Claiming Excalibur

by LH Nicole

  “We need to take this back inside,” the king said. Within seconds, they were all in the house with the back door shut and locked. Aliana and Lacy went immediately to Dawn’s side.

  “You will not under any circumstances give yourself or the box over to Mordrid!” Arthur ordered.

  “I know,” Aliana said. “But we can’t—”

  Merlin cut her off. “We’ll find a way to save them without exposing you!”

  Aliana tried to speak again, “Okay, but—”

  “We must be clever in planning this,” Leo said. “They’ll surely expect us to try something.”

  “Would you arrogant boys listen—” Aliana said, raising her voice, but the guys ignored her again.

  “Enough!” Dagg said, silencing everyone as he wrapped himself around Aliana’s shoulders. “We don’t have time to argue. We need to work together, and that means listening to every option.”

  “We can’t give them either Aliana or the box,” Wade insisted.

  “Agreed,” Galahad said. “But we need to make them think we will.”

  “But what can we do?” Wade asked. “We can’t leave Aunt Michelle or Joe in their hands. They’ll kill them.”

  “What if we went and—”

  “You heard what we just said, Aliana. We can’t turn you over to them,” Owen interjected.

  She growled in frustration. “If you guys would let me speak, you’d realize I’m not saying we do, but what if they’re expecting you guys to leave me behind? We can’t take that chance, and as they proved in London, they know you guys are inclined to leave me, us, out of the line of danger.”

  Arthur frowned. “What would you suggest then?”

  She took a breath, her eyes meeting Galahad’s. “What if I go, but in disguise? I can use my magic to appear as one of you and make one of you look like me.”

  Merlin stroked his chin. “It could work, but such a glamour would take considerable magic, and it would easily be detected if Mordrid looked deep enough.”

  “Is there some way to mask the spell?” Owen asked.

  Lancelot spoke up for the first time. “No guaranteed way, no. And Mordrid was always adept at identifying magical signatures. Remember, he himself has used this tactic before so he’ll know what to look for.”

  Aliana’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

  “Before we knew of Morgana’s treachery, he and she used this exact plan back in Camelot,” Galahad told her. “He’d see right through your plan, as clever as it is.” She studied his intense blue eyes, noting their darkened color.

  “Then what are we going to do to save my mom and Joe?” Dawn asked. Her voice was wobbly but strong.

  “Then I go without a disguise and use the power of the ruby,” Aliana said.

  “No,” several of the knights said at the same time.

  “I have another idea,” Merlin said. “We take the box, and I can use something of Aliana’s to create a doppelgänger with a magic I’ve only started to use in the last century. Mordrid and Morgana won’t expect it.”

  “But won’t they still be able to—” Lacy started to say, but Leo spoke over her.

  “That could work,” he said.

  Owen jumped in. “They’ll sense Aliana’s presence with us using something she’s tied to.”

  Merlin nodded vigorously, looking almost wolfish with pride. “The magic needed to create a doppelgänger isn’t as strong as what’s required for the type of transformation Aliana suggested. It could be easily mistaken for power coming from her ruby.”

  “You guys can’t leave me here!” Aliana insisted. “They made it clear that I need to be there!”

  “And you will be, in a sense,” Arthur said. Aliana sucked in a breath, surprised that he’d so readily agree.

  “You guys can’t go without me!” She stepped forward, her eyes focused on Galahad. “You said it yourself back in London—you need me!”

  “It’s too dangerous this time, Lia.” Wade came to her side, but she didn’t take her eyes from Galahad’s.

  Her white knight looked away from her, his face tight. “We can’t chance having you with us.”

  “But you can risk that stupid box!” Her furious eyes swept over the guys, landing on Arthur.

  “Merlin’s plan is the best one we have,” Arthur said to her firmly, as a king, not her dear friend, and that hurt almost as much as Galahad’s refusal to support her.

  “He’s right, Aliana,” Percy said. “You’re too emotional. Your judgment will be clouded, and that makes you easy pickings for them to manipulate.”

