The Lady of Avalon stopped him from taking his hand. She turned him toward Anne and his body seemed to thin out from solid to gauze, then into light. He streamed toward Anne and hovered over the round belly, then melted down into her.
“No!” Mordred cried out, his voice breaking. He sobbed.
“Sir Mordred,” the Lady of Avalon said, her voice musical, soothing. She held out her hand. “It is your turn now. Come with me to Avalon. I have many wondrous things to show you.”
They all held their breath. Would he obey her? Would he need to be coerced?
The Opener of the Ways moved forward, ready to take the soul to judgment if he refused the Lady’s offer.
But Mordred’s face softened, seemed to grow younger. He stepped out from the crystal ball and walked into the water. He took her hand.
“Thank you for your service, Mordred. The same as Set, as Judas. Even the Star of the Morning. A hard part to play. You have done well.”
Something seemed to lift from Mordred’s shoulders. His face shone.
The Lady ushered him into the boat. He laid down in the bottom. She sat and took his head in her lap.
Merlin separated himself from Valentin Knight and got into the boat with the priestesses, leaning down to kiss the Lady of Avalon full on the mouth. A little murmur of surprise rose from the watching group.
Knight looked around at his surroundings, blinking in confusion. Mary Shak went to him and took his arm, whispering in his ear. Gradually, his face cleared.
The priestess poling the boat turned the boat around. Her robe, soaked to her thighs, clung to her. Putting both hands onto the side, she lifted herself into the barge, took up her pole, and the nine priestesses of Avalon pulled away over the lake, taking Mordred to the Isle of Apples.
They all stood watching, astonished at the simplicity of how their struggle had come full circle.
Anne’s urgent cry broke them from their reverie.
Katherine helped Anne to slide up the bed and prop open her legs.
Emma lifted her gown. “I can see the head.”
Winston and Elizabeth sprang into action.
Michael rushed to Anne’s other side and took her hand. She gripped, crushing his fingers. A guttural groan came from her throat. “I have to push,” she said, looking to Elizabeth for permission.
“Push,” Emma and Elizabeth said at the same time.
She strained, her eyes squeezed tight, her face screwed up in the intensity of the pain.
Winston crouched to receive the baby. The head crowned, then the face appeared. Michael was lost in wonder.
With the next contraction, the baby slithered out into the world. Winston cleared his nose and eyes, and the new baby announced his arrival with a lusty cry.
Elizabeth took up the golden cup sitting on the western altar, filled with water from White Spring for the ritual, and took it back to the now swaddled baby. She dipped the first two fingers of her right hand into the water and drew an equal-armed cross on the child’s forehead. “I anoint you in the name of the One. Be welcome.”
She handed the grail cup to Anne, who drank and handed it on to Michael. He drank in turn.
“May you be blessed,” Elizabeth intoned.
The baby stared up at them, lake blue eyes set in a rose-bud face. A crown of tawny hair topped his head.
“The little master has arrived,” Elizabeth heard from the doorway.
Estelle stood there holding a large stainless steel pot, a much more earthly grail. “I thought you’d need hot water.”
Elizabeth nodded for the lodge to end the ceremony, and as soon as they settled the directions, David let Estelle come in. She handed off the pot to Emma, then stood beside Anne, cooing at the baby. “What an angel. I told you it was a boy.”
Anne sat up straighter, then frowned a bit at a wave of pain.
“What’s the little tike’s name?” Estelle asked.
Michael and Anne glanced at each other, then Michael nodded.
“Arthur,” Anne said. “I think we’d better name him Arthur.”
“After the legendary king,” Estelle said.
“Yes, after High King Arthur,” Michael answered. “The Grail King.”
“So, I have soup and sandwiches in the dining room,” Estelle announced. She turned to Anne. “Broth for you until the doctor says you can have more.” She bustled away.
They all laughed. Estelle’s down-to-earth entrance had grounded the energy of this amazing ritual quite effectively.
David ushered the lodge out in the order they had entered, then walked the perimeter, checking for any excess energies or imbalances. When he finished, he looked to the High Priestess. Elizabeth nodded, giving him permission to leave.
