by J. M. Briggs
“I guess it is a bit much, maybe being part of the Iron Soul is being blessed with great luck,” he offered without looking at Merlin who snorted in response. “And in my defense, I was only the quarterback last year because of two injuries; coach wasn’t too thrilled about having to use me at first,” he added a bit more defensively. “Though, I’ll admit that it was thrilling the first time I played in the games.”
“I didn’t mean any insult,” he assured Arthur, wondering if he’d hit some kind of nerve. He raised his glass of iced tea in a slight toast. “It’s just a little funny sometimes, well funny and irritating.”
“He’s got a point,” Nicki chimed in with a laugh and Aiden felt relieved at the rescue. “You’re one of those overly perfect people that everyone wants to hate, but can’t.”
“I think that’s a compliment,” Arthur replied slowly, glancing over at a smiling Alex. “But I certainly hope that none you hate me. I’m grateful for you guys, I can’t imagine trying to confront all of this without you.”
“Particularly Alex,” Nicki added with a sly smile. The girl in question blushed slightly but said nothing so Nicki turned towards Merlin. “Are the Iron Souls always like that?”
“No,” Merlin answered calmly, looking far too amused at the conservation. “Arthur’s life thus far has been rather pleasant by the standards of the Iron Soul. In truth, there is nothing that sets the Iron Soul apart from other humans unless magic is active.”
“That said, the Iron Soul does seem to demonstrate leadership abilities and has been intelligent,” Morgana added with a soft smile, looking at Alex and Arthur with pleased eyes. “This may simply be due to the reincarnation that it undergoes. While Merlin and I’s knowledge of such things are limited, I have observed that old souls seem to have a natural inclination towards certain behavior.”
“So if there isn’t anything obviously special about the Iron Soul then how do you know it when you find it?” Nicki asked, tilting her head curiously as she glanced between Arthur and Morgana.
Merlin chuckled and smiled at the question before answering, “Well Nicki, we know certain things about the Iron Soul that allows us to keep an eye out for it. Morgana is very talented at scrying which steers us towards the proper location. Although in many of the Iron Soul’s incarnations magic has remained at a low level and we barely interacted with them.”
“In this incarnation’s case, I saw the town sign for Ravenslake nearly twenty years ago,” Morgana continued, slipping into lecture mode. “Thus Merlin and I moved here and built our current lives while we waited.”
“And the summer before last Morgana saw visions of battles leading to us checking on the status of the iron gates in Great Britain and the status of the sleeping Old Ones.”
“How does scrying work?” Bran asked a curious and thoughtful expression on his face, replacing the earlier look of pain. “Does it take a lot of magic or is it like the stories suggest?”
“Many people can scry, even those with very low levels of magic, and it is something that I can do even when almost all other magic is impossible,” Morgana informed him with a small smile. “That’s one of the reasons why there are scrying traditions all over the world.”
“But how does that work?” Nicki asked. “I mean what do you see that is so exact?”
“As someone with full magical abilities, my scrying is a bit more complex than most. I still use a bronze polished mirror that shows me glimpses of the future. In a town like Ravenslake that I am very familiar with it is very simple to recognize where certain things are going to happen,” Morgana explained as she poured herself more tea. “As for dates and times… that’s a little harder. There isn’t anything to tell you when something is going to happen exactly so you have to keep an eye out for little clues like the phase of the moon, position of the sun, signs of the season or if you’re really lucky a sign showing the date.”
“Sounds messy,” Bran remarked looking discouraged.
“Seeing something beyond what is around you is always difficult, but I suspect that you’d have a strong talent for scrying Bran,” Morgana assured him gently. “Once this episode with Chernobog is over I’ll start teaching you, but you have to tightly control your magic for it to work. Too much power into your scrying instrument and you destroy it, but too little and nothing is clear.”
“So basically back to practicing ice,” Bran sighed, looking rather dejected.
“I’m afraid so,” Merlin said kindly. “But really, all of you are already doing so well. It wasn’t until I’d been training for years that I was able to use my magic in different ways. Yes this is hard, but soon enough you’ll get it and once you do even more things will be open to you.”
“That will be nice,” Nicki remarked with a smile to everyone around the table. “After all we’ve already started trying to experiment.”
“Things will get easier,” Merlin told them firmly. “You can do one major form of magic each and some of you have had some success with other forms of magic such as healing or mending objects. Just be patient and practice.”
“And don’t forget to be careful on Halloween,” Morgana added quickly. “If you want to spend the night at my house that will be fine, but otherwise stay at least in pairs and remember that carved pumpkins can help keep you safe.”
“Will jack-o-lanterns help against the Shadow Creatures?” Nicki asked with a frown.
“No they won’t, but there is a chance that the Sídhe might be able to push through on Halloween so just be cautious.”
“That would be great wouldn’t it,” Aiden muttered with a frown. “Sídhe and Shadow Creatures.”
