by L. H. Nicole
Cover
Title Page
Relics of Camelot
Book Three of the Legendary Saga
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LH Nicole
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Omnific Publishing
Los Angeles
Copyright Information
Relics of Camelot, Copyright © 2016 by LH Nicole
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.
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Omnific Publishing
1901 Avenue of the Stars, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, California 90067
www.omnificpublishing.com
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First Omnific eBook edition, January 2016
First Omnific trade paperback edition, January 2016
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The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
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Nicole, LH.
Relics of Camelot / LH Nicole – 1st ed
ISBN: 978-1-623422-31-8
1. Fantasy—Fiction. 2. Fantasy—Arthurian. 3. Young Adult—Fiction. 4. Romance—Fiction. I. Title
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Cover Design by Micha Stone and Amy Brokaw
Interior Book Design by Coreen Montagna
Dedication
To my family and friends
who have stood by me
and supported me through everything
Prologue
THE UNDERLORD, master of death and the Underworld, stood and rolled his shoulders. His muscles stretched and his bones popped. That was a turn of events he hadn’t seen coming.
“What have you seen, my lord?” asked his general, waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
The Underlord turned, his jade green and earthen brown robes rustling around him. He’d been gazing into the gold and onyx Well of Realms. Such a well existed in all seven realms and was accessible only to those strong and clever enough to control it.
He descended the worn, stone stairs. The area surrounding him was darker than a starless night sky.
“Is she all right?” A thread of frustration slipped into the general’s usually calm voice. “Does Mordrid still hold her prisoner?”
“You haven’t relaxed since Aliana first stepped foot in Avalon, General.” It amused the Underlord to see his formidable warrior so tangled up.
The Destined One had a very special place in their world. Aliana’s extraordinary powers and family line made her unique and valuable. Her heritage had gifted her the emerald eyes of the Fae queen’s lineage. The only Fae to possess eyes any shade of green were those who shared Queen Titania’s blood.
“She is free of him. For now.” The tension didn’t leave the general with the Underlord’s assurance. “How did she escape the dark wizard?”
An almost amused sneer twitched the Underlord’s sharp mouth. “After the Fae Queen got through the barriers protecting his pocket realm, she trapped Mordrid in another void and sent Aliana Fagan away. That is after Mordrid got his bargained kiss,” the Underlord added.
The general’s jaw clenched tight, hot anger flashing in his red-brown eyes like a Firebird’s wing. “I will kill him for this!” That evil boy taking such blatant advantage of the Destined One was unacceptable to him.
The Underlord smirked at him. “I seem to recall you using a similar tactic to help draw your souls mate to your side, General.”
The younger man, and one of the most deadly warriors in all the seven realms, narrowed his blazing eyes at the all-powerful ruler.
“You know you will never kill him. Hurt him, possibly, but never kill him.” The Underlord’s tone was dismissing the event like it was nothing more than a flickering light in the darkness. “She has her guardian, Lord Daggerhorne, with her again.”
Vicious satisfaction rolled through the general as the Underlord told him of Lord Daggerhorne’s purple fire burning Mordrid’s face.
The Underlord closed his black eyes briefly, hiding his own approval of the guardian Dragon’s actions.
“Where is she now?” the general demanded.
“She has been sent back into the past. There is much she must do in Camelot to ensure that her own present time, and her future, unfold as they already did and still must.”
“You know how it annoys me when you speak in your time riddles.”
A devilish grin broke out on the Underlord’s harsh face, softening his hawk-like facial features just a fraction.
“Is she safe?” The general would have no peace until he knew that at least.
The Underlord sighed heavily. “As safe as she can be, considering the path she must travel to save the seven realms.”
“What does Titania have planned for Aliana?” the general asked his king. A knife of fear and concern speared the general’s heart. He must find a way to ensure the Destined One came to no harm, from whatever treachery the Fae was weaving.
The general clamped his jaw tight, his lips pressing into a thin line. He turned toward the magic Well only the Underlord used.
Before the general could speak, a cool loving presence rushed over him as his souls mate appeared by his side. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes on. The moment he had seen her nineteen years ago, he had known what she was to him, and that he would have done anything to possess the lovely creature. She was far shorter than him, her glossy, rich brown hair curling at the ends around her shoulders, accenting her rounded face and vivid emerald eyes. Those eyes were the only thing one could use to tell that the two powerful women were related—an event the Fae Queen, ruler of the Isle of the Blessed, had taken many steps to ensure. Any descendant of one of the four rulers would be powerful indeed.
She bowed to the Underlord and then turned those big green eyes on her souls mate. “I’m sorry, my love, I could wait no longer for news about the Destined One.” Her warm, caring voice soothed the edges of his frayed nerves.
“She is in Camelot,” the general answered.
The Underlord nodded. “Merlin has been sent to her. She will be well cared for.”
She gasped, her eyes widening and brows jumping up. “Did you know this was to happen? Did you know all along that traveling to the past was a part of her destiny?”
