The two of them must be a test from God, a test of her betrothal.
A betrothal she never wanted.
Her hand slowly fell from her brow, forming a fist over her heart. She closed her eyes and turned away. Test or not, she would come out the loser. Even if the betrothal was broken, she would never be able to follow her heart’s desire.
Lady Elaine saw to that.
Elizabeth turned away. Her head down, her determined steps took her toward the keep. She would not sit back and be the mild mannered Lady. She knew what she wanted in her life and she would not be bullied into settling for less than that. Allowing Lady Elaine to petition the King for her was a mistake. This was her future, no one else’s. Whether her future was in Camelot or with another in a faraway land, Elizabeth would be the one controlling it.
“My Lady!”
Hearing Beatrix call out, Elizabeth finally looked up at the same time she ran straight into Sir Lancelot. His hands held her shoulders in a firm yet gentle grip steadying her. His sharp blue gaze swept over her. “Is something amiss, Lady Elizabeth?”
She pulled away, collecting herself. “Nay, I was on my way to request an audience with my uncle.”
“King Arthur is not to be disturbed this morning. He already,” Lancelot paused frowning. “He already has a full plate with my wife and her concerns.”
“Oh.” Elizabeth knew without any further confirmation exactly what her ladyship discussed with the King. This was a strong indication why the King’s champion was in a sour mood. She could tell from a glance, he did not agree with what Elizabeth wanted at all. “Then I shall wait till tomorrow. ‘Tis not that important.”
She turned to leave. Lancelot stopped her with a hand on her elbow. “My Lord?”
“If I may, Lady Elizabeth?” She nodded hesitantly for him to continue.
He wrapped her hand in the crook of his arm and led her to the Queen’s rose garden. Beatrix fell in behind them, still toting Merlin’s precious plants in her basket.
Lancelot’s face softened. “Let me start by saying, I understand your wish for a love match. But your betrothal to Lord Rimmon carries a weight you cannot begin to fathom. Without it, Camelot may be lost.”
“How can that be? Camelot cannot be defeated.”
“My Lady, we cannot be defeated because of the marriage contracts that have been forged. They allow the King support in trying times. Lord Rimmon’s contract with you grants Arthur unlimited resources. You have no idea what that means for him. If he breaks your betrothal, not only are those resources gone, but we are left at the mercy of a possible alliance between Lady Morgan and Lord Rimmon. That, my dear girl, would be disastrous.” Lancelot paused before a stone bench, motioning for her to sit.
She lowered slowly onto the bench contemplating what he revealed. The Lady Morgan le Fay was rumored to practice black magic, though Elizabeth never believed it. What if it were true? But what part did Lord Rimmon play? He was a wealthy Lord with resources and men to spare. Why was her marriage to him so important? The King could certainly find another Lady to take her place.
Elizabeth’s gaze wandered across the field settling once more on Christian and Galahad. The brothers finally completed their task and were heading up the hill in their direction. She sucked in a quick breath.
“Lady Elizabeth,” He knelt down before her and took her hands in his. The First Knight’s voice was gentle but firm, as a father might speak to his daughter. “Please give up this folly. Though they are my flesh and blood, neither of them can give you what you are looking for.”
“I am sorry. This is one thing I cannot do.” She looked up as the brothers were about to join them and stood abruptly. “I must be on my way to Merlin. He awaits delivery of his herbs. Come, Bea. We should not keep him waiting any longer. Good day, My Lord.”
Turning on her heel, Elizabeth hurried for the sanctuary the castle provided. Her maid struggled to keep up. She could feel the collective eyes of the Lords Du Lac on her but refused to look back. She knew if she did it would be her complete undoing.
Sixteen
Ditching their father turned out to be easier that he thought. Lance fully expected him to demand he and Galahad head straight back to training so they could continue their day of torture. Instead, Lancelot regarded them in silence, scrutinizing them for some unknown reason. After a few moments, he merely sent them on their way.
Clearly out of character for their father.
