Chapter 7

Avalon

The small banquet hall in the centre of the main mansion was rarely used. The Order always used the larger dining area for meals. This room had always been designed for guests of honour and official functions, which involved only the head of the Order and her immediate entourage. For five years it had sat vacant, awaiting a time when it would be needed to be used again.

That day was today and the hall had been decorated with candles and tapestries in an attempt to seem warm and inviting. Nimue knew that the Lord who controlled the lands upon which Avalon stood was a man of action and few words, but it was words that were needed, and needed now.

His name was Gawain. The rumour was that he had inherited the name from Arthur's loyal knight, that he was a direct descendant of that line that met the Green Knight and lived. It was said that Gawain's meeting with the Green Knight tainted his blood, making his heirs Fey, rather than fully human. That was the legend that grew around the man, this Lord of Sommerway.

He had come to Avalon with only a few chosen advisers, rather than the usual procession that marked his arrival or passing through the towns and villages in the land. He meant business and as he entered the banquet hall and greeted Lady Nimue, his features and demeanour made it plain to all that this was no social visit, this was business first, last and only.

"You are certain that it is her?" His voice was deep and seemed to reverberate around the room.

"I am certain. The attack happened far sooner than I had anticipated. Events in the Mortal world may have forced this haste upon Morgana".

"But she is still unaware of the location of the gateway?"

"Yes. The ravens were her scouts, her eyes and ears and spies but we dispatched them. None escaped to report back to her. But they must have sensed an opening in the Veil. We must hope that no raven returned to Morgan after the discovery was made. We must however act now to secure the future of the Fey. We cannot keep Morgana and the Court of Nightmares out indefinitely. The first battle will be here but the New World is where the battle lines are drawn."

"The power the Dark Court has slowly amassed over the centuries. They will be impossible to defeat unless we have the aid of the Entwined. Can it be done?"

"I am convinced she is one half, the nature of the attack made it clear to me. We must hope that the other half is nearby, so that destiny may take its course. Avalon has served its purpose to the Fey. We know what must come."

"Why send the other two as well? They may be needed."

"No. They will be more useful on the other side of the Veil, to help join the Entwined. They may be safer there than here, one of them will be anyway."

"When will you tell them?"

"As soon as I have your permission to give them safe conduct out of the Veil. I just hope they are strong enough, mentally and emotionally, to survive the return."

"The boatman will be ready for your evacuees as soon as you get them ready. I am sorry this is happening now but the larger picture must be dealt with. The Entwined are the mortal world's only chance of holding back the tide of the Dark Court and we must ensure their joining."

"They will be ready to leave by nightfall."

Nimue knew what was to come. She had hoped that this day could have been averted, but now she recognised the truth within, that this was always the way events were destined to transpire. Now she had to trust that their one weapon could be kept safe, and that their one hope of safety could be brought together.

Watcher's HeadQuarters, London

Giles looked anything like a Watcher in a library. He was in a t-shirt and jeans and boots rather than his usual suit and tie. He had seen some of the Watchers shake their heads, albeit minutely, in disdain at not showing proper etiquette in their presence. Giles didn't care at all for their opinions. Research and answers were more important right now than fashion faux pas.

He knew his research would take some time and it would have been better if he had asked for help, but he couldn't take the chance. He was now convinced that a spy was amongst his own camp and that each and every second counted. He felt guilty, leaving Buffy with the spy in her midst unaware of their presence but he trusted her senses would pick up something wrong from within if the spy made their move.

So for now Giles concentrated on the problem at hand. Checking and cross-referencing the data he had gleaned from his volumes at home with those he found at the library. It was long and tedious but necessary work and Giles was a focused precision instrument of knowledge extraction.

He furiously scurried down note after note after note. Every once in a while he would score something out as he found it disproved or out-dated in another volume. Other times he smiled a satisfied smile as he underlined sections of his notes, indicating their relevance to the problem at hand.

A young woman brought him in a fresh pot of tea, which he was thankful for. As she left he sat down, rubbing his eyes and deciding to let his mind rest for five minutes. He slouched into his chair, letting his mind and body relax as he drank. He looked wearily at his notes and the large pile of books on Celtic myth and Faerie Lore that he had found in the Council's library. He heard something tap against the leg of his chair, where he had hung his coat. Another fashion faux pas, perhaps, but he was beyond caring about etiquette. He was even convinced that his decision to hang his coat over the chair was a sub-conscious mark of rebellion, a part of the old Ripper let out to play.

He heard again the gentle tapping on the leg of the chair and looked down to see the source of it. It was his jacket, gently swinging, but the swing betrayed the weight within it. Giles checked the pocket and found a book within.

