Chapter 3

Gwen sipped her drink as she watched the field that surrounded Mordred's keep. She decided one more day to gather her thoughts and figure out her best plan of attack couldn't be a bad thing.

It was midafternoon, so at least she didn't feel too bad about hitting the whiskey already. The weight of it all was grueling—between not sleeping, and now deciding that she was going to raise an army to free Mordred.

Which would start total war.

But it seemed that was the direction Avalon was headed, no matter what she did. Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe it was fate. Maybe the people here just sucked at not killing each other. She supposed it didn't matter.

She was sitting on the stone base of one of the towers that sat to the side of the main gate. The keep had a yard around it, and then a defensive wall that circled it on all sides except for the cliff. She wanted to get some air—wanted to get away from the clatter and clanking of all of Mordred's guards and servants. It wasn't their fault, but her lack of sleep and worsening mood were giving her a short fuse. She didn't want to scream at a guard for making squeaky metal noises when he literally couldn't help it.

Leaning her head back against the stone wall behind her, she let out a long, weary sigh. "This sucks."

"Tell me about it."

She jolted, nearly falling off the stone base and spilling her drink. "What the f—" It was Doc. At some point, he had sat down next to her, also watching the field as the green strands blew idly in the wind.

"See why I drink so much?" He sipped his own bottle. "Shame you build a tolerance over time. At least I like the flavor."

"I really don't want to become an alcoholic."

"Eh, live long enough, and you'll try a little bit of everything." Doc sniffed. "Boredom'll do that."

"I suppose. I guess I can take up a bunch of hobbies." She smirked. "Maybe I'll take up painting. Or crochet."

They went silent for a long time as she watched the woods beyond the field. She wasn't sure why. She supposed part of her was expecting someone to come marching out on horseback, declaring war on her for some reason or another. "Doc?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"I probably can't tell you the answer, but sure. Hasn't stopped you before."

Gwen let out a half-laugh. That was fair. "Is Mordred…is he suffering?"

The wizard paused before he replied. "You already know the answer to that."

"I know, but—is he okay?"

"You don't need me to figure that out."

Gwen shut her eyes. "Doc. Please. Just this once, speak plainly. I'm really, really not in the mood."

"Fine, fine." He took a swig from his bottle. "You're a witch. Use your magic to contact him. He's not the only one who can wiggle his fingers and invade dreams, y'know."

"I wish I knew more about how to use my power. Can't you teach me?" She looked down at her palm, half expecting to find something there.

"All magic is different. It's like handwriting. You're on your own, kid." Doc leaned back against the rock wall. "And I mean that in more ways than one."

She turned to face Doc. "What?"

"It's time for me to go. Avalon doesn't need me anymore—and neither do you." He smiled up at the sky, clearly watching the clouds drift by. "I'm ready to retire."

"You—you can't leave me alone, not right now." She shook her head. "I need your help figuring all this out, and if I'm going to free Mordred, I?—"

"No. You don't need me. I can promise you that. You have plenty of other friends and resources." He pushed up with a grunt. "The future will play itself out on its own without my silly meddling. It's time for me to go home."

Something told her that he didn't mean his house by the mountain. "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know." He chuckled. "I think I'll just step into the void. Wherever it takes me is where I'll stay. Maybe I'll find a new adventure. Or maybe I'll get blown to bits. Either way, I'm ready to move on." He took another swig of his bottle and placed it down on the stone next to her. "This has been fun, kid, but it's time for me to say goodbye."

"No. No, no, no." She stood and brushed off her dress. "I won't lose you—I can't lose another friend. Mordred's gone, and Galahad—and—" She winced. "I guess Grinn kind of counts, but?—"

Doc chuckled and hugged her. He smelled like alcohol, and maybe weed. She couldn't say she was shocked. "I'll just be in the way annoying you with all my bad jokes and non-answers. You'll be too busy to miss me."

"No. I won't be." She held him tighter. "Please don't go."

"You'll say that a lot in your life, I'm afraid. That's the curse of living as long as we do. The time we have with the ones we care about is never long enough, no matter how many centuries we live." Doc kissed her temple. "But it's time for me to be done. I'm tired, Gwen. Exhausted. And Avalon has you now. It doesn't need me to be the wizard anymore."

She took his hands in hers and squeezed them. It was hard to believe she'd never see him again. Letting out a wavering breath, she finally let him go. "I am going to miss you, though. No matter what you say."

"I know. I'm just trying to make you feel better." He nudged her shoulder.

"You suck at it."

"I know that too." He chuckled. "All right, kid. Tell the dog I said he wins."

"What?"

"Oh, we had a bet running."

"Which was what?"

"Which one of us would die first." He snickered. "I said it would be him. He said it would be me. He wins."

She felt her eyes go wide. "That's a terrible bet."

