Grail

by Realm Lovejoy

  Behind him, Isolde is on the ground, rubbing her arm. She’s the one I shoved away. I hurt Isolde, the only one who stood up for me.

  I eye Lancelot warily as reality comes back to me.

  “I-I didn’t use fire,” I say as if it matters.

  Lancelot vibrates with rage as he stares me down before he screams out a string of swear words, causing me to flinch. Lancelot slaps his own forehead and takes a breath. “Go to Pellinore’s office. NOW!” he pants, pointing.

  Pain glimmers only briefly in his eyes before he looks back at everyone.

  “What are you all staring at?” he roars. “Get back to training!”

  He’s back to swearing, and he’s punching the wall. Nurses are running in to check on Agravain, who is bleeding out of his nose and mouth. He cradles his face, still kneeling on the floor.

  Chapter 10

  A knight pulls me by the arm toward Pellinore’s office. News of my outburst traveled fast. As I approach the door to the office, Merlin is waiting in the hall. I feel smaller and smaller with each step. Merlin gazes at me with heavy eyes.

  “Morgan,” he says. “I tried to prevent this.”

  “Don’t say anything,” I beg.

  “You never listen when I try to help.”

  Merlin walks past me. I feel the rain cloud of his sadness brush past my skin like a cold wind.

  The knight opens the door ahead. In the dim room, Pellinore doesn’t look up at me as I enter his office. He’s writing something on a document.

  “Le Fay,” he says. “It’s with no surprise that you’re in my office for a predictable misdemeanor.” He glances up. “You know the agreement. You will be sent away to be contained in the sanitarium. This will bring our country peace, as you can probably guess. The only regret is what will happen to poor Sir Lancelot. He stuck his neck out for you. He was crazy for giving you a chance. Perhaps he was crazy in love, eh?” Pellinore chuckles to himself as he continues signing a bunch of papers one after the other. “Well, get on with it. You know you never belonged here.”

  For some reason, out of all the insulting things he said, the last sentence hurts the worst. Never belonged here.

  I’ve only ever wanted to be here. As a child looking at the magazine cover of Camelot. As an Arthur’s Round member looking up at the murals of knights.

  My vision blurs. My heart is a rock falling into the abyss to vanish. The pit of my stomach is drawing in as if I really am falling.

  The knight behind me beckons me to follow him. He says something, but I’m not sure what he said.

  As I follow the knight, the hall seems to stretch forever. It’d be better to be stuck here for eternity than be locked up. At least here I have a chance to see the people I care about.

  The hall light dims and then brightens for a second. I think it’s my brain playing tricks on me, but the knight pauses, looking up.

  Then without warning, an alarm blares through the hallway, piercing into my ears. I cover them. Another knight runs down the hall.

  “Lockdown!” he shouts.

  I wonder if the news of my exile from knighthood has triggered a lockdown. Yet all the guards that were on duty are running past me as if I’m invisible. Where did the knight who was beside me go to? I look around in panic.

  “King Arthur is missing!” a knight shouts to another.

  I take in a breath, gathering the meaning of it. Did Arthur wander off again? I could potentially escape from Camelot amidst the chaos, but I’m done hiding.

  I run toward the direction in which everyone is running. The Round Table Room.

  When I get to the meeting room, the doors are wide open as people rush in. Everyone is gathered around the table: Lancelot, Merlin, Pellinore, Vivian, Cabinet members, and Guinevere who is in tears. Everyone is abuzz, vibrating with hurried words. Some knights anxiously scramble into the room looking at Lancelot with confusion.

  “Knights, get out,” Lancelot orders. “You must follow our lockdown code. Search the grounds now!”

  Knights back out of the room, echoing the orders to one another.

  I watch them hurry away. Then I turn to glance back at Lancelot, also needing to know what I’m supposed to do now that there are more important matters at hand than my punishment.

  “You.” Lancelot points at me. “Stay where I can keep an eye on you.”

  I move away from the entrance and stand with my back to the wall to show that I won’t run.

  Lancelot then turns to Guinevere. “Ms. Leodegrance, do you have any idea where your patient is? Your only duty was to stay by his side. As I understand it, Arthur can barely walk alone, isn’t that so?”

