I refrained from telling Harold, ‘I told you so’ and pleaded with Elaine. “Please don’t do this. These people can be trained to help humanity. If it was Magnus, wouldn’t you want us to save him?”
Otis took a few steps behind the hunters while their attention was on us. He pointed his AK-47 at their backs and shouted, “Drop your weapons! We don’t have time for this!”
His voice carried a fierce determination I’d never heard before. “Let my friends help these people. Drop your weapons,” he said again, firmly, “or I’ll shoot.”
His love interest couldn’t believe it. “Otis, you would kill your own kind? Would you shoot me?” she questioned, taking a step towards him.
“Especially you,” he replied, stopping her dead in her tracks and causing the hunters to set their weapons on the floor. Otis sacrificed his future happiness to save us.
Almost half the humans had been infected with the werewolf virus before we were interrupted by Elaine. We just might be able to save all of them. Lance directed the soldiers to assist those we infected to the trucks outside. “Hurry! We have less than five minutes!”
The vampires started supporting efforts to move the turned outside since changing them into vampires took up too much precious time. Master Kong, Harold, and I ended up near the exit tunnel when we had finished infecting the humans. “That’s it,” Kong said, “let’s get them out of here!”
Somehow we managed to move them along; the werewolf virus was making them stronger by the second. “Get on the trucks outside!” Harold yelled, “We’ll get you to safety!”
I heard Lance calling for everyone to hurry as we ran down the tunnel to escape. Heather was also shouting for me, “Mom! Faster!”
The tunnel took us out on a ridge where helicopters were using searchlights to land. Trucks rumbled away in the distance, down a dirt path. “Get off to the side!” Lance commanded.
The explosions went off, timed in a crescendo, one after another. The ground beneath us shook but the mountain contained most of the blasts except for a burst from the tunnel that spewed out dust and debris. Yucca Mountain was pure again, collapsed on itself, cleansed by flames, tunnels and control panels gone in an instant-- the Claudius virus burned and contained.
We stood on the crest of the mountain while the remaining survivors were helped into the last trucks and helicopters. Master Kong and Makeda went in separate vehicles to keep watch. “Half are going to my estate and half to Claudius’ mansion until we can get them all to Camelot,” Lance said.
Harold couldn’t control his excitement at winning the battle. He ran to me, grabbing me under my arms and holding me upwards while he twirled. “We did it, my friend! We saved them all!” I’d never seen him so joyous.
Lance patted him on the back. “We couldn’t have done it without you, Harold. We must hurry now and get everyone away from this spot before the Vampire Council learns of Claudius’ demise.”
Otis pulled up next to us in a truck. “Harold, come ride with me!” he shouted over the din of the helicopters.
Harold waved his hand, “Okay, buddy, I’m coming.” He looked down at me with a steady gaze. “I’ll see you at Camelot,” he said, “I’ve decided to make it my home. We can raise the twins there, as you wished.” He looked nervously at Lance, “Of course, with your permission.”
“Yes, Harold, we will be happy to have you at Camelot.”
Otis tooted the extremely loud air horn on the truck to summon Harold. Harold climbed into the truck’s cab and I turned to face the desert. I needed a moment to grieve. A comforting desert wind blew through my hair as I returned to human form. I rubbed my hands on my stomach, touching Mark’s toga and thinking of him. He would never be forgotten. I had truly loved him and he gave up his life for me. The universe had shown me, in the most cruel manner, that Lance was only a friend.
Percy and Heather climbed into a helicopter and I was grateful that my daughter would know contentment. I vowed to give Percy some peace as long as he made her happy. Heather waved at me and shouted, “We’ll see you at Camelot—I love you!”
“Love you, Heather,” I said, waving, satisfied that she was safe.
Looking around, as the chaos died down, I felt the need to ask Lance, “Where did the stupid hunters go?”
“I let them leave in a helicopter,” Lance replied, “they won’t bother us again, I’m sure.”
