My Boyfriend Merlin (Book 1, My Merlin Series)

by Priya Ardis

  Locked into a macabre dance on the rooftop, we fought each other. At least with the gargoyles unable to use their strength, everyone was more or less on a level playing field. If Paul had had his full strength, I was pretty sure I would have been dead.

  A candidate made it to the stone and tugged at the sword. He let out a scream and collapsed.

  “He’s dead,” someone pronounced.

  Paul’s attention wavered. With one quick move, I knocked the sword out of his hand. I put my blade at his neck. “Why is Marla after me?”

  Paul laughed. “You won’t kill me.”

  In my best impression of Vane, I cut into Paul’s shoulder. “I can hurt you much worse.”

  Somewhere in the fight, I heard Grey yell in pain. With a curse, I hit Paul across the head. I ran to help Grey. He was trying to hold back two gargoyles from the stone. One stabbed him in the shoulder and ran past him to the stone. The other one was Oliver.

  I stepped in front of Grey.

  Oliver smiled. “I knew I would get my chance with you.”

  Blake hurried to Grey to help him with his wound. As I fought Oliver, the other gargoyle reached the Sword and pulled at it. His body shuddered as a current seemed to go through him. He too screamed and collapsed.

  “One caught fire. Two collapsed,” Blake shouted. “What does it mean?”

  I ducked as Oliver tried to take off my head. One of Vane’s candidates, a gargoyle, and a Regular made it to the Sword at the same time. They touched it. Light from the Sword reflected off the large amulet ring Oliver wore. The gemstone glowed for just a moment.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the trio with their hands on the Sword. In the next second, they all disappeared.

  My eyes went wide. “That’s it.”

  The rooftop shook as another layer of stone fell off the edge. Oliver stumbled.

  I moved quickly. My sword caught Oliver by the neck. I held it just against his skin. “Stop. I have the way out.”

  Oliver faced me warily.

  “Can you stop the gargoyles?” I said.

  Oliver nodded. “What have you figured out?”

  “Matt told me the Sword is a bridge between all races. Did you see the two candidates and gargoyle? They touched the Sword together and they didn’t collapse or catch fire. They disappeared. That is the doorway out of here.”

  His lips curled. “You want to kill me.”

  “You betrayed us,” I said, not disagreeing.

  “Why should I trust you?”

  “You’ll never figure it out without me,” I said bluntly. “You know it. And you also know well enough that while I might not care if you live or die—” My eyes flickered over Grey and the other candidates. “I care if they do.”

  Oliver’s lips thinned. Another row of pavestones at the rooftop edge fell. The ground we stood on see-sawed.

  I thrust my sword just a bit deeper against Oliver’s neck. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

  Oliver glanced back and forth between the edge of the shrinking rooftop and the spinning Stone. He dropped his sword.

  Oliver shouted, “Gargoyles, stand down.”

  To my shock, the gargoyles all lowered their sword at once.

  Mark and the other candidates blinked in surprise.

  “I know the way out,” I told them.

  Oliver pushed away the sword I held at his neck and stood up. “What next?”

  “We do a test,” I said. “We need a gargoyle, a Regular, and a wizard. Only all three can pass. If they touch the Sword together.”

  “It makes sense,” said Blake. “The energies of all three might open a doorway.”

  Oliver crooked his finger at a gargoyle. The gargoyle came forward. Oliver looked at me. “This one goes first.”

  I turned back to the candidates. “I can go for us.”

  “No,” a Regular held up a hand. “I will. They will need you if this doesn’t work.”

  “And I will,” a girl wizard stepped forward.

  Blake grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

  The three strode to the stone.

  “Touch it together,” I said.

  They did. They disappeared. Whoops of celebration sounded across the rooftop.

  I raised a brow at Oliver in triumph.

  Grey thumped my back.

  “What are your terms?” Oliver asked.

  I looked at the candidates. They all stared back at me. I felt the mantle of their trust come down to rest on my shoulders.

  My chin rose. I faced down Oliver. “We can get out of this together. But what’s the point if we’re just going to kill each other on the other side? If you really are their leader, you will agree to stand down.”

