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

Chapter 49: Defend

Merlin acted first. He swept his staff wide, conjuring a wave of concussive energy that slammed into Accolon and sent him flying back so suddenly and unexpectedly that he lost his grip on his sword. Then, with blue fire in his old, wizened eyes, Merlin glared at Selvina.

"Remember your training, Selvina," he said in a voice that seemed to echo. "Keep Accolon back."

Selvina had never seen Merlin like this before. It was something like Accolon's strange transformation but different. It wasn't menacing but incredibly intimidating. The wizard's voice held so much weight and commanding authority that Selvina nodded dumbly and reached for Accolon's fallen sword.

Merlin then faced Iktarosh directly. Wizard and god stared at one another from across the open pit. The god still hung from two chains but he seemed not to notice. There was wonder, confusion, and, it seemed, some fear in his expression. The god appeared to be disoriented.

"What is this?" Iktarosh said in a booming voice that shook the walls. "How am I here?"

"Worry not, Iktarosh," Merlin replied in that loud voice of his. "Your time here, brief as it was, is over."

Selvina, still absentmindedly holding Accolon's sword, watched Merlin let go of his staff and begin a spell. The staff somehow hovered in the air beside him as he muttered incantations and made intricate signals and shapes in the air. Before long, tendrils of light trailed from Merlin's fingers and followed his movements, tracing the outlines of various symbols that floated in the air.

The sound of rapid footsteps had Selvina turning away to see Accolon racing toward her, red-faced and furious.

"Remember your training," Merlin had said. Training? Did he mean the training she had with Red? Selvina looked down at the sword in her hand as if she was seeing it for the first time. Wide-eyed and frightened, she wanted to let go of it and run. She wanted to and nearly did but something stopped her.

It was that feeling again. It had come to her when she had held aloft the ceremonial sword and pointed it at the stranger in the room, who turned out to be Merlin. Now it had returned and was rising up through her, emanating from her heart. It flowed through her arms, legs, neck, and head and pulsed powerfully, filling her with courage and determination.

Remember your training, she told herself.

Suddenly, Accolon did not appear so terrifying. He only held a dagger. Selvina had the sword. She had the reach and the more powerful weapon. Accolon had far more experience, however, as well as strength and speed. It would not be an easy fight.

Selvina put her mind at ease and imagined it was another training exercise. Red had come at her hard several times, charging in with breakneck speed and forcing her to act and think quickly. Selvina had not done so well in those exercises but she remembered her mistakes. She remembered what Red had taught her.

The young redheaded woman's face appeared in Selvina's mind, then. She was smiling kindly, her faint freckles appearing more prominently and her blue eyes sparkling. Red had been her friend and bodyguard for longer than anyone. Without her, Selvina's journey into Faeryum would have never happened. It was not Amalthea that had saved her from Grandmother and her sons, it was Red Riding Hood.

Selvina's grip on the sword tightened.

Iktarosh could not be freed. Merlin would do everything in his power to stop him and it was up to Selvina to ensure he did that. It was up to her. If she failed, Merlin failed. It was time for Selvina to take Red's place and save the saviour.

It was time for Selvina to stake her claim as the true protector of Faeryum.

"Remember your training," Selvina muttered to herself, thinking back to that beautiful day in the field outside Maron where she had last trained with Red. It had been the last day where everyone had been together. After that, Rapunzel, Goldilocks, and Wendy had left. And then, soon after, Jack, Hook, Cindy, and Red. Everything had changed since then, and yet nothing truly had. Her friends were not here with her now in physical form but they were with her in spirit and memory. Red's smile, Cindy's laugh, and Jack's smirk were still with her.