Claiming Excalibur

by LH Nicole

  “Died,” he finished quietly.

  She nodded against him as her tears fell. “After the police, I’ve never spoken to anyone about it. Wade just thinks Josh and I broke up and luckily he was traveling for martial arts tournaments throughout the trial. Please don’t tell him or any of the others. I don’t want them to know.”

  “I will never break your confidence, my love.” He rocked her back and forth, holding her tightly but never so tight that he hurt her. She buried her face in his chest and wept out all the lingering pain of betrayal. Now that she’d shared this with Galahad, she felt the strain of her secret ease as the band around her heart, her bond with Galahad, swelled, pushing it away.

  Slowly her tears dried, and she took a few hiccupping breaths, glancing at the others. They all still slept. Galahad brushed away the tear tracks on her red cheeks and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead, then on the tip of her nose, her left cheek, and then her right. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that again.” He held her swimming gaze with his blazing midnight blue one. Tentatively, he leaned in and placed a loving, comforting kiss on her slightly parted mouth.

  Pressing upward, she deepened their kiss, losing herself in the love that swirled between them. His addictive scent and the tingling silver sparks were slowly mending her heart. That kiss could’ve gone on forever as far as Aliana was concerned. She clutched at him, letting him anchor her in the here and now. But when she felt her lungs begging for air, she reluctantly pulled back. Both of them breathed hard as he rested his whiskered cheek against the side of her face.

  “Looks like you’re a wee bit distracted, my friends,” Leo said from behind them.

  Pulling away and turning toward the Scot, Aliana lifted her hands to her cheeks in embarrassment.

  “I can take over from here, if you like—on watch duty, that is,” Leo added with a wink.

  Galahad nodded in thanks and helped Aliana to her feet. They said good night and went to their pallets. Dagg moved to the other side of Aliana’s, closer to the fire, when Galahad pulled his bed against hers. She turned on her side, petting her guardian.

  “I’m sorry for your pain. I wish you’d never been exposed to such darkness in your life,” her guardian told her through their mental connection.

  “Thanks, Dagg.” She snuggled into Galahad as he curved his body to hers. After pulling the blanket over them, he slid one arm under her head and wrapped the other securely over her waist. Despite having freshly relived such a horrible time of her life, Aliana fell asleep almost immediately, feeling safer and more cared for than she had in a long time.

  “Everyone, get up!” Owen’s alarmed shouts broke through Aliana’s thick cloud of sleep. She shot up and Galahad rose with her, automatically grabbing his broad sword lying next to him.

  “What’s going on?” Lacy blinked furiously in the dark hall. It was lit only by remnants of fire and the first rays of the morning sun. Dagg’s eyes glowed with magic.

  Aliana opened her senses, searching. A zinging blackness flowed toward her. “Mordrid!” She scrambled to her feet. “I’d know that sick magic anywhere!” She trembled as she grabbed her stuff, watching the guys arm themselves and move toward the door.

  “What about our things?” Lacy asked, drawing her sword and trying to douse the dying fire.

  “Leave them!” Arthur ordered. “Only take what’s important!” He ran over to one of the windows. “How the bloody hell did he find us?”

  Aliana tied her bag securely across her chest and ran to the king’s side by the colored glass. She shrieked as one of the Zombie monsters from the college slammed against the window, cracking the panes.

  “We need to get out of here now!” Galahad ordered, grabbing Aliana’s hand. Lacy came up next to her, and the guys formed a loose circle around the girls. As a group, they ran through the cold, plant-infested halls and down the sweeping staircase that led to the main courtyard.

  “How can he even be here?” Aliana asked between rushed breaths. “I thought Titania didn’t allow evil things into her realm!”

  “Now isn’t the most opportune time to worry about that, cousin,” Owen barked. They burst into the shadow-cloaked courtyard and were surrounded within seconds by the insane electric gray clouds. The fog crackled and vanished, leaving behind the grotesque, raccoon-eyed monsters with razor sharp teeth and spiked sticks.

  “Holy Power Rangers, D wasn’t kidding!” Lacy gasped, pressing her back to Aliana’s.

