I clenched my teeth and glowered, but I didn’t dignify Morgana with an answer. I knew she was baiting me.
Her perfect lips drew back into a sneer. “You think you’re so clever. You tracked me here, ready to confront the evil witch. Just like one of those fairytales you tell nowadays to explain a history you cannot understand. Because of course, you are a ‘hero’, it’s in your blood – that damn bravery. It would never occur to you to run. Someone wants you dead, so you head straight to them.”
“Running wouldn’t have helped,” I growled through clenched teeth. “Your wraiths would have followed me anywhere.”
“Very true.” She smiled even wider. “But they wouldn’t have killed you.”
It took a second for my adrenaline fuelled brain to process that. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, my pretty, little child. The wraiths weren’t there to kill you. They were there to kill your hope. To take away your choice in the matter, To force you to act.”
“But Lance…”
“Told you they were there to kill you? Yes I can see why he’d make that assumption. I do want you dead after all. The difference is, I want to kill you myself.” She touched her lips with one finger. “They were my guarantee. Just in case you weren’t as stupid as your ancestor.”
“Stop listening to her, Cara,” Lance’s voice cut through the night and I looked away from Morgana. The storm of magic had flung him out of the circle, and he stood there, his eyes desperate.
“Don’t look away from me.” Morgana’s voice was like a whiplash and invisible fingers wrenched my chin round to face her again. “The fact is you did exactly what I wanted you to do. You came to face me in the one place in the world that I wanted you to come.”
I knew Lance was right, I shouldn’t listen to her, but my curiosity was too strong. “Why? Why here? Why not just let your wraiths kill me?”
She laughed, and the sound was both beautiful and terrifying.
“Because, you little fool, you’re going to help me finally break down the walls that separate this world from Avalon.”
“I would never do that.”
“You don’t have a choice. The magic that supports the barriers is strong, even for me. I can weaken them, allow some magic, some creatures, to seep through, but I cannot destroy them. The only way to break such magic is by even more powerful magic. A blood sacrifice.”
The night suddenly seemed colder. I sucked in a breath, but the oxygen didn’t seem to be getting to my brain – I felt dizzy.
“And in this case it has to be the blood of both this world and Avalon. Someone human, but with magic in their souls. And you, Caronwyn Pendragon, fit that bill perfectly. Your blood, spilt here, in the most ancient of gateways, combined with my magic, will shatter the barriers and all the magic of Avalon will come flooding back. There will be chaos, death and destruction. Albion will fall at my feet. The people of this world will crawl on their hands and knees to me and beg me to be their Queen.”
“You need to stop,” I told her, lowering my hand to the hilt of Excalibur.
“And why would I do that? I’ve had to wait more than a thousand years to regain Albion, and now I’ve finally found a way to make it mine. People have forgotten the old magic, but I will teach them to fear it again.”
She honestly believed it was that simple.
“Don’t you get it? This isn’t your world. Do you even realise how long you’ve been gone? How much things have changed?”
“I don’t care,” she spat back at me. “Albion is mine.”
Those perfect blue eyes were wide with fervour, her lips pulled back in a grimace over her teeth.
I didn’t know how time passed in Albion, but she had been stuck there for a thousand years, dwelling on nothing but revenge.
Don’t underestimate her, Arthur murmured in my head, his voice low as though worried Morgana would hear him. She may be more than a little insane now, but she’s still dangerous.
I listened to his warning, but I still drew Excalibur. The blade shook in my hands as I brought it round in front of me.
Morgana’s eyes narrowed as she saw the blade. “Excalibur was lost.”
I forced my voice not to shake when I replied. “I found it again.”
There was a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.
She knows Excalibur is the one weapon that can break her enchantments. She did not expect you to reclaim it. She believed it lost for ever.
I eased forward a step. A part of me still wasn’t sure I could do it. Morgana was barely even human anymore after her years in Avalon, but could I kill her? Could I honestly end someone’s life?
