A Tale That Dawned [Book 4 of Selvina's Tale series]

Chapter 47: The Stranger

"I do trust her. She was the one that brought me here, Merlin. She gave me this purpose of stopping the Writer and I won't let her down. I want her to see for herself that she didn't make a mistake choosing me."

Merlin eyed Selvina up and down and smiled wider. "You have grown, Selvina. There is more strength in you than I had ever sensed before."

Selvina smiled back briefly before she thought of something and turned to face Merlin with wide eyes. "How's Jack? Have you heard anything from Cindy and Red?"

"I spoke to Cindy through the fire this past morning. She informs me that they are sailing past the Avalonian coast at the moment and should arrive in Tortug within a few days. Red is with her. They were attacked by Sauradian pirates several days ago and now share a ship. Once Red disembarks in Tortug, Cindy will continue to Kenmard. To answer your question, they are doing fine."

Selvina breathed a sigh of relief, not so pleased to hear about the pirate attack but glad that Red and Cindy are doing well. "What about Jack? Have you heard anything about the naval battle?"

"I saw glimpses of it through my far-sight but I was too preoccupied making it in here in time to see Amalthea to peer more extensively. From what I saw, it was going well for Avalon. King Arthur's navy was beating back the enemy and the battle looked won."

"Did you...um, did you see a dragon?"

Merlin furrowed his thick brows and eyed Selvina firmly. For several tense moments he said nothing. Eventually, he said, "So that is where the empress has gone. I should have known she would not let such a battle go unwitnessed." Merlin sighed and it terrified Selvina. "I fear the devastation she has caused by now. My only hope is that perhaps she was injured or under too much pressure to fight for long. Massive floating constructs of wood and canvas do not fare well against any fire, let alone dragon fire."

Selvina's heart was beating so fast she was sweating all over. She gulped back a miniscule amount of rising fear and struggled to focus on the present situation. Her voice cracked as she said, "There's something I need to tell you." God, Jack, don't be dead. Please, don't be dead...

Merlin nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Rhiannon is trying to bring back Iktarosh," Selvina blurted. "She has him chained up in a room far below ground and she's doing it so he can kill the Writer because she doesn't think I can do it."

Merlin's eyes widened for the first time Selvina could ever remember. "That cannot be!"

"I saw it, Merlin! I was in that room! It's true!"

The wizard's gaze darted about the room and he glanced aside as he tried to make sense of the declaration. "You are certain of this?"

"Yes! She's feeding Iktarosh's corpse, or what looks like a statue of him anyway, all the dark magic she can and she said he'd be fully revived soon enough. I talked to Accolon about it and he's going to help me stop her."

"As he should," Merlin replied with a nod. "This cannot happen, Selvina. It absolutely cannot come to be. Rhiannon does not realize how out of balance Faeryum's magical fields of energy truly are. If she were to imbalance it further by bringing to life a god she'd risk forever breaking it. Even if she were to stop everything she was doing at this moment it would take many years to stabilize the magic. Of all the slain gods... How could I have been so blind?"

"Help us stop her," Selvina said. "Accolon will be here in the morning and he'll lead us to a secret way into the chamber as the main way is magically locked. I'd feel better if you came with us, Merlin. We'll need all the help we can get."

Merlin nodded his grey head. "Indeed. I shall come with you and Accolon, then. It is decided. Together we will prevent utter chaos from coming to this world. How could Rhiannon be so foolish to think reviving Iktarosh would be a good idea?"

"She thinks he'd hate the Writer because he'd be getting rid of the free will of the beings he helped create. She thinks that'll be enough to persuade him to kill the Writer."

"Iktarosh is a god, Selvina. We mortals cannot presume to know anything of their goals and desires. They are divine beings with schemes of their own. Iktarosh, above all, cannot be trusted."

"I told her the same thing but she wouldn't listen. It was like she was someone else down there... She scared me, Merlin."

"She is blinded by her own ambition. I have known Rhiannon since she was a child but this is uncharacteristic of her. She understands the dangers of reviving a slain god. She learned of Iktarosh's treachery when she was younger than you are now. Something does not fit into place. I will have to speak with her when she returns. This is unlike the Rhiannon I know."

Merlin then suggested Selvina returned to bed and she obeyed with little fuss. She was still quite tired and knowing that Merlin was watching over Amalthea helped her fall asleep that much faster. Tinkerbelle was sleeping above her, spread out across the top of the bed's canopy. Her hopes of succeeding in preventing Iktarosh's return soared and pleasant dreams filled her mind that night.

The next morning, however, was grey and unpleasantly cold.