Blue took the sword from my hand and examined it with awe. The blade gave off a pale blue glow from every angle. “It’s incredible,” she marveled as she passed it to Jason so he could have a closer look.
“The antagonists can suck it,” he commented.
Kai gestured for the blade and Jason handed it to her. She and Daniel admired it together. I watched them. They were a handsome pair—him with his tall, muscular physique, brown hair, and deep brown eyes, and her with her chocolate eyes, wavy black hair, and light olive skin.
“It’s the greatest sword I’ve ever seen,” Daniel said.
Kai nodded in agreement. “Your new sword isn’t half bad either,” she said. “Where did you get that?”
I glanced at the sword Daniel was carrying. I didn’t recognize it.
“Avalon,” he answered. He looked over at Jason and me. “It’s the other sword that kept magically popping up on the isle.”
“I thought we decided not to touch that,” Jason said, raising an eyebrow.
We had. Avalon was full of enchanted traps. Moreover, the Lady of the Lake had appeared to me while crossing to Avalon and cautioned that if Daniel continued his journey with us to the isle, an unfavorable obstacle would be brought upon his fate. I’d chosen to forego this warning because we desperately needed him in the fight against the antagonists and because I felt sure that together we could handle any twist fate threw at us. However, there had been a brief period when Jason and I had been separated from Daniel on Avalon. What had Daniel gotten into in our absence?
“When the antagonists caught up with me in the cavern where Excalibur was, this sword showed up again,” Daniel explained. “I needed to defend myself, so I grabbed it.”
“I gave you my spear before we got separated,” I said.
“I’m not that experienced with a spear; it’s way more formidable in your hands,” he replied, gesturing to the weapon in my other grip. “And it was three against one. I thought I was a goner. Luckily, this sword appeared and I was able to use it to fight back.”
I transformed my spear back to its true form—a magic wand. The wand had been given to me when I was seven years old and was enchanted to change into whatever weapon I willed it into. It could also be converted into a clandestine state. I used the telepathic command Lapellium to morph it into a hairpin and then clipped the wandpin to my bra strap.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I said to Daniel.
“Would you have preferred if they killed me?”
“No, I just . . . We don’t know what that sword is. It could be dangerous.”
“Relax,” Daniel said. “Nothing bad happened and no traps were sprung. Considering I lost my old sword in quicksand, I’m calling it a lucky break.”
“Speaking of lucky breaks,” Blue interjected. “Where are Arian, Mauvrey, and Alex?”
Ah yes, our three least favorite villains.
“After I claimed Excalibur, the Lady of the Lake temporarily froze them and brought the three of us back here,” I replied to Blue. “That means we have a head start, but I doubt it’ll last long. You know those guys. We need to decide our next move fast.”
“I actually have some thoughts on that,” Blue said eagerly. “Since we previously took care of the three guards traveling with Arian, Alex, and Mauvrey, we can use all of their rides.” She gestured at the half dozen horses tied to the trees atop the bank. “There are six horses and six of us. We have five hours before we need to rendezvous with Morgan and Gwenivere’s army. With the help of Merlin’s magic map, and if we don’t get held up by any more magic hunters or monsters, we can make it. We’ll help our friends take back the citadel and kick Rampart off the throne of Camelot. Then we should still have plenty of time to use one of those nifty interdimensional wormholes to get to Oz, take down Glinda, and free Paige’s mind from the memory stone just as the Vicennalia Aurora hits.”
“That is an optimistic plan,” SJ commented wryly, raising her eyebrows.
“We are inbound for several colossal battles with enemies across multiple realms,” Blue retorted. “Would you prefer me to be cynical?”
Definitely not. Blue’s summary may have been concise, but it by no means lessened the scope of what we had to do. Getting back to Oz to retrieve Paige’s memories and save her from her scarecrow state like I’d promised was only one thing we had to accomplish today. We had made commitments to people in many realms, particularly Camelot.
In our original search for Paige, we’d spent time in Neverland. There, we had befriended the legendary twelve-year-old Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys and Girls, as well as several other important characters, one of whom was King Arthur.
Yes, the ruler-of-Camelot and head of Knights of the Round Table King Arthur.
Stories told that the king had perished years ago, killed by his half-brother Mordred. But this was not the complete truth. The king had been mortally injured in battle by Mordred’s poisoned blade, however before Arthur’s demise he’d gone through a wormhole that led to Neverland. This saved him—at least in a way. Biological time magically stood still in Neverland, which meant that people never aged and non-instantaneous wounds that would normally progress and worsen to kill the afflicted over time were frozen as well. As such, Arthur’s wound would not finish him off so long as he remained in Neverland.
No one in Camelot had known the truth about what happened to the king until we made this discovery. During our search for Excalibur, we’d teamed up with Arthur’s wife Gwenivere and his half-sister Morgan La Fay and told them of Arthur’s fate. They could not have been more thrilled he was alive, but were dismayed that he could never return to their realm because of his wound.
