by Cori Chaffee
But she knew now. Something that was troubling her so much that her eyes were full of pain and her hands were shaking. My body turned cold from fear and I took a step toward her.
‚What?' I cried anxiously. ‚What is it that you didn’t know?'
Courtney Cole 104
With My Last Breath, Book Three
‚It has to be her,' she whispered. ‚She must be the one to do it or it will not work.
She…'
I was panicked as I tried to make sense of what she was saying. Fear turned me immobile, however, and felt as though I couldn’t move.
‚Who is she?' I asked hesitantly. ‚My mother?' It would kill my mother if she had to be the one. I wasn’t sure that she could do it, which would mean that everyone would perish.
But Hecate shook her head quickly once more, her face a picture of dread.
‚No,' she answered limply. ‚It must be your daughter.'
‚My daughter?' I asked in confusion. ‚That makes no sense, witch. I don’t have a daughter.'
And then the vision that I had just seen came back to me, the small hand plunging the sword into my chest and Raquel’s frightened eyes meeting my own as she wept.
I froze, unable to catch a breath as my lungs spasmed uncontrollably and I gasped, trying to draw in air. I felt like a fish out of water as I choked to breathe. And then, just as always when I was overwhelmed, my legs gave out and I tumbled to the ground. I lay there for a moment as Lucan and Hecate rushed to my side. I concentrated on breathing, on trying to absorb what I had just been told.
Visions of Raquel in the Spiritlands and in the courtyard here, assailed me. Her little heart-shaped face and her innocent eyes, her dirty smudged cheeks.
‚I don’t understand,' I whispered. ‚How can this be? How did I not know?' My hand moved to cup my stomach, where a baby even now grew.
‚She is your daughter,' Hecate assured me. ‚It has been hidden from you. I only just now saw it myself. The magic of this place revealed it to me. The Fates kept it carefully concealed.' She gestured at the stones around us. ‚There is powerful magic here.'
‚But how?...' My hand dropped limply to the ground and I felt weak. ‚What of the child I am carrying now?' Hecate nodded sadly.
‚The child you are carrying now is Raquel,' she answered simply. ‚For the Fates’
own amusement, they allowed you to become pregnant here in Camelot. When the baby was born, they took it. They allowed her to stay in the palace on Olympus until she grew into a little girl, and then they sent her to Calypso’s island, where as you know, time stills. She has remained a child ever since.'
‚I’m actually pregnant here?' I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. ‚I thought… my mother thought… that I brought the pregnancy with me.'
‚No,' Hecate shook her head. ‚No. You were pregnant here. You gave birth to the baby before you died in this life and then the Fates took your child while you continued your other cycles as a Keeper.'
Courtney Cole 105
With My Last Breath, Book Three
I shook my head, unable to believe it. ‚I’ve had a child all these years and didn’t know…'
‚To make matters worse,' she continued, ‚The Fates have taunted you with it and you never even knew. They kept her as a child so that they could allow you to come into contact with her in almost every life in some way, only you never knew who she was. It pleased them.'
I felt sick. I had missed my daughter’s childhood. And while that sickened me to no end, my current predicament came rushing back.
‚My daughter must kill me?' my words were like ice, each one frozen on my lips.
Hecate nodded, unable to meet my gaze.
‚I cannot do that,' I murmured. ‚To make a child do that… it’s just…'
The chieftain stepped forward, his ghostly face glowing beneath the gray clouds.
‚You must,' he insisted. ‚It is deplorable, yes. But how many times in history has someone great been forced to do the unthinkable? Many, many times… all for the greater good. You are the chosen one. You must do what others would not do. That is why you were chosen. Do this,' he implored. ‚Do this and allow us to save you. And in doing so, you will save everyone, including your husband and daughter. Don’t do it, and everyone will perish.'
I wanted to cry. I wanted to rail and scream and bemoan the Fates. But that would not help anything. And every second that I stood here was one more second that they were still in control.
I finally nodded woodenly, my hands clenched into fists at my sides.
‚Fine.'
