“I saw past what you did to them. I saw the humanity left behind after you tried to strip it from them. I helped them find it again.” I tensed up with my hand almost closed on the ring. I was going to have to use it, there was no doubt about that.
“Then I guess I’ll have to visit Camelot after I’m done here. I sensed something was wrong recently when I felt Merlin’s magic emanating from the castle, but I assumed it was Arthur playing with his toys.” Guinevere started to shimmer with a faint green glow. “I hope you enjoyed your time with the beasts, because you will never see them again. I will not curse you to spend eternity in torment like I did them, I will simply kill you where you stand and when I visit Camelot—I will lay your head at their feet. If they care for you in the same way you care for them, that will be just more agony for their eternity.”
“You have a chance to redeem yourself, Guinevere.” I took a step back, still feeling the fear inside me. “I know what Arthur did to you and I know why you cursed every man in the castle. You’ve been searching for something ever since you went down this road of vengeance. Excalibur turned on Arthur because of what he did to Lancelot. Camelot was going to fall with or without your curse.”
“It wasn’t enough for Camelot to fall—the man who killed my beloved had to feel the sting of my despair.” Guinevere narrowed her eyes.
“How many men have loved you and died since Camelot?” My hand trembled. I realized I was on borrowed time and if I didn’t act fast, my life was going to end with one flick of the witch’s hand. “The spell didn’t just curse them, it cursed you as well.”
“You’re wrong.” Guinevere shook her head. “I will have my happy ending—I’ll hunt it until the sun consumes the earth—but for now, you die.”
“No!” I shook my head and squeezed my hand to activate the ring.
If I was going to lose my life, I was going to lose it with the men I loved. She was going to them regardless when I was dead, so even a few seconds with them before it was all over was better than nothing. I felt the golden glow engulf me and as I jerked forward through empty space towards Arthur and the other ring, I felt a calmness settle over my body. My father would find the letter. He would assume I was living out my life where I wanted to be. He wouldn’t know I had been slain by a witch. My death might not save the ones in the castle, but at least he wouldn’t know that my story came to an end instead of beginning anew. I had no way to defeat Guinevere.
Perhaps if I had more time, I could have figured it out, but time wasn’t a gift for me. It was a curse for those in the castle and it was simply an hourglass ticking away the final seconds for me. It would hurt them all to watch me die—I just hoped it didn’t consume their humanity. My memory had to be enough to hold them back from the damnation they had endured from the curse. I saw Camelot appear and a second later I was materializing in front of Arthur. The seven had taken a fighting stance with mirrors in front of them. They had been watching. At least I wouldn’t have to explain myself.
“She’s coming!” I ran to Arthur and the seven of them wrapped me up in an embrace.
“We’ll hold her off as long as we can.” Alexander pushed me behind the group. “You have to get away from here.”
“Where will I go? I can’t hide from her. She’s got power that’s beyond anything this world has seen.” I grabbed Braden by the arm. “You have to let me face her. I don’t want to die like a coward running away from her.”
“You have to try!” Boone put his hands on my shoulders. “We’ll hold her off. Just run. Run until you can’t run anymore.”
“Start over somewhere else—forget about us.” Shane looked over at me. “Keep moving, never stay in one place for long.”
“Guinevere’s coming!” Arthur held up his mirror as a green light filled the room.
“Brace yourselves.” Gill held his mirror up and looked at the other guys. “Whatever happens, keep her away from Anabelle.”
“I’ll lay down my life before I’ll let this fucking witch touch Anabelle.” Alexander growled and the room rumbled in agreement.
“Go, Anabelle! Go now!” Shane pushed me towards the door.
“Oh it is too late for that...” Laughter filled the room and Guinevere appeared in a snap of green light. She threw her right hand out and the door immediately slammed, illuminated by her magic’s glow. “You are the main attraction.”
“You will not hurt her, witch!” Alexander broke from the group and circled the witch, putting himself between us.
“How delightful that all of you are so enamored by this mortal girl. She’s so fragile, don’t you know?” Guinevere threw a hand towards me, but before the blinding ball of green light could hit me, Alexander deflected it with the mirror.
“Guinevere, stop this!” Arthur took a step towards her with the mirror held out in front of him.
“Merlin’s magic...” Guinevere sighed. “I forgot how annoying it was. Either way, I will bathe this room in horror before any of you can stop me. Merlin’s relics aren’t powerful enough to hold me off forever.”
“You don’t have to do this.” Arthur lowered his mirror. “It’s me that you want. It’s me that you hate. I am the one who took Lancelot’s life. Punish me if you must punish someone, but Anabelle is innocent.”
“Lancelot was innocent, but that didn’t stop you from swinging Excalibur at his head.” Guinevere’s face erupted in rage.
“He wasn’t innocent!” Arthur’s jaw clenched in anger. “Neither were you. It was betrayal and it destroyed Camelot. It was a mistake for me to use Excalibur in anger, but it doesn’t erase what you did. I loved you, Guinevere. You were my wife!”
“I never belonged to you, Arthur. Lancelot and I were in love long before you ever pulled the sword from the stone. My father forbid us from being together—he demanded that I marry the king. I should have never listened to him.” Guinevere started charging a green light in her hand. “You took Lancelot from me and I will not let death be the end for you. You will suffer for eternity as I originally planned.”
“Just let Anabelle go!” Arthur dropped the mirror as the green light hit him and he his body was consumed in what appeared to be green electricity. It circled him and he froze in place, unable to move.
“No.” Guinevere shook her head. “You will watch her die.”
“We will stop you.” Boone ran forward with his mirror as Randall released an arrow from his bow.