"Meh." Doc shrugged and turned to walk away. "Animals think about death a lot differently than we do. They aren't hung up on it. It's just a thing that happens."

She watched Doc as he headed into the long grass. "Goodbye, Doc. And thanks for being a friend."

"You too, kid. You were fun." He waved over his shoulder without turning. And just like that, he disappeared. There was no shimmer of light—no cosmic whoosh or swirl of smoke. He was just gone.

Picking up his bottle of booze, she headed inside, her heart heavy. Doc wasn't a whole lot of help when it came to it, but he was someone to talk to. Someone to have around. Someone who might know something about what she should do next.

She was losing friends faster than she was making them.

Walking into Mordred's study, with the large iron table in the middle of it, she slumped into one of the chairs, staring at the map in front of her. If I were Zoe and Galahad, where would I hide the Iron Crystal? There were too many options. Maybe they buried it. Maybe they hid it deep in a forest. Or in the caves. There was no telling. Hell, they could've dropped it into the ocean.

Doc was gone—not like he'd tell her where the Iron Crystal was, anyway—and there was nobody else she could ask. Resting her forehead on her arms, she let out a long, dreary sigh.

"I was going to ask how you were doing, but I think I already know."

Glancing up, she watched Bert walk into the room. "Yeah." She put her head back down. "Having a real fucking great time right now." She heard him sit at the table next to her. She'd offer him some of her alcohol if he, y'know, had a face. Well, a face with a mouth that worked, anyway. "Doc is gone."

"He took off again?"

"No, I mean gone. Gone—gone. Forever gone."

"…Oh." The scarecrow sat there in silence for a long moment before reaching out and placing a hand on her back. "I'm sorry."

Straightening up, she did her best to force a smile. It probably looked as half-assed as it felt. "It is what it is. I couldn't stop him. Wasn't my decision to make, anyway." She picked up the bottle of alcohol, thought about it for a moment, then put it back down in front of her.

He paused. "I'm sorry to add more trouble to your day, but there's something you need to know immediately."

"Oh good, more problems. What's going on?" That's all she needed. More shit to worry about.

"Thorn's army is on the move. It's making its way south." He paused. "Toward us."

"Fuck." She reached for the bottle of booze and took a swig. "You know what? I really don't like her."

Bert snorted. "Nobody does. But she's dangerous. She's one of the strongest on the island. Second only to Mordred and maybe Galahad. But rumor is he's given up the sword and is going into retirement. Not like I blame the bastard."

"No, neither do I. After everything." Even if Galahad had betrayed Mordred. Kind of. Sort of. She still didn't know how she felt about both Zoe and Galahad voting to put Mordred into imprisonment. Zoe, she supposed she could understand. But Galahad? The Knight in Gold was supposed to be Mordred's friend.

Insomuch as Mordred had friends. He wasn't wrong not to trust people, but he was also very good at giving people reasons to dislike him. She wasn't sure she blamed either group for their beliefs or behavior.

"I just wish we could all get along for, like, five fucking minutes." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's all giving me a goddamn headache." She signed up for this mess when she made a deal with Avalon. Though she knew it wasn't going to be easy, she didn't think it'd be like this. That's what she got for underestimating Avalon's aptitude for screwing her over or putting her into gnarly situations.

But she supposed that wasn't entirely fair. It had given her everything she had wished for back on Earth. She mattered here—she was somebody. Her panic attacks had all but disappeared. She had a man she loved and who loved her in return. And she had friends.

Never mind the fact that the man she loved was the island's favorite villain and her friends were mostly made out of metal and straw. Beggars couldn't be choosers, she supposed. "Here's what I know, Bert. I can't let him stay in there for a thousand years. I can't. Even if I thought I could go that long without him, there wouldn't be much left of either of us by the end of it. I need to free him, come what may. I need to. Or I'm going to die trying."

She didn't like the idea of still waiting for an army to hunt Mordred down. But she didn't see any sensible way around it. Trying to go at it single-handedly was probably a great way to get killed. "No. I'm going to see if I can get in touch with him through magic, but odds are slim. I don't really have any other ideas. I guess I could just go ask Zoe and Galahad, but I highly doubt that'll work." She chuckled sadly. "I'm still new to all this."

"Well, that's what spies are for. I'll see if my people can find something. Between the two of us, we should be able to figure something out. Right?" The scarecrow shrugged.

She loved his optimism. It was something she could use a little of these days. She smiled. "A witch and a scarecrow. We make a great pair."

"Exactly!" Bert stood and headed out of the room, leaving her to her own devices. The silence in his absence was like a heavy weight pressing down on her.

She needed Mordred back.

He'll be fine. I won't have to kill him. He's the strongest person I've ever met. He's survived over a thousand years. We'll stand against the elementals, and we'll all live happily ever after.

She couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah right," she muttered into the bottle as she took another swig.

Nothing had been that easy so far. And something told her that this wouldn't be either.