  Aliana stepped back, hurt beyond words that all the guys seemed to have so little trust in her.

  “You guys can’t be serious!” Lacy cried. Her furious glare was directed solely at her boyfriend.

  “Do you really want to place Lia in that kind of danger, sis?” Wade asked.

  Aliana fisted her shaking hand. With her temper exploding, her magic rose to the surface. “I won’t just sit back and—”

  Galahad was suddenly in her face with his blazing blue eyes boring into her heated green ones. “We don’t have time to debate this.”

  “Don’t do this, Galahad,” she pleaded. Dagg tucked himself closer, trying to soothe her temper with his magic, but it had little effect.

  “What do you need from Aliana to make her double, Merlin?” Galahad asked.

  “No!” Aliana cried. Unable to bear being so close to Galahad as her heart shattered, she went to Arthur, but even he shook his head.

  “Anything will do,” the Druid answered.

  “How about this?” Wade picked up a silk flower from a small vase next to the couch. “She made it.” Her mother had taught her how to make those flowers when she was twelve to cure her boredom after she’d broken her leg and had to stay off of it.

  Aliana looked at her sisters. They seemed to be just as shocked and upset as she was. But what could they do? She went over to them. Together they’d figure out a way to follow the guys. Her chest tightened, and her breath was stolen from her. Turning, she met the uncompromising gaze of Merlin.

  Don’t even think about it, he raged in her mind, taking the flower from her traitor of a friend’s hand.

  It took only seconds for Merlin to create the look-alike. His orange rays saturated the fake rose until the light became almost blinding. When it receded, Aliana felt as if she was looking in a mirror. The clone wore the same baby pink T-shirt, gray-washed jeans, and black ballet flats. They were really going to do this. They were going to play Russian roulette with her uncle’s and Dawn’s mother’s lives.

  “I won’t just let—” She didn’t get to finish her sentence before Galahad grabbed her, lifting her in his arms and jostling Dagg from his perch. He used his super speed to whisk her up to her room, dropping her on her bed. His eyes swam with darkness, their normally brilliant color dull, and she knew instantly that his panic had broken past the shields she’d built for him.

  His fuming face hovered only inches away from hers. “You’ll stay here where you’re safe. Trust us to handle this.”

  “Like you trust me?” she hissed, pushing him away.

  He grabbed her arm before she could roll off the bed. “If you try to follow us, you’ll be intentionally putting your life in danger.”

  Merlin’s promise magic burned as bright. Her arms and legs locked still as a statue, and she sat helplessly imprisoned on her bed. “No! Galahad, Merlin’s magic is holding me. I can’t move. You have to talk to him, convince him that we’ll all be safer if we’re together. Otherwise he’s going to trap me here.”

  “Good.”

  She stared into Galahad’s pained but determined face. “How can you say that?” she whispered, not able to draw a deep enough breath to scream like she wanted to.

  “I will do anything to keep you safe.” His voice had a harsh edge to it that she’d never expected to hear from the knight she loved so much. He stood, and she watched him move toward the door.

 
“Don’t do this, Galahad.” Her lip trembled. Lacy and Dawn burst into the room, their jaws falling open as they took in the tension clotting the room.

  “I’m sorry,” the knight whispered before leaving the room.

  “What the heck just happened?” Lacy gasped as the door clicked shut.

  Hot tears leaked from Aliana’s eyes. “Galahad just showed how little faith he has in me and our bond.”

  22

  We know they won’t bring the Destined One with them. Mordrid merely hopes to obtain the Destiny Box. Those fools don’t know how easy it was to set this up, how close to home they have a traitor. But he’s already failed us once. He was supposed to do a better job of hiding the location of Excalibur. I’ll have to make him suffer for that. But I also must figure out how Merlin will come at us. My former lover likes to think he’s so clever, but I can tell his powers aren’t what they used to be.

  ~Morgana

  “WE CAN’T LET THEM DO THIS!” Dawn grabbed Aliana’s hand to help her up from the bed. “They’re going to get mom…” She choked on the words.

