Claiming Excalibur

by LH Nicole

  “I’ll accompany you Dawn,” Owen offered with a smile full of British charm. “It’s not safe for you to go alone.”

  Dawn giggled and blushed all the way to her dark roots. Aliana didn’t miss the heated look Wade shot her cousin.

  “Percy can come with us, too,” Lacy said. “An extra pair of hands—or blade—could come in handy.”

  The plan was agreed to, and the five of them left with orders from Arthur to be gone no longer than two hours.

  “So what do we do in the meantime?” Aliana asked as the rest of them made their way back inside.

  “Sire,” Lancelot said. “We should go over some of the maps. Maybe we can link one of them to the poem.”

  Arthur clapped his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Good thought, Lancelot. Merlin, are you joining us?”

  The Druid shook his head and looked at Aliana. “No, I’d like to try something with your magic and your father’s texts that are still here. This will give us a chance to practice skills you haven’t often used.”

  Aliana quirked an eyebrow but nodded. She was curious to see what he meant.

  “Galahad?” Arthur asked.

  The knight smiled at Aliana. “Since Lord Daggerhorne is not here anymore, I think it best I stay with you. Besides, it’s been a while since I last sat in on one of your magic lessons.”

  Lancelot, Leo, and Arthur headed to the kitchen while Aliana took Galahad’s hand and led him and Merlin to her father’s office. Since the battle in London, her overprotective knight had scarcely left her side, and it had only gotten worse after the fire incident during training. Ever since Mordrid had captured her, something in his manner had changed. He’d always been protective but now he seemed to tense more easily, and she’d noticed him checking around the house more often than she thought necessary with a house full of magic and knights.

  “So what are we going to practice?” Aliana asked, hoping Galahad wouldn’t get upset with Merlin again.

  “I want you to try a different type of summoning magic.”

  “What am I summoning?”

  Merlin gripped the doorknob to the office. She hadn’t even set foot in the room in months, now he wanted her to jump right in.

  “I want you to summon your father’s books. The ones I’m looking for.” He stepped into the warm room.

  Aliana gulped down the acidic taste in her mouth, frozen in the entrance. Galahad squeezed her hand and pulled her into the room with him.

  “What do you expect me to do? Say ‘Accio Merlin’s books’?” she snapped, trying to set the Druid on edge so he wouldn’t notice her frayed nerves.

  Merlin scowled. He hated Harry Potter references.

  “No, I’ll connect with you and ‘show’ you the books I’m looking for. Then you’ll summon them like you did Leo.”

  “But how will a book find us? Last I checked they don’t have legs.”

  Galahad snickered, earning a reproachful look from Merlin.

  “Wait and see.”

  Aliana suppressed the desire to roll her eyes. Galahad took a seat on the couch while Merlin directed Aliana to the center of the room, which was filled with half-packed boxes and piles of old papers and books.

  “Open your shields just enough for me to send you an image of the books,” Merlin said, lifting his fingers to her temples.

  Aliana narrowed her eyes at him, silently reminding him her private thoughts and feelings were off limits. A part of her still hadn’t forgiven him for invading her memories and discovering the intimate bond that had formed between her and Arthur when she’d woken him with that kiss. That wasn’t something she’d wanted to share with a man she didn’t fully trust.

  “Relax,” he said, his words having a double meaning. The warm tips of his smallish hands settled against her temples. His touch was as light and soft as a silk ribbon.

  Breathing deeply, Aliana closed her eyes and concentrated on building layers of shields. For every new layer, she created a unique “key.” It was a trick Dagg had explained to her to give extra protection against anyone trying to break past her mental barriers.

  Merlin’s golden magic brushed against her outer shield. “Just a crack,” he reminded her.

  Aliana imagined a small slit, like the letter slot on a front door. He slipped the image of the books through, and she immediately sealed the slit.

  “Do you see them?” The Druid’s hazy voice was distant as she focused her magic on the image.

  “I see them.” All the books were different sizes and thicknesses with black and brown, beat-up covers.