Hecate studied my face. ‚You are certain?'
‚Yes,' I whispered. ‚Get her. The king won’t notice her absence. They think she is simply an orphaned peasant. Slip in and out and bring her here. But you must tell her what she has to do. I cannot do that.'
She nodded and was gone.
I turned to Lucan. ‚Good knight, I know that this must be perplexing for you. I wish that we had time to explain everything but we do not. Just know that you are a very good man. You have been unfairly persecuted and we will make it right.'
He grasped my hand, his grip warm and strong as he stared into my eyes. His gentle brown eyes melted my heart and I fought the urge to cry.
‚Are you certain that you want to do this?' he asked. ‚You will risk so much, my lady.'
I looked at him, at his handsome face, and I knew that I would do it a hundred times if need be.
‚Yes,' I replied firmly. ‚It is worth it.'
Courtney Cole 106
With My Last Breath, Book Three
Before he could answer, Hecate reappeared with Raquel at her side. Dropping Lucan’s hand, I rushed to my daughter. I knew that Hecate wouldn’t have told her that I was her mother. That would be cruel given the act that she had to perform. But I could see on her little face that Hecate had told her what she must do. I knelt in front of her, grasping her small hand.
‚Do not be afraid,' I told her quietly. ‚You have an important job. We are at war now, and we are all fighting for our lives. You are very important and I appreciate what you will do.'
‚But my lady,' she stammered. ‚Why must you die? You are so kind.'
She was frightened, her hand turning clammy and cold. With goddess hearing, I could hear her little heart racing in her chest and it broke my own.
‚There is much you do not yet know, young one,' I replied. ‚And soon, it will be revealed to you. But now, we all must be brave and strong and do what we must. Can you?'
She watched me for a moment, her eyes frightened before she nodded.
‚Yes, my lady,' she whispered. ‚I will do anything you wish.'
A knot formed in my throat and I could barely swallow it. Raquel had gotten her bravery from her father. She was terrified, but she was able to overcome it. She squared her skinny shoulders as I led her to the altar. A sword had appeared on the stone, its blade simple, long and razor sharp. I eyed it calmly. Why wasn’t I afraid?
I gathered Raquel’s hands in my own, kneeling as I looked into her eyes.
‚Do not be afraid,' I implored her. ‚I will not really die. I will still be here, just as these men are,' and I gestured toward the ghostly warriors surrounding us. ‚And then, when our battle here has been won, there is much to be explained to you.'
As I watched, her blue eyes flickered, replaced for an instant by vivid jade, just like my own. I startled and before I could even comprehend what I had seen, they had changed back to blue.
Realization settled upon me. The Fates had altered her appearance, making sure she was disguised during all of these millennia. I would have recognized her eyes. My anger fueled me and I climbed onto the stone, lying back onto the cold surface.
‚It is time,' I told Raquel. ‚Don’t be afraid. Just pick up the sword and let us get this done.'
I watched as her little hands grasped the handle of the sword and she tentatively approached me. She was terrified.
‚It will be alr
ight,' I assured her. ‚I promise.'
She nodded and raised the sword directly over my chest. I could practically see her heart beating in hers, it was pounding so hard. The blade glistened in the light, the tip a mere foot from my body, just as in my vision.
‚Do it,' I whispered. ‚Just do it, child.'
Courtney Cole 107
With My Last Breath, Book Three
The blade descended as Lucan cried, ‚NO!' from the perimeter of the circle.
But it was too late. The sword sliced cleanly into my chest, cutting through flesh and bone, embedding into my heart. I felt my heart stutter one time and then still, as my vision turned cloudy and then faded to inky black.
And then suddenly, I was standing next to the chieftain, watching Raquel weep as her body was bathed in my blood.
‚Raquel,' I said quietly, grasping her arm.
She turned and gasped. I knew I must appear as the warriors, slightly transparent and glowing. She looked from me to my inert body lying in a pool of blood on the stone. I could feel Lucan and Hecate watching me, as well. The meadow was silent, the air charged with what had just transpired.
