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    Tales From Camelot Series 6: Excalibur
    Tales From Camelot Series 6: Excalibur
    Tales From Camelot Series 6: Excalibur
    Ebook1,141 pages14 hours

    Tales From Camelot Series 6: Excalibur

    By Paul Green

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    About this ebook

    A Revenant. Mordred. Is this the end of Camelot? Or can a certain sword save the day? Three adventures. Three quests. One involving a brave little girl and the others involving the brave Knights of Camelot. And of course, the legendary sword Excalibur.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPaul Green
    Release dateJan 22, 2013
    ISBN9781301733293
    Tales From Camelot Series 6: Excalibur
    Author

    Paul Green

    The author’s three children had grown up and his eldest had two of her own, Isobelle and Oscar. Their imagination knew no boundaries. Every cupboard was a ‘den’, a sheet draped over objects, a tent, not to mention the fun they had with their toys! The author worked on this and wrote several books around them. What a joy.

    Read more from Paul Green

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      Book preview

      Tales From Camelot Series 6 - Paul Green

      Tales From Camelot Series • Book Six

      EXCALIBUR

      paul green

      Table of Contents

      Cover Page

      Title Page

      Copyright Notice

      Tales From Camelot Series

      Reader Recommendation

      Acknowledgements

      Cover Page

      From the author ...

      ~ Prodigal ~

      Prologue

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      ~ Arrival ~

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      ~ Invasion ~

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Chapter 27

      Chapter 28

      Chapter 29

      Chapter 30

      Chapter 31

      ~ Nevermore ~

      Chapter 33

      Chapter 34

      Chapter 35

      Chapter 36

      Chapter 37

      ~ Home Again ~

      Chapter 39

      Chapter 40

      Chapter 41

      ~ Forgiveness ~

      Chapter 43

      Chapter 44

      Chapter 45

      Chapter 46

      Chapter 47

      Chapter 48

      ~ A Day of Thanks ~

      Chapter 50

      ~ The Battle for Shae ~

      Chapter 52

      Chapter 53

      Chapter 54

      Chapter 55

      Chapter 56

      Chapter 57

      Chapter 58

      Chapter 59

      Chapter 60

      Chapter 61

      Chapter 62

      Chapter 63

      Chapter 64

      ~ A Woman's Honor ~

      Chapter 66

      ~ 14 ~

      Chapter 68

      Chapter 69

      Chapter 70

      Chapter 71

      Chapter 72

      Chapter 73

      Chapter 74

      Chapter 75

      Chapter 76

      Chapter 77

      Chapter 78

      Chapter 79

      ~ Seasons of Change ~

      Chapter 81

      Chapter 82

      Chapter 83

      Chapter 84

      Chapter 85

      Chapter 86

      ~ Saxons ~

      Chapter 88

      Chapter 89

      Chapter 90

      Chapter 91

      ~ A Giant Quest ~

      Chapter 93

      Chapter 94

      Chapter 95

      Chapter 96

      Chapter 97

      Chapter 98

      Chapter 99

      Chapter 100

      Chapter 101

      Chapter 102

      Chapter 103

      Chapter 104

      Chapter 105

      Chapter 106

      Chapter 107

      Chapter 108

      Chapter 109

      Chapter 110

      Chapter 111

      Chapter 112

      Chapter 113

      Postscript

      Notes to the reader ...

      Previews

      Tales From Camelot Series

      Second Chance Series

      About the Author . . .

      Copyright Notice

      www.TalesFromCamelot.com

      www.SecondChanceNovels.com

      Copyright 2012 Paul Green All Rights Reserved.

      First Printing: December 2012

      Second Printing: January 2013

      Third Printing: April 2013

      Printed in the United States of America. No part of this work may be used or reproduced, transmitted, stored or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, tapping, Web distribution, information networks or information storage and retrieval systems, or in any manner whatsoever without the express written approval of the author, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review. For further information, contact info@paulgreenauthor.com

      United States laws and regulations are public domain and not subject to copyright. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, translation, or distribution of any part of this material without permission by the author is prohibited and against the law.

      Tales From Camelot Series

      Part One (2012)

      Book 1: PENDRAGON

      Book 2: CAMELOT

      Book 3: CHAMPION

      Book 4: SORCERESS

      Part Two (2013)

      Book 5: ROYALS

      Book 6: EXCALIBUR

      Book 7: CURSED

      Book 8: LADY

      Part Three (2014)

      Book 9: WARLORD

      Book 10: MIRROR

      Book 11: WYVERN

      Book 12: QUEST

      Grand Finale (2014)

      Book 13: LEGEND

      www.TalesFromCamelot.com

      www.SecondChanceNovels.com

      For further information contact info@paulgreenauthor.com

      Reader Recommendation

      Due to the unique subject matter, this series will appeal to a very broad audience: teen to elderly, male and female alike.

      Although some parts may be considered to be too intense for pre-teen or younger readers. Ages 13 and up recommended.

      Acknowledgements

      Special thanks to all my reviewers. Your input has been invaluable.

      Thank you to my son Christopher for his help in designing the covers.

      And extra special thanks to the One who gave me the desire to write.

      From the author ...

      For some of you, this will be a long book. My very longest book to date, in fact. War and Peace was 400,000 words long. This one is 217,000 words long. I'm just saying.

      Now, for others of you, this will be a V-E-R-Y long book. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. :) For reasons I will explain, some of you may wish skip over a few chapters, and I will tell you which ones in a moment.

      There are actually three major parts to this story. The first third of EXCALIBUR will tell the story of the Child of Promise. A Daughter of Shae. A future hope for a terrible past tragedy. Sara. A seemingly unlikely little hero. With auburn hair and sapphire blue eyes, she is small and innocent, brave and fearless; a child merely 11 years of age, who has been prophesied to change the course of history. A child who will not only change the fate of the world, but Camelot's own untimely fate as well.

