by Jamie Davis
She circled around the pile of moaning and writhing bodies on the floor to approach Kane, crouched to the floor, as shocked by the events as Winnie.
“Get up,” the woman said, gesturing with her pistol. “Don’t try any magic or I’ll have to kill you, no matter what Artos wants me to do.”
“Maria?” Director Kane said. “You’ve served me so well. How could you betray me like this, after so many years? What is Artos paying you?”
“Nothing, you fool,” Maria said with a loud burst of laughter. “Not all of us are sheep waiting for slaughter by you and your kind. There are middlings like myself who know what you are. Now, we have what we need to discredit you once and for all. With the recordings I’ve made of you casting spells and trying to murder that girl, you’ll be finished once and for all.”
Maria walked to the bookshelf then reached up to retrieve a book. She pulled it down and flipped it open. The interior was cut out; a camera was secreted inside, capturing video through a hole in the spine. Maria removed the camera and looked over to Winnie, still crouched behind the sculpture.
“You can come out now. We don’t have much time. There are only a few of us in the building, and my other compatriots are working to free your friends. We need to leave. Now.”
“What about him?” Winnie pointed to Kane, thinking of all the people who’d died at his hands. Thinking of Cait. “Why can’t we kill him? He deserves to die for all that he’s done.”
“No argument from me, but I have strict orders from Artos. He’ll be a martyr if we kill him. Those who dislike or distrust chanters will use it as a rallying cry to enact more rulings against you. He must live to be discredited.”
Winnie approached Kane, crouched on the floor. She leveled the tip of her new blade to his throat. One thrust would end the world’s greatest evil. One jab and this could all be done.
“Daughter,” Kane said, looking up at her with a sinister stare. “Would you kill the man who gave you life, Guinevere?”
“What are you talking about?” Winnie said. “Are you insane?”
“I suppose I don’t blame Ellie for not telling you about me. Once I became the Director, she couldn’t tell you your father was a monster.”
“Don’t listen to him, Winnie,” Danny called out. “He’s lying.”
“But, Dear,” Kane said, standing, “You know that I’m not.”
Winnie kept the blade leveled at the base of his throat as he stood, struggling to absorb his words.
“I’ve never lied to you, and I’m not lying now. I didn’t know myself until last year,” Kane explained. “Your mother pled with me to spare you. She’s a remarkable woman, you know. Ellie always knew what I was capable of. I think that’s why she ended our relationship before telling me about her pregnancy.”
“It’s not true,” Winnie whispered. Her arm quivered with the effort of keeping the heavy blade extended.
The burn of exertion crawled up her shoulder and across her back. She had to kill him soon, before she ran out of strength to do it.
Winnie tensed her muscles, prepared to deliver the killing thrust.
Victor stepped forward and took her by the arm. “Maria’s right, Winnie. You can’t kill him now. He’ll face his retribution, just not today. We must go before he reclaims the upper hand and we’re captured. We have more than what we came for.” Victor gestured to Maria’s camera and Winnie’s sword.
Danny reached down and slid a nightstick from a guard’s belt, then took two steps and smashed it onto Kane’s head.
The Director’s eyes rolled up in their sockets and he fell to the floor at Winnie’s feet.
“You said we couldn’t kill him, not that we couldn’t knock him out. He was stalling to keep us here. Like Victor said. We need to jet.”
Winnie turned to Maria. “Where to?”
“The north stairs. They’re being watched by my men.” Maria turned to the three standing guards. “Pick up Garcia. He’s still alive — we might be able to save him once we’re clear.”
Two of the three picked up their groaning companion and dragged him towards the door. Maria followed. Winnie and Victor helped Cricket to stand. He was woozy but could walk.
Danny dropped his night stick, picked up two pistols, then handed one to Victor to replace those that were taken away. The four of them left the room, following Maria and her compatriots to the north stairs and freedom.
Winnie caught up to Maria and her trio of Red Legs, and overheard the woman on her phone.
“I have her. She’s well. Yes, yes, I have the evidence we need. I’ll bring it to you as soon as we get everyone out of the building … yes, I’ll tell her.” Maria hung up the call, then turned to Winnie as she pulled open the stairwell door. “That was Artos. He says you did excellent work today.”
“Yeah, but he saved the day,” Winnie admitted.
“You didn’t know your group was betrayed before you ever got here. There was still a good chance you’d succeed. My team and I were just the backup.”
“We were betrayed?” Winnie said. “By whom?”
Maria shrugged, letting go of the stairwell door as Danny passed her, then started downstairs, leaving her and Winnie in the rear. “I’m not sure. Somehow Kane got word of your raid and set his trap. Artos is still digging into it.”
“Artos and I need to talk about his running plans behind my back. We should’ve known his plans.”
“Why? So the spy in your group could expose my team as well? It was better that he keep it all to himself until you needed to know.”
Winnie couldn’t argue with the logic, even though she was annoyed at being kept of the loop. She wondered what she’d say the next time she and Artos saw each other as she trudged down multiple flights to the ground floor, periodically joined by a Red Leg from their side every couple of floors.