I gazed at the stars and tried to collect my thoughts. Stars appear so large and bright when viewed from a mountain ridge in the desert. I pondered the swirling, spiral galaxy that envelopes us. “The copter is waiting,” Lance said, touching my shoulder. “We did it Nola, we rescued everyone. Together, we defeated Claudius and humanity will never know how close they came to annihilation. You have your werewolf army now to keep them safe.”
“Sure,” I replied, grateful for my friend’s reassuring touch. I smiled at him and turned back to contemplate the stars lighting the vast darkness that surrounds us. I always felt drawn to the stars; they seemed to call out to me. Trillions of galaxies swirl around us and more stars than there are grains of sand on earth and yet most pay no attention at all to the universe.
Perhaps I should be happier about saving the humans of earth, like Harold, but the truth is I didn’t feel like a part of this planet. I never felt like I belonged on earth. My life seemed linked to the great beyond, somewhere among the stars, in another place, or time. Perhaps Mark was somewhere out there, unbound by an earthly body, but still conscious and finally free. I wanted to believe that his spark lived on, as electric energy in a universe where life moves on and never dies.
“The knights had a discussion about you and Harold,” Lance said, looking up to admire the sky while bringing me back to earth. “We want to invite you and Harold to join the Knights of the Round Table.”
Lance just offered everything I’d ever dreamed of, after finding my daughter. That seat at the round table had been coveted for over a decade. Calmness filled me with the realization that it was no longer desired. “Harold will be a wonderful addition to the table. However, I’d like to decline my invitation,” I said evenly, still looking up at the universe. “I believe you should offer it to Otis. He earned that position tonight. He saved us all.”
I felt that he was staring at me but I kept my face turned up to the sky. He must have been aware of my longing for the position as he said, “There’s no need to make your decision now, Nola. Take your time and think about it. You must realize that Otis won’t be offered a seat at the table—a woman must be knighted to that position.”
“Alright, Lance. I’ll think about it. Thank you for the offer.”
He gently touched my hand, “I’m so sorry about Mark.”
I couldn’t speak or I would begin weeping. He stepped closer and rubbed my back, as one does trying to offer comfort. “We should be going now; there’s a lot of work to be done, a lot of recruits to train. Everything is going to be okay,” he said.
No, the Universe would never allow everything to be alright, I was convinced of that. Yet a certain amount of gratitude for saving my daughter and the human race was owed to someone, somewhere. Consequently, I felt the need to look out at the cosmos and say a quiet, “Thank you,” before returning to Camelot with my friend.
Epilogue
We were happy, if only for a brief time and in spite of the chaos at Camelot. Lance became a closer friend as we savored the joy found from saving the world. Lunch time was spent with Heather, reminiscing and helping her adjust to a new life. Harold and I had a few romps through the woods as werewolves; fun times, and we shared the duties of caring for Robin and Alexander. We all spent a lot of time welcoming the newly converted werewolves into Camelot. Villagers opened their homes and plans were made to build new cottages to accompany our growing population.
The Knights of the Round Table divided survivors into groups that could be trained, with each one responsible for twenty-five or thirty former humans. Feeling a duty to participate, and want
ing a voice in decisions made at Camelot, I decided to accept the honor of joining the round table. Harold and I were knighted in a quick but formal ceremony at the Church of the Good Stewards.
We marched down the aisle, together, both of us dressed in white as if we were brides getting married. Harold gave an adoring gaze to Laura, the organist, who played Pomp and Circumstance like an expert. I understood his contemplation; she was quite lovely in a velvet indigo gown and wore a lavender headband on her auburn hair that allowed the sweet fragrance from the flowers to caress our nostrils. They would end up together one day; I clearly saw that future for Harold.
