The Iron Realm (The Iron Soul Book 1)

by J. M. Briggs

  “I know!” Nicki answered, her smile returning. “I can’t wait for our magic session tonight! I can’t believe I did magic first!”

  “Well technically Bran still did magic first with his visions,” Aiden reminded her only to get a sharp punch in the arm. Looking at Alex, he gave her a quick wink and a warm smile.

  “You’re a brat,” Nicki pouted before she sniffed and frowned, “I’m going to clean up,” she muttered uncomfortably before vanishing out the door.

  Aiden’s eyes returned to Alex and his smiled faded softly. “Thank you,” he told her, “I saw your car outside, you drove her here?”

  “I was with her when she got the call,” Alex offered with a small shrug, “She seemed too upset to drive.”

  “Thanks for that,” he told her with a serious nod, “And thank you for staying with her.”

  “Course,” Alex answered, feeling uncomfortable in Aiden’s gaze. “She’s my friend.”

  “Yes she is and you’re ours,” Aiden agreed before his easy-going smile returned, “Now we just need to convert you to the ways of the geek.”

  “I’m geeky enough already,” Alex argued with a roll of her eyes.

  “No such thing,” Aiden argued with a wide smile, his eyes glinting. “That’s just modern mainstream stuff, but there is so much more.”

  “I think I’ll settle for magic lessons and college right now,” Alex answered, trying to keep her own smile contained.

  “Suit yourself,” Aiden answered, “But you’re always welcome,” he promised.

  Alex was about to thank him for the warm sentiment when an excited shriek from elsewhere grabbed their attention.

  “Guys!” Nicki called, “You should see what I can do in a bathtub!”

  Aiden sighed and looked up, muttering something under his breath before he turned and headed out the door. Despite having no idea where the bathroom was, Alex stood up to follow and see what Nicki had managed. Glancing at the ice sculpture she’d made just using the fountain, she guessed that it would certainly be different.

  20

  The Monomyth

  A textbook on physics sat propped open in front of Alex and her tablet lying next to it on the large library table was showing a series of equations that she was supposed to be reviewing. However, Alex's attention was on the smaller book open on top of the textbook, Faery Mythology. Reaching into a bag of chips, Alex considered the author's interpretation of the story that made up the first part of the chapter. This story had presented the Fae, or the Sídhe, as Alex corrected in her head, as living in vast magical caverns under special hills. From her history class with Professor Cornwall, she was aware that most of the ‘faery hills' were actually the work of Stone and Bronze Age humans, but Merlin and Morgana had mentioned that the Sídhe did use tunnels.

  At least the small study room off the main stacks section of the library gave Alex privacy to read and mutter about faeries and Sídhe without getting strange looks. Through a glass window she could see into the rows of book shelves and occasionally looked up as other students passed by. On the other side of the small room dominated by the one large table and selection of chairs was a white board with a series of math problems that someone else had been working on along with a doodle of a rocket.

  Popping a chip into her mouth, Alex muddled over the mythological question and wished that Morgana had given in to Nicki's request for a serious question and answer session on the mythology and history surrounding the fight they were now in. Sadly, Merlin and Morgana had been completely focused on Nicki's newfound connection to her magic. Alex understood the excitement and the urgency, but Nicki had been swept out of the room by Merlin for practical use lessons leaving Alex, Aiden and Bran alone with Morgana who was more determined than ever that they learn how to access their magic.

  All of which was why Alex was in the library on a Friday night doing more mythology reading rather than working on the homework assignment that she'd been putting off for nearly a week. Sighing, Alex looked back over at her tablet as the screen went dark and tapped it once again to keep it awake. An alert for power flashed and Alex groaned. Digging out the charger, Alex located the outlet in the wall of the room and plugged the tablet in. She closed the mythology book and set it to the side, forcing herself to focus on the physics information in front of her.

  Her mechanical pencil scratched the paper of her notebook softly, but it sounded loud in the quiet library. Sighing, Alex drafted a list of bullet points for her part of the physics lab report and figured that she'd need to call Aiden in the morning to go over them before they finalized the report. The sound of footsteps out in the stacks made Alex pause, but they were paced normally so she went back to work. A knock on the open door of the study room a few moments later made her look up.

  Arthur was standing in the doorway with a small smile and his backpack slung over one shoulder. He gestured to one of the free chairs and asked, “Can I join you?”

  “Sure,” Alex agreed quickly, pulling her things out of the center of the table.

  Alex looked down at her books, but glanced up to watched Arthur shrug out of his coat and stretch after setting his backpack on the table. Forcing back a smile, Alex reached for her changing tablet and started typing up her part of the lab report for physics lab. Across from her, Arthur reached into his bag and pulled out a thick political science book with small plastic tabs sticking out on all three of the unbound sides. They settled in their work in silence, only talking briefly when Alex offered her bag of chips to Arthur and he pulled out a few with a smile. Yet, Alex could see some tension in Arthur's shoulders every time he moved. He kept running his hand through his hair and his jaw was clenched. She considered asking him directly what was wrong, but her stomach churned uncomfortably as she internally debated whether it was any of her business.