  Guinevere wipes away tears with the heels of her hands with little success; more tears keep spilling over. “We were walking down the hall. His balance was getting a little bit better. He said he needed assistance to get into his bathroom, so I walked him in there.” She paused to take in a shaky gulp of air. “All of a sudden, he pushed me onto the floor of the bathroom and then ran out, locking me into the bathroom from the outside. Apparently, his father used to lock him in there when he was misbehaving. It seems like it was almost half an hour before a knight found me.”

  “So he was faking his difficulty in walking?” Lancelot questions.

  “Partially,” Guinevere replies, wiping her nose with a handkerchief. “But he really is weak. He couldn’t have gotten far.”

  “Especially with knights all around,” Lancelot agrees. “Where do you think Arthur was so eager to run to?”

  Guinevere looks to the side. “He has taken an interest in looking out the window often. He looks outside more than he looks at the TV or books. He has snuck off in the past to look at the view from the roof.”

  Lancelot nods grimly. “We have information indicating that King Arthur is suffering from suicidal thoughts.”

  My stomach turns to ice, and I can’t help but shut my eyes wishing this were all a bad dream.

  “He was not found below King’s Tower,” Lancelot adds quickly. “So I think it’s unlikely he ran to attempt suicide.”

  “No matter what his reason for running was,” Merlin cuts in, “one thing is clear. King Arthur has been kidnapped.”

  I snap my eyes open. The words ring through the room as everyone goes silent.

  “How can that be?” Lancelot demands. He opens up his smart tablet as he inspects whatever news is coming in to him from the knights. “No car has left Camelot without a thorough security check. There are cameras all around King’s Tower, and there’s no footage of Arthur leaving.” He clicks through the tablet. “The only relevant footage is of him going up the elevator to the roof. No records show anything else since the cameras on the roof are pointed outward to be on the lookout for aerial attacks.”

  Merlin nods. “The kidnapper knew the cameras weren’t on the central floor of the roof, only the edges. That’s the loophole in the security.”

  “How would you know about my security system?” Lancelot questions, narrowing his eyes at Merlin.

  Merlin’s expression doesn’t change. “It’s my educated guess.”

  “You’re correct,” Lancelot acknowledges. “However, it does not make any sense for him to vanish from the roof. Are you suggesting he went through a magical portal?”

  “Three Cabinet members left on a business trip today via helicopter,” Merlin replies.

  Lancelot frowns deeply as if Merlin is speaking gibberish. “You think Arthur disguised himself as an old Cabinet member and boarded our high-security helicopter?”

  “Of course not,” Merlin says. “Nobody saw him board. There is only one simple explanation for this. He was secretly put on the helicopter with insider help.”

  Lancelot shakes his head, still not comprehending. “You’re saying none of the Cabinet members noticed King Arthur boarding with them?”

  “Sir Lancelot,” Merlin says loudly, losing patience. “There is a traitor within us who helped
sneak Arthur on the helicopter. The traitor could only have been one of the Cabinet members taking off today. This is the only explanation for Arthur’s disappearance that I can think of. Whether Arthur was dead or alive when he was placed on the helicopter is now our real concern.”

  Horrified gasps sound in the room. My fists tighten with frustration. Mordred already has Arthur in his grasp. I should have gone forward with my accusation. Merlin meets my gaze—in that moment, we both know that we mutually see the truth.

  Lancelot pales. He quickly gets out his phone and puts in an order. “Dispatch half the knights to the Cabinet’s destination in Wales. Gray and Black Knights, fifty-fifty.”

  Merlin looks down at his watch. “The Cabinet members were driven to their hotel. They all checked in as they were supposed to. We have to narrow down who the suspect is. The guilty one is certainly no longer in the hotel.”

  “Mordred,” I blurt out.

  Everyone looks at me with shock as if they’ve forgotten I even existed.

  “Mordred,” I repeat. “He took Arthur.”

  Pellinore frowns at me. “What makes you think that?”

  “I’ve no proof,” I say. “Until now. You will find Mordred gone. That will be all the proof I need. He has spoken of his desire to endanger the King before.”