  Her friend’s anguish was enough to calm Aliana’s racing mind. She needed to move! But she was stuck. Lacy grabbed onto her other hand. “Lia, this is no time to just sit there!”

  “I can’t move. Merlin,” was all she had to say in explanation.

  Both girls’ eyes widened. “That jackass!” Dawn shouted.

  Aliana closed her eyes, blocking out Dawn’s seething rant. She still had her own magic. Maybe she could find a way around the power that held her. A warm wave brushed over her, and she gasped, recognizing the feel of Merlin’s orange magic as it retreated. Her body unlocked. She rushed past the other girls, jerking the door open. The trio thundered down the stairs to see Dagg hovering in the air next to Flora.

  “They just left!” their Pixie friend told them. Dawn and Lacy grabbed their swords and rushed with Aliana to the front door.

  “If we work together again, Lacy, we can shift and follow them,” Aliana said.

  “How will you know where to go?” Dagg’s cold rationale made her pause for a second.

  “I can track them with the tracking marks!” she said, opening the door—or trying to.

  “Lia?” Lacy asked when Aliana tugged on the door handle again.

  “It won’t open.” She twisted the knob furiously.

  Dagg flew next to her and very quietly said, “Merlin cast a spell to keep all of you in the house.”

  “How could you let him do that?” Dawn screeched and grabbed at the doorknob, too. The two girls pulled frantically, but the door refused to open.

  “I’ve seen this spell before,” Flora said, sounding upset. “You won’t get out.”

  “We’ll see ’bout that.” Lacy dashed to the back door, but it also refused to open. Aliana rushed into the kitchen past a startled Sabine, and pulled at the kitchen door. But Merlin had every exit covered.

  “No!” Aliana cried out in frustration. She pushed her magic into the lock and forced it back. Clenching her jaw, sweat beaded on her body as she struggled through the backlash of the magic of her vow.

  “Aliana,” Dagg said from behind her.

  Fury coursed through her as she wheeled on the Dragon. “You let them do this!”

  “No, I didn’t. Trapping you here the way they have is a violation of your trust. But I do agree that having you at the exchange wouldn’t have been the wisest course of action.”

  Too furious for words, Aliana pushed past her guardian and went to the family room to join the other girls. “Did you try the windows?”

  They nodded. Tears streamed down Dawn’s cheeks, and Lacy looked like a beaten puppy. “How could they do this to us?” she asked.

  Aliana ran her shaking hands through her hair. “Maybe I can use the ruby to break through his spell.”

  Dagg flew in front of her, his clawed hand taking her gloved one when she raised it. “I don’t agree with their decision to hold you here against your will, but if you go now, you’ll place them in even more danger.”

  Lacy whimpered, tossing her sword to the floor and sinking onto the couch. Dawn followed suit, burying her face in her hands.

  “Why didn’t you try to stop him from trapping us?” Aliana asked, looking out the large window at the empty front yard.

  “I was on my way to you when Galahad rushed past me. They were all out the door before I could get back to them.”

  Flora hovered next to Dawn and Lacy, handing them several tissues.

  “So all we can do is sit here and hope that Mordrid falls for their trick?” Aliana slumped onto the couch next to her best friends—apparently the only ones she had left to stand beside her. Dagg landed on her lap, his purple eyes meeting and holding hers. She could see his regret and believed that he didn’t agree with what the guys had done.

  Dawn wiped her red, puffy eyes with a tissue. “I just can’t believe Merlin would go this far, especially after…”

  “After what?” Lacy demanded.

  Dawn shook her head, her long, brown locks falling around her face. “It’s just, while you all were on the Isle of the Blessed and we were taking care of Wade, I thought—” she frowned and sat back “—I thought he and I had formed a friendship of sorts.”

  “Did he tell you about any of the things he’s been hiding from us?” Aliana asked.

