Heart of Time (Knight Traveler) (2 page)

“Champions of goodness, be safe,” she began, her voice quiet. “Champions of peace, be strong. Champions of light, be constant.”

She blew softly on that ember in her palms and it rose, spinning faster until it was a blinding white flash. Arthur refused to flinch or look away, knew his knights were equally steady. Merlin claimed this step was essential, though he wouldn’t reveal why.

With words beyond Arthur’s understanding, the orb fractured, spearing out toward each of them. At first he felt a gentle pressure over his heart, then the pulse began, out of time with his own heartbeat. The fire nymph’s touch forced its will on his heart and the spear of pain threatened to push him to his knees. When the pulsing finally eased to a comforting warmth blanketing his heart, he hid his absolute relief.

He would thank Merlin for the liquid at the earliest opportunity. If a dose from the flask eased the adjustment, he never hoped to repeat this precaution without it. As the fire nymph stumbled back toward the fire from which she’d appeared, he wondered if his friends were concealing similar responses to her touch.

Arthur watched his friends for any regret or adverse reactions as they left the gamekeeper’s hut and rode for Avalon. His personal guard accompanied them, keeping well back, if not entirely out of sight. The same could not be said for the animals that traveled with his trio of friends. All three animals had been waiting quite close to the hut for their human companions to reappear and all rushed their respective companions to offer a personal greeting while the horses were brought forward and the scouts reported.

Arthur frequently sighted the hound loping alongside Gawain’s horse. Kay’s bear came and went, likely wreaking havoc with the outlying guard’s attempts to be discreet. The hawk wheeled above them, occasionally diving to swoop around Bors before soaring once more.

Conversation was muted and feeling rather introspective, Arthur credited the quietness to each man’s experience with the fire nymph. His mind kept wandering over the flask, the fire, and what awaited them in Avalon. He recognized the feel of powerful magic surrounding him, coursing through him. Whatever spell Merlin was weaving, Arthur had to believe they could triumph over Morgana’s evil intrigues.

They reached the edge of the misty shield of Avalon by the end of the day, much sooner than Arthur expected, and he credited that too to the combined magic they carried. A wispy fog teased his horse’s hooves and as he looked ahead, the wooded path faded to a gentle gray blur.

He reined in his horse and signaled his guard to halt. If Excalibur wasn’t enough protection within the shelter of Avalon, the world was already lost and their efforts would be for naught.

“By foot and boat from here then?” Kay asked.

“Yes,” Arthur replied. “Just the four of us and your companions, I was told.”

Bors held up an arm and gave a sharp whistle.

Arthur and the others watched in awe as the hawk circled overhead before gliding down to land on the knight’s forearm.

“Please don’t tell me you expect the lot of us to ride in a boat with Kay’s bear,” Gawain said as his hound strolled over to his side. He laid his hand gently on the sleek head. “We’ll have challenge enough rowing Kay across.”

“You had best say that with a smile,” Kay shot back. The tallest and broadest of them, he was nearly of a size with the bear that followed him everywhere. “If necessary, the two of us will wade across.” His bear lumbered out from the trees, ever cautious as he approached.

Arthur heard one of the guards close by murmuring a prayer.

“The Lady of the Lake has always made her expected guests welcome. Let us proceed and the way will appear.” Under his hand, Excalibur’s hilt trembled lightly. He’d mentioned the phenomenon to Merlin shortly after he’d pulled it from the stone and been assured he was of sound mind. Magic, Merlin had explained, was as essential to the world as the sun and moon and all the seasons.

Arthur looked back fondly to those early days, when his education and his awareness had expanded beyond all he’d known before. He supposed his connection to the sword was similar to that between the knights and their animals. At the moment, Excalibur warned of no danger as they approached the dense fog protecting Avalon. No, it was more of an eager homecoming, the same sensation he had whenever he laid eyes on Camelot after being away.

He walked into the haze, the knights flanking him and the mysterious fog swallowing the sounds of their steps.

As intended, the mists surrounding Avalon had deterred many a traveler, but Arthur had no fear of being lost. With Excalibur serving as a pathfinder, he knew they would all get through. But he felt something different as well, an oddity deep inside his chest that would not let him stray with or without the sword. Undoubtedly a residual effect of the fiery touch, he realized, rubbing at the deep ache in his breastbone.

The mists gave way abruptly, revealing a glorious sunset setting the still water of the deep lake aglow.

“What now?” Gawain asked joining Arthur in the gentle light. “I see no boat.”

“We wait,” Arthur said. “In my experience a way will be provided.”

