by Lori Bond
Ginny ignored Arthur’s blatant lie and turned to me. “The timing is terrible. I am sorry.” She made a weak wave with both her hands like she was trying to craft an apology out of thin air. “Normally, we wouldn’t abandon you the second you arrive, but Arthur hasn’t been seen in public in three months, and he’s been scheduled to attend this event nearly as long.”
Arthur gave an offended grunt. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Everyone just saw me today. There were at least two helicopter news crews covering the battle at Elaine’s school.”
Ginny let out a deep breath as if she was suppressing a sigh. “Everyone saw Pendragon today, not Arthur Keep, President of Keep Consolidated’s Board of Trustees. The markets get nervous when you don’t show your face for months on end. The stock dipped today.” Ginny turned back to me. “Otherwise, we would never leave you alone after dealing with LANCE and a traumatic Dreki attack.”
“Who?” I asked.
“LANCE and the Dreki. Keep up, Princess,” Arthur said. He snapped his fingers at me.
I hurried over to them not sure if he was referring to the conversation or the tour.
“They’re the people I rescued you from,” said Arthur.
“She didn’t need rescuing from me.”
We all turned to face the new voice. Another knight stood in the doorway from the great hall. The visor on the knight’s helmet flew up, revealing the hot guy from my school parking lot. “I’m grateful for the help though,” he said. “I’m not sure how much longer I would have made it out there on my own with no backup.”
“Oh, you survived,” said Arthur in a flat voice. He turned back to his screens. “Percival, get my armor off the Baby LANCE before he somehow steals some of my tech for Stormfield. LANCE has been trying to steal my knights since the day I got the first prototype working,” Arthur said to me.
The guy frowned as his armored spit him out the front with a small stumble.
“Lance? Baby Lance?” I asked since I still didn’t understand what was going on.
“L-A-N-C-E,” said the guy, righting himself. “It stands for Limited All Nations Cooperative Exchange. I’m an agent in the organization. My name is Will Redding, but Arthur over there is, sadly, nearly fifty, and he can’t remember my name even though we’ve met once before.”
“I remember people’s names,” said Arthur. “It’s minor underlings I can’t be bothered with. I remember Stormfield’s name just fine.”
“He’s the head of LANCE.”
“Not a minor underling,” said Arthur. “Why are you here?”
Ginny tapped the elegant diamond watch on her wrist. “Forty-five minutes until we leave,” she reminded him. “And I assume Will is here because he somehow stowed away in one of your suits of armor during the firefight.”
Arthur shook his head. “It’s impossible to stow away. I had Pellinor pick him up before a stray Dreki bullet found a new home in his head. But, Pellinor should have dropped Baby LANCE off at the nearest LANCE depot, not bring him home like a lost puppy. Percival, explain.”
“Master Redding is persuasive,” Percival said.
Ginny and Arthur shared a bemused glance.
“He must be to convince an AI to countermand a direct instruction,” murmured Ginny. She pulled up her own mid-air screen and began fiddling with some lines of code. “I don’t have time to run a full diagnostic.”
“Why were you being so persuasive?” Arthur asked Will.
“Because she’s here,” said Will, pointing at me. “LANCE ordered me to bring her in.”
“Bring me in? Where? Why?” I asked. “I don’t want to go with you.” I took a step back away from the whole ridiculous group. “I don’t want to be here at all.” Superheroes and secret organizations were all fine and good on TMZ, but they were a little much to handle in real life. “I want to be home with my nice normal parents.”
Arthur snorted, but he didn’t tell me he’d take me home.
“It’s for your protection,” said Will instead. He tried to move toward me, but for every step forward he took, I moved another step back.
“Protection from what?” I asked.
“The Dreki,” said Will. “You saw what they can do. We’re lucky no one at your school got hurt.”
“The Dreki?” I repeated. My voice seemed to sink into itself. “The terrorist group? The one with your arch, archnemesis?” I asked Arthur, stumbling on the last couple of words. I had never been in the company of people important enough to have an actual archnemesis. I sank down onto the sofa I had backed up against.
