by Mari Mancusi
“Wow.” Stu didn’t know what else to say.
“Now come on! I’m running out of my secret weapon.”
It was then that Stu realized what she was talking about. The face mask she’d bought in Vegas—the one Merlin had warned against giving to the fairy queen because the iron ingredients would burn her skin! And since Morgana was a fairy, it did the same to her.
“Ashley, you’re a genius!” he exclaimed.
“Duh. Now let’s get out of here!”
Stu didn’t need a second invitation. He ran out of the chamber, Sophie, and presumably an invisible Ashley, hot on his heels. From behind him, he could hear Morgana screaming bloody murder and vowing to come after them. Stu picked up the pace, his lungs burning in protest as he raced down the hall, through the front gates…and back into the woods.
Once they were outside the castle, Sophie stopped, hands on her knees, panting for breath. “I can’t run anymore,” she begged. Her neck was bright red where Morgana had choked her, likely not helping matters.
“We have to go! They’re going to be here in a second!” Stu pleaded.
“We can drink Merlin’s potion,” Ashley suggested. The invisibility spell had begun to wear off and she was eerily ghostlike in front of them.
“But what about the Agrimony?” Sophie protested. “We came all this way and we still don’t have it!”
“We won’t have our lives, either, if we stay,” Stu shot back. “I vote for the potion.”
“Fine,” Sophie said. “Where is it?”
“I have it!” Ashley replied, coming more and more into focus. “It’s in my bag somewhere….”
Ashley started digging through her bag. Stu’s heart thudded in his chest. With all that she had in there, this could take a while, and they really didn’t have a while to spare.
“There you are! You think you can escape me?”
Stu whirled around, just in time to see Morgana practically flying out of the castle, her face blackened from where Ashley had struck her with the iron cream. She also looked ready to murder someone, and he was pretty sure the three of them topped her list.
“Hurry!” he begged Ashley.
She lifted her face from her bag. “Here we are!” she crowed, raising the potion triumphantly in the air. Then she frowned. “I guess we just chug it? He didn’t leave any instructions—”
Morgana raised her hands. Sparks danced on her fingers. Stu gulped hard. He tried to grab the potion from Ashley, but his fingers fumbled it and it fell to the ground, rolling away from his grasp.
“No!” he cried, diving after it, heart now in his throat. He knew he had just moments before Morgana would let her fire fly, striking him square in the back. And then—
WHOOSH!
A huge gust of wind whipped up out of nowhere, dousing the flames. Morgana screamed, knocked backward by the force of the gale and giving Stu enough time to grab the potion.
“Got it!” he cried. Then he turned back to Morgana. “What happened? Did one of you do that?”
But the two girls only shook their heads, appearing as mystified as he was. Then Sophie’s eyes widened. “Look!” she cried, pointing behind him.
Stu whirled around. To his shock and amazement, he saw Merlin stepping out from the forest, his whole body crackling with energy. He looked fierce and furious and, well, kind of amazing. And as he raised his hands, he mumbled something under his breath.
There was an earsplitting screech, then a big poof of smoke.
And when the smoke cleared?
Morgana was frozen in a block of ice.
Yes!!!
“Now you know how it feels,” Merlin muttered, stalking up to the ice block and kicking it with his boot. But, of course, Morgana didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer, Stu realized, what with her face frozen mid-scream and all. Which was completely grotesque, but also amazingly cool.
“Merlin!” Sophie cried, running over to the wizard. She threw her arms around him. “Thank goodness you came!”
He hugged her in return. “Yes, well, looks like I arrived just in time.”
“You can say that again. We were about to be fairy flambé.”
“Yes, well, I did warn you that Fairyland was dangerous,” he grumbled. “Did you at least get the Agrimony?”
The three of them hung their heads. “Not exactly,” Sophie confessed.
“Things got a little messed up,” Stu added.
“And now the fairy queen is super mad,” Ashley finished. “There’s no way she’s going to give us the stuff. Even though she kept all the skin cream.”
