by test
“Wasn’t about to, Molly…but thanks for the vote of confidence. “ He winked at her, and began creating mini rainbows in the air.
‘If you really care about Morganna, Lachlan, then you need to make a move for her. ’
At her telepathic words, Lachlan jumped in his spot. The dragon he was riding let out an indignant snort.
“How did you?” he asked, leveling his gaze on her. Everyone else looked over at them in confusion.
“Never mind, Lachlan. Just heed my words. “ Lachlan sighed.
Camelot loomed before them. Using her faerie eyesight she focused in on the battle.
Black Dragons swarmed the skies above Tintagel reigning fire down upon the ground. Her Lady Knights and her father’s Knights were fighting for their very existence. Lancelot had fully recovered, and he was fighting back to back with Galahad. Morganna and Millicent were a few feet away, shielding her father’s knights with their magic.
Then, her eyes honed in on one lone figure standing by Agravaine. The bastard. She was going to rip him a new one.
“Wait for it,” Branden called out, obviously guessing her intent. She tossed him an irritated glare.
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“I know what I’m doing,” she shot back.
“Of course you do…but humor me in this,” Branded retorted, sounding remarkably like Collin. She pursed her lips. She’d trust his advice for her feelings of foreboding were slowly strangling the hope out of her.
“Redfaeme, is there any way that you could get me close to that man, that’s standing near the woman in that lilac-colored dress?”
“I can try…hang tight, Lady Pendragon…Thaney, you should hold on as well. “ Molly looked to Thaney. Stars glittered in her eyes.
“Thaney, what are you doing?”
“She’s transforming…I can feel it,” Redfaeme murmured.
“Thaney…I thought I asked you to be careful?” Molly murmured.
“I will watch your back, Molly,” she answered. In one blinding flash she had morphed into the White Dragon. Molly stood up, and steadied herself against the rushing wind.
“That’s it, Redfaeme, just a little further. “ He swooped to avoid a Black Dragon’s ball of fire. She nearly lost her balance but with her steadfast determination she fought it. Then, she moved to the edge of Redfaeme’s back.
“Wish me luck,” she called out. Closing her eyes, she drew Excalibur and felt it hum in her hands. Holding her breath, she jumped. The rushing air flowed around her. She had to dart around several Black Dragons. Water Faeries flew around the battlefield, dousing the flames with their magic. But her eyes were fixed on only two targets. Agravaine and Elyzabel. They were both traitors. That had to be how Lord Cardan gained access to Tintagel so easily.
A flicker of black hair gained her attention. If she hadn’t known better she would have thought the man was Arthur…but she knew that sneer all too well. Mordred. So, they’d all come for the party. How nice.
She landed right where she’d aimed. Swinging Excalibur in a wide arc, she met Agravaine’s blade.
“I don’t want to kill you,” Agravaine shouted over the din of battle. “If you come quietly I can hand you over to Mordred. That was my agreement with Lord Cardan. “ She laughed.
“Me, come quietly? Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” she yelled. “And just so you know, Agravaine, I can match you blow for blow…actually, I think I’m probably better than you. I was trained by Merlin and Arthur after all. “ Agravaine let out a grunt as Excalibur connected again with his sword. “Did you feel that? It’s called the after effects of hard lightening. You aren’t just facing off with any warrior, you are facing off with me, and I’m armed with Excalibur!”
With her next strike, she had brought him to his knees. She watched Elyzabel closely out of the corner of her eye. Elyzabel was trying to get away. She raised one eyebrow. A thin sheet of ice curled up around Elyzabel. She shrieked in horror and raised her hands to cover her face.
Rarely, did Molly show her full potential as a witch…until she was thrust into the heat of battle, then everyone saw what she was capable of.
“Kill me, now!” Agravaine stared resolutely up at her, even though his eyes flickered with fear.
She heard her father’s bellow of outrage. He had been cornered. Without Excalibur he’d be fighting a losing battle…even though he still had Excalibur’s scabbard, she had to do something. Mordred’s black crown bobbed in amongst the men that were ganging up on Arthur.
The battle was not going well. Lachlan’s leprechauns were falling left, right and center. Her LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 178
heart stung. Her eyes roved to Collin. He was fighting with Adria and Branden. Relief filled her heart. At least Collin remained safe. Branden would safeguard him at all costs.
Excalibur sang in midair above Agravaine’s head. The image of Morgause’s face entered her mind’s eye. Molly looked up, and met Morgause’s terrified visage. Could she kill Agravaine while his mother looked on? Even she didn’t have the stomach for that.
Turning away, she held Excalibur aloft and ran for Arthur. Her ears perked. She could hear something whizzing toward her. She whirled around just in time to see Agravaine’s dagger flying straight for her heart. Her eyes widened. By the strained look on Agravaine’s face he was controlling it using some form of magic.
Dark magic. Her stomach rolled. In the blink of an eye, Morgause landed in front of Molly. Morgause tossed her an anxious gaze.