  “Now imagine those books in front of you, here in this room.”

  Aliana pictured the room: Merlin between her and her papa’s desk, Galahad to her right, lounging on the couch where her mother had always sat.

  Echoing sounds like popped balloons assaulted their ears. Her eyes flew open to see four books floating in the air between her and the Druid. They wavered then clunked to the ground with heavy thuds.

  Aliana staggered back, her vision blurring around the edges, her center of balance tipping. Galahad’s arms wrapped around her before she stumbled more than a step, his super speed carrying him to her side almost instantly.

  “You did it,” Merlin said and bent down to pick up the books. “How do you feel?”

  “Disoriented.” She leaned against Galahad’s solid chest, breathing in his scent. Her mind cleared quickly but the tips of her fingers and toes tingled.

  “You didn’t connect with the elements,” Merlin stated with a frown. “We need to work on you automatically connecting with the elements so you don’t keep draining yourself.”

  Galahad rubbed soft circles over the exposed skin of her shoulder. With his warm comfort, her sluggishness slowly ebbed away. It was a different feeling than the magic Dagg used to help her recover. The tingling sensation from her knight was…nice…like love rolling over and through her. Her eyes opened as she had a crazy thought about her how her mysterious magic truly worked.

  “I don’t understand,” Galahad said, his brow scrunched together all adorable-like as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

  “I think my magic may work like a syphon, like the Avalon’s magic. I don’t have any real amount of my own, only what I can take in from the power of others.”

  “Then why is the magic you use pink?” Galahad asked. “Wouldn’t it be the same color as whatever other magic you’re using?”

  Aliana’s face fell. “I didn’t think about that.” She sighed in frustration and dropped her head onto her arms, which lay crossed on top of the kitchen island where she sat on a barstool. Flora had been in here when they’d arrived a few minutes earlier. The bubbly Pixie had grinned and left quickly to give them their “lovers’ space,” as she’d called it.

  Galahad moved up behind Aliana and wrapped his arms around her middle, curving his upper body to fit hers. She straightened slightly and leaned into him.

  “We’ll figure it out,” he assured her. “The good thing about all this is that Mordrid and Morgana don’t know anything about your powers, either.”

  “We hope they don’t.” She pursed her lips, wondering if this would be a good time to probe about Merlin and Morgana’s relationship. She really wanted to change the subject. “What’s the deal with Merlin and Morgana?” She looked up at Galahad over her shoulder.

  “I wondered when you’d ask.” The knight chuckled into her ear. “What do you want to know?”

  Aliana didn’t want to put Galahad at odds again with his Druid friend, so she phrased her question carefully. “Did he really teach her how to use her magic?”

  “In a way, yes. She came to Camelot a few months before King Uther died, just after Arthur had claimed Excalibur. She was already a formidable sorceress, but she was still young and idealistic.”

  “So she wasn’t Arthur’s enemy?”

  Galahad shook his head. “No. She was, in fact, sweet and a friend to all of us. She genuinely cared for and was loyal to her cousin,
King Arthur.”

  “She’s his cousin?” Aliana nearly shrieked. “I thought she was his half-sister.”

  Galahad quirked his brow. “More of your stories and legends?”

  “Enjoy your laugh. So what happened? Why did she turn against you all?”

  “We’re still not sure. She and Merlin had a special bond. Many of us thought them in love.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  Galahad hugged her closer to his body.

  “When did y’all realize she was betraying you?”

  “After Uther died, strange things started to happen. Mystical items were stolen, magical creatures started attacking Camelot’s villages. Several times, the Camelot patrol was even attacked. Rumors spread of an evil spirit terrorizing villages, and ancient temples of the Druids were sacked.” He shook his head, his nearly shoulder-length hair brushing her cheek and neck. “People were found slaughtered for no apparent reason and several attempts were made against the king’s life. We knew we had a traitor in Camelot. Merlin, myself, Owaine, and Gawain were tasked with finding the traitor while the others acted as Arthur’s personal guard night and day. It was Merlin who first discovered Morgana’s treachery.”

