Midnight Law

by Geanna Culbertson

  The words in my head echoed through black, empty space, but I recognized them immediately. That was the last conversation I had with Knight before we separated in Dreamland. I stirred awake with her voice still in my head and the guilt of leaving her churning in my gut.

  I sat up and glanced around. I was on a lake. Like literally on top of a lake and somehow not sinking through the surface. How was this possible? Wasn’t I dying a second ago? Oh crud, was I dead?

  I checked myself—no blood and no wound and no pain. Carefully, I got to my feet. The water beneath me was as solid as stone. Where was I? I could see a bank far off in the distance, but other than that just a bunch of mist. That’s when I noticed a glowing blue figure coming toward me.

  It was the Lady of the Lake from Avalon. She halted before me and floated slightly above the water. Her eyes and hair were as dark as Melior’s. Her elaborate robes—ghostly blue like her body—fluttered around her as if caught in a constant wind.

  “Hello, Daniel,” she said in her multilayered voice.

  “Where am I?” I asked. “How did I get here?”

  “I may be charged with guarding the lake of Avalon, but as an Undine, I can generate the power to connect to other sources of water in Camelot, particularly when a hero is in peril. Particularly when that hero carries a piece of Avalon with him.”

  “The sword . . .” I looked for the weapon, but my sheath was empty.

  The Lady of the Lake waved her hands and my blade appeared in her grip. “I regret that you took it from my shores. I warned Crisanta Knight you should not travel with her to Avalon, but she could not leave you behind. As a consequence, you encountered this blade and it has bonded to you. I truly am sorry, but it seems this was meant to be part of your destiny.”

  “I don’t understand. What’s wrong with the sword?”

  “It is cursed.”

  The word rung in the air.

  “Cursed? What kind of curse?”

  “Do not worry about it now; you are not in any immediate peril. In fact, the situation is in flux. You will unravel the mystery for yourself in time, past that I cannot say more.”

  “But I—”

  “Quiet now, and listen,” the Lady of the Lake said, voices harsh. “I have brought you here to tell you the story of my origins, as I believe it will help you with the choices you have next.” She extended a ghostly hand toward me. I understood what she wanted and stepped forward. She touched my forehead like Melior had. As before, visions appeared in my mind while the specter narrated.

  “My true name is Melusine,” said the Lady of the Lake. “Generations ago, my mother was a powerful water fairy—the first Undine. Her name was Pressyne. She married the greatest hero in Camelot at the time, King Elinas, and conceived triplets—myself, and my sisters Melior and Palatyne. When an Undine or other elemental fairy weds a mortal, the one rule is that this mortal must never see the fairy in her magic elemental form. If this promise is broken, she loses her powers and connection to the spirit realm, and her children are eternally cursed to serve the elements. My mother assumed her fairy form when in contact with water, and thus forbade the king from seeing her when she bathed. He broke that promise when my sisters and I were sixteen and thus cursed us all.”

  In my mind, I saw a beautiful, dark-haired woman (Pressyne) being courted by a king, then marrying him. Flashes of the couple continued across my mind like a fast montage. They had three raven-haired daughters and I watched those girls grow from babies to young children to teenagers. Then I saw Pressyne step into a lake and turn into a fairy while the king spied on her from the surrounding forest. The woman seized in pain, and blue light consumed her three teenage girls. Their eyes turned black all the way to the sockets.

  “My mother left my father and moved us to the Isle of Avalon,” the Lady of the Lake continued. “She did not tell us the truth of what had happened at the time. She aimed to raise us on Avalon and prepare us for our Undine duties to mankind and the spirit world, despite having lost her own powers.”

  The Lady of the Lake drew her hand away and I stepped back, gazing up at the ghostly woman. I was no longer creeped out by her. I felt bad for her.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “That is not what you should be,” the Lady of the Lake replied. “In fact, it is quite the opposite. My father may have cursed us, but he was not a monster. He loved us and made a mistake. I was too young to realize this back then. When my sisters and I found out what he’d done, we were angry at his selfishness. One night, we snuck away from Avalon and locked him with his fortune inside a mountain to wither away. We did not know that Undines are forbidden from killing mortals. When he died in that mountain, the curse upon us doubled. We lost our physical forms and became bound to water as full spirits. If we had been wiser, if we had been kinder, and if we had been able to forgive, we would be human guardians now, not phantoms.”

