She tensed up at the sight of him. She’d only seen him in that form once, as he tried to frighten her with it. He failed, but it burned the likeness of his majesty into her mind. Merlin’s sketches were almost photographic in their depictions. It was enough to make her skin crawl looking at the dragon. Cora grabbed a sip of Jack straight from the bottle and waited for him to turn the page.
On the page before her, sandwiched between blocks of foreign texts, a drawing of her popped from the page. Not only was the picture a spot-on likeness, but what startled her most was the clothing. If Merlin was to be believed, these drawings and entries were done in the early 6th century. In the picture, the woman there was not only her, but she was wearing Richard’s bomber jacket.
“I don’t understand,” she said, backing away. “You’re saying that at some point in the future, I’m going to travel backwards in time and meet a younger you?”
Merlin’s shoulders bobbed with a heavy sigh. “Your future, my past. What we discussed back then is not pertinent to our conversation here, for obvious reasons. I am no seer. I fear and respect the river of time. Let me also say that I know how hard all this is for you. Suffice to say, because of our encounter today, it will be you that does the explaining and I was the one confused and frightened.”
Cora swept her black hair off her shoulder and rubbed her temple. It was a lot to take in, that was for sure. She returned to her seat and her bottle, grateful for both.
“Is this why Julian dislikes me so much?” she asked, trying to make sense of it all. “Judging by the page before that, I’m guessing his family has a long history with Lucius? He seems to suspect me of...well, I don’t know what he thinks Lucius and I were doing.”
Merlin shut the book and rested both arms on it. “The Pendragon Codex doesn’t only detail my life alongside Arthur’s family, it chronicles the battle against Lucius, as well.”
That detail didn’t surprise her. Lucius said as much over lunch while he had her kidnapped and drugged into an inability to use magic. He explained his side of the tale as though he tried to make peace with Arthur, but the king only thought of him as a manipulative beast. From Cora’s experience, Arthur was on to something.
“Why? What is that Lucius is after? Why am I caught up in this?” she asked, desperate for any new information that didn’t come from the dragon’s untrustworthy tongue.
Merlin’s face soured as if he prepared to deliver bad news. “I’m afraid that what I can tell you is likely what you’ve already learned yourself. This Awakening will be the last. The fate of humankind and dragons will be determined, and a great war is upon us that decides that fate.”
Cora grunted and shook her head. “You have to know more. Where do these artifacts come from? What is their significance? Who made them?”
“I do not know, my dear,” he said, shaking his head. “Artifacts are a new phenomenon specific to this Awakening. They weren’t there before.”
“Why Julian?”
“It is his fate,” Merlin replied. “As it is yours. The truth behind that, the great answer you’re looking for, I’m afraid I do not have it. If I may be so bold as to offer some conjecture, though?”
“Please,” Cora said, crossing her legs. “I’ll take anything at this point.”
“I believe we met as you were on a path to finding those answers yourself,” he said. Motioning with a finger on his palm, he said, “You were going into the past to find a way forward for our future.”
She stood up and paced the small area before his desk. The idea of travelling through time, by her design or someone else’s, was terrifying. Who could have such power? Even more frightening was the possibility she could do that herself at some point. Perhaps that was something she learned from this Professor that Lucius imprisoned.
“My father’s prophecies never mentioned you training me to use my magic,” she said, thinking aloud. “He specifically told me it was Crowley I had to save. That he’s the one I do save, under a storm of fire and lightning.”
Merlin stood up. “I would be a terrible teacher, I’m afraid. The magic within my body is a shell of what it once was. I’ve been without it for eight hundred years. I’ve probably forgotten more about spells and incantations than what I know now.”
Cora sighed. The problem with fate was that the knowledge didn’t allow her to change the outcome. Like it or not, the road led to Professor Crowley no matter how much she wanted a detour. The only roadblock now was Julian.
“I need to get through to your boy,” she said. “We’re on the same side. He has to know that.”
