“I hope my coat’s not getting messed up,” Lancelot griped, clutching the silver-bladed knife in his right hand, under the fold of the coat, where he supported their prisoner.
“There’s Mallor’s BMW,” Vivian pointed up the street to their left as they cleared the park gate.
The BMW drove forward and stopped at the curb in front of them. Having opened the windows and unlocked the doors on the passenger side, Mallor sought to find out what Lancelot wanted to do.
Vivian opened the rear passenger door. Lancelot ducked into the backseat with the maimed shape-shifter. Vivian closed the door. A moment later, she was seated up front with leather case angled in next to her.
“I heard you lost the sword.” Mallor looked at Lancelot’s bloody figure in the rear view mirror, a grin evident on his face even from where Lancelot sat. “Now, Dunkan has it.”
“It didn’t do you much good, Toad,” Lancelot smiled back.
“I wasn’t an offspring of Lilith.” Mallor chuckled appreciatively as he accelerated away from the curb, glad he could joke with Lancelot instead of face him in battle.
“I heard she’s overrated. Besides, I have a sword.”
“Oh…well then…shall we go and accept Dunkan’s surrender?”
“That would be my plan,” Lancelot answered, wiggling the unconscious woman next to him. “We have a shifter here who was sent to bring me to Dunkan. She should come around shortly.”
“Nice coat,” Mallor noted. “What’s the casualty list on Dunkan’s side? I heard you had a pack on you, and that’s how Excalibur was taken.”
“There were eight of them,” Vivian explained, gesturing with her left thumb at the woman in the back. “She’s the only one Monte let live.”
“Shit…seven shifters dead…I… Monte?” Mallor paused as the feat of killing seven shape-shifters and maiming an eighth took a backseat to Vivian’s nickname for Lancelot. “You mean like Monte Python and the Holy Grail Oh…that is so good!”
Mallor laughed with unrestrained glee. Vivian joined in, looking over her shoulder at the annoyed Lancelot, and reaching back to pat his knee.
“Yeah, Toad,” Lancelot noted as Mallor’s laughter died down, “but did you see what happened to the Black Knight in that one?”
This brought on another self-effacing bout of laughter from Mallor, who nodded his head in agreement. “Yes… the legend and I did not fare well in that movie…my friend.”
The woman groaned in the back, her eyes fluttering. A split second later, Lancelot’s silver blade pressed the skin at her throat.
“We’re all glad you’re conscious,” Lancelot said, as her eyes focused on him. “You said we had a date with Dunkan, so we’d like to keep it. The only thing is that we’ll be taking you, rather than you taking us.”
“The…others?”
“Your pack’s dead.”
“We should never have come to this cursed place!” The woman turned away from Lancelot, her face contorted in pain from her wound. “How do I know you won’t kill me when I take you there?”
“You don’t,” Lancelot answered truthfully. “Want to switch sides and take your chances? I can’t offer much, other than a chance to go back where you came from.”
“I…I’ll take it. I’m dead anyway. Once Dunkan kills you, he’ll kill me.”
“Why? You were supposed to take us to him, were you not?”
“We were supposed to take the sword… and kill you.”
“Okay, I won’t hold that against you.” Lancelot removed the blade from her throat and patted her hand. “You take me to where Dunkan is, and I’ll honor my word to let you go free. Mess with me, and I’ll plant this silver blade in your head and bury you fifty feet down in the dirt for all of eternity. What’ll it be?”
“I…I’m really excited about your plan. My name’s Renee. Do you have any pain killers?”
Vivian reached around and grasped Renee’s unharmed hand. The pain faded from Renee’s face, as Vivian triggered the Werewolf’s healing ability. Her limb formed and grew as she braced herself against the seat. Lancelot watched the shape-shifter carefully, ready for anything she might do.
“Is Dunkan’s place on this side of the bridge?” Mallor asked Renee.
“No…” Renee took a deep breath as the healing finished. “He’s set up in a warehouse in San Leandro.”
“On Miller Street, off of Fairway Drive?” Mallor broke in.
“Yes…how did you know?”
“He’s using my damn warehouses,” Mallor answered. “Well, at least we’ll know where to do clean up, if you dust him, Monte.”
“What do you mean if?”
“I’m not too crazy about you facing Dunkan if he has Excalibur, buddy. No offense.”
“None taken…I guess. Let’s make sure the kids are safe, and pick up Serge and Kara. I lived a thousand years for this. The events of the last week seem as if it’s taken a thousand years to reach this point.”
“You cannot imagine how powerful Dunkan is,” Renee told them. She massaged her healed arm uneasily. “If you face him in single combat, you will lose.”
“If I remember right, your leader told Monte he couldn’t survive an attack by your whole pack,” Vivian pointed out. “Prophesies and predictions don’t mean much to him.”
“How did you get the sword to Dunkan, and when did he expect to hear about our deaths?” Lancelot asked.
