Twilight Siege

32

“His crimes against you were just as unforgiveable as those against us.” His eyes looked away but I caught how they sparked with anger. “At least he won’t be hurting anyone else ever again.” “Now we just have to stop Morgan.” “What can you tell me about her?” I asked, appreciating the change of subject. “Morgan was Merlin’s apprentice.” “She’s Morgan La Fey, isn’t she?” “That’s the name she’s been given by humans over time, yes. She’d been off the radar for so long that she was thought to be dead.” “I’d like to show you something if you have a minute.” I led him upstairs to the painting of Morgan La Fey that Merlin had commented on the first day we had talked. The woman depicted was wearing silk robes and had dark curling hair flowing down her back. She appeared lost in the throes of casting a spell over a small cauldron filled with flames. “The first day I talked to Merlin when I came to Belfast was here at the museum. He was studying this painting but he never made any indication that Morgan was involved, or that she was even a real person for that matter. I don’t understand why he never told me she was the person behind the attacks and it pisses me off. He wants me to stop her, but why keep me in the dark about who she was?” “It’s hard to say with a man like Merlin, I’m sure he has his reasons. Can you recall exactly what he said about the painting?” “He commented about the artist not getting much right—something about her passion being accurate and the timing. Does that mean anything to you?” I turned from the painting to look at Lochlan as he took in the details of the piece. He concentrated for long moments before giving a frustrated grunt. “No. I would say that his ‘timing’ reference is important but I’m not sure how.” “You Fae talk in such code that you can’t even decipher yourselves. Would it be so terrible to speak plainly and explain what you mean?” I ground out in exasperation. “Aren't you forgetting something?” he asked with a raised brow. “I’m human where it counts, up here,” I shot back, pointing to my head. I turned back to look at the painting and we both stood silently for a moment. “Merlin is trying to stop his apprentice?” “It’s more complicated than that. Morgan was the daughter of Merlin’s long-time lover, Viviene, who was the original Lady of the Lake. She was a water nymph and the two were madly in love. Merlin’s twin sister, Mab, grew insanely jealous of Merlin’s relationship with Viviene so Mab abducted her and tortured her for years. By the time Merlin figured out who had taken Viviene and attempted to rescue her, it was too late. At the time Morgan was still a child so Merlin raised her as his own and she became his apprentice.” “And Merlin had to kill Mab to get to Viviene, right?” “Yes.” “So why does Morgan want to start a war? Is she just power hungry?” “No, her grudge is personal. Morgan’s history with Guin goes back to when Arthur was the Erlking around 500 A.D. Merlin brought Morgan as a teen to the Seelie Court and while she was at the palace she became infatuated with Lancelot. When Guin’s relationship with Lancelot was discovered, Arthur was enraged and exiled Lancelot from the Hunt. In an attempt to placate Arthur, Guin also snubbed Lancelot and he was forced to leave Faery and wander Earth. Morgan was devastated that Lancelot left and blamed both Arthur and Guin.” “I remember that Morgan La Fey was the one who basically got Arthur killed.” “Over the years she grew in power and helped Arthur’s sworn enemy attack him. She repented when Arthur was slain on the battle field and she helped return him to Avalon to heal, but he was not able to recover. After his death she became a recluse and has not been seen since—everyone had assumed her grudge was over and that she was likely dead, but obviously that was incorrect.” “Her anger toward Guin has been festering for centuries, and I’m supposed to stop her?” His heated gaze traveled over me and when I met his eyes, my skin prickled with awareness. His hand lifted to guide a wayward strand of my hair back behind my ear. “As crazy as it may sound, Merlin knows what he’s doing. I believe that if anyone can do this, it’s you.” I was rendered mute. Who was this man and where had he been hiding? Before I regained use of my brain, he leaned in and placed a kiss on my forehead and whispered, “Gotta go.” Then he was gone. Instead of following his lead and going back to my office, I stood dumbstruck. “I thought he’d never leave,” said a man behind me. “Jesus!” I gasped as I spun around. “No, although I have been called a god before,” said Merlin with a wry grin on his face. “That’s what I hear, that you are super powerful—and yet you’re relying on a human-Fae mutant to save the world? Doesn’t make much sense if you ask me.” My hands came up on my hips and my eyes squinted as I scrutinized the Fae man. “For reasons that your Lochlan just explained, I owe her in ways that I cannot describe. Plus, it goes against the nature of a parent to harm their child. Even if I was able to overcome those obstacles, Morgan would have seen me coming and run—I’m more powerful than her but she knows enough to keep well away from me. Our best chance is you, and I have done what I could to equip you for that challenge.” “You say that, but I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m a fish out of water just flopping around on the shore with no idea what’s going on.” “Some things take time in order to unfold properly. Had I told you as a teen, before you had ever come here, that you were destined to fight a Faery sorceress, your life would not have unfolded as it did. Just because you explain complicated mathematics to a child does not mean they have the maturity or ability to use that knowledge. There is a natural timeline of events that must unfold, and even I cannot rush that continuum. As it so happens, you are ready for the next stage in your journey. Do you recall what I said about the painting?” His eyes turned back to the rendering of Morgan La Fey and my eyes followed. “You said the painter got her passion correct and the timing, but we don’t know what that means. There’s a window with a sunset or sunrise in the background—is that what you were referencing?” His chest swelled with pride and he tipped his head in a bow. “What you need to know is that between worlds, there is a little-known place called the Twilight Realm.