      This first one-third part of the book is unique in the Camelot series, in that it contains actual crossover material from the Second Chance series. In Second Chance, Book 4 deals with Sara learning of her terrible fate and accepting her fate. Book 5 deals with how she goes about preparing to meet her fate by going in search of the lost sword of Arthur, Excalibur; and meeting the infamous Sir George of Camelot, brought forth into Sara's own time to prepare her to face the Revenant on the Isle of Avalon. Book 6: AVALON Parts 1 and 2 is the story of how Sara finally meets her fate. And prevails. Albeit at a great cost.

      You knew she's going to prevail, right? Otherwise the last book ROYALS would have been the end of the series and you wouldn't even be reading this. ;) Actually, if the world ended, I guess you wouldn't be reading this, either. But I digress.

      Now, as I have mentioned before, I had decided to begin the Tales From Camelot series after completing AVALON Part 1. So I knew I would eventually reach this juncture in the Camelot series; so I kept that in mind when I wrote AVALON Part 2. The reason I mention this, is that Second Chance readers will be interested to know that I intentionally left out many details in that second part of AVALON, for the purpose of including those details here in this book. Those details and unanswered questions will be addressed in this story; which should make this doubly interesting for you.

      As for Tales From Camelot readers who have not read AVALON in Second Chance, you will only be getting certain highlights of the story, as I will be likewise be leaving out a great many Second Chance details. I do this so as not to ruin your experience in the other series. A mere thirty chapters here, will cover four lengthy books there. I have excluded all sorts of characters and interwoven plot details, enough to keep your experience fresh and exciting over there as well. Granted, these thirty chapters will be a little spoilery, especially at the end of Sara's story. But not enough to ruin the adventure and the incredible journey and the many amazing surprises all along the way in Sara's story.

      I am now going to list for you the chapters to skip over, if you don't want spoilers of any kind, or if you have already recently read the Second Chance books.

      For Second Chance readers:

      It might be interesting for you to read though these a second time, now that you are familiar with everything going on from Camelot's perspective. I guarantee you will catch a lot of things you missed the first time around. I wrote it that way on purpose. It will also help put everything into proper context, now that you have read ROYALS. If you have already read Second Chance, I would highly recommend at least reading up to chapter 12, before skipping 13-38, as a refresher for things happening later on in this book.

      For Tales From Camelot readers:

      If you want to avoid Second Chance spoilers, the two main chapters for you to skip over are 36 through 37. But only if you live in an extreme spoiler-free zone. Because like I said, even if you do read those two chapters, it really won't the kill the experience for you, as I cut a lot of stuff out and there is still a whole lot of other stuff going on in Second Chance than just this particular segment. Other plotlines, other characters, other adventures, and even a lot of stuff about Sara that isn't included here.

      For everyone:

      There are 113 chapters in this book. So even without Sara's portion, it is still a lengthy read. As I mentioned, Sara vs. the Revenant is not the only story to be told; that is only the first part. As for the rest of this book? We will not forget about the royals whom we have just come to know and love from our previous story. As I mentioned in the beginning of ROYALS, this was a two-parter, and we aren't going to leave you hanging. That is all I can say about that in this, our introduction. If I told you any more, I would have to shoot you.

      There are also some very interesting 'quests' in this book. No, not THAT quest, so don't get your hopes up; that one comes later on in the series. Nevertheless, in what could well be one of my single favorite stories in all of the books in either series, Lancelot's story especially will become very interesting, I guarantee it. And another incredible quest, which does in fact, become a foreshadowing of THE Quest (Book 12: QUEST).

      And of course, as the title implies, more on the legendary sword EXCALIBUR.

      Three incredible and amazing stories. One involving a brave little girl and the other two involving our brave Knights of Camelot. I cannot say much more than that, except to say that this book will be a grand adventure and a collectively powerful story, all set within the timeless world of Camelot.

      Rest assured, as Merlin's final and hopeful words at the end of ROYALS suggest, Camelot will live again. This is the story of how it happens.

      ~ Prodigal ~

      As the appointed Royal Historian of the Great Library of Camelot, I have been officially commissioned by His Majesty, High King Arthur Pendragon, to chronicle the people and the lives and the events of the amazing times in which we live and have lived. These collective works which I have written have come to be known as Tales From Camelot. You have been reading my little excerpts since the very first tale in Book One: PENDRAGON.

      We now reach Book Six, of which I have entitled EXCALIBUR. For it is in this tale where we finally begin to learn more about the legendary sword of Arthur.

      And it is in this tale, where we finally meet me.

      -Adrien the Historian, 505 A.D.

      Prologue

      A DARK SHADOW moved slowly through the cemetery, concealed behind a curtain of stealth and secrecy. Aided by a new moon, the shadow wandered amongst the tombstones, searching.

      The still, cool air was as barren of life as the graveyard itself, as not even crickets dared interrupt the silent intruder.

      Unseen by any other living soul, the shadowy figure continued to pause at each grave until finally discovering the one it had been seeking. Approaching the headstone, it reached out and rested a hand atop the marker.

      After some time, the figure knelt beside the dusty epitaph, now placing its hand on the face of the memorial. And the figure began slowly tracing the words etched in stone with a finger ...

      Life is not measured

      By the number of breaths we take

      But by the moments

      That take our breath away

      In loving memory

      Julian Marquis Dupré

      1950 - 1977

      The visitor remained at the graveside for over an hour before finally rising to their feet. Looking around to ensure they were still alone, the figure quietly disappeared into the darkness.

      But the visitor had not been as alone as believed. From a short distance away, stood another dark figure; one that had been patiently awaiting the arrival of this visitor for a very, very long time.

      For not all living things have souls.

      Chapter 1

      1988

      1500 years after the fall of Camelot

      My God, what have I done?

      Anchored out in the middle of the South Pacific, a 54' pleasure craft was bobbing up and down in the warm aquamarine waters beneath a sunny blue sky. Gentle tropical trade winds caressed the air like a loving mother with her newborn child.

      In self-loathing and self-condemnation, Sir George, Weapons Master of Camelot, slammed her head against the modern ship's bulkhead. I have just sent a little girl to her death; that is what I have done.

      George closed her eyes and sighed as a tear ran her cheek. While I sit here and do nothing, waiting for her to die. Some Protector I have turned out to be.