“One of the vamps followed us in a separate Mercedes – one with dark-tinted windows. He drove by and popped open the trunk of his Mercedes after we broke into your car. We threw Excalibur inside the trunk and he left. We were to entertain you and the woman for a few hours before killing you both. Dunkan wanted us to find out as much about Merlin as we could.”
“She’s telling the truth, Monte,” Vivian added.
“That gives us a little time. How many more shifters does Dunkan have in his growing army?”
“Only what we’ve turned since arriving a week ago from overseas,” Renee answered, “which isn’t many. He’s concentrating on vampires, of which he’s made many. They have well over a hundred new vamps. Even with the setback you dealt him at his other feeding place, Dunkan is moving steadily ahead. The loss of Weston made him insane with rage. I thought he would attack you before he was ready. Instead, he hatched the plan to capture and turn the child Gwen into a vampire. Given that he has Excalibur, he cares little what you do.”
“Good.” Lancelot liked the sound of all Dunkan’s assumptions. “Chances are he won’t get cute and send a horde to attack Merlin’s place while I’m facing him. He’ll figure to clean things up once we’re all dead. It’s a cinch that he knows about you, Viv. I’m sure Weston would have told him about your dust spell. All the vamps in the world won’t do him a damn bit of good when you can make them into charcoal briquettes with a single touch.”
“You sound pumped, Monte,” Mallor observed. “You’d be hell on wheels if you were wielding Excalibur instead of facing it in another’s hands.”
Lancelot leaned back with a sigh of contentment, which elicited a giggle from Vivian as she read the thoughts going through his mind. She patted Mallor’s arm reassuringly.
“He’s happier facing it, Mallor.”
“The outcome is not written in stone, my new ally,” Mallor reminded Lancelot, meeting his eyes in the rear view mirror.
“What matter, when all I’ve ever dreamed of lies ahead in single combat: the culmination of a millennium-long wait. Fear not – you stand on God’s side, Mallor. You and the others will find another way, if this be not my day. Dunkan, with his black plague, will not defeat us. If I do not kill him, it may be a longer battle, but it will be won. Have faith, my friend.”
“I am pleased that I will be at your side.”
“And I, at yours,” Lancelot replied.
Arthur met them at the elevator door with Serge and Kara at his back. At the sight and smell of Renee, Serge leaped in front of Arthur, poised for a strike.
�
�She’s with us, Fang,” Lancelot said, patting his old friend’s arm. “This is Renee. She’s not a happy meal. Arthur, this is Mallor. He will be at my side tonight, and at yours tomorrow, if anything happens to me.”
Arthur held out his hand to Mallor, who grasped it firmly.
“My liege, I am yours to command from this day forth.”
“I command you to make sure Lancelot returns to me,” Arthur stated grimly.
“If it be in my power to do, I will,” Mallor replied, surprised by the boy’s stance.
Merlin walked out with Gwen. She smiled and waved at Lancelot and Vivian while moving near Arthur. She clasped his hand in hers.
“Put up your defenses, old man,” Lancelot said. “I leave Kara with you. My part in this story plays out within the hour.”
“Let me seek another way, Lancelot,” Merlin pleaded. “I fear Excalibur in the demon’s hands. We should regroup.”
“Since I don’t fear Excalibur, we’ll be going now, but thanks for the concern.” Lancelot held out his hand to Merlin, who gripped it with sadness clouding his features.
“I wish you well, boy. I know it’s been a long time coming for you. Go with God.”
Arthur released Gwen’s hand and hugged Lancelot. “Bring me the stupid sword, Shrek, and I’ll melt it down with you as my witness.”
Lancelot laughed, taking the boy’s shoulders in his hands while kneeling to look into his eyes. “No need, my King. You were born to wield Excalibur. I was born to curse it. It will be good to see it in your hands once again.”
Arthur hugged Vivian without a word, gripping her around the waist as hard as he could.
“I know, kid. I hate goodbyes too.” Vivian kissed the top of Arthur’s head.
“C’mon, Fang, let’s rock and roll,” Lancelot said, standing up with a last nod at Arthur. “Don’t forget – stay the hell away from Viv in there, because she’ll be packing the vamp death spell. I need you to make sure the shifters and anyone other than the vamps keep their distance from her.”
“Understood, Monte,” Serge said, giving Kara a lingering kiss goodbye. “End of days, my love. See you in a little while.”
“Remember,” Kara whispered, “you promised me Vienna.”
“I remember,” Serge chuckled, his hand trailing along the side of her face. “I will show you the wonders and riches in blood analysis, my dear.”
“So, you co-opted the dread Black Knight into your cause too, I see,” Serge remarked on the way to Mallor’s BMW. “You are indeed a wonder, Monte. How many vamps and shifters do we face tonight, brother?”
“Just a hundred or so.”
“Not funny!”
“Not meant to be,” Lancelot laughed, putting his arm around Serge. “You take fifty, and I’ll take fifty.”
