King of Knights

by Bebe Lightsmith

  Setting my feet on the beam again, I pushed as hard as I could. I could feel the energy coming out of my feet, and with a final push, the beam snapped. Thank God. I grabbed the two sides and hurled them across the room. Ivy was slow to stand. Wrapping my arm around her, I threw her over my shoulder and jumped out of the window. It was only three stories.

  I landed on my feet, just as an explosion blasted out of the window. I held Ivy to my chest, protecting her from debris and the flames. Emergency officials rushed towards us and led us to safety. Keeping Ivy in one arm, I reached down and grabbed Excalibur’s handle. It didn’t come out of the stone, but I was strong enough to carry it anyway.

  We were ushered to a bay of ambulances who sat at a safe distance away from the building. Ivy, Excalibur, and myself were piled into the back of one and driven away to the hospital across campus. I told the medical team I was fine, but Ivy had two bruised femurs and some wicked burning on her legs. Immediately they started to wrap her skin in Hippocrates Bandages. Someone set an oxygen mask over my face.

  “Where’s Owen?” I asked moving the mask to the side. The EMT explained that she didn’t know, and then set the mask back on my face.

  The hospital was a madhouse as other students were also hurt in the blast. I had no idea what started the fire, but apparently, it had hit that entire half of the third floor. They wheeled Ivy away as someone grabbed my arm and gave me a medical exam, checking my pulse, my airways, and my lungs. Excalibur stayed at my side, still stuck in the stone. Once I was cleared, even though I demanded to know where my team was, they ushered me to a waiting room, filled with other students, waiting for members of their own teams. I positioned Excalibur in the corner of the room, next to my chair.

  “It’s never a boring day, is it?” Natalie sat next to me. I gave her a weary smile. “Where’s Owen and Ivy?”

  “In there, somewhere.” I gestured to the depths of the hospital. Anger filled me, and I tried to bite it back. What was taking so long? Didn’t they know that waiting for updates on patients was torture?

  “Owen’s hurt?” She asked, her eyes widening.

  “Yeah, I pulled him out, and Ivy too,” I muttered.

  “Jesus, what a mess. Do you know what started it?” She then asked. I shook my head. I wasn’t there. I had gotten so emotionally overwhelmed that I was actually twenty miles away, having a conversation with my ex-girlfriend when it happened. I should have been there. This is precisely why I knew getting into a relationship with Ivy would overly complicate things. We weren’t even in a relationship, and the situation was already so messed up. I wasn’t there.

  What if it was Morgose or a member of the cult? We knew that both wanted Ivy for some reason. I wasn’t there to defend them. They must have been so scared.

  “Uh, Ryker, why is Beth here?” Natalie asked after a moment. Oh shit, I forgot about Beth. She walked into the waiting room and sat on the other side of the corner, next to Excalibur.

  “Is that it?” She gasped, looking at the majestic sword in the stone. I nodded. “Wow, it’s huge.” Her eyes widened. Natalie burst out laughing, and it must have been the release of pressure because I laughed too.

  “Do all the girls say that to you?” Natalie laughed.

  “Only the ones who are lucky enough to see it.” I winked. The comment made Natalie and me laugh harder. Beth rolled her eyes and sat in the chair.

  “How’s it going, Beth?” Natalie then asked. Beth glared over at Natalie.

  “Good, thank you, Nathan.” She replied. I felt Natalie stiffen next to me. Her face fell. Standing, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet.

  “Here.” I gave Beth a couple of twenties. “Take a cab home.” Beth looked at me with hurt and shock.

  “If you’re going to insult my friends, then you need to leave.” I then explained. No one had called Natalie Nathan in ten years, at least. When we were in grade school, she had announced that she wanted to be called Natalie, and though some people had a problem with it, Owen and I took care of it. Beth glared at me and then at Natalie. Without a word, she snatched the money and stormed out of the room.

  “She’s a peach,” Natalie said with a smile. I let out a laugh. “Why was she here again?” Natalie was my closest friend other than Owen.

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Ivy and I got in a fight, so then I went for a drive and found myself outside of the high school and then she saw my car, so we started talking.” I shrugged. “Then I felt it.” I glanced over at Excalibur.

