“Good,” Lancelot leaned back in his seat with Vivian against him.
“You wanted to kill Mallor in the worst way.” Vivian chuckled, taking Lancelot’s hand in hers and bringing it up to her lips.
“If you only knew. I…” Lancelot felt Vivian’s tentative presence in his mind. “I guess you do know. I forgot about our earlier experimenting.”
“Maybe we should take it on another test drive tonight, after we leave Merlin’s.”
“We should relieve Serge and Kara,” Lancelot suggested, “and stay at Merlin’s tonight. It won’t hurt to be near Arthur this first night of our so-called truce.”
“As long as we’re together somewhere, I don’t care where we are,” Vivian whispered, running her hand along Lancelot’s thigh.
“We can’t be alone in the same place as Arthur, through the night, Lady Vivian,” Lancelot lectured comically. “Surely you are not suggesting we have carnal knowledge of one another at Merlin’s place. Separate rooms would be the-”
“I’ll give you separate rooms!” Vivian attacked a laughing Lancelot with vigor, if not with success.
* * *
Merlin sat quietly through Lancelot’s description of his meeting with Mallor. Arthur too sat in silence. Still upset by the vision of his moral decay without Lancelot, the boy took some satisfaction in hearing how the fate of the legend drew perilously close to disaster once again, at Mallor’s suite. In a colorful manner, Vivian told the tale between sips of beer, entertaining all but Merlin. Having finished both her beer and her story, she held up her empty bottle and shook it at Lancelot.
“Did I miss anything, Monte?” Vivian gave her empty to Lancelot, who walked away with it to the small bar in the room.
“No, I think you covered everything, and possibly a couple of points I’m not sure happened,” Lancelot called out over his shoulder while opening two bottles of beer. “Anyone else want anything?”
“I’ll have a Scotch…neat,” Arthur stated, holding up his hand.
Lancelot poured a half shot glass full of Scotch, while the others laughed at Arthur’s request. Lancelot set one bottle of beer in front of Vivian, and the shot glass in front of Arthur. Arthur gulped it down before the stunned Merlin or Vivian could intercede. The boy choked a little, fanning his mouth comically as his eyes watered. Slamming the shot glass down, he looked solemnly at Lancelot. “Thanks, Shrek. Tha…that hit the spot. Another for the road?”
“I don’t think so,” Vivian interceded as Lancelot stood up again. “What’s wrong with you, Monte? He’s eight years old.”
“He behaved like a King today. For that,” Lancelot declared, picking up the empty shot glass, “I’ll make a small allowance.”
Lancelot poured another half shot, and brought it back to Arthur. He looked into Arthur’s red face with amusement.
“May I suggest sipping, my King?”
Arthur smiled and gulped down the half shot. He gasped and set down the shot glass.
“I can’t,” Arthur said finally when he had caught his breath. “I’d never get it down.”
Lancelot nodded, and straightened to head back to his seat. Catching his wrist, Arthur looked up into Lancelot’s face.
“I give you my word, Lancelot,” Arthur stated, his hand tightening where it grasped Lancelot’s wrist. “Do what you must. I will never fulfill that second vision of me. Never.”
“If I can stick around and bring about the first vision, my King, I would be fulfilling a dream I’ve harbored for a thousand years,” Lancelot said, smiling. “I will remember your vow, though, and if something happens to me, I will hold you to it from the hereafter.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you. I…I don’t want you to think I’d ever turn into that weak-ass dweeb in the vision.”
“It’s a deal.” Lancelot held out his hand, and Arthur shook it. “You’ve had a long day. Why don’t you call it a night? If we say anything of interest, I’ll fill you in on it tomorrow.”
“Can we play ball again tomorrow?” Arthur asked hopefully, looking around the table.
“We may have to find a different field to play on, but it sounds good to me.”
“Yesssssssss…” Arthur jumped up and pumped his fist. “Don’t wear the Vicster out tonight, Shrek. I like her pitching.”
“Why you…” Lancelot made a half-hearted grab for the boy, as Arthur darted around him toward his room. “What are you laughing at, Vicster?”
“Can we get back to business?” Merlin asked.
“It sounds as if I’ll need a shot to go along with my beer,” Vivian hinted.
“This…will be very difficult,” Kara put in for the first time, looking right at Lancelot. “I know how Mallor feels about Lancelot. He will not be able to repress his hatred. Soon, even self-preservation will not be enough to overcome his need to kill you. Madeline loved Modred. She will live now only for the day when she can see another son rise into a position of power where you will be at their mercy.”
“All is changed from the familiar,” Merlin noted, as Lancelot nodded his acknowledgement of Kara’s view. “With every confrontation comes the possibility of disaster.”
“It has a fresh feel to it, if you ask me,” Vivian said, picking up Arthur’s shot glass, and looking at Lancelot through it comically.
“I agree with Vivian,” Lancelot replied, taking the shot glass and walking over to the bar. “Modred’s dead. They’ll have to make another. We’ll have some breathing room. Do you want to hang around with us, Serge?”
