Chapter Nine
"Why can't we just go home?" Avalon snuggled closer to Vaughn's chest, tucking her freezing feet under his kneecaps.
It had been three days since the wyvern attack and he stayed in a semi-shifted state, skin red and rough with scales, half-formed wings protruding from his back, heat radiating from him.
They had found a shallow cave to stay in and Vaughn hunted for food while Avalon practiced her magic. Fear was a great inspiration or else Vaughn's kisses after she completed something correctly were. She was able to dramatically improve on the techniques Madame Fire had taught her.
"I've seen the wyvern a couple of times while I was hunting," Vaughn replied. "If we tried to make a break for it now, we'd be caught. I can't fight it off and fly with you at the same time."
"But what about before? Why come here instead of home?" Avalon knew she was whining, but she was tired, cold and hungry.
She missed mattresses, hot food, her parents. What would they be going through right now? Did they hear about the attack at the school? Were they desperately searching for her?
"I thought we might be followed. That's why I didn't take you home. It was a mistake. I was so concerned about not leading the wyvern to your parents that I didn't think that it probably already knows—"
Avalon shuddered. If the wyvern knew they were there, what was it doing to them right now?
"And that we'd have more defenses if we were with them," Vaughn added quickly. "Your parents are fine."
He smoothed her hair from her forehead, smiling reassuringly at her, but suddenly stiffened. There was utter stillness for a second, then Vaughn leaped to his feet and smoke curled from his nostrils. A deep, reverberating growl echoed in the cave.
Avalon scrambled up, levitating all the loose rocks and rubble she had moved into the cave the past few days. Her heart was in her throat, hands trembling.
Stane appeared in the entrance of the cave.
Avalon let out a cry of relief and started forward, but Vaughn threw his arm in front of her, glaring at his uncle.
"What's my favorite color?" he demanded.
"You had a toy bear that you named Sir Ruffian when you were a child."
Vaughn's shoulders relaxed and he nodded at Avalon. "It's him."
Avalon's brow furrowed.
"Some witches have the ability to make themselves look like other people," Stane explained, striding forward. Neither seemed to mind Vaughn's nakedness.
"Uncle Stane and I decided on a code in case something like this should happen."
"Anybody can find out what his favorite color is, but only I know to answer it with a made-up toy bear."
He smiled at Avalon, holding out his arms and she gratefully stepped into his embrace. Now that Stane was here, everything was going to be fine. Even Vaughn was relaxing.
It hit her, suddenly, that the dragon wasn't much older than she was. Even with his training, he was way out of his element here. The Ladies of the Lake weren't even supposed to exist and they had sent their wyvern after his ward!
We don't know that the Ladies of the Lake are back. It could just be a wyvern. Or anything else.
She didn't realize she was shivering again until Vaughn put an arm around her shoulders.
"Can I go home now?" she whispered.
"Yes," Vaughn said while Stane said, "No."
Avalon stared at her mother's dragon. "Why not? You're here, that wyvern that has been hanging around—"
"Isn't your only concern." Stane patted her shoulder and looked at Vaughn. "The Ladies of the Lake have returned."
"I figured, from the wyvern," Vaughn said dryly. "So they're going to try to kill the Greys, then?"
"I doubt it. That would lead to significant political blowback. The Greys are very well-liked. They want Arthur to return and wage war, not start it before they have a chance to open Albian's gates."
"How can you know?" Avalon asked, shivering madly. "They've been nothing but a myth for thousands of years, how do you know they haven't changed?"
Stane frowned. "There is no point in panicking. A calm, assertive mind and strength of will are what is needed here. I know that the Ladies of the Lake aren't after a pre-Arthur war," he paused, waiting for Avalon to crack a smile.
When she didn't, he continued. "The keys to Albian can't just be stolen from your family. There has to be significant political backing from powerful witching families in order for the keys to be transferred to them."
"Then why have they tried to kill me?"
"One acting alone, perhaps, or maybe they wanted to force the transfer of the keys to them by killing the last heir of Morgan le Fay. Whatever the reason, they're going a different route now. Your… worthiness to hold the keys of Albian has been officially challenged."
Avalon's eyes widened. "Meaning what?"
"Meaning you are going to have to fight a duel with your challenger."
Vaughn's arms tightened around her and a look of fiery determination came to his eyes. "How can they do that?"
"They have a girl that was descended from Morgan's son, rather than his daughter. They claim that gives them a right to hold the keys."
"Inheritance is meant to be passed from mother to daughter, not mother to son!" Anger was beginning to burn away Avalon's fear and she clenched her hands, shaking. "How dare they try to steal my birthright? They have no right—"
"They claim you aren't strong enough to defend the keys," Stane interrupted. "And you have to prove them wrong."
Avalon lifted her chin. "Where? When?"
"At the place of the final battle between Arthur and Mordred. In four days."
***
The battle of Camlann took place on a wide, flat plain. Mountains rose in the distance and everything was green and lush with early summer. While low-lying scrub brush grew around the field, it was magically kept clean of weeds and rodents.
Every year, on the anniversary of the battle–or as close to the anniversary as was possible, since exact dates had been lost to time–there were solemn reenactments on Camlann.
Avalon remembered attending them every year, her mother playing the part of Morgan le Fay, finding her brother King Arthur on the field, mortally wounded. She would cast a preservation spell over him to freeze him in time and stop him from dying before taking him to the Isle of Apples, where the goddesses of old would heal him and ready him for his return.
Avalon followed Vaughn out of the all-terrain hummer that they had been driven to Camlann in. There were already many people in attendance. Avalon recognized several powerful witching families, along with some non-magic royals and a scattering of politicians, both magical and not. A group of white-haired women waited for them on the other side of the field.
"Use your strengths," Vaughn whispered. "Use what you can do, don't worry about what you can't."
Elaine started across the field boldly. Stane stuck to her elbow and Avalon looked back once at her father, whose mouth was downturned and eyes worried before she followed her mother. Vaughn stayed close to her side, a string of muttered curses streaming from his lips. It almost made Avalon smile.
They stopped in the middle of the field.
"Bring forward the challenger!" Elaine shouted.
The white-haired women parted and a tall, dark-haired and pale-skinned woman strode towards them, a smug expression fixed on her face, accompanied by a young man. Avalon's jaw dropped.
"That's Helen and George," she whispered to Vaughn.
"He's a wyvern. Look at the way he carries himself." Vaughn snarled. "I knew I shouldn't trust him. But I didn't see he was a dragon!"
"Wyverns aren't dragons," Stane whispered. "Not true dragons, anyway. Now be quiet."
Vaughn scowled but nodded. Avalon's heart pounded in her chest and though she longed to shield herself in Vaughn's arms, she stood straight and tall with her shoulders back and chin level, like her mother. Elaine eyed Helen and George with disdain.
"It's not too late to take back your challenge, girl," Elaine said.
Helen bristled. "Your daughter is weak and unworthy to hold the keys entrusted to our lineage."
"Your lineage is through the male line, not the female. It is our right to hold the keys, not yours."
"I am a descendant of Morgan le Fay." Helen shrugged. "I am not here to debate my worth. I am here to prove it. So unless your daughter is too coward to face me, let's get this party started."