by Sariah Skye
Nimue rolled her eyes, flippantly tossing her black hair over her shoulders. “Well… fine. I can release Merlin… but I get to keep your boyfriend.”
My eyes narrowed, as she waved a hand. There was a hissing, sucking sound about ten yards away, and the shadow twisted and warped away, revealing Mathias, who was completely immobile.
Immediately, my blood boiled like lava. The rage roiled inside like a nuclear bomb; I was ticking down, and about to explode.
Excalibur reacted. It picked up on my anger, and began to glow a bright, fiery red. The metal grew hot but not untouchably so, and flames lit and flickered around the edges. I glanced helplessly at Mathias.
Nineteen-hundred years, and this was the first person to best him. No.
Not on my goddamn watch.
“Let. Him. Go. Rhys too.” My voice lowered a few octaves, my skin burned with rage and heat from the flamed blade.
Nimue grinned evilly. Still holding the magic on Rhys, she sauntered over to Mathias and stuck her hand through the shadowy magic. It hissed and churned and smoked up her arm as he trailed a languid finger down his bare arm, licking her full lips seductively. “He’s really cute, you know. Since my boyfriend is of course, gone… perhaps I’ll just take him instead?”
Rhys managed a snicker. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
My chest heaved, blazing adrenaline coursing through my body like a forbidden drug. “If you don’t get your hand off him—”
She snorted. “Oh please. What are you going to do? Go invisible. Ha! It’s not that impressive magic.”
Oh hell no!
Ava, be careful. She needs something from you, something for Camelot. If she gets to close she will take it and be that closer to her goal. Please tread carefully. It was Morgause this time, not Igraine in my head. I wanted to inquire for a split second where they had been all this time because I hadn’t heard them in my head lately, but I realized at that moment, I didn’t care. I just wanted to free my boyfriend from his shadowy prison.
Did you know this was Nimue all along?
We’ve been watching… quietly. We figured it out when you did. She betrayed us for Arthur’s court. My mother had no knowledge of her; it was a brief time when she was isolated. I’ll explain more later.
Getting really tired of hearing “I’ll explain later.” So she was actually a witch at one point; we hadn’t been sure. The conversation felt like hours in my head, but it was only a split second in reality. It just felt that way, watching Mathias and Rhys helpless.
You can’t give her what she wants, Ava, it’s dangerous. This time it was Igraine.
“I don’t give a shit what she wants; I want him back,” I mumbled nearly silently, not realizing I actually spoke them.
“A trade? Your blood for your… ridiculously sexy boyfriend. I’ll take Merlin though.” She laughed bitterly, with a cruel smile. “Oh, I’m sorry. Rhys.” I literally growled out loud, as Nimue’s black eyes roved over Mathias’ body, languishing near his hips. “My, I bet he’s got a big one, huh? Would you know?”
“His dick is none of your business.” Where the hell are the other guys? I didn’t want to say anything, in case she didn’t notice they were there. I slowly lowered my arm though, holding it out in front of me. “But, you want my blood? Take it. No one has to get hurt and give me my man back. Or so help me…”
Her head bobbed at the flaming sword. “Retract your wand, and you have a deal.”
I pictured Excalibur a small dagger once again, and it morphed with a quick shimmer. “Fine. I’m not dropping it though.”
“Fair enough. I doubt you can handle a dagger anyway, even Excalibur. You have no idea the power… your father didn’t either, when I stole it from him on that beach,” Nimue said, her tone triumphant.
“You…” I clipped my words. “Then you took it back to that whack-job, Arthur. And proceeded to brainwash my dad into thinking you and Arthur were these great people.” I laughed dryly. “Good show, I have to admit.”
“That’s right,” she said, in a falsely sweet tone. She eyed Mathias again, biting her lip. “Mmm… so hot.”
“Don’t talk about him. Don’t even look at him,” I warned.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. He’s not really my type anyway. There’s something about him that seems… off.” Nimue chuckled malevolently and imitated the sound of a cracking whip. Oh hell no. I didn’t even want to think of how she knew that, or if it was just an assumption.