These conflicting feelings aside, the news gave them an extra boost of motivation to carry through with their plan to overthrow Camelot’s current ruler and son of Mordred, King Rampart, in order to restore Gwenivere to the throne. With the help of the trusted order known as the Gwenivere Brigade and the royals’ other allies, this was happening tonight. The distraction of the Vicennalia Aurora was the perfect opportunity. The plan had been set for a while, but the morale boost of Arthur being alive mixed with my powerful friends and I showing up to aid the cause was a bonus. Again, we just had to get from Avalon to the Camelot citadel within the next five hours in order to do it.
Blue removed an empty sword sheath from one of the horse’s saddles and tossed it over to SJ. “Here, make yourself useful, Princess Doubty. You’re the only one without a weapon. Put Excalibur in that and carry it for the team.”
SJ caught the sheath but glowered at Blue. The pair sometimes clashed. It came with the territory when two close friends were so different—SJ was a graceful, logical princess, and Blue was a blunt, bold protagonist who relied on gut instinct. But the teasing was generally amicable as the two cared for each other deeply.
Daniel passed Excalibur to SJ and she firmly secured the sword then swung the sheath over her shoulder.
“Not to be cynical either,” Jason interjected, giving SJ a supportive pat on the shoulder, “but I have to say, this seems too lucky. I mean six horses and six of us? That’s a bit convenient.”
“Have we been on the same quest, man?” Daniel asked. “Nothing is ever convenient. Maybe the universe feels like it owes us one. Let’s take this stroke of luck and get on with it.”
I instinctively moved to check the time on my watch and remembered the other prize I’d brought back from Avalon—the Hole Tracker. Hole Trackers were magical watches that showed when and where wormholes were about to open, thus allowing you to navigate from one Wonderland to the next through the interdimensional tears.
“I think we should split up,” I said suddenly.
“Why’s that?” Kai asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“Because Blue’s right,” I responded. “With the horses and Merlin’s map, we should be able to get to the Gwenivere Brigade’s rendezvous point outside the Forest of Mists by five o’clock. But things almost alway
s go wrong for us, and if we get side-tracked by more monsters or whatever, we won’t make it, and the domino effect will be disastrous. If we don’t leave Camelot in time, then we won’t reach Oz in time. If we miss that deadline, then we may not make it to Book to help the Godmothers and all the antagonists could break out of Alderon . . .”
I took a breath. That last impending climax had me the most worried. Threats in other realms (no matter how great) did not sting as much as those on your home turf. That’s where our families were, our homes. And they were all in grave trouble.
Our realm’s Fairy Godmothers knew that the Aurora would affect the In and Out Spell around Alderon, and many had been assigned to reinforce the magic in the spell throughout the evening. Unfortunately, the numbers assigned weren’t high because the Godmothers were also responsible for safeguarding Book’s kingdoms against more commons rebellion attacks that were rumored to occur this evening as well.
The commons rebellion in Book was a growing problem that had recently taken significant shots at our realm. Because Book separated its classes and showed favoritism to protagonists, those who were not chosen by the Author were typically given less attention and opportunity. And while many commons were okay with that (people could certainly succeed in life without the advantage of being chosen at birth for a higher calling) others had grown discontent.
I could understand this frustration, however I had no sympathy for the commons at this point. The rebellion had turned violent as of late and was waging war against my kind. Furthermore, one of the rebellion’s recent targets had been my castle in Midveil. They’d attacked my home and killed a lot of innocent people. That had no excuse. I condemned the rebels for the action and worried about their violence spreading across the realm for the sake of my main character friends, family, and classmates, as well as the sake of the innocent commons caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were all in danger now.
“So considering what could go wrong,” I continued, “I think it’s a good idea to split up and have half our team find another way to the citadel as a back-up plan.”
I held up my wrist with the Hole Tracker on it. “I took this from Alex. The magic instability of the Vicennalia Aurora is causing wormholes to appear more regularly by the hour. While three of us can take the horses the normal way to the Camelot citadel, I propose the other trio try using portals to realm hop and get there faster.”
I pressed the buttons on the Hole Tracker to project the map of Camelot. It was vague overall, but what was strikingly evident was the large number of wormholes scattered across it in the form of bright splashes of swirling energy. Wormholes were magical gateways that lead to different realms. And these portals to Neverland, Cloud Nine, and the Portalscape were appearing much more frequently than usual.
The rest of the group considered the plan. “It’s a good idea,” Jason said. “The team that’s going by wormhole can take our original map of Camelot while the team trying to cross Camelot the regular way should use Merlin’s magic map.”
“I shall go with the team that is portal-hopping,” SJ said, “as I have access to all our other Wonderland maps too.” She patted her magic potions sack, which was enchanted to allow SJ to retrieve anything so long as it could fit through the sack’s opening and she knew precisely where it was. She had all of our aforementioned maps hidden at school and had been pulling them out as needed during our adventure.
“All right then,” Jason said. “How about if I go with Daniel and Kai across Camelot the normal way, and you, Blue, and Crisa take the wormholes? Everybody good with that?”
“Wait,” Kai interjected. We all turned to look at her. “I know I’m new to this adventure and I’ve only gotten a recap of the stuff you guys have been through, but if there is really so much at stake with getting to the memory stone in Oz and defending the In and Out Spell around Alderon, why are we taking the risk of stopping at the Camelot citadel at all? We have Excalibur. Why not make a run at Oz right now?”