  The water rippled under my feet. I stared down at my reflection within it.

  “Forgiveness, Daniel, is the key to moving forward, and also to moving on to something better. Remember that, and I know that using my magic now will not be in vain.”

  “Your magic?”

  “I cannot help all heroes who fall in battle. Sometimes they are too far gone, or do not reach me in time. Sometimes they are simply not worthy. But you are not yet dead, and you fell into water upon being struck. I can and will heal you before your death becomes inevitable.”

  “I appreciate that,” I said steadily. “But why?”

  “Because you have a destiny to fulfill. I sense great potential within you that remains untapped. Furthermore, while my lake guardian burden often involves curses and contingencies, I reserve the right to help a hero if I am able. It has been my honor to serve King Arthur and the Pendragon family. It has been my pleasure to cross paths with Merlin. You, Daniel, can be great like them, but only if you heed my advice. Forgiveness is necessary. Remember that. You are not meant to stay broken. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise.”

  The Lady of the Lake raised her hand again. My body became surrounded by blue light, and then my body was struck with horrible pain. I cried out and my knees buckled. Everything went black.

  “Daniel! Daniel!”

  My eyes burst open. I gasped as air returned to my lungs. Mauvrey’s pale face looking over me filled with relief and joy. “Oh, thank goodness!”

  I groaned and sat up slowly. Mauvrey edged away to give me room. She knelt attentively by my side in the water, her gray feathered cloak draped over her shoulders. I glanced down at my wound. Silver SRB sparks danced around the bloodstain on my shirt. I lifted the garment. A long scar had formed where Von Rothbart had stabbed me. It was still painful, but it had sealed.

  “What happened to the wolves?” I asked.

  “I took care of them,” Mauvrey said. “They thought I was just some meek swan.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “No harm. No fowl.”

  I looked at her and shook my head in amusement. “Help me up, will you?”

  Mauvrey stood and offered me her hand. We gripped arms and she braced herself as I got to my feet in the shallows of the river. Our SRBs dried off our wet clothes. Mauvrey tightened her ponytail so it sat higher on her head. She’d been wearing her hair like that since Xanadu.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “You are welcome. What happened to you? A moment ago you were losing so much blood. I was worried you were going to die. Then your body glowed blue, as did your sword, the blood vanished, and you woke up.”

  My eyes searched for my sword. My cursed sword apparently. It sat in the river a slight way off the bank, shining faintly.

  “The Lady of the Lake,” I replied, hobbling over to the blade. “The original one that the others and I met on Avalon. She came to me and healed—argh.” Bending over was not a good idea. I clutched my side as a deep searing sensation throbbed through me.

  Mauvrey rushed in, pulled the sword out of the river, and handed i
t to me. “You need to take it easy.”

  “I need to save Kai and SJ. We both do.”

  “I understand that, but you are no use to any of us if you cannot even bend a little. You need to rest for a bit before we storm Von Rothbart’s castle.”

  She was right. I hated doing nothing, but I’d rather do nothing now and save the girls later than do something now and die trying. I sighed and put my sword back in its sheath. There was a particularly grand set of roots emerging from a tree next to us. I gestured to them. Mauvrey nodded and the two of us took a seat on opposite roots, angled to face each other.

  “Thank you for listening to me,” Mauvrey said.

  “Thank you for making me listen,” I said. “And I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten distracted in battle. I made a bad, stupid move that almost got me killed and left you to the wolves while Kai and SJ got captured by a madman.”

  “You are a bit hard on yourself,” Mauvrey commented.

  “It’s not being hard on yourself if stuff really is your fault, or you could’ve prevented it.”

  “Like Crisa being captured by the antagonists?”

  I looked up from the dirt I’d been staring at into Mauvrey’s eyes. “Is it that obvious that’s how I feel?”