Gawain didn’t reply. None of them did. They all knew bits and pieces of Arthur’s previous visits to the mystical island. Even the animals with them were silent, though the bear and the hound snuffled at the water’s edge.

They waited with a remarkable patience born of a lifetime of training and experience with both fierce, violent conflicts and delicate diplomatic negotiations. Patience was a prime reason Arthur invited these men to this quest. He needed men who would not falter under duress or a lack of action. Stars twinkled overhead, this night precious and distinct because they were poised at the edge of the unknown. Inside the veil, no longer part of the world they knew, neither were they fully arrived at Avalon. To his relief, that strange tendril of dread had been severed when they crossed through the misty shield.

“Won’t you tell us more of your dreams while we wait?” Bors asked.

Arthur had expected the question. He owed them this much. Kay and Gawain found fuel for a small fire as the evening turned to night, chasing the chill from the air over the lake.

Arthur looked to the flames, to the faces of his friends and searched for the starting point. “I’ve little experience with prophetic dreams,” he admitted. “When these dreams started, I assumed the images were merely a twisting of my concerns in this world.”

“How did you come to decide they were not?” Gawain stretched out his long legs and his hound relaxed against them.

It seemed to Arthur as if dog and man were watching him and listening with equal comprehension. “How do you envision the future?” Arthur asked Gawain. “How do you believe your great grandchildren and their great grandchildren will change our world?”

“You assume he can woo a woman to the marriage bed to beget heirs at all,” Kay joked with a hearty, deep laugh. “Our Gawain is too gallant to scatter his seed over any willing tavern wench.”

“We can’t all be you, Kay,” Gawain muttered.

“And praise for it,” Bors added. “To your question, if I may?”

Arthur smothered a grin.

“I know the world we strive to create and I’ve seen many new things along our travels,” Bors continued. “Thinking of changes we’ve wrought here, a few ripples in the pond, it is daunting to think how far those ripples might carry.”

“Precisely.” Arthur sat forward. “Our skilled men and women become more talented each passing year. We gain experience and are better for it. What I have seen in dreams there are no words for.” He shook his head. “But beneath the strange images, I have sensed a dark purpose all too easily attributed to Morgana and her followers. She has found a way to travel, not merely beyond our borders, but beyond our
lifetime
.

“Camelot will crumble,” he barreled on despite the collective outrage, “and Avalon shall fall into mythical memory. The wars ahead, the weapons and defenses are astounding…” He paused, caught his breath. “On those foundations people beyond number shall build more than castles and villages as we know them.”

“And Morgana?” Gawain stroked his hound’s ear, yet both remained attentive. “She causes these wars?”

“Evil forces are never far from the human ear. We all know this. She sows seeds of discontent yes, and she assembles a force working toward a bigger, significant goal, one I cannot see. We are a small beginning, my friends. I am hoping our small, clever force can surprise her and prevent her from waging a war the population of the future cannot combat.”

“There is no magic in the future of your dreams?” Bors asked.

“There is a disturbing current I do not understand in the images of my dreams. I sense the evil there, much as we have sensed Morgana’s touch in certain quests and battles.”

Kay snorted and behind him, his bear did the same. “The bitch grows too confident, too powerful here.”

“I believe she is using something in the days far ahead of us to her advantage.” He rubbed at the hairs rising once more at the back of his neck as he recalled the awful darkness of his dreams.

“Then we must put an end to her here and now,” Gawain said.

Arthur smiled as the other knights agreed with Gawain. “I pray it will be as you say.” At his side, Excalibur trembled and a moment later, Arthur heard movement on the water. Or rather within the water. He thought to light a torch, only to see the luminous form of the fire nymph rise from the flames of their fire.

“The way is clear,” she said in her strange voice. “The Lady of the Lake awaits.”

The glow from the nymph had dimmed from the presence she’d exhibited in the gamekeeper’s hut. Or merely it was a matter of the night being so complete. Regardless, she gave off enough light for them to see a path of wet, mossy stones parting the surface of the lake.

Arthur led the way, a pace or two behind the nymph. Gawain and his hound were next, followed by Kay and his bear. Bors and his hawk brought up the rear of their odd band of travelers.

When they reached the shores of Avalon, the fire nymph bid them well and flickered up into the night sky with a pop and hiss of a wayward spark.

“What now?” Kay asked as his bear grumbled. “More waiting?”

“Ah, Sir Kay,” an amused feminine voice floated through the night. “Impatient as ever.” The Lady of the Lake stepped forward, her elegant robes shimmering gently in a shaft of moonlight. She waved her hand and the clearing lit as if she beckoned the moon as a lantern.

