Page 75 of Kings and Monsters

Merlin kissed Nimue's hand, selfishly thanking every god he knew of that she wasn't a mindless beast.

"Don't worry," he said. "Rosa won't stand up Gwyn. He's got a soft spot for her, but she won't push him."

"I have a bad feeling about all of this," Nimue said irritably. "We shouldn't be meddling with gods. Do you think it will be a good thing to return Glastonbury to him?"

Merlin shrugged. "It needs magic, and Gwyn will be able to restore it. It will take the pressure off me to maintain it. The only thing I'll miss is having a place to be able to hide."

"You are powerful enough now that you don't have to hide," she reminded him. "It wasn't just Gwyn I was referring to. Rosa's going to be angry."

"Rosa is always angry. She'll get over it." Merlin gave her a dashing smile. "Besides, you'll protect me."

"Will I? I want it to officially go on record that I don't support what's about to happen."

They were interrupted by voices in the dark and the arrival of Arthur and Rosa. She looked tired and hollow-eyed, but at least Arthur had convinced her to shower and change. Merlin could just about smell the Wylt madness on her.You should've gotten her out weeks ago, you dumb bastard.

"A trip to Glastonbury! It'll be great to see the old Tor again and marvel at how much everything has changed," Arthur gushed with an enthusiasm that wasn't faked.

"You might change your tune once we get there," Merlin said dryly.

"You mean once I see how much you've screwed everything up?"

"That too." Merlin held out his hand to Rosa. "Come along, Rhosyn. We have a god to summon."

Once they arrived at the icy lake, Merlin opened the ley line, and they stepped through onto the wet Glastonbury streets.

Merlin was pleased it was still in one piece after he had taken out his magic, but if he looked closely, he saw the signs of decay. There was an air of sadness about the place, with facades ofbuildings looking a little more rundown. Trees were dying, and there a pervasive sense of wrongness about the land.

"Not a moment too soon," he murmured, his deep guilt surfacing.

In a moody silence, they walked to the Tor, its solitary tower jutting out like an accusatory finger from the bare, grassy land.

"You're up, Rhosyn," Merlin said. "Best not keep his royal deadness waiting."

"Maybe don't call him that to his face," she replied and placed her hand over the bronze bracelet on her wrist.

The pressure in the air broke as a deep rumbling started beneath them. Clouds gathered overhead, choking the starry sky as the storm rushed in. The horns of the dead echoed through the earth and a doorway in the side of the Tor opened. Dormach bolted his way through, baying loudly, followed by the thundering hooves of Gwyn and the Hunt. They circled the Tor before coming to rest, Gwyn riding to meet them by the tower.

Merlin watched the heaving mass of the dead surrounding them, and the penny that had refused to drop in the last month finally did.

I should've known, Merlin cursed himself. His temper flared so suddenly that Nimue took his hand and squeezed it hard in an attempt to get him to keep it under control.

"Rosamund Wylt, you don't look well," Gwyn said. He dismounted and took her hands in his. "What's happened?"

"Um…nothing. Just Bal," she said, a slight tremble in her voice. "I haven't been sleeping very well. It's nothing to be concerned about."

"I'm glad to see you all the same," Gwyn said, touching her pale cheek.

"I promised you Glastonbury, and here it is. Did you doubt me?"

"Not for an instant." Gwyn smiled under his helm as he knelt down and buried his hand in the icy earth. "Now to fix what has been broken for too long."

As much as Merlin wanted to throttle him, he couldn't help but stand in dumbfounded awe as Gwyn's magic poured into the earth, igniting and replenishing the dead ley line. Even Arthur, who had no magical abilities, stumbled at the unseen wave of power that surged through sky and stone.

"There, it is done at last," Gwyn said, standing back to his feet. He fixed Merlin with cold silver eyes. "I trust you have learned your lesson when it comes to meddling in the affairs and property of gods."

"Ha, no. Probably not," Merlin laughed. "The schemes of gods need to be messed with occasionally to make sure they don't get too full of themselves or try to take what doesn't belong to them."

Gwyn glared at him, but Merlin held eye contact. He wasn't going to allow this particular god's desires to screw with his family. Gwyn turned to Rosa, breaking first.

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