  Galahad released Aliana and sat on an empty stool next to hers, his thigh against hers, her hand in his. Aliana felt bad for Galahad and Merlin, for all the knights. They’d trusted Morgana and she’d betrayed them.

  “Merlin took it hard. He’d vouched for her with King Uther before he died. Uther was inherently suspicious and mistrusting of those with magical abilities. Merlin had to go through hell to gain the king’s acceptance when he first came to Camelot. Speaking on behalf of Morgana was no small thing.” Galahad’s troubled crystal blue eyes found Aliana’s. “I fear what would’ve happened to Merlin had Uther still been alive when her betrayal was discovered.”

  Aliana slid from the barstool and went into his arms. His legs spread to accommodate her. “I’m so sorry,” she said, rubbing his shoulders.

  She considered that maybe Merlin’s reason for leaving Arthur in Avalon really was to stop Morgana. He must have felt responsible for her betrayal because he’d loved her and that might’ve been what made him blind to her true intentions.

  “You’re having one of your dance lessons with Arthur tonight, are you not?” Galahad asked.

  “Yes,” Aliana answered, not sure how to read his carefully indifferent tone. The dance lessons she and Arthur had begun back in Merlin’s mirror room had continued. It was a ritual she couldn’t even think of stopping. Her developing friendship with the legendary king was very special to her.

  “When are you meeting?” he asked, the barest hint of jealousy seeping into his voice.

  Oh, my poor Galahad, Aliana thought. “I’m meeting him after dinner.” She quickly added, “I was thinking about us earlier. Do you remember when I explained dating to you?”

  “Yes.”

  She leaned into him, her cheek resting against his slightly prickly one. “We haven’t had a proper date. Not a real one, just the two of us.”

  She heard a slight hitch in his breath, and his hands tightened convulsively on her hips, bunching the light material of her dress.

  “If Dagg’s still not back tomorrow, I thought we could maybe go out. Get away from here and everyone and just have fun.”

  Galahad leaned back to look at his girlfriend. “What did you have in mind?”

  “There’s a big art festival in the city this week. We can go to that and see the ships in the harbor.” She’d made a promise to herself to show him the modern world and she had every intention of following through.

  “If it’s something you like, then I’d be delighted.”

  Aliana smiled brilliantly and cupped his face with her hands, leaning in closer to her white knight. “It’s a date then.”

  Galahad met her lips in a sweet kiss that made Aliana’s heart sputter and Galahad’s breath grow ragged. The couple broke apart when Lancelot called out for Galahad and entered the kitchen. Merlin, Arthur, and Leo were on his tail.

  “Definitely just the two of us,” he muttered.

  Aliana stifled a giggle, stepping out of his arms. “What’s up guys?”

  “The others will return soon,” Merlin said. “I want to perform a spell that will link all of us in case something happens and any of us get separated. The spell will allow us to find each other even across the seven realms.”

  Aliana glanced to Arthur, who nodded reassuringly. Even though Aliana thought it was a good idea, there was something calculating behind Merlin’s intense gaze that made her uncomfortable.

  An hour later, the eleven of them stood in her front yard watching Flora, Stella, and another Pixie named Greer create a large circle of Pixie flowers, herbs, and Pixie dust.

  “Everyone, stand inside the circle,” Merlin instructed, his voice confident.

  They all followed his instruction. Aliana stood between Arthur and Galahad. Merlin stepped between Leo and Arthur to close the circle.

  “What exactly is this going to do? Are we all going to start reading the others’ minds or are we getting magical GPS chips implanted in our necks?” Dawn quipped. She raised good questions, but Aliana could tell that Dawn was covering up her nervousness the only way she knew how to: with snarkiness.

  “Nothing so dramatic,” Merlin said.

  “Then how will it work?” Lacy asked.

  Merlin sighed and summoned his magical holographic globe of the earth, projecting it to the center of the circle. Several gasps and Dawn’s “no freaking way” had Aliana smiling.