“Does my magic trouble you, Sir Bors?” she asked, giving the knight a long look.

“Not at all, my lady.”

“I pray that will change. The task Arthur has set upon each of you is dire. The dark magics you will inevitably face are dangerous. This way.” She turned in a sweep of blue robes and silvery light, leading them swiftly toward the center of the island and closer to the heart of Avalon.

Arthur had assumed Merlin would meet them and see them through the preparations he felt they needed, with the Lady’s permission of course. It was a blessing to be greeted so warmly by the Lady herself. The more wisdom and power they brought to this challenging endeavor, the greater the chance of success.

No one said a word, none of their animals so much as whimpered as the small troop traipsed through a thin stand of saplings to a clearing Arthur had never seen before. He wasn’t so arrogant that he believed all of Avalon’s secrets had been shown to him, but he thought he’d walked every inch of the isle in his previous visits.

Twas little surprise the Lady of the Lake would have hidden treasures.

“Enjoy the hospitality of Avalon.” The Lady stretched out an arm and in unison, lanterns illuminated four shelters at the edge of the clearing. Four slender women with sleek, dark hair and garbed in the soft gray of Avalon’s novices walked by the men to join their Lady.

“Sleep well,” the Lady said. “Someone will fetch you come morning.” She shooed the girls ahead of her, keeping them well out of reach of the visiting knights. Apparently Kay’s reputation had found its way through the veil of mists.

“On behalf of all of us, our gratitude,” Arthur said, smothering a laugh. He couldn’t imagine any of the novices falling to Kay’s bold and blatant advances, though more than a few might be enticed by the magic that united him with the wild bear ever in his shadow.

Arthur listened to the night sounds as he and his friends and their creatures settled for the night. His own thoughts in turmoil, sleep eluded him.

The three men sharing this unexpected camp tonight were the best he knew and he worried once more that he’d abused their trust by inviting them to what might be an impossible quest. No matter that things were progressing well. The men had agreed despite the myriad questions they must have. They’d endured the fiery touch and, along with their animals, they’d reached Avalon in record time.

Merlin had insisted Arthur and his team be in Avalon for the autumnal equinox to lend power to a special ritual of preparation. Would tomorrow go as well as today, or would the events prove too much for one of his brave friends?

He listened to the gentle breeze sifting through the young trees and prayed, as hard as ever, they would prevail.

Arthur and his knights woke before dawn out of habit and were soon greeted by the rich scents of food piled high on platters delivered by the same four novices who’d assisted their Lady last night.

The Lady of the Lake was making it clear she did not want Arthur or his men mingling about in the central areas at the heart of the island. Arthur appreciated her intention. The separation gave him and the others fewer distractions from their singular goal.

Morale was high, bolstered by the hearty meal. Arthur asked if any of them suffered any ill effects of yesterday’s experiences. Gawain mentioned a troubling dream in the night, though he couldn’t articulate any details. The others had no complaints. It gave Arthur hope to have them all holding strong.

With impeccable timing, the Lady joined them as they finished. “Good morning, men. Are you ready to proceed? Merlin has asked me to perform a special rite, if you’ll follow me.”

“Any need for a balm to ease the task?” Kay asked.

The Lady shot him a saucy wink. “I’ve taken suitable precautions, Sir Kay. You needn’t fear I’ll be injured,” she said, purposely misunderstanding his concern.

The knight guffawed and near the water his bear snorted, apparently humored if such a reaction was possible.

“Do bring your companions,” she said, guiding them away from the clearing. “And Excalibur, too,” she said to Arthur. “They are essential to you, and as such, they are essential to achieving our goal.”

On an island anchored by magic, having three knights with such devoted, mystical companions strolling through an orchard in the morning seemed almost normal. She led them to what might have been a hilltop fire pit on a campaign, except the center was fresh and too clean. No remnants of charred wood, no soot stains on the soft gray stones set into thick, deep green grass.

The Lady instructed the men to stand with their beasts at the compass points of the circle, with Arthur and Excalibur at the north. She walked one full circuit around them, then stepped over the stones and entered the circle. At the center, she revealed a small flask and poured a clear liquid over the central stone. Runes appeared, though Arthur couldn’t decipher them from his position. Most likely making sense of the markings would be impossible up close. They were treading into magics beyond his comprehension.