      And she began to weep again, which she did often these days, for she knew there was nothing more that she could do ... but wait.

      Below deck were Kemuel and Eddi; the ones from George's own original time, who she had once been extremely close to. Along with Sara, the four of them had lived together on the boat in secret, away from anyone and everyone, for the past 11 months, ever since George was first brought forward in time by Merlin for this unique and special singular task.

      The safest place to wait was on the water. For the Revenant could only move on land. Though it was freed from Time and Shadow, it was not freed from the earth. The High Demon was land-bound; and for the time being, the great Weapons Master of Camelot was safe out on the middle of the ocean.

      Though over the passage of time, the waters of the planet would eventually recede and disappear as the Revenant took control and dominion of the whole earth.

      During the previous year, back in 5th century Camelot, George had also been living on a boat upon the open sea, while waiting for word from Merlin that the Child of Promise had finally been found in the future. The patient and timeless High Demon had been diligently hunting George for the past two years, since it had first been unleashed upon the world through a tear in the Veil ... in the year 1987.

      The Veil. Which separates Time and Space, Dream from Reality, and Shadow from Earth. The Revenant had nearly caught up with George while she had been visiting Julian's modern-day tombstone the previous year. And that had only been one of many such close calls as the creature continued its relentless and never-ending pursuit of its first and prime directive, the renown Guardian Protector of the Seed.

      There was only one reason why the powers-that-be had risked transporting the Guardian Protector back to the future through Dream; wherein no one else had dared risk traveling for the past fifteen centuries. And the Revenant was well aware of the one reason.

      Dream. The realm where anyone who attempted to pass through would be sensed as surely as a spider could sense a victim attempting to traverse through its web. The Revenant had known the Guardian Protector had passed through. And thus, the demon had fully focused itself upon finding and putting an end to the Guardian Protector of the Seed and whatever it was that she might be planning. Once the brazen but foolish Protector was dealt with and done away with, then it would carry forth its plan to destroy the entire family lines of Merlin and Kemuel; beginning in 1987 where the Revenant was first loosed.

      The High Demon was loosed through the tear in the Veil in the exact location where once existed the Isle of Avalon; but was now only dry land. Then, once the two family lines were killed off, the creature would carry out its plan to destroy all of mankind, by returning to the site of the tear in the Veil. And by opening it wider, it would release its 'brethren'. And release even the Great Dragon, himself. The world would become overrun by an entire army of High Demons and plunged into total war and chaos, and Hell would rule forever on planet Earth.

      Of course, any and all attempts made by George to confront and defeat the High Demon, had only met with dismal failure and had served to be completely pointless and useless. For her sword would simply pass right through the creature of shadow, as if it was nothing more than a shadow.

      But as George had only recently learned, the reason why she had failed, was because she had the wrong sword. And ... she had the wrong heart. For only a heart of innocence could defeat the Revenant.

      But by the shedding of innocent blood,

      can death be overcome.

      George had never been able to get the awful mantra out of her head. And now she had just prepared a small child and sent her off to make the ultimate sacrifice. A child whom she had grown to care for and love over the course of the past year.

      As for the creature itself, George couldn’t touch the creature, though the creature could certainly touch George. Fortunately, so far it hadn’t succeeded, for one touch would be all it would take. One single touch of the Revenant's gruesome blackened bony hand upon her flesh and George would fall to unspeakable pain. One touch upon her heart and George would be dead, or worse.

      Just like how everyone else at Camelot was now dead.

      Thus, while she had been back in 5th century Camelot, the Protector had no choice but to run and to hide and continue to evade, hiding on the ocean, trying to somehow avoid the Revenant's deadly touch and keep herself alive; until the day would finally come when the one person who could defeat the High Demon could be found. Until the day when an innocent little 11-year-old girl could be trained and prepared by Sir George, and then complete her terrible mission.

      The little girl had indeed been found in the year 1987.

      The child of promise; a Daughter of Shae.

      Sara.

      And now, after having spent an entire year together, training aboard the safe ocean craft beyond the Revenant's deadly reach, Sara the 'little detective' had finally discovered on her own, the hidden location of Excalibur, and had gone and retrieved the legendary sword, and now the child had gone off to die. After which, then and only then, could George return home.

      Home, which for now anyway, would still be back in 5th century Pretania. Not at Camelot anymore, for that was burned out, leveled and destroyed. But George's own castle at Liddington still remained untouched.

      Fortunately, so also did George's two girls, Alana and Susan, now ages 15 and 14. They had been the only survivors; for her two daughters happened to have been at their family castle in Liddington at the time of the invasion, caring for their sick and elderly maid. George's two girls were the only ones fortunate to miss out on the assault on Castle Camelot, wrought by Mordred the Betrayer. Alana and Susan had been the only ones who had escaped the bloody massacre and the horrific widespread carnage, before George herself took the head of the invading Warlord. But not before the invading army took the lives of everyone else she knew and cared about.

      Arthur. Gwen. The families and the children. No one had been left alive. Not even her husband Julian had survived. And so it was, that George had been forced to leave behind her two deeply grieving daughters when she took the risky trip in Dream, in order to prepare the daughter of Shae for her fated destiny.

      George wasn't sure what that would mean. Only that once the Revenant was destroyed by Sara in 1988, taking Sara along with it, Dream would once more be free to travel, and George could return back home to her daughters. And to somehow, try to figure out how to survive life in the 5th century ... alone.

      In truth, if George didn't have her two daughters to return to, she wouldn't have any reason to return at all. Once she knew that Sara had completed her terrible task and the Revenant was defeated and the world had been saved, George would have been finished with her life. And she would have ended her life. So great was her grief at losing her husband Julian, and losing everyone she loved and cared about, that there was nothing left for the Guardian Protector to live for. She hadn't told Kemuel or Eddi below, but once she knew the deed was done and the world was safe, if it hadn't been for her two daughters back home, George would have pierced her own heart with her own sword, and purposefully fallen overboard to sink down into the ocean's dark depths.

