Relics of Camelot

by L. H. Nicole

  “Princess,” Falorn said, drawing everyone’s attention. “You should not reveal too much to us of the future.” The older Fae looked at Galahad and the other four knights who were returning with the horses. “Even if the future is determined, no man should know what his fate is to be.”

  Aliana nodded as Gawain caught the others up. Arthur and Galahad stood side by side as Aliana went to them. “Please say you understand that I have to go. I have no idea how my being here has affected my own timeline. The sooner I complete these tasks for Titania, the sooner…” She let her words trail. They knew what she was saying.

  “Then we will all go with you,” Galahad insisted. “Morgana knows where you are going and why. They will no doubt be laying a trap for you.”

  Aliana’s gut twisted, the voice in her head questioning that suspicion. Assembling a weapon as powerful as the Spear of Hel would take time and power. The three of them had to be weakened after this battle and the magic used. If she had that weapon, her first focus would be on getting it together.

  “Maybe,” Aliana told the white knight, trusting her instincts. “But we don’t know that for sure, and this isn’t something I can avoid any longer. Maybe if I had done more sooner, learned of the map sooner, none of this would be happening.”

  The two were silent as everyone gathered around waiting for the king’s decision.

  “We cannot let you go on this quest alone.” He held up his hand to silence her as she started to protest. “We know, you think none can travel through the portal with you, but you don’t know that for certain.”

  Aliana bit back her argument. Fighting would do her no good right now.

  Arthur looked over her shoulder to Merlin, who had come to stand behind her. “You said you were sent to Aliana when she arrived.”

  The Druid nodded.

  Arthur’s golden eyes came back to her. “Then you will go with her. Protect her and travel to the Underworld with her. You and Sir Gawain.”

  “Sire,” Galahad started.

  The king shook his head. “You and I are needed in Camelot.”

  “Falorn and I will also accompany our princess,” D’varin added.

  Aliana tore her eyes from Arthur, her sadness at their loss returning through all the other swirling emotions flying around them. “What about Echary?”

  Falorn smiled solemnly. “We will send him home to the Isle where his sister Freya can bury him with honor.”

  Aliana jolted at the name. He couldn’t possibly mean Leo’s Freya, could he?

  It had taken Arthur finally ordering Galahad to return to Camelot with the rest for the white knight to finally accept Aliana leaving with Gawain, Merlin and the Fae warriors. She hated that he was so upset, still so raw over losing Sophvira. But then being separated for this part of her quest was for the best.

  “Do you believe having any of the guys go to the Underworld with us is a good idea, Dagg?”

  “Sadly, no.”

  “I’m gonna need Merlin’s help to keep them from trying to follow.” Dagg’s reluctance was like a wet blanket but he also knew she was right.

  “Aliana?” Gawain’s gruff annoyed voice broke her from her private conversation.

  “What were you asking, Sir Gawain?”

  “I was saying that we should stop and water the horses and try to find out how much further to this portal of yours.”

  She followed as he veered to the left. They came to a small running stream not far off the trail they had been using. Aliana dismounted, her thigh muscles protesting the long hours they had rode and the lingering weakness of her magic drain.

  She led her horse to the water, pulled free her own water sack as her mount drank her fill. She looked to Merlin, a few feet down from her. He was silent and brooding and she couldn’t blame him. Gawain and the Fae were in the middle of a quiet conversation so she made her way to the Druid.

  “Merlin?” She rested her hand on his shoulder. “We need to talk about the Grail of Power.”

  “What of it?” His voice was low and hollow.

  “After I enter the Underworld, you need to send word to Delphina and go to Avalon.”

  The Druid sighed, running his hand through his wind tussled hair. “Arthur will not like it.”

  She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “If anyone would understand, it’s Arthur.” She smiled dreamily. “He understands love and is compassionate.”

  Merlin frowned. “And is very serious about us protecting you.”

