Darkness Revealed (Guardians of Eternity #4)(79)

The glowing white eyes turned toward her, sightless and yet filled with some awful knowledge.

“Arthur,” Modron rasped, her gnarled finger pointing directly at Morgana. “He comes. He comes for you.”

Ash gasped in fear, but Morgana’s face twisted in fury at the mention of her brother.

There was nothing more certain to stir her ready temper than the mention of Arthur.

“Impossible,” she hissed.

Modron shook her head. “Not impossible. Even now he stirs, his weapon cutting through air like an arrow toward its target. The end is coming.”

With an infuriated motion, Morgana backhanded the seer with enough force to send the woman flying into the wall. When she bounced onto the floor she was dead.

At the sound of the disturbance the door to the bedroom was thrust open and two male fairies rushed in, waving their ridiculous guns as if they could be some sort of help.

“Get her out of here.” Morgana pointed toward the bundle of rags in the middle of the floor. “Now.”

With fearful glances in her direction, the two minions scuttled to grab the lifeless Modron and tugged her from the room. Morgana waited until they had crossed the threshold before she slammed the door shut with her powers.

Damn Modron. The stupid woman had no one to blame but herself for making Morgana lose her temper.

What was the point in having visions if they did nothing but offer vague warnings that made no sense?

Green fire? Her dead brother with some sort of weapon?

It was nothing more than gibberish.

“Your Majesty,” Ash said in soft, fearful tones.

Whirling about she glared at him with impatience. “What?”

He licked his thick, pouty lips, looking as if it was taking all his courage not to toss himself through the window. There were few who would willingly linger when her powers began to fill the room.

“Perhaps we should leave here,” he at last admitted, stumbling over his words. “If the seer speaks true…”

Morgana stepped toward her lover, her eyes narrowed in warning. “You would have me flee from a mere girl? A girl who has no idea of her own powers?”

The fairy wisely fell to his knees, his head bowed in respect. “She can’t follow you to Avalon.”

“I will not return to my prison,” Morgana growled, her hair floating in the surge of power. “Not when I am so close to victory.”

“But the seer…”

She reached down to grasp Ash’s chin, jerking his head back to meet her lethal gaze.

“I allowed Modron and her pathetic visions to keep me imprisoned too long.” She tightened her fingers until she threatened to crush Ash’s bones. By her brother’s rotten blood, she was tired of hiding within the mists of her island. She was a queen. A powerful leader who should be worshipped by demons and humans everywhere. To hell with prophecy, she would make her own fate. “Once Anna Randal is dead I will be free to spread my powers throughout the world. Never again will we be forced to hide in the shadows or to bow to those who are beneath us. It will at last be a world that worships the fairies.”

Ash gave a low groan in pain. “But she spoke of Arthur. What if he still lives?”

“My brother is dead and in his grave,” she hissed. “I should know, I buried him myself.”

Something that might have been relief flashed through the blue eyes. “Then I must call for soldiers. You can’t face her alone.”

“Ah yes, my soldiers.” Releasing her hold on the fairy’s chin, Morgana turned to stalk across the cramped room. “They have proven so terribly useful, do you not think, Ash?”

“There have been…difficulties, my Queen.”

With a swift motion, Morgana turned, her burst of power shattering the mirror that stood in the corner.

“So I am told with monotonous regularity,” she said, her voice thick with disgust. How many fairies had she sent to capture Anna Randal only to be disappointed time after time? Clearly, she had been gone from the world too long. “It seems more likely that my beloved subjects have grown lax over the centuries. Or perhaps they have forgotten just how nasty my temper can be when I am disappointed.”

Ash swayed and nearly tumbled backwards. “No, my Queen, we have not forgotten.”

“Still, I think a reminder would not come amiss.” She smiled, and Ash gave up his efforts and slumped sideways in a deep swoon. Moving forward, Morgana casually kicked his limp body into a distant corner before moving across the room to pull open the small, dark closet. A portion of her seething fury eased as she caught sight of the red-haired imp that hung by his neck from an exposed beam. Few things pleased her more than punishing a traitor, and Troy, Prince of Imps, had proven that he was a turncoat of the worst sort. For a moment she considered the notion of devoting a few hours to stripping the skin off the brawny imp, only to give a shake of her head. She was weary of sending out her incompetent, bumbling fairies to disappoint her over and over. It was time to take matters into her own hands. And this treacherous imp was the perfect means to accomplish her task.

Stepping forward, she chuckled as Troy’s emerald eyes flashed with soul-deep fear.

“Well, well, Troy. It appears that you are to be given a chance to redeem yourself in the eyes of your queen.” She reached up to place a hand on his chest, smiling as he screamed in pain. “If you don’t want to spend the rest of eternity being my plaything I suggest you don’t screw it up this time.”