Grail of Stars (21 page)

Rhianna whirled, almost knocking over the Grail. Her hand flew instinctively to
her sword. But she slid Excalibur’s blade back into its scabbard when she saw Lord Avallach had Arianrhod’s wrist clasped in his six strong fingers.

She watched the Avalonian lord warily.

Arianrhod gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, my lady,” she whispered. “But he was already down here with Elphin’s casket.”

Rhianna’s heart leaped. Elphin was near! She wanted to rush over and check on her friend. But she had to find out what had happened to her father’s soul first. She kept her hand on Excalibur’s hilt and her gaze on Lord Avallach. At least he hadn’t brought her mother with him.

“
Faha’ruh
, Rhianna Pendragon,” the Avalonian lord said formally. “So here you are at the end of your quest. And here’s old
Merlin, come to make sure you do the right thing… yet the druid has never really belonged in either of our worlds, have you Merlin?” Lord Avallach turned his purple gaze on the druid’s spirit. “Cai tells me you are the dark knight’s father. Is this true?”

Merlin frowned. “I knew that boy’s tongue would get someone in trouble one of these days,” he muttered. “It was just one night in the druid grove. Morgan Le Fay had her charms. I was young, the witch was determined, and I paid for my mistake. I didn’t even know for sure, until she told me the truth when Mordred captured my falcon’s body. I kept my promise to my king. I brought the girl here with the Grail.”

“And now she has a final choice to make,” Lord Avallach said. He glanced sadly into King
Arthur’s casket then rested his gaze on Rhianna. “I warned you before that your father’s body was not healing as quickly as it should. Now you can see the truth with your own eyes. If you use that Grail you carry to wake him, he will live. But I can’t guarantee he’ll be riding his horse any time soon, perhaps never again. If you leave him down here, however, time will eventually heal his wounds, as it heals everything.”

“How long?” Rhianna demanded, still gripping Excalibur.

Lord Avallach exchanged a glance with Merlin. “As long as it takes. A thousand of your years, maybe more.”

Rhianna’s heart twisted.

So Mordred had been right, after all! He had warned her at their very first meeting that her father would sleep for thousands of years –
and she hadn’t believed him. She’d thought if she could just find the Grail of Stars, she could make everything right again. But of course the Lights must have their limits, too. Otherwise Mordred could never have killed King Arthur, who had been carrying the Sword of Light and wearing the Crown of Dreams when the two of them fought at Camlann.

She took a deep breath and made herself look at her father’s wounded body. “And then he’ll be strong again? Healed properly?”

Lord Avallach nodded. “As strong as he was before the battle with Mordred. Stronger.”

“But I won’t be alive to see him when he wakes up, will I?” she said, finally realising the price she would pay. “Or my mother? Or his champion, Sir Lancelot, or any of the knights up there in your hall?”

“That’s right,” Merlin said quickly. “You, your mother, and Arthur’s faithful knights will all have grown old and died long before that. If you want to take your father home to Camelot, you know what you need to do.”

In the silence that followed his words, Rhianna could not think straight.

“Elphin will still be here when King Arthur wakes,” Arianrhod whispered. “Avalonians don’t die, do they?”

Rhianna gave her friend a distracted look. But Lord Avallach smiled at the girl. “Your maid is quite right. And we can bring the rest of Arthur’s knights down here to sleep with their king when they die.” He indicated the empty caskets. “I’ve already got spaces waiting for Sir Lancelot, Sir Bors, Sir Agravaine and Sir Bedivere, and I can easily make one for
young Sir Cai… Arthur won’t wake alone. When he calls on their spirits, his knights will wake to ride with him again.”

Rhianna wet her lips. “And what about me? Can I have a casket down here too, when I die?”

Lord Avallach smiled at her. “We don’t usually bring damsels down here. But from what I’ve heard, you’re as heroic as any of your father’s knights, so I’ll make an exception in your case, if you still want that when your time comes. You don’t have to decide now. You have your whole life ahead of you, even if it’s only a short human span. I’m sure your father would want you to enjoy that life first.”

Rhianna looked into the Grail and saw her own reflection staring back. She still wore her wildflower crown, wilting a little now.
“A thousand years is such a long time…” she whispered.