“Yes,” said Arthur. Turning to Will he added, “What do Vortigern and the Dreki want with Elaine?”
“Arthur,” said Ginny, “Your tux is on our bed. Figure this out now. If you don’t want the stock to tank, the company to go under, and your ability to afford expensive knights to disappear, I suggest you wrap this up.”
All of us ignored her.
“This morning, we received a tip that Elaine might be a clairvoyant,” said Will. He sat down next to me on the couch, close enough that our knees almost touched. My heart began to race again from the proximity of a hot guy, and I focused on it as a way to delay processing what I’d just heard.
Arthur’s eyebrows shot up his head. “Clairvoyant? Impressive. But, I’m a little unclear on why you would think that.”
“Clairvoyant?” I asked. “You think I’m a psychic?” I slid down the couch away from Will now convinced that his delicious outer shell hid a crunchy center chock full of delusions.
“More like a Seer or Prophet,” said Will.
“If it helps, I don’t think you’re psychic,” said Arthur to me.
“That does not help.” I turned to Will. “Why on Earth would you think something like that?”
“LANCE systems flagged a text from one of Elaine’s classmates commenting on her eyes,” Will said, not looking at me or anyone else in the room. “After accessing the camera on her tablet, LANCE obtained an image of Elaine confirming that her eyes appeared to show the telltale fogged over aspect of a clairvoyant. LANCE sent me to evaluate Elaine for potential recruitment to the Institute.”
Arthur’s frown had grown during this explanation.
“My eyes?” I asked, but no one explained.
“He’s telling the truth,” said Ginny. She made a swiping motion and the mid-air screen flew in front of Arthur. “I’ve found the internal paper trail. All of this mess started with a text from a teen named Jared Alexandrov.”
“You’re hacked into LANCE?” The disbelief in Will’s voice made Ginny smile.
“Everyone needs a hobby,” she said.
“There has to be some kind of mistake,” I said. Jared had kept mentioning something about my eyes, but there was no way I was a Seer. Psychic powers ran in families, everyone knew that. It was one of the first things studied back when scientists discovered genetics. My family was so boring it made normal seem exciting. My dad was an accountant, and my mom was a stay at home scrapbooking obsessed mom. There were no psychic powers hanging out in our family tree. “There’s no way I’m a Seer.”
Everyone ignored me.
“Fine. Your creepy surveillance told you Elaine might be clairvoyant, but that doesn’t explain why the Dreki showed up. How did they find out she’s a Seer if you only suspected it this morning? They almost beat you to her.”
“We must have a leak,” said Will, with a frown. “I have already notified Controller Stormfield of the possibility.”
“Well, you had to do something during your ride here,” said Arthur.
I started to laugh even though not a single minute since I’d met Will had been remotely funny. “Hate to tell you this, but you are so wrong about the Seer thing. I didn’t see any of this coming.” I waved my hands frantically at Will, Arthur, Ginny, and the ridiculous modern medieval castle towering over the midtown Manhattan skyline.
“That’s not entirely true,” said Will. “I think you left something behind this af
ternoon.” He reached into his jacket’s pocket and pulled out a page from my sketch pad. He sat it on the coffee table where Ginny and Arthur who hovered on the other side could see. Someone had stepped on my drawing with a dirty boot print, but the sketch was still visible. It was the drawing I’d been working on in the parking lot, the image that had blinded me walking out of class.
“Did you draw yourself guarded by Pendragon and the knights, Elaine?” asked Ginny in a quiet voice.
My eyes opened wide, and my body sagged. Will reached over to give my arm a comforting pat. Normally, a brief touch from a guy that good looking would have sent me into a fit of giggles, but nothing about this situation was normal.
The princess in my picture might have been me although I hadn’t thought it was when I drew the image. The castle though, most definitely looked like the drawbridge to the Rook, and the first knight guarding it wore the armor, distinctive cape, plume, and dragon coat of arms that Pendragon had worn today. The two knights behind him looked similar to the knights now standing guard in the other room. It was eerie.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I said, but even to my ears, I didn’t sound convincing. “I’m sure I saw something about Pendragon online or something. It’s just my subconscious messing with my imagination.”