Even as the doubts raced through my head there was a rustling to my left. Both Morgana and I froze. Neither of us wanted to be the one to look away.
“Cara.” Lance’s voice was little more than a breath.
My mother’s vision and warning came back to me and I spun towards him without thinking.
“Go! Lance, get the hell out of here.”
I caught one glimpse of Lance’s face, pale in the darkness, before something hit me with the force of a wrecking ball.
The breath was knocked out of my lungs as I flew backwards. I hit the old altar stone of the circle and everything went black.
There was no way of knowing if I was out for a few seconds or a lot longer, but when I opened my eyes again Morgana was leaning over me, her lips drawn back in a snarl.
The blade of a short, silver knife gleamed in the light. There was no moon or stars overhead, just like my mother’s vision, but the stones themselves gave off a faint silvery light.
I’d opened my eyes just in time as Morgana swung the knife down towards me, slashing at my chest.
I rolled at the last second and the knife struck sparks off the stone where I’d been lying seconds before. Scrambling to my feet, I stumbled away from her. My chest burned and I couldn’t seem to get enough air into my lungs. At least one of my ribs was broken.
The back of my head throbbed and when I touched the lump, my fingers came away covered in blood.
Lance was charging around the stones, throwing his shoulder against an invisible barrier that simply wouldn’t yield. Somehow, Morgana was keeping him out.
I dragged my eyes away from him just as another blast knocked me off my feet. This time I heard Morgana’s curse as she spat it at me, though I didn’t understand the words.
Hearing the curse didn’t stop it throwing me halfway across the circle. I landed with a crunch that turned my already aching ribs to agony.
“Are you ready to give in yet, girl?” Morgana sneered from across the circle. “I’ll make it as painless as possible, I promise.”
Get up, Cara, Arthur shouted in my head. You have to get up.
I forced myself up onto my elbows, but my body wanted none of it, protesting every movement. I shuddered, each breath sending another wave of agony through me.
“Cara.” Lance’s voice broke through the haze of pain. “Get up. You have to be strong.”
“How sweet,” Morgana drawled, moving around the circle. “The noble Sir Lancelot, so desperate to help the girl he loves. I think I should let him.”
“No!” The scream was ripped from my throat, but it was too late. Morgana allowed Lance through her barrier and he raced across the grass towards me.
“No.” I mumbled it this time, knowing it was helpless.
But Morgana didn’t strike him down. He slid across the last few feet of ground to my side. Dropping to his knees he hauled me into a sitting position, and eased me to my feet. He held me tight to stop me falling again.
“Damn it, Cara,” he gasped against my hair. “Why couldn’t you have stayed in Camelot?”
“Because this was never your fight.” I practically shouted at him, angry that he was there, that he had put himself in danger. “You’re the one who should never have come. You need to go, go now.”
“Not a chance,” he growled. He drew his sword and planted himself firmly b
etween me and Morgana.
Morgana laughed. “If this is not my Albion, then this is certainly not your world, little knight. There is no code of chivalry here. No great Round Table. You are outdated, a dinosaur in this modern world. Do you really think she will love you forever? You’re nothing more than a ghost.”
Lance ignored her taunts, weaving his sword in a figure of eight as he edged forward. For a long moment I could only watch, transfixed.
Cara, Excalibur!
Arthur’s voice jolted me into action and I searched the ground. I caught a glint of metal. Excalibur lay twenty feet away, by the stone I had first hit, the blade gleaming with the same silvery light as the stones.
I started to ease towards it, sliding my feet across the slick grass inch by inch. Just feet away from it Morgana noticed me.
“Oh, no you don’t.”
This time I was more prepared for the blast that took me off my feet and I rolled as I fell, cushioning my ribs as best I could.
Lance roared and leapt at her. He had only just started his swing when he doubled up in agony, dropping his sword.
“Lance!”
The sword, Cara.
