Savior of Avalon

Chapter Nineteen

Barrington flinched as he watched Morgana fly into a rage. Tables turned and chairs flew around the room, all without her even touching them. She yelled once, the sound filled with anger and hatred. She was ashamed. She had magic equal to even Merlin's and yet, her magic had been shattered by a child. Her pride had taken a huge hit.

"Bring her mother to me," Morgana bit out, clutching the table, her honey-blonde hair hanging over her face like a veil. "I'll send her head to Sibyl. I'll make her regret making a fool out of me!"

Another chair flew across the room, hitting the wall loudly and splintering, wooden parts flying in different directions.

"If I may, m'lady," Barrington began hesitantly. "We managed to kill Eir, Arthur, Lancelot, and Thom."

"So?" Morgana hissed, whirling around to face Barrington, green eyes burning.

"Did you not see how she reacted when Thom died? The pain on her face? We know that when Sibyl's mother went to that other land, Arthur sent one of his most trusted knights to protect her. We know that knight was Thom. She grew up with him and she thought of him as her father. He was killed right before her eyes."

"Is there any point in what you're about to say, Barrington?"

"My point is her mother is the only true leverage you have left. You saw how powerful her magic became when you killed Thom, can you imagine how powerful it would be if you killed her mother? We must be smart about this, your Majesty. I implore you to think this through. Without her mother, what other reason would Sibyl have for coming to you?"

Morgana made a sound of extreme annoyance. Barrington was right, as he always was. She knew it, too. The trap she'd set had been meant for Sibyl, but somehow others ended up falling in instead. There was a slight bit of triumph, though. She had managed to kill Arthur and two people Sibyl cared for. That would have to do... for now.

She knew that eventually, Sibyl would come for her, and when that time came, she'd need Sibyl's mother alive. She wanted to see the pain on the girl's face as she ripped her mother's heart from her chest, as she tore her mother's flesh from bone.

Sitting down, Morgana closed her eyes, calming down.

"You're right, Barrington. That woman is so much more useful to me alive."

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

Eir grunted and struggled to maintain her grip on one of the protruding rocks and Thom's wrist at the same time.

She mentally cursed the situation. She was barely hanging on by the scraps of her teeth here. It would be a while before she could fly again, and Thom was unconscious, hanging on the threshold of life and death. Keeping him at that threshold was tiring her out even more. She also knew that this rock wouldn't hold them forever. Already, she could feel it crumbling at holding their weight.

At this rate, they would fall into that bottomless pit.

"Is anyone else there?" A familiar voice called out.

Eir's head whipped around, turning in the direction of the voice, but she was met with darkness. It was so dark in here, she could barely see her hand in front of her face.

Still, she called out, "Arthur? Is that you?"

There was a grunt and then he said, "Eir? You got thrown in, too?"

"Indeed," she answered sourly, wishing the men who had thrown her in had met her when her powers were at their fullest. "You have to climb to the top and drop down something. Thom is barely hanging on here. I'm keeping him at the Threshold, but at this rate, his soul will cross on to Valhalla and he will leave this world behind."

"Thom's hurt?" Arthur's voice carried surprise and concern.

"Yes. I can't bring him back from the threshold like this. We need to get back to the surface."

As they spoke, more voices began to call out. It seemed like somehow, mostly everyone was unharmed, holding on for dear life.

"Okay, we need to climb to the surface and drop some rope down for Eir and Thom," came Arthur's authoritative voice.

The rock Eir was using to keep from falling into the pit below began to crumble.

"And do it quickly, please. This rock won't hold us forever."

She could hear the sound of shuffling as the men began to climb. To be brutally honest, she hated the idea of being rescued. She prefered to do things herself. But, because her wings were so cold, it weakened all her other abilities as well. A Valkyrie's power was in her wings. That's why they always seemed to carry their own warmth, because of the magic that resided inside them.

Already, she was wearing herself thin by holding onto Thom's soul and keeping it from departing the living world. And pulling his soul back into his body would probably take everything she had, but she would do it anyway.

Eir had vowed to Lucinda that she would never let someone she loved be hurt if she could help it.

And a Valkyrie never broke a promise. Especially not to those they served.

She looked up. It was strange how the sun and the sky were visible, but they seemed so far away. She hoped that wherever Lucinda was, Aengus was with her. As her guardian, he was more equipped to protect her than anyone else. And if he was with her, Eir knew she would be safe.

She watched as a rope slowly lowered down to her. She grit her teeth and pulled an unconscious Thom up until his limp body hung over her shoulders. She could hear the rock she was holding onto crumbling slowly so, gathering strength, she jumped, her hand wrapping around the rope just as the rock she had been holding finally caved.

"Alright," she shouted up at them. Then, realizing the pit was so big they might not be able to hear her, she tugged the rope twice.

Responding, the men began pulling her and Thom up. She never thought, in all her life, the sight green grass and flowers would make her want to weep with joy. Yet, as she reached the surface, she couldn't help but breathe in the scent of summer that surrounded her.

