The queen was very pale, but stood steadfast and composed, wrapped in the invisible cloak of royalty. Beside her stood Lancelot in full plate armor.
“Sir Lancelot,” Arthur said, turning in his saddle. “Guard the honor of our sovereign lady, the Queen.”
“I will, Sire,” Lancelot said. He looked wistful as he watched Arthur prepare to depart, as though he wished more than anything to be going with him.
“Go in God’s good grace, my love,” Guinevere said. She reached up to Arthur, and he leaned down out of the saddle, kissing her with all the passion their marriage had lacked, as if he thought he would never see her again. Tears glittered in her eyes when she stepped back.
“Good-bye, Merlin,” Arthur said.
“Good-bye, Arthur,” the wizard said gently. “Come back to us.”
“I leave the country in your hands.”
Arthur reached out and took his standard from a waiting squire. The crowds fell back as he raised it up. Boukephalos began to step forward, and the blue silk billowed, exposing the silver image of the Lady. Arthur spurred his horse to a trot, and then to a gallop, and the knights who were accompanying him followed, the thunder of their hooves making harsh music on this golden May morning. In moments they were gone, a cloud of dust upon the road, gilded by the rising sun.
The others turned away, back to their daily lives, but neither Guinevere nor Lancelot did. The two of them ascended to the wall and watched after Arthur until even the last sign of his dust cloud was gone.
Merlin watched them as they stood, silhouetted against the morning sky, the flower of chivalry and the queen of Britain.
Arthur is gone. Merlin sighed, feeling suddenly old. He goes to chase dreams—shadows. The vision that had come to him last night weighted his bones with foreknowledge, but like Cassandra at the walls of Troy, it would do no one any good for him to tell what he knew. Arthur would not have listened, and how could any of them escape their futures?
Sadly, he watched Guinevere and Lancelot as they stood together upon the battlements, and waited for the future to begin.
About the Author
James Mallory attended schools in California and the Midwest before moving to New York to pursue a career in writing. From an early age Mallory has been fascinated both with the Arthurian legends and their historical evolution, an avocation which also triggered a lifelong interest in fantasy literature. Mallory’s interests include hiking, comparative religion, and cinema.
A TIMELESS EPIC,
A NEW CLASSIC FOR ALL AGES—MERLIN
Mab is the powerful Queen of Magic, but her cruel evil has turned the wizard Merlin into her implacable enemy. And Mab’s sister, the Lady of the Lake, comes to Merlin’s aid, giving him Excalibur. The singing Sword of the lust, held in the stone grip of a sleeping giant, released only to the hand of the man Mab most fears …
A good and true Christian King, Merlin’s student … King Arthur Pendragon.
But Mab has her own disciple—or pawn. For, in a monstrous act of sorcery and sin, Arthur’s half-sister, Morgan Le Fay, gives Mab the weapon she needs to ravage Arthur’s kingdom and Merlin’s dreams of peace …
A child. Mordred.
And the Magic that raised a kingdom may be the Magic that destroys it.
LOOK FOR THE CONCLUSION OF THIS EXCITING TRILOGY,
MERLIN: THE END OF MAGIC
AVAILABLE MARCH 2000
The King's Wizard Page 23