  “That they were in trouble?” Natalie asked, her big brown eyes wide. She found my connection to magic fascinating. I found it infuriating.

  “Excalibur told me,” I said. We both looked at the sword.

  “Any other inanimate objects speak to you, or just your huge sword?” Natalie couldn’t finish the sentence without laughing. I nudged her with my shoulder, but I couldn’t help but laugh as well. It felt good to release the pressure, after such an intense experience. That was something they taught us early in knight school.

  “Ryker! Where’s Ryker!” I heard Ivy’s voice in the distance.

  “Will you watch it for me?” I asked Natalie, gesturing to Excalibur. She nodded and smiled.

  “I feel so privileged getting to watch the King of Knights’ huge sword.” She was going to have fun with that one for a while. I thanked her and stepped out of the waiting room.

  “Find me Ryker Pendragon.” Ivy was demanding. I followed her voice down a long hall and then turning to another.

  “Stop touching me!” I heard her shriek. “Find me Ryker, you know the big guy, King of Knights, that one.” Oh, she was getting irritated now. Wisps of green magic were fluttering out of an open patient room door. They swirled around my legs as I stepped through them, into the room. Ivy sat in a hospital bed with a team of medical professionals around her. They looked stunned as she literally leaked green magic all over the room.

  “Give them a break, Ivy. I’m right here.” I said leaning against the doorframe. The look on her face shouldn’t have brought so much joy to my chest. She smiled widely, her green eyes glittering with magic. The medical team seemed relieved as they started moving about again, hooking her up to machines and what not.

  “What’s the verdict this time?” I casually asked. Ivy had landed herself in the hospital many times over the year, and the panic never lessened.

  “Oh, just some burns on my legs and hands, nothing major.” She waved off. Her hands were covered in bandages.

  “Where’s Owen?” She then asked. I shook my head, signifying that I didn’t know. Ivy then turned to a terrified looking nurse.

  “Where is Owen Emrys?” She asked her. The nurse shook her head in fright. Ivy rolled her eyes.

  “I’ll go find him,” I promised her. She gave me a long look.

  “It’s my fault you know.” She said in an eerily calm and distant voice. “I told him to put the nutmeg in the cookies.” I had learned a long time ago to not question Ivy when she was like this. Though many would have thought she was speaking gibberish, I knew that her comment meant something.

  “I’ll go find him,” I assured her and then pushed my way through the medical staff to kiss her on the forehead. “I’ll be right back.” I promised her. She smiled and nodded. Before going to find Owen, I retrieved my sword from Natalie and then positioned it in Ivy’s room. Excalibur seemed to be watching out for her.

  Walking to a nurse’s station, I asked the woman at the desk if she could tell me anything. After typing into the computer for a moment, her eyes grew wide and sad.

  “He’s in surgery right now, Mr. Pendragon.” She replied in a gentle voice. “I can alert you as soon as he’s out.”

  “I’ll be in Ivy Le Fay’s room. Thank you.” I nodded. Emergency surgery? Jesus, what the hell happened?

  I made my way back to Ivy’s room, where Malcolm Gadsden was standing next to Ivy’s bed. I stopped myself from going all the way in the room; instead, I pressed my
back against the outside wall. What the hell was he doing here? Ivy was laughing as he told her a story about his time exiting the fire. Like a good knight, he stayed back and made sure his wing of the dorm was clear before leaving. I wanted to punch him.

  “Well, I guess our date will have to be postponed,” Ivy said.

  “Hey, is that thing supposed to be glowing?” Malcolm asked. Glancing around the corner of the doorframe, I saw a red light cascading from the corner of the room where Excalibur sat.

  “I’m not exactly sure what all it does,” Ivy replied.

  “Hey, by any chance, do you know what started the fire?” Malcolm asked in his thick Australian accent.

  “No, not a clue,” Ivy replied. It made me feel better to know that she lied to her suitors to protect our business. At least she was still loyal to the team.

  “Alright then, I just wanted to check on you,” Malcolm said. “Feel better soon, and we’ll go out when you’re ready.”

