LANCELOT

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Rick stood up and walked over to shake Lancelot’s hand. “If not for you, we wouldn’t have anything to discuss tomorrow. Should…should we call anyone…you know…like the police?”

  “No. They’d throw you and Karen in the looney bin. Get a good night’s sleep. Vivian has a protection spell on the house. You’ll all be safe here tonight.”

  Nodding, Rick patted Gwen’s shoulder. “C’mon, punkin’. Say goodnight, so these folks can get on with their business.”

  “You’ll pick me up for school in the morning?” Gwen asked, releasing Lancelot.

  “On my honor,” Lancelot promised, smiling down at her. “Won’t we, Arthur?”

  “You bet, Shrek. We’ll be here, Gwen,” Arthur said, taking her hand.

  “Goodnight, folks,” Vivian said with a wave. “We have to get Arthur home and report to his guardian. We’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  When they finally emerged from the house, the three moved quickly to the car. Inside the limo, Lancelot told Charlie to drive them to Lancelot’s house first. The muffled sounds from the trunk made the trip a tension-filled ride. Arthur stayed calm but quiet, which impressed both Lancelot and Vivian. When they neared Lancelot’s house, Lancelot told Charlie to back the limo up into his garage. He triggered the garage opener as they approached. Charlie expertly backed the limo in, leaving Lancelot enough room to unload the trunk.

  “I’ll be right back. It’s snack time for Fang and his girlfriend,” Lancelot said. “I’ll let him figure out what the hell’s going on, as he did with Kara, only there won’t be any revival with our buddy in the trunk.”

  Lancelot went to the trunk. Having pulled the frenzied Canton out with deceptive ease, he hurried into the house. Serge waited within the doorway with Kara, ready for battle. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lancelot. Serge and Kara followed Lancelot down into the cellar, where the former female kidnapper sat in a trancelike state. Kara shuddered, watching the vampire in the throes of silver poisoning. Lancelot plucked the knife from Canton’s head, clamping a hand over the vampire’s mouth to stifle the scream. The vampire passed out in relief. Lancelot wiped the knife carefully on Canton’s clothes and placed it back in its sheath.

  “Will the knife having been in there spoil his freshness?”

  “You mean he’s for us?” Serge asked hopefully, exchanging expectant glances with Kara.

  “Drain him until he talks. Make sure you send him on down the same road afterwards,” Lancelot stated simply. “He and two friends were going to take up where the bitch over there in the corner left off. If Mallor has decided to take this kind of step, the game may be over before it begins. I suspect some other force is at work here – one of which Sir Toad may be unaware.”

  “Do you need this quickly?” Serge asked.

  “No. I have to take Arthur home. We’ll be back in about an hour, and I don’t even need the info then. Take your time, but please, don’t dust him until he gives up what we need.”

  “While you’re out, can you pick me up a nice plump shape-shifter?” Serge called out as Lancelot started up the stairs.

  Lancelot laughed. He continued up the stairs and reentered the garage. After he entered the limousine, Charlie pulled out of the garage and Lancelot closed the door by remote. The ride to Merlin’s was more pleasant, with Arthur fantasizing about the next day at school with Gwen. After Arthur said goodnight, and Charlie was dismissed, Merlin sat down with Lancelot and Vivian. They gave him the rundown on what had happened. He listened intently without comment until the two finished talking.

  “Good Lord! Mallor cannot be behind this.”

  “He may not be as taken with the legend as you are, old man,” Vivian observed, smiling. “On the other hand, I saw his face when Lancelot offered to end it for him. He was in no hurry to try his luck. Mallor knows that Lancelot would have his head for this.”

  “Unless he figured to have Gwen grabbed before we found out her part in this,” Lancelot said. “I wonder what happens to the legend if Arthur grows up, marries this young Guinevere, and they have a family for real. If he then wins election to the Presidency, where would such a change leave Mallor, Madeline, and Modred?”

  “Has-beens on the road to nowhere,” Vivian replied excitedly.

  “I’m beginning to like this new legend,” Lancelot replied, grasping Vivian’s hand. “Can I kill him now?”

  “The vision Madeline showed us still worries me,” Merlin said. “I believe it was a true one. Where the point exists at which the old changes to the new is beyond my knowing. If Mallor has decided to break the truce almost before it’s begun, you have little or no choice in what you must do. You have shown admirable restraint, Lancelot. Do you believe Mallor to be behind this?”

  “If I do, it’s wishful thinking. As Vivian already stated, he wanted no part of any cataclysmic ending. If he could have grabbed Gwen, I don’t know what it would have meant either. I’ll find out from Serge what the vampire we brought him knows, and then make a decision. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight.” Merlin gave them a little wave before walking tiredly toward his room.

  “Well, my lady, that was an exciting evening” Lancelot pulled Vivian to her feet and into his arms.

  “Are you looking to get lucky, sailor?”

  “I’ll let you know once we get home, and I talk to Fang.”

  “Better be quick getting upstairs, or you’ll need more charm than even you have to wake me back up.”