  Aliana pursed her lips. “Don’t be so thick headed, Merlin. This is your chance to save Morgana. You have to take it. Besides, none of you can go with me to the Underworld. You will be sitting around until I come back. Might as well make good use of that time.”

  The Druid nodded once. “You are asking me to distract them, keep the others from following you through the gate, yes?”

  She shrugged sheepishly. “You know the Fae Queen, do you really think she would want, much less let anyone else interfere with my quest?”

  Merlin shook his head and turned to pat his horse on the neck as it drank.

  Understanding the dismissal, Aliana turned back to her own horse, where Dagg was perched on her saddle. “Let’s see just how close this gate is.” She called on a small bubble of ruby magic and summoned the holograph-like globe with all the portal points like Merlin had taught her in their first magic lesson.

  “Amazing,” D’varin said, coming to stand by her side. The others followed, each taking in the map.

  Merlin’s mental voice stole into her mind. “Where did you learn this?”

  She looked at him through the map and shrugged, not wanting to have to lie.

  “I see.” The Druid’s mind pulled from hers.

  “How close are we, Aliana?” Gawain asked, rubbing his hand over his stubbly jaw. Aliana couldn’t help thinking all the guys needed a good shave right now.

  “Not far.” She pointed to a bright pink star only inches from a flashing brownish green one. “We are maybe another hour or so away. We need to keep heading northeast.”

  A few minutes later, they were all back in their saddles and riding toward the portal. It was early night, judging by how low the sun had gotten when they arrived. She opened her senses, felt around for…something she had never felt before. She had never had any exposure to the Underworld, so she didn’t know what to expect.

  A rolling earthly power drew her attention leading her toward an open stretch of grass left bare by the surrounding trees.

  “We are very close to where we faced that Manticore,” Gawain mused. “There is no doubt now that it had to come from the Underworld.”

  Merlin nodded. “But we still do not know who or why it was sent.”

  “It had to be Raven and Viviane, right?” Aliana asked, dismounting. Dagg settled around her shoulders as she looked around the small clearing. “Raven…Mordrid was there, he could have easily been controlling it.”

  Falorn circled the area studying the trees like he could see through them to find any hidden enemies. And maybe he could. The Fae were a very gifted race. “If that is indeed true, then you could be in even graver danger, Princess.”

  D’varin agreed. “If they had control of the Manticore, then they may have allies in the Underworld. All the more reason for us to escort you, Princess.”

  Aliana held back a groan. She was grateful for everything they were willing to do for her, but she didn’t like how they thought she couldn’t do this on her own. She needed to be back in control again. Nothing had gone right since she first arrived here. Now was her chance to change that.

  “That’s lovely, but I need to figure out how to open this portal first.” Aliana crouched down, following her instinct to touch her fingers to the ground. A different kind of earth energy came to her. Stronger, but somehow more silent and charged. She followed it with her magic senses to the center of the open area. “Well that seems a little obvious,” she muttered.

  The power called to her, whispering in her
ear how to open this gate. Much like the attack she favored to destroy and free the conscripted black knights, Aliana felt the power take root and push up through the soil. Sprouts grew up into a twining, thick trunk before splitting apart and twisting through the air, forming a long oval. When the roots met again, it was like a mirror had grown from the earth, complete with three steps that ascended to the vine portal.

  “That was not exactly what I was expecting,” Aliana said, getting to her feet. “I was expecting more doom and gloom, maybe some creepy split in the earth or something equally terrifying.”

  Merlin came to her side. “Many do. But they are wrong. The Underworld is the land of death, yes, but it is also a land of great power and life.” Merlin’s gray blue eyes met hers. He nodded ever so slightly, telling her he was ready to keep the others back.

  Aliana connected with the magic of the Underworld again, asking it to open the gate so she may cross over. Electric green flashes of power shot across the open space between the vines. “I guess that means enter.”

  Dagg circled tightly around her shoulders and she stepped up on the first step. She paused, waiting to see if the magic of the gate would reject her or bring forth a crazy creature like the Banshees that had attacked them when they tried to enter the Isle.

