MORDRED

The light faded as the Royal had now fallen asleep. But the books were pointless to read. Filled with the knowledge that they had already read. That they had already studied. History that Hermes had taught him. Journals of people that had lived decades, centuries ago. And a few of them were written in a language that Mordred could not understand.d Probably ancient, he recalled.

He took a look at the royal whose fingers were tight around the grip of her blade.

Mordred did not realize when they fell into a deep slumber. But not for long.

They were standing down in Herme's office. Filled with dust and books as usual. And with an empty bottle of Nectar. As usual.

They rolled their eyes tired as they let down the mask from their face, letting down the pile of books.

When they opened the book on the top, their eyes snapped wide open.

Blood was painted around the dark printed words.

Failed.

Mordred changed the page. Failed. And again. Failed. They took another book. And then there was one more.

Failed.

Their eyes moved up to the glass, looking at their reflection. Their flesh is rotten, their eyes pale like milk, and a dark mark is drawn over from their exposed chest.

Fulfill your cause.

‘’Hey,’’ Hephaestus' hand rested at the top of his shoulder.

Cold sweat showers on his brow. His hands found his pistol and aimed fast at Hephaestus’s chin.

He panted hard, tired as the gunsmith moved their hands up, far away from him.

‘’It’s just me’’ Hephaestus reassured him with the moonlight bathing their smile. ‘’You were shaking and I thought'' They moved their wounded actions fingers around, trying to explain their actions.

It’s so simple for the healer to pull both triggers and listen to the gunshot. It’s easy for him to forget that he once knew them. It’s easy for him to fulfill his cause and return to Hermes.

But his eyes could not escape their wounded hands. How fragile they were from the fire they had cast.

‘’Does it hurt?’’ He moved the pistols back, leaving them to sigh heavily, relieved.

‘’Nothing much.'' They chuckled and looked down at the grass in pain.

‘'You are a worse liar than me.’’ He forced a cold laugh and pulled their burned grips closer to his.

‘’Go ahead, dear’’ they teased.

Their skin was heated against his cold thumbs which were circling the wound. A wave of energy let his body move towards theirs.

There was just the song of the cold wind pushing the leaves to shake, accompanying the night. It could help Mordred relax, and think about the dream he saw, and what he had to do. What he must do.

And then Hephaestus spoke. ‘’What did you see?’’ They asked with a frown.’’You were shaking like a leaf’’

That I will fail. I will die because I failed to fulfill my cause.

‘’What about you?’’ He changed the subject. ‘’You see nightmares too’’

‘’So you admit you have nightmares'' Hephaestus laughed.

Mordred cleared his throat and nodded slowly.

‘’You can be afraid of something you know’’They explained.

Mordred did not reply instantly as he let out one more tired breath.

‘’What are you afraid of then?’’

‘’I am...'' They licked their lips and laughed again. ‘’Terrified of spiders. Too many legs’’

Too many eyes. Mordred shut his eyes and grunted

‘’I am afraid of fire too’’

‘’Is this why you hide your power?’’

They giggled but Mordred could tell that they were hiding more.

‘’It’s not mine to begin with’’ they whispered. ‘’I don’t deserve to use it’’

But you have used it.

‘’Were you afraid of Leviathan?’’His gaze shifted to the jar that was now too quiet for them to stay awake.

‘’I was afraid they would use my secret against me. I was not afraid of their status or strength.''

‘’Did you like it when you killed them?’’ He asked, pressuring his thumb at their calf. Spirits, this part was heavy enough to heal. ‘’Well, hurt them.’’

They did not answer.

Why are they still alive? That was something that Mordred was not prepared for. No mouth, no heart, no brain and they could still talk. But in the end, the entire situation was something that he was not prepared for.

‘’You can tell me the truth’’He admitted. ‘’I hated them too. Not as much as you did but…’’He pressed his lips to a thin line and forced and almost half smiled. ‘’They probably deserved it.’’

‘’I think that they deserved more’’ Hephaestus laughed bitterly. ‘’Just seeing them like that…’’ Their hands moved slowly to their mouth, realizing what they just said. There was a sudden cold thread around their eyes which made them look far from Mordred’s presence.

‘’I can throw the jar in the water if you want’’ He suggested.

They replied with a tired laugh, but Mordred could tell that they liked the idea of them being lost forever.

He then, asked one more question‘’Are you afraid of Ma’at?’’

Mordred regretted that question as even with the light missing, he could still notice the fade of their grin.

He was not blind to not seeing the sudden change in their face and voice every time his name and presence came up.

‘’It is hate, not fear’’ they explained slowly. ‘’I hate what he does with his actions and the way he thinks’’

‘’Will you kill him?’’

