Unperturbed, he tucked Martin's coins into his purse. "They have to catch me first, and Lucifer will return to grace before that day comes."
"You are a demon bastard," Martin muttered as he moved away.
Arador hid the anger and pain those words evoked. What Martin didn't know was just how right he was. He was the son of a demon. Hell-spawned and cast out into this world to make his own way.
Hamm was the last to draw near. "You have an unholy gift," he whispered before he handed over his bet.
As soon as the coins touched his hand, Arador felt something hot singe his palm. Hissing in pain, he looked down to see not a silver mark, but rather a palm-sized stone. He wanted to let it go and yet he couldn't bring himself to do so.
The stone glowed red, illuminating them all. Simeon crossed himself an instant before he and Martin ran off. Hamm stayed and stared at him in disbelief.
"What the devil is this?" Arador asked, holding his burned palm out toward him.
"The stone I use to sharpen me dagger. I didn't mean to give it to you."
Arador barely heard those words as a red haze descended over his eyesight. He felt a foreign power sweep through him. Wicked. Scalding. Consuming.
Hamm's face turned deadly pale. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" He stumbled away from him, then turned and ran as if the devil himself had materialized in the old churchyard.
Arador could barely breathe as he felt an unholy power surge through his body. From both his mother and his father, he'd been gifted with the power of sorcery, but whatever this was, it made a mockery of his paltry abilities. This was unlike anything he'd ever known.
Suddenly, he heard a light, feminine laugh echoing around him. Arador turned around, trying to find the source of it.
He found nothing.
At least not until a bright flash of light almost blinded him. A heartbeat later, a beautiful blond goddess appeared to his right. Dressed in red, she was stunning, and she gifted him with a lascivious smile as she approached him.
"What have we here?" she asked, covering the stone in his hand with hers. She lifted his hand up to kiss his fingers as she continued to smile at him. "My, my, you are a handsome one, aren't you? More so than even the last Kerrigan was…"
"Kerrigan?"
Before she could answer, a knight appeared at the corner of the church.
"Back away from him, Morgen."
The woman let out a heavy sigh. "Must we always go through this, Agravain?" She looked at the knight with a droll stare. "I promise you, this one is mine."
"And how do you know that?"
Her smile returned. "Tell the good knight, Arador, who fathered you."
"How do you know my name?"
She laughed again. "I know all about you, my boy. I've been waiting a lifetime for you to find that stone in your hand. Now be a good lad and give us the name of your father."
"Taraka."
The knight's face paled even more than Hamm's had. "The demon lord?"
"Aye," Morgen said as she wrapped her arms around Arador. "You took Kerrigan from my side. So be it. Now Damé Fortune has sent me a far better replacement. Meet the new king of Camelot, and may your God have mercy on you, Agravain. I can assure you that we won't."
The Legend
In a world of magic and betrayal, one king rose to unite a land divided and to bring unto his people a time of unprecedented peace. A time when might no longer made right. When one man with a dream created a world of chivalry and honor.
Guided by his Merlin, this man's destiny was to be the Pendragon—High King of Power. But Arthur was a man who had many enemies, and none of them greater than his own sister, Morgen. Queen of the fey, she was ruled by her own jealousies and by her desire to rule as Pendragon in her brother's stead.
It is a story that has been told for centuries. The rise and fall of the great King Arthur, the betrayal that led to the destruction of the Round Table.
But what happened the day after the battle of Camlann? Arthur is mortally wounded and taken to the isle of Avalon. The sacred objects of Camelot that gave him his power have been scattered to protect them from evil. The Round Table is fractured. The good guys have retreated to Avalon to serve their fallen king and the surviving Penmerlin, who came forward after Arthur's Merlin mysteriously vanished.
Camelot has now fallen into the hands of Morgen and her comrades. No longer the place of peace and prosperity, it is now the land of the unholy. Demons, mandrakes, and darklings make up the brotherhood of the new table, and another Pendragon has stepped forward to take Arthur's place.
Once human, he is now something else entirely. A demon with one single mission: to reunite the Round Table and to claim the sacred objects. With those under his control, there will be nothing to stop him from making the world into whatever he chooses.
The only hope mankind has is those who still remain from Arthur's company. No longer the knights of the Round Table, they are now the Lords of Avalon. And they will do whatever is necessary to stop the Pendragon from succeeding.
The line between good and evil has become blurred. It is a realm of chaos and of champions. Of wizards and warriors who struggle to right the balance that was upset when one man put his trust into the wrong person.
Welcome to a realm that exists out of time. Welcome to a world where nothing is ever as it seems. It's a battle that ranges from the Dark Age moors of Arthur well into the future, where the one true king and Mordred may one day fight again.
Theirs is a world without boundary. A place without borders. But in this power struggle, there can only be one winner…
And winning has never been more fun.