I rebelled against Arthur’s order. Lance was hurting; I had to go to him.
As I moved in his direction he twisted and shook his head at me. I remembered my mother’s warning – her vision – but I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
For a long moment our eyes met. There was something in Lance’s gaze I didn’t want to accept. A goodbye.
No, no, no, I chanted in my head, knowing what Lance was thinking, what he was planning.
It’s the only way, Cara.
I ignored Arthur, my eyes locked on Lance.
His body tensed then he nodded.
As I lunged to snatch up Excalibur, he leapt at Morgana.
She hesitated. I could see the indecision in her eyes. In the end the decision was made for her. She didn’t want me to get Excalibur, but Lance was the more immediate threat. He threw himself on her blade to give me the precious seconds I needed.
My fingers closed around the hilt of Excalibur just as Lance let out a bellow of pain. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I turned.
Lance fell backwards, the silver dagger buried to the hilt at the bottom of his breastplate. Morgana had driven it up into his stomach.
His face drained of colour as he clutched at the hilt, his hands soon covered in blood.
Morgana stood over him, her perfect lips drawn back in a smile.
I couldn’t breathe. It felt like I was the one dying, not him. My mother’s vision was coming true and nothing I could do could change it. The familiar helplessness from my dream welled up inside me.
Cara! Arthur’s voice rang in my mind. Focus.
My hands tightened on the hilt of Excalibur as I looked at the expression on Morgana’s face. I had to try; I had to make Lance’s sacrifice mean something.
She reached down and yanked back the dagger, making Lance convulse with agony. She was so focused on Lance, she didn’t see me coming.
I slammed into her with my shoulder, sending her reeling into the altar stone. Snarling, she spun to face me.
Excalibur was already in motion as I plunged it straight into her shoulder. It slid through the stone behind her like it was butter, until it was buried to the hilt.
She screamed with a mixture of pain and rage, and dropped the dagger to claw futilely at the sword.
I felt sick to my stomach, and I couldn’t get my body to move.
Abruptly the stone behind her began to glow more brightly, the other stones soon matching the intensity.
In moments the whole circle was blazing with light. I squinted, trying to see through the glare, but at last I was forced to shut my eyes and turn away.
Chapter Thirty-Six
When the glow faded enough for me to open my eyes I was no longer in Stonehenge. Or at least, not the Stonehenge I knew.
It was daylight, the sky overhead a bright, cloudless blue. There were no roads on either side anymore, just green fields rolling away to distant mountains that certainly hadn’t been there before.
But more than that, Stonehenge was complete. There were no missing stones, no fallen lintels. The stone circle looked as though it had been built no more than a few days before.
“Cara.”
I turned my head and my hands slipped from Excalibur’s hilt.
Two men were walking towards me through the grass. One was Merlin, once again in his guise of the old man, robes flowing around his ankles, his ageless eyes twinkling.
Alongside him was a tall, blonde man I would have recognised anywhere. Arthur looked only a few years older than me, his hair swept back from his forehead, dressed in gleaming armour.
For the briefest moment I stared at them, and then I pushed past and stumbled across the grass to where Lancelot lay. Nimue was already with him and as I dropped to my knees. She lifted grief-stricken eyes to meet mine.
He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t.
Weak fingers curled around mine and I looked down with a sigh of relief.
The relief was short lived. Lance was ashen-faced and his breathing was laboured. Blood covered his abdomen and his hands.
“You stupid, stupid idiot,” I gasped, stroking the hair back from his forehead.
He forced a weak smile. “It worked though.”
Nimue’s fingers closed over mine. “He is in Avalon now. He will be fine. Avalon heals all wounds. None die here.”
Relief flooded through me. I lowered my head and kissed him gently before pushing to my feet, turning back to Merlin and Arthur.
Morgana was gone.
“Where the hell is she?”