  “Aliana and I can both summon this map.” He nodded to Aliana to finish explaining what he’d told her before the others had gotten back.

  “Once we’re connected, Merlin and I can find you all, no matter which realm you’re in, and lead the others to you or summon you to us.”

  “So it is GPS, just without the chips,” Wade said with a chuckle.

  Aliana grinned ruefully and nodded.

  “If there are no more questions, I’d like to get started,” Merlin said, sounding annoyed. “We need to do this as the last of the sun sets and the night takes over. The magic will be strongest in the seconds between day and night.”

  The magical globe disappeared as Merlin gave the next instructions. “Everyone, hold your right hands out toward the center of the circle.”

  They all did what they were told, and Aliana wished she’d thought to set up her cameras in the trees. She could imagine how magical they all looked surrounded by glittering Pixie flowers with everyone’s outstretched hands forming a cool pattern. All they needed was a round table in the center of the circle.

  This was a new kind of Round Table, she realized. A new gathering and binding of one of the world’s most powerful groups—a rebirth and confirmation. The people in this circle would be forever connected by more than a quest. They were connected by friendship and loyalty and love and soon by magic.

  Merlin’s eyes closed, his whole body lighting up with his golden orange aura. His magic slowly grew brighter and spread to the Pixie flowers that circled them.

  “Add your magic to the circle, Aliana,” Merlin whispered in her head. “Call the earth and air elements to join my magic.”

  Aliana closed her eyes and opened her magical senses. Immediately the powers of air and earth jumped toward her own pink magic. Another softer, vibrating magic swirled around her. The magic of the energy element! She’d never tried to summon it before, but now it asked to join their circle, and she welcomed it gladly.

  9

  I’ve seen Merlin’s magic too many times to count, but to see the brilliant display slowly filling with Aliana’s magic is incredible. I look over at her. A faint pink glow lights her skin, highlighting the soft planes of her cheeks. Her eyes open, their normal emerald color flashing with sparks of pink. Even with her eyes open she doesn’t seem to see us. I look to my king, who also studies Aliana. My jealousy piques, but I calm it, not wanting to ruin the spell. A
bright light draws my attention, and I’m shocked to see Dawn and Lacy surrounded by strange auras of purple and pale moonlight.

  ~Galahad

  THROUGH THE SWELLING OF THE MAGIC, Aliana was only partially aware of what was happening. It felt like she was a separate entity watching the whole thing. The Druid chanted in what she realized was ancient Gaelic. Focusing her magic, she understood the last words he spoke: “Bind our lives until our purpose is done!”

  Orange and pink magic flowed like the aurora borealis and left the Pixie circle to twist around each of them one at a time. It wound through the circle like a snake, again and again. Each pass moved closer to their outstretched hands at the center of the circle. The phantom streaks moved faster and faster, blazing over their skin almost too quickly to feel.

  Aliana watched as a band of the magic closed around each of their wrists. The mighty power didn’t hurt—no, it filled her with strange warmth that settled close to her heart, soaking into her being in an intimate pulse. A sound like a tree snapping in half cracked through the air, and Aliana knew it was time to release the powers she’d summoned.

  “What a head rush!” she heard Lacy mutter as the magic of the elements slid away.

  Dizziness swam at the edge of Aliana’s vision, but she breathed it away. Her eyes fell onto her wrist. An intricate swirling pattern, like that of a Celtic knot, ran all around her wrist. At first it looked like a henna tattoo, but it faded to white and then disappeared into her flesh.

  Everyone stared at their own wrists, watching the same miracle. Then all eyes jumped to Lacy and Dawn before darting toward Merlin. When Aliana looked at her best friends, she saw wisps of pale purple dancing around Dawn. Lacy seemed to glow in with the moon’s light. Both girls appeared to be in a daze.

  “Merlin?” Aliana asked.

  “I thought so,” the Druid murmured.

  While the two girls came out of their trance, Percy held Lacy close to his body. Wade clutched both his sister’s hand and Dawn’s while Owen gripped Dawn’s shoulder and held her other hand.