“I thought we might have some fun,” Malcolm replied, with a little-defeated tone darkening his voice.
“I don’t do that sort of thing.” Ivy snapped.
“That’s not what I heard.” Malcolm let out a cruel laugh. “I heard you’d lift tail for Ryker if he just gave you a glance.” That was crude and uncalled for. And also, a little flattering.
“Like a cat in heat. Now take me home.” Ivy snapped. I knew she was just being sassy, but I didn’t not like the imagery of that.
“You know he’s not ever going to be with you, right?” Malcolm said after a moment. I furrowed my eyebrows. “He’s a Pendragon. I may be new to this world, but I know that Knights of Pendragon caliber cannot and will not break the rules or the law. Last I saw, it was against protocol for team members to enter into romantic relationships.”
“Well, that’s my business, isn’t it?” Ivy retorted. I hadn’t realized before how much my distance had affected her, not just personally, but socially. No one gossiped or talked around me, except for Natalie, but I just didn’t know. I didn’t know what people were saying to her about me, or about her. The pain I caused her ran deeper than I thought, and yet, she always gave me her best smile.
“Or, you could still have a knight. I know I’m not a Pendragon, but I bet I could still make you feel good.” Malcolm said in a deep, seductive tone. I leaned forward, readying myself to jump down if I needed to.
“I told you not to touch me.” Ivy snapped. The passenger door opened and she stepped out of the truck. I really couldn’t blame Malcolm; she looked mind-bogglingly stunning. The tight black sweater dress was high collared and long-sleeved, but it showed off every curve of her immaculate little body. If I were alone in a car with her, I’d lose my mind too.
“Oh come on, love, I’m sorry. Get back in the truck, and I’ll drive you home.” Malcolm said, leaning over to talk to her through the open passenger door. Ivy bit her lip, looking nervous. I knew she was never in any danger because I was there to stop it, but she didn’t know that. Was she scared to get back in the car with him? Should I let this go on? Ivy glanced around, her bottom lip quivered as she crossed her arms over her chest. She did not want to get in the truck with him but also didn’t have much of an option. Fine, I’ll give her one.
Leaning forward I landed right in front of her, standing between her and Malcolm.
“Why don’t you let me drive her home?” I asked to Malcolm’s stunned expression.
“How long you been following me, mate?” Malcolm demanded.
“Long enough to know why she doesn’t want to get back in the truck with you.” I retorted, giving him a knowing look. I felt my jaw clench just thinking about the repercussions if I hadn’t had been there. I wasn’t really worried about Ivy’s physical safety, as I knew she could summon enough power to incinerate Malcolm if she wanted to, but no woman should have to defend herself like that. It was her emotional state I was worried about, as she had never experienced something quite so, invasive.
Malcolm gave me a long wide-eyed look.
“Well, look at you, Hero Pendragon, King of Knights.” He taunted. “I bet you ain’t so tough.” He was just blustering now. He knows I could demolish him, as I had many times before in training. But this wasn’t training, and I wasn’t going to hold back if he came at me.
“You want to test that theory?” I asked. Malcolm sat up straight in his seat then. He glanced over at me and then out the windshield. His eyes widened.
“Code 10.” He then said.
I didn’t have time to fully comprehend his words. Instead, I spun on my heel and grabbed Ivy against my chest and then stepped back to stand against the truck, with the open passenger door in front of me. Keeping Ivy against me, I peered through the window of the door. Sure enough, emerging in the headlights was a couple of masked figures. They wore red and gold robes. Their masks looked like kabuki masks from Japanese theatre. I had seen them before, and my heart started to race.
“Oh shit,” Ivy whispered.
The four members of the cult stood twenty or so feet away from us, just inside of the headlight beam. They seemed to be waiting for something, as they just stood there, motionless.
“Malcolm. On my count, I am going to jump into the truck and you will let me crawl over you and drive.” I said in a low and calm tone.
“Yes, sir.” Malcolm nodded. I had to admit when push came to shove, he was a good knight.