She raised her hands to the sky, her face tipped up and the circlet on her head gleaming in the morning light. She spoke foreign words that made Arthur’s heart quake in his chest, then brought her hands to her sides with a snap. Light seemed to flow from her fingers, over her deep blue robes, striking the runes exposed by the water.

“We are here,” she began, turning as she spoke to include each man, “to ensure you seven are kept safe, here while you learn, and when you return to the world. There is power, deeply rooted in each of you, all from different sources. Your closest companions are merely a subtle outward sign of that great power. Know that your secrets are yours alone to tell when and where you wish. We will keep your secrets protected and sheltered here. Avalon is a partner, with a vested interest in the success of your quest.”

Yes, everyone had an agenda, something Arthur had learned early in life. Kay murmured something that likely reflected Arthur’s thoughts and the Lady laughed lightly.

“The spell I cast upon you today is to bind man and beast through this life and the next lives you may be asked to give for the cause. Rest easy, my champions, no harm shall come to the creatures you depend on or the creatures that depend upon you.”

Silence answered her.

“Bors,” the Lady smiled at the knight, “step forward with your hawk.”

Bors came forward her obediently.

The runes at her feet glowed brightly in a strange sequence while she crooned softly to the man and even softer to the bird on his arm.

Her voice soothed Arthur as effectively as a lullaby. He struggled to keep his eyes open, to focus on what was happening at the center of the circle for he didn’t want to miss anything.

Light danced on the morning air, darting in flashes from the Lady and winding around Bors and his hawk. The world itself seemed to sigh when she finished and both the knight and companion carried a gentle, inward glow as they resumed their station on the compass.

She repeated the process with Kay and his bear, Gawain and his hound. Both beasts, like the hawk, were gentled, calm and quiet under her touch.

Calling Arthur forth, he felt the sword at his side tremble in the scabbard. Even standing toe to toe with the Lady, he could not interpret the spell she wove around him. The light was far gentler than the fire nymph’s touch, but he could sense the power in both spells working within him. Ragged glimpses of his dreams flickered across his vision, blurring the Lady’s face as she finished the spell. He didn’t fight it, letting the words and images flow around and through him.

When she finished, in that pervasive stillness, he didn’t see the smile he expected, the smile she’d bestowed on each of his knights in turn. No, as she studied him, her brow furrowed.

Following her instruction, he returned to his place on the compass. After pouring more liquid from the flask onto the runes in the center stone once more, she exited the circle. The center stone was blank.

Questions filled his mind and surely the minds of his friends, but to a man they remained silent, waiting for the Lady to speak first.

“Your courage and dedication are appreciated, my friends,” she stated.

Three priestesses walked into the clearing, flanking their Lady. “My dear knights,” she continued, “I have done all I can for you.” The Lady embraced Gawain, Kay, and Bors in turn. “These priestesses, experts in both our enemy and the mysteries of time, will guide you from here. Peace and victory be upon each of you.”

When the knights were well gone, the Lady turned to Arthur. “You chose well,” she said. “They are fine champions with a curiosity and tenacity necessary to the task ahead.”

“Thank you.” Poor words for sending three of his closest friends into unspeakable danger.

“Relax, Arthur.” She sounded as if she addressed the skittish hawk. “You’ve done nothing to coerce them.”

“I am their king,” he pointed out. “They swore an oath to me and to uphold the ideals of Camelot.”

“We both know that is not how you presented this to them.” She linked her arm through his, Excalibur between them. “By choice they honor you as well as the goodness in their hearts. They will struggle of course, as we all do. You and Merlin and I have done all we can to empower their success and safeguard the unknowing world.”

They walked over well-trod paths he recognized, with willow trees at the water’s edge and fruit trees toward the inland side. Every visit to Avalon confirmed his suspicion that the island and the Lady at its heart shifted and changed to the purpose at hand. She wielded powerful magic that comforted and terrified Arthur. “What is it you ask of me?” he prompted, wondering at her uncharacteristic hesitation.

The Lady sighed. “You know me well, Arthur.”

“Almost as well as you know me.”

“The priestesses guiding your knights will prepare them - as best we can - for any eventuality. We do not know when or where Morgana will gain enough power to act upon her dark purposes.”

“Morgana’s following cannot go unchecked,” Arthur stated the obvious. He had spent months searching for a way to eliminate the greatest threat of their time - within their current time once he had a grasp on the terrible possibility that Morgana might do something as unnatural as lunge into the future. “There must be something more I can do here and now.”

“Be at ease, my friend.” The Lady smoothed her hand over his arm. “Should we conquer her here, all will be well. Should we fail here, your knights have given the world hope beyond us. Here.” She stopped at an outcropping of rock, another secret Avalon had kept from him in visits past. “Let us see if we can make sense of your dreams.”