  “Nothing about you is obvious, Daniel. As I said before, you are not an open book. But I am beginning to trust my instincts when it comes to both fighting and people. You carry a great weight on your shoulders. The lack of light in your eyes, your tense posture . . . it is always there. I noticed it the moment we met. Everyone took Crisa’s loss hard, but I get the feeling you blame yourself. I only wish I could understand why.”

  Mauvrey’s blue eyes were so big and full of questions, but she didn’t ask a single one. Somehow, that made me want to answer them.

  “I lost my family when I was a kid,” I admitted. “They died in a fire and since then I guess I hold myself accountable when people I care about get hurt. I’ve always wondered if I could have made a difference if I wasn’t out on the streets that day, searching for my dumb cat. I’ve had trouble letting people close as a result.”

  “Except for Kai,” Mauvrey said.

  I nodded. “I knew her before I lost my parents. She was the only person left who I felt close to. Over the years, that made us grow even closer by default.”

  Mauvrey scrunched up her nose.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It is not my place to say.”

  “Mauvrey.”

  She sighed. “I do not know your whole history with Kai, but it seems to me that loving someone by default because you have not been brave enough to take a chance on something else is not the healthiest relationship.”

  I stared at her.

  She rose self-consciously. “Apologies, that may have been too direct. With all the memories I have returning, it is becoming harder to hold back my thoughts. It is like my brain is getting too full.” She rubbed her forehead. “Perhaps I should not have said anything about Kai to you, or to SJ.”

  Now I stood—partly because I was feeling better, and partly because Mauvrey and I needed to finish this conversation while we had the chance.

  “Did you say something to SJ about Kai recently? Is that why they’ve been fighting?”

  Mauvrey paused, then she shook her head. “Daniel, you have known Kai your entire life. You have known me for about a month. It is not my place to interfere here.” She held up a hand to forestall my argument. “Not because I am afraid to, and not because I do not think what is happening is important, but because I do not have the full picture, so it would not be right to burden you with theories. Until I know more, my best advice is that you trust your instincts the way I am starting to trust mine.”

  “Mauvrey, what does that—”

  She shook her head again and pointed in the direction of Von Rothbart’s castle. “Do you feel well enough to travel?”

  I took stock of myself and nodded. The Lady of the Lake’s healing had taken full effect it seemed. No more pain or wooziness.

  “Good,” she said. “It will be a fun undertaking, I think. I know that we are facing great peril, but I would be lying if I said I did not like the idea of storming my first castle.”

  Mauvrey and I stood at the base of the intimidating Crystal Mountain. It was so named for the glistening crystals that clung to the rock like ice. A chunk of this stuff could have supplied a jewelry store in Century City for a month. Von Rothbart’s castle loomed above us on a ledge.

  “What do you think?” I asked Mauvrey.

  “Looks like a good place to get murdered.”

  I glanced at her. “After we save Knight, you two are going to get along fine. You both have a weird sense of humor.”

  “She and Tara-me used to snipe at each other a lot,” Mauvrey mused. “It will be nice for us to be on the same side.”

  I nodded. “Now then,” I cracked my knuckles, “Melior showed me visions of Odette and the prince in this castle. After we save Kai and SJ, and recover my pocket watch, let’s see if we can get those two out of there too.”

  “Double or nothing,” Mauvrey said. “I like it. I will follow your lead.”

  “If Melior’s visions hold true, we should find a tower with open balcony doors. That’s our way in. You ready?”

  “Ready.”

  I shook out the last of my nerves then buttoned my shirt. Mauvrey popped the hood of her cloak. We transformed into swans and took off. Soon enough, we were at castle level. The sky on the horizon was turning light gray. Time was ticking. Sunrise would be here soon.

  “There!” I said with telepathic focus. My super sharp swan eyesight had spotted the tower with the diamond-shaped stained-glass window. Below it, the curtains blew out of the open balcony doors.

  Mauvrey and I soared through them and alighted in a bedroom that hadn’t seen occupants in many years. Dust covered every surface. The two of us flipped and became human again. I drew my sword. Mauvrey flexed her fingers—ready to fight.