  Aliana held her hand over the ruby and called her black bow. She drew her hand back, summoning a glowing pink arrow.

  “Someone has a new trick,” Mordrid’s shrill voice taunted from her left. She swung around and through a small gap between Leo and Galahad, leveled the arrow at the dark wizard. The black-haired warlock stood safely behind two layers of monsters.

  “You won’t trick us this time!” Lacy hissed.

  “Who says that’s my intention?” Mordrid asked, a leering smirk on his mouth as his black eyes raked up and down what he could see of Aliana’s body.

  She suppressed her shiver, not wanting to give the creeper the satisfaction of knowing he affected her.

  “Then what do you want?” Arthur demanded.

  Mordrid finally pulled his eyes from Aliana and leveled a look of hatred at Arthur. “I want to finally kill you and your upstart knights, claim my queen, and my kingdom!”

  The guys growled, and shouts of “never” and “not likely” fell from their mouths. They shifted, ready to battle their way out of the trap and get to the gate.

  “Their own weapons destroy them,” Aliana reminded them in a low voice. “Dagg, how far is the portal from here?”

  “It’s just beyond the far wall to your right. If we can get there, you can open the gate.”

  Aliana gulped the nervous lump clogging her throat.

  “You don’t have time for doubts!” Dagg circled above her and Lacy, his glowing eyes vigilant.

  “Right,” she said back, taking a breath and focusing on getting her friends to safety.

  “You won’t succeed in your schemes,” Arthur shouted. “We know your plans and we know how to stop you!”

  “You think you know.” Mordrid’s nasally voice and raven-like eyes taunted them. “I bet none of you even understand the price you’ll have to pay to stop me.”

  “What does he mean?” Aliana demanded of Dagg.

  The Dragon didn’t get to answer because the Zombies attacked. The knights met them head on, battling them back, slicing arms and knees from the sandy creatures. Owen lashed out, cutting the heads off two of them. He grabbed a barbed stick from a flailing hand and axed it through their lingering bodies. The monsters lit up like electrocuted animals and vanished in on themselves.

  Arthur launched himself at the horde in front of him. Excalibur glinted in the rising sunlight before the king cut the arms from one beast. He pivoted in an arc, chopping off another’s head and running two more through with the Dragon-forged blade. Surprisingly, the Zombies lit up like Christmas trees and disintegrated.

  “Or you could do that,” Aliana quipped.

  Everything happened fast. The knights cut down the monsters, but some were able to regenerate. Galahad took three of them out with a blow so hard that the poisoned barbs broke off from the stick, jutting out from the oozing sides of the things as they evaporated.

  “How are we going to get past these cartoon-reject-Zombies?” Lacy groaned, reaching down to grab one of the monster’s weapons that had rolled to her feet. Aliana looked around frantically, unsure what they could do. The guys moved so fast she couldn’t get an arrow off without hurting one of them. Every time it seemed like they could make a push through the mob, the monsters regrouped and swarmed like flesh-eating beetles.

  “We need to clear a path now!” Galahad shouted over raging battle cries and clashing of cold steel against Zombie flesh.

  Aliana’s terrified eyes went to Mordrid, who watched the whole display from behind the attacking ring
of his demons. His nightmarish eyes and twisting sneer practically dared her to attack him. She watched his hand sweep forward. More monsters materialized. They were never going to get out of this if he kept creating Zombies faster than they could destroy them.

  Her eyes flicked up and she saw the distraction they needed. She leveled her arrow on Mordrid but raised the bow and loosed the arrow before he could realize her intent. The bolt blasted apart the wall that rose above the evil wizard. She took just enough time to savor the look of utter shock on his snarling face before she whirled around and grabbed at the restless earth energy. It felt as if it had been waiting for her attention.

  “Guys, step back!” she yelled, punching her gauntlet-covered fist into the ground. The earth beneath the monsters shook and tore apart, rising like two great waves and crushing the Zombies with falling rubble and chunks of stone. “Let’s go!” she ordered, getting back to her feet. The seven of them and Dagg rushed through the new clearing.

