by Matt Phelan
Bors reeled back but quickly recovered. He admired the tail.
“A mace man, eh? Fine!”
Bors reached for his belt. His trusty mace was still there.
Bors and the mace-tailed menace squared off.
They burst into action at the same moment, bludgeoning and punching, biting and kicking. A tremendous cloud of dust obscured the frenzy of action.
Bors swung, but the beast avoided the blow and cracked him again with its tail.
Bors pivoted and conked it on the head.
The creature grunted, shook its head, and plowed into Bors with its plated skull. Bors took it in the gut and fell backward onto his bottom.
He regarded the terrible lizard.
The terrible lizard regarded Bors.
It snorted.
Bors snorted.
Bors rose slowly and raised his mace. The creature raised its tail. And they went at it again.
The beast knocked Bors to the ground. It rose up on its hind legs to crash down, but Bors rolled out of the way and grabbed hold of the tail. The terrible lizard swung him to and fro but could not shake the brave knight.
“You—ah . . . gah!”
A cacophony of gut-wrenching roars and shrieks rang from beyond the clearing. Both Bors and the mace-tailed menace paused in midfight.
Trees toppled as five vicious, biting, extra-terrible lizards thrashed their way onto the scene. They tore and bit and kicked one another so intently that they didn’t even notice Bors and his opponent.
The mace-tailed lizard charged into the fracas.
Bors watched.
He smiled.
“Wait for me! Huzzah!”
Chapter Nine
Might Makes Right
Sir Erec’s and Mel’s respite had been short-lived. Currently they were racing through the forest at top speed.
“Don’t look back! Don’t look back! Don’t look back!” called Erec.
They crashed through some thick foliage and tumbled down a steep hill.
Erec scrambled to his feet and peered back up the hill. Nothing. They’d escaped.
“All clear,” he said, just as Hector burst out of the bushes and collided with both Erec and Mel.
“Hector! What the—” Erec started to speak.
“Shh!” Hector was wild eyed and twisting back in the direction he’d come.
Three chicken-size lizards zipped out of the forest and perched on a rock.
They all stared at the creatures for a moment.
“You’ve got to be kidding, Hector.”
The chickens bared their teeth and growled.
“They’re rather worse than they look,” whispered Hector.
A shield appeared, blocked the sun momentarily, and came down on the chickens from behind with a WHUMP.
The Black Knight lifted the dazed chickens off the rock and tossed them far into the woods.
“Thanks,” said Hector.
She turned back to the knights. Her armor was scratched, dented, and muddied. Otherwise she looked just fine.
“Any, uh, trouble with terrible lizards out there on your own?” asked Erec.
“You should ask them,” answered the Black Knight, wiping her sword clean.
The area was secure for the moment. Erec, Hector, and Magdalena rested in the shade. Mel organized the sack of weapons.
Hector opened the book.
“I’ve had a chance to peruse most of the book. It is absolutely fascinating. The illumination work is also quite accurate. I did not know that Merlin was such an artist.”
“I have heard that Merlin has enchanted an owl to both write and draw,” said Mel.
“Bah.” Erec cut in. “Enchant an owl to draw?”
“He enchanted us to this wretched place. I should think he could manage to teach an owl to draw,” said Magdalena.
“At any rate”—continued Hector—“these terrible lizards are extraordinary in all ways. They’re not dragons exactly—”
“They’re knights!”
It was Bors. He was standing at the edge of the clearing, bloody and wild eyed with excitement. It was not often that Bors’s mind formulated an insight of any kind. He was on fire with the thrill of enlightenment.
“It’s true!” He bounded up to the others.
“They fight us. They fight each other. They fight to conquer, to eat, and, I think, to have fun! They have armor, and their claws and teeth are as sharp and true as any blade. Knights! You see?”
“Knights?” said Erec dubiously.
“Perfect knights,” asserted Bors.
“Whom do they serve?” asked the Black Knight.
“That’s the best part.” Bors chuckled. “They serve none but themselves. Might Makes Right. Proof in the pudding.”
“Might Makes Right. Arthur says Might should be used only in service of the greater good,” stated Erec. It was Arthur’s guiding principle, and Erec agreed with him.
“Well, perhaps our king is misguided on that point,” said Bors.
Mel drew her breath in sharply.
“How dare you.” Hector stood.
“If you see Arthur, let me know. But in case you haven’t noticed, Camelot is not here.”
Bors stomped up to Hector and leaned into him face-to-face.
“We are knights. They are knights. We are pitted against each other fairly. Together we show them who is stronger.”
Bors leaned in closer.
“Might. Makes. Right.”
Thunderous roars tore through the charged air. The group froze. The roars trailed off into dead silence.
“Where did that come from?” asked Erec.
“Everywhere,” said Mel quietly.
They drew their weapons silently. Each knight looked in a different direction. Mel crept behind a boulder.
“Maybe they’re gone,” said Hector.
Then a tree crashed down beside him, and all was thrown into chaos.
Terrible lizards of all shapes and sizes roared and gnashed teeth and chomped at one another. Great tails swung out. Enormous clawed feet pounded the ground.