Winston checked Anne over while Emma gave Arthur his first bath. “She’s fine. I don’t think she needs to go to the hospital right away. The baby should go through the ordinary tests though.”
Michael picked up the newly washed precious bundle, smiling down into his face.
“Can I eat some of that golden lentil soup Estelle was making?” Anne asked.
“I’ll have Susan send you in a tray.” She looked at Michael, who was lost in the wonder of first fatherhood. “We’ll send in something for Michael, too. Shall we?” She motioned for the remaining group to follow her and leave the new family alone.
Much to Elizabeth’s surprise, Katherine kissed them all and followed her out.
Michael got into the bed next to Anne, careful not to jostle her. She took Arthur and let him nurse, following the quick instructions Emma had told her, but the child had no trouble. They relaxed and told each other their stories.
“So, you and I were Guinevere and Lancelot,” Anne said. “I guess we’re partly to blame for the fall of Camelot.”
“Yes,” Michael said, “but it seemed that Merlin knew all along that it would happen. Perhaps we need to build Camelot in this world on a larger scale.”
Anne snuggled against him. “That sounds like a plan.”
Elizabeth watched all her friends and family as they filled their plates and rejoiced in the success of such a long ritual. She overheard the stories they told each other of their glimpses of Egypt and ancient Avalon.
Knight had realized he was not dressed for the occasion and gone upstairs to shower and try on some of Gerald’s clothes. She sat, drinking a hot cup of tea, thinking through the last few days, amazed by it all. Then she snapped her fingers. “Darn, we forgot to note the time of birth.”
“I wrote it down,” Emma said. “Figured you’d want to do the chart for such an illustrious birth.”
“Wasn’t it amazing?” she said.
Emma nodded. “Exhausting, though.”
“Yes.” Maybe she should eat something. Just as she thought that, Estelle put a big bowl of golden lentil soup and a large piece of crusty country bread in front of her. “Perfect.”
A boy dressed in dark jeans and a black hoodie whom she didn’t recognize dashed into the room and announced in a loud voice, “I found it!”
Gerald jumped up from the table, spilling a glass of wine. Cordelia grabbed a handful of napkins and sopped it up. “Did you transfer the money? Is it all there?” he asked.
“Yes, I got it all back. Took a while. It was in Cyprus, the Caymans—” he waved his hands “—all over the place.”
Gerald spread his arms wide and hugged the kid, much to the teen’s discomfort. “Preston, you’re a genius.”
Preston, Elizabeth thought. Somehow he reminded her of Bedivere.
“Well, yes,” he said, as if this were self-evident, “but there’s more.”
“More what?”
“Money. Nina had quite a tidy sum herself, into the millions, and now that the witch is dead, it’s ours.”
The room fell silent. Everyone turned to stare at him.
“What?” Preston asked.
Gerald shook his head. “No, that would be stealing.”
“Well, technically—”
&
nbsp; “Technically, it would be stealing,” Gerald admonished. “Leave Nina’s money where it is. She may have family. Besides, we can’t upset this auspicious event with such an action.”
Preston shook his head and opened his mouth to protest.
Gerald pointed a finger at him. “Leave it. I’ll have Dana check. Now, come celebrate. The baby is born. We have our money back. Eat, drink, and be merry.”
“Is there pizza?” he asked.
Gerald rolled his eyes heavenward. “This child!”
Just then the doorbell rang and Estelle’s face lit with a secretive smile. Arnold and Leo took up position on opposite sides of the door, still in fight mode.
“Oh, for heaven sakes.” Estelle hustled over to the door, her large backside swaying with her steps, and opened it.
A delivery man stood there holding five boxes of pizza. “I couldn’t find any anchovies, ma’am.”
“This will do just fine,” she said. “Please put them on the sideboard.”
“Sweet,” Preston stood aside as the man put the boxes down. Then he opened them one at a time, picking a slice from each.
Gerald fell into his chair and stretched his back. Then he realized. He was a great grandfather. He looked at Elizabeth and whispered. “Hey, Great Grannie,” then kissed her full on the mouth.
“Oh, go on,” she said, blushing but happy.
She raised her chalice of wine. “Thank you all.”