In all honestly, I didn’t feel any differently. My hand on Raquel’s arm felt firm and solid, as though I was flesh and blood. My feet were planted firmly in the soil, my hair was rustling in the wind. The only difference was that my heart didn’t beat in my chest.
‚It is alright,' I assured everyone.
Hecate nodded knowingly. She was accustomed to supernatural things and this did not surprise her. Lucan was astounded, but as always, he handled himself with strength, standing stoically behind me. My daughter launched herself at my legs, weeping.
‚My lady, I’m so sorry,' she cried. ‚I didn’t want to do it. I really didn’t.'
I picked her up and leaned my forehead into hers.
‚Raquel, do you feel that? Do you feel me? I am here with you and I am fine. You had an important job to do and you did it. I am very proud of you. And when this is over, you will be rewarded.'
She looked up at me, her pink lip quivering. ‚Truly? You will truly be fine?'
I nodded. ‚I promise. I will truly be fine.' And honestly, as I studied the group of chieftains surrounding me, seeing how their numbers extended well into the surrounding field, spilling over the crest of the hilltop, I believed it for the first time.
‚Everything will be fine,' I told her again as I straightened up and picked up the black box of souls. Glancing up, the red-headed chieftain caught my eye and he nodded.
I sat the box down in the middle of the stone and climbed up next to it, stepping over my lifeless mortal body, treading through my own blood. Bending, I pulled the sword out of my chest, listening to the moist sound it made as it slid from my mortal wound.
Somehow, it didn’t bother me. I wasn’t sure if it was bravery or numbness that fueled me now, but I was not afraid. Gripping the handle, I plunged it into the box, watching as it split in two and thousands of shrieks filled the sky around me as souls poured from the box.
Courtney Cole 108
With My Last Breath, Book Three
One by one, I watched the displaced souls find their bodies. One by one, I watched the warriors surrounding me return to life, taking deep breaths as their mortal lungs once again filled with air.
It was an amazing sight. Lucan, Hectate, Raquel and I stood quietly as the warriors crowded around us. And then I grew weak. My legs felt as though they would give out as my fingers turned cold and numb. I started to say something, to ask what was happening, when I was suddenly gasping for air on the stone altar.
Staring around me in bewilderment, I realized that I had been thrust back into my mortal body. My wound had closed, although blood still surrounded me. Looking down, I found my green dress blood-stained and torn where the sword had entered my chest, but I was alive once more.
‚What… How…' I couldn’t form a cohesive sentence.
The red-headed chieftain smiled down at me, reaching down to grasp my hand and helped me to stand.
‚Your first act as the Chosen One,' he explained, ‚Was to exhibit faith. You died so that others would live. You gave the ultimate sacrifice because you had faith and in doing so, you have proven yourself worthy.'
He leaped to the stone, looking around at the warriors.
‚Take a knee!' he cried. Every one of the warriors dropped to one knee, bowing their heads in deference. ‚As many of you have given fealty to me, and have also taken fealty from others, so too will you offer your allegiance to the goddess Harmonia now.'
Murmurings of assent filled the meadow.
Cries of ‚We ride with you, Harmonia!' and ‚I vow my allegiance to you!' filled my ears and I stared around me in disbelief. Throughout time, in every life, I had assisted royalty and served them, as I fulfilled the plans of Fate. Now, as we stood on this precipice of saving all that we knew, I would command a legion. It seemed incredible.
I stepped forward and held up a hand, quieting the crowd.
‚I am honored to ride with you,' I began and they erupted into cheers once more. I waited a moment for them to quiet and continued. ‚Together, we will save Camelot and everything that we know!'
In the magnitude of the moment, I bowed my head and stood in the sun. The most important time of my life was still to come and there was nothing else to do but embrace it.
Courtney Cole 109
With My Last Breath, Book Three
Chapter Eighteen
‚Harmonia?' a familiar voice called and I startled at the recognition in Lucan’s voice. He was pushing through the crowd to stand at the base of the stone, familiarity written all over him as he stared up at me.
