Daylight is Mine to Protect

Memories

I stare in shock at my weapon. It lays in pieces on the ground. Protect Daylight, or it will be lost. I remember Merlin's words from so long ago. I look to the sky. The Eternal Night grows darker by the second.  How ironic: Daylight the sword breaks as daylight fades away.

I observe the situation. Jim and I are weaponless. Angor Rot is dead. Everyone has their own score of wounds. The changelings are unconscious or surreptitiously limping away. I can't blame them. Even after everything, Morgana glows with power.

"You think you could kill me?" Morgana whispers. "I am a GOD! You are mere ants beneath my heel."

"Jeez, lady, pick a metaphor," Toby calls. He's nervous. We all are. 

"You have annoyed me for the last time!" she snarls. I can feel her anger pulsing through me. The world fades away. 

And I'm tugged to somewhere else. 

It's misty. Cold. Dark. Buildings loom to the sides of me. The ones whose lights are on are dulled by the fog.

I am the shadows. Sulking along between lights. Invisible. Silent. 

I am Morgana.

There are two figures in front of me. One has bags under her eyes and a fidgeting hand that twitches this way and that. Her hair is auburn and curls around her chin in perfect loops. The other is tall and gangly with bright red, curly hair. His eyes dart around in constant alert. He holds a child in his arms.

My vision goes black. It returns.

A troll has appeared. The two people don't seem surprised by it. The woman speaks as if from underwater. "Get rid of her. She's a mutant. We don't want her jeopardizing the other children."

"The experiment worked?" the troll asks.

"Yes," snaps the woman. "It worked. Now the child is a monster. She nearly broke Sasha's arm yesterday. We're done with this. I don't care what you do with her, just make sure she doesn't come anywhere near my children."

"Very well." The troll gestures to the man. He seems reluctant to give the child to him.

"Are you sure about this, Rose?" he asks. "She's so young."

"She stopped being our child the minute she bit Tommy," Rose growls. "Give her over, Herald."

With great reluctance, the man gives the troll the baby. "What are you going to do with her?" he whispers. 

"It's been a while since we have had human flesh to eat," replies the troll. I shiver. This must be a GumGum. I hadn't realized any remained on the surface. Revulsion crawls up my gut.

The man looks pale. "R-right." 

"Come on, honey," Rose says. "Let's get going."

Herald lets himself be led away by Rose. I ignore them. Dread enters me as I look as the child. 

I move myself through the shadows and wrap around a nearby light. It breaks with a shatter of glass. The trolls looks up, startled. "Stupid human technology," he mutters. I break another light. And another. "Who's there?"

"Morgaaaaana," I rasp through my throat. The air is mine to command. It shimmers with my voice. The troll pales. I take satisfaction in his fear. In his haste to get away, he drops the baby. 

My vision goes black again.

The baby doesn't cry. It doesn't speak. I go to pick it up, interested by such an anomaly. Soft tufts of red hair line its head. And, peaking out of its hair are two small horns.