Chapter 11
Gwen decided she was going to take a long, long walk. Partly because she needed a clearing or stretch of road where she could take off from, partly because she was freezing, but also because she needed to think.
She had woken up shivering. It was the time of year in later fall where during the day, the sun kept everything wonderfully cozy and warm, but once the sun set, things became surprisingly cold.
It certainly didn't help her mood. She had known that Mordred was likely to kill anyone who came after them after she freed him from the Crystal—that had never been in question. But she didn't think he was going to go full killer psychopath on her either. She thought she could temper him. Convince him not to murder all the elementals for the sake of it.
Now, she wasn't so sure.
A tiny part of her said maybe murdering the elementals wasn't such a bad idea. They were dangerous, slaughtering villagers and innocent, defenseless people without a second thought. They treated the "normal" folk of Avalon like they were nothing more than insects.
But they're not all like that. Just a shitty few, stirring everything up. It doesn't mean they all deserve to die. Letting out a groan of frustration, she ran her hands through her hair, tugging on the strands.
Mordred was bent on revenge. Not just against Thorn but against everyone. If—when—Mordred went on a murderous rampage, she had promised to kill him before that'd happen.
Could she?
Sure, she'd promised to.
But if it came down to it…could she really?
Mordred would likely not bother the villagers at least. They weren't a threat to him, and he seemed as keen on protecting them as she was. But the ongoing slaughter of elementals, both the ones currently in Avalon and all the ones to follow—really, really didn't sit right with her. They weren't all bad. Galahad was an elemental. So was Zoe.
Thorn could fuck right off, but whatever.
There were other nice ones out there. She just hadn't had a chance to meet them. It didn't help that they were terrified of Mordred, and she was his…what was she, anyway? Girlfriend? Lover? De facto fiancée? It didn't matter.
She needed to talk to Bert. To get his advice. But there wasn't time. The longer she left Mordred in that Crystal, the more his sanity was going to crack, and the more damage Thorn was going to cause with her half-assed play for the throne.
Rounding a bend in the path, she saw a clearing up ahead, large enough that she could get a running start to take flight. But as she drew closer, she saw she wasn't alone.
"Hi, Zoe." Gwen slowed her steps. She didn't trust the Gossamer Lady. Especially with her appearing out of nowhere like this. "What's up?"
Zoe stood up from the rock she had been sitting on, twisting her hands in front of her nervously. "I came to speak with you."
Gwen didn't bother asking how the Gossamer Lady found her. Letting out a heavy sigh, she rubbed her temple with her fingers. "You're here to talk me out of freeing Mordred."
"I am here to stop you, if I must."
Oh, good. Good. "I don't want to fight you, Zoe." She dropped her hand to her side. "Please, can we not do this?"
Zoe frowned as she stepped closer. "Neither do I wish to fight you, my friend. But I cannot allow you to free the Prince in Iron. The devastation he will bring…this cannot come to pass."
"Yeah. I know. But I can't leave him in there to slowly die either. Besides, you want to talk devastation? Have you seen what Thorn's already done? She and her goons destroyed a city. I don't even know how many villagers died." Gwen shrugged out of her coat. If she was going to get into a brawl, the last thing she wanted was to burn it to bits after she had spent so much time stitching the slits up the back. Sure, she could summon another one, but she was still getting the hang of it. And it tired her out, to boot.
"I mourn their loss. Truly I do. But there will be another chance to stop Thorn that does not involve freeing such a monster." Zoe sounded sincere. She clasped her hands in front of her heart. "Please, Gwendolyn—please break from this path you walk."
"You mourn the loss of those who died, but you won't do anything to stop it, will you? If I asked for your help in stopping Thorn instead of Mordred, would you get involved?" Gwen was getting really sick of everybody's games. And while she'd like to think of Zoe as a friend, after she cast Mordred into the Crystal…she wasn't so sure.
"I—I fear I must remain neutral in that matter." Zoe shook her head.
"But you'll interfere here by trying to stop me. You're fine with a bunch of villagers getting slaughtered while Thorn makes a play for power, but you don't want me to stop Mordred because elementals might die?"
"It is not ‘might,' Gwendolyn. We will all die. Galahad. Myself. Many others." Zoe fluttered her wings, floating a few feet closer. "And you are at peace with this?"