  Galahad, Leo, and Percy turned, letting the others rush past. The three of them held back the onslaught of pursuing Zombies. Percy and Leo followed quickly, but her white knight stayed back.

  “Galahad!” Aliana cried, but he continued to use his super speed and strength to hold off their enemy. Panicked, she nocked another of her magic arrows. She loosed it. Twisting her hand, she commanded the ruby to multiply the sparking blast. A dozen more pink arrows snapped to life, hitting the monsters and the arch above them. The rocks fell and crushed them.

  Galahad was instantly at her side, a grim smile of thanks on his mouth as he grabbed her hand and rushed her to the safety of the group.

  “We need to find that portal!” Arthur’s eyes flicked toward the rising sun. “We don’t have long before it’ll move again!”

  Aliana expanded her magical senses to locate the grid point, but noxious magic choked her. She fell to her knees, gagging as she tried to push away the evil smoke.

  “Dagg, what’s happening?” she faintly heard Arthur ask.

  “He’s attacking her through her magic senses!” Weight settled on her shoulders, and she instantly felt her guardian’s power fueling her own. Warm hands gripped her face, and silver sparks flooded her, battling back the suffocating magic with a ruthlessness that had her sagging in relief.

  “Aliana?” Galahad called as she gasped in much needed fresh air again and again.

  “Over there.” She pointed just beyond them at a wall of Zombies.

  Galahad turned and shot to his feet, drawing a long dagger—the one she’d bought him at the festival. He threw it like a boomerang at the front wave of Zombies. As soon as the enchanted blade whizzed through them, the beasts exploded like geysers of gray sand. The dagger swerved back, returning to Galahad’s hand.

  “Where do I get one of those?” Percy stared lustfully at the blade in his friend’s hand.

  “No time,” Arthur said, getting Aliana back to her feet. “We need to open the portal!”

  Aliana nodded and looked to Dagg. “I need you to shield me!” Between one heartbeat and the next, she felt an impenetrable bubble circle her magic deep inside her. She blocked out the sight of the Zombies getting closer and the sound of battle as the guys fought them off.

  “You can’t escape me, Destined One!” Mordrid snarled, but she blocked him out too and pinpointed the gate. When they’d entered the Isle, she and Dagg had traced an outline against the gnarled tree to create the gateway, but the whirling power in her gauntlet urged her to open the portal another way. She gripped her bow tight and drew another magic arrow, aiming directly for the point. She released the glittering starburst and it zoomed forward, twisting to create a glowing oval outline. The space within parted like stage curtains, and Aliana could see the beach behind her house, the same beach she and Arthur had danced on only a few nights ago.

  “Go!” She sprinted forward.

  Abandoning the fight, the guys fell in around her and Lacy and rushed the portal. Power flowed over them like a gusting wave, and the ground beneath their feet changed from cold, hard, bluish-green grass to sun-warmed sand.

  Aliana turned just as the last knight, Leo, stumbled through. She raised her hand to close the gate, but her eyes caught the furious glare of Mordrid just as he hurled a black spear of magic straight at her. The blast penetrated the portal before it fully shut, and her eyes grew wide as she realized she wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to avoid the attack.

  Everything around her slowed. The sound of her raging heart filled her ears. Seconds before the spear would’ve hit her heart, a green flash barreled into her, knocking her out of the magic’s path. A loud roar of pain pierced her deafness as the portal snapped closed and the world returned to normal speed.

  The heavy, dead weight of Galahad pinned her to the scraping sand. “Galahad!” she screamed, fighting to get air into her lungs. Wrapping her arms around him and as carefully as possible, she rolled him onto his back. She cradled his head, getting to her knees and pushing aside his layers of torn clothing, searching for injuries. A gaping wound oozed red blood and black, inky magic. “No!”

  Arthur fell to his knees next to her. Rushed footfalls on sand came toward them, and she barely registered the sudden presence of Lancelot, Merlin, Wade, and Dawn. Angry and terrified voices swam around her while she tried to stem the blood loss with her trembling hands. She felt his spirit separating from his body as he coughed up more blood and black ooze. No, No, No! She couldn’t lose someone else she loved.