  Oliver’s lips curled. “Or what? You’ll sacrifice yourselves? I don’t believe it.”

  Grey and Blake moved to stand behind in me in a visible show of support. Gia followed Grey. All the candidates except Vane’s moved to stand behind me.

  Mark frowned at Gia. I could see the decision warring on his face.

  “You need all three,” I told him. “Without the Regulars, you will all fall here.”

  I held my breath. Mark gave a tight nod. His sword gleamed in the dull light as he moved to stand beside Gia. And just like that, I had the rest of Vane’s candidates.

  The rooftop shook again. Another fat layer of stone tumbled off. The roof had become so narrow that we huddled together, barely fitting on the remaining stone. The candidates standing at the edges of the stone held hands, fearing a sudden movement.

  I turned back to Oliver. “Do we have a deal?”

  “I agree to stand down if you do the same,” Oliver said.

  “Agreed,” I said.

  “Do you have enough pairs to cover everyone?” Oliver asked in a lower tone.

  My heart thumped. The rooftop shook as another layer of rock fell off. Cries went up in the air.

  “We need to go,” I told him. “We’ll figure out if we don’t. Gather the gargoyles.”

  I turned to Blake. “Group the wizards together.”

  Between Grey, Blake, Oliver and I, the candidates grouped into loose sections. Oliver and I sent a trio pair one after the other. Finally we were down to the last three of each group.

  Grey caught my hand. He hissed in my ear. “There are four Regulars left.”

  “We draw straws,” a Regular said.

  “We don’t have straws,” I said. “I will stay.”

  Blake nodded at Mark. With one command, they turned the swords back into pens.

  “Now we have straws.” He took out the ballpoint in one and threw it away. He held it up and pushed the top. Nothing happened. “The short straw.”

  “Test the other pens,” Grey said.

  Blake tested each one. The other ones’ ballpoint all worked. He held them out to us.

  I reached for one first. Grey grabbed it from me. “I pick this one.”

  “No,” I cried.

  Grey pushed the pen’s top. No ballpoint came out. He stared at it with a half-smile.

  “I knew you’d try this.” He held up the pen to the other two Regulars. “I stay.”

  “Grey,” Gia sniffled. “I’ll stay too.”

  “We had a deal,” Oliver reminded us. “No one else can stay.”

  The roof rumbled. We all jumped. Only two rows remained on the roof. We all huddled next to the Stone.

  Grey thrust Gia on the Stone. “Go, now.”

  She went. So did the next pair.

  Finally, Blake, Grey, Oliver and I remained.

  The last layer of the roof dropped. We jumped onto the Stone together. The rooftop had completely disappeared.

  I pulled Grey in for a hug. Grey grabbed me tightly. “Tell Mom goodbye for me.”

  I shook my head. “You tell her.”

  Oliver hit Grey over the head. He caught Grey before Grey fell off the stone. They teetered towards limbo. I pulled them back.

  Blake gaped at us. “W-What?”

  “I’m mak
ing sure Grey gets home,” I said, handing him to Blake.

  “He’s going to kill me,” Blake muttered. Holding Grey in one hand, he pulled me into a one-arm hug and squeezed tightly. “We’ll never forget you.”

  Then, without another word, he carried Grey to the sword.

  I bit my lip, trying not to cry.

  Oliver stared at me. “I should kill you, but I have feeling you’ll suffer worse alive.”

  I grabbed his sleeve. “Why do you hate me?”

  It was my last chance to ask him anything. It was my last chance to ask anyone anything. The enormity of what I was doing hit me. I would be totally alone…forever.

  Oliver’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “I’ve been watching you from the beginning. The candidates didn’t pick you as their leader because you are smart, DuLac. They picked you because you would sacrifice yourself if it came to it. Looks like they were right.”

  My fingers tightened on his sleeve. “Our bargain?”

  “I knocked out Ragnar for you, but I can’t guarantee what happens on the other side.” With a sneering smile, he pulled away from me.

  Blake, Grey, and Oliver touched the Sword. They disappeared.

