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Behind them, the three ancient Keres floated in mid-air. They were horrifying and each looked like a rotting corpse. Their faces were pale and wrinkled, their eyes streaming blood. But their gazes were all fixated on me.
"Now!" Merlin bellowed and his voice filled the countryside. The Keres launched into flight, their voluminous cloaks streaming behind them as they aimed for me.
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Chapter Twenty Three
As the three ancient hags separated in the air, Thanatos aimed for Clothos, Ker hurtled toward Atropos and Moros threw herself into Lachesis, knocking me from the Moirae’s grasp. I tumbled to the ground and lay gasping as I tried to fill my lungs with much-needed oxygen.
Lucan shoved through the masses of people around him to get to my side, kneeling next to me.
"My love," he said anxiously. "Are you alright?"
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the mid-air battle above me. All three Keres were warring with the three Moirae in an epic battle that the world had never seen before.
Their shrill shrieks split the sky as claws flew and blood dripped the ground below.
"By the gods," he breathed in disbelief.
The Keres fought with everything they had, and the Moirae returned each effort back to them. It was a grotesquely fascinating sight. Scrambling to my hands and knees, I crawled to my mother, turning her over.
"Mother," I murmured, shaking her. "Mother, open your eyes." Her eyes opened and I stared into the silvery depths. "You have to see this."
Obligingly, she lifted her gaze to the sky and then her eyes widened. None of us had ever seen such a thing. We silently sat watching as the scene in front of us unfolded.
Lachesis lunged, her fangs taking a chunk from Moros’ shoulder. Moros screeched and charged back, her claws ripping at Lachesis’ throat. Blood flowed but none of them fell. But then, Moros ducked her head, her cloudy stare directed intensely at me.
"Open the gates!" she ordered. "Open them now."
Open the gates? I was bewildered for a moment before realization washed over me in a cold wave. She was talking about the gates of hell. I quickly appealed to Hecate, muttering my request.
"Hecate, please open the gates. Open the gates," I murmured. When nothing happened, I screamed. "Open the gates!" My voice was shrill and carried far across the Camelot hills and I knew that if Hecate was watching, she would hear.
And the ground opened up.
The horrifying screams from hell floated from the underworld and Moros smiled a deathly, bloody grin.
"It is done, Keeper."
With that, she and her sisters used their remaining strength to drag the Moirae with them into the yawning, black tunnel. The Moirae’s screams were futile, because they weren’t strong enough to stop it. I saw the tips of someone’s black cloak swirling into Courtney Cole 137
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the hole before the other hounds of hell followed them. Then the hole closed up, the grass where it had been completely undisturbed.
Everything was still, as everyone around us remained frozen in the sudden silence.
"It is done," I repeated, wrinkling my forehead. I looked to Lucan. "It is done?"
He nodded. "It must be."
Before anyone could move or resume their fight, I shouted at Hecate. I knew for sure she was watching us now.
"It is done, witch. Do it now!" I cried.
I envisioned her plunging the sword of Zeus into the onyx scabbard next to his throne, freeing the world of the Fates’ rule. I imagined that any minute, we would witness an explosion or something of equal magnitude.
For a moment nothing happened. Everything remained the same and the small skirmishes began to continue around me. Just when I was looking to Lucan in confusion, the earth rumbled and I froze.
The sky’s brilliant red hue faded to cloudy white then to blue. The sun broke free from clouds and began to shine brightly and I lifted my face to its warmth. The undead chieftains were gone and I happily assumed that they were now at rest.
"It is happening," I cried joyfully to Lucan. "We did it!"
Under our feet, as we watched, the brown dead grasses turned green, fluttering lightly as the cool, refreshing breeze blew. Rain began to fall and as it soaked my hair and clothing, I had never been happier in my life.
"We did it!" I cried again, wrapping my wet arms around Lucan’s neck and pulling him down for a celebratory kiss. "We did it."
Over Lucan’s shoulder, I spotted Arthur, still perched on the hill top. His face was confused for a moment, then it regained his customary kind expression. I began to raise my hand to wave to him, when I noticed his gaze harden on Lancelot.
"What…" my voice trailed off as I watched Arthur gesture his knights into formation. They each picked themselves from the ground, even Kay who had been killed, and formed themselves behind their king, ready for battle.
"What is going on?" I asked in bewilderment. The knights were no longer the hardened killers that they had been a moment ago, but they clearly were riding toward Lancelot now.
And then it occurred to me.
"Oh, dear god no."
Time had been restored, which meant that Arthur was being forced into fighting Lancelot for sleeping with Guinevere. Mordred, who was even now riding directly behind the king in the champion’s normal position, had arranged for Arthur to find Guinevere and Lancelot together. Arthur had no choice but to act. Lancelot and Guinevere had committed treason and Arthur was nothing if not fair.
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"Father!" I cried. Ares turned his large head toward me, his eyes filled with sadness.
"I know, Harmonia," he replied tiredly.
He knew that Mordred’s actions would be the death of Arthur this day and there wasn’t anything we do to stop it. In resignation, he turned to face the advancing knights, all of them his brothers-in-arms.
Just when I thought we had won, it appeared that once more, all would be lost in Camelot. But this time, it was simply history repeating itself. Sadness welled in my heart as I observed the scene around me.
My mother, tattered and beautiful, lay curled on the green grasses. Lancelot, powerful and brave, stood ready to fight a legion of his brothers. My husband, skilled and strong, stood at my father’s side. I climbed to my feet and crossed to my mother’s side, picking up her limp hand.
"Lancelot," Arthur called. "You were my most trusted knight. I valued you above all others in my army. You were as a brother. But you repaid me by dishonoring my wife. What have you to say?"