body screaming in pain. Through squinted eyes she saw Morgana and Viviane both get back on their feet, though all three had torn, burned clothes, were bleeding in several places on their faces and body and couldn’t stand on their own feet without support.
“I must have you even more!” Mordrid raised one hand, palm toward her as Morgana and Viviane did the same.
The knights raised their shields but everything in her knew that wouldn’t be enough. She took the last of her ruby magic and her own bubbling pink magic and created a shield around all her friends just as the three attacked. The combative magics slammed into her shield, but Aliana felt the power like it was ramming against her own flesh.
Aliana barely held back her agonizing cry as her shield imploded under the weight of their power. Everyone was knocked back, good and bad as the very earth vibrated with the force of the collision.
When Aliana raised her head she saw all the knights out cold, Falorn and D’varin lying next to their dead warrior. Her heart kicked and her stomach twisted as her eyes frantically looked over all of them.
“They’re alive,” Merlin groaned, pushing himself up, his hair disheveled with clumps of dirt in his hair and on his face and clothes. “Unfortunately, so are they.” He motioned to their enemies, who were getting back to their feet.
“Why would you betray your souls mate, Morgana?” Aliana demanded in a pain-choked voice as both girls got back to their feet.
“I am not!” Morgana looked at Merlin. “He will come to our side now that he knows the truth, now that he knows we will prevail!”
“Never, Morgana!” Merlin stared at her, his devastated and desperate face pleading with the witch. “What has happened to you? You are not this hateful, evil person. You are good and beautiful and loyal and strong. We are your family!”
Dagg wrapped himself around Aliana again, both helping each other recover again. What was she missing here?
Morgana held Merlin’s gaze, the anger in her face lessening for a second as indecision warred in her eyes.
“Please, my love, do not do this! You have not done anything Arthur and our family would not forgive! These two are confusing you.”
“Viviane raised me, taught me about my magic, taught me how to use it! My mother was of her blood. That was why Uther sent me away, especially after he married Igraine.” But Morgana didn’t sound too convinced.
“Then why come to Camelot?” Merlin demanded. “Why fall in love with me?”
“Because I told her to,” Mordrid snapped in frustration. “I sent her there to gain the trust of the fabled Knights of the Round Table and infiltrate your family. You fools made it all too easy.”
Merlin growled. “Stay out of this, you murdering whelp!” He looked back at Morgana. “He killed Sophvira, our little Sophvira! He and Viviane murdered her!”
“No,” she denied, shaking her head. “That bracelet was for Aliana! That stupid servant messed everything up! Her and Aliana!”
“That’s not true, we talked about this!” Merlin pleaded.
She shrieked. “Why do you keep defending her? Maybe you are in love with her too, like those fools Galahad and Arthur!”
“You know that is not true! I love you! You’re my souls mate, don’t do this to us!” he begged.
Aliana’s heart broke. Morgana was doing all this because she thought Merlin loved her? Her resolve tightened, she needed to help Morgana see.
“Morgana, there was never anything—”
“Shut up!” Morgana lashed out with another spear of icy magic.
Merlin appeared in front of Aliana, his own shield deflecting the blast as he defended Aliana.
“Why? You still protect her!” The blonde’s eyes filled with tears.
“You see it for yourself, my dear,” Viviane crooned as she came to stand next to Morgana, Mordrid appearing behind them both. “He protects her from even you, he turns his back on you. He loves her. She is already stealing your souls mate bond from you. She wants him and the others all wrapped around her finger to do her bidding.”
Mordrid stepped up to Morgana’s other ear. “If they truly loved you, cousin, they would be standing by you right now, your lover would not be protecting her. He would be helping us.”
“Don’t listen to them Morgana! They’re manipulating you!”
“You know what you need to do, my dear.” Viviane held out a solid black onyx dagger in her hand. “Pierce his heart with it and he will be yours!”
Merlin’s face turned ashen as he stared at the dagger. Whatever it was, it scared the normally unshakeable Druid.
“Don’t do it, Morgana!” Aliana cried out. “Don’t you see they’re lying to you?”
“You would know!” Morgana gripped the dagger in her trembling hand. “All you’ve done is lie to all of us. Everyone but my souls mate.”
“That dagger won’t make me yours, Morgana. You know what it will do, it will destroy me in every way!” Merlin took an unsteady step forward. “My mind will be gone. I will be nothing but a puppet. My magic will be nothing but darkness.”
“You are letting them fill your head with lies and half-truths, Morgana.” Arthur groaned, getting back to his feet. Aliana sagged for a second in relief. Everyone else was still out cold, but at least Arthur was back on his feet, with Excalibur in his hand. “We are also cousins, Morgana. Uther’s blood flows in you just as much as in me. You are a member of our family, we care for you.”