  “Uh…” Arthur started slowly, his eyes rising to meet Alex's as she looked up. “Has Jenny said anything about housing next semester to you?” His jaw was clenching and unclenching with every breath he took.

  “No,” Alex replied automatically, feeling a hint of dread from Arthur's tone. “I assumed the plan was still to move in together next semester.”

  “She's renewed her place in the dorm with you,” Arthur informed her, forcing an almost painful smile. “I figured she must have talked with you about it.”

  Despite his efforts, Alex could see conflict on Arthur's face. He ran his hand through his hair again, making the already erratic blond hairs stick up in unnatural directions. Alex shook her head and bit her bottom lip slightly, dropping her eyes to her books as she tried to figure out what response to use.

  “She's angry with me isn't she?” Arthur sighed what felt like an hour later, slumping back in his chair and fiddling with his hands. “I'm not sure why and she's acting normal when we're together, but… I don't know. It is strange that she changed her mind about living together.”

  “Maybe she's just enjoying the roommate experience,” Alex offered with her own forced smile and a casual shrug. “You know, regular college stuff or… maybe she decided it was too soon for moving in together.” Alex paused and rushed to explain her statement, “I mean, I know you two have been dating for years, but living together can be a pretty big step and maybe Jenny just wants to hold it off a little bit longer.”

  Arthur paused and straightened up a bit, clearly considering her remark. Slowly, he nodded and visibly relaxed. “You're probably right,” Arthur agreed with a small and more natural smile. Then his smile turned sheepish and he added, “I should talk to her about it rather than her roommate and make sure she knows that whatever she wants is fine.”

  “Good plan,” Alex agreed, giving a quick nod and looking down to hide a blush as Arthur beamed at her.

  “Thank you,” Arthur laughed gently, “You're the only female friend I've got other than Jenny of course and I can't imagine trying to talk that out with the football team.”

  “Lance probably would have listened,” Alex offered wit
h a little smile.

  “Yeah, he would have listened and smacked my shoulder as a sign of solidarity and sympathy before figuring out some exit,” Arthur replied with a chuckle and a more relaxed shrug.

  “Arthur,” Alex scolded lightly, trying to keep herself from smiling too widely as a wide genuine smile lit up Arthur's face.

  “He's a good friend,” Arthur assured her, “But he's not the chattiest guy if you haven't noticed.”

  “I've noticed,” Alex assured him, “But then Jenny probably thinks I'm quiet too because she's a bit of a chatter box.”

  “That she is,” Arthur agreed with a smile. “Honestly it's one of the things I like best about her, just listening to the strange tangents that she can go off on and the things she thinks of.”

  Alex smiled softly at the description. She honestly found Jenny's rambles on fashion irritating, but her observations on recent events and news stories could be interesting. The biggest problem was when she wanted to talk about movies while they were still watching them and her tendency to yell at the television when one of Arthur's out of town games was on.

  “You should hear her when she's watching one of your games,” Alex told him with a teasing smile.

  “I've heard her from the stands often enough,” Arthur informed Alex with a slightly raised eyebrow. “So I can imagine.”

  Silence descended again and both returned to their work while nibbling on the bags of snack food between them. Their hands brushed once when they both reached for the chips and she was grateful that he didn't look up and see her blush. Arthur left for a few minutes and returned with bottles of water from the first floor vending machines. More than half an hour had passed since their conversation when Arthur started shifting around in his seat again.

  “So literature?” Arthur questioned, glancing at the mythology book with interest before he looked back at Alex, “I've never asked, but what do you want to do?”

  Alex opened her mouth and then closed it in hesitation. “I thought I'd teach,” she admitted finally with a shrug, “But now I don't know what I want to do anymore.”

  “Are you going to change majors?” Arthur asked, tilting his head slightly and leaning on his hand as he studied Alex with a spark of curiosity.

  “I don't think so,” Alex told him, “But I think that I might shift my focus more to mythology and folklore. Maybe I'll take some anthropology classes,” Alex said, smiling at the thought.

  “Why?” Arthur asked and Alex could see real curiosity in his eyes.

  “Well,” Alex reached for the faery mythology book, “I started reading this because of… studying Shakespeare and my professor told us about how faeries were viewed in Shakespeare's time versus the vision of small people with wings that we have now. I guess it told me that as wonderful as stories are, that it can be really important to look at how meaning can change. According to my friend Nicki, studying how stories change and affect a people can be a real important part of understanding humanity.”

  Arthur was giving her a look of serious consideration and Alex fought back a blush, refusing to expose her silly little crush to him as much as possible. Slowly, he nodded and leaned back in the chair.

  “That's interesting,” he told her, “I remember one of my high school teachers talking about the monomyth, the idea that humanity keeps telling the same story over and over with similar elements.”

