“You were fired by them, too,” Remy pointed out.
“First of all, I’d keep quiet about your Avalon connections,” Harrison said. “People will find out about Merlin soon enough, and I figure everyone in Avalon is going to be painted with the same brush.” Harrison nodded to several guards resting on the steps to get back to their jobs. “Secondly, I’m going to help people, and then we’re going to figure it out. Going to Tartarus sounds good. Too easy for people to attack us now.”
“Who’s in charge?” Diana asked. “With Galahad dead, who’s in charge?”
“Caitlin, his daughter, I guess. She’s the only one of the council anyone genuinely listens to on a regular basis, and she’s the only one I wouldn’t pick a fight with. Or maybe him—he arrived about an hour ago.”
A tall man walked toward them, his bloodred shirt and black trousers at odds with the sneakers he wore. “Elaine,” he said, shaking her hand.
“Hades,” Elaine said. “They have Nate.”
Hades nodded. “I know. We need to talk.” He looked at Mordred. “All of you. There’s a lot you don’t know.”
“Agreed. The only thing I really want to know is, will I get to kill everyone responsible for what happened here today?” Mordred asked.
“Unfortunately it’s more complicated than that. Arthur has been taken by this Hellequin character. It’s believed that Merlin is My Liege.”
“We know,” Mordred said.
“We’re thinking of just giving out cards explaining it,” Remy said. “It would save time.”
“In that case, come with me,” Hades said. “We need to find Nate before Merlin gets what he wants.”
“And what does Merlin want?” Elaine asked. “Apart from blood and death.”
“All of the realms bowing before him,” Hades said. “All of humanity cowering in what he believes is its rightful place.”
“Oh, just that,” Remy said.
“Now is not the time for jokes, Remy,” Hades said. “Merlin wants to rule everything. And it appears that he wants Nate and Arthur standing beside him as his right-hand men.”
CHAPTER 31
Mordred
Realm of Shadow Falls
Mordred remained calm for as long as he could, but by the time they had reached Leonardo’s home, and people had said their hellos and checked that loved ones were okay, he was chomping at the bit for more information.
“You doing okay? It’s been a lot to go through since you were shot,” he said to Morgan, hoping to distract himself from the thought of Nate being in Merlin’s hands.
“Sore, and I don’t think I’ll be doing a lot of hand-to-hand combat in the near future, but I’ll live.”
Mordred looked over at Fiona and Alan, who were at the end of Leonardo’s living room, holding each other’s hands. He went over to them. “How are you?” he asked Alan.
“I’m probably not going to sleep well for a while,” Alan said, “but I’ve been in the care of people like them before. I won’t let them break me.”
“Good. I’m glad we got you all out of there before anything worse happened.”
“They killed the rest of my team, didn’t they?”
Mordred nodded. “A gang of werewolves in Moscow did it. They’re mostly dead now. Or really wishing they were.”
“I never thought I’d be thanking you for coming for me.”
“I never thought I’d be saving your ass,” Mordred said with a smile. He turned to leave but stopped when Fiona grabbed his hand.
“I’m sorry about what I said to you. I see your face, and I see the horror and fear it caused, but you’re not him anymore, and I should have dealt with that better.”
Mordred wasn’t really sure what to say to that. People apologizing for thinking he was still a monster was something he still had issues getting used to. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry about Galahad,” Alan said. “He was a good man.”
Mordred nodded, unwilling to say anything for fear it would lead to him breaking down. Remorse and hurt would have to wait until Nate was found and Merlin stopped. “You want to explain what’s happening?” he asked Hades, needing to focus on something other than his lost friend.
Hades stood as silence fell around the living room. “We have someone working within Merlin’s organization. He managed to get details to me a few hours ago, and I rushed here. Unfortunately I was too late to help, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Who’s in his organization?” Selene asked.
“That’s not something anyone other than me needs to know. He’ll make contact when and if he can, but in the meantime he was only just able to contact me about this attack, and Merlin’s role. Abaddon has taken Nate through one of the realm gates, although we don’t know where to. We know that Merlin is working with Ares, Abaddon, Hera, and pretty much everyone who’s been involved with the whole My Liege shit for the last few years.”
“We just saw Merlin,” Wei said. “In a Siberian mountain. Abaddon was there, too.”
Hades looked over at Mordred.
“I’m good,” Mordred said. “My father is the asshole I always assumed he was. Also, it looks like Gawain is helping somehow. I would assume that all of the paladins are under Merlin’s control. They’ve worked together for a long time. I don’t think that’ll change anytime soon. My father and I didn’t have time for a long chat.”
“Wait, your father is Merlin?” Selene asked. “As in Merlin?”
Mordred nodded. “Real kick in the crotch, isn’t it? I’ve known for a while now, but it’s not exactly something I like to brag about. He was never much of a father.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Elaine asked.
Mordred reached over and placed his hand on Elaine’s. “How are you holding up?”
“They took my memories,” she said softly. “I must have found out something that was big enough to be a threat. But then why not just kill me? Why leave me like this?” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “In the meantime, I need to do something. I need to help.”
“I don’t know what the plan is,” Hades said. “We have several captured blood elves, although they’re revealing nothing. My mole doesn’t know all the details yet, so we need to wait until he can get to a place of safety. In the meantime, Lucifer, Leonardo, Antonio, and Zamek are trying to get the elven realm gate to work.”
“I’ll talk to the blood elves,” Mordred said. “I speak the language.”
“You sure?” Morgan asked. “I know you’re on edge.”
“I don’t have a better idea,” Mordred almost snapped. “Nate’s in Merlin’s hands. Merlin is working with Baldr and Hera and everyone else who spent a century breaking me apart. What happens if they brainwash Nate? You saw the carnage behind the palace. He did that because he was angry and in a place where his magic was superpowered. Do you want him to get that powerful on a regular basis? To start using that kind of power on Merlin’s enemies? Because we all know where that’s leading.”
“I’ll take you,” Hades said.