  * * *

  “Hey, you two weren’t even up waiting for me in the doorway,” Lancelot called out as he descended the stairs. “What’s wrong?”

  Serge and Kara were sitting at a table. Serge had taken notes during his inquisition of the vampire left in his care. Lancelot saw Canton’s clothing lying in a musty pile of ash near the far wall. Serge pushed his notepad across the table to Lancelot. Sitting down in the empty chair, Lancelot read the notes, his face registering shock. He looked up finally at Serge.

  “A vampire and shape-shifter army? This isn’t the Dark Ages. How in hell do they pull that off?”

  “They’re turning the homeless and gangs. Thanks to Mallor and his goofy wife deciding to raid the old country for vamps to carry out their little schemes, he attracted a bad one.”

  “You’re saying this just started, though, and the little feeder warehouse was just the beginning?”

  “Only one of many, Lancelot,” Kara explained. “This isn’t about the legend. Mallor knew nothing of this. I’m sure of it. Modred was his entire focus, along with subverting the legend. He might wish to kidnap the girl, but he wouldn’t want her killed. Canton said they were going to turn the little girl. Unfortunately, he didn’t know where Dunkan’s base is.”

  “This…Dunkan,” Lancelot read the name from Serge’s notes. “I’ve heard of him.”

  “Kara and I thought he was a fable,” Serge admitted with a shrug. “He’s said to be the son of Lilith.”

  “If that bitch gave birth to even half the spawn people attribute to her in these fairy tales, the human race would have been overrun with vamps by now.” Lancelot shook his head. “Do you two believe this one’s the real thing?”

  “Canton believed it,” Serge replied. “He’d been around for nearly as long as I have. You’re discounting the shape-shifters. The real question is this: why would the shape-shifters, in the numbers Canton talked about, bend to the will of a vamp? Contrary to Hollywood movie drivel, we don’t get along.”

  “I remember,” Lancelot said, remembering a time of darkness long ago. “I need to sleep on this. Will you two watch over things, while I try to rest up before escorting the lovebirds to school in the morning?”

  “We are at your service, mon capitan,” Serge saluted.

  “Don’t turn your back on that one.” Lancelot pointed at the former kidnapper, who was passed out on a cot.

  “Not likely,” Serge went over and stroked the woman’s head. “We keep her drained to the point she ha
s only enough energy to eat and sleep. I heed your warning, my friend. She is a monster. This Dunkan and his horde are a bit frightening for us, Lancelot.”

  “If you two decide to go, I’ll understand.”

  “Thank you for your generosity, but we’ll stay. I wanted you to know that because of this added danger, you will owe me, big-time.”

  Lancelot chuckled. “Duly noted. Goodnight, Fang.”

  “Goodnight, Shrek.”

  Upstairs, Vivian waited for Lancelot anxiously. When Lancelot walked in the room, he immediately took her into his arms.

  “You picked up my brain waves, huh?”

  “Dunkan isn’t a fairy tale,” Vivian explained as she pushed him away. “He’s the real deal. The elder mages, of which Merlin is descended, entrapped Dunkan ages ago before the birth of Christ. One look into his eyes can enslave any creature to his will. The mages lured Dunkan into a cavern in Romania, where they sealed him up. The army of vamps and shifters he forged through force of will were hunted down and destroyed.”

  “So he’s tried this maneuver before.”

  “Yes, but never in a place with so many susceptible souls for the taking. Mallor must have loosed him, thinking to control his actions.”

  “Inadvertently providing him with recruits to begin his rampage once again,” Lancelot concluded. “How do we stop him?”

  “Excalibur.”

  “Again, that cursed sword!”

  “It was forged by the Fallen to be used against Dunkan’s original army. No one could wield the sword for long, but it was used to drive back Dunkan’s main force. Others rallied to the invincible sword, but few could handle its power long without being driven insane. Dunkan retreated, having been frightened by word of Excalibur. The touch of its blade vaporized his vamps and shifters with ease. He fled into the caves beneath the Carpathian Mountains, and was entombed there.”

  “Then Mallor may have heard this tale of yours, and decided that with Excalibur in hand, he could rule Dunkan and eventually the earth,” Lancelot remarked, stroking Vivian’s back. “It fits the overconfident weasel’s pattern. It’d be just like him to endanger all of creation, thinking himself some manner of God. Can you not dust this Dunkan with the vamp spell?”

  “No. Dunkan is older than the spell. You must take Excalibur from Mallor, Monte,” Vivian said, stripping off Lancelot’s shirt. “In your hands, the sword will slay even Dunkan.”

  Lancelot moved with purpose over Vivian. He peeled away her clothing with slow methodical care, his hands and lips caressing each revealed inch. Between their newly acquired power of sharing thoughts and his physical manipulations Vivian began to forget what they had been discussing, her breath coming in gasping moans. “I don’t need no stinking Excalibur to defeat anyone,” Lancelot mocked her in an urgent whisper.

  “Now…” Vivian cried out, trying to force herself against him, “now who’s the overconfident weasel? You were born to hold Excalibur. It is the…oh… the reason it sings to you each time you hold it. Oh… oh God!”