  I sat down and stared out over the neverending expanse of nothingness.

  I was alone.

  CHAPTER 18

  THE SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

  Completely, totally alone.

  I sat on top of a floating rock and the cold metal gleam of the sword was the brightest thing in the universe. My body shook. An ice blast of wind sent a draft straight through my sheer gown. My body shook harder but I didn’t move to stop it.

  It was as if I’d distanced my mind already. There was nothing left to hold onto.

  It would have been easy to step off the stone and let myself float away.

  I touched my amulet. A sudden burst of heat pulled me back. The charm spread warmth across my skin. The red gemstone burned brightly.

  A white horse thundered along limbo, straight up to me. It stopped just parallel to the Stone. Matt sat on top.

  Another horse appeared to the left. A jet-black stallion with an ornate saddle carried Vane.

  “What are you doing here?” Matt demanded.

  “About damn time you touched the amulet, Dorothy,” Vane said. “I see you made it to the witch’s castle.”

  I gaped at him. “I’m losing it,” I muttered.

  “Stop wasting time, Vane.” Matt said, “Ryan, if you fall into limbo, you lose the trial.”

  I blinked. “How are you here?”

  Vane smirked. “We’re not really. We’re talking to you the same way we’ve been communicating back in the real world. In your head. It took me awhile to figure out, but apparently my ingenious brother put a little safety into the amulet—mind reading.”

  “Something you weren’t supposed to know how to use,” Matt muttered.

  “My powers are tied to you,” Vane said.

  “W-What?” I sputtered. “You can read my mind?”

  Vane smirked in confirmation. “If you want to kill him, you have to come back.”

  “How?” I looked at the sword. “If I touch it, I die.”

  The Stone wobbled and stopped for a second. My heart paused along with it. The Stone restarted with a sputter.

  “This is not going to last much longer,” Matt said grimly. “Listen, Ryan, there is another way than the three working together. You have to show the Sword sacrifice.”

  I stared at him. “I’m the last one here! What other sacrifice is there?”

  Vane’s horse snorted in agreement. Vane snapped at Matt, “What have you seen?”

  Matt ignored him. “You have to pull the sword.”

  “How is that sacrifice?” I asked.

  Matt reached out with a translucent hand to touch my forehead. My eyes widened as images of what he wanted me to do flooded my mind.

  “Oh.” I swallowed. “What happens on the other side?”

  “Whatever you do here will probably follow you through.”

  “Oh.” I swallowed harder this time.

  Vane leaped off the horse.

  Matt’s jaw dropped in surprise. “You shouldn’t be able to get off the horse.”

  Vane’s hands cupped my face. “Whatever he’s told you, whatever he doesn’t want me to see, I want you to understand one thing—the trial is yours. Only you know what to do.” With a quick search of my face, Vane stepped back.

  It took me three strides to reach the sword.

  “Get back on the horse,” Matt shouted at Vane.

  The horse neighed with corresponding urgency. Vane pulled himself onto his skittish stallion.

  The Stone came to an abrupt halt. I pulled out the Sword. I felt the ground give way.

  I plunged it into my stomach.

  ***

  Excruciating pain spread out in an expanding wave. Then, black curtained my eyes. Breath left me. For a second I was stateless, nowhere and everywhere at once. My body split into a million pieces, then each particle slowly reattached.

  I couldn’t scream.

  Only the Sword tethered me to myself. Slowly, my body reformed. My mind rose back into consciousness. I opened my eyes. I stood on top of the rooftop again. Yet this time, the red moon shone down brightly illuminating the stain of blood on cream stone.

  A battle raged in full color.

  Whatever truce we’d made to exit the trial had been lost.

  Matt, Vane, and the other candidates stood backed up to the Stone, surrounded by Marla, Aurelius, and the gargoyle candidates. On the front lines, Matt dueled with Aurelius. The other wizard candidates were taking on the traitor guardians. Many of the candidates who’d been alive just a few minutes before lay broken and bloodied on the unforgiving stone.

  No one had noticed my appearance on the Stone. I fell on my knees.

  “Ryan,” Grey shouted.

