Legendary (28 page)

“We’ll be right in,” Aliana said, clearing her throat.

“I’ll just wait for you two in here. Continue, by all means.” Lacy flashed a triumphant smile and disappeared through the drapes.

“We should go find them,” Aliana said a moment later when Galahad still hadn’t made any move to let her free.

He sighed, nodding, but he still didn’t move.

“Galahad.” Aliana placed her hands on his tense arms, and he finally dropped one arm, letting her slip past him. He followed closely as they met Lacy on the other side of the curtain.

“So?” Lacy whispered. “Was it as hot as it looked?”

“Lacy!” Aliana hissed, smacking her friend on the arm and smirking. “I don’t know, but it couldn’t have been as good as yours. Your lipstick’s smudged. Will I find some on Percy?”

Lacy flushed bright red all the way to her hair. “Um…they’re waiting for you both by your photo display.” Lacy said, disappearing.

Aliana heard Galahad chuckle behind her. “It serves her right,” Aliana said, defending herself.

They found the others right where Lacy had said they would be. Thomas Wylit was with them.

“Who is this?” Galahad asked, stepping in front of Aliana.

“I’m hurt, Galahad,” the cultured voice said. “I would have thought my old friend would recognize me.” Thomas removed his mask.

“Merlin?” Galahad gasped.

“Who else, my friend?” The two men shared a warrior’s greeting.

“You’re Merlin?” Aliana asked.

The dark-haired Druid nodded to her. There it was again, that familiarity she couldn’t place. “And you’re the Destined One.” Merlin smirked. He wasn’t as tall as the others, just a bit shorter than Lancelot, but what he lacked in size he made up for with an air of power so thick it was a wonder none of them had felt it earlier.

“Why didn’t you just say who you were from the start? Why the game?” Aliana asked.

“Merlin is a fan of games, I’m afraid,” Lancelot said. “He’s always had a flare for the dramatic.”

“My methods aside, it is good to be with all of you again.” Merlin rested a hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

“So now what?” Aliana asked the group, too stunned to think properly.

Less than two hours later, Aliana stood in the middle of a beautiful plum- and peach-colored bedroom in Merlin’s sprawling, three-story, palatial home that had been built in the early fifteenth century. His “house” was hidden deep in the English countryside, well out of the city, surrounded by thick trees, a gothic-looking iron gate, and layers of magical protection.

After Merlin had revealed himself, they had all agreed they’d be safest at his home. After that, the eight of them had piled into Lancelot’s blessedly large SUV. During the drive they’d agreed that their next move would be to find Leyon. But what would come after that? Would they try to find the Grail of Power or reclaim Excalibur first?

Merlin and Lancelot had definite ideas about the matter, and Arthur and Galahad had quietly agreed with most what the two enigmas said. Percy added small tidbits when he could while Owen and Wade exchanged half amused, half confused-and-in-over-our-heads glances. Aliana had tried to focus on the plans, but her eyes kept drooping until all their voices faded as she’d fallen asleep against Wade for the rest of the car ride.

After a quick tour of the main house—decorated with elaborate fifteenth-century flare and filled with priceless paintings and artifacts—Merlin had suggested everyone turn in and get rested before they tackled their next challenge. Aliana had tried to convince them they should get things figured out tonight, but Arthur had insisted that they all get some sleep.

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he’d told her, “Tomorrow morning will be soon enough to get everything sorted.” When she had tried to protest he’d assured her that everything would be all right and walked her to her designated bedroom, which was tucked between his and Galahad’s.

Aliana sank onto the small bench in her large bathroom, suddenly realizing how exhausted she was. Sighing, she changed into a pair of blue and gray plaid shorts and a black tank top. Washing away her makeup and brushing her wild hair, her thoughts turned to her confused feelings about Galahad and their kiss. As much as she debated the why of it, she couldn’t bring herself to regret the kiss. Maybe she was going to regret it later but not right now. Going through her nightly ritual helped calm her and let her get her mind sorted and calmed. She crawled onto the luxurious four-poster bed, curling up under the soft covers as Dagg settled onto the pillow next to hers.

“How can Arthur and the others wait so long to find out what happened to Merlin after he left Avalon?” Aliana asked. “Something about Merlin’s
supposed
reason for leaving feels hinky to me. There’s more to it—there has to be. And he said he knew my parents.”

“Merlin and Arthur were right to suggest we all rest tonight. Everyone is struggling to deal with all of the sudden changes, just as you are.” Dagg’s clawed hand stretched out to lie against hers. “Everything will look clearer after some rest.”

Aliana nodded, clicking off the bedside lamp. Her eyes were already drooping with sleep.

She found herself once again on the bloody battlefield, surrounded by rotting black knights and mutilated Goblins. Horrified, she watched as Mordrid plunged his dagger into Arthur’s side over and over. His evil gaze found hers, his sick smile and eerie black eyes trying to devour her.

Aliana’s stomach revolted. She’d rather be trapped in the cave that had terrified her as a child than helplessly watch Arthur die. Just like that, she was lying in a pile of jagged rock, her leg pinned as she tried to not choke on the foul air. Eyes wide, she tried twisting her way free, but the rock pinned her too tightly. Gasping in the poisoned air, she searched the forgotten chamber. It was old, way older than anything her father had found so far. Her eyes fell onto the darkest corner.

There, in the darkest black, the sound of a thumping pulse disturbed the silence. She heard a loud hiss, then the scraping of nails, louder and louder as the pulse seemed to beat stronger and stronger.

A monster was trying to escape the blackness—trying to get her!

The darkness touched her. It was like an evil coldness trying to cling to her, to pull her into the blackness. She screamed, desperate to be free, smacking at the evil, trying to fight it away.

