Jordan

by Susan Kearney

  Arthur nodded. “My friend, you didn’t trip Trendonis, you pecked out his eye with your beak.”

  “I had to be certain, old friend.” Jordan lifted his goblet and drank, obviously getting the confirmation he’d required.

  “With his beak?” Vivianne’s gaze focused on Jordan, but his face remained hard, unreadable.

  Eyes twinkling, Arthur explained. “I’d already suffered a mortal wound, but I could not die, since I’d sipped from the Holy Grail and possessed it still. Yet with Trendonis dogging my heels, I couldn’t keep the Grail with me and risk the Tribes following me home to Arcturus. So I left the Grail safe in Avalon. Still Trendonis came after me.”

  “And Jordan saved you?” Vivianne prodded.

  “Let’s not speak of the past,” Jordan said in an attempt to change the subject.

  But Vivianne was too curious to drop it, and Arthur obviously relished telling the tale. “Sir, finish your story, please,” she asked.

  “Jordan had taken the form of an owl and guarded me even then, although at the time, I did not recognize him in his new shape. When Trendonis sneaked up on me while I slept, Jordan flew down and pecked out his eye.”

  The knights raised their tankards in many toasts to Jordan’s bravery. They drank so much, Vivianne wasn’t sure if she’d ever get the answer to her question of why Arthur had brought them to Arcturus. But finally he turned serious.

  Arthur clapped Jordan on the shoulder. “Brother, I owe you my kingdom and my life. While no native born Acturan may leave this world and return more than once, I have not been idle. I’ve spent these centuries preparing for your return. The Key of Soil is here. And I’ve safeguarded it so that only the great Merlin can retrieve it.” Arthur’s eyes turned sly and crafty. “If you trust enough, the Key of Soil shall be yours. And in addition, I will grant you a boon.”

  “I ask for no favors.”

  “Don’t be so quick to turn down this one. I offer you Dominus’s history.”

  “I don’t understand.” Jordan’s eyes narrowed.

  Guinevere explained, “On Arcturus, we’re fanatical galactic record keepers. We have a memory chip about Dominus that includes your customs, your history, your science, religion, and art.”

  Arthur leaned forward, his ringed fingers clasped around his silver goblet. “Find the Key of Soil and all the worldly knowledge of Dominus shall also be yours.”

  “You have been busy.” Jordan grinned, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  Something was wrong. Vivianne didn’t know what, but she could feel the tension in Jordan. She would have liked nothing better than a private conversation with him, but there was no opportunity.

  And then it was too late.

  One moment it was evening and they were dining at a sumptuous round table in Camelot surrounded by Sir Lancelot, Lady Guinevere, King Arthur, and his knights, and the next, the castle simply vanished.

  She and Jordan were standing alone, beneath the stars in a grassy field.

  Vivianne shook her head in a futile attempt to clear it. “Did I just dream that we met King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and Lady Guinevere?”

  “If you did, I had the exact same vision,” Jordan said.

  At his admission, her gut knotted.

  “But where did they go? Where did Camelot go?” she asked, trying to accept what seemed like magic. Although if Earth could transport people across the stars, she supposed a higher civilization could transport an entire city.

  “They probably didn’t go anywhere. It’s you and me who have left Camelot.” Jordan’s voice was gentle, as if he understood she was having difficulty coping.

  She took a step toward Jordan and almost tripped over something on the ground. “What’s this?”

  “I’ll get a light.” Their daylight was fading with the setting sun. Jordan unsheathed the Staff and shined it over the bag she’d run into.

  Vivianne kneeled, opened the pack, and looked inside. “Why do we have climbing gear?” She glanced around with a frown. It might be dusk for only a few more minutes, but she could see enough to ascertain that the land was flat, filled with grass and a gentle breeze. “Where are the mountains to climb?”

  Jordan sighed. “You’re looking in the wrong direction. According to the Staff’s pulsing, we have to go down.”

  “Underground?” The knots in her stomach drew tight.