Merlin nodded and walked around his desk, reaching for her arm. “Come, come, my dear. Let us go talk some sense into him. He’s proud, stubborn, and headstrong. Getting the sword only made it worse.”
She wrapped his hand inside her elbow and escorted him to the door, step by creeping step. “My artifact contained memories that weren’t my own. Michael described a similar experience. Was it the same for Julian?”
“I’m afraid so, but it was different for him,” Merlin replied. His face soured. “You must understand, my dear, the weight he carries is unlike anyone we’ve seen joined to an artifact.”
Cora did a double-take as she reached for the door. “Others? Besides the three of us?”
“Indeed. We’ve acquired a number of artifacts and found their holders, before this ‘ninja’ or whatever showed up. Each time, the experience was described as though the spirits are a guide, an echo of who they once were.”
“Yes,” Cora nodded, walking past a guard and leading Merlin down the hall. “It’s like Sitting Bull is always with me now, memory and spirit. I can call upon him with a thought.”
Merlin leaned in, his voice low. “The same is true for Julian, only he carries the memories of every Pendragon to have held the blade. Every battle with Lucius through two Awakenings. The Crusades. The Reformation. World War One. For days after we acquired Excalibur, he sat in his office alone, trying to separate his thoughts and memories from the chorus of voices. It almost drove him mad.”
She could only imagine. From the joy of a new child’s birth to the darkness and depression of life on the road with Annie Oakley’s travelling show, Sitting Bull’s memories clouded Cora’s thoughts in the days that followed receiving her artifact. There was a constant struggle to cordon off his thoughts from her own, like trying to focus on a single conversation in a crowded room. If Julian bore that from dozens of hosts, he had to possess a will of iron. That would only make changing his mind about her more difficult. With a head full of Jack and a terrible plan, she walked Merlin to wherever Julian was, ready to make some bad decisions.
War of Words
Cora heard Julian before she saw him. The sound of a solid kick to a training dummy was music to her ears. With the ancient wizard at her side, she walked past two guards posted at the door of the gymnasium. Julian practiced alone in the wide space. Shirtless, his toned, muscular frame glistened with sweat as he twirled Excalibur above his head. She cleared her throat, announcing her presence.
Julian didn’t startle, continuing his training without pause. “You’re wasting your time, Miss Blake. You’ve had too much contact with the dragon for my liking.”
“I certainly would have liked to avoid all of it if I could have,” Cora replied, stepping forward onto the floor mats. “I’m here now, though. I’m looking for an ally against him. You won’t even hear me out?”
“Already did,” he replied, putting his back to her as he slashed the sword through the air. “Words are useless here. I believe what I see. I know Lucius better than anyone. If you truly did all of that to him, then you should be dead.”
“You have no idea what he did to me,” she replied.
Julian continued training without acknowledging her.
Cora took a deep breath and turned to Merlin. “That trick you did back in the office? Can you summon anything you want?”
Merlin held up his hand and stared at it with a longing
expression. “Within reason. As I said, I’m not the wizard I once was.”
“Can I have my sword from your lockup?” she asked.
Merlin’s eyes narrowed as he met hers. Cora shrugged in response.
“Desperate times,” she said.
He gave another moment to mull it over before he bowed his head. Setting his cane in the crook of his arm, he cupped his palms, one above the other. His shaking hands danced around, sparkling lights coalescing between his hands. His hand darted out to his side, tracing a circle through the air. As he did so, the twinkling light remained in the air, cascading sparks until he completed the circle. He thrust his hand into the floating sigil and it vanished, as though behind a doorway. His hand pulled back through the portal as fast, Cora’s sheathed katana in his grip. He moved it to his other hand and brushed the air, turning the portal to dust. Her jaw fell open.
“You’ve got to teach me that,” she said.
“Merlin?” Julian said, taking a step forward. His face twisted in confusion and hurt. “What’s this, then?”
Two guards came in behind Cora, but Julian raised his hand to stop them. She gave one a sideways glance and stepped past Merlin. Before the wizard could speak, she snatched her blade from his hand. Her head motioned back to Merlin. “He trusts me with your life. Is that good enough for you, soldier?”
