“Is that what made Reb act so funny?” Wash asked, looking up at the seer.
“Partly that” Elendar nodded. “But it was even worse because, as I said, Mogen knows how to cloud men's minds, and she certainly clouded the mind of our young friend here. I think she touched you too, Wash, but only to put you to sleep so that you would not be aware of her presence. Now some of her power still rests on him.”
“The doctors say they don't know what to do.” Josh looked over at the doctor, who frowned in reply.
“We just can't do some things,” the doctor said.
“Don't blame the physician,” Elendar said quickly. “He has done well in binding up the wound and treating the poison from the beast—but it will take more than that. I will do what I can.”
The Sleepers watched, and the physician observed even more closely, as Elendar had a bowl brought by a servant. He filled it with water, took a leather pouch out of his cloak, and then removed from it what appeared to be dead leaves. Crumbling them, he let the leaves fall into the water. At once a vapor cloud arose, and a strange odor permeated the room.
“This is the leaf of the carmine tree,” he said. “I have found it to be helpful in such cases. Be very still, all of you. You cannot leave the room.”
No one tried to leave. They all watched with bated breath. Elendar kept his hands on the head of the sick boy. The fragrance of the carmine leaves rose, a strong odor, and more than once Josh felt his head beginning to swim. There's something in those leaves, he said to himself. I hope it helps Reb!
All watched Reb's face. He seemed a dead boy. His skin was sallow and clammy, and there was no movement at all for a long time.
Then Josh said, “Look! I saw his eyelids move a little bit!”
At once Elendar called in a loud voice, “Reb, comeback! Come back from where you are—and join the house of Goel again.”
Everyone seemed to be holding his breath, waiting.
Then Reb's eyelids fluttered.
Sarah gasped and put her fist against her lips. “He's alive! He's alive, and he's not going to die.”
As Josh watched Reb's eyelids, they slowly opened.
He seemed confused as he looked around the room, moving his head slightly. Finally he licked his lips, blinked several times, and whispered, “Where—where am I?”
“You are safe, my boy,” Elendar said. He took Reb's hands and held them still. “Do not be afraid. You have been on a long and dark journey, but you are back now. How do you feel?”
Reb licked his lips again, cleared his throat, and seemed to gather strength. “Why, I guess I've had a bad dream. Don't know what in the world happened to me.” He tried to sit up, and Josh and Dave helped him.
He grinned at them slightly. “Looks like I got a couple of good helpers.” He stared down at his bandaged arm, and memory seemed to come back to him. He shut his jaws firmly. “I remember part of it—about that critter that come at me.”
Elendar said, “We will pray that most of the memories will fade. But some you should never forget. Do you remember Princess Elaine?”
Reb sat up a little straighter. “Well, I shore do. That big varmint about tore my arm off, and then when I fell back I heard that woman—or whatever she was—screaming, and then I seen you, Princess, shoot an arrow that hit right in the middle of that big snake.” He slapped his head and said, “That's about all I remember except he fell over dead, and I guess I must have passed out.”
Elendar's eyes were still, and he seemed very relieved. “You are a very fortunate young man, Reb Lee Jackson. Goel has looked out for you well.”
“Yep, Goel and the princess here. I ain't never gonna forget that, Princess. I was a gone coon, you bet!”
Something in his voice sounded familiar—a humility and a lightness that had been missing.
“Yes,” Elendar said, nodding his silvery head. “He is no longer under the power of Mogen or the Dark Lord. Now he will become himself again.”
Elaine said, “I think it might be well if we let him rest some now.”
Elendar agreed and bustled about, getting the Sleepers to leave, but Reb called out, “Miss Elaine, you stay just a minute, will you please?”
Elaine hesitated but then, at a nod from Elendar, moved over to stand beside the bed.
When the others had gone, he said, “I don't know how to say this, but I reckon you saved my life.”
“It was the doing of Goel,” the princess said quickly. She repeated the story of how he had told her that she had been chosen to slay the vicious beast.