And then they noticed the knights. That was when things really got started.
The knights and Mel ran for their lives.
The ferns gave way to a rocky landscape. Hills of stone rose up everywhere. In a wall of solid rock there was one narrow crevice.
“In here!” shouted Erec.
The knights squeezed through the opening in single file. Sparks flew as their armor scraped against the rock walls. One spark lit the weapons sack on fire, but Mel immediately smothered it. At the opening of the crevice the terrible lizards screamed and roared and scraped claws against stone, but it was no use. They were too large to follow.
The crevice turned into a very long passage, and the knights shuffled through it. Eventually it opened up into a craterlike area surrounded on all sides by steep rock walls. The crevice appeared to be the only entrance. In the center of the crater was a peaceful lake, shimmering in the late-afternoon sun.
“We’ll be safe here. It’s hot. I suggest we have a swim to restore ourselves,” said Erec.
He glanced at the Black Knight and Mel.
“Er, undertunics on. I think we all can agree.”
The knights did agree. It was the first thing they had agreed on all day.
Mel, who was not a strong swimmer, opted to sit by the water’s edge and organize the armor and weapons. She laid them out against the rocks.
The others stripped to their underthings and waded into the water.
It felt really, really good.
Chapter Ten
A Calm, Cool Swim
The lake was large but not intimidatingly so. The knights floated, treaded water, and bobbed along contentedly.
Mel had cleaned the weapons and armor and set them in the sun to dry. She now paged through Merlin’s book.
The knights, enjoying the quiet ripple of the lake, were silent.
“This reminds me of a pool near my home,�
�� said Hector, finally. “I go there sometimes with my falcon.”
“You are a falconer?” asked Bors. “So am I.”
“Now a falcon is a predator I can get behind,” said Erec, floating on his back.
“Their skill in hunting is quite admirable,” said Magdalena.
“Strong claws,” said Bors. “Could crush a man’s hand. Well. Not mine, of course.”
“They do have their whimsical side, too.” Hector chuckled. “They like shiny objects, just like ravens.”
The conversation drifted into a pleasant silence.
“This is rather nice, fellow knights,” said Erec. “Dare I say . . . peaceful?”
SPLASH!
The lake erupted beneath them as an enormous serpent broke the surface. Its neck was long. Its fins were massive. Its teeth were sharp. Life could certainly be unfair to the knights.
The serpent dived for Erec. Its neck swooped up before plunging down, teeth shining. But then it stopped in mid attack.
Bors was holding it by the neck.
The creature thrashed frantically. Its tail knocked Hector into the air, splashing him down a few yards away. He took a deep breath and swam underwater toward the belly of the beast.
The serpent reached back for Bors with its deadly jaws, but the Black Knight burst out of the water beside it and grabbed its head.
Hector wrapped his arms around one flipper so it couldn’t swim.
Erec climbed onto its back and pounded away with his fists.
The knights fought as one. There was no need for instruction. None swam to safety.
The serpent writhed with fury, knocking Bors, Hector, and Erec off.
But the Black Knight held tight, her grip like a steel vise, her focus singular and unshakable. The creature rolled, it leaped, it splashed, but nothing could shake the great knight.
Mel watched anxiously from the shore. Her mind raced. The weapons were too heavy for aquatic combat; besides, she’d never be able to throw a sword that far. But— but—
Mel grabbed a rock the size of her head.
At that very moment the Black Knight looked up.
Holding the serpent’s neck with one arm, Magdalena lifted her other hand high.
Mel launched the rock with all of her might.
It sailed straight to Magdalena’s hand, and in one smooth movement she brought it down on the serpent’s head. The creature ceased its struggle instantly and sank below the surface, down to the depths.
The knights bobbed in the water, looking at one another.
They all nodded. It meant “nice work.”
They began to swim to the shore.
Mel stood by the armor and weapons sack. The sun crept out from behind a cloud. The armor glistened brightly.
And that was when they heard the flapping sound.
Four gigantic flying lizards descended toward the shore in a flash. The knights swam faster, but it was no use. They watched helplessly as the flying creatures snatched the armor from the ground.
“Shiny . . . objects,” sputtered Hector.
The flying lizards squawked and screeched. More came, each stealing away with the armor, the shields, the swords, the sack of weapons.
And Mel.
She struggled in the grip of the talons as she was carried up and away into the sky.
The knights reached shore and watched the flying lizards escape with everything except Merlin’s book.
No one spoke.
Then Bors grabbed a large rock, gripping it in his massive fist until his knuckles were white. He started up the hill.
“Be he lad or lass,” Bors growled, “no one steals my squire.”
Chapter Eleven
Shiny Objects
Mel had fainted. It was perhaps due to the height. Or maybe the ferocity and grip of the flying lizards. It could have been the sudden realization that all hope was lost. Any one of these things might cause a person to swoon. All combined? Fainting could hardly be helped.
She came to in an enormous nest made from hundreds of tree branches. A single flying lizard perched on a thick limb. The nest was so deep that when she stood, she was just able to see over the edge. But doing that was a mistake on two counts: one, it confirmed that the nest was perched on a very high mountain, and two, the flying lizard in the nest didn’t seem to like her standing up without permission.