Julian’s eyes lowered on her like a stalking cat. “It isn’t, actually. The old man means well, but he doesn’t know the dragon like I do now.”
Cora walked in a circle, keeping Julian at a distance. He stepped with her, Excalibur at the ready.
“You have a bunch of ancient memories and you’re an expert now? Have you ever met him yourself?” she asked.
Julian sneered. “No. When I see his maw again, it will be for the last time.”
“Big words. Tell me, do you know how to use that toy you have in your hand?”
“You should be careful, Miss Blake,” he warned. “You raise your sword to me, and I will not hold back.”
Cora smiled. “I’m counting on it.”
The slightest twitch, and Julian came in. He was fast. Cora had enough time to lift her katana, her other hand pulling at the sheath. She exposed just enough of her blade to absorb the force of Excalibur. He bore down, leaning his weight into his sword. She resisted with everything she had. Julian still had more to give. She threw out a kick low, the bottom of her boot catching his ankle just right to take him off that foot.
Cora pushed back, shoving Julian off her. With distance between them, she unsheathed her sword. Julian sneered and lunged back at her. This time, Cora was ready. Excalibur was much heavier than her katana. His overhead swing sang to her as it cut through the air, telling her where the attack was going. She sidestepped and slashed for his mid-section. Julian scrambled to deflect. A clang echoed through the gymnasium. Sparks burst from where she struck Excalibur. Julian’s defense took him off-balance, giving him pause to regain his footing. It was only for a split second, but she knew he was rattled.
“You didn’t think I’d be easy, did you?” Cora smiled.
He white-knuckled the two-handed grip on the sword, tension and frustration mounting. She needled at him with a quick slash, keeping him on his toes. Julian responded by stepping forward with a front kick. Cora weaved backwards to avoid it, but he kept coming. An overhead slash met her katana again. She expected him to leverage his strength against her. What she didn’t expect was the sudden right jab in her mouth.
Her lips went numb as the taste of copper filled her mouth. She twirled back and away, stepping out of his range. Her eyes fixed to his, she turned her head sideways and spit crimson on the floor.
“Sucker-punching a woman in a spar? How gentlemanly of you,” she said, her tone acid.
He circled her, looking for another opening. “I was hoping it would shut you up. And I don’t know who told you this was a spar.”
“You want to kill me, Julian? Have I been tainted by the dragon?” Cora taunted with a dark smile full of red teeth.
He rushed in with blazing quickness. Cora planted herself in a horse-riding stance, locking her feet to the ground. Before he could commit to a direction of attack, Cora slashed at Excalibur, sending Julian off-center. She jumped with a quick kick to Julian’s chest, spun in the air, and brought a second kick into his sternum. She hit the ground in a low lunge like a cat waiting to pounce, watching as Julian reeled backwards.
He shook his head at her, his face sneering with disgust and contempt. “Your powers are wasted on you. Brash. No discipline. You’re a loaded gun in the hands of a toddler.”
“You’re a pompous ass that’s too proud to tell me you need my help,” Cora replied. She waved him over to her. “Why don’t you come here, soldier boy, see which one of us gets knocked down a peg?”
Julian drew up the sword. His stance was solid, the blade pointing straight to the ceiling at level with his right shoulder. Cora’s movements were less rigid, like a dancer. She circled him again, daring him to enter her space. Again, he stepped in, but it was a feint. Throwing his leg back, his swung in from the side, letting the range of Excalibur force a disadvantage. Cora twisted awkwardly to get her guard up. The impact crashed with the force of a baseball bat. Julian’s muscles tightened, veins bursting from his toned biceps. As Cora struggled to keep his attack at bay, he spun for her back. A roundhouse kick caught her between the shoulder blades.
Reflex made her back arch, leaving only one hand on her sword. Like a game of chess, she saw the moves ahead. Julian would bring her to her knees. With a thought, she called up the ball of warm energy in her stomach, grabbing hold of the spiritual tether between her and Vincent.