Morgana wavered, her eyes going between the onyx weapon and Arthur and Merlin as they stood side by side. Aliana kept her mouth shut, realizing that she would only make the situation worse.
“Don’t be taken in by their weasel words, my dear,” Viviane whispered. “They are trying to fool you. We are the ones who truly care for you. We are your true family, you are a descendant of the onyx clan. Remember everything you’ve been through. Mordrid and I were there for you, not them.”
“Enough of this,” Mordrid ground out, another onyx dagger appearing in his hand. “I will do it for you, cousin.”
Aliana screamed as he threw the dagger straight toward Merlin faster than anyone could move. Everyone but Morgana. She magically appeared in front of Merlin at the last possible second.
Merlin cried out in denial as she was struck and engulfed with rays of pure blackness. Aliana rushed forward only to have Arthur hold her back. Merlin was already at his souls mate’s side, but even as he poured his orange rays of magic toward
Morgana, they couldn’t penetrate the unbreakable darkness surrounding the blond sorceress.
Tears leaked down Aliana’s cheeks as Merlin watched helplessly as the evil magic filled the woman he loved more than life. He tried again to penetrate the magic, but it was no use. Aliana’s own magic was so depleted, she would be of no help.
Morgana and the sphere disappeared from sight. “No!” the Druid cried into the sky.
Mordrid and Viviane laughed in shrill delight.
“I will kill you!” Merlin raised his hand in the air and summoned down the strongest bolt of lightning she had ever seen him use. Every strand of air crackled with the mighty power, the charges popping against her skin.
It raced toward the evil duo only to be stopped by a dome of unbreakable ice that formed above them. The ice vanished with the lightning. Morgana, transparent like a ghost, stood between Viviane and Mordrid once again.
“My love?” Merlin’s voice cracked.
The witch’s body slowly took on corporeal form, like she was being reborn.
Aliana gasped, seeing the so familiar hate and malice she had known from Morgana for so long.
“You will never stop us,” the blonde said arrogantly. “We will destroy all of the Knights of the Round Table and claim Camelot for its rightful ruler.” Her cold eyes landed on Aliana.
Arthur’s arms tightened around her as he shifted her closer.
Morgana sneered. “And I will not stop until I have ripped your new pet from your grasp.”
“I am not a pet!” Aliana seethed under her breath. But her anger was more at herself than Morgana. Morgana’s evil magic came because she had sacrificed herself to save Merlin from taking that blade!
Groans sounded all around Aliana. The knights and Fae warriors all started to shake off the residual disorientation they must have felt from the blast. They got to their feet, weapons back in their hands, and stared at Morgana in disbelief.
“I have one more piece of information you should know, my king,” Morgana snarled, taunting Arthur. She held out her hand a long spearhead with a bright emerald on its base appearing in her hand. “We are the ones who have been claiming the pieces of the Spear of Hel, and thanks to those foolish Fae, I finally realized where the final piece was hidden in the castle. I took it right under all of your noses.”
“Traitor!” Percival hissed.
“You can’t give it to them!” Owaine insisted, panic on his handsome face.
Morgana laughed and handed the piece over to Viviane. “You can’t stop me. And once the spear is assembled, not even Excalibur will be able to save your pathetic life, Arthur!”
Galahad burst into motion, Falorn, D’varin, Gawain, Lancelot and Leyon all moving with him as they charged the trio. Their evil laughter filled the forest as they vanished before the warriors could attack.
28
Aliana believes that her task from the Fae queen was to help Delphina and Arthur come together. I have never agreed with this thought. Now that we know of this Spear of Hel, I believe that may truly be our quest for the queen. I never once heard a tale of this weapon in the centuries I traveled the realms before the Sidhe imprisoned me. I wonder now if that is not because of something Aliana or even Mordrid may do. And now we’ve walked right into his trap, and Morgana’s betrayal has finally come to light. My instincts are telling me the worst is still to come.
~Daggerhorne
MERLIN FELL TO HIS KNEES, staring blankly at the spot where Morgana had stood side by side with their greatest enemy. Falorn and D’varin knelt down next to their fallen comrade murmuring soft, sad words Aliana realized were in Faetine, the language of the Fae.
“Percival, Leyon.” Arthur’s voice was low and solemn. Everyone looked to him for his next orders. “Search the area, be sure we are alone.” The two moved toward the trees, their injuries making their movements slower and rougher. “Lancelot, you are our best tracker, find the horses. Get them back here, we return to Camelot immediately. Take Owaine with you.”
The two nodded, faces grim and bloody, and hobbled off, following the hoof prints in the ground.
Aliana knelt next to Merlin. The Druid didn’t even seem to notice her. She touched his shoulder with her shaking hand, the sharp pain and burning in her muscles still punishing her from her overuse of magic. Dagg’s wings moved against her shoulder.
“We have to fix this, Dagg.”
