Sword of Camelot (9 page)

A vague uneasiness rested on Wash, and he went to sleep only to have bad dreams all night long.

* * *

The next day the two boys continued their journey. Somehow, however, they missed their way. All morning and all afternoon they wandered through the trackless forest.

Finally Wash exclaimed in despair, “I don't think we'll ever get out of here. I've never been so lost in all my life!”

Reb gave him a rough look. “Will you shut up!” he snapped. “All you've done is complain since we left Camelot. Now, either keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it for you!”

The two had been firm friends, and Wash stared at the face of Reb in amazement. This was not the Reb he knew!

There was a new hardness in the older boy's eyes as he stated, “I'll get us out. Don't worry”.

Reb seemed to feel as if he could do anything, Wash thought. He had never been this way before. And Wash wondered if it was indeed the power of the medallion that rested against his chest.

“Come on,” Reb said. “We'll go as far as we can before dark.”

By dark, sure enough, they had found the track again, and the trail was plainly marked.

* * *

“Baloc's place is right over there. We'll be there tomorrow,” Reb said, when they were sitting once more around a campfire. The darkness was again closing in, but here the land was more open, and there was no sound of moaning in the trees. “We'd better go to bed and get a good night's sleep,” he advised.

Wash went to sleep at once, but it was difficult for Reb. This strange, excited feeling that was in him kept him awake.

Finally though, he began to doze and was almost off into a deeper sleep when a voice said, “Reb! Sir Reb, awaken!”

Reb sat up and blinked. The fire was almost dead, but a few stars gave off a cold, frozen light, and then the moon came out from behind a cloud. Sitting across from
where he lay was Mogen, her hood thrown back and her eyes glittering in the moonlight.

“Mogen!” he exclaimed. “You're back!”

“Yes, Goel has sent me back to you again. Are you wearing the medallion?”

Reb reached into his shirt and pulled it out. It glittered coldly, despite the heat that it produced. “It sure does make a fellow feel big. I reckon I could take on a dragon, if there were such things.”

Mogen smiled, her teeth shining white. “There are things worse than dragons. But as long as you wear the medallion of Goel you do not need to know any fear.” She watched as he replaced it, then said, “I have come to give you counsel, for you cannot keep on getting lost in the forest.”

“What do you want me to do, Mogen?” he said. “Tell me how to get Elaine back.”

“That is why I'm here.” She came and sat down beside him. He could smell a faint odor that was strange and exotic and made him a little dizzy. And when he looked into her dark eyes they seemed bottomless pods. “Yes,” he whispered, excited by her presence. “You just tell me, and I'll do it.”

Suddenly Mogen reached out and put her hands on Reb's temples. Something like an electric current struck him, and he gasped. “What—”

But Mogen began speaking in a language that he did not understand, and he could not seem to move. Her voice was soft and at the same time so powerful that he began to tremble. Though he did not understand the words, he knew that they were important. As he listened, the moon went behind the clouds, casting a darkness over the earth, and only the cold fire of the stars allowed him to look into her eyes.

He never knew how long that exchange went on, and he never knew when she left. But when he awoke she was gone, and he was lying back in his blankets. Still he could feel the pressure of her hands on his head, and the medallion seemed heavier than ever and burned on his chest.

Reb sat up slowly and shook his head. He was frightened and yet excited. “Boy,” he breathed. “I never saw anything like her before. But I reckon as long as she's around I can do just about anything I've got to do.”

However, when Wash woke up, the first thing he did was blink his eyes and look wildly over at Reb. “What's that smell?” he demanded.

“Smell?” Reb looked puzzled. “I don't smell anything.”

Wash's nose wrinkled. “I don't know what it is—it's kind of sharp, but it smells like death to me. The scent of death.”

Reb stared. “You just don't know about things, Wash. Come on, this is the day we rescue Elaine!”

W
ash and Reb stared at each other across the ashes of the campfire. They had risen early, had cooked and eaten breakfast, and during the meal Reb told Wash all that had happened the night before.

He ended by saying, “I tell you, Wash, there never was nothing like her! She's got something in her that I ain't never seen in nobody else in all my born days!” He drew a deep sigh of satisfaction and nodded with assurance. “I don't mind admitting now, I was a little bit afraid of this fellow I've got to beat to get to Princess Elaine—but it's gonna be all right now.”

Wash was holding a piece of bread in his hands. He took a small bite and chewed thoughtfully He had listened carefully to Reb, but there was doubt in his dark brown eyes. He swallowed the morsel and cleared his throat. “I don't know, Reb, it just don't seem right to me somehow.”

Reb stared at the small, black lad. “What do you mean?” he asked in surprise. “Here we're out on this quest, and I'm supposed to fight probably the worst and baddest cat in the whole kingdom of Camelot.” He grew a little angry. “I'm tellin' you, I need all the help I can get!”

“I know.” Wash nodded in agreement. “But not all help is the same, you know.”

Reb looked at his friend from under raised eyebrows. “I don't see that,” he said firmly. “Any help you get is good—especially in a situation like this.”

