by J. M. Briggs
“I’m here Arto,” Luegáed shouted, his voice thick with determination. “Collect yourself, I’ll protect you!”
His head was pounding, but the meaning of the words sunk in as he began to roll to the side. He felt Cathanáil’s still warm hilt being pushed into his hand and tightened his fingers around it on reflex. Arto felt the magic in the sword thrum, reaching to connect with his own internal magic. He risked closing his eyes for a moment despite hearing shouting and more snarling in the distance.
“Morgana!” Luegáed shouted above the dim. “Arto is down! He’s alive, but he can’t fight!”
When he opened his eyes the world was a little clearer. The light of the burning trees had dimmed, but the smoke was much thicker making his eyes water as the flames were extinguished. All around them, smoke colored red by the flames was clouding their vision. Arto looked towards Luegáed who was standing less than a foot from his legs, sword drawn and at the ready. His fellow warrior was looking around with a determined and angry expression.
“I thought you were guarding the village,” Arto managed to say, his throat dry and burning from the smoke.
“I organized the guard, but then we saw Riders approaching the fire and Hounds circling around your flank,” Luegáed replied without looking at him. “I came to warn you.”
It was an obvious trap and Arto wasn’t sure if he was offended by Luegáed’s thought that they didn’t know, but not many willingly ran into a Sídhe trap. Near them the ground hissed as a fresh blast of water was thrown over it and Arto coughed as a new wave of smoke reached them. Luegáed shifted towards him as he climbed up onto his knees and coughed.
“Come on,” Luegáed said quickly, kneeling down and putting one of his arms over his shoulders. Arto was pulled to his feet, Cathanáil still clutched in his hand and leaning heavily on Luegáed.
“I’m fine,” he heard himself protest.
“You hit your head, hard from what I saw,” Luegáed argued as they started walking towards the village and away from the fire. “You’re in no condition to be up here!”
“I won’t leave my sister and Merlin.”
“Arto,” Luegáed countered as they nearly fell over a rock. “There are Sídhe and Hounds all over the hills!”
“But they-”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Luegáed insisted, guiding them around a pile of rocks. “Now come on.” Luegáed turned and looked over his shoulder at the blazing trees and shouted. “I’m taking Arto back to the village!”
“Hurry and go!” his sister’s voice called out from the trees a moment before she dashed out of the fire, her long cloak gone and ashes covering her clothes. On her heels was a Síd dressed in his golden armor and carrying a long gleaming sword. “Keep him safe!”
Pulling away from Luegáed, Arto nearly fell once again and stumbled for footing. His head was pounding, overshadowing the ache in his back as he raised Cathanáil. Morgana spun around magic curling around her hand just before she thrust her hand towards the Síd. Her magic wove together forming a silver spear only seconds before it pierced the golden armor of the Síd. It stumbled for a moment before its mouth fell open in a silent scream as it dissolved.
“Arto,” Morgana gasped as she rushed up to them, carefully reaching her hand out and touching the back of his head. He flinched as her fingers brushed a large bump that was forming and his brain blacked out for a split second from the pain. “You shouldn’t be here!”
“More are coming!” Merlin’s voice called right before the older mage strode out of the forest waving his staff around him.
Waves of dirt and ash were sweeping up from the forest floor and over the trees, snuffing out the flames. The smoke was thick around them, but the light of the fires was fading fast and Arto could see only a few more burning trees. Morgana nodded to Merlin and moved away, giving a warning look to Luegáed who remained still and holding him in place.
The blast of a horn cut through the haze threatening to take him over. A burst of adrenaline raced through Arto and he straightened up to look around. Three Riders burst out of the smoke on their horses with a Hound racing along beside them. His sister’s magic lashed out like a whip, striking one of the steeds and sending its Rider crashing to the ground. Another blast of magic made the Rider scream as it began to dissolve. One of the Sídhe threw a blast of magic towards them, but Morgana spun out of the way and Luegáed’s rough hand hauled him to the side.
He stumbled, uneasy on his feet, but he managed to bring Cathanáil up in front of him. Arto’s vision blurred, bits of black flickered on the edges, but he could see Luegáed ducking under a blow from one of the Riders. The other young man’s iron sword flashed as he drove it into the side of the horse. It screamed, stamping its feet as its flesh began to dissolve. The Rider leapt down from the horse, gathering golden magic in its hand. Lashing forward with Cathanáil, Arto nearly tripped on a rock but brought the sword down on the back of the Síd’s neck. It vanished in a flash of light and his stomach violently protested the sudden movement. Stopping, Arto nearly dropped Cathanáil as he struggled to breathe and keep himself from becoming ill.
