Lies Ripped Open (37 page)

“He wanted it to the death, Nate,” Elaine said, and it took me a moment to figure out where she was.

“Have I won?” I asked everyone, ignoring Elaine as I dragged Enfield out of the water.

“Yes,” several people, including Elaine said.

I raised my wrist. “Then get these fucking things off me.”

There was talking above me, but the guard who’d placed the sorcerer’s bands on my wrist slid down the bank and used her key to remove them. Magic flowed back into me, and it was beautiful.

“His too,” I told her, before adding, “Please.”

She did as she was asked and I thanked her, and it didn’t take long for the noises in Enfield’s chest to begin to sound norm
al again.

“Enfield, you wished death here,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. “But I want you to die a sorcerer, not as someone missing his magic. I want your allies up there to know that it doesn’t matter how powerful you are, if you fuck with me and mine, I will destroy you. A friend of mine asked, as he died, if I could do him a favor. So consider this the last request of Felix Novius.” I accessed Felix’s soul, and a battle-axe, one of my two soul weapons—a physical manifestation of my power of necromancy, which destroys the soul, not the physical body—appeared in my hand. “I think he’d approve of my final words to you. Eat shit and die you fucking cockwomble.” And I drove the blade of the axe into Enfield’s skull.

Enfield twitched once and then pitched forward into the stream. I’d struck someone in the head with the axe before and they’d lived, but with Enfield, I knew he was dead. I glanced up at the crowd once more, and then crashed to my knees.

“What the hell is going on here?” a voice demanded from above me. I glanced up and saw Merlin, his expression moving from annoyed to murderous the second he laid eyes on me.

CHAPTER
37

T
o be fair to Merlin, he didn’t try to kill me there and then, while I was standing in a stream. I dragged myself up and onto the park, while everyone who didn’t want to be part of Merlin’s annoyance made themselves scarce. Even so, a committed group of people hung around the edges of the park, presumably to figure out if Merlin was going to kill me or not. Merlin had wandered off with Elaine, and the heat of their conversation was obvious considering their body language. I sat next to the same tree that Enfield had used to fix his arm and tried to convince myself that telling Merlin to fuck off was a good idea.

Tommy and Lucie had decided to sit beside me, and Olivia and half a dozen guards had joined them soon after Merlin’s arrival.

“So, this must be awkward for you,” Tommy said.

“Yes, that’s certainly one way of putting it,” I suggested.

“I think you might have made a few more enemies today. Your little speech before you killed Enfield will quickly spread,” Lucie told me.

“I never was very good at keeping my mouth closed.”

“Nate didn’t do anything wrong,” Tommy said. “Merlin can’t do anything.”

“Never stopped him before,” I pointed out and then got to my feet. The fight between Elaine and Merlin appeared to be over, although whether that was because they’d come to an agreement or because several paladins had arrived remained to be seen.

“Is that Gawain?” Tommy asked.

“Yep,” I said.

“His armor sure is shiny. I’m assuming he doesn’t get out much.”

“Rumor has it he’s changed a lot since you left,” Olivia said. “He’s more withdrawn, more intent on keeping Merlin and Arthur safe. Anything for Avalon and all that.”

“The paladins have always been fanatical,” Lucie said. “He’s just even more fanatical than most.”

Elaine beckoned for me to join her, so I walked across the field feeling like I was about to be scolded for misbehaving in class. It was a fairly ridiculous thought that a sixteen-hundred-year-old sorcerer could be worried he was about to be told off, but Merlin’s appearance was always akin to that of a teacher.

“He’s angry you’re here,” Elaine said. “Angry you’ve caused disruption. He wants an explanation from you.”

“Excellent,” I said and before Elaine could stop me I walked over to Merlin. He looked almost exactly the same as when I’d last seen him, although he’d decided to wear long black robes for some reason.

Gawain stepped in between us. “If you place one hand on Merlin, I will cut you down.”

I stared at the man who at one point I’d have considered a friend. “Don’t threaten me, Gawain. We both know it’s the move of someone who doesn’t actually have the ability to back up his words.”

“Have you come to apologize?” Merlin asked me, pushing an angry Gawain aside.

“For what?”

“Striking me, or stopping me from keeping Arthur alive, or maybe disrupting my realm? Pick which one you think is best.”

“No to all three. I’m about as likely to grow wings and fly as I am to say sorry.”

“Still the same Nathan. Let me guess. All of this death and destruction, it was all to help people you care about? I wish you’d felt that way about Arthur.”