  Jordan shined the Staff’s light into a dark spot, hidden by the grasses that she’d overlooked. “Do you see that tunnel in the ground?”

  “How far does it go?” Vivianne asked, hoping her voice didn’t sound as reluctant as she felt.

  “I have no idea.” Jordan didn’t sound happy, either.

  In truth, they should both be elated. After all, he’d just met his old friend, and they’d learned the Key of Soil was here on Arcturus. She should have been thrilled that they were about to find the key and move on.

  Perhaps Jordan sensed something wrong, too. She could still feel the tension radiating off him.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  He dumped out the bag’s contents and held up two sets of climbing gear. “I’m supposed to take you with me.”

  The pessimist complains about the weather, the optimist expects it to change, the realist brings an umbrella.

  —ANONYMOUS

  25

  Jordan held the Staff higher and peered into the cave. He hoped that Arthur hadn’t hidden the Key of Soil so well that even he couldn’t find it. While the ground maintained a gentle descent through a dirt tunnel braced with wooden beams, some caves wound underground for miles. “You ever been caving?”

  “No, but right now it’s easier for me than you,” Vivianne said, her tone upbeat. “I can stand upright. You want me to carry the pack?”

  “Maybe later.” He strode inside and inspected the dirt-packed walls. “There are no spiderwebs, no insects, no sounds of nocturnal creatures.”

  “You think this cave is as artificial as Camelot?” she asked.

  “Maybe,” he mused. She caught on quick. But he still would have preferred not to have had to bring her along. Arthur wouldn’t have sent a woman into danger unless he believed her presence was necessary.

  Yet this was not Arthur’s decision, but his.

  By now Jordan knew better than to try to talk Vi out of accompanying him, but if he found an opportunity to leave her safely close to the entrance, he would take it.

  He glanced at her sideways, and when she showed no overt concerns, he walked deeper into the tunnel. “This cave was created by an intelligent being. But it’s as clean as if it had been swept free of dust.”

  “Perhaps Arthur buried the Key centuries ago but only recently created this tunnel for us.”

  Walking hunched over, he had to crane his neck to see in front of him. Yet even this awkward position was preferable to the sudden ninety-degree right-hand turn followed by a seeming dead end. Then he looked down to see a shoulder-width black hole in the dirt.

  He shined the light over the opening. The shaft appeared to be a straight vertical drop into the bedrock. “The fun starts now.”

  As he shrugged out of his pack, she peered into the hole, her brows furrowed. “How deep does it go?”

  “Listen.” He tossed a rock down the hole. In a short moment, he heard a distinctive thud that sounded fairly close to the surface.

  She grinned. “That didn’t sound so far.”

  “Unless the rock landed on a protruding ledge and didn’t reach bottom.”

  “Maybe this won’t be too hard.”

  Nothing on this mission had gone easy, but he kept the thought to himself. Jordan set out lines, picks, crampons, boots, carabiners, and harnesses. He handed her a hardhat and the smaller pair of boots and knee pads. “See if these fit.”

  She pulled on the knee pads, then the boots. “Exactly my size.”

  “Yeah, Arthur always was good with supply details.” He adjusted the harness, clipped the carabiner into a bolt already driven int
o the rock, and tested the strength with a hard yank. “Feels solid.”

  After attaching the other end of the line to his harness, he planted his feet, backed over the hole, and leaned into the harness. Balancing his body in an L shape, he prepared to descend. “I’ll take a quick look. Maybe the key’s just over this lip.”

  “You don’t believe that,” she muttered. But she didn’t protest. Instead she dropped to her stomach and watched him descend.

  At first he had exactly the right amount of room to rest his back against one vertical wall and keep his feet planted against the other. But soon the opening narrowed, so much so that he was forced to squeeze his knees against his chest.

  Another two feet and he couldn’t drop any farther. He stopped and looked around with his headlamp. “There’s a narrow passage off to one side that travels horizontally again.”

  “How far?” Her voice echoed down.

  “I’ll check it out and report back.” He unclipped the harness.

  “Fine.”