“Yeah but maybe they’d fight each other,” Nicki offered with a tentative smile.
“I doubt it,” Aiden scoffed. “So you’ve gotten Bran to form some ice, care to coach me?”
“Alright,” Nicki agreed with a nod. “Come on fire boy; let’s teach you how to use ice.”
Aiden nodded in agreement as he pushed his chair back and stood up. He was feeling a little better with some food in his stomach and was ready to give it another try. The others followed his example, pushing their plates in and standing up. Arthur offered to help Morgana and Merlin take everything in and Alex quickly joined the cleanup crew.
Aiden walked back over to the small patch of grass he’d been parked in earlier. He was taking in a deep breath with his eyes closed when he heard a low growling sound from nearby. Opening his eyes, he jumped to his feet and looked towards Merlin’s blacksmithing workshop.
“Aiden?” Nicki questioned softly.
“Listen,” he hissed, his eyes darting around.
There was another long deep growl that rumbled through the air and made the hair on his arms stand up. Around them, the sky seemed to darken as if a cloud had covered the sun. A chill crept over his body and Aiden took a tentative step back, moving closer to Nicki. She was alert now and watching the dark corners of the yard.
“Shadow monster,” Nicki whispered, shifting her weight and bringing her hands forward.
Aiden was about to agree and call the others when the low growl turned into a snarl. Above them, there was a thump and Aiden’s eyes jumped up. On the slanted metal roof of Merlin’s workshop was a massive shadow creature built like a great panther with glowing red eyes and jagged dark spikes growing along its spine. It opened its mouth exposing two rows of shining white teeth and roared. The sound echoed against the metal walls and roof and through the yard. Behind him, Aiden heard clamoring as the others rushed out of the house.
The air turned colder as another shadow leapt onto the workshop roof. This one was standing on two long legs with long arms hanging down in front of it. Spikes grew all over its body, protruding where its joints seemed to be. Large red eyes narrowed at them and a high pitched hissing sound escaped the new creature.
“Nicki!” Morgana shouted from behind them. “Fall back!”
“What?” Nicki called back in shock.
“I want the othe
rs to handle this fight. They need to be capable of defeating these without you.”
“But-”
“Alex,” Merlin called, “You too.”
“I can’t do ice yet!” Alex shouted behind him.
“Your energy draining spears do just fine; let the others work on these two.”
Aiden flexed his fingers and refused to look away from the two strange creatures before him even as his stomach churned with unease. He did not like where this was suddenly going.
“Well,” Merlin called to the monsters. “You’ve found the mages, what now?”
His words spurred them on. Both leapt from the workshop roof, the panther-like one towards him and the two legged one in the other direction. Risking a glance over his shoulder, Aiden saw Arthur standing a little in front of Bran and glaring at the creature. Aiden swung back to the large shadow beast that was watching him and exhaled slowly.
“I can do this,” he whispered to himself and tried to ignore the fact that the others were watching him.
Pulling on his magic, Aiden swallowed as he felt the small warm point in his gut expand. A wave of warmth spread through his body, fighting back the chill. The shadow beast roared and lunged for him, but Aiden leapt to the side, avoiding the massive paws complete with sharp claws. His magic jolted up his body and down his arm like an electric shock. There were the sounds of another battle behind him and it took all of his focus not to turn and look. He had to trust that Arthur and Bran could take care of it. The snarling of their Shadow beast blended with the roars and growls of his own.
“You can do it!” Nicki shouted behind him and Aiden inwardly growled.
The cheerleading was not helping the situation. In fact, it made it worse, just reminding him that he wasn’t really in danger and fighting for his life. No, he was fighting because his professors were nasty and terrible and-
The shadow beast roared and swiped one massive paw towards him that he barely dodged. Above him the shadow creature roared once again, sending a shiver of fear up his spine. The red sparks of magic gathering in his hand felt cold against his skin, he realized with surprise.
“I can do this,” Aiden muttered to himself. “Just think about it as a game spell.”
There was an animalistic scream of pain behind him and then cheering from Nicki and Alex. A moment later Bran and Arthur’s voices joined the cheers for him, but he told himself to ignore it. Neither he nor the shadow beast moved, his brown eyes staring into the swirling red eyes of the shadow beast. The chill was forcing itself through the warmth of his magic and Aiden could feel goosebumps up and down his arms. He bit his lower lip softly, envisioning a shimmering spear made of ice in his mind.
Done with waiting, the shadow beast leapt towards him with a roar. For a split second all he could see was those long sharp glinting teeth, but he pushed on the magic. The red sparks blasted away from his skin, coming together in a long reddish beam of magic right in front of him. Icy air exhaled by the roaring beast hit his face, but Aiden didn’t move. His magic spun together into a shining red spear, visible to him for only a moment before it struck the inside roof of the shadow beast’s mouth.
