Savior of Avalon

Chapter Eighteen

"Isle of the Lost," Morgana was murmuring to herself, tapping her index finger against her chair impatiently as she watched Sibyl and her gang of happy followers make their way through the harsh snow, trying to find one of the many caves in the area.

Her honey-colored hair made a beautiful contrast with the vivid green dress she wore. It was almost ethereal.

"Any idea what they're looking for?" Asked Barrington, standing by and watching the scene in awe. Maybe it was because he had no magic that he thought so, but it was quite an interesting thing. Here, His Lady and Queen, Morgana, had used the snow she had wrought upon this land to spy on an unsuspecting Sibyl.

He had to admit, upon seeing Sibyl, he was surprised. She was just a girl. He wasn't quite sure what he expected, but such an innocent face and big brown eyes were far from it. Yet, he knew she was not to be underestimated. She and her team had stopped an execution and had recruited the victim to their side. That victim was a goddess whose great power Morgana had wanted on her side, but the goddess refused, saying she would rather die than stand with Morgana.

After a long, drawn battle between the two, Morgana had somehow entrapped the goddess and gave her what she had wished, she put her to death. Mostly, to make an example. Eir was well known among the residents of Camelot, Avalon and the other three kingdoms as well. She was a powerful warrior, greatly feared and respected. She had helped Uther Pendragon claim many territories as his own once upon a time. Those dark wings of hers were a legend all their own.

So, by executing such a powerful figure, Morgana thought that surely word would get around and the people would stop resisting so much.

However, Sibyl had saved her and according to the men, she had released a burst of power so great, it completely shattered Morgana's magic, leaving warmth in its wake. When Morgana had called Barrington to the scene, he had never seen her look so angry. Her ivory skin flushed pink, her mouth set in indignation. All around them, flowers were in bloom and the once barren trees were alive with color and light. Even where they were standing was warm, sunlight shining down on them virtuously.

Barrington couldn't be sure, but he thought that was the moment Morgana truly realized how dangerous Sibyl was. Ever since then, the protests and the revolts had been worse now than ever before. Now that Sibyl was here, now that people knew for sure the prophecies were true and this land could be saved, they were standing up. Ready and willing to lose their lives if it meant an end to Morgana's tyranny.

Morgana's eyes narrowed as she considered Barrington's question, her lips pursed thoughtfully. Finally, her index finger ceased its tapping and she stilled, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"No." Her voice was more of a growl than anything else. At this moment, she looked so frightening that Barrington involuntarily shrunk away.

The air around them suddenly went from cool to freezing cold, frost slowly covering the nearby window.

"W-what is it, your Majesty?" Barrington wanted to know, teeth chattering.

"They've gone to retrieve Excalibur," replied Morgana, her voice no more than a whisper. "That weapon in Arthur's hands..."

"Could kill you?"

Morgana didn't answer, instead the air around them got colder still. He took that as a sign to mean he was right.

"You don't have to worry, though, m'lady," Barrington said, trying to soothe her. "It's rare that those who enter the Isle of the Lost live to tell about it. And those who do don't come back sane."

"The idiots who travel to the Isle of the Lost are not Sibyl," Morgana shrieked, balling her delicate hands into fists. Although they were inside, there was wind howling around them, causing the already cold room to become so frosty, it was almost unbearable.

"If she revives Excalibur and returns it to Arthur..."

Morgana made a noise—half growl, half shriek—and angrily tossed her goblet of wine off the table. Her green eyes going ice blue as her magic welled up inside her.

"I won't play with you anymore, Sibyl," she said coolly, her tone sending chills down Barrington's spine. "I'm going to make you wish you'd never come to my kingdom."

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

The snowstorm was quickly proving to be our greatest adversary yet. Throughout the entire ride, Eir kept her dark wings wrapped around me, protecting me from the bitter wind. I could feel Morgana's anger and—oddly enough—her eyes following us.

Before I could truly think more of it, though, Arthur shouted, "Just up ahead!"

We pushed on, Aurea whining a little, the cold was probably biting into her just as badly as it was for the rest of us. Hell, even Eir's wings—which I didn't think could get cold because they seemed to carry their own heat—shivered slightly in this weather.