Ginny shook her head. “You couldn’t have seen this online.” She pointed to the knight with the coat of arms. “Today was the first time Pendragon has ever worn that ensemble. We only finished the armor yesterday.”
“I’d lose the cape,” I muttered, staring at the drawing.
“That settles it then,” said Arthur, ignoring me. He dropped onto the sofa between Will and me. He rubbed at his eyes like he was getting a headache. I knew how he felt. When he pulled his hand down, he smiled. “Elaine stays here under the protection of Pendragon and the Knights of the Round Table. She’s a powerful Seer that predicted it.”
I stared at Arthur and Will in horror. Will stared at my picture for another moment before nodding. “Considering this and the possible leak at LANCE, that’s probably for the best for now. I must clear it with Controller Stormfield though, and if she is a Seer, Stormfield will want her at the Institute.”
“Over my dead body,” said Arthur. “She stays here with us. Now, Princess,” Arthur said turning to me as if Will had ceased to exist for him, “where should we put you?”
“But, but, but, my parents, my home …” I tried to say. I didn’t manage to do much more than sputter incoherent nonsense. I turned to Ginny hoping for some support or at least a voice of reason. Surely, she didn’t want a perfect stranger staying in her home.
Instead, she gave me a wry grin and cocked an eyebrow. “Welcome home,” she said. “Arthur,” her eyes narrowed. “Go change. We leave for my cousin’s wedding reception in thirty minutes.”
4
WHERE I MAKE A POOR ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE MY IVORY TOWER
“WHY AM I STILL A PRISONER HERE?” I STORMED INTO THE BREAKFAST room and threw myself down in my seat.
Arthur pretended not to hear. He could do that because the table in the “small” breakfast room seated sixteen.
“It’s been two full days since you kidnapped me,” I said. I waved away the robot servant trying to serve me a heaping bowl of cereal. “Why am I still here?”
Arthur looked up from his three tablets. “Because the Dreki is still trying to kill you or capture you. I’m not sure which.”
“Lovely.” I glared at my spoon. “I still don’t see why I’m here with you. Why can’t I be in witness protection or whatever with Mom and Dad?”
“We’ve been through this before. Every day in fact,” said Arthur. “Your mom and dad are safe, and they think you’ll be safest here,” he reminded me.
I wanted to argue, to point out that this still didn’t explain why Arthur wouldn’t let me call home. Instead, I didn’t answer. I had decided to go for sullen teen this morning. It beat rehashing the same old argument.
“But I have a new theory.”
I looked up at that.
“I think Vortigern is less interested in your psychic capabilities and instead is enamored with you. Clearly he must have met you at some point, and your winsome manners and subtle charm dazzled him.”
“Bite me,” I said.
“Ah, there’s that dazzling wit now,” said Arthur with his most beguiling smile.
It took all of my self-control not to throw my glass of orange juice in his face.
“And what are your plans today, Princess?” asked Arthur.
“What do you think?” With my fork, I traced a rough outline of a flying fortress onto the tablecloth. The image had been plaguing me since yesterday morning. I had around a dozen drawings taped up in my room showing the thing from every angle. Ginny and I agreed it was probably some sort of vision, but we didn’t know what it meant.
“I think you’ll be staying here,” said Arthur with a smile. “Do you want to join me in the explosives lab this morning? I’m trying out a new trigger mechanism for my smart bomblets.”
“I hope it blows up in your face,” I muttered.
“What?”
“I hope your time isn’t a waste,” I said louder. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Prefer to sulk in your room?”
“Something like that.” Actually, there wasn’t much to do except sulk in my room. I hadn’t been able to get on the Internet, not even to stream movies. The Keeps didn’t have normal things like TVs or even something as old-fashioned as an MP3 player. Everything was holographic screens run by Percival. And Percival had very strict instructions about keeping me offline.