“Help your father…I will deal with my son. It’s high time anyway…I let him get away with bloody murder when he was a child, and now he’s turned into a backstabbing monster!”
Molly hesitated. Morgause deflected the dagger with a lazy flick of her wrist. “Go,” she urged, planting her feet and readying herself for the battle of her lifetime.
That was all the encouragement that Molly needed. She flew toward her father, and took down most of the men that surrounded him. The sound of beautiful music filled the air. She looked toward the Lake, and hope surged in her heart when she saw a small legion of warrior Elves and Faeries being led by her mother. The cavalry had arrived. Merlin rode alongside Mildred. Obviously, he was here to do battle with Lord Cardan…and this time Merlin had to emerge victorious.
She arrived slightly short of breath, at her Father’s side. Her mouth grew dry when she noticed Avalbane. Her familiar had retrieved the Avalon Diaries. Fear stole her breath away when she noticed one missing. Despair clawed at her being. She locked gazes with her father.
He looked confused, and she couldn’t blame him. In the next instant, an unbearable calm passed over her. She knew what she had to do. This was the day that her destiny had always waited for…this was her own day of reckoning.
She could see what Mordred was about to do, even though her father seemed blind to it.
Rushing toward Arthur, she pushed him to the ground, and felt Mordred’s Dark Rider’s blade plunge into her side. She smiled.
Pressing Excalibur into Arthur’s hand, she was unprepared for the bolt of lightening that connected with Excalibur. The lightening bounced off of Excalibur’s blade and hit Mordred. He let out an agonized scream and fell to his death. His eyes were wide open and sent a shiver of dread through Molly. Gasping for breath, she groaned when Arthur gently pulled her head into his lap. Avalbane was at her side in an instant.
As she fell, the tide of the battle had made a definite change. Soon, her father’s forces would be victorious. She coughed, and spewed out a mouthful of blood. Pain tore through her consciousness.
“Collin,” she moaned.
In her hazy daze, she heard Collin’s voice in her head. Seconds later, he had arrived at her side. Her father reluctantly handed her over to Collin.
“We have to get her to Beatrice,” Collin muttered.
The battle still raged on. Molly knew that she didn’t have enough time to wait for a healer.
“Collin,” she rasped, “You have to
listen to me…I don’t have much time left!”
“Time is irrelevant where magic is concerned,” Collin argued.
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Molly sighed. “Collin, this timeline needs to be stabilized. I’ve been seeing it all along…ever since we came back from the future. This is my destiny. Don’t you see? I’m supposed to die tonight. It’s all been predestined…if I don’t too many good people will die. If I don’t…another timeline will form…and it will be horrible! My death will balance the shifting power. Please, Collin, let me say my goodbye. “
He shook his head. Tears streamed down his face though he made no sound.
“I won’t let you die…. “
“Collin, my love…you don’t have a choice in the matter. I’m afraid that’s the God’s honest truth. “
“NO! I didn’t find you only to lose you like this…when you met me you knew I was a man that always got what I wanted. Well, I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember.
You’ve haunted my dreams since I was a teenager! I won’t let you die…” He brushed her wet hair off of her forehead. Leaning down, he gave her an agonizingly tender kiss. With a start, she sensed what he intended to do.
“Collin, don’t you dare!”
“You fell in love with me because I was a man of action…you’ll just have to let me do this, Molly. “
Arthur began to fend off the creatures of the dark that were closing in on them. Now that he was armed with Excalibur, the dark riders didn’t stand a chance.
Collin looked to the heavens. “Take me, instead! That will balance everything out…take me!” he shouted. Light streamed down from the clustered clouds above them.
“No, Collin…don’t you do this!” And then she realized what would happen if the powers that be accepted Collin’s plea. His magic would be released. She swallowed, as another wave of pain gripped her. Taking her eyes off of Collin for one split second, she stared at the pool of blood she was lying in.
Her blood.
“I love you, Molly,” he whispered. She let out an anguished sob.
“Not as much as I love you…” she trailed off. A pained expression clouded Collin’s features. Fire lit his emerald eyes. “Collin!” she tried to move toward him, but fell back in an exhausted slump.
A single beam of light engulfed Collin. Moments later, a loud explosion ripped through the landscape. She closed her eyes against the resulting flash of light. Collin’s powers had been released in their full fury. When she cracked one eye open she was met with a scene of carnage.
Lord Cardan and his followers had been destroyed. Collin fell to his knees beside her. He looked as exhausted as she felt. His hands reached toward her.
“No…don’t touch me. “ She knew what he wanted to do. He planned on healing her…but if he did that he’d take on the effects of her injuries. He wasn’t as skilled as Beatrice and the other Elvin healers; he didn’t know how to protect himself from the poison that was at this moment seeping through her bloodstream.
She looked to her side. A male figure garbed in white stood by her. The Angel of Death.
He had come for her. Collin had to live…he had to return to the future.