“Aliana!” someone called to her from above. Tears blurred her vision as she looked up. Her father’s worried face and the dark, intimidating face of another man peered down at her. Her father told her to hold tight—they were coming.

She watched the monster in the dark, afraid it might try to get her papa, but another force pushed the dark monster back, forcing it into its hole. Her papa pushed the stones away, freeing her trapped leg, and gathered her in his arms. He barked out an order to pull them up. As soon as they escaped the chamber, more of the roof started to collapse. They all ran. Aliana clung tightly to her papa, watching the demonic hole crumble in on itself.

Her father set her down and checked for injuries. Too shocked to speak, she stared at the other man who’d helped to save her. She recognized him instantly.

“Merlin?”

She shot up in bed, gasping in the clean air.

“Thank Oberon! I’ve been trying to wake you!” Dagg exclaimed. “Are you all right? You were tossing and moaning.”

“Merlin,” she said, clearing her dry throat. “I need to talk to him—now!” She threw off the covers, stumbling out of the cushy bed.

“I can hear him and Lancelot in the kitchen with the king,” Dagg said, opening the door to reveal Galahad with his hand raised to knock.

“What’s going on? I heard raised voices.” His deep blue eyes searched Aliana’s.

“Come on,” she said, dashing down the stairs, the two guys right behind her. She burst through the kitchen doors.

“What are you doing awake?” Lancelot asked.

But Aliana ignored him. “What was in that chamber?” she demanded of Merlin, her eyes boring into his.

“Which one?” the wizard asked softly. His face held traces of the dark intimidation that she remembered from her dream.

“You know which one! You were there when I got trapped as a child. You helped my father get me out of that horrible place.”

“I was wondering how long it would take you to remember.” His eyes darkened, and he smiled, but there was no humor in the gesture.

“Stow the mysterious veneer, Merlin!” Aliana shouted. “What or
who
was in that darkness?”

“Merlin?” Arthur looked between the two of them. “What is she talking about?”

Merlin hesitated. “That chamber held a gateway. One of a few points on the realm’s magical grid where a gate can be opened to another realm.” Merlin lips pulled into a tight frown. “That particular point was a direct gateway to the pocket dimension I trapped Mordrid in centuries ago.”

“What?” Lancelot and Arthur cried, jumping from their stools. “Explain all of this,” Arthur ordered Merlin and Aliana.

“We need to get the others up,” Aliana told them. “It gets worse.”

Dagg flew from the kitchen to wake the others, and Galahad crowded in close, as if to protect her. “How?”

“I think Mordrid was at the gallery party,” she said, remembering the creepy stranger’s near black eyes and cold, terrifying touch. “I think he was that guy who cornered me after I met Merlin.”

17

Arthur knows—so does Merlin. They know there is more than what I told the others. It’s so hard to explain the centuries, how they’ve changed me. I don’t think even I had realized how much I’ve changed since I left. Can I still be the man I once was? I can’t dwell on that doubt. I need to be sure the Destined One does all she needs to do in order to end our curse. If only she’d focus on this quest instead of on coming between Arthur and Galahad.
~Lancelot

E
VERYONE
S
TOOD
I
N
T
ENSE
S
ILENCE
as Dagg returned with Owen and Wade. The men were in different states of partial dress and sleepy awareness, and all eyes were fixed on Aliana. The scene would have been more distracting if she hadn’t been wound so tight.

“What do you mean you think Mordrid was at the party?” Lancelot asked.

“Exactly what I said.” She plopped down at the large kitchen table.

After exchanging looks, the others followed suit, with Galahad and Arthur taking up either side of her.

“Merlin, you did know my father. I remember you now.” She turned her attention to the others to explain. “He accompanied my father on a dig in the eastern part of England. I had wandered off when the ground beneath me crumbled and dumped me into a hidden chamber. I was trapped and there was some kind of power…a monster trying to break free. My dad told me I had been down there for an hour, and during that whole time, that
essence
kept touching me. It wasn’t until my dad found me that it started to retreat. Merlin was there too.”

“Yes,” the wizard confirmed. “I purposely kept your father from that part of the ruin, hoping to keep the chamber hidden, but then you fell in.” Merlin ran a hand through his tidy locks, the first show of frustration she’d seen from him.

“I didn’t put it all together until now,” Aliana said, “but after we left Titania, I had a dream about your last battle with Mordrid. It was like I was there, and I
felt
that same dark power I’d felt in the chamber.”

“But what makes you think it was Mordrid? Why do you think he was at the party?” Owen interrupted.

“Because that chamber she fell into is the grid point connecting directly to Mordrid’s prison,” Merlin explained again. “That darkness she felt was him trying to break free. When we got there and I felt his power, I pushed him back with my own magic and resealed the gate.”

“I think it was more than that.” Aliana twisted her hands together under the table. “When I had that dream about the battle, Mordrid saw me. His eyes focused on me and he somehow…realized I was there.”

“And the party?” Galahad asked, his voice tight with leashed frustration.

“The guy who tried to dance with me touched me, and I felt that same power. His eyes were that same almost black color from the dream.” She closed her eyes, not wanting to remember.

“So he has escaped,” Arthur said to Merlin.

“Yes, but only recently.” Merlin’s jaw clenched tight. “I checked on the grid point not a day before Aliana awoke you.”

“It can’t be a coincidence,” Lancelot said, his eyes far off. “The day Aliana brings Arthur back, Mordrid escapes.”

“That worries me too,” Merlin said. “But he’ll be weak. It would explain why the black knights were so easily defeated in the woods. His power was drained after the last battle, and he’s been cut off from his sources of magic for many centuries.”

“You still need to tell us what happened to you after you left Avalon, Merlin,” Aliana sternly reminded him.