  Later, the two lovers lay entangled, chests heaving against each other, their mouths panting and their lips brushing together, until the world slowly embraced their conscious minds.

  “Lancelot… you must not make light of Dunkan. Excalibur will-”

  “Shhhhhhhh…” Lancelot whispered, shifting to his side, and pulling Vivian close. “Sleep now, my love. Tomorrow is yet another mist-enshrouded day we must face. Let us enjoy the night, for now.”

  Vivian moaned contentedly. Lancelot shielded his thoughts from her as his anticipation for the coming battle against an ancient evil surged through him. He stroked Vivian’s side with tenderness until sleep claimed him too.

  Chapter Twenty: New Alliance

  Arthur ran out to Lancelot’s Pontiac in a fit of impatience. He had been waiting with Merlin near the entrance of the building for fifteen minutes. Throwing his book-bag into the popped-open trunk, Arthur closed the trunk and dived into the back seat, ending his maneuver with a quick fastening of his seatbelt.

  “Impatient, are we?” Vivian said, laughing as she glanced over her shoulder at the boy.

  “Don’t start on me, Vicky,” Arthur warned, reaching around the side of Vivian’s bucket seat to give her a slight tickle, eliciting a squealing scream of protest, as Vivian twisted away.

  With lightning speed, Lancelot caught Arthur’s hand and shook it slightly, while keeping his eyes on the road. “Holster this, young man. We’re not late, so calm down.”

  “Sorry, Shrek, but some of us guys have not been with our-”

  “Arthur!” Lancelot warned.

  “I’m anxious to see Gwen,” Arthur said simply. “It’s all I can think of.”

  “We’ll pick up Gwen, and have a word with the parents,” Lancelot promised. “Did you have any more dreams?”

  “Yeah, I had one where-”

  “Don’t even think about it.” Vivian pointed at him warningly.

  Arthur laughed. “Okay, no, I didn’t have any bad dreams last night. What’d you two find out last night… other than… you know… practicing with your interlocking parts?”

  “We have a problem.” Lancelot cut the boy off impatiently with a gesture. “It seems that Mallor may have screwed things up royally by recruiting vamps and shape-shifters from the old country. The vamp we captured from Gwen’s house told Serge that some ancient blood-sucker named Dunkan was set loose. He’s forming a secret army right under that idiot Mallor’s nose.”

  “An… army?” Arthur repeated, turning to Vivian. “I know you put a spell on me to ward off vamps, but am I vulnerable to shape-shifters?”

  “I have nothing that’ll kill them at a touch,” Vivian admitted. “They’re flesh and blood, but I may have something to ward them off in addition to Wolf’s bane. That would only work on werewolves anyway, but with slight alteration, it can be made to work against other shifters.”

  “We’re telling you this, because as you saw at the park the other day, a shifter can come at us any time, day or night,” Lancelot added. “You’ll have to help Gwen understand that nothing can be taken for granted.”

  “Wow! There really is something called Wolf’s bane?” Arthur asked. “I thought the stuff was something they needed to fill out options in a horror movie. What does it look like?”

  “It has a rather purplish, odd-looking, elongated shape to the flower,” Vivian answered. “Lancelot and I are going hunting for some, so I should be able to show you later.”

  “So you don’t even know if Mallor is part of this new plot?”

  “Not yet, but I hope to know by day’s end,” Lancelot answered.

  “This Dunkan vamp is pretty tough, huh?”

  “Yes, and very old.”

  “Tougher than you, Shrek?”

  “I guess we’ll find out soon.”

  “Are you scared?” Arthur leaned forward expectantly.

  “Not of dying, but I’m afraid there’s a possibility that my death would leave all of you in a world of hurt,” Lancelot answered truthfully. “The Vicster here is getting her groove back. I’m betting that if something happens to me, she and Merlin will find a way through Dunkan.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Shrek,” Arthur said earnestly.

  “Me either,” Vivian agreed, putting her hand on Lancelot’s shoulder.

  “Well, that makes three of us, and here we are.” Lancelot shut off his Pontiac outside Gwen’s house. “Let’s exchange pleasantries with Gwen’s folks and then hit the road.”

  At the doorway to Gwen’s house, Gwen and her parents met them, looking haggard. Lancelot shook hands with Rick and Karen. Gwen went out to stand next to Arthur. She grasped his hand.

  “We didn’t get much sleep last night,” Rick admitted. “Did you have any luck finding out what those monsters wanted?”

  “To kill you and Karen, and turn Gwen into what they are,” Lancelot answered. “We’re working on changing their plan, and we’ve discovered some
new pieces to this puzzle. We’ll investigate the new angle right after we put these two in school. Hopefully, we’ll explain all this to you tonight when we bring Gwen home. In the meantime, I’d like you both to stay in today.”

  “I’ve already called off,” Rick said.

  “Good. We’ll be over later with some answers.”

  “Are you really going to tell them about the legend?” Vivian asked as they walked out to the car.

  “I see no harm in telling them of it, and disaster if I don’t. Hell, it seems as if every monster on the planet already knows.”

  “I hope the old man agrees with your assessment.”