by J. M. Briggs
Gofiben saw the magic strike Morgana in the chest; saw the dark red magic run over her exposed neck and Morgana’s mouth open in a silent cry. She was thrown back against a tree with a loud echoing crack while Badb laughed. Cathanáil tumbled from her hands and hit the ground with a soft clinking sound. In the corner of his eye, Gofiben saw Merlin throw a blast of magic into the ground, but Badb leapt forward and changed in a swirl of magic, feathers and the sound of cracking bones into her crow form. Jagged rocks erupted from the ground where she’d been. The bird twisted in the air and in another swirl of magic hit the ground in human form and lunged forward. Badb grabbed Cathanáil and spun around, sending another blast of magic towards Merlin.
The sword flashed in her hands and a pained screech escaped Badb, but she held tightly to the hilt. Morgana groaned and started to pull herself up just as Badb’s eyes returned to her. Cathanáil flashed and Badb’s hand shook as she fought to keep hold of the sword. A wave of red magic collided with Merlin’s green magic in mid-air as he tried to distract her. Gofiben gasped and jumped forward to run to Morgana as Merlin was pushed back.
“Gofiben!” Morgana shouted in warning as she started to sit up, “Don’t!”
There was a strange song in the air, a few long and haunting notes that reached his ears before a sharp pain in his side sent him rolling to the right. He curled his arm against his side on instinct and looked up in alarm. Badb was holding Cathanáil only a short ways from him, and red blood was dripping from the tip into the muddy snow. His blood, he realized with a sharp pang of fear.
Badb cackled as she held Cathanáil aloft. Gofiben watched in horrified silence as his own blood gleamed red on the blade and began to drip down the over the hilt. Dark red eyes fixed on his own and Badb smiled a twisted, sharp grin. Then she screamed, the sound echoing through the valley and making Gofiben flinch back as his chest began to ache. His body shook, but he forced himself to look back up at Badb only to gasp in alarm.
Her body was dissolving into smoke. Her long dark cloak was swirling behind her and becoming long streams of smoke dancing in the air. Long dark hair flew around her only to gradually shift into wisps of black smoke. Badb’s eyes were glowing dark red, almost black, and in her hand Cathanáil was glowing a sickly shade of blood red.
“Yes!” Badb laughed wildly. “I’ve done it!”
She raised her free hand and dark red magic swirled around her like a tornado, sending chunks of snow, rotting leaves and dirt flying all around them. Gofiben covered his eyes and crawled towards Morgana. A warm hand caught the back of his neck and tugged him toward her. Then there was a hand at his side over the wound. He could feel something flowing over the wound that felt like warm water as the pain eased.
“Stay still!” Morgana shouted over the deafening wind.
In the river the water churned and splashed high into the air was waves began to form. High overhead the gray clouds darkened as the wind sped up around them. Gofiben turned his head enough to see Badb still holding the sword, though she looked strange, like a black, smoky version of herself as her body shimmered and faded. Cathanáil was pulsing with a strange, dark red and black energy, his own blood stain along the blade glinting in the low light.
Badb lowered her eyes and met his. Her dark eyes were gleaming with an excitement that sent a shiver down his spine. There was another flash of magic from Merlin, but it swirled harmlessly and was dispersed by the cloud surrounding Badb. With a laugh, she turned the sword in her hand, pointing the blade towards the ground. Dark-red magic billowed around her like a storm cloud and flashes of blood red magic sparked and crackled around her form.
Thrusting Cathanáil into the ground Badb released an animalist scream. The sword flashed blood red as it struck the stone, which began to crack and crumble on contact. Cathanáil shuddered and the red energy streamed into the ground, causing the rocks around the sword to turn a dark bloody red. Everything started to shake and Gofiben froze in terror as the ground around Cathanáil began to split open. Red light spilled forth, casting the whole valley in a terrible fiery glow. Morgana’s hand tightened on his shoulder as she tried to shift towards Cathanáil. Gofiben grimaced at the pressure against his chest from the force of the air. Morgana slowly brought a hand up and silver sparks danced around her palm, but she couldn’t seem to do anything. Gofiben’s eyes were drawn back toward Cathanáil, and the dull ache in his chest became a sharp pain right over his heart.
Then everything went still. Badb collapsed forward against the sword and wrenched it out of the ground with a puzzled expression twisting what remained of her features. Badb clutched at the sword, her body swirling back together, though she looked pained and frail now. A furious mix of emotions took over her features as she began to stumble away from them all. Gofiben turned towards the sound of Merlin groaning and found the eldest mage clawing at a rock to help him stand up from the mud. With a shout, Merlin took off after Badb with green magic running up his arm. Morgana released Gofiben, pausing only for a moment to look at his face and then at his side before she hauled herself up and began to pursue them.
The pain in his chest made it hard to move, but Gofiben grit his teeth and grasped at the badly bent tree he and Morgana had been all but pinned to. His fingers searched his side, but thankfully found a closed wound and drying blood. Hauling himself up, he stumbled and turned around. Bran was at his side in an instant and helped him down the slope of the hill as Badb continued to stumble her way up the valley.