  “Not directly. I overheard part of a conversation with him and Lancelot. I didn’t understand it, but…I think you were right, Lia. There’s more to his story with Morgana and whatever Titania did to him in punishment for leaving Avalon and Arthur.” She cleared her throat and her voice took on a softer edge. “Despite being mad at him for locking us in, I do think he did it because he was genuinely worried for your safety.”

  Aliana stifled her snort of disbelief. She knew for a fact Merlin’s actions weren’t so noble.

  “Tell me you didn’t fall for that jackass Druid!” Lacy said.

  “No! Wade and I actually…”

  Aliana stared at her friend, her anger temporarily receding. “What? You guys actually…what?”

  Dawn flushed, giving them a shy smile. “We kinda kissed a few times.”

  “What the heck?” Aliana asked, a small measure of happiness for her friends filling her.

  “Are y’all mad?” Dawn asked sheepishly.

  “No!” Lacy said.

  “Why would we be?” Aliana asked, grinning at her friend.

  “Well, I always thought he had a thing for you, Lia.” Dawn’s face fell a second later. “Not that it matters now.”

  Lacy frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “How can we be together after what they just did?”

  Aliana felt her tears returning as she thought about Galahad’s betrayal. Even after all they’d been through and after she’d told him what would happen if he gave into his baser desires. How could the shields she’d built for him have failed so miserably?

  “What are you going to do about Galahad?” Dawn asked.

  “I warned him,” she said, trying to hide how much she was hurting. “I warned him on the Isle what would happen if he ever did something like this.”

  “What do you mean?” Dawn asked, and Aliana told Dawn about her conversation with him.

  “We’re done. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me and who I can’t count on to be there for me.” Her voice wobbled as the tears returned.

  “Don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Dagg asked.

  She shook her head. “You were there. You heard me warn him.”

  “He won’t just accept that, Lia,” Lacy whispered. “He messed up—big time—but don’t people who love each other try to work these things out?”

  “All of the guys have a lot to answer for.” Aliana got up from the couch and went to the bathroom to wash her face. She looked in the mirror as she dabbed her face dry, studying her reflection. Her green eyes stood out vividly against the red of her bloodshot eyes. She looked paler than normal and older some
how. Maybe it was her heartbreak she was seeing, but one thing she knew for sure was that she couldn’t be with Galahad like she had been. With this one action, everything between them had changed.

  At the sound of a loud banging, she dropped the towel and dashed into the living room, summoning her magic in case they were under attack. She skidded to a stop when she saw the front door open and Galahad supporting Owen. Her cousin was covered in mud and rivulets of blood. She gasped in dismay as they moved aside and a battered Lancelot and Leo came in holding Arthur between them. The king was unconscious.

  Eyes wide, she watched Lacy run into Percy’s arms. The giant of a knight hugged her tightly despite being covered with several of his own wounds.

  “What happened?” Aliana asked in horror as Owen and Arthur were laid down on the couches. She went to them, sidestepping Galahad’s hand when he reached for her. Her lingering anger was shoved aside for the moment as worry for her friends took over. Dagg took his accustomed place on her shoulders. His magic fed into her.

  “I need to see to their wounds,” Merlin said from behind her. She turned her cold gaze to the Druid, satisfied when he looked somewhat abashed by her withering stare.

  “You guys may not trust me to do much of anything, but this we already know I’m more than capable of.” She summoned her sparkling pink magic and that of the ruby in her gauntlet. Holding her hands out, she sent her magic into Owen and Arthur, seeking their wounds. She had to steady herself when she realized just how badly they were hurt. Owen had several fractured bones and half a dozen deep lacerations. Arthur was even worse with cracked ribs and internal bleeding. She sent another wave of her swirling, bubbly magic into them, commanding it to heal every wound and ache.

  A few minutes later, she sat back on her heels. Sweat trickled down her temples and spine, but the magical drain wasn’t as bad as it had been with Galahad. Aliana suspected that was because she hadn’t lost control of herself this time. Not that she’d ever to admit that to him.

  “What happened?” Dawn asked, her voice trembling. “Where are mom and Joe?”