“Well, whatever you do, just be careful this afternoon. I have to attend a meeting over at LANCE with the Red Ranger, and Ginny won’t be back from LA until dinner. Do you think you’ll be fine?”
“I’m sixteen, not six. I don’t need a babysitter.” I glanced up, but the expression on Arthur’s face kept me from saying anything else snarky. He looked genuinely concerned. He wasn’t doing his big puppy dog innocent face I had learned to distrust. His forehead was wrinkled into deep grooves, and for once, he acted like a guy nearing fifty instead of the thirty-something he pretended to be.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, looking down at the tablecloth. I couldn’t meet his gaze anymore.
“Good,” said Arthur. “I’ll leave most of the Knights here. Percival will watch the defenses, so you should be safe.”
I glanced back up, but Arthur had gone back to the usual carefree part he always seemed to be playing—even in his own home where there wasn’t an audience to appreciate the effect.
HE WAS STILL IN THE SAME MOOD WHEN HE CAME TO SAY GOODBYE just after lunch.
“Elaine?” he said.
I looked up from the drawing I had been working on. “What?”
Arthur looked amused. “I’ve been calling your name for at least ten minutes. That must be some picture.”
“I think it’s a vision, but I’m not sure.” Waving at all the pictures I had taped to the wall, I added, “I can’t seem to get this out of my head.”
Arthur frowned and stared at my eyes for a moment, something he and Ginny had been doing a lot these last couple of days. I wasn’t sure what they were looking for, but as far as I could tell my eyes had done nothing interesting. Whatever Jared had seen in class hadn’t happened again. With a small shake of his head, Arthur moved closer to get a better look at my drawings.
I realized that Arthur had never been in my room. The Keeps might be keeping me a prisoner for my protection, but they hadn’t been obtrusive about it. For the first time, it occurred to me how much worse this all could be.
“Do you mind if I take a few of these with me to LANCE?” Arthur pointed to a few of the pictures, the ones that showed the flying fortress thing from a couple of different angles.
I shrugged. “Sure.” I handed him the drawing I had been working on. This one showed a control room of sorts with lots of buttons and gadgets and stuff I couldn’t n
ame. “Maybe this one will help too.”
“Interesting.” Arthur already seemed to have forgotten about me. He wandered from the room studying the pictures in his hand. At the last moment, he stuck his head back through the door. “I should get home before Ginny, but have Percival call me if anything happens.”
“Okay, ‘Dad,’” I said in my most sarcastic tone, but the sad smile Arthur gave me stopped me from saying more. For the first time I wondered why Arthur and Ginny didn’t have any little Keeps running around the Rook. Arthur would probably make a good, if somewhat over-protective, father.
After Arthur left my room, I waited ten minutes. They were the longest ten minutes of my life.
“Percival,” I asked the air, “where is Arthur?”
“Lord Arthur is one minute from the LANCE New York branch office. Shall I phone him for you, Lady Elaine?”
“No!” I took a deep breath. “No, that won’t be necessary, Percival. Thank you.”
The first thing I did was head for the elevator. The fact was I didn’t know how to get out of the Rook. This was my only chance to break out of here and try to get home, and I had no idea how to do it. Instead of sitting in my room sulking and drawing for the last two days, I should have been planning my escape. I felt like a fool, but there was nothing to do about it now. With only a few hours to escape, I shouldn’t waste them on should-have-dones.
Like I had since this nightmare began, I refused to think about home and my parents. I tried not to imagine what they had been going through. Arthur swore he had talked to Mom, but for all I knew, they thought I was dead. My hand shook as I fumbled around the elevator’s door, looking for the normal buttons. I took a deep breath and banished the image of my parents from my mind. First, I had to get out of this ivory tower. Then, I would figure out a way home.
I couldn’t find a button for the elevator. I also couldn’t find a stairway, an escalator, even a fireman’s pole. There didn’t seem to be any way off the floor we were on.
“This is ridiculous,” I said out loud. “Ginny doesn’t fly out of here in armor, and Arthur wanders off to labs on other floors all the time. Percival, how am I supposed to get out of here if there’s a fire?”