Merlin caught his shoulder and held him steady even as the older mage raised his staff. Green magic glistened around the smooth wood and illuminated the space around them. The violet eyes of the last Síd widened and it took a tentative step back. Arto saw a golden orb of magic beginning to form in the Síd’s hand and opened his mouth to warn Merlin. But his mentor waved his staff forward, sending a cloud of green magic sailing through the air. The Síd stopped moving as the cloud of magic surrounded it, a look of confusion apparent on its unearthly face just before the magic tightened around it. There was a scream before the magic completely enclosed the Síd and hid it from view. When the magic settled, the Síd was gone.
The Hound snarled, leaping forward in a flash of teeth and fur towards Merlin. Arto couldn’t move properly as he saw Merlin begin turning to face the Hound, a bubble of fear in his chest that Merlin wouldn’t be in time. There was a flash of silver magic in the corner of his eye and he saw Morgana’s hand move. The Hound’s snarl turned into a long pitiful cry as it dissolved into a shower of golden dust and faded into the night air. All around them the scent of charcoal, ash and smoke lingered and Arto looked towards the trees with a sad look. Many of the trees were black and still radiating heat. The ground was now ash mixed with dirt and no sign of plant life. Yet, there were still some trees that were nearly untouched with their branches swaying gently in the wind. It would grow back, Arto told himself firmly and there was still enough of the forest left to shelter the animals and provide forage for the village.
“I think,” Merlin said slowly as he gasped for air. “That is the last of them and the fire is out. I’d call this a success.”
He looked over at Luegáed and nodded with a small smile. Arto relaxed but felt his legs start to shake badly. His sister made a quick move towards him, but Luegáed caught his arm gently. It may have been childish, but as Luegáed carefully took his weight and started walking him back towards the village, Arto grinned at his sister as the nerves that had been fluttering in his stomach at the thought of betrayal were driven away by a sense of peace and triumph.
13
Homecoming Events
Raven Stadium echoed with cheering, screaming and talking around Aiden as he blinked to keep the wave of disorientation threatening to overtake him at bay. The stadium was nothing special in Aiden’s eyes. It had been built over twenty years ago and always looked like a soda can on its side to him, but he’d attended plenty of games in it over the years with his father. That was just natural for the child of a professor, but he hadn’t bothered with it much as a student thus far.
Next to him, Alex was on her feet clapping and cheering along with the rest of the crowd as their football team thundered out of the locker room and onto the field. Aiden barely heard Bran laugh at their friend’s excitement for the homecoming game, but he heard Nicki’s loud snort as she bit
back her giggles. Alex didn’t care; she just kept cheering and shouted good luck to Arthur as if he could hear her. With their fellow mage, the Iron Soul and Alex’s boyfriend on the team, Aiden supposed it was only natural that attending football games would become a normal thing for them.
“Bit excited isn’t she?” Bran asked, having to shout the question.
“A bit,” he answered with a shout of his own before he noticed Bran shifting uncomfortably and toying with the button of the loose black jacket he was wearing. “You okay?”
“I’m not a huge fan of crowds,” Bran announced as the cheering began to die down slowly around them. “This is actually my first football game here and I only attended a handful in high school.”
“Well just let us know if you need anything.”
Bran didn’t say anything, but smiled and nodded telling Aiden that he understood and appreciated the gesture. Aiden felt himself relax slightly; he always worried about offering help to Bran, not wanting to suggest that his technically disabled friend couldn’t handle something. He knew that he was probably a little too careful about it, but Aisling had gone on more than one rant about hating people treating her like she was fragile when her cancer had been at its peak. Aiden knew that Bran was tough; he’d refused to let the car crash that had injured his leg keep him down. Plus, Aiden was certain that the dreams and visions that his roommate had would have left him shaking.
They still had no answer for what Bran’s vision last year had meant. Sure they knew that Chernobog was coming, but in the vision, Bran had been stabbed with a sword from behind. The very idea of experiencing that, even for only a moment, made Aiden shiver. He wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy, okay yes he would on his worst enemy like the Sídhe Riders and Chernobog, but not on his friend.
“I hope there isn’t the stupid homecoming court thing like in high school,” Nicki called from the other side of Alex who was still standing.
“I don’t know,” Bran shouted down to her. “Was there any kind of vote?”
“Don’t know,” Nicki replied with a shrug as she grabbed her soda. “I wasn’t paying attention. I started ignoring school politics about sixth grade.”
“The little parade was good, though,” Aiden offered. “Not the best, but not the worst one they’ve ever done.”
“Yeah, I remember three years ago when that float toppled over!” Nicki snorted into her drink.
“I remember,” Aiden replied with a mock shudder as he looked towards the confused Bran. “You can find it online. It set off a chain reaction, sort of like dominoes, but much funnier in hindsight once you knew that no one got hurt.”
“Guys!” Alex called, clearly irritated. “Come on, football game!”
“I’m not much of a football person,” Bran told her. “Unless you remember that soccer is called football in the rest of the world.”
“And I can never get past the quarterback licking his fingers and then putting them under the butt of another player,” Nicki added with an evil little smile. “Plus, you know, men bending over in really tight pants.”