“Don’t be silly, Rhianna Pendragon!” Merlin snapped. “You don’t have to wait nearly that long. You’ve got the Grail of Stars! At least give its magic a try, before you let Camelot’s glory fade. I’m sure your father would prefer to sit on his throne again as a cripple, beside his queen, than wait a thousand years and start over with new tribes of barbarians to conquer.”

“It’s Rhianna’s Grail,” Lord Avallach said firmly. “Only she can decide how to use it. I’ve already explained this to the queen, who says the same as I do.”

Rhianna nodded, her decision made. “I want my father to wake whole and strong again, however long that takes. “He’s going to need the Sword of Light to call the souls
of his knights back into their bodies when he does.”

She unbuckled Excalibur from her waist and stroked the white jewel on the hilt. Then she lifted the lid of her father’s casket and gently pushed the Sword between his clasped hands so that it lay over his heart, hiding the wound. “Maybe the magic will help heal him if he sleeps with the strength of a hundred knights in his hands,” she added. She quickly closed the lid again before she could change her mind.

“Thank you, daughter,” said her father’s voice in her ear.

She spun round in sudden hope.

King Arthur’s ghost stood behind Merlin’s, looking very solid and strong as he rested a hand on the druid’s shoulder. His blue eyes
crinkled as he smiled at Rhianna. “I do believe I feel better already,” he said.

Warmth filled her. She looked into the casket and saw the king’s wounds were closing. She smiled her father’s soul in relief. “Then you don’t mind waiting a bit longer for your body to heal properly?”

King Arthur’s soul smiled again. “Not at all. Time runs differently here in Avalon, and you deserve some happiness of your own after ridding the world of Prince Mordred. Lancelot will look after Guinevere until he joins me down here. Let the child alone, Merlin. She’s brought me back my sword. She’s done better than you deserve.”

Arianrhod clasped her hands together, her eyes wet with tears. Lord Avallach squeezed the maid’s shoulder and said, “Don’t be sad.
Your princess has made a good choice.”

Merlin sat on the king’s casket and dropped his head in his hands. “I knew it,” he grumbled. “I
knew
the girl would do something like this… Why couldn’t Guinevere have had a son I could have trained from an early age, instead of a daughter who was allowed to grow up wild, riding fairy horses? You might as well pour that magic water away, Rhianna Pendragon! I can see you’re not going to be happy until you get your father back to Camelot as strong as he was before, and bring peace to the entire land of men while you’re at it! Just don’t expect me to help you. I’m going to rest down here for a while. I’m tired. Take that Grail of yours out of here. It’s making my poor old spirit hurt.”

He aimed a kick at Nimue’s cup. Fortunately,
his ghostly foot passed right through it and the water inside only shivered.

Rhianna quickly rescued the Grail and its contents. Now she’d made up her mind, she felt much better. Her mother didn’t really need King Arthur to come back from the dead, anyway, not now she had found happiness with Sir Lancelot – it would only have complicated things at Camelot.

Satisfied her father was happy with her decision, Rhianna looked at Arianrhod. “It’d be a shame to waste the Grail’s magic,” she said with a smile. “Wouldn’t it?”

Arianrhod’s face brightened. “Elphin’s over here, my lady,” she said, leading the way across the cavern.

Her friend lay in another beautiful crystal casket with golden writing on the lid. “It says
Here Lies Elphin, Crown Prince of Avalon,
” Arianrhod informed her, before Rhianna could ask. The maid glanced at Lord Avallach for permission before opening the casket.

A lump caught in Rhianna’s throat. Elphin looked so peaceful, as if he’d just fallen asleep. But she could see the green blisters around his wrists left by Mordred’s enchanted ropes. She knelt beside the casket, cradled her friend’s head in her arm and carefully lowered the Grail of Stars to his lips. The water sparkled as it entered his mouth.

For two heartbeats, nothing happened. She wondered if she’d chosen the wrong Grail, after all, and a great sadness filled her. Would everyone she loved sleep here in Lord Avallach’s
crystal caverns until she was long dead?

Then the wind came again, stirring her hair and sending petals down on to the body she cradled. Elphin spluttered and coughed, and his eyes opened. He stared up at Rhianna with eyes full of violet light, and she felt his spirit shiver as the enchantment left him. The marks on his wrists faded.