My friends and I exchanged a look.
Kai had a point. Coming to Camelot had never been about helping Gwenivere or Morgan or dethroning the realm’s wicked King Rampart and his witchy grandmother Morgause. We came to get Excalibur, and we had it. It would be much shrewder to forget our ties to this realm and go to Oz while we had a head start.
But then . . . this wasn’t just about shrewdness. It was about doing what was right.
“No,” I said decidedly. “The Gwenivere Brigade rescued us in the citadel. Arthur gave us the guidance we needed to find Excalibur. Gwenivere and Morgan took us in and provided shelter, money, and directions. Morgan’s sister Elaine even saved Jason’s life when she healed him with her magic. They’re our allies and we made a commitment to them. We need to follow through.”
Blue nodded finitely. “They’re our friends and we can’t abandon them. They took risks for us. We need to be brave enough to do the same.”
Jason stepped forward. “Agreed?”
Everyone nodded, including Kai. It was the right thing to do. The risk made it a scarier choice, but not a harder one. I may have been the one that Arthur had sworn in as an official Knight of his Round Table when we met in Neverland, but we all had a high dosage of that most precious and rare quality of a knight—honor. We would always put what was just before self-interest and convenience.
Having made our decision, Daniel consulted Merlin’s magic map as Jason and Kai said their goodbyes to us. We exchanged simple good luck wishes with Kai (we didn’t know her that well) and Jason gave each of us a hug. I could tell Blue was a bit reluctant about being separated from him again.
“See you in the citadel,” she told him in a serious tone, tucking a wavy strand of dark blonde hair behind her ear then gripping her lucky blue cloak like a security blanket.
“See you in the citadel,” he replied.
Jason and Kai readied their horses. Blue took a step back and joined me and SJ, putting her hands on her hips. “Well, I guess we’re getting the band back together. The original three musketeers are off on an adventure.”
Jason had just finished saddling up when he turned to me with wide eyes. “Crisa, I just realized we didn’t search for the waters!”
“What waters?” Kai asked.
“The Four Waters of Paradise,” I replied with a sigh. “It’s the only known way to cure Pure Magic Disease.”
I wished we could go ten minutes without mentioning something to do with Pure Magic. Alas, the topic was as tied to our adventures as the magic itself was fused to my blood.
Magic could not be destroyed; it could only change forms or change hands. Normally it passed easily from one person or object to another, but every once in a while a mutation occurred where magic bonded to a person in a very permanent way. This was called Pure Magic, and it allowed the carrier to wield great power with one specific ability. It also gave the carrier dreams of the future.
This was a condition that Liza (our realm’s Author) and I shared, along with our new wizard friend Merlin. Since meeting Liza on our quest last semester, she had become my magic mentor because she was the only person in Book who suffered from the disease and had not been corrupted by it. An impressive feat considering that people who carried Pure Magic were almost always doomed to be overtaken by its hungry power and turn dark.
I hoped she could help me develop enough control over my magic to avoid turning dark too. The idea that I could fail and succumb to the disease loomed over me like a personal storm every day, although the specific abilities Pure Magic had granted me were rather helpful.
As mentioned, all Pure Magic carriers could see the future through dreams. My ability was more scattered, unlike Liza’s and Merlin’s, which had been honed for decades. But my foresight could come in handy at times, despite being exhausting.
Where I really benefited though, was with the one specific ability that Pure Magic had given me. While Liza’s Pure Magic had caused her to develop great teleportation magic and Merlin had invi
sibility powers, I had something much cooler.
I had the power of life.
This meant I could bring inanimate objects to life and they would follow my commands and will. I also recently learned that if I used enough magic, I could bring people back to life, myself included. This was super awesome; regrettably such resurrections required huge amounts of power that I couldn’t always rely on. My magic worked like energy and I could run out, fall short, or even burn up and be destroyed if I used too much.
Those limitations aside, my magic had been incredibly useful thus far and I loved it, even if it put me in a never-ending state of danger. As mentioned, every person who’d ever had Pure Magic, except for Liza and Merlin, had succumbed to the disease’s corruptive effects. And although Liza had been training me to control my magic rather than letting it control me, those odds remained.
So that’s why learning that the Four Waters of Paradise could cure a person with Pure Magic and leave them with regular magic had seemed like a dream come true. It would mean retaining my power (though in a diminished capacity), but not having to worry about turning dark. The timing had even been perfect, what with the waters only being able to work during the Vicennalia Aurora. Unfortunately, it had not been in the cards for me to claim them.
“The waters were supposed to be in a spring on Avalon,” I explained to Kai before pivoting toward Jason. “And I did find them. The Lady of the Lake took me there. But the spring had dried up. The waters are gone.”
My whole group gave me a pitying look that I did not appreciate.
“I’m sorry, Crisa,” Blue said.
“Don’t be,” I replied solemnly. “It was a long shot to hope for a cure in the first place.”
Crisanta Knight: The Lost King Page 2