He nodded, ducking a bit to follow her inside.

The shelter was too open to be a cave, though it was quite cool inside. He saw more runes and symbols he didn’t recognize on the walls as she guided him toward a tumble of rock where small rivulets of water trickled down the stones.

“In time this will be a pool rather than a puddle, but already it is a source of power,” she explained. “Let us see what the water shows you.”

“Another prophecy?” He wasn’t sure he could bear it.

“No, my friend.” She knelt by the gathered water, sat back on her heels. “A window, a glimpse of what may come.”

With one hand grasping his, she tugged him down to join her, with the other she poured some faint light from her palm to stir the water’s surface.

Camelot came into view and at the sight Arthur’s pulse settled as it always did when he returned from a journey. Clouds crowded in from the west, as they often did in his dreams. He decided to increase the watch and to explore his western border once his visit here had ended.

The image in the small puddle shifted, familiar at first and growing less so as he watched the knights he’d chosen head off on three different paths.

“There is hope, Arthur,” the Lady said as the water rippled and changed to those strange settings of his dreams.

He saw Gawain and the hound, surrounded by people in odd costumes, the scene hemmed in by buildings stretching toward the sky. Could the world grow without trees?

“The future,” said the Lady. “He will get through if necessary.”

Arthur would have to trust her conviction since the idea tested his comprehension. The other knights appeared, Kay and his bear in a snowy mountain range, Bors and his hawk near a body of water that was surely the edge of the world itself. Those were not places Arthur knew. The energy even in the images felt wrong. The idea of peering into a time yet to come left him swaying.

“Time is fluid and for our purpose it is irrelevant.” The lady spoke gently, her grasp a warm anchor. “Think of time as a river traveled by a special few. Your friends most likely will wade deep. You most likely will not.”

“I would choose differently.” For the entirety of his rise and reign he led from the front, as an example to those who followed. He would go if called, if needed. Surely the very soul of the earth and all the company of heaven knew he would travel anywhere, any time, to squelch Morgana’s evil.

“Shh.” The water changed again, showing a collection of more familiar objects. A dagger, a pendant, and a key, all in the current style, spun lazily as if they rested just under the water’s surface. Arthur knew they would not appear were they not important to the cause.

He memorized them, vowed to look for them as he ventured through the rest of his days. On the heels of that thought, the water went still, becoming nothing more impressive than a small puddle again. His pounding heart eased until all he heard was the trickle of the each droplet on the stones above. Standing, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “Will I see them again?”

The Lady of the Lake allowed him to help her to her feet. She shook her head. “Not as you know them now. In generations to come, it is unlikely, though I cannot say for sure. All I have learned tells me your time, Arthur, is here and now.”

Generations to come
. The concept unsettled him. Destiny, struggle, and purpose in this life he understood had been daunting enough as he grew into a king. Thinking of time, of days and years, flowing as a river that could be traveled? The notion troubled him more. Who would he be, when and where, if the magic pulled him back from beyond the grave?

“You will always be you, Arthur,” the Lady answered as if he’d spoken the question aloud.

“And tomorrow you must return to those who need you most.”

“As you say.”

The Lady gave him the rest of the day, allowing him time to sort out the bewildering images and thoughts crowding his mind. He honored her only request that he stay close to the small encampment she’d designated for him and his men.

The afternoon turned to night and his friends did not return, seeing to their own obligations and preparations to be sure.

In the stillness of dawn, Arthur stood at the shoreline of Avalon. From here, where the mist was thin, he could watch the sunrise over both Avalon and his domain. Rarely did he feel his mortality as keenly as he did today. He knew his days were numbered, had always been, just as it was for every man. To his knowledge, only the three men he’d brought to Avalon might be able to cheat death.

“Morgana will not have the last word,” he told the sun peeking over the horizon.

“She may well have several words between now and then,” Merlin said.

Arthur had long ago given up on asking how the wizard snuck up on him. He didn’t bother turning to the deep voice laden with wisdom. Nor did he ask his friend why he hadn’t shown himself to the knights recruited to their cause. None of those questions would be answered.

“How does the day find you, Merlin?”

“Lighter than those before it,” the wizard replied with more candor than Arthur had heard in years. “You’ve done well and I thank you. The world may never give you proper credit for all that you have sacrificed and will yet sacrifice for its preservation.”

“Will we prevail?” Arthur winced as the words left his lips. That question too was doomed to go unanswered.