      Oddly enough, to this day, George still didn't know that it had been Mordred. Even though she had been the one to take off his head. All she knew was that some Warlord had come out of nowhere, and had successfully united 13 kingdoms in a matter of weeks, to rise up against Arthur and attempt to overthrow House Pendragon.

      Mordred had been encased in black armor, wearing a black covered helm. Upon his black armored chest was painted a red serpent with red eyes. But George had never known who had been inside the armor. By the time she removed Mordred's head from his shoulders, George couldn't have cared less whose head was inside that helmet. The only thing that had mattered to George, was that the now dead Warlord had just succeeded in killing Arthur upon the battlefield. And Julian. Both of them, and right in front of her eyes.

      Arthur had been killed by Mordred's sword.

      Julian himself had been killed by Excalibur.

      And George had never been able to forgive herself.

      As she sat upon the ship's wooden deck with her eyes closed, her mind went back to what had happened on that terrible and fateful night . . .

      *** *** ***

      The invading Warlord knew Arthur's strengths and weaknesses from many years of Knight Training with his uncle. Unbeknownst to anyone, not even Arthur, it was none other than his own nephew Mordred. Arthur was so engaged in the thick of battle he hadn't recognized Mordred for who he really was.

      Nevertheless, even with Mordred knowing Arthur's weaknesses, as King and Warlord fought in combat upon the battlefield, Arthur was quickly gaining the upper hand. Until finally, it looked like Arthur was about to defeat the mysterious invading Warlord.

      George was desperately trying to make her way over to Arthur's side but she was having to cut through hundreds of defensive enemy soldiers to get there. Julian started to follow after George, but she ordered him to stay back, for the battle was thickest around Arthur; Arthur being the primary target. George was still twenty yards away when suddenly! Mordred had done the unthinkable. He had caught Arthur by surprise ... with just two simple words:

      Hello, Uncle.

      And in shock, Arthur realized in that single terrible and horrendous moment ... who the mystery Warlord was.

      It was all the moment that Mordred needed, as he rammed his sword up into Arthur's neck below his helmet, instantly killing the High King of Pretania.

      Moments later, George finally reached Mordred, just as Arthur fell to the ground. But the horrific sight of seeing Arthur fall dead completely stunned her, to the point where the Protector briefly hesitated in shock.

      Long enough to then feel Mordred's blade herself.

      With a malevolent and triumphant grin, the sword of the Betrayer slashed directly across the Protector's face, felling the undefeatable Weapons Master with a single blow.

      Convinced she was now dead, Mordred then quickly turned back to Arthur's body to retrieve his prize - the legendary sword Excalibur from Arthur's dead hand. For Excalibur had been his prime directive as given to him by the demon Fallow.

      But though Mordred was of Kemuel's line and blood, and should have been able to wield Excalibur as only those of Merlin's and Kemuel's blood could, Mordred was now corrupted. As he yanked the legendary sword from Arthur's lifeless hand, the sword burned him, causing him to scream out in pain.

      The Weapons Master was not dead, however; though the horrific wound across her face had nearly cost George her life. Stunned and blinded by blood, she managed to rise once more to her feet and raised her sword.

      When Mordred saw she was still alive, he ignored the burning pain just long enough to take one long full swipe at George with Excalibur.

      But this time she was ready.

      George ducked. And then with a loud war cry she beheaded the invading Warlord who had dared take the life of Arthur Pendragon.

      After the black helmeted head fell at her feet and the Warlord's dead body fell over to the side, George then saw to her further horror that Julian had not obeyed her order to stay back. When he saw his wife struck across the face by Mordred's blade, Julian crashed through an impossible number of men to reach her side. But when she had ducked Mordred's second attack with Excalibur, the long wide arc of the legendary sword's reach had found Julian.

      And it had cost George the love of her life.

      *** *** ***

      Two years later, a deep, long and hideous scar still reached just above her right eye, across the bridge of her nose and all the way down to her lower left jaw. And now every time George looked into a mirror, she was continually reminded of how it was all her fault.

      Chapter 2

      Unfortunately, the tragic deaths of Arthur and Julian was only the beginning. While the battle raged outside the castle walls, a separate group of three hundred assassins made it inside the castle. Handpicked by Mordred, they were three hundred of his best men.

      The vast bulk of the Knights and the armed forces were outside battling Mordred's twenty thousand forces. In truth, the 20,000 would eventually be overcome by Camelot's 120,000. But that had been Mordred's plan. He was willing to sacrifice 20,000 lives for the sake of gaining entrance of his best 300 men, for the sole purpose of bringing an end to House Pendragon. The 300 stormed the castle keep, and captured Gwen. The rest of the girls and women died by the sword. But by direct orders of Mordred, Gwen herself was burned alive at the stake. For as Mordred now believed, Gwen was the witch who had behind the torturing of his mother, and Arthur had been her pawn and the one to hold the knife.

      As for the boys and the men, Mordred has specifically targeted his 20,000 to first take out Arthur, and then the rest of the family members; and then the Knights, in that order. Whatever were then left of his 20,000 soldiers, they could kill or be killed, it didn't matter to Mordred. Once Arthur's family and Knights were dispensed with, it didn't matter. Once House Pendragon had fallen, with the exception of his parents Morgan le Fay and Accolon, Mordred and his parents would be left as the sole surviving heirs and the new rulers of Pretania. And once the rest of Camelot's mighty army finally realized it, they would have no choice but to fall upon bended knee to their new leader.

      So Fallow has promised Mordred.

      So Fallow had corrupted Mordred.

      So Fallow had lied.

      Because even if Mordred did succeed in bringing about the fall of House Pendragon, the entire army of Camelot would in truth, have fought to the last man to bring down Mordred the Betrayer.

      Which was also Fallow's plan.

      Fallow had no plan to leave Mordred alive, nor his parents. The demon's sole focus had always been the total annihilation of the two lines of Kemuel and Merlin.

      But Fallow had managed to corrupt Mordred so fully and so completely, that Mordred would now do and believe anything the demon said. The young and innocent boy, who knew no evil and had never seen nor experienced evil, had become putty in the demon's hands.