She waved her hand around Mathias again, encompassing him in the magic, still keeping Rhys immobile at the same time. Satisfied they were both subdued, she reached into her ridiculously tight black pants and pulled out a glass vial. “Draw your blade, and bleed into this. If you do, I’ll take it and go. If you don’t, none of you are leaving here alive.”
“Three against one?” I snorted. “Come on.”
“Three? Oh I know your other incubi are around here, somewhere.” She laughed loudly. “Oh, how ridiculous. Are they all so pathetic that it takes four of them to make you happy? Or are you just a selfish bitch?”
A grumble vibrated my throat, but I didn’t acknowledge her comment, afraid if I did I’d lose my shit and even with Excalibur I wasn’t sure if I would be a match for her. Clearly, she was devious and underhanded. She was probably going to try to kidnap me for… whatever sick things she and Arthur needed Avalon blood for.
Please be ready, Excalibur. I spoke a silent prayer in my head, hoping that it’d react if I needed it. The hilt seemed to pulse gently for a split second in reply.
“Don’t try anything,” she said cautiously, slowly tiptoeing towards me.
Please Ava—don’t do this! Morgause’s voice echoed in my mind.
Stop it, I know what I’m doing. But I really didn’t; hopefully she couldn’t tell.
When the vial was in an arm’s length, I poised the blade against my forearm.
“Don’t Ava!” Rhys managed to say, but Nimue silenced him with more encompassing magic.
She carefully and suspiciously held the vial out under my arm, and I pressed the blade into my skin. It didn’t hurt, yet.
A shriek from above pierced our ears. Trystan in his large eagle form dive-bombed from seemingly nowhere in the sky; his large, yellow clawed talons swiping at her head, grabbing handfuls of her hair and pulling. She screamed and stumbled forward, her hands flailing upward, trying to free her hair and swat away the bird. I caught his green eyes briefly and grinned. He shrieked and flew upright pulling again, the force knocking her onto the ground.
Rhys’ magic was released, but Mathias’ held. Rhys was free, and he blinked across the lot, easily blasting her with a bright green ball of—god knows what kind of magic. But it was potent; it knocked her fully on her ass.
Trystan released, having done his job and flew up into the sky once more.
I willed the sword back into a blade and pointed it right at the back of her neck. “Like I’m going to give you shit.”
Instead of panicking, she just laughed. “Oh I didn’t think you would, really.” With a wide wave of her hand, a mass of shadow grew from the ground, twisting and writhing into a large wall.
Rhys swiped a hand, a blast of light holding it in place. His face squished in struggle. “Not sure how long I can hold this…”
I pointed the edge of the blade further onto her neck as she lay upon the ground. “Release Mathias.”
“Not a chance!” she shouted, as another shadow wall was summoned from the ground. It shook and knocked both Rhys and I off balance, and that was all Nimue needed.
“Enough, I can use your bones instead—I don’t discriminate!” Nimue slammed her hands together, crashing the two shadow masses together into one large one; it towered and growled as it ambled towards Rhys and me.
He grabbed my arm. “Run!”
Still holding onto Excalibur, we dashed through the parking lot and into the street, but it wasn’t enough; the shadow sped fast, pushed by Nimue in waves.
I raise
d the sword into a defensive position just as the shadow wave was about to overtake us. It growled like it had a sentience and blocked out any source of light for miles. The sword thrummed to life and I sliced into the shadow with a large swing and the shadow cut easily, but quickly healed again. Rhys started blasting it with magic and I stabbed with the blade, the magic glowing and burning into the shadow, but it wasn’t enough.
A rumble of thunder crashed just behind us. I craned my head over my shoulder and nearly pissed in relief. Xander and Bash were running down the street finally; Xander channeling his storm magic as it spun around his body.
“Hurry!” Rhys called loudly, just as a shadow appendage reached out to his shoulder. He cried out in pain, his flesh seared with smoke as he tumbled to the ground.
I called for my shield, holding the sword high above me, just before the shadow overtook us.
“Now!” Xander thrust his magic into Bash. He flinched briefly but was able to take it. He spun and twisted it onto himself, and his face briefly contorted in pain. I nearly cried out for him, but he glanced at me briefly, shaking his head once. I relented, still holding the sword and the shield up, feeling suddenly fatigued.