It was the book of Poe stories that Giles had taken from the remains of the Merrick library. He grimaced, he had meant to check this book when he first had a chance of rest, and had forgotten all about it. He flicked again to the contents page and saw nothing surprising save the faint underlining of one of the stories within, The Purloined Letter.

Giles went to the page listed, and quickly skimmed the pages. He knew of Joseph's love of word games and puzzles, the way his lateral brain worked. It was what had made him such a good librarian.

Giles paused a moment, marking the fact that Merrick was a librarian and checked again the front of the book. He saw no sign of any form that showed which library Merrick had borrowed the book from but there was a catalogue number on the side. He looked at it closely, a smile beamed across his face as realisation struck home. "Joseph, you mad fool."

Giles leapt to his feet as if the seat had suddenly become inhumanly warm and followed the clue that Joseph had left. Giles had seen that the catalogue number wasn't any old number, but the specific cataloguing system devised by Joseph for the Watcher's main library. Giles knew where he was heading, the section that held the diaries of all the previous Watchers from down the centuries. He scoured down the shelves, his eyes reacting at the speed of thought. He found what he saw, and laughed at the wonderful sense of ingenious irony that Joseph had seized upon.

Westbury

Willow tried desperately to calm the angry spirit within her. She could feel every blow the ravens had delivered onto the Tara-eyed dove and she could still hear her beloved's cries of pain and helplessness. But more than that she felt a rage that had not shown in her since that day she nearly destroyed the world. But now it fed into her, consuming her, trying to control her. Her eyes blazed red and black as unrelenting fury took hold of her.

She wanted to lash out, to destroy all that lay ahead of her and all that stood between her and that rage. But a counter-force was inside her, a spirit determined not to let this unwanted anger take control. A spirit armed with determination, strength and an unwillingness to once again allow the dark to control her.

She remembered Tara once saying that they should strong like Amazons, they were apt words for her confusion now and she was determined to honour them. She fought back against the rage, against the blackness. Willow could hear footsteps climbing the stairs and heading towards the door. She calmed herself, allowing her thoughts to turn towards happier memories of Tara and the safety she gave her. Willow had often done this here, in this room, when her melancholy had reached its lowest ebb and she had felt like giving into it. But now she felt Tara within her again, the warmth of love and protection that she had offered. Willow opened her eyes as the footsteps stopped at the door and a gentle knocking sounded. She smiled, her eyesight was clear again but she knew she had to explain all to Buffy.

She looked around the room, her mind clear again. It was then she noticed the blood from beneath her pillow. She lifted her pillow to see the blood seeping from a small onyx shard. Willow could sense the magic, sense the rage emanating from the shard and replaced the pillow. Willow crossed to Dawn's bed and lifted the pillow and noticed a small drop of blood there too. She nodded and made her way to the door as she heard the footsteps stop and the knob turn, her resolve face covering her features. Now this wasn't magic-fuelled anger, it was the real deal.

Dawn opened the door to the bedroom. "Hey Will! You awake? We need you downstairs. Giles is on the phone and he sounds really excited!" She asked in a friendly tone but she could see straight away that her friend was less than happy. "What's wrong?"

"I think I know what is going on here but I need to speak to Buffy and you and Giles. I don't trust the other three right now."

"Okay. We'll brave face it until Giles comes back then we'll pow-wow. Is it bad?"

"Could get very bad. Very bad indeed."

The two women went downstairs into the study, where Giles was on the speakerphone.

"Good morning, Charlie!" Exclaimed Willow as she entered. "Is this a good news call or a bad news call?" Willow saw that Dawn and Buffy had allowed themselves a small smile at her reference.

Giles chuckled. "Yes, Willow, that joke had never occurred to me. But in answer to your question it is a mixed bag really. Good news is that I have uncovered far more than expected about Morgana and Avalon. Bad news is that the time is as always against us. I believe things are now coming into motion that have been waiting centuries to happen."

"Can you give us a hint? Should we be circling the wagons?" Buffy's voice was stern and authoritative. "Are these guys going to attack us or do they have bigger fish to fry?"

"Unfortunately, both, I believe. We have information in our possession at the house that they sorely need so the attack is inevitable I am afraid. But they do have a wider purpose, one I am only now being able to understand. Buffy, if Morgana succeeds, you will have lost a powerful new ally, amongst other things. I will explain more when I get back. I am leaving right now."

"Hurry back, Giles." Buffy's voice was tinged with apprehension.

"I will."

The sound of the receiver being replaced signalled the end of the call and Buffy rose to her feet. "Okay! You heard him. We have a fight coming and we need to be prepared. You found out Morgana's strengths and weaknesses?"