      It was Mordred's out-of-control blind rage that had given Fallow the hook that he needed into Mordred's soul. Fueled by what Mordred had just learned about the horrific things that had been done to his mother and father at the hands of the evil former Duke Gorlois, that unbridled rage had made Mordred susceptible to be deceived by the enemy. And then, combined with a hint of madness that had begun to creep into Mordred's mind, it just made Mordred all the more pliable to Fallow's wickedly twisted lies and deceit.

      Mordred had all but inadvertently handed himself over to the enemy. And never one to miss an opportunity, Fallow was quick to take advantage of the situation . . .

      *** *** ***

      Master, I have returned.

      Have you done as I have asked, devoted one?

      No, Master. I have more questions.

      I grow weary of your questions! The time to act is now!

      I must be certain you speak the truth.

      I begin to grow impatient with you, disciple!

      Then slay me if you wish. But what you ask ... is most ... difficult. It weighs heavy upon my heart.

      You know I would never speak lies to you.

      How do I know this?

      Have I not always spoken the truth?

      You have said Uther Pendragon murdered my mother's mother.

      Yes. Morgan's true mother was Gytha, not Igraine. Gytha, beloved wife of your father Gorlois, who both died at the callous hands of Uther.

      You have said Arthur Pendragon murdered my mother's true father, Gorlois, and my mother's true four brothers.

      Yes. And they had loved your mother Morgan very much. But your mother was deceived by the lies of both Uther and his wicked son Arthur.

      You have said Guinevere Pendragon is a witch, and now seeks to murder my own mother and father.

      Yes. And witches must be burned at the stake.

      You have said House Pendragon is evil and must fall.

      Yes.

      How do I know all these things are true?

      I would never speak lies to you.

      Again I say, how do I know these things are true?

      Has Arthur Pendragon spoken to you of the power of the sword?

      No. He has never spoken of the sword's power with me.

      Then you know he is the one who lies to you. He is the one who seeks to hide the true power of the sword. He is the one who fears your learning of the truth, for he fears what you would become with the sword in your hand.

      I must know for certain. What you ask of me ... brings great pain to my mind.

      Very well. There is a way I can prove that these things are true.

      Tell me.

      Do not kill Arthur. Instead, wound him first and then take his sword. Then ... at the very moment you first touch his sword, you shall know I have spoken the truth. Then kill him, and bring the sword to me.

      I ... this seems ... better to me.

      You will do as I ask?

      If I do, will you teach me the true power of the sword?

      Yes. I would never speak lies to you.

      Then I shall do it! I shall advise our neighbor's armies to prepare for the destruction of House Pendragon!

      And I shall make your father and mother, Accolon and Morgan, the new High King and High Queen, and you shall become High Prince and heir to the throne; just as I have promised you.

      And I shall have my revenge!

      And I shall have the sword.

      And I shall have the power! I shall go at once!

      Good, good. Yes, yes.

      *** *** ***

      And so it was, that Fallow had finally succeeded in destroying not only House Pendragon, but the two lines of Kemuel and Merlin as well.

      Even High Prince Lohot and Princess Ursulet had been brutally dismembered and their bodies burned, leaving no one alive to carry on the line of Kemuel, and the line of the Seed had finally come to its tragic end.

      Except ... that Fallow himself had also been deceived.

      Lohot and Ursulet were very much alive. As was Willow, a Guardian Protector of the Seed. And her husband Wesley. And Shae.

      Secreted away by Merlin while Anna bought them time; Anna had dressed up two dead bodies inside the throne room to look like Lohot and Ursulet, and by magic altered their appearance so that Fallow would believe they were dead.

      Her ploy had even fooled the Revenant itself; initially. Who was not bound by time and came later that same night, searching for signs of life among the dead, as it continued its relentless destruction of the two blood lines.

      But for Anna, her deceptive ploy came at a terrible cost. She had found her husband Lot and her son Gawain, and had seen they had been fortunate enough to die by the sword. Anna herself, wasn't so fortunate . . .

      *** *** ***

      Anna had just finished preparing the 'bodies' of Lohot and Ursulet, for the purposes of deception. She even used some of her own inherit abilities to improve and enhance her deception, with the full intent to deceive not only the medial demon Fallow, but the High Demon Revenant itself.

      But by the shedding of innocent blood,

      can death be overcome.

      That message had been inscribed upon the wall in flames, for Anna. Its purpose was to let Anna know what she must do, and must be prepared to do. For unknown to everyone else, Sara's sacrifice wasn't the only sacrifice which would be required. While Anna didn't fully understand the details, she had understood the message and its purpose. She had known for seven years, that her blood was also going to be required.

      Anna had resorted to Sorcery to accomplish her deception. Indeed, it wasn't Anna who had created the illusion. It was Morgause. Morgause had returned ... with a vengeance. This time, not against House Pendragon. But against Hell itself. And Morgause was determined to take out the Revenant if she had to die trying.

      It had never been Anna's intention to turn to sorcery; that had never been her plan. Rather, it was an unexpected byproduct of her grief. After speaking with Merlin earlier that night, she had returned to the castle ... to find the slain bodies of her beloved husband Lot and her son Gawain. It had pushed her over the edge. And Anna, was Anna, no more.

      With a stone cold heart of hot green fury, Morgause waited in the burning throne room for the Revenant to arrive.

      Finally, she heard it coming down the hallway. A spine-tingling sound like fingernails scraping against a chalkboard. Or bone scraping against bone.

      As she waited, green flame began to engulf the Sorceress as she infused herself with pure Witchfire, consuming her entire body. And then Morgause called up Balefire - and raised her hands in preparation to strike with full force and fury. For as soon as the Revenant stepped through that open throne room doorway, Morgause had every intention to send the High Demon right back to Hell where it came from.

      Then ... the Revenant appeared.

      And now standing in the doorway, was something far worse than a Banshee or an Aswang. This was something far more powerful and far more deadly.

      It was an apparition of the purist and darkest evil. The shadowy horror stood over twelve feet tall, and was blacker than black. It had terrible black wings, and though it's face was concealed within the cowl of its inky black robes, the black, skeletal hands were more than enough evidence that one would never, ever want to see the face beneath the hood.

