The Opal Witch: Prophecy (Book Two)

Chapter Thirty-Six

Declan

No sooner had Declan declared Lux was alive than a howling, ice filled wind whipped through the party, forcing them to seek shelter. Calum led the way, using his Gift of telekinesis to push back the worst of the blizzard and keep their path clear until they reached a cave only a few yards within the forest beyond Merlin's Tree.

Declan jumped down from his horse. Kitty and Travis huddled together beneath their fears–the witch puffing warm air between her hands while sweeping bright blue eyes back and forth between the Guardians. He did not imagine how she lingered on Percy. If Lux were here, she would pry for information.

His heart constricted. Lux was still here. In Camelot. Alive. He'd refused to accept she was lost forever, but he hadn't realized until he felt her that a part of him hadn't truly believed she was alive.

"I thought this was Camelot, not Narnia," Travis muttered.

Kitty scrunched her face. "I'd much rather face the White Witch than the Fae Queen."

"Is this her work?" Declan asked Calum, helping him secure the horses while Percy stood at the edge of the cave, his eyes unusually somber as he watched the snow fall with increasing intensity.

"It is. Morgan is deeply connected to Camelot, and while we took as many precautions as we could, there is no hiding ourselves from her completely while we are here–particularly so close to Merlin's Tree and the lands she has claimed for her own. But it's nothing to worry about. We expected resistance from her."

"How can we be sure they won't leave now that they know we are coming?" Travis asked. His freckles stood out starkly on his face. "I'm gonna be pissed if we came out in this just to come up empty-handed."

Calum shrugged, waving his hand across the ground and sending the sticks and debris covering the cave floor to the center of the space. "Morgan might. We don't know how much of her plan depends on her sister–"

"A lot," Kitty interjected, looking haunted. "With Morgause at her side, her victory is assured. Maybe she loves her sister, but she only put so much magic and planning into this because it served her purpose."

Declan grimaced. Kitty wasn't saying anything he hadn't suspected, but hearing it confirmed made this all seem so much more bleak. If bringing Morgause back had just been an act of sisterly love, Morgan would be less likely to fight if cornered. She was a creature of the shadows and avoided confrontation unless there was no other recourse, but if her sister's life made the difference between victory and defeat, she would do whatever it took to keep her alive.

A thought struck him. Something Lux had mentioned when talking about the Dreams. "Is Morgause's agenda the same as Morgan's?"

Everyone looked at him. Kitty's eyes snapped with excitement. "Go on."

"Lux said Morgause wanted magic for revenge against Arthur. That's a bit smaller scale than Morgan's grand scheme to get back to Avalon and punish her sisters for exiling her."

Percy spoke up at last, stepping away from the entrance and drawing his cloak more tightly about him. "Morgan isn't exactly a fan of Arthur herself."

"No," Calum agreed, "But she doesn't hate him enough to derail her plans. However, I can't see Morgause agreeing to fall in line unless Morgan gets her what she wants, which is going to be difficult since no one has seen Arthur in centuries. He may not even be alive."

Travis snorted. "Would certainly keep them occupied for a while."

"I'm more worried about what Morgause will do once she discovers the extent of Lux's power. If witches were cars, she gave her sister a Ferrari."

Kitty wasn't wrong, but Declan grinned. "I don't think Morgause is going to find it so easy to access Lux's power. Not if what I felt earlier was any indication."

"Exactly what did you–" Calum started to ask, then stopped when the ground rumbled beneath their feet.

Pieces of stone broke off from the walls and ceiling, striking the ground hard and shattering. Outside in the blizzard, another sound joined the howling of the wind. A deep, rumbling growl that made the hairs on the back of Declan's neck rise and the two Guardians mutter oaths.

"What is that?" Travis asked, jumping to his feet and falling into a defensive stance that made Declan proud. It would seem his time away at college hadn't been an excuse to slack on his training. Percy noticed too and smiled, looking every bit the proud father.

"My guess," Calum said as the rocks on the ground rose around him like a shield, "A black shuck."

"A whata what?" Kitty and Travis requested in unison. A long, mournful howl drowned Percy's chuckle out.

"Think wolves, but worse."

Calum added to Percy's explanation. "They look like werewolves. The kind they used to show in old horror films, not the Twilight version."

"Holy shit," Travis whispered loud enough Declan could hear. "The man looks like a god and knows Twilight. He's straight, isn't he? Of course he is, because that's my luck."

"Your luck with men," Kitty hissed, "is less of a concern than your luck with mythological creatures who want to eat you. Do you know where that stands?"

Declan pulled his focus away from the bickering duo and called forth his cestuses and staff, anchoring it to the stone floor and drawing the earth's power into his muscles. He knew only a little about the beasts Calum and Percy described. Morgan was fond of them, raising several packs to do her bidding, and one bite from them would kill most men within hours without proper care, the bacteria in their saliva rotting skin from the bones so fast it was visible to the human eye.

He squinted into the wall of white outside the cave, barely making out three dark figures approaching. "I don't suppose if we can't see them, they can't see us."

"Morgan trains the beasts to fight in the winter. They'll hear you before they see you, and that's all they need."

"But," Percy put a fist in the center of his chest and closed his eyes. With an exhale, he opened his hand and withdrew it, a colorful strand of light connecting his chest to his palm. "They're not immune to my Gift."

The strand pulsed and expanded like a wave, drenching the cave and the world outside it in a kaleidoscope of colors that made Declan feel dizzy. Kitty gasped, stumbling toward Declan and hanging onto him for support. Travis walked up to Percy, his pale eyes filled with determination as a similar light pulsed in his palms.

"Can I help?"

"I think a maze would be most effective here. One that moves?" Percy suggested.

"We can shift their paths away from us?"

"Exactly."

As far as Declan could see, the swirling colors coalesced into giant green hedges. The sky turned black with no stars, and thick, opaque fog clung to the ground and crept over the hedges. The wolves whimpered and huffed in frustration. If he couldn't feel the ice in the wind gusting inside the cave, he wouldn't believe there was a blizzard.

"I'll do what I can to reinforce that with something solid," Calum added, making the surrounding rocks spin. "Our only hope is to take them out because we can't get through this storm."

Declan twisted his palm around the staff in his hand, gritting his teeth together as frustration knotted in chest. Less than an hour ago, he'd been ecstatic–thinking they were finally a step closer to rescuing Lux, and now this obstacle. If he still had access to Lux's power through the channeling stone, he would shred them to pieces.

"I-I..." Kitty stuttered, agony tightening her features. "I'll stay out of the way."

"Stay behind me," he told her, wishing things were different. If her powers weren't bound, she would make the earth tremble. Something nagged at him about her powers. Something he'd been meaning to ask, but another growl–this one far closer than before–drew his attention back to the fight.

And then all hell broke loose.