“What did she do?” Bran called after Merlin and Morgana. “What happened?”
Neither of them answered and he rushed after them, his side and his teeth aching. Bran called his name, but he didn’t stop his pursuit down the hill. He stopped only when he caught sight of Badb running into the river. She screamed something and dark red magic flowed out of her body, seeming to shrink her form, but she still clung to Cathanáil.
Water erupted out the river, forming a wall of water right in front of Badb. Gofiben drew back in shock as the water began to swirl as if pulled by a strong current. The whole river suddenly seemed to be spinning and Badb fell forward into the water. She vanished into the waves just as Merlin reached the portal of water with Morgana close behind.
“Gofiben!” Morgana called back to him before she glanced back at the water tunnel where Merlin was gesturing for her frantically. “We’ll be back,” she promised quickly. “Be careful and go back to your village to wait for us.”
He nodded: he couldn’t think of anything else to do. Every instinct was screaming at him to stop them, but he didn’t know why. Morgana’s eyes lingered on him a moment longer, but then Merlin called her name. She turned and rushed toward the wall of swirling water that was shrinking with every second. Merlin grabbed her hand and the pair vanished into the vortex, which spun for only one more moment before all the water splashed back into the river.
Gofiben stared into the water of the river as it began to calm and run normally. Silence hung over the valley, and he realized distantly that there were no birds chirping and even the wind seemed to have died. There was also a strange, faint smell in the air that was growing stronger, but he couldn’t place. Swallowing, he struggled to find his voice and looked towards Bran, who looked as shocked as he felt.
“What do you think she did?”
“I have no idea,” Bran admitted with a pained laugh. “Merlin and Morgana didn’t even stay to check on what it was.”
Gofiben nodded and looked around at the unfamiliar valley. He knew if they went downstream they’d come to a village, but part of him sparked in anger at just being left behind.
“They’ll catch her.” Bran squeezed his shoulder, but it didn’t reassure him. “They’ll get the sword back and… well, it was their own fault that she got the sword.”
“Maybe.” Gofiben sniffed at the air. “Do you smell that?”
Bran paused, tilting his chin up thoughtfully. “Yeah,” his friend agreed after a moment. “Like… something burning.”
“Maybe the trees lit something-”
The ground heaved, shaking so violently that both men fell to the ground. Gofiben groaned in pain as his knees hit the rocks of the shore, but he looked around frantically. He tried to call on his magic, but the shaking was making it impossible for him to stay calm. Struggling to regain control, he looked around as part of the hillside crumbled away. The glow of flames lit up the valley and smoke began billowing up into the air once more. Then there was a deafening roar unlike anything he’d ever heard before, and a harsh wave of heat swept through the valley.
Closing his eyes, Gofiben brought his hands up to his ears at the horrible sound. Everything kept shaking and the roaring grew louder. Then there was an echoing swishing sound like a leather door flap being caught in the wind, but so much louder. The roaring died down and the shaking stopped. Gofiben forced his eyes open even though the rest of his body still felt frozen. Looking up, he gasped as he caught sight of a huge, white, winged creature flying off into the sky towards the south.
His surprise turned to alarm when he managed to sit up on his knees and look back towards the hillside. There, under several large rocks, was a massive creature at least two hundred feet long. It shifted, sending more rocks rolling down the hill and turned to look at them as it stood. The creature looked like a giant lizard with shimmering red and orange scales and long horns on the top of its head. Massive wings rose out of its shoulders that it folded down against its body as it eyed them. Sharp golden eyes met Gofiben’s as the creature opened its mouth, exposed rows of sharp glittering teeth with flames dancing at the back of its throat. But then it flinched and stumbled on the rocks. Gofiben grabbed Bran and they both rushed back into the river as the creature fell forward with a long sad cry of defeat.
22
Legend of Dinas Emrys
The bridge was out of a fairy tale, with a soft arc across the river and made of fitted stone. Two arches supported the bridge with the central pillar in the middle of the water. Snow-dusted ivy climbed up the bridge, and below them was the soothing sound of the burbling water. It was the sort of bridge that Alex liked to draw when she was young and envision when reading fairy tales; but this wasn’t a fairy tale, and she tightened her coat against the winter chill.
In front of her rose the Snowdonia Mountains, many of their peaks hidden by thick gray clouds with rolling rocky hills between them and the small town. Somewhere up there was the clue they needed to find the Iron Chalice, or at least that was the hope. Alex swallowed and set her hands on the cold stone wall of the bridge, looking down at the cheap watch she’d picked at the Swansea train station on their way north. It was early afternoon, but they’d still burned almost a whole day just getting here. The late December chill and the already sinking sun served as reminders that the winter solstice was drawing closer with every moment.
Around them, the locals of Beddgelert were going about their lives. People wrapped up against the winter cold moved between old stone buildings that lined the streets on either side of the bridge. Alex looked around as Bran stepped up next to her.
“What do you think?” Bran asked as he gazed out at the mountains.
“Bit late to ask me that given we just spent five and half hours getting here,” Alex said.