“I helped protect Arthur for hundreds of years,” I said through gritted teeth. “He was my friend, and my king. These people, including Kay, had conspired to kill Elaine and remove anyone whom they deemed unworthy of their time.”

“And that’s my concern, why? If Elaine was murdered, heaven forbid by the way, but if she was, then someone else would take her role. She does not run Camelot.”

“Who does then?”

“I do,” he snapped.

“Then maybe you should actually do it. Maybe you should stop spending all of your time with a dead man and take your head out of your ass long enough to see that people here are unhappy. That all you’ve managed to do is foster a division that threatened to break apart everything you say you care about. You’ve put every single person in this realm, and countless
millions
outside of it, in jeopardy because you can’t bear to let someone else take away a piece of your grand plan. Avalon needs Elaine, it doesn’t need you anymore.”

The earth beneath my feet began to shake slightly, and I knew it was Merlin’s power.

“You dare?” he spat. “You dare suggest that I’m not doing the best for this realm? For these people?”

“You’re doing what you always did. What’s best for Merlin. Fuck everyone else.”

A mass of rock burst free from the ground and slammed
into my chest, driving me back with immense force. Water
covered
my arms and turned to ice, freezing me in place.

“You think you can come back here and tell me how to run things?” he demanded. “You’re nothing, no one, a pathetic shell of someone I used to think could do some good in this world. I’m sure, if your parents were alive to see you today, they would be ashamed to know you. It’s a good thing no one knows who they are, it saves them the bother of their dishonor.”

Orange glyphs flared over my arms and the ice melted, allowing me to sit up.

“Go on, use your magic against me,” Merlin demanded. “Show the people who you are.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Elaine exploded at Merlin. “You attacked first, you came here full of anger and demanding answers. I don’t answer to you. And neither does Nate, not anymore.”

“Everyone in Avalon answers to me,” Merlin snapped.

“Not anymore they don’t,” I said when I was back to my feet. “People want someone to lead them who isn’t a self-absorbed asshole. Someone who will keep them safe from threats like the Reavers. You clearly can’t or won’t. You’re as ineffectual at
governing
this realm as you are at bringing Arthur back to life.”

I knew it was a mistake the second I said the words. A darkness spread over Merlin’s face and he lashed out, smashing ice into my body, and lifting me ten feet above the ground. “If anyone interferes, kill them,” he said to Gawain, who drew his sword.

“Nate?” Tommy called out.

“I’m okay,” I told him.

“I should have left you to die on that road as a child,” Merlin said as he walked toward me.

I used my fire magic to melt the ice, but the second any of it trickled away, it was replaced by even more, which got tighter and tighter across my arms and chest.

“I’m going to show you what I do to traitors,” he said and huge shards of ice formed in front of him.

I concentrated with everything I had until thunder could be heard above me. Then the ice vanished and I dropped to the ground. I was unable to stand, my entire body felt like it had been in a vice. All the same, my glyphs still shone as brightly as they ever had. I was not going to go down without a fight. Merlin would kill me, there was no other option, but he’d know he’d been in a contest.

Merlin stood only a few inches away, and glanced down at me. “Lightning, eh? You going to use that on me, boy?”

“Fuck you,” I said, although my words were a stutter. “You knew about the second realm gate, didn’t you? Did you know that Kay would betray everyone? Did you know that the Reavers were back?”

“Of course I knew about the gate. How do you think I have people come and go without Elaine and her people hearing about it? How did you think the Reavers came and went before you had them destroyed? Kay was going to do it sooner or later, I guess he got a better offer. And as for the Reavers returning, of course I’d heard. I hear everything. I just don’t bother with petty squabbles among people who are unimportant.”

“People died, you asshole. What happened to you? I don’t believe you were always this cold . . . this cruel.”

“Wasn’t I? Or did you just want a daddy figure in your life so badly that you ignored those things?”

I wanted to wipe the sneer off of his face, but I kept my peace as he continued. “I always taught you that to win you do
whatever
it takes. It appears that lesson was lost on you.”

The thunder rumbled above us again.

Merlin glanced up at the sky. “You want to fight me? You’ll die, your friends soon after. You know they’ll get involved, you know I won’t let that lie.”

The clouds above dissipated and my glyphs vanished.

“Good choice. It’s a shame it ended up this way, you could have been something great, but you’ve chosen your path and wil
l h
ave to live with the consequences.” He walked back to Elaine. “You deal with this. But I want him punished for his attitude towar
d me.”