  But nothing happened.

  She looked back at Gawain and the others and smiled. She waved once, then climbed the last few steps. In the magic’s reflection she saw Gawain and Falorn rush forward. Before Merlin could stop them, jade green magic shot past her creating a barrier that kept them all from following.

  Be careful. Merlin’s last mental words rang through her mind as she crossed over into the realm of the Underlord and his son, Death.

  Aliana pushed herself up from the cold jade floor she had fallen on. “That’s gonna hurt in the morning,” she mumbled, rubbing her shoulder and neck. “Dagg, are we in the Underworld?” She looked around but found no sign of her marble scaled guardian. Her anxiety spiked. “Dagg? If this is a joke, this so isn’t the time!”

  She looked around, but the almost total darkness made it impossible to find her Dragon, if he was even there. But why wouldn’t he be? Taking a big breath Aliana sought into herself to check the strength of her returning magic. She was shocked to find that she was back to full strength. “I never recover this quickly!” Then again, who knew how long she had been here already. She opened her link to Dagg, hoping to find some hint of where he was, but she felt nothing but a vast emptiness.

  She shook her head, trying to dispel her loneliness, and summoned her bubbly pink ball of magic to illuminate her current predicament. The light from her glowing orb lit up the dark space around her, revealing a dark winding labyrinth below the cliff she had landed on. Looking at her feet she realized she wasn’t on a cliff, but at the top of a staircase. Behind her was a wide, arched Gothic style doorway made of dark green jade.

  Vines crawled up the archway with black blossoms clinging to the stone. “Unreal,” she said, looking back to the labyrinth. The labyrinth that was supposed to surround the Underlord’s castle: Galkamish.

  29

  Lacy has snuck off again and Percy is rightfully angry. My instincts are telling me there’s more to it this time than just seeing Puck. I have only allowed this to continue for so long because Delphina assured me it was necessary. Leo has told me of his doubts about her words, but Delphina is helping, I am sure of it. She is part of our family, and from what I have seen since she returned to us, she knows far more about everything that happened than she has let on. She may even have the answer I need.

  ~Arthur

  A GLOWING ORB OF PURPLE AND SILVER light appeared in the distance. It pulsed in sync with her pink ball of magic. “Well if that’s not a sign to go that way, I don’t know what is.”

  Walking to the edge, Aliana saw a dark and roughhewn set of stairs leading to the labyrinth entrance several stories down. Her vision tunneled for a second before she calmed herself. She couldn’t turn back now. There was too much at stake. “Dagg, I hope like heck you’re at the center of this death trap maze.”

  She descended the stairs as quickly as she could. The closer she came the more she realized this wasn’t an ordinary labyrinth. Most mazes had towering walls that made it impossible to see where to go. But the walls of this maze were shorter than her! She thought to question it but decided to thank the stars for the fact she could keep the purple orb in sight.

  It turned out the short walls didn’t help her like she had hoped they would. Fifteen minutes into her search Aliana realized she couldn’t see enough of the path to figure out which turn to take. “I’m not about to give up. Time to get creative!”

  Using her magic, Aliana boosted herself up onto the wide flat top of the wall. From this angle she could see a direct path to her prize. She walked along the edge, feeling like she was traversing a wide balance beam, jumping to a new wall ledge when the one she was on ended. “I should make it to Dagg in no time!”

  Yet every time she thought she was getting closer, the purple light seemed to move further away. “This is ridiculous!” Maybe this was the labyrinth’s way of paying her back for cheating.

  Aliana was starting to get desperate. Who knew how time was passing here and in her world. She hadn’t tried shifting since she was in the Isle and she and Lacy had shifted everyone to the ruins of Camelot, but it seemed like the only way she was going to get to that glowing purple and silver ball. Closing her eyes, she opened her senses to the charged earthlike magic all around her. Aliana imagined herself next to that purple light and willed her magic to take her to it.

