The Return of Arthur

Chapter 10

It was late when the warlocks returned. Unfortunately the trail was long cold, whoever had cast the spell and had been sending the letters was long gone. They were surprised to see the kitchen was back in one piece and that the girls were sharing a plate of chocolate wafers on the couch.

"Those are mine." Merlin scolded, wagging his finger at them. The girls laughed and Wendy swore that she'd buy him a whole new box tomorrow. Kilgharrah smiled halfheartedly. He was absolutely spent. They'd searched for hours with no progress, and worst of all, they were no closer to figuring out how to resurrect Arthur.

They'd been talking about the latest episode of a television program when he cut in. "The prophecy - you said it was rewritten."

Eris nodded. "To include me. Otherwise, unchanged." The dragon groaned, rubbing his eyes. "There's got to be something that we missed." Merlin leaned forward in his seat. "Are you alright?" And then, "Mate?" Kilgharrah took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Tomorrow. We go to Avalon with no plan and no back up." He verbalized what they'd all been losing sleep over.

He pushed himself out of his chair. Almost reluctantly. "I'll continue reading." Wendy mimicked his actions. "I'll help you." She turned to Merlin and Eris, who were both fighting sleep. "You two get rest." And she followed Kilgharrah out of the room.

Kilgharrah raced up the stairs to the attic. And was secretly relieved to hear Wendy clambering up behind him. Neither spoke as they skimmed through all the books and scrolls and tablets. Wendy pulled yet another book from her pile. She'd taken everything in English and Kilgharrah tackled everything in every other language. It was exhausting. She was certain that at any time now her eyes would fall out. Wendy was trying hard not to fall asleep when she caught sight of familiar gold penmanship.

"Wendy, are you alright?" She hadn't heard herself gasp, but it wasn't surprising that she had.

She peeked over her shoulder. He was about to come over, crap, "I'm fine." Lying felt wrong. "I just almost fell asleep." But she had to.

Thankfully, Kilgharrah settled back into his spot. "Go to bed Wendy."She nodded, slowly pushing the letter up her blouse. "I think I will." She was nearly at the stairs, almost free, when Kilgharrah squinted at her. "What is that?" She froze. It's over, he's seen the letter. "I've never noticed your bracelet before." Kilgharrah smiled at her. "It's pretty." She smiled back, and did all she could not to run down the stairs.

When Wendy was finally alone she pulled the letter out and thought back to their earlier conversation.

The boys had just left, and Wendy had set off to helping the poor girl who was just slammed into the kitchen by unknown magical forces. "You know, they might not even be involved." Eris was still crumpled in the smashed cupboard bits. Wendy was surprised that after a blow like that she could talk at all. "Resurrecting Arthur, I mean. No magic, just family blood." She was out of it for sure, but coherent. "We're really just meant to protect you until it's time, after that, it's a toss." Wendy pulled a cupboard door off of her, reassuring her that everything would be okay, but Eris continued. "That's what she thinks. Your mystery sender. You're stronger. Family blood stuff is importanter than you think." Wendy fought the urge to laugh. Eris was being sweet, but she really doubted that she'd be able to do this alone. "Here! I'll show ya."

Wendy was no longer in the destroyed kitchen. She was nowhere that she'd ever been before. Crystals twinkled from cave walls. They pushed out of stalagmites and stalactites and even grew out of the ground in big clusters that reminded Wendy of an upside down Christmas tree. Lights and silver tinsel included. The place buzzed with energy. "Where am I?" She wondered to herself. Wendy hadn't noticed the young woman in front of her until she moved to touch a nearby crystal. The young woman looked tired - exhausted even. Heavy shadows resided under her eyes, her hair was unbrushed - a mess, really. Despite her appearance, and her dark cloak, Wendy decided that this woman was good, otherwise she wouldn't be helping them.

The woman spoke softly. "Those fools. Wendy is capable of success without them." She shook her head, as though shaking away nasty thoughts. The cloaked lady moved away from the crystal and towards a table cluttered with vials and bottles filled with strange concoctions. She sat down at the table and pulled a large book from the floor, placing it on the only space left unoccupied. Flipping through the pages she began to lose focus. Wendy watched as she slowly nodded off, her chin dropping to her chest. All was calm until the girl woke with a start. Muttering to herself about the prophecy. "Wendy will succeed with or without them." She glided from her chair to a different crystal, one that showed Avalon at midday, she ran her hands along the smooth surface. "Arthur will rise. Wendy is more powerful than the wizard and his dragon friend." The edges of Wendy's vision blurred, and slowly the whole thing began fading away. "Arthur will rise."

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I'm incredibly sorry for the wait. I've fallen off of the proverbial wagon and I've just started clawing my way back on. :)
BUT GOOD NEWS: The next chapter will be the last one before the epilogue! And as it seems there will be a sequel (which I have yet to name or really think of and I have no plot developed and oh deary me) So yes, I shall attempt to update as soon as I can. My guesstimate is two weeks, but really who knows?