He lifted a six-fingered hand to touch the cup in wonder. Then he smiled and tweaked her messy braid. “You found it, then,” he said. “I knew you would. Have I missed much?”

Rhianna grinned. “Only a visit to the Grail Castle, a battle against Uther Pendragon’s ghost-army at the Lonely Tor, sending the shadrake off with Prince Mordred’s spirit to join his witch-mother’s in Annwn, and Queen Guinevere coming to Avalon in disguise,”
she said. “Oh, and a long argument with your father about raising King Arthur from the dead.”

“Don’t forget Merlin spirit-riding Evenstar!” Arianrhod added with a giggle. “That was funny.”

Elphin blinked, his violet gaze still fixed on Rhianna’s face. “So now you’ve defeated Prince Mordred and woken your father, I suppose you’re going home to Camelot to live happily ever after?”

Rhianna laughed. “Not quite yet,” she said quickly, before Arianrhod could launch into an explanation of King Arthur sleeping in his casket for the next thousand years. “I’ve got one more thing to do first.”

“What’s that?” Elphin asked, sitting up.

“This!” She seized Elphin’s tangled curls in
both hands, pulled his head towards her and kissed him firmly on the lips.

W
hen Elphin felt strong enough, they made their way back into the main cavern to find Lord Avallach. Rhianna hesitated as they passed her father’s glittering casket, where King Arthur’s soul was sitting beside Merlin’s ghost. But her father smiled when he
saw her with the Avalonian boy. “Have a good life, daughter,” he said, rising easily to his feet and opening his arms.

Rhianna let the ghost hug her. When she closed her eyes, he felt almost as strong as Sir Bors. A lump rose to her throat. “I’m sorry I failed my quest, Father,” she whispered.

“You didn’t fail, daughter,” he said. “It wasn’t quite the same quest you thought it would be when you started out, that’s all. I feel much stronger now you’ve returned Excalibur to me, so I’ll be able to visit you more often in future. Now go! This is no place for the living.” He gently lifted the flower crown off her head and gave her a little push. As Rhianna rejoined her friends, he called, “Look after my daughter, Prince Elphin! I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

“Better warn your daughter to look after
my son, more like!” Lord Avallach called back. King Arthur grinned, and Merlin shook his head in defeat.

They left the two ghosts in the crystal rainbows, discussing old times. With Lord Avallach’s help, their route out of the caverns was much quicker than going in. He simply pulled down one of the shining pathways with a six-fingered hand and commanded it to carry them into the upper levels. He paused at a flight of steps that led up to his palace to give Rhianna and Elphin an amused look. “I expect you youngsters would like a bit of time alone. I’ll tell your mother and her knights you’ll meet them at the ship. Stay with your mistress, Arianrhod, or tongues will wag.”

Rhianna blushed. She led the way back along the tunnel towards the waterfall, thinking of
what her father had said. Not the same quest… if it hadn’t been to bring her father back to Camelot, then what else had she done, besides finding all four Lights? She’d already lost one of them to the dragon, and was supposed to return the fourth to Queen Nimue.

Before they reached the exit, a shadow loomed against the glimmering water. She felt for her sword, forgetting she’d left Excalibur in King Arthur’s casket. She pushed Arianrhod and Elphin back, prepared to use the empty Grail as a weapon if need be.

A glittering lance head poked around the bend. “Stop right there, whoever you are!” called a shaky voice.

“Cai!” Rhianna said in relief. “It’s us, you dolt. What are you doing down here? I thought I told you to wait outside.”

The lance rattled against the rock, and Cai’s head appeared in its place. “Damsel Rhianna!” he scolded. “You’ve been
ages
– it’s almost sunrise. Did you wake King Arthur?” He peered behind her, saw Elphin and grinned. “Welcome back to the land of the living, fairy boy!”

“Watch who you’re calling a fairy, squire,” Elphin said. “You’re in my world now remember.”

“Watch who you’re calling a squire,” Cai replied in kind. “You wouldn’t be here at all if I hadn’t helped get Damsel Rhia out of the Grail Castle.”

“None of us would be here if I hadn’t swapped the Grails,” Arianrhod said with surprising confidence. She pushed past Rhianna and took Cai’s arm, pulling him out
of the way. “Shut your mouth for once, Cai, and let Princess Rhia keep her promise to the fish-queen.”