  Power rushed around her; her body felt tingly and like liquid as she felt herself being pulled way. Her eyes fluttered open, pink sparks popping before her for a long second, before she saw the tree enclosed Zen garden she had ended up in.

  “That is still one heck of a rush!”

  A low growl caught her attention.

  She snapped around to see her guardian trapped in a circle dome that could have been made out of diamond. It hung from a branch of a low wisteria tree, covered in black blooms, like a hanging lantern. Bands of purple magic swirled around the globe cage like a barrier to be sure she couldn’t free her friend.

  “Dagg!” She tried to open their connection again, but still felt nothing. It was a profound loss that left her feeling hollow and totally alone.

  “What’s going on? Who’s doing this?” Aliana shouted into the empty garden.

  A ringing high voice pierced the empty space. “There is no need to shout, Destined One.”

  Aliana swung around, but saw no one. “Who’s there? Why have you trapped my friend?”

  “So many questions,” that voice teased.

  Aliana turned, her green eyes coming in contact with a pair of pure white eyes just in front of her. “What the…”

  She jumped back as a woman’s head appeared to go with the eyes. Her body soon followed, like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. She turned into a beautiful Sphinx with long tapered paws and a muscular but feminine body. She wore jade green chest armor to match the dark Greek style helmet on her head.

  “You’re beautiful,” Aliana let slip before she could stop herself.

  The legendary creature grinned. “Flattery will not return your friend to you, Destined One.” Her mirth didn’t seem friendly. It felt more like she was sizing Aliana up, like a great predator looking for a weakness to exploit.

  Aliana crossed her arms. “How do you know who I am?”

  Her lion/human shoulders shrugged in a fluid, unreal like motion, the first move she had made since appearing. There was a smug tilt to her mouth and wide white eyes. “I know much. My master has talked often of you.”

  “Your master?” Aliana shifted to place herself between Dagg and the creature. If she noticed, she made no mention of it. The Sphinx just shifted her head in that same eerie, fluid motion.

  Shivers ran down Aliana’s spine like a snake slithering down her back. “
I want my friend back, now.” Aliana hoped the Sphinx thought her as strong as she sounded, because she was really starting to get creeped out.

  The Sphinx woman remained unmoving like a still lake. “But you did not come for your Guardian. You came for the Grail map.”

  “Yes, but my friend came with me. You had no right to take him.”

  Her lips pulled back in a wicked smile revealing pearly white canine teeth. “I did not take him from you. You are in the Underworld, realm of the great Underlord. Everything and everyone here bows to his will.”

  “I still want Dagg back, and the map. I need to get home and I can’t do that without either of them.”

  Her head shook from side to side, like rippling water and earth. “It is only within my power to grant you one or the other. Choose wisely, Destined One.”

  Aliana stared at the female Sphinx dumbfounded. She couldn’t choose between Dagg and the map! There’s gotta be a way around this. Think, Lia, think! She scolded herself. Her papa had told her the different tales of the Sphinxes of old. The female creatures were of Greek mythology, while the more recognizable male versions were Egyptian myth. But one thing they both shared in common was a pension for challenges.

  Aliana met the white gaze defiantly. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that there’s always another way.”

  Those white eyes narrowed slightly, a smirk appearing on one corner of the Sphinx’s fang-tipped mouth. “Indeed, but many have found that the other way does not always grant satisfaction.”

  “Let’s say I’m gonna go on faith that this one will work out.” Now she just hoped fate didn’t prove her wrong.

  The beautiful woman lion creature flowed back. “Very well. Answer my riddle and you will get both your Dragon and the map you seek.”

  Aliana took a step forward, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. “And if I lose?”

  “You get nothing and will remain here for the rest of eternity,” the Sphinx finished.

  Her palms were sweaty, and a bead of sweat formed on Aliana’s brow. The last deal she’d made had quite literally blown up on her and trapped her in the past. The stakes seemed almost too high. But what other choice did she have?