A deafening scream of pain filled the yard and Aiden dove out of the shadow beast’s way. Hitting the ground, he rolled out of the way as the shadow creature lashed around for what seemed like forever, tossing its head around. The spear still lodged in the creature was shimmering with magic, glowing so brightly that red light was spilling out of the shadow creature’s mouth. Then the shadow creature stopped spinning around, gave a weak cry and fell to the ground near him.
Climbing to his feet, Aiden watched as the darkness that made up the shadow creature’s body faded away in front of him. It vanished gradually, leaving ribbons of black behind that lingered for a few moments before they too vanished. He sighed in relief even as a rush of satisfaction and pride warmed his chest. The others were cheering for him and he couldn’t help but smile. Hearing someone coming up behind him, Aiden turned quickly to find the smiling Merlin standing next to him. The professor looked down at the vanishing remains of the shadow creature and nodded.
“Uh so did I pass Professor?” Aiden couldn’t help but ask with a wide smile.
Merlin grinned at the question, his brown eyes shining with amusement as the last vestiges of the creature vanished. Aiden breathed a little easier as the light around him brightened and the chill vanished from the air, at least as much as was reasonable for late October.
“Well it wasn’t exactly an ice spear,” Merlin remarked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not even sure what it was, but it did the trick so I’d say that yes you passed.”
“Good,” Aiden sighed loudly, relaxing his sore muscles. “It is nice to know that I can kill them on my own.”
“Indeed,” Merlin agreed, reaching over and putting a hand on his shoulder. Merlin let the weight of his hand just rest there for a moment before he removed his hand. “I think that you’ve practiced enough for this weekend; go finish your homework and have some fun.”
“We won’t be practicing on Halloween,” Morgana reminded them, looking remarkably calm. “But remember to stay safe and stay in contact with us. I’ll be scrying to keep an eye on things, but it isn’t perfect so watch yourselves.”
Nicki looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but he was sore and tired and one look at Bran assured him that his roommate was a similar state. As Arthur put his arm around Alex and asked her if she wanted to do anything special for the afternoon, Aiden walked over to Bran. His roommate was leaning on his cane more than normal and had a small scowl on his face.
“Back to the dorm, order pizza and have a game marathon?”
Bran smiled, chuckling softly and he nodded and replied, “Yeah, let’s go and kill some things without having to do anything more than push a few buttons.”
“Amen to that,” Aiden sighed as the two of them waved goodbye to the others and headed for the gate. He needed some video games, preferably nothing to do with magic, at least for a few hours.
18
Homecoming Fears
803 B.C.E. Northern Cornwall
Urging his horse forward, Arto felt a coil of anticipation tightening in his chest. Behind him, he could hear the soft murmurs of the other warriors on their own horses. The sun was almost completely set and long shadows stretched out around them creating a dark and gloomy atmosphere, but Arto wasn’t bothered at all.
He glanced to his right where Morgana was swaying gently on her own horse. In her right hand, she held an orb of light which was providing them enough light to keep going despite the twilight. Airril was on her other side, one hand twitching, ready to steady Morgana if she did try to nod off. Arto smiled softly at the look that his brother-in-law was giving her which made him miss Gwenyvar even more. He turned as much as he could manage and looked back at Merlin who was in the rear of the small party, speaking with one of the warriors in a low voice, his staff laying across his lap.
Taking another long breath of the chilly night air, Arto searched the darkness as his horse made it to the crest of the rolling hill, and he grinned at the sight of the village below. Fires and torches illuminated a few roundhouses and even at their current distance, he could hear the sounds of the people below. Beside him, he heard an audible sigh of relief from Airril.
“Come on,” Arto called to the others breaking the silence. “We’re almost home! Just a little further.”
“At last,” Gareth groaned behind him. “I request not having to get on a horse for at least a month. I need to recover from this mission.”
“I agree,” Arto called back as they started down the hill towards the village, using their own torches to navigate the slope of the hill. “This trip was far too long.”
“It was necessary,” Morgana reminded him sternly, now sitting up a little straighter on her horse. “Even if four months was a bit much.”
“And I thought you grew up traveling,” Boisil remarked, sounding very tired to
Arto’s ears.
“I did, but I’ve decided that I like having a home to call my own,” Arto admitted, a small smile playing at his mouth. “Even if it makes traveling harder.”
“Well at least there are two more Iron Gates now,” Merlin reminded them with a chuckle. “We’ll probably have a few months rest at least for winter. The Sídhe have very few areas of access to our world now, and even they cannot travel easily in the winter.”
The idea of not having to make another Iron Gate for a few months cheered Arto up immensely and he had to resist the urge to force his horse to go faster. The poor beast was due a long rest of its own at this point. They settled into silence, all of them focusing on the village which was getting closer with each step.
The wooden walls that surrounded most of the roundhouses looked dark red and streams of smoke gleamed orange in the last light of the sun. Arto guided his horse on the small path that ran between the livestock fields and towards the main gate of the village with a grin. The day of riding had been hard on them, but it was worth it now with home so close.