      The shadow then raised one of its terrifyingly bony hands ... and pointed at the two nearby burned and dismembered bodies - that were supposedly Prince Lohot and Princess Ursulet.

      The Revenant was asking the Sorceress a question.

      But Morgause didn't answer its question with words. The powerful Sorceress answered the Revenant with Balefire; her most powerful weapon; a massive laser-like beam of liquid Witchfire; powerful enough to bring down Castle Camelot itself with a single blast.

      Which was, in fact, her intention.

      The Revenant took the hit of the powerful beam directly in its chest, where the release of unimaginable energy exploded into a tremendous green cloud of intense heat and liquid vapor. So great was the explosion that the surrounding walls of thick greystone instantly melted, causing the entire ceiling to begin to collapse.

      And still Morgause continued pouring herself into the powerful beam ... more heat ... more fire ... more energy ... more intensity ... building in strength ... never relenting. Hot green flames quickly began spreading outwards, racing sideways along the stone walls, consuming the very stone walls themselves and everything else in their path.

      Until finally ... the entire fortress at Camelot ignited in a massive explosion, like a small tactical nuclear blast, resulting in sending a giant mushroom cloud a mile high.

      Anna was buried along with the Revenant beneath the great collapsed fortress.

      It was a short time later when Morgause opened her eyes from beneath the rubble. Her body was twisted, mangled and torn from the great explosion, and she knew she only had a few moments left to live.

      Then ... to her horror ... from out of the great cloud of smoke and green fire and dust and ash, she saw the Revenant approaching her.

      Untouched. Unharmed. Unstoppable.

      Then the shadowy horror began slowly moving its bony hand towards her with that same, awful bone-scraping sound.

      Morgause's eyes widened as she opened her mouth to scream. And scream, she did. For when the abhorrent hand touched her chest, her body exploded in massive, fiery pain. The hellish, burning agony increased a hundredfold as the hand began reaching deeper and deeper into her chest, ultimately reaching her heart.

      Just moments earlier, buried beneath the debris of the destroyed Castle Camelot, Anna had but only a few moments left to live.

      Now ... her screams of agony continued for hours ... and hours ... and hours ... as the patient Revenant refused to let her go.

      The Sorceress Morgause never did reveal to the Revenant where the real Lohot and Ursulet had gone. Eventually and after a very long time ... she finally took that crucial and all important knowledge with her to the grave.

      *** *** ***

      Anna's terrible sacrifice had, in fact, bought Merlin and the children the precious time that they needed to escape, allowing them to flee the region without pursuit.

      And eventually allowing the Daughter of Shae to be born.

      Chapter 3

      But there were more who feared the Revenant than even humans. There were more who feared the Revenant than even Protectors. Even demons feared the Revenant.

      Fortunately for Fallow's peace of mind, he still didn't know about the Revenant. He knew the Veil had been torn, though he didn't know by whom. Nor was he aware that anything had come through, if anything at all.

      The Revenant had the same goal as Fallow, to destroy the two lines. But while Fallow sought status in Shadow, with the end goal of being rewarded and becoming a High Demon himself, the Revenant itself was already in the upper echelon and hierarchy of Shadow. The High Demon had a very different ultimate end goal that Fallow. The Revenant wanted to annihilate all life on earth.

      Including demons.

      Fallow didn't know that a Revenant had been loosed. If he had known, he would have been long gone and halfway around the world by now, hiding and cowering in fear. For even demons feared a Revenant.

      Chapter 4

      There was only one who didn't fear a Revenant. Surprisingly, it was a small-statured, auburn-haired, blue-eyed girl of only 11 years of age.

      Though the child wasn't a Protector and wasn't skilled with supernatural abilities, she nevertheless possessed the same strong heart, perseverance, and determination of Sir George. Though she wasn't a king, she possessed the wisdom, nobility and strength of character of Arthur. Though she wasn't a daughter of Shira, she nevertheless possessed the innocence of soul and the purity of heart of Guinevere. Though she wasn't in the same league as Anna, she nevertheless possessed the same super-smartness of her distant ancestor Shae.

      She was also very tricky.

      From the day little Sara had first discovered George's diary hidden away in her father's large personal library, she had been very, very secretive in the manner in which she had read it. The diary had been mysteriously dropped off on the front porch of her house by Merlin while she was still only an infant. It was found by her parents Susan and Ben, George's old friends from before the time she went to Camelot, and had, in fact, named her second-born daughter after. After Susan and Ben read George's ancient diary and learned what had eventually happened to their once dear friends George and Julian, and learning of the horrific way in which it ended with Julian's death along with everyone else at Camelot, they hid it away in order to keep it away from young and innocent prying eyes.

      The first time Sara discovered it, was quite by accident when she was only ten. Little Sara loved drawing pictures and was looking for a picture book for new ideas of things to draw. While Ben was away, she went into her father's home office and climbed up the ladder to the highest level to look at the top row of books; books which she had never seen before. While she was up there, Sara saw something else ... hidden behind the books upon the tallest shelf.

      The first thing Sara noticed was that the book was burned; and that pieces of it were destroyed or missing. But there were still enough pieces intact to tell a story.

      She had only read a few pages when her father returned and discovered her, and scolded her for looking at 'the book'. When Sara asked why, Ben only explained that there were things written in it which were too mature for young children. Ben then playfully spanked her on the bottom and sent her out from his office and closed his door, while he sought a better place to hide 'the book'.

      It only took the little ten-year-old three weeks to find it again. This time, inside a fake binding taken from an old dictionary and set amongst the other books on a different high shelf. Sara had her own dictionary in her own room and Ben didn't think she would ever have reason to climb the ladder for a different and older dictionary.

      It's not that it took Sara three weeks to find it, for she had found it almost instantly. She was, after all, very bright. Rather, it had taken Sara three weeks to make another attempt. She knew she had been warned. But Sara was cursed with an insatiable curiosity that eventually got the better of her. During her first attempt to read the book, she had read about mysterious woman named 'George', who was a Knight at Camelot. The ancient book was clearly very old with charred and yellowed brittle pages and looked like it could fall apart at any time. And yet in spite of the book's very old age ... Sir George had mentioned Ben and Susan by name!