“He doesn’t work for you,” Elaine pointed out again.

“Then banish him from Avalon, I never wish to see him again. He is no longer welcome within this realm.”

Elaine kept Merlin’s gaze without blinking. “You don’t have the authority to do that. It would have to go to a vote. A vote, I will assure, you won’t win.”

For a moment I thought Merlin was going to snap. “You’re right,” Merlin said with glee. “Nathan no longer works for me. You know what, Nathan? I think that it’s about time we made that official, don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Did you think when you walked out that no one wanted to come after you for your betrayal? No, I put word out that you were off limits. You were to be left alone, until I deemed otherwise. I think you’ve outstayed my patience. As of now, if any of my paladins decide to hunt you down to put you in your place, I’ll let them.” He looked at his watch. “Let’s say one week. In one week, if you ever return to Camelot my paladins have my permission to find and punish you.”

“Are you telling me that you’re going to order Nate’s death?” Elaine asked shocked.

“Oh no, not death. Punishment. If one of them happens to go overboard, that’s a shame. Can’t be helped. You’ll do well to remember that this is
my
realm, I made those laws, and I gave you a seat on the council in the first place. What I do is no consequence to you or anyone else who lives here, because I allow them the very privilege of living here. I’m done allowing Nathan that same
privilege
.” Merlin turned to me. “The next time I see you will be because you came back and my paladins had you brought before me bloody and broken. Leave this place and never come back.”

And with that Merlin turned and walked away.

“One week,” Gawain said. “I got him to agree to that. I know that you’ve got your friend’s naming ceremony tomorrow, and I know these people are important to you. I’d advise you to keep your head down and stay out of his notice until you leave. Get your stuff done and then don’t ever come back.”

“How many of your paladins will track me down outside of this realm?”

“I won’t send any of them after you. But I can’t stop them if you come back.” Gawain nodded toward Elaine and then walked off, a dozen paladins in tow.

“Wow, you stood up to the old bastard,” Tommy said. “A lot of people here saw that.”

“Yeah, for all the good it did me. I guess I’m here for a week and then I’ll leave. I’m going to wring out every single second I can before I leave this realm though, I’m not letting Merlin think he’s won easily.”

I wondered if the paladins would really come after me. Probably. And I doubted I’d survive too many of their attacks. They were trained to kill people who crossed Merlin.

“So, is this all done?” Tommy asked.

Elaine turned and watched as Merlin and his paladins leave. “Merlin has done something far worse today than just ignoring the people of this realm. He came out here and practically declared that his paladins will deal with anyone who dares disagree with him. He’s turned them into his own personal
shocktroops
. I won’t have that. And neither will most of the council. Something will have to be done, and soon.”

“Any idea what?”

Elaine shook her head sadly. “For now, I’d take him at his word, Nate. You have a week to leave. But I won’t have Merlin declaring himself a tyrant in all but name. The SOA will also have to be completely rebuilt. With what’s happened with Kay and now Merlin’s outburst, a lot of people are going to be worried in the coming months; it’s my job to ensure they don’t do anything stupid, and that they’re safe.”

“You still need to track down the rest of the Reavers,” Tommy said. “That might not be a small job.”

“I got one of my necromancers to take Enfield’s soul,” Elaine said. “We’ll find out whatever he knew.”

“Good, because I didn’t want to have those memories in my head,” I told her. I got back to my feet. “Now I want a shower, a change of clothing, and maybe a drink. Actually scrap that, I want a drink first.”

“Now that’s the best idea anyone has had today,” Olivia said as she rejoined us. “That was some fight, Nate.”

“He was an evil sack of shit, but a tough one,” I agreed. “Now you guys get to do the clean-up, because apparently I’m done here.”

“Remember what I said, Nate. I won’t have his people try to kill you,” Elaine promised. “But I’d stay away for a while. They won’t come after you outside of Avalon.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on returning anytime soon.
Merlin’s
paladins will try to kill me no matter what you say, and I will have to kill some of them, or they’ll kill me. Either way it’s more dead in Avalon. I think you’ve had enough of that recently.” My body lurched forward as the crushing tiredness of the last few days hit me.

Tommy caught me. “Come on, Nate, let’s get you somewhere you can rest.”

“Good plan.” He helped me walk a few steps before I stopped him and turned back to Elaine, Olivia, and Lucie. “It’s good to see Avalon is in excellent care. I hope you all get it to become the place you deserve it to be.”