‘’Maybe?’’ They lifted their shoulders.

‘’What if you do it?’’

They gulped.

‘’Is this what are you afraid of? Taking a life? Or taking his?’’

He asked again and lowered his eyes, noticing how they were tapping their fingers in the middle of the air

’’Tell the truth’’ His thumb pressed tight to their wrist, feeling their fast pulse.

When it became slower they finally spoke. ‘’I don’t like changes’’ They explained. ‘’Changes that I cannot predict. When my first work ended up working differently than the way I expected expecting’’Their voices almost trembled. ‘’I did not react the best? And…’’

There was almost a tear growing from the right eye‘’ What if my actions will make things worse? Like before with the potion? What if...?

They did not speak after that.

So Mordred decided to speak. ‘’I don’t like people,'' he admitted.

‘’I never noticed’’ They replied with sarcasm.

‘’I am afraid of the stares, everyone looking and waiting for something to see’’ He cleared his throat.

His face flushed when he thought, letting out the words. Afraid that his honesty will break and show more of his side. Weaknesses, useless. Failure.

‘’Is this why you are wearing the mask?’’Hephaestus asked him.

He shook his head slightly. ‘’Some of it. I am also afraid of talking to people.'' He tapped his fingers into their knuckles.

‘’You talk to me’’ Hephaestus reminded him with a smile. His eyes moved up to their eyes. Heart rushing and breathing heavily.

‘’And you are still holding my hand’’ They grinned.

Mordred snapped his hands far from theirs and turned away, face heated.

‘’Forget about it’’ He grunted.

‘’No, continue. You will surely make tons of friends if you hold hands with them’’They kept laughing.

Mordred felt his anger grow but for a peculiar reason, it did not feel like anger.

He then grinned. ‘’I do not need friends, especially if they are like you’’

Hephaestus leaned to his side. ‘’Isn’t it funny though that you are still talking to me?’’

There was a long pause, letting the healer study their face, their eyes, their posture. He had paid so much attention to their trouble, to their flaws that he hadn’t realized how handsome they were. Like an actual bird getting out of a fire pit.

‘’Let’s’’He faced away, feeling his face turning warmer. ‘’Let’s rest.’’

‘’You keep my secret, I keep yours'' They elbowed him and rested their eyes closed.

But Mordred had more questions. ‘’I had never talked to a Phoenix holder that much before’’ He admitted. Hestia was just like them but there was no connection or a normal conversation with her. Just nods and teases.

His words surprised them.‘’What do you want to ask?’’

Mordred stretched his neck and faced them once more.’’Is it true that you can feel when when’’He looked at the sky and closed his eyes for a moment?

‘’When someone like you dies?’’ He faced them, noticing a dumb look on their face.

‘’Uh, I do yes, it feels’’They stretched their wrists. ‘’Like stabbing but when a line, dies…’’

‘’A line?’’ Mordred asked, confused.

‘’When a Phoenix holder dies naturally, none gains their powers. So, a line dies. And it feels terrible’’They forced another laugh.’’ And,’’ They moved their free hand closer to their body, letting their fingertips dance around the winter air. ‘’I cannot feel cold anymore. I can remember what cold feels like. ‘’

One long breath. ‘’I can deceive myself that I am cold but I cannot feel it.’’

Mordred changed the subject instantly, remembering Hermes’ lessons‘’But why does so little exist? I read that you got hunted, killed but…’’

‘’I am not sure,’’ Hephaestus frowned, face still heated. ‘’At first, I lived normal, not in nomads but Prom…’’They stopped talking and took a deep breath. ‘’The previous holder told me that people were keepers of a secret,’’

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

‘’A secret,’’ Mordred arched his brow, amused by how important they actually can be. That he had to keep them alive. That he might not live because of their use.

‘’I am sorry dear but I know nothing more.’’They teased him.

He shook his head fast and faced away once more, whispering that ‘’it’s alright.’’

They saved his life. They stood in front of Nephthys. After countless times he had insulted them and tried to hurt them and they still were standing next to him as if nothing had happened.

For the mission. He thought. They needed him by their side just like he needed them. Revenge and purpose. Both of them wanted something that they could not reach alone. It was just convenient. A deal was made in silence and no one could

Nothing more. Nothing less.

A few minutes passed and the guard returned, staring at Mordred surprised that he was still awake with Hephaestus resting close to his shoulder. And with his face uncovered.

Mordred rolled his eyes and asked him strictly’’’Anything?’’