Reb listened intently. “You're about the bravest girl I ever saw—to tackle that beast with just one arrow, when knights had failed with all them big spears.”
“It was different this time.” Elaine smiled. He looked so tired she wanted to reach out and brush his hair back from his forehead where it lay plastered with sweat, but she refrained. “This was at the command of Goel, and the arrow was blessed by him. I knew he never fails.”
Watching her, Reb said, “I—I remember some things about what happened, but some things I don't.” His jaw tightened, and his face reddened. “I remember one thing, though—I behaved like a stupid mule the last few weeks!”
This time Princess Elaine did brush back the lock of hair. She let her hand rest on his forehead for a moment. “You mustn't torment yourself, Reb. You weren't yourself, as a matter of fact. You are one of the sweetest boys I have ever known. It was that Mogen who made you behave like you did.”
At the mention of Mogen, Reb flushed even more and shut his eyes. “No, I was responsible to do what was right. And I sure made a fool of myself with her, didn't I?”
Elaine drew her hand back and smiled. Then she pushed him down on the bed. “Lie down and sleep now. You'll feel better tomorrow after you've rested.”
He looked up. “I don't guess you'd want to go riding with me anymore—not after the way I've acted.”
“Of course I'll go riding with you! As soon as you're able. Lie back now and rest. I'll just sit here beside you.”
Reb closed his eyes and almost at once was asleep. Elaine arranged the cover around him, sat down, and watched the boy's face for a long time.
* * *
The council sat glumly around the table. Finally Sir Gwin said, “I'm sorry to be the bearer of evil tidings.” His face was long, and doubt filled his eyes. “But I felt you should know the worst.”
King Dion and Queen Mauve both spoke up at once. “No, you did exactly right, Sir Gwin.” King Dion rubbed his chin, then said, “Tell me again about the forces of Melchior. How many do you count in his army?”
“As badly as I hate to say it, Sire, at least three times the number of the men we can muster.” Anger leaped into his eyes. “We did not know how effective his trickery was at convincing men.”
Sir Elbert's large, round face was gloomy as usual. “There's not much hope, I'm afraid, Your Majesty. We'll do the best we can—but we're surrounded, and we'll have to fight a defensive action.”
Sir Nolen stood to the left of Sir Gwin. He was small, but his eyes were gleaming with anger. “We'll never give up, Sire,” he burst out suddenly. “If we could get in the clear and fight an action on horseback, I know we could win.”
“We can never do that,” Sir Gwin said. “Already our scouts have told us that they are closing in on all sides. We had better be prepared to withstand a siege.”
“Do we have enough food and water,” the queen asked, “to go on for a long time? Once we're surrounded, we cannot break through.”
“That is questionable, I'm afraid, Your Majesty,” Sir Gwin said. “We will do the best we can and trust the loyal hearts of those knights who have remained with us.”
The king looked over at Elendar, who had said nothing but remained in the shadows by the wall. “And what say you, Elendar?”
Elendar knew he was being asked for help, for guidance. He stared at the king steadily, then at the queen. Finally he said, “We must walk this road with all
the courage we can muster. True, we are outnumbered, but”—he said in a louder voice—”we have right on our side.”
Sir Elbert gave him a disappointed look. “Really, Elendar. I was expecting more help than that.”
Elendar smiled at the large knight. “You do not trust the right to triumph, Sir Elbert?”
“Well, I don't want to be gloomy about this, but I don't think I can handle more than three of Melchior's knights myself. But we shall see, shall we not?”
“That's the most encouraging thing I ever heard you say.” Gwin smiled. “Let us go muster the men.”
“How much time do we have before they attack?” the queen asked.
“Not more than a day, I would think,” Sir Gwin responded, “and I would ask you, Sire, to stay away from the field of action.”
“I will be where the battle is,” King Dion said, and his youth seemed to come back to him. His hair was silver now, but his dark blue eyes were clear. He stood, and there was a nobility in him that shone out as he said, “The king will lead the army. If I fall—you, my son, will be the king.”