Not being one who enjoyed even viewing a traditional ceremony, my discomfort level was high being the center of attention in this rite. I reluctantly participated, wearing my best poker face to hide my anxiety and pounding heart, because I expected that Heather would be proud of me. She sat in the front row, next to Percy of course, dressed in a medieval style formal gown of white and gold, a circlet of gold chain draped on her forehead. She beamed a huge smile in my direction, giving me the support I needed to continue walking forward.
Sir Lancelot waited on the riser in front of the church, a headpiece of mesh chain hanging to his shoulders, highlighting his handsome features, a red tunic with the Camelot coat of arms adorning his muscular chest. He stood tall, ready to complete the formality, a magnificent steel sword at his side.
Our sponsors stood next to him. Lozen held a gift she would present to me after the ceremony, a sword. Master Kong was ready to offer Harold a shield. There were white embroidered pillows on the floor for us to kneel on. A row of glowing candles, set on large stands made from wrought iron, gave a soft radiance to the back of the church but didn’t seem safe in a standing room only setting. I pondered that my first suggestion as a knight would be stopping the use of such a fire hazard and switching to flameless, battery operated candles instead.
Harold and I repeated the Camelot oath and Lance used the flat of his sword to lightly tap our shoulders and pronounce, “I dub thee knight, Sir Harold. I dub thee knight, Lady Nola.” I would have a place at the high table in the banquet held afterwards.
I formulated my plan at the festivities, while air dancing with Lance. Looking down at Percy and Heather, who had spent the evening planning their wedding, I vowed to get her away from his influence for a brief time to try and convince her that spending her life with a vampire was a mistake.
The request was made the next day, when Harold and I took our seats at the round table for our first meeting. Laura met Harold at the door and handed him a platter of perfect-looking cupcakes topped with swirls of chocolate frosting. “I’ve brought some treats to celebrate your first meeting as a Knight of the Round Table,” she said, smiling broadly at Harold and giving me a nod. It never occurred to me to bring treats to the gathering or I could have baked the malformed, burnt on the bottom cookies I was known for. A resentment of Laura was formulating in my mind for some unknown reason.
Harold placed the flawless cupcakes on the Lazy Susan built into the round table and passed them around. Every knight, including me, took one. “We must address the high suicide rate of our newcomers,” Lance announced, “Six newly arrived werewolves have taken their lives. They’re going to need more counseling—any suggestions on how we can help them?”
Master Kong replied, “The werewolf suicide rate has always been high—it’s very hard to accept that one has become a monster. We need more communal meditation and I will work intensely to convey to them that all is not lost—a werewolf can become a beautiful creature with a mission to help humanity.”
Discussion followed on helping our new community members. They also talked about the decision by the Vampire Council to work with the knights in order to prevent a war. I felt a twinge of guilt making my request when so much work needed to be done.
Standing to address the knights, I used my best command of the English language, profanity free. “I’d like to request a two week vacation in order to treat my daughter to a trip to Europe…before her wedding.” I hemmed and hawed and stammered in a very unknightly manner. “It’s my gift to her and allows us to spend time together before her marriage. I know this is a bad time but it will never be a good time, will it?”
Percy, chewing on a cupcake, said in a high, snotty voice, “Hey, we would all like time off; it’s just not possible now. All hands on deck are called for during this trying period. Who will watch over the werewolves in your care? We all have our plates full, forget about it.”
Master Kong stood and announced, “Life is really simple, let’s not insist on making it complicated. If Harold can assist, we could each take ten of Nola’s recruits and train and help them in her absence. I would like to see her get some much needed vacation time, she deserves it.” Harold nodded in agreement.
Rising from his seat, Lance calmly said, “Let’s compromise on this matter. Nola, if you will take one week instead of two, I believe we can carry out your duties.” He looked around the table and all voiced their approval except Percy, who sat in silence and gave me an icy stare.
The rest of the meeting became a blur and I completely forgot to mention that we stop the use of flaming candles at our events in the name of safety. All things considered, I wish at the very least I could have accomplished that one small thing in my time as a knight at the round table.
