to let it go."
She screamed out as she tore herself away from him. He could see how much pain she was in. The sword wasn't designed for her. She lacked the bloodline or magic to carry it. And if he didn't get it back, the sword would burn her alive.
Summoning his own powers, he approached her slowly until he could pull her back against him. He held her to his chest and covered her soft, warm hands with his cold ones. She trembled against him. The scent of roses enveloped him as he leaned his head down to help steady her.
His heart thundered as he sought to help her any way he could. "Reach down inside, Seren, and force your will onto the sword."
She let out a cry of despair. "It wants me to kill you. I don't want to??
He gentled his voice as he spoke softly to her. "The sword serves you, not the other way around. Focus on what you want."
"I want the pain to stop."
"Then hand the sword to me."
Kerrigan jerked his head up as he heard the last voice he expected. It was a voice he hadn't heard since the day he'd found Caliburn in the forest. And just as then, it was the same tall, dark-haired man who had tried to convince him to forsake Morgen and travel the road of the straight and narrow.
It was a path he'd gladly refused.
"Brea? Why are you here?" This was a member of the Tuatha D茅 Danann, a group of powerful and ancient Celtic gods who were supposed to fight only on the side of good.
The old god glared at him with hatred and malice. "I'm here to set things right. Caliburn should never have been used by you or your kind. It is a sword meant for the gods and Brighid is tired of seeing it misused."
Brighid was the sister to the Lady of the Lake, the nymph who had forged King Arthur's sword, Excalibur. The two swords had been created together in order to bring balance so that no one Merlin would be the more powerful. Caliburn was the steel and Excalibur was the stone.
One sword to rule and the other to destroy. One a sword of light and the other a sword of darkness. It'd been a cruel twist of fate that Kerrigan had been the inheritor of Caliburn's power.
Kerrigan glared at the god. "Caliburn is mine by right of birth and of conquest."
Brea looked at Seren. He held his hand out to her. "You know what must be done, Seren. Return the sword to the side of good where it belongs."
Seren cried out as she fought against the god's powers. "Good doesn't lie."
Kerrigan didn't know who was more stunned by her words. He or Brea.
The god frowned at her. "What?"
She trembled visibly in his arms, but made no move to leave them. "You lied to me. You told me?? She leaned her head back against Kerrigan's shoulder. "Take your sword, my lord. I don't want it."
The moment her words were spoken, her hands fell away, allowing Kerrigan to take it back.
Brea cursed. "Imbecilic chit. Have you any idea what you've done?"
Seren was whispering to herself. An instant later, she shot a lightning bolt of her own at the ancient god. "I will not kill for you or anyone else. Ever."
Brea's face hardened. "Then you have damned the world of man to darkness. I hope you can live with that." He vanished.
Kerrigan held the sword with the point against the floor as Seren turned to face him. Her eyes were once again the beautiful green shade that rendered him captivated. He saw the relief in her pale features and the fear.
She ran her hands over her arms as if to warm herself. "How do you handle the sword's power?"
"I get a lot of aches in my head from it."
She gave a short laugh before she sobered. "It burns like fire. It felt like it was trying to devour me."
He nodded. "Power consumes. Always."
She looked down at her open hands, then clenched them shut as if she'd seen something in her palms that had frightened her. "I don't want that kind of power in my hands. Ever again. Only God should have the power of life and death over another."
Kerrigan was completely baffled by this woman. Men killed to possess one tiny iota of what she'd had in her hands a moment ago. No one had ever taken this sword who hadn't fought to the death