  “I don’t see why we’d believe you,” Pellinore says. “You are deemed insane. This is just your way of getting attention.”

  “Actually,” Merlin cuts in, “I think we better listen to what Ms. Le Fay has to say.”

  I glance at Merlin with surprise.

  “Please, continue,” he encourages.

  I do as told, though I twist facts to protect Merlin. “Mordred has suggested to me that he is a Luminary. He’s been interested in my magical abilities for recruiting purposes.”

  “And you never thought to alert the authorities?” Pellinore asks.

  I glare at him. “I would’ve been punished for slander, and you know it. Based on what Mordred said, I knew the Luminaries wanted to harm Arthur during the quest to Avalon. That’s why I kidnapped him. To prevent Arthur from falling into their trap. After I got out of prison, I saw Mordred speaking to Arthur on the rooftop. He was trying to get close to Arthur again.”

  “It sounds like you’re trying to glorify yourself.” Pellinore huffs. “Mordred has been one of our most committed and loyal members. I suppose we’ll know soon enough if you’re telling the truth.”

  “If it is Mordred,” Lancelot says, “we need to put his name out to prevent him from flying out of the UK.”

  Pellinore shakes his head. “There’s no proof. We can’t just put someone who’s innocent on the wanted list. First of all, there’s no motive for Mordred wanting to kidnap the King, a boy he’s served since the day the King was born.”

  I bite my lower lip trying to think of a way to convince Pellinore. Even I don’t know what he wants with Arthur. What is the one thing he’s made very clear to me that he wanted?

  “Mordred wants…” I stall, thinking back to our conversations while I was imprisoned. “Mordred wants the Grail.”

  The room falls into deathly silence again.

  “I beg your pardon?” Pellinore asks with a dangerous tone.

  “The Grail,” I say again. “Do any of you know what it is?”

  Pellinore looks at everyone over his knotted fingers. “Everyone besides Merlin, Vivian, Le Fay, and Sir Lancelot must leave. Now.”

  Other Cabinet members and Guinevere shuffle out of the room. Guinevere gives me a worried look before walking out.

  “Have you met Ms. Dyonas?” Pellinore asks me, pointing to Vivian. “She has been promoted as lead Relic Keeper.”

  It doesn’t surprise me that Pellinore doesn’t remember that Vivian and I were in Arthur’s Round together. However, I’m shocked that she climbed up the ladder so fast. A part of the Luminary’s work? Did she help Mordred kidnap Arthur?

  Vivian doesn’t look proud. Instead, she sinks her shoulders as if a heavy weight is pressed against her. She looks at the tabletop.

  “Do you care to explain the Grail, Ms. Dyonas?”

  Vivian nods grimly. “The Grail is blessed with blood magic and holds the Pendragon’s power. As Pendragon the First was dying, the first Grail Guardian poured his blood into the cup, blessing it with his soul. While Excalibur passes on its level of destructive power exclusively to its heir, the cup bestows its power to anybody. It bestows not only its level of magic but also its blood magic—the ability to connect with Royal Relics. In other words, it’s the Pendragon’s backup plan. If the Pendragon is no longer the mightiest, the mightier can become king in his place.”

  “And how does one use the Grail?” Pellinore asks. “Does one have to touch the cup, similar to how one has to touch Excalibur to receive the blessing?”

  Vivian shakes her head. “The Grail doesn’t simply work by touching it. One has to pour the living blood of a Pendragon into the cup. Simply using stored blood won’t work. The Pendragon has to be freshly cut open over the Grail.”

  A shiver crawls down my spine. All along it seemed like Mordred wanted to hurt the Pendragons in some way—but now it’s clear. He worked patiently to seize the moment to strike when a Pendragon was vulnerable. I recall Mordred saying that Ganeida went against orders when she tried to kill the Pendragons. It makes sense now. They wanted the Pendragons alive—at least until they got to the Grail.

  “Is this enough?” I blurt out. “There’s no time to waste. Mordred must be stopped. He has Arthur. He could reach the Grail any moment, wherever it is.”

