Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

THE DRUID COULD FEEL the buzz of the shard through their satchel as it rested against their leg. It was a buzz unlike any other they'd felt, and they hadn't been able to ignore it since they got out of the freezing cold and rush of adrenaline. They didn't know why the others hadn't made much of a note of their own, but perhaps they were less attuned to magic than Chalice.
They knew the boy was something similar when they felt the same familiar buzz coming from his aura. It didn't make sense as to why his entire being felt the same, so they didn't come to the conclusion until everyone else made the same realization, and they figured it wasn't so crazy after all.
It was curious, how did a shard manage to become a living child? The maid had more to do with all of this than they'd understood before, and she was quickly becoming a necessary puzzle piece. The puzzle would have to be solved later, though, because it was time to go back for Morgana and the final shards.
Kit was moving faster than anyone else, a rabid determination in his amber eyes as he helped everyone pack and prepare once more for the journey. The tone among them was serious, like they knew they could be walking towards their deaths, and potentially the death of the entire kingdom.
It was a heavy thought, one Chalice tried to avoid until now. There was no escaping it anymore--the lives of thousands, possibly millions, lay in their hands. If something goes wrong, the whole kingdom pays the price.
A pit of dread settled at the base of their stomach.
The sky was dark when they began their journey. Kit paid the woman his thanks, a lump of money he surely didn't think he'd ever use again, and they took their horses and carried on into the night.
Eurion and Chalice took up the rear, staying several feet away from all the others.
"Are your hands okay?" she asked, breaking the silence with a voice of concern.
Truthfully, their hands and wrists had been screaming since the mountain. They nearly snapped their wrists catching that statue's arm, and they paid no mind to the state of their hands as they dug the sharp scrap of metal from the stone. They did the same retrieving the shard from the Unseelie woods, cutting up their palms to get it out.
"They're alright," the druid said, clenching the reigns tighter. Now that the pain was at the forefront of their mind, though, they accepted how bad they really were.
Eurion didn't buy it, either. "Let me see."
They sighed and lifted one hand from the reigns, exposing their dirty, lacerated palms in the bright moonlight. It wasn't very good light but it was enough for Eurion to look at Chalice in disbelief.
"You've got to get those cleaned up and bandaged, they're gonna get infected."
"I'll be fine until we get Excalibur. We can worry about my hands when we have it."
The thief let out a sigh. "You'll be weaker if you're infected, and I feel like hands are pretty important in a fight."
"I don't fight with my hands, I fight with my brain," they replied.
"That might not be how this turns out, Chalice," she insisted. "We're going against a whole army, and we're down one very powerful man. You might need to pick up a sword."
"I'd do better with a melee."
"Either way, Chalice, we need to get you patched up when we stop or you'll be weakened. You're one of our most important, we can't afford to lose you."
Chalice went quiet. They knew each one held value, but they didn't think themself any more important than Eurion or the others. Selene was their best soldier, Giselle, clever and powerful. Lionel could sing whole armies to sleep and Morgana had more to him than he wanted to let on.
"I can't be more important than you, Eurion," they said.
Eurion was quiet for a moment, longer than Chalice expected from a chatterbox like her.
"I'm just a thief, Chalice, nothing special about me. You guys needed seven and I just happened to be there."
"I've never met a soul as quick on their feet as you. And your hands, you're as slick as a faery, Eurion. I don't think it was that easy to get into the castle and steal a book even on a busy day, but you did it. We're all too clumsy to do what you can do," they insisted. Their mouth was already getting dry.
The two didn't say anything more until they stopped to rest by a creek, the sun peeking up over the horizon. They were all too tired, it would be hopeless to fight in their state. Sleep was a necessity.
Chalice just wanted to get some rest, but they were stopped by Eurion, holding a flask and bandages in her hands.
"I think you should rest, Eurion," Chalice insisted. "I'll be okay, really."
There was no getting out of this. Eurion wasn't often stubborn, in fact she was possibly the most mutable among them, but Chalice knew her enough to know she wasn't backing down.
With a roll of their eyes, the druid gave in, sitting down on a damp boulder beside the river.
Eurion poured fresh water over Chalice's hands, the chill of it making them hiss in pain.
"And this," they murmured after a moment, eyes focused in the bandages as she wrapped their hands carefully.
The thief looked up. "What?"
"This is another reason you matter. You can never have too many people that give too much of a damn."
Her round lips quirked into a smile. "I think the only one here who didn't give too much of a damn was Morgana."
"He cared more than you'd think. In fact, I'd argue he cared the most."
"I don't miss his pessimism," Eurion chuckled. "I think Kit's a little bummed his bicker buddy is gone, though."
Chalice followed her gaze to the prince, sitting against the tree throwing lazy pebbles into a stream. "I think he liked him."
"Of course he did, he's just too stubborn to do anything about it."
The druid laughed, looking down at their now bandaged hands. "Don't tell him that, he might take away your shard."
Eurion settled onto a patch of grass, yawning into her fist. "I'd like to see him try."
For once, Chalice fell asleep with ease. Their dreams were full as always, brimming with metaphors and messages they couldn't decipher, but they slept clear until Eurion poked their cheek, pulling them awake.
