Time to run.
Realizing his prey was going to try to escape, the largest of the manticores pounced.
I turned and ran. Slipping over ruins and between stone arches, I hurried away. But the beasts were catching up, and I was running out of ruins to hide behind. On top of that, it was bloody dark and foggy. I could hardly see where I was going.
I spun and stopped, looking over my shoulder just in time to see one of the winged manticores launch at me.
I was too late.
The one time I had run from the danger, I was going to die.
“Richard,” I whispered, closing my eyes.
A cool breeze swept over me. And with it, I heard the sound of a thousand tiny wings and the shrieking of bats.
Gasping, I opened my eyes once more.
Agent Rose was standing in front of me, a grin on her face. “Stop standing around,” she said then turned and attacked one of the beasts.
The colony of bats swarmed the winged beast who had leaped at me. Within, I spotted the vampire, Constantine.
I moved toward the third beast who looked confused and dismayed by the sudden appearance of my allies. Taking advantage of his momentary confusion, I attacked. Jumping up on one of the ruins, I raced down the length of the stone then leaped onto the monster’s back, slicing the sharp point off his vicious tail before he had a chance to strike. The creature howled. I put an end to his wretched noise by stabbing him through the back of the neck.
“We have to help Harper and the others,” I called to Rose and Constantine then rushed toward the sound of the firefight underway.
As we raced to join the others, I couldn’t help but notice the waver in the air. The boundaries between this world and the other world were growing thinner. In brief glimpses, I caught sight of the standing stones in Avalon. But I also saw something more. Between such glimpses, I saw a darker place. I couldn’t see it well, but I could smell the heavy scent of earth and rot that always effervesced from that world, the land of the Unseelie.
I rushed back to find Harper and Agent Silver barely holding their own against some sort of double-headed canine. Agent Goodwin was facing down his own manticore. Agent Williamson, Gothel, and Rapunzel were surrounded.
I stared as the faerie shot blasts of blue light from her hands.
But it was Rapunzel who drew my attention. The girl’s long locks were glowing.
And she was…singing.
Agent Rose, Constantine, and I all stopped and stared.
“Is she singi—” Agent Rose began, but a strange sound cut her words short.
A massive roar, which I felt from deep within me, made the very land around me quiver.
“What was that?” Constantine whispered.
A moment later, a massive fireball blasted from the dark sky. And then another. And another.
Rapunzel lifted off the ground, and a moment later, four dragons, each as big as a carriage, swarmed around her. She shouted to them, and the dragons attacked the Unseelie beasts.
“Mother of God,” Agent Rose exclaimed. “You didn’t tell us about the dragons.”
“I didn’t have a chance…and they were kitten-sized the last time I saw them.”
Lightning cracked overhead, and the ground shook.
All of us pitched sideways, and suddenly my head became a blurry mess. I tried to right myself, but everything was fuzzy. I saw the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey and the standing stones of Avalon all at once.
“Clemeny,” Harper called, moving toward me.
A sick feeling rocked my stomach.
The world around me shuddered once more, and the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey began to fade away.
Clemeny. Clemeny Louvel.
He’s here.
The ground below my feet trembled.
And then, everything grew silent.
I was standing in Avalon amongst the monoliths.
And standing just across from me was Melwas.
Chapter 29: Melwas
I inhaled slowly, trying to center myself. My head was swimming, and I was still half-nauseous from the airship ride. Suddenly being yanked into Avalon wasn’t helping. I stilled, letting my senses come into focus. The sky here was clear, a blanket of stars twinkling overhead. The full moon shone down brightly upon me.
The sounds of the battle rolled like a distant echo across the horizon. The others were so very far from me.
“Thank you for bringing me the gemstone, Agent Louvel,” Melwas said.
His eyes glimmered bluish-silver in the moonlight, the strange runes on his skin taking on a similar glow.
The wind blew softly. His white hair whipped around him.
I exhaled slowly then smiled. “You’re rather confused, Melwas. I believe you’re here to give the artifact back to me.”
The faerie smirked then pulled out the device from his robe. “Right here,” he said, tapping the device. “That’s where the stone will go. I don’t think it will mind a little blood on it, if that’s what it takes.”
“We’ll see,” I said then held the faerie dagger before me.
“Going to try to kill me with my own dagger? That’s a nice touch.”
“I do my best with irony,” I said, and without waiting another moment, I attacked.
I knew from my first encounter with the faerie that he was strong and fast. He ducked and swept to the side, but I had expected the move. Kicking out my leg, I caught the faerie unexpectedly, tripping him. The faerie quickly regained his footing then came at me, pulling a flashing curved knife when he did so. I pulled my pistol and took aim. The move surprised the faerie who quickly slipped behind a standing stone. I held my pistol in front of me and waited.
He didn’t come out.
It was only when I smelled that terrible earthy scent that I realized what he’d done. He’d slipped between the stones and out of this world, only to reappear behind me—hell’s bells.
I ducked and turned, only to feel the dagger connect with the length of my hair, slicing off my tresses.
“Oh now, that’s just rude,” I called.
“You’re the one who brought a pistol to a knife fight,” the faerie said then launched at me again.
Once more, we exchanged blows. While the faerie was quick, he hadn’t spent the last several years fighting werewolves. He was fast, but I was stronger. I punched the faerie between the eyes, hard. He staggered backward then stepped between the stones, disappearing once more.
“Dammit,” I said then spun all around me, waiting for him to reappear.
I was about to turn again when I felt him draw close to me.
Very close.
Hell’s bells.
Something hard hit me on the back of my head.
I groaned then turned. The faerie dropped the massive rock he’d been holding then attacked, punching me in the face. I staggered backward. The blow made my jaw ache, and the salty tang of blood filled my mouth. He advanced on me again, this time with his blade in his hand. My ears rang, and the blow to my head made my vision blur. If I fainted, he would kill me and take the amulet. If I fainted, he would call forth the dark creatures and kill my friends, my family. I couldn’t let that happen. I staggered, but held on, deflecting a blow that had been intended for my heart, only to feel the slick slice of a blade cut my brow. At once, blood clouded the vision of my good eye.
“Clemeny! Clemeny?” I could hear Harper calling from very far away.
“There,” I heard Gothel answer. “Clemeny!”
I staggered backward, holding the faerie dagger in front of me.
“It’s too late,” Melwas said as he stalked toward me. “Even the faerie guardian can’t stop me now. Give me the gemstone.”