Alex looked over at Nicki with a horrified, angry and threatening to burst out laughing expression. Lowering his face, Aiden covered his mouth and snorted into his hand. He didn’t have to watch the girls to know that Nicki was being glared at and that Alex was probably getting a stupid grin in return.
“Why am I friends with you guys again?” Alex asked, huffing slightly as she sat down on the bleacher seat.
“I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that,” Aiden answered with a grin.
“And I’m pretty sure that you damn well know that there is homecoming royalty. They were a part of the parade today, between that cool dragon and the marching band.”
“Oh… right… the formally dressed people in the cars.”
Alex gave him a look that made him flinch back in his seat, but he could see the corners of her lips trying to curve up. Sometimes she was just too much fun to mess with. Plus, he was really sure that Alex didn’t care about this stuff half as much as she pretended to.
“That was yesterday,” Nicki chimed in. “We can’t be expected to remember everything. After all they’ve been throwing homecoming events at us all week.” She tightened her jacket around her. “You even made us go to that prep rally that started three hours before kickoff.”
“It was Jenny’s first rally,” Alex replied without looking at them, her eyes fixed on the football game below. “I wanted to support her.”
No one teased her about that. Aiden saw Nicki make a small nod and Bran turned his focus to the field.
“How’d she do?” he finally asked.
“She was great and she looked genuinely happy and excited,” Alex announced with a wide and happy smile as she looked over at him. “Jenny’s even agreed to go out to lunch with me next week for her birthday.”
Aiden couldn’t help but smile and he exchanged a look with Nicki who was also smiling. No wonder Alex seemed in such better spirits. He figured the Lance issue was still probably bothering her, but she had Arthur and now things were normalizing with Jenny. A loud scream from Alex made him flinch and cover his ears as the offense rushed out onto the field.
“This is going to be a long game,” Aiden muttered as he gingerly lowered his hands from his ears and ignored Nicki laughing at him.
In the end the game was more interesting than he had expected. He hadn’t been converted into the fan base of the game or anything like that, but by the end with the scoreboard reading Ravens 45 and Vandals 17, even he could admit that it had been fun. Aiden always enjoyed sports more when he was in the thick of the energy. Plus there was a lot to be said for knowing someone on the team and cheering for them.
“That was great!” Alex cheered, her voice sounding rough and raw.
“Okay honey,” Nicki said to her, pulling her down into her seat and handing her a bottle of water. “You need to stop with the screaming.”
“Thanks,” Alex replied sheepishly as she took the bottle of water and took a drink. “Maybe I did overdo it.”
“I think everyone around us thought you were having a fit,” Bran teased with a grin.
Alex was her usual mature and well-spoken self; she stuck her tongue out at Bran. Nicki laughed and shook her head at them.
“Let’s wait here until the crowd thins a little,” Nicki suggested as she glanced at Bran.
“If coming to see football games is going to be a thing now we’re going to need something with more support than just blankets,” Bran observed, straightening up and rolling his shoulders. “Otherwise I’m afraid I’ll have to beg off and watch on television.”
“We’ll grab some of those little fold out chairs with the backs,” Alex suggested, giving Bran an apologetic smile. “But thanks for coming with me guys.”
“It was actually kind of fun,” Aiden told her warmly. “Don’t worry about it.”
Alex’s phone beeped and she pulled it out in record speed, almost dropping it. She had to pull off one of her gloves in order to manipulate the screen and grinned a moment later.
“Arthur says hi to you guys, he’s just going to grab a quick shower and then he’ll meet me by entrance C.”
“We can hang around for bit,” Bran remarked, beating Aiden to it. “I don’t want to leave you out alone, just in case.”
Alex nodded in agreement and grinned happily as she texted Arthur back. They lingered in the stands for a few more minutes with Nicki asking them about how their midterm essays for their King Arthur class were coming. The topic was an analysis of the Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere love triangle and looking at other love triangles from the same courtly romance period for comparisons. Remarkably, Aiden hadn’t even started it yet. It was just too weird, writing about the supposed legendary and totally fictional figure when you knew his reincarnation and had even observed part of the love triangle play out. He glanced over at Alex who was frowning into her water bottle.
“Alex?”
“I actually got permission from Mer- Professor Ambrose to write about the French creation of Camelot as the setting for their Arthurian stories,” she admitted with a grimace. “I just couldn’t… not after Jenny and Lance.”
“That was good of him,” Nicki announced with a smile, shifting to wrap an arm around Alex. “Besides, your essay sounds more interesting than our topic on the love triangle.”
“Well the research is pretty dull,” Alex replied with a shrug. “Camelot is after all basically a medieval utopia for the upper classes: their perfect courtly world. I’m worried about having enough for a proper essay.”
“I’ll take a look at it,” Nicki offered with a smile. “Maybe I can suggest a few areas to expand upon.”