Everyone grabbed a glass and held it up. “To Arthur,” Gerald said.
“To the return of the Grail King,” everyone said together.
Elizabeth found herself wondering why Arthur had chosen her family and this moment to return. What challenges would he bring to them if he’d come to restore the vision of Camelot?
She tore off a piece of Estelle’s warm bread, dipped it into the wine in her chalice, and closed her eyes. She addressed herself to Universal Mind and all those who had embodied the One Mind throughout the ages.
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About the Author
Theresa Crater brings ancient temples, lost civilizations, and secret societies back to life in her visionary fiction. She is the author of the Power Places series as well as stand-alone novels. Her short stories explore ancient myth brought into the present day.
For more information:
www.theresalcrater.com
[email protected]
Also by Theresa Crater
Have you read them all?
In the Power Places Series
Under the Stone Paw
Anne Le Clair, a successful, young attorney, has always managed to remain free from her family’s gothic past—until now. When she inherits her eccentric aunt’s antique necklace though, she finds no escape from its secrets. Anne is immersed in a crash course of forbidden wisdom, secret societies, and her family’s own legacy. She soon discovers that her aunt’s necklace is one of just six powerful “keys” that, when combined with the other five at the appointed time, unlocks the legendary Hall of Records. However, another group, the shadowy Illuminati, is working behind the scenes to uncover the same powerful secrets—and make them their own.
Buy Under the Stone Paw
Beneath the Hallowed Hill
Anne Le Clair travels to Glastonbury with her fiancée, Egyptologist and mystic Michael Levy, to investigate a house she inherited from a mysterious aunt…only to find trouble waiting. One of Avalon’s sacred twin springs is failing. Together, Anne and Michael try to restore the water flow, but discover there is much more at stake: the Illuminati master Alexander Cagliostro has activated an ancient crystal tower, tearing a hole in time which threatens much more than one sacred spring. Meanwhile, in ancient Atlantis, Megan, priestess of the Crystal Matrix Chamber, flees the destruction of her world carrying with herself a vital artifact.
Buy Beneath the Hallowed Hill
Return of the Grail King
The long-awaited King Arthur returns to be reborn in the 21st century, but an old enemy from the past rises to stop him.
Buy Return of the Grail King
Stand-Alones
The Star Family
Jane Frey inherits a Gothic mansion filled with unexpected treasures. A prophecy claims it hides an important artifact – the key to an energy grid laid down by the Founding Fathers themselves. Whoever controls this grid controls the very centers of world power. Except Jane has no idea what they’re looking for.
Buy The Star Family
Historicals
School of Hard Knocks
When Maggie Winters is asked to perform an exorcism on a young child, she finds the problem traces all the way back to the tragedy that ended her own childhood. Will appeal to readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help. "Crater’s prose is accomplished and her story engaging." Kirkus Review
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God in a Box
It’s the guru invasion of the 1980s. After spending her life savings to fly to Europe and become a meditation teacher, Stacey is told to go home. Lesbians are not welcome. She’s lost the love of her life already. Will she lose the other half of her dreams now?
Buy God in a Box
Dedication
To Ashley, Aubria & Aldrin Jr.
Acknowledgments
As always, special thanks go to Stephen Mehler for sharing all his knowledge about Egypt, for the four trips we’ve taken to there together, and for patience while I write. Thanks for Mike Nelson, Rick Mehler, Brandon Clark, and Terry Goble for their expert assistance on hacking language. Thank you to Caitlín Matthews for her help with my title and to her and John Matthews for their books on the Arthurian material. All the mistakes are mine. Thanks to Mark Posey for his excellent help with editing. Special shout out to Team Anne & Michael for their eagle eyes and helpful suggestions.
Copyright
Crystal Star Publishing
1303 Alexandria St.
Lafayette, CO 80026
https://crystalstarpublishing.wordpress.com
Return of the Grail King
by Theresa Crater
Digital ISBN: 978-0-9971413-5-1
Print ISBN: 978-0-9971413-6-8
Cover art by Earthly Charms
Copyright 2018 Theresa Crater
Printed in the United States of America
Worldwide Electronic & Digital Rights
1st North American and UK Print Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any form, including digital and electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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