Bash flung the magic back into Xander, and he turned into a human—err, demon—lightning rod, and with a shout he shot the magic directly into the shadow.
“Stick the sword in it!” Bash directed. I swallowed nervously, and reluctantly dropped my shield. I trusted that he knew what he was doing.
The shadow hissed and roared and sizzled as it touched my foot. The pain was excruciating, like being burned with ice, but I persevered, thrusting the sword into the center of the wall just as Xander and Bash’s storm magic streaked over my shoulder and into the sword. It exploded into a bright, white light, and the shadow screamed—actually screamed—as the white light overtook it and fizzled it into nothing.
I doubled over once the magic was released, collapsing to my knees and wheezing heavily. Bash was at my side in a second, and Xander was helping Rhys, though he looked at me with concern. I waved him off but let myself melt into Bash’s solid body.
A scream from across the lot called our attention; our gazes snapped upward.
“Leave my daughter alone, you whore!”
“Am I—?” I flinched.
“No…” Xander said in disbelief.
Morgaine was standing over Nimue. Literally. She had one foot pressed into Nimue’s back, the other was clamping the base of her hair to the ground, and a mess of crystals were splattered all over the perimeter.
“Ava! Get the hell out of here! Please!” She pleaded, with a fleeting glance at me. I was momentarily taken aback. Since I’d seen her last she seemed to age about ten years. Her face was lined more prominently, and long strands of gray grew from her temples. “I’ve been trying to hold her off and keep her away but I’m not sure how much longer I can do it!”
“Fuck… I didn’t expect this.” Bash was bewildered.
“Please!” Morgaine shouted.
I quickly glimpsed at Mathias, still frozen in the mass of shadow. “I can’t! He’s trapped!”
Her face fell. “I can’t hold her long—you need to go!”
“She needs to drop the magic!” Bash called to her.
I shoved him forward with Xander. “Go. Try to help her. I think?” I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Excalibur thrummed in my hand. “Take this.” I tossed the sword at them, and Xander deftly caught it by the handle. It lit up briefly like a bolt of light and fizzled back into silver.
When they were surrounding Nimue and Morgaine, I turned back to Rhys. The shadow had overtaken his shoulder, and he was shaking violently.
“So… cold…” he stammered, teeth shattering.
Kneeling down beside him, wincing briefly at the large scrape on my ass, I asked, “What can I do? How were you able to be hurt so bad?”
“The one weakness Avalon has: dark magic,” he barely choked out.
“Can I heal you like you did me?” I asked nervously.
“I think so. Just… hold your hands over it and—”
“—I got it.” Couldn’t be any harder than when I healed the guys, right?
Right. I felt the thrumming of the Avalon magic deep in my mind and willed it forward. It heated my body and gold light poured into Rhys from my hands. I focused on his shoulder and he flinched in pain. I almost faltered, but he shook his head, telling me not to stop. Taking another breath, I poured more into him, and after a moment the black magic was replaced with tender skin.
Rhys sighed in relief. “Thank you. That was horrible.”
I tried to stand slowly and flinched at the pain in my leg and foot. “Now, you,” Rhys said, and before I could protest he pushed the golden, healing Avalon magic into me, and I sighed in relief. My leggings were torn but at least my butt didn’t hurt anymore. I held out my arm and helped Rhys to his feet. He was unsteady a moment before righting himself.
“Do you think we can do all this same stuff to the shit around Mathias?” I asked.
“It’s possible but killing her would be easier.” He positively glowered at her.
“What if the magic doesn’t go down though?” I grimaced, my heart aching at the thought of Mathias being bound.
A hand gripped my shoulder; I jumped lightly. As I was healing Rhys, Trystan had touched down and shifted human again. And there he was behind me, still totally naked with concern in his eyes. “Are ye all right, luv?”
Rhys smoothed out his shirt and ran his hands over the length of his hair. Before I could answer he said, “I’m fine, thanks.” He sauntered away to join the fray surrounding Nimue.
I wanted to laugh at Rhys’ quip, but Nimue let out a piercing shriek; it shattered my ear drums and made my head throb. My eye lids shut instinctively.
