Swan Song

In Greenwood He Lies Slain Part 2

When Lock opened his eyes, he saw Ted staring down at him, looking relieved. His arm was somewhere to the side of Lock's head, so he turned to look at it.

The dagger was piercing a black snake, and was stuck in the ground.

"It almost got you," Ted said, pulling his knife back and standing up, then offering Lock a hand. "Didn't really think I'd go that far, did you?"

Lock hesitantly accepted and was pulled to his feet. "You've threatened to kill me once before, remember? It was for the sake of Lily, too."

"There's a difference between killing to protect someone and premeditated murder for the sake of necromancy. I'm not going to kill you. Besides, I don't even know for sure of Chris is dead."

Lock swallowed the lump in his throat. "What if he is?"

Ted's expression softened. "I don't know what I'll do in that scenario, so how about we just remain positive?"

Lock knew how foolish such a thing was. He didn't point it out however. Whether he did it for Ted's sake or for the sake of Ted being on his side, he himself couldn't tell.

"Where's Robin?" Lock finally asked, looking around. "She was supposed to be watching over me."

"She was," replied Ted. "Then she saw me, and flew away. She can fly now, by the way, so that's weird. Said someone was calling to her."

"Vanitas, then."

"How do you figure?"

"From the things she's told me, I think he's forcing her to obey him somehow. She wants to be free of him."

"Well that bites."

"But none of our concern."

Ted nearly sighed, having expected his uneasy ally to say something along the lines of helping her. Still, he merely reminded himself that this was Lock, and all surprise went away.

"How'd you get here, by the way?" Lock then asked.

Ted reached beneath the collar of his shirt and pulled out a silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon. "Lily used this to switch me with someone from this realm. I'm only here while I'm wearing this. She's pretty strong now, you know."

"Did..." Lock started, then paused to weigh his options. He could confront Ted, and risk a fight. Still, what sort of risk would it be, really? He knew the other's weakness in this realm now, and Ted didn't seem like he learned any new tricks. "Did Lily send you to kill me?"

Ted looked away. "She's not herself anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"She's.... She's colder. It's like she's not a human anymore. When I talk to her, it feels like I'm talking to a statue. I think it's got something to do with her powers."

Lock shrugged. "Magic always comes with a price. That could well be hers. It should fix itself as soon as she stops."

"Like I can get her to do that. She uses it for everything nowadays."

"You can try telling her about the cost."

"She doesn't listen to me anymore," Ted confessed. "She made a deal with Narcissa. She tried to have you killed. I don't know how to get through to her, Lock. I don't even know if she can be saved."

Seeing the weakness before him, Lock struck, putting a hand on Ted's shoulder. "We'll just have to try, right? If we can fight off a fallen angel, we can beat some snow magic."