Collin’s lips met hers. She stared into his eyes while they kissed. They would be denied their happy ending. But at least they had been given some blissful moments together. She could be thankful for that. She would always be thankful for Collin. Her entire family had gathered around them. Collin had started the healing process… no one could intervene now. But he LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 180
didn’t have enough strength to save her. He’d depleted most of it, when he had taken out Lord Cardan and his followers. Collin pulled his lips away from hers, and held her gaze.
“I’m sorry, Molly. “
“You have nothing to apologize for. “ Their hands intertwined.
“I’ll be seeing you in my dreams,” he murmured. With that, he closed his eyelids on the beautiful jewels that were his eyes. At that moment, Molly died inside.
Collin Remington, the Great Black Knight of Arthur’s Roundtable had made the ultimate sacrifice. He had given his life for hers.
She watched as The Angel of Death met Collin’s spirit. She tried calling out…they had to wait for her…but with a smile, Collin blew her a kiss, turned around and disappeared arm in arm with The Angel of Death.
“Wait for me,” she whispered. Her life flashed before her eyes. Images of her mother, father, and the nine mystical ladies of Avalon filled her mindscape. Merlin stood in the mists calling her forward…She saw Lachlan and his cheeky grin, and Branden smiling his wise smile.
Then, Collin appeared before her…he looked different and yet the same. Perhaps, there was hope for the future, the third future after all. Closing her eyes, she left the land of the waking world. As she floated away, she heard the sobs of her loved ones. Life would go on for them. A new timeline had been created…one where Merlin’s High Order would survive and flourish.
Her Lady Knights would protect the world from evil, and her father would have his happy ending with her mother. Just as she slipped away…she heard Merlin speak.
“May it be,” he murmured.
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Epilogue
Present Day, The Isle of Avalon
Prince Collin Fairborn looked toward the Mists of Avalon. The Ancient Isle was the eternal resting place of the great warrior witch, Princess Mary Pendragon aka Molly Pendragon.
Arthur’s firstborn daughter had lain beyond the great waterfall of Avalon for fifteen hundred years. She had been placed into an eternal slumber only to be reawakened when the world called for a champion once again.
That day had come. Collin had spent most of his life visiting with Molly on the dreamscape. His world had become a part of her world. Now, he needed the champion of his heart. He knew all about the other timeline in which he and Molly had married…and he knew that he wanted her in this timeline, just as much as he’d wanted her in the other one. She had become more than his world…he thought of her every moment of every day.
The swan-ship he was traveling on pulled up to the shores of Avalon. Stepping out of it, he looked back to his lone traveling companion.
“I’ll stay here, if it’s all right with you…this is something you must do on your own, Collin. Don’t forget to tell her that King Arthur and Queen Mildred send their love…you might want to hold off on telling her that she has a castle full of siblings now. “ Lachlan’s eyes twinkled as he puffed on his Elvin pipe. “And I’ll give her my own thanks when I see her. “
Collin glanced down at the picture of Morganna that was peeping out of Lachlan’s coat pocket.
“I’ll see you in a few minutes,” Collin murmured. His heart felt as if it was going to burst right out of his chest. He trekked toward the rushing waterfall.
Water faeries flew out of the water and perused him with interest.
“You are known to us, Collin Fairborn. We bid you safe passage into the tomb of Lady Pendragon. “ The waterfall parted revealing a crystal-lined cave. Collin stepped inside, and glanced back as the waterfall began streaming in full force once again. Then, he fixed his eyes on the beautiful sight floating in front of him.
Suspended magically in the air, Molly’s copper hair flew wildly around her, haloing her like the angel she was. Her hands were crossed on her chest and beneath them she gripped her Elvin silver-steel sword, Anwyn. Collin’s mouth went dry. He took two halting steps toward the dais and fell to one knee. Drawing his own sword, Elwyn, he plunged the blade into the ground, and rested his forehead on the hilt.
“My Lady Knight. My Lady Pendragon. My Love. “ His voice was filled with reverence. Right at that moment, bright light began dancing around the room. He felt power thrum through his blade. For some reason, he could no longer keep control of it. It slipped out of his grasp, and went flying toward Molly. Collin watched in awe, as the two swords sang to each other. He understood
the song well, even though it was in an ancient language. The swords sang of how they were finally being reunited. The Elvin Sword Smith Gofannon had created them to be twin swords. They had been separated, and now their reunion was at hand. Collin walked toward Molly. Her face seemed more animated than it had been before.
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With a loud crash of silver-steel meeting silver-steel, the two swords fused together. The resulting explosion rocked Collin off of his feet. He fell back, and had to shake off the dazed sensations that had flooded his mind. When his vision finally cleared, he could see his own blade floating back to him.
Molly had reawakened.
She held Anwyn aloft in her hands. Confusion marred her flawless features.
“Collin?” she asked, stumbling forward. Her sword clattered out of her hand as she fell into his arms. He brought her close. Their lips met and a mind-altering sensation rocked his being. His heart throbbed in his chest. Visions of another lifetime filled his mind’s eye. He saw himself as he’d once been. Something tingled on his left hand. Glancing down at his hand, he found an Elvin wedding band on his ring finger.