‘’No boss’’He replied with a quick laugh. ‘’None to attack us’’

‘’You can rest,'' they whispered, standing up. ‘’I will guard now. Can’t sleep’’

‘’Something about the books?’’ Ukko grabbed one of them and showed them up.

They shook their head and looked down, ashamed.

‘’It’s hopeless ‘’They grunted. ‘’I shouldn’t agree with you’’

‘’But you agreed’’ The guard smiled, pointing at them with his index finger and his thumb up like the shape of a small pistol.

‘’No turning back now’’

‘’We need a proper plan,'' Mordeard said steadily. ‘’We can’t proceed without a plan. And if I do not figure this out,'' his breath quickens as long as his breath

The guard agreed with an inconvenienced nod and showed the one book that Mordred had not read. It was the size of a journal, thin, ruined old pages, almost useless. They were tired of reading and trying to find answers that they did not want to be found.

Both of them stood up with Ukko opening the journal, to find out that even the moonlight could not make visible the words on the blank pages.

Mordred pressed their lips into a thin line and shook a yes.

Pointless.

‘’What if there is something more?’’Ukko asked, turning the blank pages over and over again.

‘’What more? ‘’Mordred said amused.’’It is just an empty journal.’’

‘’Yeah, but why did Lancelot put it inside?’’ Ukko’s eyes shifted to the end of the leathered cover and scratched it.

‘’I don’t know, I probably wanted to write about their last days there. Or write poetry’’

‘’They wrote poetry?’’ Ukko tilted his head to the right. ‘’Anyway, trust me on this it is not just a-’’

And then, after one scratch something snapped from the cover. The guard had scratched the end of the journal, letting out something shine. Both of them moved their heads close to one another to focus on the shining object.

Moonlight stone. Stuck to the thin cover to hide everything like a seal. Ukko grabbed it fast from the book, making the letters appear bright like stars attached to the night sky.

''Shit'' Ukko's smile was visible in the bright letters

‘’How did you know that it was something there?’’Mordred asked, confused as they changed the pages from the beginning.

‘’I saw them packing things fast, panicked.’’He explained. ‘’But they stopped and studied this one before they moved it inside.’’ He took a deep breath. ‘’They shouldn’t hesitate like this just to write poems’’

Mordred raised his left brow, surprised at how he caught it so quickly. His fighting was ruthless but even when he seemed to not pay attention, he paid to the details. He was either a secret genius soldier or just a lucky fool. The guard held a tired sigh, noticing how Mordred was looking at him.

‘’Let's Get this over with.’’He said, showing the first page.

There was no date or a name but the handwriting was clean and small, feeling almost two sentences on one line.

The guard rolled his eyes. ‘’This will be exhausting’’

‘’You can sleep if you want’’ Mordred frowned.

‘’And miss what is written?’’ He grinned.

Mordred sighed and started reading the first page.

I don’t know where I am. What year is it? Who am I?

I had forgotten my age, my name, and my face. But I remember everything else so I will write it in the journal that I found down in my dark room.

I remember a pair of eyes watching me, studying me with a hand holding a scalpel. I was tied up for certain because there was no way I wouldn’t fight back. Then, there was cold liquid getting poured into my mouth. The room where I was staying when I was not getting opened up was dark and small, like a cage. Only one plate of dry bread was being served to me every few hours. I got sick of counting them.

And then I started screaming once more with blood getting out of my head.

‘’Be quiet,'' the voice said. It sounded like it belonged to a little girl. ‘’You will wake up the others’’

‘’This is depressing'' Ukko commented.

‘’Again, you can go rest’’ Mordred added again, trying to push him once more.

Instead, he stayed. Mordred sighed and turned the pages till they found something that caught his attention. The writing became messy and the size of the letters was wider.

But there was something more hidden around the letters.

This time there was no restraining. Someone stood in front of me. I remember the sound. Two feet. Almost soundless but the echo gave it away.

‘’Show me your arms’’The voice demanded. It belonged to a man. Calm and soothing, it almost felt dangerous.

I tried to speak but the man seemed to be in a hurry as he snatched my arms and moved two cold stones at each. It hurt worse than the scalpel as instead of losing energy I was getting like thunder striking me down.

Spirits, the stones were glowing crimson red, like blood.

‘’Wait, those are amplifiers’’Ukko commented again. ‘’The man was trying to make the warlocks stronger?’’

Mordred ignored that question as they kept reading they noticed how greedy this person had become about the stones. How many times did they beg the man to give them more? And it seemed that he was pleased to add them down to their skin.

The last two pages appeared and the writing seemed sloped, slow, and almost shaken.