  Her reserve of pink sparks bubbled, mixing with the swirling power of her ruby. Seizing it all, she pushed it into Galahad’s wounds, using every ounce of magic to heal him and hold his soul to his body. I love you! You can’t leave me alone; you promised!

  “Aliana?” he wheezed.

  She stared into his bright, beautiful eyes and sagged in relief. Then she fell into oblivion.

  20

  I felt so weak after Aliana’s burst of healing magic. It’s not the first time I’ve realized that if she’s hurt, so am I. It’s a sign of our growing connection. Fortunately, I managed to remain conscious. More of my strength has returned since Merlin gave Aliana a magical boost. Galahad is nearly inconsolable. It took Lancelot, Wade, and Owen to get him to release her long enough for Merlin to help. The king seemed only able to stare at her still, pale body. I’m starting to suspect that a hidden magic is at work here—or possibly magics. I’ll feel better when she wakes.

  ~Dagg

  THE BEAUTY OF THE STARLIT GREEK TEMPLE that was partly crumbled around her was beyond imagining. She got to her feet, and a silky gown slid across her sensitive skin. What? The dress was like something from a fantasy painting with its creamy white, draped fabric and gold cords around her torso. Heavy, circular clips held it to her body at her shoulders. Not a painting—my photo! But what was she doing inside her own photograph?

  Her hands trailed over cold, stone pillars as she passed them. Just a few columns down, she found what she was looking for. Resting atop a shortened pillar was a black box made of wrought iron. Its bumps and ridges formed a twisting pattern that spanned the entire thing.

  She looked around to be sure she was alone. If these strange dreams had taught her one thing, it was that she was rarely by herself. Sometimes the other people could see her, too. But this time there was no one else. What on earth could all this mean? she asked herself, circling the box, her fingers brushing over the warm metal.

  “It’s here,” a fierce, female voice said.

  Aliana immediately jumped back against a pillar, swiveling to hide behind it. Loud, clacking footsteps drew closer. The scene changed, and she was suddenly in the hidden room in Camelot. This time the room was almost cozy with warmth. The buzzing of powerful magic lingered in the air. The door creaked open, and Aliana spun, dashing behind a tall, freestanding bookshelf that had just enough space behind it for her to fit.

  “Where did you find it?” another female voiced asked. This one was softer.

  “It was right
where he said it would be,” the first voice said. Aliana peeked around the case as far as she dared. She recognized the pale blond hair and cold hazel eyes of Morgana, but the raven-haired beauty with caramel skin and gray eyes was a stranger to her. Damn. This really was Morgana’s evil hidey-hole!

  “Let me look at it,” the dark girl commanded. Obediently, Morgana took the box from the table and handed it to the woman, whose lavender-gray eyes roamed over the object. “It’s perfect!”

  “I know. He’ll be so pleased. We’re one step closer to finally conquering our enemies.” Morgana laughed.

  “Yes, my girl, but we must not make any hasty moves. We should wait awhile before revealing that we have the artifact. One very nice benefit of this box is that it’s the perfect vessel for holding things.”

  “Yes, that’s why we need it for our plan to work!”

  “Patience, child.” The mystery woman stroked a hand down Morgana’s arm and set the box back onto the table. “For now, we’ll use it to keep this hidden.” She pulled out a small scroll held closed by a mercury-colored, wax seal.

  Morgana held her hands over the box and whispered something under her breath. Blue waves of magic circled the box and lifted the lid. Black smoke puffed out, slowly spiraling up and out. The dark woman tucked the parchment into the box and Morgana lowered the lid. The black smoke was sucked back in when the lid sealed itself.

  Son of a biscuit! Aliana thought, her heart racing as she watched the two women cast another spell that caused the box to vanish. This is so not good.

  The women turned toward the bookcase she hid behind, and Aliana jerked back so fast her arm smacked against the wood, making a dull thumping sound.

  “Who’s there?” Morgana snapped.

  Aliana could do nothing but pray she’d wake up.

  “Reveal yourself!” the other woman commanded.

  Aliana’s body jerked in response. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, she chanted to herself. The few seconds it should’ve taken Morgana to reach her seemed to stretch into hours. Wake up!