He and his brother exchanged a questioning look, made some excuses for finding food, and got the hell out of there before Lancelot changed his mind. The latter didn’t seem likely given the depth of his distraction.
And Lance knew that distraction well.
Lady Elizabeth Payne.
There was no mistaking the fact she was clearly on their father’s mind. The two were deep in conversation as he and Galahad made their way up the hill. The moment they were about to step into the garden and join them, she bolted for the castle. At first he blew it off thinking she respected his wishes for putting distance between them. But Lance knew better. Beth was once again up to something, something that would land his ass in some unforeseen mess.
It was inevitable.
They entered the castle through the kitchen, easing the door open quietly. The last time they had come this way after training, the cook almost split his skull open with a cleaver. Definitely not something he wished to experience again.
Galahad leaned in and waved him to follow. They kept to the shadows, slipping through the rows of tables piled high with baskets of eggs, freshly baked bread, and fruit.
Lance’s stomach growled. He glanced around the room, but noted they were being ignored for the most part. Taking advantage of the situation, he grabbed two apples and a loaf of bread. Shoving the bread inside his shirt, Lance looked up and froze. One of the maids stood before him wide-eyed, on the verge of a scream. He held his finger to his lips to silence her. She obeyed, surprisingly holding out a wine skin to him. Lance took it, looped it over his shoulder, took her hand in his, kissed her fingertips, and jogged after his brother.
“Do you have to make such a spectacle of yourself all the time?” Galahad frowned at him. “You realize she could have brought Cook running. Imagine if she had gotten hold of you?”
Lance bit into an apple and offered the other to his brother. “I can handle Cook. Trust me. She’s nothing compared to Semiramis.” He spoke while chewing. “Sam never bothered with catching me, hell no. She’d zap me from across the room and turn me into a frog or some shit. It was actually kind of cool.”
Galahad stopped at the top of the staircase leading down to Merlin’s domain. “What? You cannot think I would ever believe Lady Semiramis was able to do such a thing?”
Lance nodded. “She is and she did.”
His brother stared at him in disbelief. “You are telling me that the Lady uses magic similar to Merlin.” Lance nodded and bit his apple again. “Anything else you would like to share?”
“Bro, you have no idea what I could share with you only I’m forbidden to do it.” He grinned.
“You are mad.” Galahad descended into the torch lit passage.
“About as mad as a hatter, brother mine.” Lance followed slowly touching the walls with his hands. The steps were slick under his feet. One wrong step and the two of them would reach the bottom sooner rather than later and with one hell of a concussion.
“A hatter? Please cease. Everything that spews out of your mouth makes absolutely no sense. For once in your life, let someone else do the talking.”
They hit the bottom and turned into a dimly lit cavern. A fire burned in a large stone fireplace at the far end. Poised over the low flames was a black pot. A dark liquid simmered in it, occasionally a large bubble formed and popped splattering onto the flames below.
Tables lined the walls within the small space. They were littered with jars containing various plants, powders, and animal parts. There were a few things Lance was afraid to iden
tify. He picked up one such jar. The greyish slime in it started moving on its own.
“I think I saw something like this crawl off a plate once in a movie. Ugh!”
“What do you think you are doing here?” A voice boomed behind them from the direction of the staircase. They spun to find a tall hooded stranger with glowing yellow eyes watching them.
Lance almost dropped the jar. He went to place it back on the bench. It fell over and rolled to the other side. Before he could stop it from going over the edge, the stranger was there, catching it. The man placed it carefully on the table, straightening to his full height to tower over them.
“The question I asked was simple. Does it truly bear repeating?”
Frowning, Lance tried to place the man’s voice. It was heavily accented. He knew he had heard it before. But where? “We came to see Merlin.”
The hooded man grunted. “A trip wasted. As you can see, he is not here.”
“Really? Are you sure about that?” Lance narrowed his eyes.
“Quite positive.” Yellow Eyes folded his arms across his broad chest. “What makes you so sure he would want to see you?”