I was hungry for more. I finally stood up alone and opened the odeon cage with a swing of my finger. Suddenly, the wind moved around my fingers and my body. I forgot how it felt. It almost made me cry.

I kept walking to the dark halls till I found a mirror. Even in the darkness, I could see my face. I finally saw my face. It was poked with all the scars the stones left. They always broke when my hunger was finished. The rug I was wearing was covering almost nothing. My hair is gray. My face wrinkled with one of them, and I was old. I was wounded. With one move of the hand, the mirror broke. I wished I could break my face too.

Keeping walking I stood across whispers. It was the man’s voice and another’s. An unfamiliar, old, and raspy.

It was the ruler. The other man said. Murica was his name.

‘’Murica?’’ Ukko snapped, realizing something fast.

‘’Lower your voice'' Mordred whispered.

He wanted something from the ruler. More warlocks. More mortals to become warlocks. He wanted orphans, whores every rat that could be useful to him.

Breaking a curse. He explained. The man’s name was Ma’at.

I was still hungry and kept walking slowly, hoping no none would notice me missing. I did not care what he wanted. I just wanted more of the crystals.

I did not understand how I ended up outside the hall and now inside the forest with my journal. It was a warm summer night. That’s what I knew. I was still hungry.

Then someone snatched me from my arms.

‘’Where do you think you are going?’’ The man growled. His anger snapped and I screamed, attacking him with my hand. A wave of wind pushed around his throat, cutting it off like an apple. I fell on my knees, panting as I saw blood falling closer to the river.

I killed the man. I swear to whoever watches me from above. I killed him, I felt his blood on my skin, at my lips. I killed him.

I killed him for five seconds.

My vision blurred as his hands moved, crawling to his head as they tried to push it back into his body. His eyes were open, watching me so calmly as if nothing happened.

He was just watching, waiting for me to attack again.

Mordred took a deep breath before he closed the journal, even if he hadn’t read the last page. He clenched his jaw and looked far from Ukko.

‘’I can keep reading for you,'' he suggested.

‘’No more reading. I…’’His eyes fell on Hephaestus. This time, they were sleeping peacefully but Mordred could not help but his heart pounding in pain as his mind rushed to so many thoughts of what happened to them. If the one named Ma’at managed to ruin the person who wrote the journal, what did he do to them?

How can someone do something like this?

‘’They managed to escape’’ Ukko said, reassuring Mordred that everything worked out in the end. ‘’Lancelot and someone named Neptune found her.’’

Mordred let out a breath of relief.

‘’So this is the one who’’Ukko tried to speak and moved his gaze to Hephaestus, frightened when he realized.

‘’They said they wanted to break a curse’’ Mordred tried to change the subject, forcing himself to keep his calm. ‘’But what?’’

‘’You said that curses can break easily if you break the seals first’’Ukko thought.’’And he has a dagger that can open a window. What if..?''

‘'Sedna made the daggers'' Mordred explained. ''She was someone who was thinking a step ahead.’’

A laugh came out from the jar. Both Ukko and Mordred turned to the wide blanket.

‘’Why is it laughing?’’ Ukko asked Mordred.

They replied with a shrug and moved closer. Their fingers unfolded the fabric and found that Leviathan’s eyes were glowing with the color green.

‘’Talk’’Mordred commanded. ‘’Or I will throw you off a cliff’’

You weren’t that aggressive a few minutes earlier

His eyes narrowed.

‘’How would a mortal break curses?’’ He asked them once more.

Mortal? OH. Leviathan began laughing once more hysterically, bringing chills down Mordred’s spine. You are so far from the truth.

‘’What?’’

Then again, you were always innocent. Of what was going under your nose. But.. A long pause. Unfortunately, you won’t have enough time to learn more. They said as if they were sharing the same secret with him.

His hand moved high to his torso, clenching the fabric of his blouse tight.

How do they know?

Nothing.

Then, Ukko rolled his eyes and let the blanket back into the jar. ‘’They talk too much’’He sounded almost irritated.

Mordred nodded. ‘’They are a headache.’’

‘’But, what were they talking about? What do not know?’’

They did not answer and returned to the book.

‘’Curses are confusing'' The guard scratched his head, changing the subject.

Mordred agreed in silence.

Then, the guard moved his eyes to Mordred, worried.‘’But what if, he manages to break it?’’

Mordred clenched his jaw once again.

‘’It cannot be possible that this dagger was the actual one he wants.’’

‘’How so?’’

Because Hermes gave it to me. Mordred thought in pain. He wouldn’t give me something like this. He wouldn’t be careless. Unless…

A harsh headache made the healer return to one of their hidden memories. They were dozing at the library, reading the secrets of the Royals. Or at least the way they were hiding them. Secret rooms, special ink, and paper, and even locks made specifically for trapping thieves and intruders.

