Legendary (13 page)

Aliana took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze in hopes of returning some of the comfort he had given to her earlier. His eyes met hers and Aliana felt herself blush. She pulled her hand from his, and her curiosity was piqued when she saw disappointment in the set of his mouth.

“What about me?” she asked. “Will Dagg and I be able to get in?”

Galahad smiled at her. “You are the Destined One. I do not believe any magic could keep you out.”

Biting her cheek, Aliana nodded. “Well, let’s do this before I lose my nerve or come to my senses.”

Galahad studied her. “Odd. I did not think you one to back away from as easy a task as entering a cave, my lady.”

How dare he?
Her offended eyes met his, and she saw mirth dancing in his blue depths. One corner of his mouth turned up.

“That was not nice, Sir Galahad.” Shaking her head, she marched past him and walked through the cave entrance.

If she had been on the outside, she would have seen the markings around the entrance flare to life, shining so brightly that Galahad and Dagg were momentarily blinded.

“Lady Aliana,” Dagg called. “We cannot get through.”

Aliana twisted around to face them. “What do you mean you can’t get through?”

“Come see for yourself, my lady.” Galahad’s voice was calm, but his face set in anger.

Unbelieving, Aliana strode back to the entrance and reached her hand toward Dagg, planning to drag the silver devil into the cave by his tail—there was no way she could do this alone—but her hand hit a cold wall. “What in the name of all that’s holy?” She placed both hands against the barrier, looking up and down, side to side, trying to find some kind of lever or something that would rid them of this nuisance.

“Your friends will not find a way in, young one,” a woman’s raspy voice said from behind her.

Aliana snapped around toward the voice. Standing in the shadows was a small figure wrapped in a dusty, brown cloak. The garment swung in tattered pieces around the woman’s feet as she walked toward Aliana, but the woman’s head remained hidden beneath a deep hood.

“Who are you?” Aliana and Galahad demanded at the same time.

The lady cackled. “My dear, you did not think that you would simply walk in and awaken him, did you?” She stepped closer. “You have done well with the first two tests, but there is one more you must pass to prove yourself worthy of claiming the title of the Destined One.” Her aged smoky, sultry voice scraped over Aliana’s skin.

“What do you mean
test?
Are you responsible for that disaster zone back there?” Aliana could almost feel the old woman’s cold smile.

“That
disaster zone
as you call it was to test your wit and ability to think under dire circumstances. There are still tasks ahead that require both. Your first test was to find the courage to face the unknown and free the lord knight and your guardian. King Arthur’s champion cannot lack the traits he had in abundance.”

Aliana wanted to roll her eyes, but she wouldn’t put it past this lady to do something terrible to her for it. Again, she studied the old woman. There was something terrible about her but also something…
familiar.

“Why can’t Galahad and Daggerhorne be with me? They don’t need to stay locked outside!”

The shrouded woman cackled again. “Only the Destined One can awaken the king. She
alone
must prove herself worthy.”

Aliana glared at the woman for a moment, and then sighed, turning back toward her two companions. With a sad smile, she placed her palm on the cold barrier opposite Galahad’s palm, wishing she could touch him again. She knew she shouldn’t want that, because once she awakened Arthur, there would be no need for her knight to stay with her.

“Well, look at it this way,” she said, “once I do this, at least you won’t have to worry about saving me from any more death traps or magical creatures.” She laughed weakly. “And you’ll have your king back.”

“You are more than just a means to awaken my king,” he said with absolute confidence. “Do you think that I could let you walk away from us?”

Aliana’s heart jumped, and she hoped she wasn’t imagining the emotions in his words and in his eyes.

“Do not be so worried, Lady Aliana,” Daggerhorne said, breaking their moment. “You were born for this. You are more than capable of passing the final test.”

She nodded with a tight smile, appreciating the Dragon’s confidence in her, but disappointed to be reminded that she was only needed for this purpose. Then she turned and joined the old woman.

“My lady,” Galahad called out as she moved away from him. Aliana hesitated but then looked back, meeting his eyes. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes and the hand he still had resting against the barrier said plenty.

The old woman cleared her throat.

“Be safe,” Galahad finally said. Aliana smiled, then turned again, nodding for the woman to lead the way.

Aliana followed the old woman for several steps before finally asking the question burning in her mind. “Who are you? And why are
you
here to give me this test?”

The woman cackled. “I have been destined to give your final test since the covenant was first struck.”

“I don’t understand. What covenant? And what does this prophecy I keep hearing about actually say?”

“Knowledge is learned when it needs to be, not when we wish for it to be given. People of your world have forgotten that and grow arrogant in their quest to know everything.”

Aliana opened her mouth to reply, but her voice failed. The cave was getting darker with every step. She forced herself to take calming breaths, made more difficult by the intense pressure in her chest. Trying for nonchalant, she patted the pockets of her jeans, looking for her cell phone, but she didn’t feel it. Her heart leaped; where had she left it? Her breath came quicker, and her hands curled into fists, her nails biting harshly at her skin. “Breathe,” she hissed, trying to fight back the traumatic childhood memory that threatened to drown her.

“Are you all right, child?”

Aliana’s head snapped up, staring at the woman who now stood only a foot from her. The fading light from the entrance shined into the hood and onto the woman’s face. For the first time, Aliana got a clear look at her mystery guide. The woman’s heart-shaped face had been wizened by long years of life. Wispy, golden orange ringlets framed her high cheekbones, plump lips, and emerald eyes sprinkled with silver.

“Where are we going?” Aliana’s voice cracked.