“Christian,” Galahad grabbed his arm. “’We should return later.”
Lance pried his brother’s fingers from his arm. “Would you stop worrying? I got this.”
“Nay, Christian.” His brother grabbed him again.
“You should listen to Galahad, Pup. You do not belong down here.” The stranger left them to tend to the pot on the fire.
“And what makes you so sure I don’t? Maybe it’s you who doesn’t belong here.”
“Brother, enough. This is Merlin’s apprentice. He most certainly does belong here. We do not. Let us go. We will return when Merlin is here.”
“No.”
“Are you mad?”
“Gal, I think we covered that one already.” Lance smirked.
Galahad shook his head. “You truly are mad.”
“This is what I keep trying to tell you.” He laughed and pulled away from his brother.
“He will not speak to us. This is a wasted trip.”
Lance swiftly crossed the room. “Oh he’ll speak to me. Isn’t that right, Zephyr?” He reached up and pulled the hood off the man.
“Pup, you made a big mistake.” The man was the tormentor Lance remembered, but different. The vampire’s chiseled features were younger, sharper, and more deadly. His blacker than night hair hung loose around his face down to the middle of his back. The icy look in young Zephyr’s yellow eyes held no hint of the recognition or humor like the elder one’s had the night before.
Zephyr’s hand came up. Lance flew across the room into the stone wall. Pinned to it, and unable to move Lance struggled to breathe as his throat slowly started to close.
“Release him, demon!” Galahad pulled his sword, rushing toward Zephyr.
“Do not involve yourself in this, child.” Zephyr flicked his wrist. The sword flew straight up, embedding itself in the ceiling. Galahad backed away. “Good choice.”
Returning his attention to Lance, Zephyr advanced on him slowly. The vampire’s yellow gaze locked onto Lance. The sheer malice in them burned Lance’s skin. He reached out a hand toward Zephyr. Gagging and wheezing he desperately attempted to draw a breath before he blacked out.
The edges of his vision danced and sparkled. This was it. He would die at the hand of the one person who actually believed in him enough to push him to the edge.
“Z, stop…” Lance croaked before everything went black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“How many times do I need to remind you to be civil to those who call this castle home?”
The force holding him to the wall vanished. Lance fell to the packed earth below. He choked on the stale air flooding his lungs. His arms and legs felt like lead. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t force them to obey. The only thing he could do was lie there and gasp like a fish with his eyes glued shut.
Well I did poke the bear. What did I expect?
Fabric soft as silk brushed Lance’s cheek as someone moved past him.
“Zephyr, you cannot kill everyone who ventures down here. Some of them serve a greater purpose than death.”
“What greater purpose could a flea infested dog like that have? You should have let me finish him off.”
“Zephyr, that’s enough.” The man touched Lance’s forehead and a brief tingling sensation ran through his body. Lance sighed as the coughing subsided. His eyelids drifted open. The kind pale blue eyes smiling back at him from a weathered old face sent a wave of relief through him.
“Young Christian, welcome back to us. I must apologize for Zephyr. He is not used to having visitors.”
“Merlin?” The raspy sound of his voice made him frown.
“Aye, lad, it is I. Let us get you to a more accommodating position, shall we?”
Merlin held his hand out. Lance grasped it, allowing the old man to pull him up. The sorcerer’s strength belied his appearance. Galahad rushed over and slid a stool beneath him. Lance leaned heavily on the table as he eased down onto the stool. His gaze raked the array of jars to find the grey slime jar staring back at him.
“Zephyr, get Christian something to drink, would you?” A grunt sounded from beneath the dark hood. Merlin’s apprentice drifted away to do his teacher’s bidding. The sorcerer sighed shaking his head. “He prefers to live isolated in darkness it makes him paranoid.”
Lance waved the old man off. “Vampires are like that. I’m used to it. Z’s had plenty of time to practice on me.”
“I’ve never laid eyes on you before today, Pup.”