“Shit, lassie… that sounds like a banshee!” Trystan quickly flung his arm over my shoulders, bringing me into his body, where he pressed my head against his chest, smashing my ear. He pressed his other hand over the other ear and held tight. His heart slammed against his chest rapidly; his anxiety was tangible. I couldn’t even focus on the fact that a naked, gorgeous man was holding me.
Prying my eyes open, I saw that everyone had taken a step back, and Morgaine had been flung across the parking lot. She barely stirred in a heap on the ground. Nimue was standing once again, motioning to summon more shadow below her. I was surprised that the guys didn’t budge to react.
“What’s wrong?” I glanced up at Trystan who was squinting himself. I gently poked his stomach. “Trystan?”
He shook his head out of haze. “Sorry, luv. It’s… the scream. It immobilizes men with terror, and if ye’d been a normal human woman, ye’d most likely be dead. I wasn’t hit as hard because I’m part animal, basically.”
“Shit. Shit!” I rolled my shoulders, easing out the kinks, my neck cracking as I moved it to the side. “Enough of this.” Determined, I breathed deeply and found my magic. I collected the unseen force at my fingertips, letting it build.
Nimue was spinning the shadow magic out of the ground, but she was moving slowly. Upon closer inspection I noticed she’d been cut along the back. Her black shirt was torn, and deep red blood that didn’t seem natural trickled slowly from the gaping, shoulder to shoulder wound. Apparently, Xander had gotten in a good hit before Nimue let loose her wail.
Satisfied enough magic built for a good blast I pushed it forward with all my weight behind it. It was so hard I nearly propelled myself backward, but Trystan was steadfast and held me by the waist.
The invisible blast shot forward. Bash stumbled slightly, he was first to be released. Nimue was knocking forward into Xander, who reacted quickly and grabbed her by the arm. Her magic fizzled out; Xander tossed the sword to Bash who grabbed it by the handle swiftly and pinned her arms behind her back. Rhys was last to be released, and he promptly began summoning magic; a brilliant blast of light and fire.
“Go see if Morgaine is okay,” I said to Trystan. He gav
e me a brief confused look, but obliged, shifting back into his eagle to fly up into the sky.
“We’ve got her, Avie.” Xander’s voice was low and ominous.
I ran up to join them, Bash giving me the sword back; it relit to its golden edged form. Nudging him aside, I stalked towards her, sword raised in front of me. “I will not underestimate you again.”
Something inside of me snapped just then, as she smiled evilly. “You won’t win. You aren’t strong enough, even with that sword. You won’t even try to kill me, it’s not in you.”
“No?” The rage inside reached a boiling point, and I exploded. Everything she’d done so far—deceiving my father, trapping Mathias, all the lies… I was done.
In the blink of an eye I dropped the sword to my waist, holding it tenaciously, and pierced her stomach with the point. I needed her blood.
Don’t Ava! Igraine’s voice warned in my head this time. You’re not a killer!
Like hell I’m not.
Recalling Mathias’ lessons, I put all my weight behind the hilt and pushed, driving the blade into her gut. I could have gone for the heart, but I wasn’t confident with my stabbing abilities. I’d have better luck hitting an organ.
Her eyes glazed over; the sickening sound of parting flesh and sloshing blood drove me. She gasped, her breath gargled and wheezed.
I felt a large hand grip my shoulder; the scent of earth and spice permeated my nose, bringing me out of a bloodlust. Time moved by slowly, though it was only just a matter of seconds; too quick for anyone to react besides someone with super speed.
“Ava… this is a road you don’t want to go down.” Nimue’s magic apparently wavered, just long enough for Mathias to escape.
Nimue’s glassy eyes looked up at me pleadingly. I snarled; it only made me want to kill her more.
“Sweetheart… don’t.” Mathias reached over and placed a hand on mine, urging me to stop. “I don’t want you to deal with… what I deal with.”
I didn’t drop the sword, but I did glance at him over my shoulder. His handsome face was troubled, and a lone tear streamed down his cheek.
“She… she tried to kill you. Kill everyone. She’s a threat. She—”