“At least we caught an early train,” Bran reminded her. “And we had some time to research the area in Fishguard.” He gestured around at the village. “Beddgelert: population roughly 450 and purported to be the home of the legendary hound Gelert. I admit before reading up on it I’d never heard the story, and won’t repeat it now as things are depressing enough as is.” Bran waited a moment in silence, but Alex said nothing. He sighed and pointed towards the river sweeping under the bridge. “The River Glaslyn and River Colwyn join just upstream and they have a local meteorite.”
“We should have been here yesterday.”
“Trains only run at certain times; you’re on their schedule.” Bran set his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay Alex. We still have time: Aiden’s parents aren’t going to give up on him so quickly.”
Alex nodded and tried to dispel the tension that had been creeping up on her the whole trip. She couldn’t shake the growing feeling that they were chasing ghosts. Dragons, she reminded herself as she looked at the hills. There couldn’t be dragons in those quiet hills, and if the Chalice wasn’t here… Shaking her head, Alex forced down that train of thought and focused instead on the river.
“Here come the others,” Bran warned.
Jenny, Lance, and Nicki were crossing the bridge with exhausted expressions. Lance had his backpack slung over one shoulder and looked the most alert of all of them. Alex noted with a frown that Lance was walking between the two women like a barrier. Nicki sped up and moved ahead of the other two, nodding to Bran and coming around to Alex’s other side.
“Anything?” Nicki asked in a low voice as she eyed the hills.
“No visions if that’s what you’re asking,” Alex replied. “I’m afraid that we’re hiking.”
“Well, I got some information at the hotel,” Nicki said. “But we have to follow highway A498 to get there.”
“Stuff is stashed.” Jenny half collapsed against the side of the bridge. “And locked up,” she added.
“Sorry there wasn’t a hostel,” Alex apologized. She tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it. “But since we’re going up to the hills to poke around it’s probably for the best.”
“It’s fine, we just don’t have time to go around to the guesthouses. I’m going to send Merlin a bill since he hasn’t even been helpful,” Jenny huffed as she tightened her scarf around her neck. She looked down at her boots with a slight pout. “I did not bring the right footwear for this.”
Lance chuckled and knocked his heavy boots against the side of the bridge with a smile which earned him a glare from Jenny. Instead of shying away, he smiled and shrugged at her. Then he caught Alex’s eyes and his smile vanished.
“You okay Alex?”
“Just tired,” Alex assured him. “Just like the rest of you.”
Lance’s frown deepened at her words, but he nodded and stepped closer to her as he moved around Bran. “Come on,” Lance said, gently touching her shoulder. “It’s a mile up to the trailhead and then two miles to the hill itself, and we’ll be hiking around the area for a while. We need to get moving now if we have any chance of finding something.”
There were nods of agreement, and Nicki pointed to one of the roads off the bridge. Alex listened to the rhythmic click of their feet against the road and let her thoughts drift off. They walked along the road in silence with everyone minding the traffic that kept breezing by. As they drew closer and closer to the rocky slope of the hill, Alex felt her chest getting tighter and tighter; her mouth drier and drier. She snagged the water bottle in Bran’s bag and took a greedy gulp that didn’t help much. Her fingers clenched and unclenched painfully in the cold air and she took a moment to pull on her gloves with awkward movements. There was a sense that she should say something, but the others were all walking along in silence. Alex wondered if they all felt the same urge and were ignoring it as well.
Overhead the gray clouds were beginning to clear off a bit and patches of blue sky were appearing. Around them were tree covered hills and open fields with earthen walls covered with grass and dusted with snow. Houses were scattered about; some of them looked very modern while others were built with dark stone and looked old. One of the rivers, Alex wasn’t sure which one, was off to their right, twisting and turning along with the road.
“This is it,” Lance announced as he came to a stop and pointed towards a tall hill around the curve of the road. “And here’s where the trail starts,” Lance added, pointing to the small parking lot just off the road next to them.
“Can’t we just go to the hill?” Nicki protested, “It’s right by the road.”
“These are volcanic mountains,” Lance explained. He nodded towards the parking lot. “Dinas Emrys is famous bec
ause it was a fortress hill in addition to the dragon legend. It’s high and steep with a large stone face on the road side. The trail is two miles, but it is designed to be something a person can get up.” Lance glanced towards Bran but didn’t say anything. “Besides, what we really need could be in the area around the hill.”
“He’s right,” Alex said before Nicki could protest further. “Let’s stick to the safe path for now. We’ll probably have to climb all over the thing before we’re done.”
Lance didn’t look too happy with her endorsement but nodded and they headed into the parking lot. A large sign with a map showed the area and the various trails that spread out across the area. Pulling out a small map, Lance studied it and touched a few places thoughtfully. Alex grimaced as she looked at the ‘strenuous’ rating for the Dinas Emrys hike and risked a glance towards Bran. He was turned towards the east near the trail head and looking at the hill across the fields and old stone walls that crisscrossed. Worry began to churn in Alex that there was no way they were going to finish this hike anytime soon.