A mug of dark water slammed down in front of him. Lance grimaced and pushed it closer to the grey slime jar. The two seemed perfect for each other. “Of course you have. You’ve made it your mission in life to make mine a living hell.”
The vampire smirked. “Then my life must be severely lacking if your hell is my entertainment.”
You don’t know how wrong you are there, Terminator.
With a flick of his wrist Zephyr moved the mug back to where he had placed it on the table top. “Drink up. The herbs it contains will repair any damage done. Well, any damage inflicted by me. I cannot correct stupidity.”
“You’re a comedian in this lifetime. You should let that out more often in the future.” Lance picked up the mug. His nose scrunched as he inhaled the aroma rising from it.
“I’ll take it under advisement. Pray tell, why I have not killed you yet in your future?”
Lance shrugged. “It would devastate Jared to know his best friend was murdered by you.” Zephyr gave him a droll look. “Seriously, I have no idea why you haven’t killed me yet. I know I would have.”
“Nice to know you put so much value on yourself in your own eyes. Your King must be proud.” Dismissing any further conversation between them, the vampire returned his attention to Merlin. “If you do not need me further, I’ll take my leave.”
The King’s sorcerer folded his arms across his chest. “You are not to leave these chambers. Return to the task given to you.” Zephyr bowed and retreated across the room to tend the fire. When his apprentice was out of earshot, Merlin grabbed Lance by the back of the neck and leaned in close. “If you ever try to tell him about the future again I will remove your tongue and personally make sure you return to The Lady in multiple pieces.”
“Merlin.” Galahad moved forward, his hand resting on the dagger in his belt.
The glance Merlin shot at him stopped Galahad dead in his tracks. “If I were you, I would rethink what I was about to do, boy. Your brother came here for a reason. Let him explain himself.” He shoved Lance forward.
Lance gulped. “I have a habit of talking without thinking. It’s a curse.”
The old man drifted away returning with a seat for himself, which he placed facing Lance. “Do not let it happen again. I am sure you were told what your little insights could do?” Lance nodded slowly. “Then you can understand w
hy I will have to take action to prevent that.” Lance nodded once more. “Excellent, we can move forward. Tell me what brings you here.”
He’s never going to agree to help me.
Lance tossed back the contents of the mug swallowing it in one gulp. His stomach recoiled at the liquid’s invasion, but he held it down. The room spun around him. It was all he could do to hold onto the table to keep steady.
Stop the Teacups I want to get off.
Once the room slowed and came to a stop he inhaled deeply. His dizzy gaze met Zephyr’s from across the dark cavern. “What the hell was in that?”
Zephyr smiled evilly, fangs glowing in the firelight. “Wolfsbane”
“What?” Lance shot to his feet. “Do you have any idea what that will do to my kind? You could have killed me!”
A heavy hand rested on his shoulder. “Sit down, Du Lac. What he gave you was harmless. There was no wolfsbane in it.”
“Your kind? What do you mean by your kind, brother?” Galahad stepped in front of him. “I realize you haven’t lived in Camelot for most of your life. I even understand that you are from another place and time now. But what I don’t understand is how you can speak as though you are not what you appear to be.”
“Gal” Lance looked helplessly among all of them. “I can’t tell you. I’m sworn--”
“Sworn my arse. Explain yourself!”
“Fine.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I’m not human. In fact, I’m more like Zephyr than you realize.”
Galahad took a step back. “You’re a demon? How can that be? You’re my brother.”
“Our parents are not like other people in Camelot. I thought you knew that already. Father is completely invincible. Do you think that was by chance? No. Lady Semiramis granted him that power.”
“Du Lac, I do not think you should be speaking of this.”
“No, Merlin. Gal needs to know. He should have been told this stuff years ago. Besides, Sam isn’t here to censor me.” Lance met his brother’s confused gaze. “It’s true. He’s not the only one, either. Mother was from the time I am living in.”
Beyond Time: A Dark Order of the Dragon Novel (The Dark Order of the Dragon Book 2) Page 12