      How is any ten year old child supposed to let that go? Granted, she could have asked her parents about it. But Ben and Susan had never mentioned anything George or Camelot. Obviously they knew about it, and had known about it, and had never wanted Sara to know about it. Which begged the all-important question ... why?

      Then to Sara's further astonishment, she had read the names of her Aunt Alana and Uncle Michael as well. Which begged the all-important question ... why?

      Apparently ... this George lady ... who was a Knight ... was real. And even though she lived a long, long time ago ... she knew Sara's parents and her aunt and uncle. Which begged the all-important question ... why?

      Sara had to know. She had to know what the big secret was that her family had kept from her, for all of her young life.

      It had consumed her thoughts day after day and night after night for three weeks. Until finally she couldn't stand it anymore. Something very strange was going on. And Sara's detective little mind guessed that the 'something strange' ... may not have ended with a 'happily ever after' ending. And that something bad had happened. And that was the real reason why they had kept the whole thing a big secret. That was why she was forbidden to read 'the book'.

      Her parents had been keeping a long time mysterious secret from her. Sara had to know the truth. That was her reason for doing it. That was her true motivation. To find the truth to what really happened. Who is to say if it was the right decision or not - to hide the truth of such evils from one's own child. But the truth had been hidden. And three weeks later, Sara had determined to learn the truth.

      While both of her parents were out on their regular Friday night date night, Sara went in search of 'the book'.

      It was late in the evening when her parents returned. She was about a third of the way through the book and had become so absorbed in the story, that she never heard them enter Ben's office. Her mother Susan gasped in horror when she saw what Sara was reading.

      After a lengthy session of being taken to task for reading 'the book', after she had been told not to, Sara was finally sent off to bed after being grounded for a month; all the way up to her 11th year birthday. Ben and Susan refused to answer any questions about what she had read, only that she shouldn't have read it.

      Which only served to make the book all the more mysterious. It would be a month before Sara would finally brave a third attempt to learn the truth. And she began doing so for a short time each night after her parents had gone to bed.

      She found the book amongst several of her mother's old cookbooks on a side shelf; wrapped inside a 20 year old edition of Betty Crocker's cookbook. Ben knew his daughter didn't share Susan's love of cooking. In fact, Sara seemed rather adverse to the idea of learning to cook. So, Ben thought that would be the safest place to hide the book. Among Susan's old cooking books.

      It was the first place Sara looked.

      As she knew how drawn into the story she could get, Sara wisely kept her reading sessions brief each night, so that she could listen for her parents coming. Night after night, week after week, Sara slowly and methodically worked her way through the very mysterious burned book. Taking her time and paying attention to every single tiny detail, noting all along the way how the ancient woman named George spoke with rather modern phraseology compared to the times in which she lived, thereby adding even more mystery. In the daytime and on weekends, Sara studied the time period in great detail, by visiting the school library and the local city library. And even the great library at the University of Hawaii on three separate occasions, where her Uncle Stuart was a Professor. All the while, keeping what she was reading and studying to herself and telling absolutely no one.

      Not even her twin brother Daniel or her cousin and best friend since birth, Jenny, the daughter of Alana. Like her mother, 11-year-old Jenny was a daughter of Shira, with the same long blue-black hair. Sara's family was, in fact, from the line of Kemuel, through her father Ben. Though the children knew nothing about Kemuel and Elias (aka. Merlin). The parents hold told nothing to their children about the amazing family they were from. They were planning on telling the children ... when they were older. But certainly not at ten or eleven years of age. The parents had agreed to begin telling things to their children when they turned twelve. Or possible twenty. Or thirty. Or forty. Depending on how long they thought they could put it off.

      But Sara had inadvertently decided for them. For the by the time Sara finally finished the book, on the night of her 11th birthday, March 15, 1987 - the Ides of March, Sara had finally learned the truth.

      In fact, because she had studied the book in such detail and for so long, and coupled with her photographic memory, Sara had learned more of the truth than even her parents had known . . .

      *** *** ***

      Late that night in bed, Ben sighed.

      Something wrong? Susan asked.

      I'm really not looking forward to next year.

      I know.

      Are we sure it's a good idea? Couldn't we wait until they're 18 or something?

      They're going to know, Ben. Sooner, rather than later. They're going to start figuring out things on their own. I'd rather it come from us. I mean, already, Jenny is starting to...

      I know.

      And Daniel. He's already...

      I know.

      And of course, Sara...

      I know; I really worry about her, the most.

      Me too. She's so much like you. Don't take me wrong, Ben. I mean ... I love the adventurous side in you; I really do.

      You do? Even though it gets me into trouble all the time?

      At least you have some common sense.

      I!? ME!? Have common sense!?

      Susan laughed. Yes, in your own way, you have common sense.

      How do you figure that!?

      Because, Ben, you have a sense of responsibility. And a sense of purpose. And you're not afraid of doing whatever it is that needs to be done.

      I thought you hated that about me?

      I hate the predicaments you sometimes get yourself into. But I love the reasons you do it.

      Really?

      Besides, you have gotten a lot better at talking to me and to others, before you go running off and doing something stupid. Especially since the kids were born. Something happened to you that day. And I'm very proud of you.

      You're proud of me!?

      Ben, the reasons you do the things that you do ... they're good reasons. They're noble reasons.

      They are!?

      Well, most of them, anyway. she grinned.

      Are you suggesting that what happened to my nose is noble, Mrs. Davison?

      No, that was stupid.

      Ah.

      You still have some room to grow, husband of mine.

      Thank you for the encouragement, Mrs. Davison.

      But Sara ... that's a different story. Ben, she's even more of a dreamer than you are!

      Tell me about it. And what's worse, she may have your smarts, but she also has your independence and your determination. Once she sets her mind to something, right or wrong, there's no turning her back. Like Michael said, that's a very dangerous combination.

      Ben, I don't want her to have to learn things the hard way. That's a terrible life.