Prince Loren flushed and moved to his father's side. He bowed his head. “I will lay down my life for you, Father, and for Camelot.”
The king put his hands on his son's arm. “We must walk closer, my son, for one day you will wear this crown. Come now, let us go inspect the battlements and prepare for the battle.”
17
A Bright and Shining Time
Camelot was besieged. Inside, the defenders manned the walls, the women cooked the food, the children carried fresh arrows to the archers who kept their positions high on the wall. But the dark host of Melchior seemed to have brought with them a cloud of despair.
Day after day went by, and every moment was critical. By day, Melchior's archers sometimes launched such a flight of black arrows that they seemed to darken the sun. By night, they shot flaming torches so that the defenders were hard put to keep the fires extinguished.
Throughout all the days of battle the Seven Sleepers were busy. The girls helped with the cooking and cared for the wounded until their eyes grew gritty from lack of sleep and their nerves raw from the moans of the wounded men they treated.
One morning Sarah paused and looked over at Abigail, whose face was smudged with dirt. Sarah smiled. “Do you know—this is the first time I've ever seen you get dirty. You're usually neat as a pin.”
Abbey had been bathing the face of a young soldier who had taken an arrow in the side. He was in a high fever, and, as she tended him, for once in her life she seemed to have forgotten her own vanity.
Abbey looked down at her dirty clothing—which had not been washed for she knew not how long—and at her broken nails. Then she reached up and touched her face. “I'm a mess,” she said. “But I guess this is no time to be fixing our hair or polishing our nails, is it, Sarah?”
Sarah put her arm around the younger girl. She had always been jealous of Abigail's beauty and critical of her selfishness, but now, despite her fatigue, she was warmed by the girl's efforts. “You've done a beautiful job, Abbey. I know everyone has noticed how hard you've worked.”
Abigail flushed. She was used to compliments, but always these were on her beauty and not on her qualities of diligence, of which she was well aware she had little. “How long do you think we can hold out?” she asked, changing the subject.
As if in answer to her question, Josh came by, looked at the wounded man, and frowned. “I wish he hadn't been wounded. We're so thin in the ranks now that I don't see how we can possibly hold out much longer.”
The two girls looked at one another with concern, but it was Sarah who ventured to ask, “Is it that bad, Josh?”
Josh took out a handkerchief, wiped his forehead, then replaced it. “It's about as dark as it can get, I guess. I thought Sir Elbert was the most pessimistic man I ever saw, but he's downright cheerful compared to some of the other fellows. I don't see how we can go on much longer.”
At that moment, a cry was heard. “To the wall—to the south wall!”
Without a word, Josh turned and ran.
The girls stared at each other and then followed. They watched Josh scramble up a ladder to stand on the boards that held the archers. They saw him pick up a bow and send arrow after arrow downward.
Then Elendar came by and snapped, “You girls—take cover!”
As if to emphasize his words, a steel-tipped arrow sailed over the wall and struck a timber not six inches from Sarah's head. It quivered there, and she looked at it in shock. “Come on, Abbey. Let's get out of this. We can't do any good if we get pinned to the wall with one of those arrows.”
* * *
Elendar ran to the wall. He was like the others—dirty and battle-worn. Time after time it had been Elendar who rallied the defenders. Now he climbed the ladder one more time.
Just as he reached the top, a steel-tipped helmet with a black plume appeared above the wall. Without thought Elendar seized a battle-ax leaning against the parapet and, just as the man prepared to vault over, brought it down with such force that it split the metal helmet in two. The man went tumbling down.
A cry went up from the onlookers. “Elendar! Elendar!”
Then, as the valiant seer began cleaving right and left, the other men gave themselves to the battle. It was a perilous time, for they had to conserve their arrows. They were reduced now to using those that came at them over the walls, and each man waited until he was sure of his shot.
But finally the attack was beaten off, and the soldiers of Melchior retreated back out of range of the archers.