“Now,” she whispered.
Julian kicked her in the back of her knee, collapsing her to the ground. As she held the magical energy, she summoned it to her palm. An orb of glowing orange formed in her grip. Julian came up from behind, his free arm trapping her sword hand. Excalibur pressed to her throat.
A flash appeared in the metal pipes at the high ceiling. Vincent passed through them like an apparition, swooping down at Julian’s face. He stepped back, the only distraction she needed. The orb in her palm was not fully formed, but it would do. She threw it over her shoulder, smashing the energy ball into Julian’s face at point-blank range. The concussive force of her Stunbomb threw him backwards. Julian’s grip on Excalibur and her arm weakened. She yanked her wrist free and spun on her knee, her free leg sweeping him off his feet as she completed the motion. Excalibur slipped from his hand at he hit the mat with his back. She rose up, spinning the katana in her hand, pointed the blade down, and attacked.
Julian came to a moment later, eyes wide. The tip of her sword was close enough to shave his chest. Excalibur rested on the ground beside him, inches from his fingertips.
Two metallic clicks from the far side of room indicated the soldiers took the safety off of their rifles. Cora didn’t acknowledge them, her gaze fixed on Julian.
“If I wanted you dead, you would be,” she said, panting. There was no animosity in her voice, no trace she meant harm.
Julian’s eyes remained fixed on her, wide with shock. He spared a look at where her sword rested, right above his heart. He scowled back at her.
“You did this to prove a point?” he said, incredulous. “My men could have shot you.”
“I’ve been shot before,” she replied. She thought about it and shrugged. “Burns like hell, but I lived.”
Slow and deliberate, she relented the blade, moving her arm out to the side. She bent her knees and rested it on the mat. Cora wanted to offer Julian a hand, but she knew his wounded pride wouldn’t let him take it. It was bad enough two of his guards had to witness him lose. She thought quick to save face for him.
“To be fair, you had me if I didn’t cheat,” she said. Even if she didn’t mean it and he didn’t believe it, it was more important his men heard it.
Julian shook off the residual effects of the Stunbomb and got t
o his feet. “What was that bird? An illusion of some kind?”
Cora pointed at the ceiling, where Vincent perched on a pipe overhead. “No, he’s very real. That’s Vincent, my raven spirit.”
“Ghost bird?” Julian said, rubbing the back of his head. He strode to pick up his sword. “I read Michael’s report. I didn’t know what to make of that bit. I still don’t.”
Cora put her hands on her hips. “Look, I’m not going to make you ask me for help. I need to find this Professor Crowley, and I’m going to need whatever intel you can offer me. In exchange, I want to help you with your ninja problem. We’re on the same team. Can you just point me in the direction of your briefing room and show me what you have already?”
Julian strode across the gym to the wall beside the entrance. Glaring at Merlin as he passed him, he picked up a towel and dried the sweat from his torso and face. Julian said nothing as he put on his shirt. He shook his head as if he cursed his next words.
“Pick up your sword and follow me,” he said, pointing back to her katana.
She followed his instructions, jogging to catch up to him as he walked for the door. Merlin smiled and bowed his head.
“Well done, my dear,” he whispered. “I’ll make my way back to my office.”
Cora smiled and bowed in kind. “Thank you.”
She whistled and Vincent flew to her shoulder. In the hall, Julian had a lead on her, but a quick step caught her up. The maze of corridors that all looked the same had her lost. She didn’t know if she was right by the room where she left her team or on the other side of this complex entirely. Julian walked in silence, leaving only an ambient, unnatural hum that pervaded every inch of the place.
The room he brought her to was an expansive area lined with desks. At the far wall, six holovid screens aligned in a grid. In the corner of the room, what looked like a dentist’s chair blinked from the sophisticated consoles on the arms of the chair. Computer rigs with holographic screens rested at three desk stations, with cable hookups for NeuralNet direct interface. The dim lights in the room made all the projections from the computers appear bright and dazzling. She strained her eyes to take it all in.
The Pendragon Codex Page 7