  “The Stone stopped spinning,” someone said.

  Vane leaped up the Stone to reach me. I barely noticed as he pulled the Sword out of my stomach. Vane laid me across the Stone.

  “She has the Sword.” I heard Oliver scream. “Get the Sword!”

  “Grey,” Matt shouted. “Keep them away.” Then, he appeared over me, next to Vane.

  I tried to keep my eyes open.

  “Do something,” Vane shouted at him.

  Matt grabbed me. Burning heat climbed into stomach. I cried out as fire consumed me. My mind threatened to cave in. Then, my vision clouded.

  My breathing slowed. My body slowed.

  “You’re losing her!” I heard Vane cry somewhere far away. “If we don’t do this together, she’ll die!”

  “Fine!” I head Matt snap.

  I closed my eyes. Every corner of my existence fell away, leaving me free to float in peace.

  A powerful jerk yanked me back. A hammer shattered through the calm. With a gasping cry, my eyes flew open. The sudden centering left me nauseous. The smell of blood and sweat seeped back into my pores.

  “Matt? Vane?” I said.

  Vane laughed. A faint glow of blue and red fire around me dissipated.

  “You’re back,” Matt said.

  He touched my face and lay down next to me.

  “Matt!” I pushed myself up. Matt lay still on the Stone.

  “He’ll be fine. He’s just spent,” Vane said.

  To my surprise, Vane grabbed me up into a hard kiss. “No more dying, DuLac.”

  “I died?” I said.

  I touched my stomach. The skin on it stretched out smoothly without even a scar.

  “Ry!” Grey yelled.

  My attention turned abruptly back to the battle. The candidates and gargoyles hacked away at each other. The two sides seemed equally matched. I glanced at Arthur’s sword.

  Your sword. The wind whispered.

  I picked up the Sword. It burned with yellow fire.

  A beast-like howl sounded from behind the gargoyles. Oliver looked up from in front of the gargoyles.


  Although my bones still felt hollow with weakness, I forced myself up.

  I lifted the sword high. “It's over, Oliver. I have the Sword.”

  The gargoyles paused as they absorbed my words. They looked uncertainly to Oliver.

  “The gargoyles will not be defeated today. You are no one, Ryan. I will be King. The Sword will be mine,” Oliver shouted.

  Beside him, Marla nodded. Her gargoyle face became feral and lit with excitement. “The others will be here soon. They don't have a chance.”

  An army of gargoyles streamed over the walls of the Palace and onto the rooftop, surrounding the Stone.

  Oliver stood at their head. “Give up the Sword and no one else has to die.”

  Matt stirred behind me.

  Vane helped him, putting Matt’s arm over his shoulder to hold him up. “The gargoyles have come to play. Any bright ideas?”

  “Stand behind Ryan,” Matt rasped. “Ryan, keep holding the Sword no matter what.”

  Matt put his hand on my right shoulder.

  Vane put his hand on my left shoulder.

  “Just a small spell,” Matt said.

  “Are you sure? We could take care of them today,” Vane replied.

  “I’m not killing off a whole race,” Matt retorted. “Besides I don’t have enough to do much more.”

  Vane sighed. “If you say so.”

  The gargoyles advanced on the candidates. Oliver lunged at Grey with a loud battle cry.

  I gritted my teeth. “Can you stop arguing for a sec and do whatever it is you’re going to do before we get slaughtered?”

  “You’ll need to focus us, Ryan,” Matt said.

  “Svapati,” Vane said.

  “Svapati,” Matt repeated.

  I gasped as a shock of energy ran through the Sword. I had to resist the urge to drop it. A wave of translucent color spread out across the rooftop until it covered hundreds of gargoyles.

  Within seconds, the gargoyles lay fast asleep. All expect the few who had been candidates.

  Matt and Vane let go of me. Vane set Matt back down.

  My heart racing, I lowered the sword.

  Oliver jumped past Grey. He tried to lunge at me. Vane knocked him down. Oliver fell hard on the rooftop.

  “It’s over, Oliver.” I ran to him and put the sword at his neck. “What will this be? The third time you’ve failed to kill me?”