“Kara and I have decided to explore our relationship for a while,” Serge replied, taking Kara’s hand in his, and bringing it to his lips. “Is that not so, my love?”
“Yes,” Kara answered, before turning to the others. “Serge knows I am a part of all this. I am glad finally to be on a side without pretense and secrets. I am intrigued with the possible changes Lancelot has wrought.”
“What’s your problem, mage?” Lancelot asked, setting a shot glass full of whiskey in front of Vivian. “Remember the old Chinese proverb: ‘Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting a different outcome’. Would it not be time to mold this legend more to our liking?”
“I suspect that we have no choice now,” Merlin replied. “What of a Guinevere?”
“The best part of this changing fable is that I will only have one part to play,” Vivian announced, draining her shot of liquor. “Defiling the love Arthur felt for Guinevere and impairing his friendship with Lancelot was, without a doubt, the slimiest piece of work ever perpetrated. If there’s a Guinevere in Arthur’s future, my part will be to make sure that Lancelot won’t even give her a glance.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” Merlin laughed with the others. “Our new play does have a fresh feel to it, without the distasteful ingredients from the past. As Vivian told of your exploits tonight, I could tell that you are as enamored with Mallor’s death as he is with yours, Lancelot.”
“If that were true, mage, Mallor would be without a head now,” Lancelot replied, walking over to the bar. He brought back the bottle from which he had been pouring shots.
“Can you at least try not to overreact if they stay true to form and attack you?” Merlin asked.
“Such as allowing them to kill me instead?” Lancelot asked in reply, pouring a shot for himself and Vivian. “We covered it when we were together. Pain for me, pain for them.”
“We will take our leave now, my friend,” Serge said, standing up with Kara beside him. “I have the house key you gave me. Shall I tell Charlie to go home after he drops us off?”
“Yes, Serge. Tell him there will be a bonus in this week’s pay for his extraordinary service this past day,” Merlin answered.
Lancelot gave Serge the keys to his Pontiac. “In case of emergency, Fang, but don’t go on any joyrides in my baby.”
“Never,” Serge stated, leaning down toward Kara as they left the room. “Let’s go and see what baby can do before retiring, my love.”<
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“Keep it up, Fang,” Lancelot urged as everyone laughed, including Kara and Merlin. “I see an astray in your future.”
“I will retire now too,” Merlin said, standing up, and giving Lancelot and Vivian a small wave of his hand. “Standing in place with a glove on my hand will be about all I’ll be able to manage tomorrow if we’re playing baseball again.”
“Don’t worry,” Lancelot replied. “I’m cutting the Vicster off.”
Merlin grinned knowingly and left the room, as Vivian gave Lancelot a shot to the back of his head.
“I’m getting blitzed tonight,” Vivian informed Lancelot, taking a gulp of beer.
“We have to play ball tomorrow, and you’re pitching. Remember?”
Vivian groaned plaintively, lowering her head into the table with a quiet thump. “Couldn’t I get quietly shit-faced and call off tomorrow?”
“C’mon, I’ll carry you to bed.”
“Hummmm…” Vivian perked up, “and-”
“…and I’ll make the next couple hours memorable for you.”
“Well…if you insist,” Vivian agreed, holding her arms up to Lancelot.
Lancelot picked Vivian up easily, and walked toward their room. He grinned at her. She smacked his face playfully.
Vivian grabbed his chin. “What?”
“You and I need a shower. Our room has a bathroom with shower.”
“I like your thinking.” Vivian hugged Lancelot around the neck and then gasped and slapped his face again as his thoughts reached her uncensored.
“I dropped my guard for a moment,” Lancelot admitted, laughing. “So, you’re saying you don’t want me to wash you everywhere?”
“Maybe,” Vivian whispered, kissing Lancelot lightly on the lips as he carried her into their bedroom. “Does that mean you’ll have to inspect the cleaning job after the washing?”
“Of course,” he answered, lowering Vivian to the bed. He stripped off her clothing while kissing and licking each revealed part with fervor, his tongue and lips never still for more than a moment.
“You are my Queen,” Lancelot murmured into Vivian’s ear as he held her.
“I wish only to be your sheath,” Vivian replied happily, “my King.”
* * *
The scream echoed through Lancelot’s consciousness, stabbing into his dream state for what seemed hours; but in reality, only a few seconds passed. He leaped from the bed, silver-bladed knife in hand, as material details washed over him. Lancelot knew where Arthur slept. Even after the night’s revelry, he had taken time to check on the boy King. Running down the hall in bare feet and boxer shorts, Lancelot shivered and his nerves screamed from the ululating voice of horror coming from Arthur’s room. Bursting through the partially open door, sweat beading his forehead, teeth clenched in anticipation of monstrous terror, Lancelot scanned the boy’s darkened room, praying for an opportunity to shield Arthur.
Arthur sat straight up in bed, his hands flailing as if he sought to ward off an invisible force. Lancelot ran straight at him. He scooped the boy up in his left arm while holding his knife ready in his right hand. He moved to the furthest corner of the room, putting all else in view, and protecting his back. Lancelot shushed the boy, hugging him tightly to his chest. Arthur clung to him desperately as the screams faded into gasping breaths.