Dagg’s rumbled hum rolled through her body. “Our only chance to save Morgana, to rid her of that evil, is the Grail of Power. Only elixir from its enchanted metal will destroy that darkness. It has the power to restore and return anyone to what they were. Or it can grant unimaginable power, if the person who possesses it knows what they are doing.”
Shivers ran through her again. Merlin had the Grail of Power when he made the bargain with Titania, after Mordrid nearly killed Arthur. Aliana looked down at the ruby glinting on the back of her hand. The Fae queen had used the Grail to create this magic ruby, the prophecy stone. She knew what she needed to do next.
“Merlin,” she called him again, hoping to draw his attention. But it didn’t work. She sighed heavily, her heart breaking for the lost Druid. Aliana glanced over her shoulder at Arthur, Gawain and Galahad who were talking quietly with Falorn and D’varin. Merlin needed to get the Grail of Power, and maybe knowing what it could do would help give him hope.
Aliana scooted around to face the ashen Druid. “Merlin, you need to listen to me!” She cupped his clammy cold face with her hands, the touch of skin on his flesh finally drawing him from whatever haunted world he had been trapped in. “I know how we can save Morgana.”
His brow furrowed.
“The Grail of Power!”
His sky blue eyes widened, the first sign of hope and life returning like little sparks.
Aliana let a little of her own hope show in her small smile. “Think about it, the Grail can destroy the darkness that took her. If we can rid her of that, she will be your souls mate again!”
Then the Druid’s face fell. “I have no way of getting to it. I would need the map you need to return home.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t.” She smiled again. “Delphina can show you the way. Her people know where it hides in Avalon, remember?” She knew, from the fact Morgana was still evil in her time, that Merlin wouldn’t be able to save her now. But giving him the hope would be enough to ensure he got the Grail. He’d need it if their future were to happen.
Hope returned to his face and he started nodding.
“Avalon is the realm of your father, you can draw so much power from that magic land. If you and Delphina go there, I know you can find the Grail!” She hoped that the smart man would read between the lines of what she was saying. “So much rests on that fact.”
Merlin’s sky blue eyes studied hers for a long moment. They widened as he realized what she was hinting at. “I suppose you are from the future,” he whispered. “All right.”
Together they both got back to their feet. He hugged her fiercely. Aliana was shocked for a half second then she wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug. “You will get her back, Merlin! I’ll make sure of it.”
He nodded against her shoulder then pulled back. He led Aliana to where Arthur, Galahad and the others were watching them both.
“As soon as the others return, we will ride back to Camelot.” Arthur’s face was set in hard lines. “We have a war to prepare for.”
Aliana’s restored hope dimmed. She couldn’t go back with them. She knew she was about to start a heck of a fight, but it was one that needed to be settled. “I need to continue on with my quest, Arthur.”
“No.” Galahad denied her before the king could. “Our enemies now have the one weapon that can defeat even Excalibur, they will not wait to strike again.”
“Sickening as it is, we know that Raven…” Arthur shook his head. “Mordrid wants you. We cannot make it easy for him by letting you go jaunting off to another realm.”
Alia
na steeled herself, setting aside her heartache for now. “This isn’t something you have a choice about,” she said softly, trying not to rattle this beehive too much at once.
“He seemed surprised you knew his name,” Falorn stated. “How did you know who he truly was?”
Aliana gulped. She still had to tell them about being from the future, why she knows him.
“Because she has faced him before,” Merlin said beside her.
She took a breath. “I told you that I was sent here to find the map, because I need it to fight an evil that is threatening my family, my world…” She cleared her throat, about to break her promise to the queen, but if felt like the right thing to do. “In my time.”
Galahad shook his head. “What are you saying, Aliana?”
Falorn took a step closer, his eyes lit with awe all over again. “She’s saying she is from the future.”
She nodded, looking from him to Galahad and Arthur, terrified how they would react.
“That’s impossible,” Arthur denied.
“And yet…” Aliana shrugged her shoulder. “Now do you understand why I have been so careful about revealing my secrets?”
“Did you know all of this, any of this, was going to happen?” Gawain asked, his voice very quiet.
Aliana shook her head. “No, just because I am from the future does not mean I have any answers.” She looked to Galahad. “Please tell me you understand why I have to go to the Underworld.”
His stubborn mouth remained shut, the silence cutting through her heart.
D’varin stepped between them, his severe face softening with sympathy for her. “You knew who Mordrid was, does that mean you face him in your time? He is the enemy you must prevail against?”
She looked past him to Arthur. The king watched her with heavy golden brown eyes. His king mask was in place, but she could guess he was dreading her answer. “Yes.”
Arthur turned his back to her, Galahad and Gawain’s face lighting with a realization. Aliana could only imagine that meant they were starting to realize what that meant for their future.