  We exited the room and dashed down a hallway until we came to a staircase. We descended to ground level where I abruptly put my arm up and pushed Mauvrey back as several cobalt wolves padded down the red-carpeted hall. When they turned a corner, we went the opposite direction until we found a narrow staircase that looked like it wound deep.

  “Von Rothbart has a potions lab,” I said. “I saw it one of Melior’s visions. It’s next to a hall with a bunch of cages. Labs and dungeons are usually located in basements. I’ll go look for Kai and SJ down there. You go look for Odette and the prince.”

  “Should we really be splitting up?” Mauvrey asked.

  “We’ll move faster this way. And I know you can take care of yourself.”

  Mauvrey smiled at the encouragement. “I was more worried about you. Last time you said, ‘It’s just one guy. All I need is a minute,’ things did not go too well.”

  “Really?”

  “I am joking. I have my Mark Two, so call if you find them or need me.”

  “You do the same.”

  We nodded and parted ways. I delved into the depths of the castle. Light from candelabras lit my way down the staircase. When I reached the bottom, I heard a familiar sound.

  HONK! HONK! HONK!

  I raced down the bleak corridor. Light bled from under a closed door at the other end. Cages lined the left side. The cages closest to the door had feathered cloaks inside them.

  Oh no! Had Von Rothbart already gotten the girls to change back to human form?

  My aggression multiplied and I burst through the door.

  It was the potions lab—shelves lined with ingredients, racks of vials, roaring fireplace, an enormous iron cauldron in the corner, a white swan strapped to the worktable.

  “SJ!”

  I rushed forward.

  HONK! HONK!

  I glanced up to see Swan Kai crammed into one of several cages suspended from the ceiling at the far end of the room. Her black wings and neck protruded through the bars of her pr
ison. I was compelled to go to her first, but SJ clearly needed me more. Her beak was bound shut, and her neck and feet were tied to the table with leather straps. Large rocks like paperweights pinned down each of her spread wings. Flecks of red stained her chest and there were various needles off to the side on the table.

  My chest tightened. What had she been going through in here?

  I moved the rocks from SJ’s wings then unlatched the straps restraining her legs and neck. She flopped onto her side, looking at me with her gray eyes.

  “Hold still,” I said, detaching the binding from her beak. SJ wobbled, then hopped off the table, did a flip, and in a flash my friend returned to normal. She landed on her hands and knees, white cloak draped over her. I grabbed her by the arm to help her up.

  “What did Von Rothbart do to you?” I asked.

  “He tried to inspire me to change back into a human so he could curse me. I do not want to get into the details. He stepped out a moment ago to get some ingredients for a stronger serum to ‘motivate’ me.” She gestured to a second door across the room.

  HONK! HONK!

  Crud. Kai!

  I raced over to her cage, which dangled a few feet above my outreached hands. Working a rope and pulley attached to the wall, I lowered her cage to the ground and then pried at the door. Locked.

  Key. Key. Key. There!

  I spotted a keyring hanging from a hook on the wall. I tried three different keys before one worked and the lock on Kai’s cage snapped open. Kai leapt into the air and did a flip. Human Kai appeared a second later in her black, floor-length cloak. She staggered a bit and I steadied her. She gave me a huge hug.

  “Oh, thank heavens!” She looked me up and down. “How are you alive?”

  “Lady of the Lake. I’ll explain later.”

  That’s when I noticed SJ searching the racks of vials. “SJ, what are you doing?”

  “Super swan eyesight.” She pulled up a stool to reach the highest shelf. “I was reading the labels on these potions while I was pinned to the table. Von Rothbart bragged to us about how thoroughly he wiped the memories of Odette’s prince. He even called the poor prince in here to prove it. The potion he used was this one.” SJ pointed at a vial of blue liquid on a lower shelf. “Apparently all you have to do is write down the names of the people you want the victim to forget, burn that parchment, then mix the ashes into this potion and give it to the victim. Once he drinks the potion, it is like he never met them. But then I saw this . . .”