“I’m here, Arthur. I’m here,” Lancelot repeated over and over as Arthur’s breathing calmed, and he wiped tears from his eyes.
“Lan…Lancelot?” Arthur stuttered, peering up into his First Knight’s face.
Vivian, dressed only in Lancelot’s black tee shirt and clutching the silver bat, ran into Arthur’s room, followed by Merlin. Vivian saw Lancelot in the shadows as she looked around the room wildly, her heart pounding. Merlin flipped on the light switch. Lancelot straightened, holding Arthur protectively.
“I’m…okay,” Arthur said, visibly relieved by the light.
Lancelot lowered the boy to his feet. Vivian set the bat down, and approached Arthur. Kneeling down, she hugged the boy to her, as Merlin and Lancelot exchanged questioning glances.
“Did you see anything, Lancelot?” Merlin asked.
“No, but that was more than a nightmare. What did you see, boy?”
Arthur turned in Vivian’s arms. “I was the kidnapper again on the playground,” Arthur explained, his words slow and deliberate. He walked over and sat on the bed with his feet hanging over the side and his hands under his thighs as he rocked back and forth. “I saw who the little girl was. She’s the one I told you about in my class, Vicky…the one who thinks I’m funny.”
“It must be local, then,” Vivian said, sitting down next to Arthur, and putting her arm around him. “You were seeing through the kidnapper’s eyes in the dream?”
Arthur nodded. “It was Kennedy Park. Merlin took me there to ride the rides and visit the petting zoo. I recognized the petting zoo in the background. They have a train ride around the park, and I heard its whistle.”
“That’s very good, Arthur,” Merlin put his hands on either side of his temples. “You’d think we’d get more than a few hours of relative calm before the next catastrophe.”
“Do you have any idea if the kidnapping is in the future, or if it’s already happened?” Vivian asked.
“There were a lot of people there, as if it were the weekend,” Arthur replied, lying back on the bed with his eyes closed. “If it happened yesterday, there’d be all kinds of news about the kidnapping.”
“We’ll check the news at first light. Today’s Sunday,” Lancelot added, “so maybe it’ll happen today.”
Arthur sat up hurriedly, a terrified look on his face. “I saw what he did with her. He tortures her, and…and…oh God, Lancelot, we have to save her.”
Lancelot sat down next to him. “We’re playing baseball tomorrow. We’ll stake out Kennedy Park, and make a day out of it. We won’t let anything happen to her. You know who the victim is. We could warn the family, if-”
“We could cause a panic, or worse yet, cast suspicion on you, if she’s taken on another day,” Merlin interrupted. “I’m with you all the way on wanting to prevent this, but precognition must be treated delicately. The first people the police look at when anything paranormal happens are the ones who offer the first warnings of doom without presenting any supporting evidence.”
“At some point, mage, we must get beyond this political viewpoint of yours. While I agree with you that this problem poses some problems with tactics, we must come up with a plan other than simply reacting to disaster.” Lancelot spoke calmly, not wanting to anger the old man. He knew that Merlin was right in believing that the police would suspect the one who had warned them before anything happened.
“The girl’s family would certainly freak out,” Vivian added. “It’s only two in the morning. Let’s get a few more hours of sleep, and then we can find out all we can about Arthur’s classmate. Do you know her full name, Arthur?”
“It’s Gwen Andreyev,” Arthur replied, sitting up and yawning. “Can I sleep with you and Lancelot?”
“I don’t know…” Vivian looked at Lancelot, picturing a different journey into a few hours sleep than what Arthur suggested. Meeting Lancelot’s smiling appraisal at Arthur’s request, she blushed as she remembered their lovemaking.
“Please…” Arthur asked again.
“Okay,” Vivian said, relenting. She grabbed the boy’s hair in mock anger as she added, “But no funny business. Lancelot and I won’t be doing sleepovers every night. Maybe you ought to practice bunking with Merlin.”
“Heaven forbid,” Merlin muttered.
“Eeeeuuuuuuwwwwhhh…” Arthur exclaimed. “He snores.”
“Wait until you hear the Vicster,” Lancelot quipped, and then ran for the door with a growling Vivian in hot pursuit, followed by a laughing Arthur.
“I’m too old for this crap,” Merlin growled as he headed for his own room.
Lancelot placed the cup of coffee down on the nightstand next
to Vivian’s head, where she lay sleeping with Arthur next to her. The boy lying with his arms and legs splayed out took up the entire middle of the king-size bed. After a couple of minutes, Vivian’s eyes fluttered, and her nose twitched slightly. She smiled.
“Hummmmm…coffee,” she whispered.
Lancelot knelt next to her as Vivian propped herself up on one elbow. With her long black hair in disarray, she nodded her thanks as Lancelot handed her the coffee.
“What time is it?”
“Almost seven.”
“What time did you sneak off?” Vivian asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
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