The Underlord said nothing as a current of power rippled around them. The trio vanished from the Well of Realm’s hidden chamber. Seconds later they appeared in the courtyard of the dark, Gothic castle. The near black delicate blooms on the trees waved in the chilled breeze.
“My lord,” she pleaded for an answer.
He gave it to her. “The war for the realms is fast approaching and there is still much to be done, both by the Destined One and by the new Knights of the Round Table.” His voice lowered, the gravity of knowing the future evident in his perilous tone. “She is about to undertake her most dangerous challenge yet. And the foreign magics that war within her, for control of her emotions and heart, have not yet reached their cresting point.”
“Can she not rid herself of those magics? How will she ever be able to decide her future for herself if other powers are trying to control her?”
The Underlord started to laugh, but it wasn’t a kind laugh. “You two,” he said, looking both of them in the eyes, “should know better than most what the greatest power in all existence is.”
The two lovers shared a long, knowing look. Yes, they knew what the greatest power was, but it was not a simple powe
r to survive. And the Destined One was so much younger than they were when they had faced it.
Nodding reassuringly to his mate, the general asked, “What is next?”
“Prepare yourself, my son. She will be here soon enough.”
The general straightened, his shoulders squared as he gripped the long curved sword at his waist. He looked to his mate, and her own determination and excitement matched his. “Yes, Father.”
1
Even the Fae queen, with all her accursed powers, doesn’t understand how these pocket realms work as well as I do. That conniving woman thinks she’s thwarted my plans to have Aliana, my Destined One, but she couldn’t be more wrong. I know what none of them do, that blasted Fae has played right into my hands. Time is a tricky mistress, but she is a very good friend of mine, and MY Aliana will ensure that my past unfolds the way it did and that my destiny as King of Camelot and the seven realms is fulfilled. The Onyx Dragons will once again claim their rightful place of power and control. But I must wait for Morgana and our teacher to help release me from this temporary prison.
~Mordrid
IT HAD BEEN TWO WEEKS, six days and nineteen hours since the dark wizard Mordrid had taken Aliana Fagan, the Destined One, from her friends and the two men who loved her more than their own lives. Not that Flora was keeping track or anything. But really, who could blame the Pixie if she was?
Life had been hell in the weeks following Aliana’s kidnapping. The Destined One had run away from the people who cared about her for a reason unknown to all of those still present except for the two men who loved her. After they had finally found her, thanks in large part to her best friend Wade Edrick, they discovered she had fallen into Morgana LeFay’s trap. The knights and their king, Arthur, had tried to save her but she had stepped in front of a magical attack that would’ve killed them all. They didn’t even know for sure that she was still alive.
Then, nine days after her capture, Dawn’s mother Michelle, and Aliana’s godfather Joe, suddenly returned home, safe and sound, and with no memory of what had happened to them or where they had been. That was when they knew she was still alive. Mordrid and Morgana would’ve had no reason to return the pair without Aliana influencing the decision. The evil duo would’ve just killed them instead.
Then Merlin, the strongest Druid to ever live, and Daggerhorne, the Destined One’s Dragon guardian, had the idea to try to create a link with Aliana through another kind of magic. Soul magic. And it worked! The little silver Dragon had managed to find her through an enchanted mirror Merlin had transported from his home in London. But the silver creature hadn’t been seen since.
Now he and Aliana were missing, and every attempt to find them again had failed miserably. Their failure managed to drive a wedge of frustration and outrage deeper into the hearts of the new Round Table.
It had been three months since Aliana had first entered the realm of Avalon and discovered her destiny as the one person in all the realms who could awaken King Arthur. It was her duty to lead him on the path to find all of his Knights of the Round Table. Together, they would reclaim the lost relics that were the only hope of stopping the witch Morgana LeFay, and her power-hungry-cousin-of-a-wizard Mordrid, from unleashing a diabolical kind of Armageddon on the seven realms.
When she thought about it like that, it seemed so much bleaker. The Pixie wasn’t one prone to such angst, but it was hard to keep your spirits up when every day she had to see the devastation that all in the house were suffering.
Flora flew through the narrow wood-planked hallway toward the office King Arthur had taken to hiding in when he needed to be alone.
The pale-haired Pixie knocked on the door. “Excuse me, your majesty.” She peeked her head inside. She saw Arthur reclined in the brown leather chair staring at the cold, lifeless fireplace. “Your majesty?” she tried again.
He didn’t even look at her. “What do you need, Flora?” His voice was somber and rough, not at all like the rich smoothness that normally came from his mouth.
“I wanted to see if you needed anything?” She didn’t really know why she had sought out the golden king, but her instincts had told her to find him.
“She’s out there, Flora,” he insisted, his voice gaining a little strength. “I’d know if she wasn’t.” He rubbed his hand over his heart. “Safe, somewhere.”
A small sigh escaped the Pixie. Despite their despair, no one had lost hope. “What can we do, sire?”