  “Thank you, Malcolm, you’re so sweet to come and check on me.” I could hear the smile in Ivy’s voice. I didn’t understand her. How could she be bellowing at the medical staff for me and then agree to go out with him? It didn’t make any sense. Then I saw the old man, the one who had lifted Excalibur from the stone, peering around the corner to wink at me.

  Chapter Three:

  Ivy:

  All through my time at MBIA, I had managed to stay clear of formal questioning from the higher-ups. Today was the first time I stood in the boardroom, men and women in black suits crowded around the long wooden table. At the head was the Director of Mythos Intelligence, the Legacy Belvidere, Natalie’s father. He was a large man, with narrow set dark eyes, and a bulbous face that grew red at the slightest emotion or temperature change.

  “Tell us again, Cadet Le Fay, what exactly started the fire.” A woman who sat near me asked. She had been the one questioning me the entire time.

  “Owen was in the kitchen experimenting with his magical cookies. I suggested adding nutmeg for some reason, I’m not sure why. So he did it. And then when he took the cookies out of the oven, about twelve were on the baking sheet, he skimmed his hand over them, applying the Emrys magic. Then, suddenly, they just exploded, sending us flying back and starting the fire.”

  “Tell us the nature of these cookies.” The director demanded. I hesitated. Grams had instilled in us that not all MBI agents were good, and in fact, more than a few of them were overly curious about the new Team Camelot.

  “It was just something Owen had read about somewhere. I’m not sure.” I shrugged.

  The door opened, and Grams stood at the threshold. Her eyes were glimmering green as she stepped in.

  “My granddaughter has been in here for over an hour. How many questions could you possibly have?” Morgana demanded, glaring down the table at the director.

  “We want to be thorough, my lady.” Director Belvidere replied in a patient voice. My Grams had been around for so long that everyone knew her and also knew not to cross her.

  “Well, you have been thorough enough. She has been through an ordeal and you questioning her about it over and over again is not helping. They are kids, kids with powerful magic, but still kids. They made a mistake. There is no sense in reprimanding kids who made a mistake.” Grams snapped. Director Belvidere looked uncomfortable as he stared at the powerful sorceress in front of him.

  “My lady, could you enlighten us on the nature of these magical cookies.” One of the agents at the table questioned. Morgana furrowed her eyebrows, and I knew they were about to get an ear full.

  “No, I cannot enlighten you on the nature of the cookies, they’re not my cookies, they’re Merlin’s! Why don’t you drag him in here for questioning instead of harassing my granddaughter.” She retorted. The room filled with awkwardness.

  “Alright then, Cadet Le Fay you are dismissed for now.” Director Belvidere gestured to me. I stood and quickly walked out of the room. Grams wrapped her arm around my shoulders as we hurriedly made our way out of the administration offices and back into the main part of the school.

  “What did you say?” She asked once we were in the safety of her tower.

  “Nothing, I told them I had no idea about the cookies,” I promised. Grams let out a big sigh and sat in her bright red armchair.

  “Alright,” She nodded, “And you’re staying away from Ryker like I told you to?” She demanded. I nodded.

  Six months ago when Ryker had moved out of the cabin in dream world, I had been upset but knew I could sway him to come back to me. Grams urged me to take this as an opportunity to further the cause. My mission was to find corrupted young men before they made it past MBIA. It was a cleanup mission of sorts. Grams had explained that Ryker needed time anyway to sort himself out. With Excalibur and the pressure of becoming King of Knights, he didn’t need me in the mix as well. I understood that, but sometimes I wondered. I always wondered if I did the right thing.

  “You think this Malcolm guy is working for them?” I asked in a hushed voice, even though we were the only ones in her office.

  “I think that we don’t know who is on which side, therefore all newcomers need to be vetted,” Morgana replied. I wasn’t sure who the opposing side exactly was. Obviously, Morgose and the Cult, but I wasn’t sure what they wanted or what they were about. Grams had refused to explain it to me. No one knew about my secret mission of exposing corrupted Mythos families, not even Owen.

  “Grams, I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this from Ryker,” I muttered in a moment of weakness. Grams grabbed my arm.