  As he began to crawl horizontally, Jordan realized Vi had taken Arthur’s kidnapping of the Draco better than he would have expected. Vivianne didn’t panic, and she kept an open mind—even when faced with seemingly impossible scenarios. Like coming face-to-face with King Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere. Like dealing with Jordan. His history and his fate. Like dealing with the inexplicable keys to the Ancient Staff. Another woman might have doubted her own sanity, but Vivianne was strong.

  “Talk to me,” she demanded.

  “I’m crawling along. All I see is more tunnel.”

  “Is there plenty of air?” she asked.

  “There’s actually a breeze.”

  “How narrow’s the passageway?”

  “Too tight for hands and knees. I’m pulling myself forward on my elbows.”

  “Don’t get stuck. You’re too big for me to have to pull you out.”

  “You worried about me?” he teased.

  “You get stuck down there with the Staff, and my ship won’t have the power to leave Arcturus.”

  “I’m touched.” She didn’t want to admit she cared about him even a little. “From the way the Staff’s pulsing, I’m getting closer.”

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day. Well, besides the fact that Guinevere seems to be happily married to Arthur and Lancelot.”

  “You approve of the threesome?”

  “Who am I to judge? If they are happy, and they seem to be, it’s right for them.”

  The tunnel was narrowing again. He had to hunch his shoulders to crawl forward. “I’m glad she now has the children she always wanted.”

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “Huh?”

  “You have any children?”

  At the question, he bumped his head. “You aren’t trying to tell me anything, are you? Because now is really not a good time.”

  “I’ve taken precautions. We’re not pregnant. And we won’t be. But it’s good of you to think of it now.”

  Apparently there wasn’t enough time in the day for all the things he did wrong. As dirt fell onto his face, he sighed.

  But suddenly up ahead the tunnel widened, and when he crawled past the tight spot, he could finally stand and wipe the dirt from his eyes. “I’m in a wide cavern. And the key’s just sitting here on a granite slab under a carsized glass dome.”

  “You found it!”

  Approaching the glass, he touched the smooth, cool surface and tugged a handle near the top curve.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Nothing. The handle seems stuck. Looks like I’ll have to break the glass.”

  He picked up a rock and slammed it into the dome. Nothing broke. He kicked the glass with his crampon. Still nothing.

  “What’s wrong?” Vivianne asked.

  “Some kind of impenetrable force field is protecting the glass.” Jordan rested his hands on his hips. “Since Arthur packed equipment for both of us, I suspect that means getting past the force field to the key will require your presence down here, too.”

  “Happy to oblige.”

  Jordan recalled Vi’s current position, the ten-foot drop, the long horizontal crawl. He wasn’t able to help her except by talking her through it. But even after she made it down here, they still might not find a way to release the key. “Arthur also mentioned trust.”

  “And trust takes two people. But how did Arthur know when he buried this key that when you came for it you wouldn’t be alone?”

  “I’ve had to accept that Arthur can do things that I can’t explain.” Jordan hesitated. “How much do you trust me?”

  “Just tell me how to get down there.” Vivianne sounded determined and focused.

  Even experienced cave climbers might be uncomfortable with the tight squeeze, the falling dirt, the risk of being stuck. If asking her to come down here weren’t his last option, he wouldn’t have mentioned it.

  “The first downward drop’s easy,” he told her. “Pull the harness back up, latch in, and then lower yourself. It’s only about a ten-foot descent. Just take your time.”

  He heard her swearing. Although she muttered under her breath, sound bounced off the walls down here. “All right, I’m lowering myself.”

  “Easy.”

  “This is not easy. I’m sweating up a storm.”

  He forced himself to be patient, but after ten minutes he was biting his lower lip and pacing. Damn it. While he didn’t want to distract her and ask about her progress, he wished she’d talk to him. Suppose she slipped? She could break her leg.

  “Vi?”

  “I’m down.”

  “Good job.” He heard her breathing hard, and he shuddered. The next section was going to be so much worse.