“But who was she, and where is she now?” Wash glanced around the dense woods. “I didn't hear a thing, and you claim you were talking to her for a long time. Why didn't I wake up?”

“I don't know. I guess you were just too tired. Anyway, it happened just like I told you. Why are you so doubtful about all this, Wash?”

The smaller boy slowly began to gather up the dishes. As he cleaned them, he said, “I don't know—I just got a bad feeling. In the first place, Reb, you still don't know that she came from Goel.”

“Of course she did! She told me right off that Goel sent her. And she gave me this.” Reaching down, Reb pulled the golden medallion from beneath his shirt and held it up to the light. It caught the golden rays of the early morning sun and glistened in the air. As it turned slowly, Reb said, “As long as I've got this, I'm all right. I can't lose!”

“What's that funny-looking thing on the front of that piece of metal?” Wash asked. He studied it carefully, then said, “That's not the sign of Goel, and it doesn't look like anything I saw in Camelot.”

“I don't know,” Reb said, “but I know one thing, the second I put it on I felt like a different guy” His eyes glowed, and he smiled triumphantly. “I feel like I'm twenty feet tall and anybody gets in my way better look out, even that Sir Baloc!” He shook himself, got to his feet, and said impatiently “Come on. Wash. Let's get on our way”

Wash did not argue.

They pulled their gear together, tied it on the pack-horse, and climbed into the saddles.

All morning they headed in an easterly direction.

* * *

At noon Wash said, “I'm tired, Reb. Let's stop and have something to eat and rest a bit.”

“I'm not a bit tired. I could go on all day.”

“The horses are tired,” Wash snapped. “If you won't think about yourself, think about them.”

“Oh, all right.” Reb jumped off his horse and watched with some contempt as Wash struggled painfully, almost falling off his animal. “Aren't you ever going to learn to ride a horse?” he complained. “Hurry up and get that food together.”

Wash looked at him in surprise, but he said nothing about the boy's sharpness. He put together a scanty meal, and when the two had eaten he said, “Let's just lie down and sleep and let the horses graze a while.”

“All right, you lie down. I'll keep watch,” Reb said grumpily. He watched Wash throw himself on the ground, then muttered, “I might as well have left you home for all the good you're going to do!”

With a disgruntled look he walked away and sat down, putting his back to a tree. The birds were singing a rather sad, mournful song far off in the forest, and overhead he saw a hawk circling, crossing the blue skies in a searching pattern. The smell of pine and fir was rich in his nostrils, and he took a deep breath. “This is the kind of life for me. I wish I had done this a long time ago.”

“I wish you had too, Sir Reb.”

“What!” Reb leaped to his feet, his hand on his sword. Then he relaxed as he saw a smiling Mogen emerging from the trees. “You hadn't ought to sneak up on a fellow that way, Mogen,” he said reproachfully. “Back in Arkansas a fellow could get hurt doing a trick like that.”

“I'm sorry” Mogen said contritely, “but I did want to see you one more time.”

“Wait a minute.” Reb suddenly turned and looked across at Wash, who had not moved. “Hey, Wash, wake
up. You didn't believe what I told you. Now you can see for yourself.”

When Wash did not stir, Reb walked over and rolled him onto his back. “Wake up, I said.” Then he looked at Mogen with a surprised expression. “Something's wrong with him. He won't wake up.”

“He'll be all right as soon as I leave,” Mogen said, a strange smile on her lips. She looked very beautiful. She moved to stand beside Reb. “I just helped him to sleep a little bit because I wanted to talk to you alone, Reb.”

She put her hand on his arm, and a thrill ran through the boy. He hadn't been around many girls, and this young woman was far more beautiful than any girl he had ever seen. Mogen's voice was soft, and she almost whispered as she said, “I'm proud of you. Sir Reb, and so will everyone else be.”

Reb cleared his throat. He could smell the exotic perfume that Mogen wore. He breathed deeply and it seemed to make him sleepy. Yet, at the same time, it strangely excited him. “Well,” he mumbled, “I don't know about that.”

Mogen reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. He was tall enough that she had to look up at him. Her lips were rich and red. “All of Camelot will be proud of you when you rescue the Princess Elaine. And here is a reward in advance.”

She pulled his head down and kissed him lightly on the lips, then she stepped back, her eyes Reaming. “Now, that will give you something to think about.”

Reb's throat was thick, and he had to clear it before he said, “Well, why'd you do that?” And then he muttered, “Never mind. But what I want to know is, how do I find the princess and how do I beat this guy Sir Melchior?”

“That is why I've come to you this morning,” Mogen said. “Now listen carefully.” She instructed him how to
find his way through the woods, and when she had finished, she said, “You'll be challenged, Sir Reb, and, when you are, do not trust in your own strength.”

Reb blinked in surprise. “What else would I trust in?”

“Trust in this.” Mogen leaned forward and laid her hand over the medallion. She whispered, “This will save you. Hold it up and repeat the words that I will now give you.”

Sir Reb was confused. The strange perfume seemed to befuddle him, and the touch of her hand on his chest burned like fire. He listened as she repeated a formula—just a few words. Then, when she stepped back, he swallowed and said. “That's all?”