“Relax.” Arthur caught my arm as I charged towards the bloodstained stone. “Morgana will never hurt anyone again. The Fair Folk will make certain of that. They saw sense, just a little too late.”
I stared at him. “Then it’s over?”
“She’s gone. Yes.”
My knees sagged and he caught me before I fell. As he held me up I tipped my head back to look at him.
“Are you really here?”
“In the flesh,” he replied with a chuckle. “But you shouldn’t be. It’s time for you to go home. It’s time, Cara. It’s time to finish this.”
“Finish it? Finish it how? Morgana is gone.”
Merlin cleared his throat. “The blood of a Pendragon opened the barriers – just not the Pendragon Morgana intended. Right now there is nothing holding back the magic of Avalon. Morgana succeeded, just not how she intended. They may be restored but only the blood of a Pendragon will reseal them.”
“No,” Lance’s voice came out a rough gasp, the effort draining even more colour from his face. He tried to get up but Nimue pushed him back down. “You can’t ask her to do that. Hasn’t she already sacrificed enough?”
“Be still, Lancelot,” Merlin commanded. “We’re not asking her to hurt herself anymore than she already is.” He gestured to my neck where blood from my head wound was staining my collar. “Simply use the blood to trace the Fey symbol of closure on the central stone and the Fey have agreed to do the rest.”
He traced a symbol into the grass with the base of his staff. It burned there for a moment before fading, but I didn’t need to see it for long – it was a symbol that had been in my subconscious all my life.
I nodded and turned back to Lance. A little colour came back to his cheeks and his eyes flashed as they met mine.
I stepped towards him but a strong hand closed on my shoulder.
“Cara, it has to be now.” There was regret in Arthur’s eyes that I didn’t understand.
“Okay. Just…” I went to take another step to Lance.
“You have to go back now and close the barriers.”
Nimue was abruptly beside me, her warm hands closing over mine. “You must go alone, Cara.”
“But…” My eyes sought out Lance again. He had pushed up onto his elbows, his exp
ression pained.
“Lance must remain here. His injuries are severe.”
“Then I’ll stay too. Until he’s better.”
“There is no time. Magic is already flooding between our worlds. You must act before Morgana’s predictions come true.”
I looked up at the faces around me. They were resolute and determined, but they all looked sad for me.
My eyes locked back on Lance and I felt a wrench in the pit of my stomach. This couldn’t be happening. After everything I’d been through to ensure I got to stay with him I was just supposed to walk away?
I pushed past Nimue’s arm, stumbling the last few steps. My knees hit the grass, but I didn’t even notice.
“It won’t be forever, Cariad.” Lance brushed my hair out of my eyes with trembling fingers. “It isn’t goodbye. It’s just for a little while.”
“I can’t leave you. Please, don’t make me leave you. Not now.”
His hand cupped my cheek, his thumbs rubbing over my trembling lower lip.
“Nothing can keep us apart, Cariad. You should know that by now. I’ll be back with you before you know it.”
“Time passes differently here, remember.” Merlin was at my shoulder. “You’ll barely have time to notice he’s gone.”
Reluctantly, I nodded. Ignoring the audience I lent forward and pressed my lips against Lance’s, my fingers tangling in his dark hair.
He kissed me back with an urgency that set my whole body on fire. The hand on my cheek slid round to the back of my neck. He held my face close to his even after he broke the kiss.
“You are a part of me, Cariad. The very best part of me. The part that makes me want to be stronger, better. I love you, I have always loved you.”
My eyes burned, tears slipping down my cheeks. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
He smiled as I forced myself to stand.
“I won’t. I’ve waited a thousand years for you; I won’t waste anymore time.”
Nimue touched my arm and the world started to dissolve. I wasn’t ready.
“I love you.” I didn’t know if Lance heard me, I was already being pulled into darkness.
It took me a minute to realise I was back; lying on my back in the damp grass. The sky was pitch black, not a single star.
The Last Knight (Pendragon Book 1) Page 25