Arthur let out a heavy breath, roughly rubbing his stubbly chin. “Gather the others in the kitchen. It’s time we stopped chasing our tails and moping and did something to get Aliana and Lord Daggerhorne back.”
The confidence in his voice, and the way he sat up straighter, made the spark of hope in Flora’s chest glow brighter. This was the king they needed right now.
She zoomed down the hall and out the open back door. The first place she needed to go was the beach. Owen and Leo had started going there when the house became too confining. She suspected even Galahad would be found there, as it was the last place he had held Aliana.
Two figures came into view as she neared the white, sandy beach glowing with the hot, late August afternoon light. The two men were grappling with each other, their chests bare, their shoes dumped next to their T-shirts. Owen Nyhart and Leo Kell had become very close since Leo had found them in London when the Scot saved Aliana from Morgana, after they had walked right into one of the witch’s traps. Owen was Aliana’s cousin, a cousin she had never known about until after her parent’s death, when she learned about her own adoption.
After discovering that painful truth, she had fled to London to try to find her real parents, only to learn that her mother was dead. But, fate being the ironic thing that it was, she found Owen the day she found her mother’s grave, and the two hadn’t been apart since. At least until Mordrid had kidnapped the Destined One.
Leo hooked his leg around Owen’s knee and pulled it back, simultaneously pushing himself forward. Caught off balance, Owen fell back and the two landed hard on the hot sand. Leo pulled back, his fist raised to deliver a blow that would knock the dark-haired British boy out cold.
“You left yourself wide open, mate,” Leo chastised, dropping his fist and getting to his feet.
Owen glared up at his best friend, pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed the back of his head. “And you’re not pulling any punches today, mate.”
Leo shrugged and held out his hand to help Owen up. The Brit grabbed the offered hand and got to his feet, grinning. Before Leo knew what had happened, Owen pivoted, his back hitting Leo’s as he leaned forward and flipped the bigger Scot over his shoulder. He landed with a dull thud on the sand.
“Now who’s not pulling any punches?” Leo asked, springing back to his feet after a moment.
Owen shrugged. “And you let your guard down. That can get you killed quickly. You taught me that, back in Camelot.”
Flora smiled to herself. Owen was not the greatest fighter of their lot, even with the memories and skills Merlin had restored to all the reincarnated knights.
Just then the two guys turned to the Pixie watching them. “Is everything all right, Flora?” Leo asked. The Pixie never sought them out unless they were needed.
“King Arthur has requested everyone meet him in the kitchen immediately. He says it’s time we found Aliana.”
Owen’s green eyes, so similar to their missing friend’s, sparked with cautious hope. Every idea they had all come up with in the last few weeks had come to nothing.
Leo bent over, grabbing his shirt and tossing Owen his. “We’ll go there now and fetch Merlin, Percy, Lancelot and Wade on the way.”
Flora mourned the loss of the fantastic sight of the knight’s muscular chests. Lacy, Dawn, and Aliana had a running joke about the guys secretly hoping to be GQ models. The gods know the women of the world would snatch the magazines up quicker than free money. They all may not be classically handsome, but they all had a charisma and confide
nce that seemed to draw the fairer sex to them.
Flora shook her head, snapping herself out of the hot-guy daze she had fallen into. “Is Sir Galahad out here as well?” She’d bet her hidden supply of Pixie dust he was, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
Leo tilted his head to the left, past a high dune covered with tall grass. “He headed that way.”
The Pixie shot off as the two boys took off toward the house. She made it to the knight’s side in seconds, but he just stared out at the Atlantic Ocean, his mind so far away he may as well have been back in Camelot.
“Sir Galahad?” Flora asked, hesitant to disturb him. Since the last battle, there had been only two incidences when the knight had shown any real frenzied emotions: once after Mordrid had vanished with a limp Aliana in his arms; and then, after Lord Daggerhorne failed to return with his lost love.
Everyone knew now of the magic heightening his emotions, particularly when concerned for the safety of the people he cared for.
“What do you need, Flora?” Galahad asked. Much like Arthur, his voice was somber and gravelly, holding so much leashed pain and anguish Flora felt her throat tighten with unshed tears.
No one but Arthur, Galahad, and Aliana knew the details of what happened on the beach between them that night. All they knew was that the two best friends had gotten in a fight over the girl they loved and she had somehow rebuilt the shields that helped Galahad control his baser emotions.
“The king wants to see everyone in the kitchen. He wants to come up with a new plan to find Aliana.”
Galahad sighed, still staring out at the ocean. His eyes turned to the Pixie who was the size of a small child, only three feet tall, with white blond hair and cerulean eyes that complemented the glow of her dragonfly-like wings. “I screwed up, Flora.”
The Pixie’s blue eyes widened at his admission.
“I never wanted to hurt her. I thought I had it under control. I knew what I was doing was wrong, that I was hurting and betraying her. I tried to stop myself, to free her, but my body betrayed me. My fear and need to protect her was like a demon controlling me.”