But they were far too tired to study. Even the light was ready to vanish from the ceiling.

And then, their dreams were cut off by the sound of a falling book. They snapped out fast, looking left and right for anyone else inside the empty library. But none was there. So they stood up and searched for the book that fell. It was rather close to their side, heavy and far ancient for someone to touch it, rather than make it fall.

Their fingers touched it delicately and tried to understand the ancient letters of the title. Nothing. But that did not mean their attention wore off as they kept scrapping the almost ruined pages with a tingling sensation that someone was watching him.

Now, Mordred could understand what the book said. The Curses of Sedna. Each one specifically and then one page was about the daggers. And about the first dagger that was built. Legends, telling that if it went to the wrong hands or…

Break it then the curse…But how did it… His eyes drew to Hephaestus once more. He had heard about their files. About their past that they were surviving on the streets. How bad could they be at stealing? And something of value?

No, It can’t.‘’ What matters’’Mordre finally spoke again, clearing the burn from his throat.’’Is to take it back.’’

He was ready to leave but he could still see Ukko’s worried expression.

‘’Talk’’ He asked.

‘’The journal doesn’t make sense,'' he admitted.

Mordred shook his head. ‘’Sometimes amplifiers can mess with your mind. Like drugs.’’

‘’Yes I mean they did cut his head off.''

‘’Again.’’ Mordred almost scolded him. ‘’Mess with your mind. She might have seen nightmares.’’

‘’But the name of the Ruler’’Ukko kept insisting.

‘’What about it?’’

‘’Muricia was a Ruler,’’Ukko thought and kept talking.’’Almost one hundred years ago’’

Pain showed to the healer’s body, mind, and soul, listening to those words. The guard tried to explain that it was the grandfather of Boudica. He had read a ruthless one in history lessons back to Olympus but that was not bothering them. The thought of something ancient hunting them, trying to kill them was not a fact that could be comprehended. Their heart in pain, their body nibbling as their breath kept thin with a pant.

How many others tried to kill him? How many more did they fail?’

‘’Hey, are you alright?’’ The guard tried to move his hands to the healer but his gaze did not let them go for any second.

They took a step back and looked at the Royal and the Hybrid. Then, back to the gunsmith.

‘’We say nothing’’ Mordred ordered in a whisper, gasping for air.

‘’It is probably a misconception.’’

‘’Uh, how is it …’’The guard asked, confused.

‘’Maybe Ma’at is the name of a title, maybe they are plenty like him from years ago.’’

‘’But the journal’’

‘’Listen’’Mordred turned to him with a rough urn around his throat, keeping his words dry and harsh.

‘’If there was something unkillable in Elysium, we would have known that. The council, Hermes would have known.’’

‘’And you think that he would tell you?’’

Those words made Mordred’s eyes snap, looking down upset. Of course, he would have told them. They knew almost everything about him. They were one of his closest people. Something as important as this should have been known to them and to Babel.

‘’We keep it a secret’’ He woke up from their thoughts.

‘’But no more secrets’’ Ukko’s eyes snapped, holding his gaze on the Royal. The one who swore loyalty to. Friend or not.

Mordred noticed it. They agreed to keep no more secrets. To tell the truth. But the healer did not promise.

‘’You want her to find out she is getting ahead to a suicide mission? After what happened today?’’

She had heard him, she had attacked like a frightened animal. Mordred was ready to shoot her but the guard insisted on letting him talk. And this is what happened. She was strong, but Mordred could see how scared she was from the moment she met her back in Diyu.

‘’She will understand,’’ Ukko reassured.

‘’Will she?’’ Mordred’s back burned in pain as they let out those words.

And the guard did not answer. He knew that she wouldn’t.

The guard narrowed his eyes, angry, upset. There was a pinch in Mordred’s heart again. The curse. They thought.

‘’I will rest’’ Ukko moved back.

Mordred shook their head and took a few steps away.

‘’But the truth will come out’’ The guard guaranteed. ‘’I don’t like keeping secrets from her.’’

It doesn't matter.

‘’I can see that’’ Mordred tried to apologize and walked away.

When none could see them, they sat down on their knees, grunting from pain. It kept growing as the cold sweat showered on their face. The pain kept growing as Lord Death was arriving soon. Failure was coming.

‘’Nothing can break a curse’’ Mordred remembered. ‘’It won’t matter’’

They had made up their mind. Nothing has changed. Nothing inside them would. None would make them.

Take the dagger back. Kill the others. Return to Babel. To Hermes.