"You're not the early bird this time," she said, and Chalice opened their eyes. All were awake but one.
"At least I beat that log, if I ever sleep longer than Kit just know there's something wrong with me." The two shared a chuckle.
Selene already had fish cooking, and Giselle was happily enjoying a variety of leaves and berries, the two wide awake and whispering to each other. Lionel looked a little less... metallic now, picking apart a cooked fish with his fingers.
"Anyone gonna wake the corpse?" Eurion asked, stepping closer to him.
"Let him sleep a little longer, he was up late," Selene said, giving her nephew a long look. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she was wide awake and Chalice wouldn't dare tell her to get more rest.
When Kit finally did wake up, it was when they were all ready to leave. Selene prodded his leg with the toe of her boot, pulling him awake with a groan.
They continued on their journey, riding until the stars once again dotted the sky and the castle came into view, lit by the faint red glow of torches.
The village stretched out before the castle, still bustling despite the night. They disguised themselves as they passed through, and Chalice took the chance to observe the people.
It didn't matter that these people could turn them in the moment they recognized one of their faces. They were people, women and children and men who didn't know better, who had no idea of the darkness upon them. Of the man who threatened them with every second of his rule.
They stuck to alleys and corners, separating enough that no one would recognize them all as a single group. They reunited soon once they cleared the busy village, but Selene was nowhere to be seen.
"She's finding a way in," Giselle said, tossing a worried gaze to the castle, then back down to Selene's bracelet on her wrist.
The druid froze when they felt a presence at their back, the faint aura of a blade inches from Eurion's back from where she sat behind Chalice.
"Get off your horses," said a man. "And come with me if you plan to live."
"Absolutely no-"
"Kit," Chalice hissed. Men were surrounding them now, swords drawn.
Guards.
"Just do what they say," Giselle murmured, and they all did as they were told, sliding from their horses and raising their hands.
The guards led them straight to the castle, marching them right through the gates. Sure, they were all being marched to their deaths, but it was laughably simple to get through the walls like this. The guards knew they weren't at their best. They weren't afraid to take them right where they needed to be.
Chalice tried to remain calm, sharing glances with Eurion as they were led through the portcullis and into the courtyard, then ushered into the keep where the King awaited them at his throne.
They wouldn't get there on time, though. Once through the door and away from the hoards of guards at the ready on the walls, one of the men ushering them through turned. In a matter of several kicks, punches, and deadly slashes of a sword, they were on their own, and Chalice quickly realized that the guard was no man.
"Good job, Selene," Giselle breathed as the lady knight pulled her helmet from her head.
"Thank God for armor, I was getting ready to tear that skirt, Giselle," she announced.
The Seelie grimaced. "Where did you put the dress?"
Selene didn't speak.
"Come on now, why--"
"Enough, we need to run," Chalice interjected, pulling Eurion's arm down the hallway, others joining suit.
They took the lead, using their senses to avoid run ins with castle guards. This felt far too easy, though.
Before they did anything, they needed Morgana back. They all knew this journey would be hopeless without him.
They weaved their ways through the halls, not walking in a single group to avoid suspicion, until they all met back up near the entrance of the dungeon.
Finally, the ambush came.
Chalice reached out to the guards to weaken their minds, but there were too many. The six of them did their best to fight off the soldiers. Lionel tried to sing, but some of them protected their ears, and he only knocked down a few.
Somewhere in the fray of swords and fists and armor, Eurion slipped away. Chalice could feel her descending into the dungeons, sneaky as she could be.
This distracted Chalice for a brief moment, and they narrowly dodged a swing to their throat. They picked up a chain from a fallen guard's hand, using it to swing at the guards coming their way. Yanking a guard to the ground, they were grateful for Eurion's insistence at helping their hands, because the thick bandages kept their grip on the chain strong.
The guards were pushing them back now, and they swiftly avoided the bodies in their path. Selene was knocking her guards down without a struggle, and by the time her side was taken care of, almost double the soldiers were surrounding them.
In a panic, Chalice whipped their chain at a helmetless guard approaching, and the metal swung across his cheek. He let out an unholy cry, and Chalice watched in horror as the skin boiled and he fell to his knees.
"Some of them are faeries!" they cried out, continuing to swing. They could feel a burn at their own cheek, though it wasn't crippling. They fought harder, but Chalice knew they would be overpowered.
The druid swung the chain, but a human guard caught it, using it to toss their frail body against the wall. Kit took a nasty cut to the cheek, and Selene was visibly weakening.
Giselle's cry froze Chalice in their tracks. With a brief glance over their shoulder, they noticed a chain around her wrist, steaming as it burned her shimmering skin.
"Don't hurt that one," bellowed a voice, commanding and all-too-familiar.
Everything stopped as they all turned to look at him.
Morgana's hair was far blacker, his eyes much colder, and the crack across his cheek had deepened. He was not weak, hardly anywhere near death, and every ounce of emotion was gone from his body.
"Morgana," Kit breathed.
"You were fools to come for me, you know," he said. "Guards, bring them to the King." His chilly eyes settled over them all. "We've been waiting for you."