  “When he can pull the sword from the stone, you can be together.” She promised. She had said that many times before but I wished it didn’t matter. I wasn’t sure why it mattered, that was lost in the depths of the psyche of my two thousand-year-old grandmother.

  “How are you feeling, sweetling?” She then asked, running her soft hand along my face.

  “Better.” I nodded, “My legs are still a little weak.” Thanks to modern magical medicine, Owen and I were just fine. I was discharged just two days after the fire, and Owen was being released today.

  “Take it easy, sweetling.” Grams encouraged.

  After that, I left her office and went to find my guys. The dorms were trashed, so everyone had to move into the main castle. The fifty of us who no longer had dorm rooms slept on cots in the gymnasium and showered in the locker rooms. The school promised us that the dorms would be ready within the month. Exiting the castle, I ran across the campus to the hospital. When Owen had awoken a couple of days ago, he immediately asked about Archimedes. I assured him that his beloved cat was within the safety of my dimension. Luckily, I always carried a pocket mirror with me, and it was a simple task to grab the cat and shove him in the mirror.

  Owen was in high spirits as we helped him back to the main castle. I was actually surprised with how happy he’d been especially under the circumstances that he not only failed yet again to conjure the codex, but he also blew up half of a dorm building. Once we got him settled at his cot station, he glanced around; making sure no one was in listening distance.

  “I have something to tell you guys.” He whispered. Ryker and I leaned forward, so he didn’t have to talk so loud. Owen had minor surgery on his abdomen to remove shrapnel from his stomach. He’d be down for a few weeks, but it could have been much worse.

  “Merlin came to see me.” He whispered. Ryker and I exchanged a glance. Either Owen had finally lost it, or the two-thousand-year-old-presumed-dead-wizard had miraculously appeared in Owen’s hospital room after millennia of absence. Though I knew what logic would dictate, I also knew that this was a world of surprises.

  “Don’t look at me like that, I’m not crazy.” Owen then snapped. “Look.” He shoved a piece of parchment in Ryker’s hand. I glanced over his arm to read it. It was another list of ingredients, including nutmeg, scrawled in the same loopy handwriting as the sugar cookie recipe.

  “Where did you find this?” Ry
ker demanded.

  “When I woke up this morning, it was lying on my chest.” Owen shrugged. Ryker glared back down at the parchment.

  “Nutmeg is on the list.” I pointed out, “Next to it is written, explosion.” Then it hit me, I realized what the list was about.

  “Wait, these are ingredients you could add to the cookies to make them do different things.” I put together.

  “Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner!” Owen pointed to me.

  “Dark chocolate, temporary mind control.” Ryker read out loud. “Really?”

  “I won’t do that one,” Owen assured him but then gave me a pointed glance. Sometimes, it was best to keep the honorable King of Knights in the dark.

  “Well, Command has forbidden you from doing any more baking until you speak with them,” Ryker said, handing back the list.

  “They can try.” Owen snorted, folding the parchment neatly, and then tucking it into his grimoire.

  “Owen, this isn’t something to play around with. You almost died, you almost killed Ivy.” Ryker argued. “If it weren’t for me . . .” He trailed off. I grabbed his hand, offering him some comfort. That must have been hard, coming back to the dorms to see that.

  “But you were there, like always.” Owen winked. Ryker let out an exasperated huff.

  “Owen, I might not be there next time,” Ryker argued.

  “Then that is the will of the universe.” Owen shrugged. I got it, but I also knew Ryker didn’t.

  “I’ve got to go.” Ryker then said. I could see the agitation on his face. “I’ve got a lesson with Morgana.”

  “I’ve got to go to the magic shop.” I said, “Do what we talked about.” I winked at Owen. He gave me a thumbs up.

  “I’ll be fine here.” Owen waved us off as he opened one of his many books that he made us stack around him.

  “Tonight I’ll prepare a space in dream world for you,” I promised him. He was recovering from surgery, he didn’t need to be in a gymnasium with fifty other people in an uncomfortable cot. Besides, if I built him a kitchen in my controlled dimension, there would be a lesser chance of anyone getting hurt.