Merlin nodded solemnly, stroking his beard with his fingers. For a moment, he said nothing. Then, at last, he let out a long, deep sigh.
“Let me go talk to her,” he said.
A spark of hope ignited in Stu. “Really?” he asked. “But I thought…”
Merlin gave him a rueful look. “I know, I know. But you were right. I’ve been behaving like a coward. And most unbecoming to a grand wizard like myself. I think it’s high time I face the music.” He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his robe. “Let’s just hope it’s not a goblin dance party. I hate those things.”
“Though they are a great cardio workout,” Ashley piped in. “Just saying.”
“Do you want us to go with you?” Stu asked Merlin. “Like, for moral support?”
Merlin shook his head. “Thank you, but no. This is something I need to do on my own. You three should drink my potion and head back to the real world. Find Nimue and Emrys and the dragon and head to King Arthur’s court. Tell Arthur to hang on—that I will get him what he needs…somehow.” He tried to smile, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. He was worried, Stu realized. Probably for good reason.
For Morgana might be gone. But their mission was far from over.
Sophie opened her eyes. At first she had no idea where she was. She was lying in a small bed, in some kind of crude wooden hut with simple furniture and wood-shuttered windows. A peek outside revealed normal-looking trees with normal-looking brown bark and green leaves—and no glitter to speak of.
She let out a groan of relief. She was back in Avalon. Merlin’s potion must have worked.
She struggled to sit up, reaching her hand to her neck, which was still sore from where Morgana had grabbed it. But thankfully that seemed to be the extent of her injuries. She rubbed her eyes…and felt something wet and rough lick the back of her hand.
She pulled her hands away, shocked to find none other than Spike himself hovering in midair in front of her like some kind of dragon-shaped hummingbird. He gave her an enthusiastic grin, his black tongue lolling from the side of his mouth. When he made a move to lick her again, she laughed, playfully shoving him away.
“Not that I’m not thrilled to see you,” she assured him. “But dragon slobber. Ew!”
Thankfully, the dragon didn’t seem offended. He swam through the air, performing a barrel roll. Which would have been impressive had he not smacked headfirst into a chair at the end of it, crashing to the floor like a cartoon character.
“Worst dragon ever,” Sophie groaned, sliding her feet out of bed. She picked up the dragon—who looked a bit dizzy from his adventure—and cradled him in her arms. He nuzzled against her hand, causing her to smile. “Okay, maybe not the worst. In fact, you’re actually not that bad.”
Spike farted happily. She screeched, almost dropping him as she reached to pinch her nose. “I take it back!” she scolded him. “I take it all back!”
“Hey! She’s awake!”
Sophie looked up to see Stu and Ashley barging into the hut, their faces lit up with excitement. Which made her wonder how long she’d been out.
“How are you feeling?” Stu asked, looking her up and down.
“Like I’ve been run over by a truck,” she confessed. “Seriously, before we get the next Camelot Code mission? I’m hitting the gym, hard. I’m not in shape for this much questing.”
“Ooh! Maybe you can start taking my mo
m’s Zumba class!” Ashley cried. “Then when the bad guys come? We can totally dance-battle them to death!” She leaped into a wild pose, then started dancing and kicking her legs in a crazy dance-karate combo that looked utterly ridiculous.
Sophie laughed. “Let’s not get carried away.” Next thing you knew Ashley would be suggesting she try out for cheerleading. She scrambled to her feet. “Thanks for that awesome rescue, by the way,” she said. “The iron cream thing was genius. Though I still don’t understand how you made yourself invisible.”
“Um, yeah. Don’t get mad at me for using your mom’s spell, okay? I figured invisibility could be super useful in many situations and—”
“Yeah, but…” Sophie scratched her head. “You did magic. Not everyone can do magic.”
“Oh. I didn’t even think of that.” Ashley’s face brightened. “Do you think I have magic powers, too? That would be so amazing! I could totally change my history grade! Or what about that hair-changing spell Mal had in Descendants? I could definitely put that to good use. Especially on poor Tanya Cooper. I’m not sure she even owns a brush—”
“Anyway!” Sophie interrupted, resisting the urge to face-palm. “You did great. We couldn’t have done this without you.” She threw her arm around Ashley’s shoulder. “I’m really glad you came along.”