  “Take off the harness and leave it hanging so we can use it on the way back. Then find the entrance to the flat tunnel. All you need to do is crawl to me.”

  Clothing rustled. The harness clinked. It seemed to take forever. What was she doing?

  “God. This is a wicked tight fit. Did you shapeshift to get through?”

  She was breathing hard.

  “I can’t carry the Staff in bird shape. I crawled through, and if I fit, then so do you.”

  She remained silent. Too silent.

  “Vi?” he asked softly.

  “I can’t… crawl through this tunnel.”

  “You can. Here’s what you’re going to do. Take off your helmet.”

  “But I need the light.”

  “You don’t.” He peered into his end of the tunnel, but he couldn’t see her since it wasn’t straight. “Now close your eyes.”

  “What?”

  “There’s no way to get lost. Just close your eyes and start belly crawling.” He heard a soft groan. “Think about scooting along a sunny beach, the waves lapping offshore, the wind teasing your hair. Breathe in the sweet, clean salt air and keep moving your feet, your arms, just a few inches at a time.” He kept crooning, praying she’d appear soon.

  “Uh-oh.”

  His pulse raced. “What’s wrong?”

  “I banged my head. The tunnel’s too small, too narrow.”

  “You’re almost here, and then it gets wider.”

  “I’m going to back out. Rest, then try again.”

  “No!” He swore. Backing out was way too difficult. When she found out how hard it was to maneuver backward, she might really panic. “Damn it, Vi. Earth needs us to release this key. Earth needs you to keep moving forward. Crawl to me, sweetheart.”

  He heard her gasping for air. His hands closed into fists, and his muscles were so tense, his nerves felt ready to snap. He was long past telling himself his concern was all about the success of the mission. His fear was for her.

  “I’m not your sweetheart,” she muttered.

  Maybe not, but the futility of fighting his own feelings for her swept over him. The woman crawling through that tunnel wasn’t a specialist at caving. She was scared, and he burned with the fierce need to banish
that fear.

  Even anger at him was better than her fear—he didn’t want her to panic and freeze in one place. He could work with anger. “Hell, you wanted to come with me, wanted to prove you’re tough. Well, be tough. No more whining.”

  “I don’t whine.”

  “Right.”Come on. Come on. Where was she? “A snail could move faster,” he teased over his pounding pulse. If she got stuck… if she panicked… he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

  When she didn’t answer, he broke into a sweat. All the while he waited with thudding anxiety, praying he hadn’t encouraged her for no reason.

  “I need… a rest.”

  “All right, darling, you rest,” he agreed. She sounded spent. While he yearned to let her do as she wished, to help her to get through, he needed to toughen up. Up to now, he’d been too kind.

  He knew how to push her buttons, forced himself to manipulate her. “I’ve been thinking about what Arthur said and how retrieving this key would take trust.”

  “And?” she prodded.

  At least she was listening, still curious, not panicking. “So far you’ve trusted me by coming down here.” Jordan glanced at the written instructions branded onto the force field. “After you arrive, I’ll have to trust you.”

  “Huh?”

  “You ever hear the story of the sword and the stone?”

  “Of course.”

  “Arthur was the only man who could free the sword, and that’s how he became king. Well, I arranged for the sword to respond only to his DNA. Now he’s made this challenge specific to me.”

  “How did he do that?”

  Jordan swallowed hard. “He knows what I fear most.”

  “What would that be?”

  He heard her clothing rustling as she pulled herself forward, and his heart lightened. When he could finally see her, praise the Goddess, he had to cling to the rock face to stop his own trembling. “You’re almost here. Just a little more.”

  Despite telling himself that he wouldn’t come to care for Vivianne Blackstone in any special way, he’d lost control. Fear for her had been slamming him for so long, he was weak with it.

  Even worse, he could no longer ignore how much she meant to him. It wasn’t just her passionate lovemaking. Or her bravery. Or her intelligence. It was Vivianne’s spirit, one as strong as his own, that drew him and made him so eager to gather her into his arms and reassure her and himself that she was going to be all right.