“Ivy, you sit on the floorboard.” I then said. She nodded against me. They were after her; we knew that from our experience with them last year. One of the cult members took a step forward from the others and raised his hand.
“Now,” I said. We scrambled into the truck. I climbed over Malcolm as he scooted to the side and then he helped Ivy into the cab, closing the door. I had the truck in reverse before he shut the door, my foot on the gas.
“Who are those people?” Malcolm asked as I reversed the truck at top speed back down the dirt path.
“They’re after Ivy,” I replied. Ivy sat between us on the floorboard. “Protect her with your life, no matter what happens to me. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir,” Malcolm replied.
“Ryker.” Ivy began to argue.
“Don’t.” She was silent after that, but I could tell she wasn’t happy with my plan. Just as the highway came into view in the mirror, the trees started to bend over us, blocking our path. I pushed the gas, but the truck would only go so fast in reverse. I wished we were in my car; it didn’t have a governor. Just as we were about to break free a large tree fell, the back wheels made it over, but then the vehicle became high centered.
“My car is a mile west, take Ivy and run,” I ordered Malcolm, tossing him my keys as I exited the truck.
Dropping down, I stood in front of the crippled vehicle. The universe flowed through me, and I knew that this was my destiny; to stand between them and Ivy. I just wished I had a weapon. I heard Ivy scream behind me as Malcolm was trying to carry her away but she fought against him, hitting and kicking wherever she could land a blow.
“I’m not leaving him again!” She screamed.
The four cult members came into view of the headlights. I let my adrenaline run, my muscles filling with magic. Red energy started to glow around me as I glared down the members of the cult. Ivy screamed and thrashed, I had no idea why Malcolm didn’t just run off with her, that’s what I would have done.
“Come on, Sheila, work with me,” Malcolm grunted. Using Malcolm’s momentum, she kicked off the side mirror of the truck. Flipping out of his arms, she grabbed the mirror, spinning to land next to me. Damn Krav Maga training.
“Alright, I guess we do this together,” I muttered.
“Always.” Ivy snapped. Holding the mirror, she said an incantation and then reached her arm inside, all the way up to her shoulder. The cult members started to walk forward. I had no idea what to do, we couldn’t run, we couldn’t fight. I took a step forward, keeping my body between hers and them.
Ivy pulled out a sword. It wasn’t Excalibur, but it was magical. She tossed it to me and then stuck her arm back in the mirror. She pulled another, tossing it to Malcolm, and then finally retrieved her knife. The sword sparked red lightning bolts on the blade as I held it. I was at full magical power, thanks to the cookies, and my own realization on how to keep myself open. Malcolm appeared next to me, standing in front of Ivy, his own sword in his hand.
The group of four divided, creating a wide path between them. A fifth, much larger member, walked to stand in the space. He held a long sword. Was this guy a knight? I didn’t sense any magical powers coming off of him. There was no way. Knights were the good guys of the world, they were the heroes, not the villains.
“You keep them away from her,” I said to Malcolm in a low voice.
“Aye.” Malcolm nodded.
“Owen, we need help.” I heard Ivy shout. She must have contacted him through the mirror. The cult just stood there, about twenty yards
in front of us.
“You aren’t supposed to be here.” The big cult member pointed his sword at me.
“Well, I am.” I called over, opening my arms into a ‘come at me’ motion. If the universe hadn’t have told me to follow Ivy, they would have been alone when the cult attacked. Malcolm was a fine knight, but he hadn’t had enough training to even begin to handle them. I would have lost Ivy that night if I hadn’t have opened myself up to the flow. The cult members exchanged glances, talking lowly among themselves. For a moment, I wondered if they were going to retreat.
“That’s not Excalibur.” The big one then said, pointing his sword at mine.
“How do you know?” I called over. Could I bluff them out of an attack? Were they really that afraid of Excalibur, and me? I hoped so.
One of the other members to the side of him raised his hand high above his head. I felt it, the trepidation, the fear.