Ashley’s face reddened. “You don’t have to say that.”
“I know. But I want to. And I mean it, too.”
Ashley had more than proven her worth to their team and she’d proved to be a decent friend as well. And while maybe the two of them would never run in the same circles or braid each other’s hair, neither did Lucas and Stu. And somehow they found a way to get along as stepbrothers.
She swallowed hard.
Stu…
She turned to him. He stared down at the ground, not meeting her eyes.
Ashley caught the look. “So, I’m going to go join Nimue and Emrys, okay?” she told them. “They’re still looking for Damara. I’ll be right back. I mean, not right right back. You guys will have tons of time. Maybe you can use it? To talk?” She gave them a meaningful look, then dashed out of the hut, slamming the door behind her.
Once she was gone, Sophie opened her mouth. “Look, I—” she started.
“I didn’t—” Stu said at the same time.
They both stopped, laughing awkwardly. Then they lapsed into a heavy silence. In the distance, they could hear Nimue, Emrys, and Ashley yelling for Damara. But they sounded another world away. Here, it was just the two of them, as if they were the only two people on earth.
Sophie’s stomach burned with anguish as she struggled to figure out what to say. This is Stu, she scolded herself. Her best friend. She should be able to speak her mind. But her thoughts were so tangled up inside, she didn’t know where to begin.
Thankfully, Stu took the lead. “Please don’t be mad at me,” he begged. “I know not telling you was wrong. And I’m really sorry. But I swear I was trying to do the right thing. I knew if I told you you’d be all upset, and it might distract you from your mission. I knew how long you’d been waiting for a Camelot Code quest. I didn’t want to mess it all up with my own stupid drama.” His voice caught on the words.
“It’s not stupid, Stu,” Sophie corrected, setting Spike on the bed and walking over to a chair. “This is a big deal. And I’m glad you want to be there for me, but—well, I want to be there for you, too.” She sank into the chair and sighed. “I’m sorry I freaked out on the bridge. It was just…a shock. And the fact that Ashley knew and I didn’t…”
Stu groaned, banging his fist against a post. “I blame loudmouth Lucas for that,” he said. “Though it was kind of good she knew, actually. I mean, I know that sounds weird, but I was totally freaking out. And she gave me some good advice.”
“What, like the proper footwear to wear for moving to California?” Sophie couldn’t help but joke.
Stu made a face. “She’s not that bad, Soph.”
“I know. I was just kidding. She’s all right. Except for the glitter thing.” She shivered. “If I never see another speck of glitter in my life, it will be too soon.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure I’m still going to be finding specks of it in my hair till I turn eighty,” Stu joked.
“Probably. In fact, I think I see a few pieces right now….” She stood up to try to pluck them from his hair. He swatted her away and they both burst into laughter.
But the laughter soon faded into silence. Stu caught her eyes with his own. “I’m going to miss you,” he said simply. “A lot.”
Sophie’s stomach twisted into knots all over again. She felt tears well in her eyes. “I’m going to miss you, too,” she said, her voice cracking a little on the words. “You’ve lived down the street from me my entire life. If anything bad happened, I knew I could reach you in five minutes and you’d make everything okay.”
“Yeah.” Stu shuffled his feet. “It’s going to be really weird. Though we can at least still hang out online. Play Camelot’s Honor over voice chat. I know it’s not the same. But it’s better than nothing.”
“That’s true,” Sophie agreed.
“Also, I’ll be home all summer long. We won’t have school then or soccer or anything. So we can hang out every day. Honestly, you’ll probably be sick of me by the end of summer. You’ll be begging me to fly back to California.”
Sophie laughed, tears leaking from her eyes. “Never,” she swore. Then she reached over and gave Stu a hug. He hugged her back and a warm feeling rose inside her. The future would be different, she knew, and it wouldn’t be all sunshine and roses. But they would get through it somehow. And they would stay best friends forever—no matter what.