When they reached the lobby, Winnie saw Tris, Morgan, Garraldi, and the rest of them clustered by the stairwell, waiting.
“Winnie,” Maria said. “Go out that door and board the bus that’s pulling up right now. It will take your team back to your rendezvous. Just tell the driver where to drop you.”
“What about you?” Winnie couldn’t believe the woman was going to stay.
“I’ll be taking another way out. I have one more thing to do. There are a lot of people here for the open house.” She held up the video camera. “I’m going to make sure this gets played on the building’s broadcast monitors before I leave. That should send the first arrow sailing into the Director’s downfall.”
“Well, make sure you give yourself enough time to escape.”
“I will.” Maria pointed to the sword. “Keep Excalibur safe. There’s more to be done before we can properly heal the world.”
Winnie looked at the sword. If felt odd to be walking around with such a blade in these modern times. “I still need to figure out what it’s for.”
“Artos is the one who told me. He should be the one to tell you.”
“Oh, I plan on having a long talk with Artos when I get back to Baltimore,” Winnie assured her. “Be careful. I hope we see each other again.”
“Time will tell.”
Maria waved to her group of Red Legs then started back up the stairs.
Garraldi opened the stairwell door. Bright sunlight streamed in, causing him to squint as he looked outside. “The bus just pulled up, Boss. We should go.”
Winnie nodded and gave one last glance up to the middling rebels who’d rescued them from certain ruin. Then she followed her team out of the headquarters building into the bright light of midday, carrying the magical sword.
She needed to get back to Baltimore. Artos had a lot of explaining to do. Maybe this sword she’d pulled from the stone — the one Maria had called Excalibur — belonged to someone else, someone not of this world.
It was time to seek out the Fae and the Lady, Brigid.
Winnie had found the talisman they sought.
EPILOGUE
Artos, Dan
ny, Morgan, and Victor watched Winnie climb down into the crater. The moment she passed over the edge, there was a shimmering.
She looked farther away, as if she’d crossed into another place.
Then she approached the pool at the center, with faint lights from the Fae flitting and hovering around her. She carried Excalibur in a scabbard and belt angled over one shoulder across her back, a gift from Artos.
“It’s remarkable, you know,” he remarked.
“What is?” Victor asked.
“That all of this has come full circle. It took a long time, but the world is finally on a path back to where it belongs.”
“You act as if it’s all over and done with,” Danny said. “Kane took control of the capital and has rallied the army to his cause. Our plan to discredit him worked to a certain extent, but he almost seems stronger than ever now that he’s disbanded the Assembly and sent the senators back to their districts.”
“We won a battle, but the war is far from over, Artos,” Victor said. “Kane has the army on his side, and that’s a powerful ally. They’ve dug in around the capital — there’s no way to get him out without going through them. We don’t have the resources to face them head on. It’ll be a bloodbath if we try, and he knows it.”
“I’ll agree that the war isn’t over,” Artos said. “But you don’t give Winnie enough credit. You’re her champion. You should have more faith.”
“I have faith, and a practical mind. She needs to understand what we’re all up against.”
Morgan looked at Artos. “You speak about my sister as though she’s some sort of legend. But she’s only a girl trying to stand up for what’s right.”
Artos shook his head and smiled at Morgan. “She’s far more than that, my dear. Winnie’s the one we’ve all been waiting for. The true once and future queen.”
He turned and stared down at Winnie’s distant figure, seemingly far away through the shimmering curtain of air surrounding the crater.
“She’s much more than that,” he murmured again to himself. “Winnie Durham is the Queen of Avalon.”
WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
An evil far greater than man has returned, and there is only one person who can heal the world and repair its failing magic…
After facing impossible odds and reclaiming Excalibur, Winnie Durham seeks the Lady of the Lake to return the talisman. But the Lady has other plans.
“Rise, Guinevere, Queen of Avalon, and take back your blade,” the Lady said. “The time has not yet come for you to return Excalibur. There is more to be done, more for you to do.”
And so, Winnie’s quest continues, as only a descendent of Merlin can answer Excalibur’s calling.
A calling that the entire world’s survival depends on.
CONTINUE WITH BOOK FOUR IN THE BROKEN THRONE SERIES:
Click here to get STOLEN DESTINY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jamie Davis, RN, NRP, B.A., A.S., is a nationally recognized medical educator who began educating new emergency responders as a training officer for his local EMS program. As a media producer, he has been recognized for the MedicCast Podcast (MedicCast.com/blog), a weekly program for emergency medical providers like EMTs and paramedics, and the Nursing Show, a similar program for nurses and nursing students. His programs and resources have been downloaded over 6 million times by listeners and viewers.
Jamie lives and writes at his home in Maryland. He lives in the woods with his wife, three children, and a dog.
Jamie’s other books include the Extreme Medical Services series, The Eldara Sister series and the upcoming Accidental Traveler series. You can check them out at http://jamiedavisbooks.com. His Broken Throne series is published by Sterling & Stone LLC.