"I don't want anybody to die!" Gwen felt the fire erupt around her, setting her ablaze. See you later, clothing. She'd make herself more before she flew off. The last thing she wanted to do was fly over Avalon butt-ass naked, although it'd make for a hysterical show. "I haven't wanted anybody to die since I got here, but nobody listens to me. Lancelot didn't have to die. Neither did Grinn. But here we are. I can't step over the bodies of hundreds of innocent souls because you want to protect the twenty or thirty elementals who aren't assholes, I'm sorry."
"And none of this has anything to do with the fact that you are in love with Mordred?" Zoe's lips turned into a small sneer, her first expression of derision. If Gwen wasn't mistaken, her normally magenta-pink eyes were slowly turning black.
Great.
Just great.
"Of course it has something to do with it. If Galahad were locked away, losing his mind, you'd try to free him too." Before Zoe could counter, Gwen cut her off again. "I know! I know. I know they're different men. I get it. But I'm going to go free him, Zoe. I'm sorry."
"It seems Thorn is not the only one with designs on the throne." There was a strange undercurrent to Zoe's voice. Like a rumble, almost, undercutting her normally sweet and wistful tone.
"I don't want the throne. I don't want anything except to live in peace in the keep with Mordred, and to know that people aren't dying in the streets because of a turf war between over-powered morons." Gwen clenched her hands into fists at her sides.
"You sweet, naive child. You are at the same crossroads that Mordred found himself so long ago. When peace cannot be found, will you accept the blood on your hands?" The grass around Zoe began to shift and change, turning black and curling over as if from a blight. It circled her, slowly growing larger, spreading out like veins through the plant life.
"I can deal with Mordred."
"You do not sound so sure."
"That's my fucking problem, not yours." Gwen gestured her hand. For a moment, she didn't know why. But when she was suddenly holding a sword made of fire, she let out a small huh of surprise. Cool. She could summon fire weapons. Neat.
"Charming that you maintained some of your connection to the flame. It will not help you." Zoe sighed. "Standing against me is pointless. If you were to free Mordred, I would be forced to destroy him." Zoe picked up the end of the necklace she wore—the iron shard. The one that Mordred had made, with the power to hurt him. "History will merely repeat."
"Not if I take that thing off of you."
"I believe you will try. And I believe I will be forced to kill you if you do. You do not even know the extent of your own gifts. You are young, Gwendolyn. Put all this tragedy behind you. Think no more of Mordred and look toward the future. When Thorn falls, I will—" Zoe stopped.
Gwen took a step back, more out of surprise than anything else. "Oh. Oooooh… I get it. You plan on letting Thorn duke it out, probably die, and then you will take the throne of Avalon." Laughing, she shook her head. "Wow."
"It is mine by right. It was mine long ago. Before he came. Before the human Arthur arrived and I was forced to surrender it." Zoe bared her teeth in a grimace. "I am Avalon. I am its true ruler. I have been patient—I have waited—I have been graceful and kind. I will not go to war to seize it. But when all lies defeated, I will reclaim my crown."
There was no talking her way out of this one. "I fucking hate politics," Gwen muttered under her breath. "Give me that necklace and I'll be on my way. We don't have to fight."
"You are going nowhere, Gwendolyn. Neither shall you have this necklace." Zoe lifted her chin in defiance. "Swear to me you will not seek to free him, and you will live. Give me your word."
"You aren't getting it."
"Then I fear there is no way around this."
Tilting her head to one side and then the other, Gwen cracked her neck. She was still sore from sleeping on the rough ground. "Awesome. Let's go."
Sparring with Mordred was nothing like fighting with Zoe. Fighting Mordred was like fighting a tank with legs. Unstoppable, but in one place at a time. Zoe, however, was like fighting a ghost. The woman blinked in and out of existence. Every time Gwen jumped forward with a slash of her sword or threw a fireball at her, the butterfly-winged woman disappeared.
But Zoe wasn't playing full defense either. Gwen yelped as something stung her arm. A thin black object, as skinny as a needle, had gone through her fire and dug into her bicep. Hissing in pain, she yanked it out, and watched it crack and burn like a wood splinter.