“I liked you better without the sense of humor,” Serge remarked.
Vivian and Mallor both laughed at the exchange, while Renee looked from one to the other of her companions with consternation.
“The vampire is right,” Renee said. “This is no laughing matter.”
“By the way,” Lancelot turned to Renee as they reached the BMW, “you stay in the car. It’s not that I don’t trust you…well…that’s not true. I don’t trust you. If I see you anywhere outside the car, you’re dead meat. Clear?”
“I understand,” Renee agreed, leaning away from the suddenly grim Lancelot. She had thought her pack invincible, and in seconds this man had ended their existence as if it were an afterthought. “I will stay in the car no matter what.”
* * *
Mallor parked on the street fifty yards before his warehouse on Miller Street.
“The warehouse front will appear small. Don’t be fooled – it’s huge on the inside,” Mallor told them. “If he hasn’t changed anything, there’s a small group of rooms up the stairs after you pass through the office and bathroom area. The main warehouse is partitioned but wide open. How do you want to approach?”
“He’ll have shifters watching. We’ll never sneak up on them,” Lancelot replied. “I-”
“Let me draw them away, Lancelot,” Renee broke in. “Allow me to approach first. I will convince my brethren to come away with me, and bring them here to your car. The way will be open then.”
“There’s no downside, Monte,” Vivian put in. “If she’s successful, we’ll be able to walk in without activating the alarm bells. If she fails, they’ll know we’re coming, but with the shifters on watch, they’ll know we’re coming anyway.”
“I take it back, Renee.” Lancelot patted her arm. “Don’t stay in the car. See what you can do. It matters little, but I would like to get a look at the place before the battle is joined.”
* * *
Renee left the BMW and walked down the street, turning right into the small parking area in front of the building. “Come out, brothers. You know it’s me.”
Two shifters approached Renee warily, sniffing the air.
“Where is your pack?” The largest of the Werewolves voiced the question.
“All dead, killed by one man.”
“Impossible!”
“Yet you know I speak truth. Go inside and draw our surviving brethren out. The man of legend comes tonight, and he brings death with him. Dunkan will kill us all anyway, once he gets what he wants. Lancelot gave me his word that we will live to see the old country once again. Do as I say, Petri.”
“What if Dunkan kills this legend of yours? What of us then?”
“We flee North into the wilderness. It would take the vamps years to find us, and they are city folk, feeding on the humans they call cattle. We will go where even they will not follow.”
“Her words ring true,” Petri’s companion said. “Let me go inside and gather our pack. We’ll slip away one by one until we are free of the warehouse.”
“Go then,” Petri nodded. “It will be as she says. I sicken of this place.”
Over the next fifteen minutes, the remaining shifters filtered out of the warehouse without a trace, and then followed Renee to where Lancelot waited. Serge went feral, his face contorting and his fangs extending, but Lancelot motioned him to silence. Lancelot met Renee and the others on the street, with his friends at his back. He looked at the nine figures appraisingly.
“You were able to bring them all out?”
“Yes, Lancelot, they are all here. We will remain with the car, and guard your friends’ retreat. We ask only that we be given passage away from here, either to flee to the old country or into the Northern wilderness.”
“Leave her the keys, Mallor,” Lancelot ordered while keeping his eyes on the woman. “Have a little faith, Renee.”
Mallor handed over the BMW keys and his card.
“See my wife if all does not go well, Renee. She will help you and your friends escape.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ve given us an opening,” Mallor replied. “Perhaps it will be enough. Come, my friends, I brought along some tools.”
Mallor led the way to his already open trunk. Inside were three MAC 10 machine pistols. Having handed one to Serge and Vivian, he explained the basics of firing and the method used to slip off the safety. Mallor popped one of the clips into his weapon, and prepared it to fire for each of them to see.
“Here are two clips for each of you – forty rounds in each,” Mallor continued. “They’re loaded with silver bullets. I had to be prepared for an insurrection, and these were my hole card. Don’t fire them on full auto unless absolutely necessary. They’re hard to control that way, and you’ll be empty in seconds.”
“Nice.” Lancelot smiled, having already stripped to his tee shirt, with sword and scabbard across his back. “Shall we?”
“After you, Monte,” Mallor grinned back.
“What were all of you armed with?” Vivian asked Renee as they walked by the shifters.
“Dunkan didn’t trust any of us to be armed. He enlisted the gangs through Weston to provide firepower if he needed it,” Petri answe
red for Renee.
“I like it,” Serge said, looking over the MAC 10, while shoving the extra clip into his belt. “I’m beginning to get a little romantic about this gig after all.”
Lancelot led his small band toward the warehouse, pulling Vivian up next to him. “Put your spell on, Vickster, and for God’s sake, watch out for Serge.”
Vivian slapped his hand away. “Do you know me at all? What, you think I’m some campfire girl out in the spooky old woods alone? I’ll watch out for Fang.”
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