‚Lucan?' I asked, too afraid to hope. But Cadmus’ soul had been in the box. When I released the souls, of course it had nowhere to go, but to where it belonged- in Lucan’s body. ‚Cadmus?' I asked uncertainly.
Lucan leaped to stand next to me in one bound and pulled me into a fierce embrace, pushing my hair out of the way as he bent to kiss my lips. Cheers once again erupted, but I ignored them
‚I am here, my sweet,' he assured me as he clutched me close. ‚My body is still in the Spiritlands, but I am here with you now. I am so proud of you, although I want to throttle you at the same time for taking this chance.'
I stared into his chocolate eyes, so beautiful and familiar to me.
‚This was not a chance,' I told him firmly. ‚Without you, I’m not alive at all.'
He pulled me close once more and I rested for just a moment against his strength, breathing him in, happier than I would’ve thought possible. It didn’t matter that we were about to face a battle of epic proportions. We were going to do it together.
Helping me down from the altar, he pulled Hecate into a hug, as well. ‚Thank you, witch,' he smiled. ‚For everything you’ve done.'
‚It isn’t over yet,' she reminded him, but her eyes were twinkling as she clasped his arm.
He knelt at Raquel’s feet and I watched him study her small face. He took her hand and kissed it.
‚Thank you, young one, for your bravery,' he told her solemnly. ‚When this is over, we shall have a long conversation. There are many things that you should know.'
Raquel nodded and he kept her hand in his as he turned to face me once more.
‚We have a battalion now,' he observed. ‚But no horses. Hecate?'
‚Taken care of,' she answered and as we watched, enough war horses to equip an entire battalion appeared in the open field next to us. They stamped their feet and tossed their heads, anxious to do battle. I shook my head. Was there nothing Hecate couldn’t do?
‚Mount up!' the chieftain yelled. ‚We ride!'
The warriors charged for the field, each choosing a horse and within minutes, everyone was mounted and ready to travel. Lucan lifted Raquel onto the saddle of his horse and then swung around behind her.
My own horse pranced next to his and I climbed stride her.
Courtne
y Cole 110
With My Last Breath, Book Three
‚Are you ready?' he grinned.
‚Ready,' I answered.
We took off across the dead grasses of the Camelot plains. We still had a sword to find. The sheer number of our battalion caused our horses’ hooves to sound like thunder, booming across the land as our horses ran. Minutes once again turned into an hour and then two as we galloped across the browned fields.
From time to time, I glanced over at Lucan and Raquel and found her leaning comfortably against him. It warmed my heart in ways I had never known. I had a family of my own. Even in the midst of this chaos and fear, it was enough to give me hope.
The long ride extended longer and longer and finally, when I was growing very weary of riding, buildings rose from the horizon and I sighed in relief. Dying and coming back to life had taken my energy.
‚We’re almost there,' Hecate called from behind us.
I spurred my horse faster, with Lucan and Hecate directly on my flanks. A few minutes later, we rode into a compound of buildings, surrounded by a stone fence. The gates were standing open, so we passed easily beneath.
A large cobblestone house stood within the fence, with large barns behind it. This did not appear like the kind of home that the parents of a king would live in, but his foster parents had not been flashy. Merlin had brought baby Arthur here when he was just an infant, arranging for Sir Ector, a wealthy farmer, and his wife to raise Arthur as their own.
And they had. Arthur had grown up thinking that they were his loving parents and he ran the hills with his brother, Kay. As the second son, he had been the lovable carefree spirit in the family. Kay, being the eldest, was left to be responsible. But that all changed when his real father, King Uther, died and Merlin returned to claim Arthur.
Until that day, Arthur had had no inkling that he was the son of a king. He left his foster parents and traveled to Camelot with Merlin and Kay. And he was meant to change history. But he was meant to change history with his compassion and grace, not by becoming heartless and cruel.
I shook my head. I couldn’t focus on the travesty of it all right now. I needed to find the sword. The balance of the world hinged upon it.