Then, shock overcame her and she looked around. This green grass should be covered in snow and the trees should be barren, naked. Yet, this scene was what this land used to be in the summertime. Around her, she could see Arthur's knights taking in the beauty of it, a beauty they hadn't seen in so long.

"Lucinda must have done this," Arthur said, seeming to be talking more to himself than to anyone else. "I've forgotten how beauteous a summer day was."

Then he looked over at Eir and noticed Thom slumped over her shoulder and his eyes went wide. He made his way over.

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine," Eir answered. "We need to get out of here, though. No doubt Morgana will want to check to make sure those who fell in that pit are dead. We need to get somewhere quiet so I can bring Thom back from the Threshold."

She looked over at where the horses were. A couple of steeds were left, but she noticed Aurea and a few others were gone. Including Aengus's midnight horse and Merlin's. She breathed a sigh of relief. So Aengus was with Lucinda. It eased her worries a lot now that she knew Lucinda was safe.

"The others already escaped," Eir told Arthur. "We should catch up and get back on track to the Isle of the Lost."

"You're right." He moved toward the hoofprints that were visible and knelt down to look at them. "There are Unicorn prints here, and since I only know one person who created a Unicorn-Pegai half-breed..." He trailed off.

Everyone was moving pretty quickly after that. One of the men, who's wife was a nurse, tended to Thom's wounds before they laid him softly on his horse and started on their way, following the telltale Unicorn prints.

Eir held on tight to Thom's soul, promising him internally that she'd reunite him with his daughter soon.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

It was eerily silent. Ever since we had escaped the clutches of Morgana's men, no one had spoken a word.

We had left the place where I had inadvertently let my magic escape and in turn, shattered Morgana's magic, causing the snow to melt. Now, we were surrounded by snow yet again. The bitter cold biting into my flesh, yet I couldn't find it in me to care.

Whenever I closed my eyes, I could see Eir being pushed in. I could see Arthur and his knights falling. I could see Thom being stabbed, could see the blood pooling onto the snow. I could see him dying in front of me.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and leaned back against the giant tree behind me. Everyone else was keeping their distance. I wasn't sure how I looked to them in that moment, but apparently however I looked they wanted to avoid me. Maybe my anger was showing. Maybe I looked as frail as I felt.

Aengus came to sit down beside me, blowing out a sigh. For the first time since I met him, there was no humor on his face. He was completely serious. And that only served as a reminder that what had happened—what I'd seen—was real. None of it was a bad dream or a figment of my imagination.

"They don't know what to do next," Aengus finally spoke, looking over at the rest of our group. "Up until now, it was Arthur leading us, telling us what to do next. Now that he's gone..." Aengus looked over at me, his eyes telling me what he was thinking.

"I'm not fit to lead anyone, Aengus," I said, hugging my knees tighter. "Why don't you do it? I'm sure you'd be good at it."

"I can lead us in a battle, if that is what ye wish. But you must lead us. I've seen many friends die during battle. My own mother was killed by Morgana for prophesizing yer birth when I was just a child. Many of us here have lost those we love to Morgana. Yet through it all, ye were what gave us hope. I know yer heart is mourning the loss of all of those we lost today, but instead of crumbling under the weight of it all, ye must use that weight to become stronger. Don't let the deaths of those ye loved be in vain. Use it to fight Morgana. For the sake of the ones who have passed on, for the sake of those who live now and the sake of those who will live in the future."

I closed my eyes. Aengus was right, of course. It would be worthless to let this trip go to waste. So many people had died so we could get to the Isle of the Lost and retrieve Excalibur. They had died so they could save this land and my mother.

I didn't know how I would break the news that Thom was dead to my mother when I saw her, but I could imagine the look of pain on her face when she found out he was gone. She would grieve for him, but at least she would live.

And that was all that Thom and I had wanted.

I steeled myself and stood. Aengus stood with me and followed me as I walked toward the rest of the group. Everyone turned in my direction as I stood in front of them.

"We're going to continue to the Isle of the Lost. We're going to continue doing what we had planned in the first place. Aengus will lead you all in battle, Bryce is second in command. Do what they do and you'll be fine."

Bryce's eyes were wide. "Are you sure you mean to have me as second in command, m'lady?"

"I watched the way you and Aengus fought together. I believe that with you two in charge, if any of Morgana's men come for us, we'll kick their asses."

Bryce smiled and nodded, fisting his hand over his heart and bowing deeply.

"It would be an honor to serve my Queen."

"Merlin, you know the way to the Isle of the Lost, don't you?"

Merlin only nodded, his eyes watching me closely. I didn't like how it seemed like he was looking past my skin and into my soul. Those piercing amber eyes focused directly on everything I wanted to hide.

"There's still a lot of daylight left. Let's eat and rest for a moment, then we'll start riding again. We'll set up camp at twilight."

I knew that this would be difficult, but it was my duty to start what those before us had finished. I would save Mom and this kingdom. I would face Morgana and make her regret the day she ever decided to hurt innocent people.

I'd make her rue the day she came after the ones I loved.