“Now,” she said, pulling away from the hug, swiping the tears from her eyes. “It’s time to get to Camelot. We need to finish this thing and go home.”
“Absolutely. After all, you have a lot of avocados to glitter!”
She punched him in the arm, laughing. “And you are so helping me do it!”
It was a long journey by foot. But at last they reached Camelot Castle, Arthur and Guinevere’s new home. As they stepped across the moat and into the courtyard, Sophie couldn’t help but admire the sweeping white-stone walls of the mythical manor, complete with tall towers topped with majestic spires, stretching high into the sky. A total fairy-tale castle like the ones you’d find in a fantasy novel, and a far cry from the crumbling old fortress Arthur had lived in with his foster father, Sir Ector, before pulling the sword from the stone.
“Wind and Rain! My guards spoke true! You’re actually here!”
Sophie looked up and saw none other than Princess Guinevere—Queen Guinevere—rushing toward her, arms outstretched. The queen looked more beautiful than ever, her formerly long blond hair now sheared into an adorable pixie cut—a twenty-first-century influence?—and adorned with a simple circlet around her head. She wore a soft blue gown and silver slippers. Only her eyes, shadowed and dark, hinted that times had been rough.
The two girls hugged; then Guin turned to Stu, putting out her hand. He took it in his own and brought it to his lips, bowing his head and kissing it respectfully. Guess all those medieval manners he’d learned playing king had stuck with him over the last few months. Sophie hid a laugh, not wanting to embarrass him.
“And this is Nimue, Emrys, and Ashley,” she said, introducing the rest of the group.
“I remember you,” Guinevere said, pointing at Ashley. “From the twenty-first century. You’re Sophie’s best friend!”
Ashley screwed up her face. “I am?”
“It’s a long story,” Sophie said quickly. She’d almost forgotten that Guin had come to the twenty-first century when history had been all out of whack. When the head cheerleader had somehow become a gamer geek’s best friend and pepperoni pizza didn’t exist. She still wasn’t sure which had been weirder. “Ashley is going to be my sister,” she explained. “Our parents are getting married.”
“Oh, how lovely!” Guinevere declared. “I always wanted a sister.” Then her smile faded. “But I must ask. Why are you here? Not that I am not delighted to see you! But this is rather a bad time. Arthur is sick, you see.”
“We know,” Sophie assured her. “That’s why we came.” She quickly explained all that had happened. The Grail, the dragon, the works.
Guin listened carefully, her face draining of color at each twist of the tale. “So you do not have the Grail?” she asked, her voice cracking. “You cannot cure Arthur?”
“We have it. It’s just…dragon-shaped,” Nimue explained apologetically. “But Merlin is going to fix that. Just as soon as he gets back from Faerie with the Agrimony.”
Guinevere brought a shaky hand to her forehead. “I am afraid that will be too late. Arthur worsens every day. He will not live much longer if he does not receive the healing medicine from the Grail.”
Sophie’s heart sank. Were they truly too late to save him?
“There must be something we can do,” she said. “To help him hang on until Merlin gets back.” She rubbed her chin, thinking back to times she’d been sick herself. “Have you been giving him lots of fluids? Do you have vitamins?”
Guinevere stared at her blankly. “Vita-mints?”
“If only we could time-travel him,” Stu mused. “We could get him to a hospital or something. I’m sure twenty-first-century medicine could help.”
“Nay. He’s far too sick to travel,” Guinevere replied. “He’d never survive the trip.”
“And you don’t have any medicine here?” Sophie asked, reaching for straws. “Like herbs or whatever?”
“We have already tried everything. Eye of newt. Scale of snake. All the usual remedies.”
“Eye of newt? Ew. Thank goodness I live in the land of antibiotics,” Ashley muttered. “Swallow a pill. Get better.”
“You know those are made of mold,” Stu pointed out.
“What? Oh my gosh. That’s so—”
“Perfect!” Sophie exclaimed, her heart leaping in her chest as she remembered.
Everyone turned to look at her.