Mogen smiled mysteriously. “That will be enough,” she whispered. “You will see.” Then she turned and left abruptly.

Reb was staring after her when Wash's voice came to him. “Well, I didn't mean to sleep so long.”

Reb turned to see Wash getting up, rubbing his eyes.

“I guess we'd better be on our way” Wash said.

“You didn't see—”

“I didn't see what?” Wash asked as he started clambering into his saddle. “I was asleep, Reb. So were you, weren't you?”

Reb didn't answer, for he saw at once that Mogen's spell had kept his young friend from seeing her. He wondered about this, but the medallion burned against his chest, and he said roughly, “Come along. It's time to get down to business.”

* * *

The challenge came almost without warning. Three knights, dressed in black armor, crested the hill in front of them.

Reb whispered, “Hey Wash. This looks like trouble!”

“Who are you, and what are you doing in this place?” The tallest of the knights had his visor back, and his cold, gray eyes seemed alive with fire. “Give us your name, boy, and then we will take you captive.”

Reb swallowed hard. He knew that any one of them would be more than a match for him, but he could not back down. There was something in him that would not be still. And as the medallion burned his chest he shouted, “You'll not stop me. I've come to get the Princess Elaine. Now give her up, and I'll let you go.”

The three knights laughed loudly and one of them said to their leader, “Let's feed him to the vultures.”

“Right. He'll be fit food for them,” the tall leader said. “Come!”

The three knights at once leveled their lances and spoke to their horses. They came thundering across the plain.

“Come on, Reb, let's get out of here!” wish shouted.

Reb had little time to think, but the words of Mogen came back to him, and with a swift gesture he pulled the medallion film beneath his shirt and held it high. He shouted the words that Mogen had given him, then stared amazed.

The knights tumbled out of their saddles as if they had been struck with a club. They hit the ground with a crashing, clanging noise, rolled over and over, and lay still. The dust rose from the ground. Their horses bolted, uttering frightened, neighing sounds.

Wash, who had already half turned his horse, said, “What in the world—”

Fear came upon Reb then, and he galloped forward, thinking that the three might be dead. But he discovered that they were still breathing, and he sighed in relief. At the same time, a fierce pride touched him, pride such as he had never known before. Holding the medallion high, he cried out the strange phrase again.

The three knights climbed to their feet and backed away with terror in their eyes. Then they whirled and ran, crying for mercy.

Wash advanced slowly, his eyes fixed on Reb. He was trembling—he had been afraid of the large armed knights. Now he whispered, “Reb, what happened?”

Reb held up the medal, his eyes glinting with triumph. “Just what I said would happen. I had power I never knew I had before, and now I can take on any knight the Dark Lord sends against me.”

Reb's eyes were glowing with some sort of strange light that had never been there before, and his mouth was twisted in a smile that was not a smile.

“I don't like it, Reb,” Wash said abruptly. “Whatever it is, it's not right. Let's get out of here.”

Reb glared at him. “You may as well go back to Camelot, Wash,” he said contemptuously. “But I'm going to get the Princess Elaine.”

He turned his horse and spurred away.

Wash stared after him. “Ain't nothing good gonna come out of this—I know that much! But I've come this far, and I reckon Goel would have me go the rest of the way. So come on, horse, let's go!”

* * *

Elaine sat in the small room where she was held by Sir Baloc. When he first took her, she had been filled with blind panic, and even now, men the huge knight came around, she felt fear rise in her throat. But she refused to let him see that fear.

She looked up now as he entered, his dark eyes fixed on her. “Well, Princess,” he said, “are you ready to agree to marry me?”

“Never,” Elaine said firmly lifting her chin. “I demand that you take me home immediately.”

Baloc threw his head back and laughed. “That will never happen. But I'll tell you what
will
happen. That shallow young stripling you were so fond of, or so I hear—what's his name? Reb?—he's on his way to rescue you.”

She started at that, and he grinned. He drew his sword, held it up, and tested the edge. “When I get through with him, his shoulders will be lonesome for his head!”

“My father will send the whole army of his knights to get me!”

“No, he's afraid, because he knows how strong we've gotten. So he sent one challenger.” Again Baloc laughed. “And I can't think of a better one. If they'd sent some of the older knights, we may have had trouble—but not with this weak-kneed foreigner. Come on!” Sir Baloc grabbed Elaine's wrist and dragged her, effortlessly, out of the room.

“Where are we going? Where are you taking me?” She fought against him, but he merely looked at her as he would at a feeble kitten. “I'm putting you outside for bait. I want Sir Reb to get a good look at you. My men tell me he's just over the hill.”

Elaine felt great hope, and yet at the same time doubt came, for she knew the power of the man who held her.
Reb will never stand a chance against him. Very few of my father's knights could stand up to Baloc
.

He yanked her along and stopped under a tree. “There he is,” he said suddenly “Now watch this, my lady”

Elaine watched Sir Baloc walk over to where his groom had his battle horse ready. He was lifted into the saddle, and he put the crested helmet over his head. Then he took the lance.