Snarling, Gwen gritted her teeth, and her fire changed colors—burning hotter. "Try that again, bitch."
Zoe did. This time, the vicious splinters of wood incinerated before they reached her. Zoe's now-black eyes went a little wider.
Gwen launched herself at Zoe, swinging her sword, but only met empty air. It was pointless trying to fight her like that. She had to try something else. But what?
Something struck her again, this time harder, knocking her forward and to the ground. It was a blast of some kind of energy. It didn't really matter what, she supposed. It shimmered as it disappeared into the air like smoke. But it had hit her hard enough to put stars in her vision.
Flapping her wings, Gwen dodged another strike right before it hit her. The force of the impact cracked into a tree next to the clearing, sending bark and a broken branch to the ground.
A third strike felt like a Mack Truck, sending her flying, impacting into another tree. She felt something pop in her spine as she impacted the surface. When she hit the dirt, she had to check to make sure she could still wiggle her toes and her fingers. Fuck, that had hurt. Another blow, and she'd be down for the count.
Zoe was hovering above the devastation, watching her with cold disdain. "I am as old as this island, Gwendolyn Wright. You cannot defeat me. You do not belong here. Stop this now, and I will let you live. Surrender."
"This island chose me, Zoe. I spoke to it. It told me this was home—it gave me this magic." Gwen struggled to get back to her feet, pain lancing up her legs. It felt like she had been run over. "I belong here. Same as you." She walked closer to Zoe, stalling for time while she caught her breath. "And I am not going to surrender. Not to you."
"A shame you think so." Zoe lifted her hands, and the circle of darkness around her grew. "I will make your death quick and painless." There was a surge of something that tasted acrid in the air. Like ozone. Gwen felt dizzy all of a sudden. "I am the elemental of life, Gwendolyn. And while I can gift it…I can also take it away."
Fuck.
That's what those blasts were.
Death. Or rather, the absence of life.
One more hit, and she was done. That was it. She'd have failed.
Mordred.
Her friends.
But it was, stupidly enough, the image of Eod sitting by the front steps of the keep, staring out at the field, waiting for her to come home, that did it. Tears stung her eyes. Not of grief. But of rage.
"Enough!"Gwen screamed.
And fire erupted around her. The air sparked and roared, and Zoe screamed as the wave of fire engulfed her without warning. The whole clearing was ablaze like a bomb had been dropped. And there, in the grass, was Zoe. Her wings were charred, and her skin was blackened in spots.
Falling to her knees, Gwendolyn let out a wavering breath. It took all her control to put the trees out—the last thing she needed was to start a forest fire. Black smoke rose into the air, and the sound of the explosion echoed around her.
Zoe coughed. She was alive. Injured, but alive.
Gwen could kill her. Should kill her.
Climbing back to her feet, she took a deep breath and let it out, extinguishing her fire. With a gesture of her hand, she summoned new clothes. Black slacks and a red halterneck top. She hadn't quite mastered the art of shoes yet. But it'd do for now. The embers underneath her bare feet didn't hurt at all as she walked up to the fallen butterfly. Her coat had been trashed in the explosion. Damn it. Whatever.
Reaching down, Gwen grasped the shard and twisted the chain of Zoe's necklace around her hand. One quick yank, and the thin links of gold snapped. "Yoink."
"Go ahead," Zoe murmured, her voice weak and broken. "Kill me."
"No." Gwen shook her head. "Go home, Zoe. We're done here." She looked off into the woods. The trees were still smoking, but the fire had stopped. "I kind of have to thank you, though." She smiled half-heartedly. "I was almost going to walk away from all this until you showed up. Thanks for helping me make up my mind."
"I will not stop." Zoe coughed.
"And neither will I." She sighed. "But I still won't kill you."
"Why…?"
"Two reasons. One? I'm sick of all the dying. And two?" She paused. "Galahad is my friend. I adore him. And I can't take you away from him. Even if you do deserve it." Before Zoe could respond, Gwen ran in the other direction, spreading her wings and taking off into the sky. She was getting the hang of it.
Killing Zoe would have been the smart move. But her heart told her it was wrong. Her heart was also telling her something else?—
Galahad was going to be waiting for her at Camelot.
And that was a fight she really didn't know if she could win.