Carter shook his head. "Nothing here, save for a few oblique references. All of them talk about her "champion" but there isn't any real description of him, or her for that matter."

"Not good. Keep looking cos we have to have some sort of way to get through this should she come in all magic guns a-blazing. Speaking of, Will, you ready to take these guys on?"

"Sort of. I had a nightmare whilst I was asleep, has me kinda rocking."

Dawn looked at Willow. "Nightmare? Like I had?"

Willow nodded. "Same set up, different outcome. I don't know if I can handle the magic if it comes on strong."

Buffy looked Willow straight in the eyes. "Yes you can! More over, you're going to have to. Without any idea of a weak spot your magic on hers might be the only chance we have of slowing her down."

Willow let out a heavy sigh, then put on her best resolve face and returned the steely gaze. "Okay, I'll go and double check the alarms."

"Good! Whittaker, Go with her. I'll keep David with me, he may be the one they are looking for. Everyone else, hit the books and grab a weapon. We have a long night ahead."

Willow and Whittaker headed out the door. He was armed with a shotgun that he had raided from Giles' gun cupboard, and was arming it as they walked up the driveway towards the furthest alarm.

Willow checked the runes and symbols on the ground and felt the aura that emanated from the ground. It was working. She smiled, pleased that the magic had stayed, despite her weakening from exhaustion when setting them up.

As if by collective instinct, both Willow and Whittaker stood straight up as they heard a distant sound. It was faint, but distinctive. The engine that they could hear was getting louder and nearer. It was fully mechanical, yet something in the noise and rhythm of the engine made it sound ominous.

Willow turned to look at Whittaker, who now stood shotgun in hand, ready to face off whatever was coming towards the drive. "Do you know ho to use that thing or are you just big with the posing?"

Whittaker answered her with a simple glare. A glare that said in clear tones "How dare you question my abilities at a time like this?"

Willow flashed an expression of "Sorry" to Whittaker before turning her attention back again towards the road.

Buffy could feel the hairs on her neck stand up on end. She knew what it meant. Her Slayer senses had long since been attuned to detect the slightest hint of trouble, especially that of a supernatural origin. And this was supernatural, very supernatural.

Her eyes drifted towards the darkening skylight and saw the source of her apprehension. The sky was filled with the sight of birds. They were too far away to be described in detail, but she was pretty sure that when they were close enough, they would look exactly like ravens.

She could feel the nervousness of those around her. David was already looking for somewhere to hide from the coming storm. Buffy felt pity for him, that a boy so young should see so much death and evil so young in life. That he would lose his mother and father in front of his eyes. She wondered what that would do to him in the long term, but decided to ensure there would be a long term for him.

Buffy looked around the room and saw Dawn standing at another window, sword at the ready. She was proud of her sister and how she had come from being the pest little sibling to the strong woman that now was ready to defend herself and the others in this house.

The rest of the Watchers were armed with axes and swords and all carried pistols. Buffy still didn't like firearms all that much but right now she was thankful for the firepower as she was convinced they would need it.

Buffy turned her head once more towards the skyline and saw that the birds were moving at almost inhuman speed. They had changed altitude, dropping now and making a direct line for the window that Buffy was staring out from, the window to which she could see young David had stood looking out of with her.

"Get down! They're going for the boy!" Buffy roared out the order like a General commanding troops on the battlefield. Her senses and reflexes heightened she launched herself away from the window, grabbing David as she did so.

Willow and Whittaker raced towards the house, seeing the ravens attacking. She could sense the dark magic all around her, trying to penetrate her as the ravens had done in her nightmare.

A roar echoed from behind them and they turned. They saw a large army truck had appeared, driven by a young man with blonde hair and muscular build. The back of truck exploded in a ball of light and five Salnash, the same demons that Willow had killed in the Council's infirmary, leapt out in all directions.

Whittaker looked at Willow as she began to utter arcane phrases and gesture with her hands. He had seen what she had been capable of in the Council's infirmary and he stood back to give her room. In an instance, four of the Salnash flew backwards as if thrown by some invisible force. But the fifth shrugged off the kinetic energy that had bombarded it, and came forward.

Almost on instinct, Willow tried once more with the electrical tendrils that had worked so well in the infirmary. The demon leapt to avoid the Technicolor lines of current that snaked towards it. But the current followed, as if it had caught the demon's scent and was moving in for the kill. It caught the demon's body in its grasp and began to squeeze and impale its victim. The demon writhed and squealed in excruciating pain as it fell to the ground, trying to escape the tendrils of electrical energy that enveloped it. After a few moments the writhing stopped, save for the nervous system jolting to the shocks of the excess energy as it dissipated.