We eventually did make it to the cave, though. It was big enough to shelter us from the snow and Arthur suggested we stay there until the snow calmed down some. With the way the snow was falling, you could barely see your hand in front of your face let alone travel to the Isle of the Lost. We wouldn't achieve anything if we tried to walk through this.

We set up two fires, one inside the cave and the other outside the cave, hoping that our steeds would be able to get some warmth, too. During our journey, I learned the names of the nine men and the woman who asked to come with me. The leader's name was Bryce, then there was Henry, Frederick, Robin, Gavin, Josef, Doran, Tristan and Ulric. The stoic woman's name was Rubrae. She was exactly the way people often described Elves in a lot of modern games and books, completely uninterested in petty human affairs. The only thing that seemed to interest her was keeping me safe, getting to the Isle of the Lost, saving the kingdoms and having summer shine down on us.

In the cave, Aengus, Eir, Thom and I all sat together, huddled by the fire. Bryce was there, too, his eyes closed as he tried to get some shut eye, a few of Arthur knights were also scattered about. Rubrae was outside standing guard and Merlin...

I looked over in his direction and saw he was standing at the entrance to the cave, his back turned away from us. We hadn't talked after I slapped him and he made me cry. Mainly because we didn't have time to. For some reason, though, not talking to him made me feel melancholic.

Eir was rubbing her wings, trying to get them as warm from the fire as she could.

"Are you okay?'

"I'm fine, m'lady. It was just colder out there than I ever could have dreamed. Even the coldest depths of Hell couldn't compare to that. It will take some time before I'm able to fly again."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, touching her wing which was like ice and sighing.

She raised a brow, her grey eyes studying me. "What for? Shielding you from the cold was my choice. If I had to I'd do it again. It's what I'm here for, m'lady." She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes brushing her cheekbones. "For many centuries, I wondered what my true purpose was and now I know. You won't die on my watch, m'lady. You nor anyone you love."

The promise in Eir's voice rang clear in the silence of the cave. Aengus, who had heard her, grunted his agreement.

For some reason, I wanted to cry right then. Something was wrong with me today, it was like I was PMSing or something. I guess, the real reason I was crying right then, though, was because after so long with just Mom and Thom, I don't think I ever really dreamed I'd have actual friends. Especially not friends as true as Eir and Aengus.

My emotional moment was interrupted, though, because at that moment, the ground beneath us shook. Bryce and Arthur's knights were woken from their slumber immediately, all of them looking just as confused as the rest of us.

The cave around us started to crumble and as I watched, large chunks of rock started to fall.

"We have to get out of here," Thom said, looking serious. "Now."

We all staggered toward the cave opening—the ground shaking beneath us made it difficult to walk. Eir was on one side and Aengus was on the other as Thom led the way out. Merlin looked back at us, his usual emotionless expression gone as we made our way out of the cave just as it collapsed.

"What the hell happened in there?" Arthur wondered, on his feet as we all stood in a circle. "Is everyone alright? Did you all get out?"

We all nodded, confirming that we were all safe. For the first time, Merlin and I made eye contact. We both knew exactly who was behind this. Apparently, when I had felt I was being watched, it wasn't just a feeling. She was tracking us somehow.

"You two know what's going on?" Came Mordred's voice, as he looked between me and Merlin.

"It's Morgana," I said after a moment. "Earlier, when we were traveling through the snowstorm, I felt like I was being watched. I could feel her growing increasingly angry. Somehow, she can see us." I looked around, feeling her eyes on me. "I know she can."

Arthur looked deeply troubled, turning to look at Thom, Merlin and the knight who always stayed by his side, Lancelot.

"You know the most about magic, Merlin. Not to mention you know the most about Morgana. How is she watching us?"

Every eye turned to Merlin to see what his answer would be. Merlin was quiet for a moment, thinking hard about Arthur's question as he looked around us before understanding lit his face.

"The snowstorm."

"The snowstorm?"

"We can use our specialties to do many things, like create powerful attacks, curses, or to spy on others. For instance, if I wanted to spy on someone, there would be a lightning storm, with Sibyl, the sun would most likely get brighter or appear closer. With Morgana, her snowstorm was her way of spying on us." Merlin made an annoyed sound, his jaw clenching. "I don't know how I didn't see that earlier."

"Is there anyway we could stop it?" Thom wondered. "We can't have her continuing to see all the moves we plan to make."