It screeched, and Mel’s ears rang in pain. She sat back down. Beside her were various pieces of shining armor, swords, and the sack of extra weapons. Next to the sack was an enormous spotted egg.
Another flying lizard swooped down, its immense wings generating a strong breeze. Mel flinched. The two fierce creatures stared at her. They blinked their beady eyes. But they did not attack. Mel was puzzled.
She looked at the egg beside her. She looked back at the flying lizards.
They looked at the egg and then looked at her.
Mel gulped.
She was baby’s first meal.
Erec shaded his eyes as he stared up at the top of the mountain.
“That’s the nest. I just saw her head poking out. She’s still alive. But we’d better move fast.”
He turned back. At the edge of some woods Bors, Hector, and Magdalena were pulling down thick, long vines.
“How’s it coming?”
Bors tightened a knot of vines. He held up an end that had been looped into a lasso.
“It’ll hold.”
“Let’s hope so, Sir Knight,” said Erec. “Onward and upward.”
Mel was trying to quiet the part of her brain that was filled with terrified screaming. She must think. She must find a way. This was the sort of thing she did. This was what she was good at. A squire was always thinking, planning, preparing.
Weapons. There are plenty of weapons, she thought.
One of the lizards hopped up suddenly. It landed again, perched close to the sack.
Okay, she thought. Perhaps not.
No! Be brave. She reached slowly for a sword.
The lizard snapped its beak and flapped its mighty wings.
Mel froze. Then she pulled back her hand and held it out to show that she was unfortunately without a weapon.
The knights ascended. They climbed steadily and in silence except for the occasional grunt. Erec took the lead. He tossed the lasso end of the vine up and around a jutting rock, secured it, and the others climbed up the makeshift rope after him. Then they repeated the process.
Climbing up to the next ledge, Bors reached for a crevice in the rock. He released his grip on the vine. The rock gave, and Bors fell.
His descent was short. Magdalena caught him with one powerful arm. She held the dangling Bors until he managed to grab hold of the vine once more.
He looked up at the Black Knight. He nodded.
She nodded.
They continued the ascent.
Mel wavered. She was feeling beaten. The flying lizards were too large. Too fast. Too attentive. It was hopeless.
But I mustn’t give up, she thought. I have survived so far in this strange place. I have risked so much already, but—but—
Despair returned. What had she done exactly? Her days as a squire were over. She almost cried.
Almost.
But Melancholy Postlethwaite was made of sterner stuff. She would find a way. She just needed time.
At that moment the egg began to crack. A beak as long as Mel’s arm poked through the shell. Mel looked up at the flying lizards. They were focused on her, their black eyes narrowing.
Finally the knights reached the ledge just below the nest. Magdalena coiled the long rope carefully and handed the lasso end to Erec.
“You throw it, Sir Erec. Your aim is best.”
Erec took the vine.
Hector made room on the ledge for Bors to pass ahead of him.
“Sir Knight, you punch with far more accuracy than I. You go first.”
“You are too kind, Sir Knight,” said Bors.
Erec turned once more to his c
ompanions.
“Everyone know the plan?”
“Fight,” said Hector.
“Get swords,” said Magdalena.
“Then stab,” said Bors.
“Splendid,” said Erec.
The baby lizard broke free of the egg. The larger flying lizard spread its wings and shook them, readjusting its perch. The other opened its beak, revealing its razor teeth. It shrieked at Mel.
There was no time left. She inched her hand toward the nearest sword. Once she got it, she would fight with everything she had. She would not win, but she would die honorably. If only—
A lasso made of thick vine sailed over the side of the nest and landed beside her. Mel understood in an instant and quickly secured the rope to a large branch in the nest.
The lizards shifted and screamed. And then four Knights of the Round Table climbed onto the edge of the nest.
The knights roared and attacked. The flying lizards shrieked and flapped into action. In a flash Mel supplied the knights with swords.
The baby lizard screamed out with hunger. Mel knew that the adult lizards would fight without mercy to protect their young. They needed an escape plan fast.
She found one. The vine!
Mel loosened the vine and pulled up the slack. She quickly threaded it through some helmets and armored breastplates. She secured the sack next, then attached the shields. She made a second lasso at the end of the vine.
Hector fought back one of the lizards. He checked on Mel and saw what she had done with the vine. The plan clicked. He grabbed one end of the rope.
Mel lassoed her end around the leg of the nearest flying lizard as it flapped its wings and lifted up. Hector did the same with the other end, attaching it neatly to the leg of the second flying lizard.
“Sir Knights!” shouted Mel. “Grab hold!”
The others joined Hector and Mel, gripping the vine. Soon enough the two flying lizards discovered that they were also attached to the strange rope. They were not amused. They rose higher in the air.
“Now!” shouted Erec.
The company, holding fast to the rope, leaped over the side of the nest. The flying lizards tried to escape, but they were connected by twenty feet of strong vine. More vexing still, the vine was weighted by armor, a sack of weapons, four knights, and their baby food.