The remaining Salnash had watched the horror show with passive consideration for the witch's power. But now as the last breath left their comrade's body, they found themselves overcome with a single determination: to kill the witch.

Willow reacted on instinct, pulling Whittaker with her as she began to float away from the demons and towards the house. She was acutely aware of the attack happening at the house but felt that indoors and in cover was preferable to being out in the open.

Whittaker was used to flying, of course, but not like this and he didn't like it. But he had surmised his options and come to the conclusion that this was by far the best one. But he saw the hideous beasts coming in, faster and faster, as if they had gauged the speed of Willow's retreat and had compensated for it. He raised the shotgun and aimed for the closest demon. To his left, he heard Willow cry "No!" a split second before he fired.

The shot ripped through the demon's chest, tearing flesh, bone and cartilage before dropping its now lifeless carrier to the ground as it exited through several points in its back. The gun's recoil was more than Willow had prepared for and it broke her hold on Whittaker, spinning him downward as she sped up, the spell still at the same level that carried two, now carried only herself but at an increased velocity. She slowed herself down in a matter of moments but it was all that the demons needed to pounce on the butler.

He fired again, catching one demon in the arm, ripping it violently out of its own shoulder and spinning limply to the ground. But now the gun was empty and the three demons, including the wounded one, leapt as one to where he stood. Whittaker swung his shotgun like a club, hoping to knock one away, or down. He had hoped that at least the wildness of his swing would make them pause, if only momentarily, to allow him some means of escape. But he saw through his terrified eyes that they did not slow, or stop, or pause.

Willow attempted to float upwards again, trying to reach the old man, but the ravens that were attacking the west wing now broke of and 4 of them flew around her, putting her off balance and away from Whittaker. With speed of thought a fireball erupted from her hands and dispelled the ravens in a flash of flame. Willow now desperately tried to make up the distance in time, tried to get close enough for the energy bolt, or fireball, or to pull the old butler away, but she was too late. She watched helplessly as one of the demons tore into his flesh, ripping his torso nearly in two with one swing of its arms. The wounded one used its one good arm to hold tight around Whittaker's throat, squeezing and crushing the life out of its quarry. The third raked its claws across the old man's chest, exposing his organs as his body collapsed in death. She could see now their priorities change, and looked at her with eyes of lustful murder.

Buffy heard the glass break as the ravens flew into the library, the air thick with black feathered death and fearful cawing like war cries from the enemy. She stood up, swinging her sword one way and another, hacking at the ravens as they came at her. She could see amongst the black cloud of feathers and claws that the Watchers were not fairing well. Dawn had retreated into a corner and was doing her best but she had already begun to bleed from the multiple hits from the ravens' pecking. Alan, Diane and Claire all too seemed to be just about holding on. Only David was unscathed and that, she decided, was more to do with her being an effective shield more than luck on his part. But Buffy knew that without help, they would be over-run.

M4, Just outside London

Giles hated the traffic at times like this. He had hoped that his sojourn to the Watcher's library would not have taken so long but now he felt he had time to make up. But he needed to phone first. What he had discovered in Merrick's notes and journal raised questions that he needed answered. But Giles, angry as he was, was determined to keep proper respect.

He sat in the service station at Junction 3 and dialled the number. It was answered almost immediately.

"Hello, Althanea Harkness, who's calling please?"

"Its Rupert Giles, Miss Harkness."

"Hello, Mister Giles. Is everything alright?"

"No. I have found Joseph's notes here at the Council library. I have his notes and journal and you have a lot of explaining to do. How could you not tell me what was going on?"

"I made a promise to my daughter, Mister Giles. And I had hoped it was a false alarm and not the final battle for Avalon."

"Well it may be far more than that. You should have told me. Now I am heading back to my house to collect my entourage and then we are going to come and pay you a visit and I suggest you have the answers ready for when we arrive."

"Yes, I will. Just ensure that you all arrive safely here. I have a feeling that we will all be in great peril quite soon."

Giles put the phone down. He was not used to betrayal. He had in his time as a younger man betrayed others and had even betrayed Buffy on a couple of occasions but he had never been the victim of it, not until now, and he didn't like how it felt for a moment.

He turned the key in the ignition and set off again to the house. He knew he had to get there soon. Had to gather his forces and head to the Coven in Devon and hope to God that Morgana wasn't lying in wait to waylay them en route.

He had read much that had disturbed him and he was determined to find out the answer to one question above all others.

Who, or what, were the Entwined?