Help. I heard a small voice in my head. Excalibur.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, taking a step forward.
“Owen, Excalibur,” Ivy said into the mirror. Could Ivy hear Excalibur too? I could hear the muffled sounds of Owen running.
“It’s gone.” I heard Owen say. My heart thudded in my chest. That was when I heard what sounded like a jet hurtling toward us, distorting the air. Excalibur, still in the stone, landed on the dirt road between the cult and us.
“It’s here.” I heard Ivy whisper into the mirror.
“Shit,” Owen said through the mirror. “I’ll alert . . . everyone.”
“Come, King of Knights, surely you’re not afraid of a few pesky mortals.” The big one with the sword goaded me. We couldn’t fight all five of them, not with just the three of us. I had to protect Ivy and Excalibur. Therefore, only one option came to mind.
“I challenge you to a duel,” I said pointing my sword at the big cultist. I wasn’t sure if I could beat him, but it would give the others enough time to get here.
“Ryker.” I heard Ivy whisper behind me. The cultist released a big bellowing laugh.
“Oh, little knight? You want to duel with me? If you win what will you get?” He demanded.
“You and your comrades have to leave,” I called back. He laughed again.
“King of Knights, duels are to the death.” No, they weren’t. Not in the Knights Code, but I wasn’t dealing with a knight allied with the Code.
“Fine,” I called back.
“Fine.” He called back over.
“Malcolm, if anything happens to me, get her out of here,” I told the terrified knight beside me. His face was pale, and he was breathing erratically. Poor bastard had never seen real danger in his life. He visibly swallowed with sweat dripping from his forehead. He turned to me, his eyes wide, and he nodded.
“No, Ryker. No.” Ivy stepped forward, clutching the front of my jacket with her fingers. I took it off, allowing for free movement.
“Ivy, something happens to me, you promise me you’ll allow Malcolm to get you out,” I said to her. She leaned against my chest shaking her head.
“Ivy,” I said again, lifting her chin with my finger to get her attention. Her eyes were watery, but they possessed a glimmer of resolve in them.
“You’re just going to win this.” She said in a much stronger voice then I would have thought her capable. I gave her a short nod and then stepped forward.
Excalibur sat in the middle of the battlefield. We walked until we were about five feet from each other, holding our swords out in front of us. I watched his footing, seeing how experienced he was. I took a step to the right, and he went to the left. I went forward, and he went back. His feet moved almost rhythmically. This was an experienced swordsman that I was facing. He didn’t remove his mask or his robes, so I had no idea who he was.
He swung down; I blocked and then swiped left. He dodged, the edge of my blade just missing his stomach. The weird part was, that though my adrenaline was running and we were in real mortal danger, I suddenly grew calm. My energy was centered and, this may sound weird, but I was centered with the universe. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. That this was all part of some much larger plan.
Eyeing my assailant, I struck first. He blocked, swiping right but I dodged and rolled. Landing on my feet, I sparked my magic in my sword, so even if he blocked the magic would still shock him. He dodged each one of my swings and then kicked me back in the chest. That’s when I felt it, the power seeping off of him. He was a knight, alright, and a powerful one. Once a knight has full control over their physical powers they can acquire extra skills like seeing things in temporary slow motion, or hearing someone’s heartbeat. I thought my magic would be an advantage here, but it turns out it was just noisy.
I stopped the flow of magic into my sword. I had been practicing to use it in other ways. Once my back hit the ground, I used the momentum to flip backward. My feet skidded to a stop on the dirt road. We stared at each other for just a moment, as he stood about fifteen feet from me. Then I focused my magical power into my feet. Forcing my legs as fast as I could, I ran towards him. Dropping my sword, I wrapped my fist in energy. He swung, but I dodged in and landed a blow to the chest. The magic illuminated so brightly at contact that I had to close my eyes. The wind from the force blew my hair back, as the boom from the blast stung my ears.