The Thirteen Sacred Objects
These were the sacred objects that the Penmerlin Emrys, entrusted to Arthur Pendragon so that he could rule the land peacefully without contestation. But once Camelot fell to evil and the king vanished, the new Penmerlin entrusted the sacred objects into the hands of their Waremerlins. They were scattered and hidden in the realm of man and of fey so that they would never fall into the hands of evil.
It is now a race to reclaim and reunite the lost objects.
1. Excalibur
Sword created by the fey for good. The one who wields it cannot be killed, nor can he bleed so long as he holds the scabbard that sheaths it.
2. Hamper of Garanhir
Created in order to feed the Pendragon's army while at war. Put in food for one, and out will appear food for one hundred.
3. Horn of Bran
Given as a companion for the hamper, this horn is a never–ending cup that will provide wine and water for any to drink from it.
4. Saddle of Morrigan
A gift to the Penmerlin from the goddess Morrigan, this will enable a person to go instantly wherever he desires. It was created so that the Pendragon would be able to oversee his kingdom with ease. No distance or time is too great. It can move a person from one continent to another or from one time period to another.
5. Halter of Epona
Given by the goddess Epona, the halter, if hung on a bedpost at night, will grant the one who possesses it whatever horse he desires in the morning.
6. Loom of Caswallan
A gift from the war god. Any cloth produced from this loom will be stronger than any armor forged by a mortal's hand. No mortal weapon will ever be able to penetrate the cloth.
7. Round Table
Table of power that was created by the Penmerlin. When all people are seated and the objects are in place, it is the ultimate in power. Whoever rules the table rules the earth.
8. Stone of Taranis
A gift from the god of thunder. Should a knight sharpen his sword with this stone, it will coat the blade with a poison so potent that even a tiny scratch from the blade will bring instant death.
9. Mantle of Arthur
A gift from the Penmerlin, this will enable the wearer to become invisible to everyone around him.
10. Orb of Sirona
Created by the godd
ess of astronomy, this will enable the person who holds it in his hand to see clearly on even the darkest night.
11. Shield of Dagda
Whoever holds the shield of Dagda will be possessed of superhuman strength, and so long as the shield is held in place, he cannot be wounded.
12. Caliburn
A sword of the fey, this is the evil sword that balances out Excalibur. It is said that this one sword carries even more power and that it can destroy the other sacred objects.
13. Holy Grail
No one is quite sure what it is or where it came from. It is the greatest object of all for it can bring the dead back to life.
Vocabulary
Adoni—a beautiful race of elflike creatures. They are tall and slender and capable of complete cruelty.
Grayling—as ugly as the Adoni are beautiful, they are essentially servants in Camelot.
Mandrake—a race of beings who have the ability to become dragons or human. They have magical abilities, but are currently enslaved as a race to Morgen.
Merlin—magical advisor.
Miren—a magical being who can sing a song so beautiful that it will kill whoever hears it.
Mods—minions of death. Interesting creatures who will be around in many future tales.
Pendragon—the High King of Camelot.
Penmerlin—the High Merlin of Camelot.
Sharoc—shadow fey.
Stone Legion—cursed race, the Stone Legion is under the command of Garafyn. By daylight, they are ugly gargoyles who are forced to sit as stone (they can only move if they are commanded by the one who bears their emblem), but at night, they can move about freely, and under the light of a full moon, they can again take the form of handsome warriors and knights—but only so long as the full moon touches them. Should they leave its light, they will immediately return to their gargoyle state. There are those who say there may be a way yet to lift their curse, but so far all those who have tried have met with failure and death.
Terre derrière le voile—land behind the veil. A term for both Avalon and Camelot since they exist outside of time and place.
Val Sans Retour—Valley of no return. An area outside Camelot where the damned wander in eternal misery.
Waremerlin—term for any Merlin.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed the inside joke of Sherrilyn Kenyon offering a quote on the cover of a Kinley MacGregor novel.
It started out as a lark between me and my editor, when I laughingly suggested that Kenyon quote the book. I learned one important lesson: never suggest something to an editor as a joke. She loved the idea and thought it was fun, and now you see the result on the cover. But hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
I would also like to take a moment and say "thank you" to you, dearest reader, for taking this voyage into fantasy with me. I hope you've enjoyed the journey.
About the Author
Bestselling author KINLEY MACGREGOR knows men. She lives outside of Nashville, TN, with her husband and three sons. Raised in the middle of eight boys, and currently outnumbered by the Y chromosome in her home, she realizes the most valuable asset a woman has for coping with men is a sense of humor. Not to mention a large trash bag and a pair of tongs. Writing as Kinley MacGregor, she is the bestselling author of the Brotherhood of the Sword and the MacAllisters series, and as her alter ego Sherrilyn Kenyon, she is the New York Times bestselling author of the Dark-Hunter, Sex Camp Diaries, and BAD series.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Sword of Darkness Page 26