      Neither do I, Susan. Neither do I.

      And then you throw this whole Conflux thing into the mix - whatever that means. Ben, I don't have to tell you how scared I am.

      Yeah, I confessed that to Michael, today, too.

      You know that she's going to end up at that haunted house.

      Oh, yeah. And she'll most certainly drag Daniel and Jenny along with her.

      You and Michael need to get over there and figure out what's going on, before the kids do.

      Oh we're planning on doing that tomorrow morning, right after breakfast.

      Good. But be careful, okay?

      I promise.

      Don't do anything stupid.

      I can't promise that.

      Ben... she warned.

      I'm really missing Elias, lately.

      Susan sighed. I know. Me too.

      Do you think he's still back there?

      I have no idea.

      Do you think Merlin is still here, somewhere?

      I have no idea.

      And where are Kemuel and Eddi? I mean, they're my 'grandparents', right? Shouldn't they be around watching out for me or something?

      Ben, I don't know. Maybe they ... wait ... what's that?

      What's what?

      Ben, I think someone is in the house!

      WHAT!?

      Shhhh ... listen...

      I hear it. It sounds like ... someone crying.

      Susan gasped. That's Sara!

      Ben and Susan both jumped out of bed and ran down the hall towards the living-room.

      Not here. said Ben. It sounds like it's coming from my study!

      As they both ran towards Ben's home office, they once more heard the crying as they reached the door. Susan opened the door and they both peered in.

      Oh ... no ... no ... no... Susan exclaimed in horror.

      Sara was sitting on the floor, weeping. Sitting on the floor in front of her was George's diary.

      She looked up at her parents with tears streaming down her face. It wasn't supposed to end like that!

      SARA!

      Why did it end that way!?

      BABY! Susan exclaimed as she rushed over to her.

      Why did he have to die, Mommy? It's not right!

      Susan dropped down beside Sara wrapping her arms around her.

      Why did they have to kill him?

      Ben began to feel sick inside, as he slowly walked over.

      He wasn't supposed to die! They had a family! That's not how the story was supposed to end! Why did they kill them? Why did Julian have to die?

      *** *** ***

      Sara was extremely distraught over what she had learned that night. Especially over what had happened to Sir Julian, the husband of Sir George. For Sara had grown very fond of George and Julian during her reading and studying of George's personal diary; so much so that she felt as if she knew them. And as tragic it was to read George's final entry about the last day of Camelot, it was George's personal loss of her husband Julian that broke little Sara's tender heart.

      Sara was, in fact, so upset with how it had all suddenly came to such an abrupt and horrific ending, that Ben and Susan decided against punishing her for reading the book; for the they felt the 'ending' was more than punishment enough.

      Sara had now learned the truth, completely and on her own. Even though Ben and Susan didn't think she was ready to learn the truth.

      The truth was, however, that there was more truth to be learned that just Sara's unique family and heritage and the story of Sir George. Sara had also learned another truth. A very subtle ... and very well hidden and concealed truth; cleverly written on the very last page by George, with the aid of Merlin...

      *** *** ***

      Dear Diary,

      This is my last and final entry. My heart is sick unto death; I can write no more. But for my two girls, I have lost everything which once held meaning. I have no more reason to live, but to somehow help my girls learn to live.

      I have lost all hope. Arthur and Gwen are gone, and with them all hope has perished. For without the two-edged sharpness of truth and the blood of innocence, there is no hope.

      Goodbye, one and all.

      George

      *** *** ***

      The reference was a little vague, but 'truth' and 'innocence' seemed to apply to Arthur and Gwen. At least that's how Ben and Susan had always taken it. But Sara was different. She looked at things differently. Sara had the uncanny ability to look at things outside the box.

      Now her mother Susan was also smart in her own right. But she wasn't a 'dreamer' as Sara sometimes tended to be; a trait Sara had inherited from her father, Ben. Whereas Susan thought in sensible patterns, her young daughter looked at things differently. Thus the clue was planted for only Sara to find and interpret.

      And Sara knew. She had her mother's smarts and her father's creativity. Armed with her unique combination, in secret, Sara had figured it out. She had figured it all. The book had become a project, almost to the point of obsession. Sara thought about it night and day. And she studied it. And she studied about Camelot. And she studied about Excalibur. And she studied about hope and truth and two-edged swords and the connection between hope and innocent blood. And the smart little girl with the Sherlock Holmes mind, considered upon all sorts of various possibilities of what that last line might possibly mean. And she considered upon what the 'hope' truly was. And so it was, that on her own and in secret, Sara had managed to put all of the pieces together.

      The sword; forged in Dream before the time of men. The pure blue flame of the sword of truth, which caused fear amongst all manner of demons. And Sara suspected the sword could do far more than just 'flame on'. She suspected the sword was capable of much, much more; even more than Arthur himself was aware of. Truly had the mysterious Lady of the Lake spoken to Arthur when she first gave him the sword: Arthur Pendragon, son of Kemuel, I offer you this gift. May you wield it with wisdom and honor. May you never require its knowledge. And may you always walk in grace. You are favored, son of Kemuel. The sword is yours. George had included White Heaven's famous words earlier in her diary; words that Arthur had himself once told George in telling her his story.

      May you never require its knowledge. Those were the words Sara had initially picked up on. That was the first clue which had triggered something in Sara, to study very carefully every tiny detail of everything she could learn about Excalibur.

      And find out, she did. Not all, but enough. Enough to give Sara the solution she was looking for. She found the answers, mostly through ancient writings in ancient manuscripts, such as the ones she had researched while at the great library at the University of Hawaii.

      Then there was the matter of the blood of an innocent. The self-sacrifice of an innocent child.

      Her sacrifice.

      Amazingly, the small girl child had figured out that the story of George and Julian and Camelot didn't end up the way that it was supposed to. It ended ... wrong.

      It wasn't supposed to end like that! Sara had repeatedly cried out to her parents. Her parents thought she was just being emotional; they didn't realize it was much deeper and more profound than that. Because Sara knew that it wasn't supposed to end like that. And though she told no

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