The cult knight flew back into the woods, a tree breaking his momentum, the trunk snapping in two. I stumbled a step, feeling the use of so much energy. Keeping my eyes on the knight, I watched as he stood. He didn’t even get up slowly. The cult knight took a moment to stretch his shoulders and neck, and then he turned to face me. He ran towards me so fast his body looked like a blur. I tried to dodge, but my eyes couldn’t keep up. I felt the impact of his fist into my stomach. The air flew from my lungs.
“Stay down.” He whispered in my ear before I went flying back from the force. I landed on the road, rolling a few times. I couldn’t breathe, my lungs burned. Every breath was like torture as I’m was sure a couple of my ribs were broken.
“Why didn’t you kill him?” One of the cult members standing to the side demanded.
“I’m not going to be responsible for ending the ancient and noble Pendragon line.” The knight yelled back. “I will, however, destroy this abomination.” He pointed towards Ivy. My body convulsed as I tried to move. I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs to even yell her name.
The knight turned and strode towards Ivy. Malcolm stepped forward, sword drawn. I managed to go to my hands and feet. I needed more magic. Open myself up to the universe, more. The knight knocked Malcolm’s sword from his hands and then backhanded him so hard he flew across the road. Knocked out cold.
“No!” Ivy screamed. Red magic started to glow from the palms of my hands. I had enough energy to make one move. The magical sword I had wielded before lay on the dirt, a few yards ahead. It was a direct path.
The knight reached for her, but she used her knife to launch little orbs of explosions. They were a nuisance, not enough to ultimately stop him, but enough to stall him for just a moment longer. It was long enough. I had to save Ivy. That was why I was there, that was why I had followed her. I felt it in the flow of the universe, because I was her knight, and it was my job to protect her.
Gathering all the magic inside of me, I propelled myself forward. Reaching over, I grabbed for the sword. I felt the handle fly into my hand. A bright red glow emerged from behind me as I stretched my arm to swing. Using all the force I had in my body, I swung the sword in front of me. As soon as it made contact with the knight facing away from me, the energy flooded into his system, making his body glow through the cloak and mask. He screamed a gut-wrenching horrible sound and then collapsed on the ground in front of me. Looking down, the glow of the magic resided, and I realized that in my hand was Excalibur.
I turned, looking at the four cult members behind me. They all took a few steps back in unison, holding their hand's palms up. Excalibur
glowed a pure red as I held her next to me. The cult members turned and fled. Then I heard the sound of propellers behind me. The reinforcements had arrived.
Ivy threw herself into my arms, and I held her as she rapidly talked in my ear. The helicopter landed on the part of the dirt road that was wide enough for the propellers. Agent Rogers and a rescue team piled out and ran towards us.
“They ran that way.” I pointed down the dirt road in the direction that the remaining cult members went. A few team members ran in that direction while Agent Rogers and a couple other guys approached us.
“My God, what happened here?” Agent Rogers asked, looking around.
I hadn’t noticed before, I guess I was too focused on the fight, but the forest around us was destroyed entirely. All the leaves had been blown off branches, and most of the trees were crushed falling away from us. Agent Rogers eyes then gazed at the sword in my hand.
“Is that?” He gasped.
“Yeah.” I nodded. The other team members were checking on Malcolm. I turned back to Agent Rogers who gave me a long-pointed look. We both knew what that meant. There was no longer any question of whether or not I was King of Knights.
My vision blurred, and my legs came out from under me. Ivy started to fall with me, trying to hold me up, but Agent Rogers grabbed me under the arm. I regained my balance and leaned against Ivy. Rogers then looked at the dead knight lying on the ground in front of me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about taking a life yet, but I did know that he deserved it. He would have killed Ivy if I didn’t.
“Let’s see who this was.” Agent Rogers reached down and removed the mask. We both let out shocked gasps.
“Who is it?” Ivy asked, peering over to see the dead man’s face.
“It’s Brad Charlemagne,” I said, my gut twisting up. I just killed Bethany’s father.
“Do you have another vehicle here?” Agent Rogers asked, turning and grabbing my shoulder.
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