The woman’s eyes bored into hers. Under the soul-penetrating gaze, the memory Aliana had been trying to block surfaced. She’d been a frightened child, trapped in an ancient chamber, her foot pinned under a large piece of rock that had fallen when she’d tumbled through the sinkhole above. Dust and cobwebs had choked her as she’d cried out for her daddy. She’d screamed when something unseen skittered across her arm. For almost an hour, she had remained trapped in the dark room with only a small ray of light to give her any hope. Her teary eyes had frantically shot back and forth, trying to see into the darkness. But there had been nothing but a cold emptiness, a room forgotten in time, a hidden monster that wanted to consume her.

Gasping, Aliana stumbled back. Her hands shook and her knees threatened to give out. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the horrible memory. Her father had eventually come to save her. He hadn’t left her trapped in the darkness.

Aliana had become stronger over the years, and she refused to let fear rule her life! Sucking in air, she found her strength again and stood straight. She couldn’t let this woman see her as weak and unable to face her demons.

The woman’s eyes lit with approval, and a small smile graced her lips. She stepped back into the darkness. For a heartbeat, Aliana thought she was alone again. But before the panic could resurface, torches sprang to life with a whooshing sound, lighting their path.

Aliana followed the woman down the corridor, taking in every detail she could. The cave walls had been covered with elegant, beautiful drawings. Standing side-to-side, eight valiant knights formed a line facing a small army of thirty or more black-armored knights. “What are these drawings?” Aliana asked, fascinated by the ancient art.

“You have searched a long time to know the truth of Camelot and its king, but the truth may not be what you wish it to be,” the woman answered cryptically.

“No disrespect,” Aliana said, glancing back at the woman, “but I have just found out that Dragons, Elves, Nymphs, and Goblins are real. I had to save a legendary knight, escape those crazy Sidhe, and I’ve been told I have to
awaken
one of the most famous men in history. I’ve kinda accepted that everything I thought I knew about Camelot and King Arthur is nothing close to the truth.”

“You have spirit, girl. That is good. You will need every ounce of it
and
all the courage you can muster to do what is needed of you.” The woman looked past Aliana to the drawing on the walls. “This shows the Fae’s account of Arthur and his men during their last battle with the evil Mordrid.” The woman held out her aged hand. Colored sparks of magic burned under her skin before they jumped to life, circling tightly in her palm. The old woman blew a gentle breath. Aliana watched, transfixed as the magic sailed from her fingers to the drawings, giving them life before her eyes.

The valiant knights fearlessly charged the black knights’ line. They cut and slashed at their enemies quickly, breaking the enemy’s formation. With their armor, it was impossible to distinguish between King Arthur’s eight men except for the different emblems on their shields. Aliana watched as, one by one, they slew their enemies only to be surrounded by more and more.

“The Knights of the Round Table were feared by all the realms. Their individual strength was unmatched, and together, nothing but the strongest magic and trickery could defeat them,” the woman explained.

Walking along the wall, Aliana followed the knights’ progress. Leading the charge was a knight carrying an elaborate shield bearing a golden Dragon. At his back was another man holding a simple circle shield bearing only the image of a sword. The two fought in perfect synchronization as they defeated a whole battalion of black knights. Not far from them was another of their friends. His shield was covered by three intertwining rings. This knight plus a fourth with a burning sun on his shield joined the first two as they raced off to fight an unseen enemy.

The four remaining men continued to battle the growing number of black knights. No matter how many they cut down, more enemy knights continued to come at them. But the four Knights of the Round Table never faltered. They stood their ground and fought the evil knights as they advanced, not letting a single one pass to follow their friends.

“So few against so many…” Aliana breathed. “Who are those black knights?”

“They are tortured souls called from the underworld and given armored bodies that are bound to the one who called them. Mordrid knew he could not defeat Arthur without magic and deceit, so his ally, the sorceress Morgana le Fay, conjured the army to serve him. When a black knight was cut down, another would take its place. Morgana used all her power, along with that stolen from the fire birds, to create their hellacious army. The tortured souls would not rest and could not be fully defeated until either their purpose was fulfilled or their master destroyed.”

Aliana gasped as she watched the first of Arthur’s knights die. She swore she could hear the outraged cries of the other knights. One by one, she watched Arthur’s men fall, feeling each death like the cut of a knife against her own heart until the last of the four fell to the ground.

From the surrounding forest carved into the wall came an army of perfect soldiers armed with swords and bows, their numbers as great as those of the black knights. This new army pushed the black knights back, holding them at bay.

“Why didn’t they fight with the knights from the start?” Aliana cried.

“Mordrid had sent the Sidhe army to delay the Fae, giving his black knights time to fulfill their evil purpose.” The woman’s voice was calm and indifferent, like she was talking about the weather and not the lives of men who mattered.

8

Fury twists through my gut. I loathe this magic keeping me from my king’s side and from Lady Aliana. Watching her in that canyon—helpless to aid her—was torture. And now I am again unable to protect her and see that my king, my friend, is indeed safe. If this old woman is who Lord Daggerhorne and I think she is, Lady Aliana could be in even more danger than before. I swear I will not allow this again!
~Galahad

A
LIANA
L
OOKED
P
AST
T
HE
F
ALLEN
K
NIGHTS
in the wall drawings to follow the other four men farther down. Three of them were busy cutting through more black knights and smaller creatures that seemed to be a hybrid version of a troll and a pig. Behind the line of enemies stood a lone, dark figure. He watched the carnage with a sinister smile on his lips.
That has to be Mordrid!