  “It seems you know something,” Pellinore agrees. “Lancelot, order a broadcast for Mordred as a wanted criminal.”

  Lancelot takes out his phone to carry out the order.

  “Where should we dispatch the knights to protect the Grail?” Pellinore asks Vivian.

  “The Grail is hidden,” Vivian replies. “The location is coded within a scroll, similar to Excalibur. Only the Grail Guardian knows of its location. By law, she cannot disclose the location to us and we have no way of contacting her.”

  Lancelot turns his head slightly toward Vivian, listening in.

  “Yet the approximate location is known?” Pellinore queries.

  “Yes,” Vivian says. “This information is only known by Relic Keepers unless…”

  “Someone snuck into the Relic Keepers’ office and hacked the computer,” Pellinore finishes with regret.

  Vivian nods. “Mordred must have done so—or had someone else do it.”

  I narrow my eyes at Vivian with suspicion.

  “The Grail lies on the island of Sarras,” Vivian continues. “Beyond the place called the Waste Land, there’s a castle called Corbenic—the Castle of Crows. Only at Corbenic can one learn where the Grail is.”

  Sarras. I recall Mordred mentioning the name. He wanted to know if my mother took me there.

  “We’ll dispatch knights to Sarras,” Lancelot says.

  Vivian shakes her head. “Only magic users and those who are tuned with ancient magic can find themselves at Corbenic. Similar to finding Avalon. If you send in knights, they’ll just be wandering around. It’s better if they’re on standby outside the island.”

  “I will go to Sarras,” Merlin says. “I’ll track Mordred down and bring Arthur back.”

  “I’ll go too,” Vivian says.

  Merlin shakes his head at her. “No, Vivian. Your magic is great, but it’s no match against Mordred’s.”

  Vivian winces at his words. “I am going.”

  “Ms. Dyonas,” Lancelot cuts in. “Whatever your personal relationship may be with Merlin, he is the Maven and he has given you an order.”

  Vivian scowls, glaring at him.

  Lancelot looks back at Merlin. “You need assistance during your journey. You’ve got to bring someone with you.”

  Merlin nods. “The only chance we have of winning, especially if Mordred somehow touches
the Grail, is if she comes with me.”

  Lancelot furrows his brow in confusion.

  Merlin points his finger at me. “Morgan must come with me.”

  I widen my eyes, shocked.

  Pellinore slams his fist on the table. “Outrageous! She’s a traitor.”

  “She’s insane,” Vivian agrees. “How many times do you have to get burned by her anyway?”

  Merlin flinches at her words. “It’s true I’ve been burnt by Morgan, but I fought her in the forest and I can say that she’s the most powerful magic user I’ve met. Not to mention, Morgan found Avalon and Excalibur. She’s already connected not only with Royal Relics but with both Mordred and Arthur. Trust me, she’s the last person I’d want to work with, but this is our best bet.”

  “This is in fact crazy,” Lancelot snaps, gesturing at me. “First of all, you shun her and now you want her to save the country? How is this fair? I had to fight tooth and nail just to get her in as an inactive Gray Knight. Now you want to throw her into the most serious mission we’ve had so far?”

  “Excuse me,” I butt in finally. “You talk as if I’m not even in the room. What about what I have to say? Will you listen to me for once?”

  Lancelot turns to me fiercely. “That’s right. You have a choice, Morgan. Nobody can make you do something if your heart isn’t in it. Do you want to put your life on the line for Camelot? For the people who imprisoned you and tried to execute you?”

  The three look over at me.

  “I want to save King Arthur,” I declare. “That’s my choice no matter what you say.”

  For some reason, my response seems to have caught them off guard.

  “You’re no longer a knight,” Pellinore sputters, aghast at what he’s hearing.

  “You want me dead,” I reply, not taking my gaze off his. “So why not throw me onto Sarras? Won’t it be convenient if I died while doing the country a favor?”

  Pellinore shakes his head. “You are insane.” He points at me. “She cannot be trusted.”

  “Sir Pellinore,” Merlin says. “Ms. Le Fay was alone with Arthur longer than any person ever has been. If Ms. Le Fay is so untrustworthy, why had she never harmed him during all the time she had with him?”