"Well, one way to prevent the spell would be by having her opposite—or in our case, Sibyl—launch an attack so powerful, it would shatter Morgana's completely, but Sibyl's not ready for an attack of that magnitude. Not yet." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we could—"

Before Merlin could finish his thought, Morgana came for round two. The ground beneath us shook again, but this time what happened was far worse that what had happened in the cave. The ground split in two and right before my eyes, Arthur, Lancelot and many of his other knights fell in.

But that wasn't all. There was suddenly the sound of battle cries behind us and the sound of swords clanging together.

Everything happened so quickly after that. I remember turning around just in time to see Eir, trying to fight of ten men at once, but she didn't even have a sword. She held out for a long time, but I could see she was going to lose. I remember raising my hand to help her, but it was already too late. They had pushed her into the pit Arthur and his knights had just fallen into.

"Eir!" I shouted, barely even able to hear myself over the sound of chaos going on around us.

Rubrae was high in the trees, carefully making kill shots, her arrow striking true and never missing its target. Bryce and fought side by side with Aengus, their skill unmatched. Merlin was using his magic to wipe out as many of Morgana's men as he could, but they just kept coming. When one man was cut down, two more would take his place.

Thom, who clearly saw we were going to lose if we stayed, shouted, "Retreat. Aengus, get Lucy out of here. Now!"

Aengus finished off two more soldiers before making his way to me. The rest of what was left of our party, fell into line, Merlin using his magic to keep as many of them at bay as he could. Only the fact that his jaw was clenched and a single bead of sweat was forming on his brow showed how difficult the spell he was using must have been.

What happened next stopped my heart cold. Right as we were retreating, a soldier somehow made his way forward, pressing past Merlin's barrier and making his way for Thom. The two fought, Thom was able to completely knock the sword out of Morgana's lackey's hand. But, the lackey had more tricks up his sleeve. He took that moment to shove a small knife into Thom's stomach.

"THOM!!!!"

I didn't even recognize my own voice in that moment. Everything felt surreal, like some kind of out-of-body experience. It was like watching Mom being taken all over again, but different. To some degree, I had known that Mom was still alive. I was scared of what might happen to her, but they hadn't killed her in front of me. But right now, as I watched the man who had been the only father I'd ever known bleed onto the white snow, I knew there was no way he could survive.

Morgana's lackey then proceeded to kick Thom's dying body into the pit where many of the others had fallen.

I felt... numb. I could feel the tears pouring down my face and the stinging in my eyes, but at the same time, I couldn't really process it. A weird feeling grew in my chest as I thought about everyone we had lost. I thought about everyone Morgana had taken from me.

First it was Mom. Now it was Arthur, Eir and Thom. Not to mention the lives of noble knights who had only wanted to save their kingdom and their families. Arthur was a good king and a kind man. He had been nothing but nice to me since I'd first arrived. I looked around, but didn't see Mordred anywhere. Had he fallen in the pit, too? Eir. I had only just met her, but she had done so much to protect me. If she hadn't shielded me with her wings, she'd be able to fly out of there. She had been so weak from shielding me from the cold, that she hadn't been able to fight to her fullest ability. And Thom... all I could seem to recall now were the times he spent with me as a child. His smiling face playing like a loop in my head. The way he smiled for me and Mom was always different than it was with everyone else. It was always real.

Power welled up inside me and I saw Merlin look at me with wide eyes.

"Sibyl!" He shouted.

I let out a scream—of agony, of horror, of loss. A huge burst of magic flew from my body. I could feel Merlin's shield break. I could feel Morgana's magic ceasing. I felt her try to push back, but eventually she seemed to sense she would lose and pulled back altogether. Her troops using the portal they'd used to get here to go back where they came from.

Once the magic was gone from my body, I sank to my knees and fell onto the soft green grass. The sun above me felt warmer on my skin and I knew I must have broken part of Morgana's spell. All I could do was lay there, staring at the pit where my friends and family had fallen.

Aengus knelt down beside me, his eyes softer than I'd ever seen them. He put a hand to my hair and ruffled it. The action reminded me so much of Thom that I burst out sobbing. The kind of sobbing where your whole body shook and you lost the ability to breathe. Aengus said nothing, just stayed with me, covering me so no one could see me cry.

I was never more thankful for him that I was at that moment.