***
We were ten minutes off the ground, on our way to Ireland, when the realization that my mission to convince Heather to reconsider marriage to Percy was doomed. Perhaps it was her constant texting to Percy since we left Camelot or maybe it was his calls to her that convinced me. We were settled into the first class seats I splurged on so we could be comfortable, enjoy some movies and drinks, and talk—wishful thinking on my part. Heather opened her floral, ring-bound, hard cover wedding planner and hardly raised her eyes off its pages. Heather had found her flight obsession, and she poured over the checklists and worksheets detailing guest lists and even honeymoon plans in her organizer and had no interest in anything else.
Sadly, I had nothing to distract me from the child sitting behind me who constantly kicked at the back seat. First class had a plethora of little ones, we were surrounded. The kid in the seat in front of us, a cute little boy about five or six, peered over the top and said, “Hi, where you going?”
I frowned at his intrusion and made a twirling motion with my fingers, instructing him to turn around, when Heather looked up from her obsession. “Hello there, we’re going to Ireland, same as you,” she said smiling. The kid stuck out his tongue at me and his head disappeared as he sat down.
It was my opportunity to talk to Heather about her plans. It was futile but some effort had to be made to dissuade her from committing her life to a vampire. “I see that you like children. Had you planned on having babies?” I questioned in a whisper. “You do realize that vampires can’t procreate--did Percy tell you?”
She looked me directly in my eyes and I feared my words had gone too far. “Percy has been honest with me and I’m alright with not being a biological mother. All children are my children. I plan on teaching and being an influence in children’s lives.”
The rest of our long journey was made in silence and it seemed like the kid kicking my seat was my only companion. Heather had been reluctant to travel and was only persuaded by my insistence that I purchased our tickets to treat her and they were non-refundable. The minute we landed in Ireland she was on the phone with Percy to let him know we arrived safely.
They were in constant and annoying communication for the entire time we traveled. We spent two days in Dublin, Ireland’s capital city. We did the typical tourist day trip to the magnificent Cliffs of Moher and spent the evening imbibing booze in some local Irish pubs, or at least I did, Heather spent her time on the phone with Percy. She would ask, “You don’t mind, do you?” and I would reply, “Of course not,” although I really did mind and thought her rude.
When she wasn’t on the pho
ne with her worse half I was treated to endless stories about places Rose had taken her. Ireland was a Rose memorial trip but I did my best to enjoy the scenic splendor. We made a brief stop in London and due to cutting short our trip by a week had to skip Scotland. We decided to take the train to Italy and backtrack to Paris, our final stop.
We stayed in Naples and toured Pompeii. We explored the demise of that city, covered in ashes when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The ruins seemed heartbreaking even though the sad event occurred so long ago. The bodies were left where they fell, buried under volcanic death; their world had ended quickly in apocalypse, Roman frescos and human remains burned into time.
It was almost a relief to get to the last leg of our trip and visit the magically vibrant city of Paris. The city is full of life, even in its historical architecture, remnants of the importance of beauty in building, withstanding time and still alive. I cajoled Heather to leave her cell phone in our hotel suite so we could fully enjoy the gardens, museums, delightful food and wine, and shopping on the last twenty-four hours of our whirlwind vacation. Clearly looking forward to returning home to Percy, she happily agreed and we left our cell phones on a table near the door.
I’ve always been in love with Paris in spite of never seeing it other than on the pages of books and magazines. It was thrilling to actually stroll along the Seine, visit the Louvre and enjoy art that championed a brighter vision of humanity. I was in awe of the Mona Lisa and thankful my eyes could finally drink it in. We packed in a full day of sightseeing, viewing the Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s narcissistic monument, and shopping boutiques, bookshops, and candy shops. Night was falling when we settled in at a café near our hotel, with charming views of the brightly lit Eiffel Tower.
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