  “Yeah,” Alex agreed with an energetic nod, “It's the pattern that we give our heroes as they confront something and cross the threshold between the known and the unknown.” Alex considered the book in her hand for a moment before realizing that she was being far too quiet and added, “Of course what kind of job could I get except university professor. What about you?” Alex asked, “What do you want to do?”

  “Not football,” Arthur muttered with a chuckle, “I'm ready for the season to be done.” He fiddled with his hands for a moment before looking back at Alex to answer the question. “I want to go to law school and study constitutional law,” he admitted. “If I could do anything with my life, I'd love to be a part of an effort to reevaluate the Constitution and update it.”

  “Isn't that Congress' job?” Alex asked, leaning forward on her hand and delighting in the way that Arthur's eyes were lighting up.

  “Usually,” Arthur agreed, “But over two hundred years a lot of things have changed. Did you know that Senators were originally selected by the legislatures of the states and not a popular election?”

  “No, I didn't know that,” Alex told him.

  “Yeah,” he said, talking with his hands more than Alex had ever seen him, “Originally representatives were for the people and senators were for the states in order to help protect state governments and their powers. Obviously that isn't the case anymore which is one of the reasons for the consolidation of power at the federal level.”

  “And you don't agree with that?” Alex asked with a hint of surprise.

  “I'm not sure,” Arthur admitted, “I just think that's an example of why it should be critically looked at beyond just a singular issue at a time which is how all changes are done now.” It was Arthur's turn to blush slightly and he leaned back in his chair. “Sorry, that went on a bit.”

  “You sat through me discussing the pattern of the hero in human stories,” Alex reminded him. “And for what it's worth I think you'll do great in law school.”

  “Thanks,” Arthur told her with a wide smile.

  His phone beeped with an incoming text and Arthur gave her an apologetic shrug before reaching into his pocket. Alex was silent and went back to her work as Arthur pulled out the phone and checked the message. A moment later the phone was returned to his pocket and Arthur reached for his backpack.

  “That was Jenny,” Arthur told her in a cheerful voice. “She wanted to see if I was free for dinner.” He was beaming now and Alex forced a smile.

  Arthur finished packing up his things in a rush of motion and pulled on his dark coat. Swinging, his bag over his shoulder, he reached across the table and caught Alex's hand. He gave it a squeeze and beamed at her. “Thank you Alex,” he said warmly, “I'll talk to Jenny tonight.”

  “You're welcome,” Alex managed, giving him a wide smile of her own. “Have fun!”

  With one last grin over his shoulder, Arthur vanished out the doorway and through the rows of shelves. Sighing, Alex folded her arms on the table and lowered her head down to rest on them. A soft giggle escaped Alex and she muffled those that followed against her skin.

  “Alex,” she told herself with a sigh, “You really need to get over this crush.”

  She gave up on homework, knowing that she wasn't going to be very productive and packed up her things. Turning out the light, Alex adjusted her bag over her shoulder and headed down the stairs to the first floor. She paused to zip up her coat and then stepped outside into the cool evening. There was still snow in patches across the grass, but the first snow of the season was quickly retreating and Alex was able to enjoy a calm walk home.

  Her dorm room was dark, unsurprising given that Jenny was out with Arthur. A note on her desk explained that Jenny didn't expect to be home until Saturday morning. Sighing, Alex deposited her bag on her desk and sat down to begin organizing her school things once again. When she pulled out the mythology book, Alex tossed it onto the bed with a huff. Leaning forward, Alex switched on her lamp and leaned back in her seat, allowing herself to get lost in her thoughts.

  After several minutes of sitting in silence, Alex rose from her chair and returned to the doorway to turn off the main light. The room dimmed and only Alex's desk lamp provided illumination. Alex toed out of her shoes and released her hair from the ponytail. Climbing onto her bed, Alex moved the mythology book and crossed her legs. Taking a deep breath, Alex let her eyes fall closed and breathed like Professor Cornwall had instructed them for mediation purposes. But behind her eyelids Alex saw only flashes of Sídhe hounds, Nicki controlling water and Arthur's smile.

  21

&nb
sp; Almost Human

  822 B.C.E. Northern Cornwall

  Her eyelids felt far too heavy was the first thought that Morgana was aware of when she began to stir. Much too heavy, she realized as she struggled to open them. Then she became aware of the woven material beneath her fingers that was far too rough to be her bed in the Sídhe realm. Her muscles ached in an unfamiliar way and there was the sound of a soft and warm female voice nearby that felt familiar and pleasant to Morgana. The strangeness of what she was feeling and thinking began to alarm her and Morgana struggled against the blackness in which she was trapped.

  Suddenly there was a warm hand against her cheek. It was too warm to be the Queen's and the fingers that brushed her skin were callused and worn, but the gentleness of the gesture soothed her and the blackness began to recede.

  “Morgana,” the soft and warm female voice called. “Please wake up,” the voice begged.