Elendar looked down at his hand—it had been gashed across the back—pulled out a handkerchief, and wrapped it.
Josh came up beside him. “You'd better have that looked at. I think they are using poison on some of these arrows.”
“I will when I have time.” Elendar was short-spoken, for he alone knew how serious the matter was. He walked away and went to where the king and Prince Loren were panting as they stared down at the retreating enemy.
King Dion looked around, and his face was lined and worn. “It was a close thing, eh?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, and they'll be back.”
Prince Loren lifted his eyes to the seer and said firmly, “We can last. I think we ought to make a surprise attack. Catch them when they're not looking.”
Elendar looked at the boy fondly. “A charge, you mean?”
“Yes. I'll lead it,” the prince said recklessly.
King Dion looked at his tall son proudly. “You would too, wouldn't you, Loren? I'm glad to see that you have such courage. But I think we must wait before we try a thing like that. It can only work once, and we have to catch them completely off guard.”
“You haven't lost your sense of tactics, Your Majesty.” Elendar nodded with approval. “Our time will come.”
Loren bit his lip, then abruptly changed the subject. “What's the matter with Sir Reb?” he demanded suddenly. “He's not too badly wounded to fight, is he? We need him.”
Elendar did not answer at once. Then he said, “The wounds that the young man took in the flesh are healed.” He caught King Dion's eye. “The wounds of the spirit are harder, but I pray that he will be completely healed soon.”
King Dion wagged his head. “What a sad thing. He did such mighty things, and now he feels it was all wasted. I wish the boy could get better.”
“So do I.” Elendar nodded shortly. Then he walked away, muttering under his breath, “None of them know how deep the wounds of the darkness go when they enter a man's spirit. It's only a miracle that the boy is alive, after all he went through!”
Elendar wanted to go to Sir Reb—and he had gone many times—but now he knew that he had done all he could. Besides, he had his hands full with the battle that would soon be raging again. But as he went to his cot to take a little rest, he said aloud, “Goel, that young man needs something that I can't give him—something that only you can give.”
*
* *
Reb sat in his chamber staring at the door. He had done this for hours, and even now he felt a fear that he could not explain. He looked down at his arm and saw that the jagged wound was knitted together. The scar would always be visible, but physically he knew that he was healed.
“What's the matter with me?” He groaned. “Here I sit in this dumb room, while outside my friends and the king and all the knights are fighting for their lives! And I can't even go through that door.”
He got to his feet, picked up his sword, and marched toward the entrance. But tire closer he got, the more his steps dragged. Fear rose in him like a dark tide, and when he was five feet away from the door it became so great that he felt as if a pair of steely hands had seized him by the throat. With a cry of despair, he dropped his sword, moved back from the door, and slumped in a chair, his face in his hands.
How long he sat there he never knew. He thought of the dark time when he had fallen under the power of Mogen. He thought of the time since, when he had healed physically but had not been able to shake off fear. He was a tough young man, Bob Lee Jackson, but he did not feel tough now, and he felt the tears gather in his eyes as he realized how he had failed his friends.
The door creaked slightly, and Reb looked up, then jumped to his feet. “Elaine,” he said shortly. He wanted to say more, but he felt such shame for what he had become that he could not speak.
Elaine came in, and he saw that her eyes were weary and that her clothing was dirty and dingy. But her voice was soft as she said, “I came to see if you were all right, Reb.”
“You mean,” he said sharply, “you came to see if I'm still a coward.”
“No—”
“That's what everybody's saying—that I'm a coward!” Reb burst out. He slapped one fist in his palm. “And you know, they're right! I am a coward. Elaine, I'm afraid even to go out that door.”
“I know,” she said, her eyes filled with compassion. “Elendar has told me why that is. You're still struggling with the spell that Mogen put on you.”
“No, I'm just a blamed coward, and that's all there is to it.” Reb walked away, unable to face her. Leaning with his face against the wall, he muttered, “Don't stay here with me. Go out there with those who have some insides to ’em.”
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