Rhianna smiled. Leaving Arianrhod to explain about King Arthur’s body not being healed enough yet to wake, she hurried out through the waterfall. Dawn was breaking over the sea. Had they been in Lord Avallach’s crystal caverns that long? She clutched the empty cup, suddenly nervous. What if Lady Nimue thought she’d broken her promise and ordered her fish-people to stop the ship returning them to the world of men?

But as they stood watching the mist brighten, a tail splashed in the pool and the fish-queen surfaced.

Nimue gave Elphin a long look and smiled at Rhianna. “The Grail worked for you, I see,”
she said. “So now your quest is over, Rhianna Pendragon, and it’s time the Lights returned to their proper homes to restore the balance in the world. The Sword will stay with Arthur in Avalon, where it was forged. The Crown is on its way to Annwn, and the Lance is back in the hands of men – or a boy’s, anyway.”

She gave Cai, who was standing close to Arianrhod, an amused look. “Though it seems he’s claimed one of my maidens, so I suppose the boy shall soon enough grow into a man. That leaves just one exchange to be made. You have my Grail, and I have something of yours. I rescued it from the sea when it fell out of the shadrake’s pouch.”

She opened her webbed hand to reveal a glinting silver spiral.

“Merlin’s pathfinder!” Rhianna remembered
the falling treasure when Merlin and Mordred had been fighting for control of the shadrake’s body. She’d been starting to wonder how they would get back through the mists to the land of men without it.

“This will be rather more use to your Avalonian friend than it is to me,” Nimue said, holding out the pathfinder for Elphin to take.

He reached warily across the water and snatched the little spiral from the fish-lady’s webbed hand.

Nimue gave a tinkling laugh. “Relax, Prince Elphin! The one Rhianna chose to wake has nothing to fear from me. But use it wisely when you visit the land of men. I have a feeling they will soon forget the old ways, now Merlin and Arthur no longer walk among them. My cup, Rhianna Pendragon?”

Rhianna wrenched her gaze from Elphin and tossed the Grail to Lady Nimue. It flashed in the first rays of the rising sun, dazzling them all. The fish-lady caught it easily.

“Thank you,” Nimue said. “Have a good voyage home, and don’t forget to burn Mordred’s mortal remains before you leave. The shadrake has flown to Annwn with the dark knight’s spirit, and we don’t want him coming back again to disturb the balance of the world – not after we’ve worked so hard to restore it.” Her tail splashed once, and then she was gone.

Rhianna took a deep breath. So her quest had helped to rebalance the world! But she had almost forgotten Mordred’s dark fist. She turned to Cai. “I don’t suppose you brought the gauntlet down here…?”

The boy shook his head. “It stank to high
heaven. I left it on the ship with Sir Galahad and Sir Percival.”

“Then we’ve got to get to the jetty as fast as possible.” She looked at the nearby mist horse stables and grinned at Elphin. “Race?”

As she mounted Alba bareback, Rhianna’s heart beat faster. Arianrhod clung nervously to her waist, while Cai climbed up on Evenstar behind Elphin.

They cantered through the sun-dappled wood, both mist horses on their best behaviour because they carried humans who would fall off if they misted around trees. The ride reminded Rhianna of their childhood races, before she’d discovered she was King Arthur’s daughter. She ducked the golden branches, laughing when
Arianrhod gasped and clutched her waist. It felt strange to be riding in a skirt, but she quite liked the feel of Alba’s warm coat against her bare legs.

They found the knights arguing loudly on the jetty. Queen Guinevere stood nearby, wearing her travelling cloak and staring anxiously at the path through the wood. Rhianna heard her name mentioned and King Arthur’s. But when they saw the mist horses coming, the men broke off their argument and strode to meet them.

“Did the Grail of Stars work, Princess?” Sir Lancelot asked gruffly, looking behind them for the king. “Old Avallach wouldn’t tell us anything.”

“It worked,” Elphin said with a little smile.

“Then… King Arthur’s coming back
with us?” Sir Bedivere asked, with a glance at Guinevere.

“Not yet.” Rhianna looked at Elphin and blushed for the second time that morning. The knights frowned at them, not understanding. But the queen gave Rhianna a sharp look and smiled slightly under her hood.

Rhianna did not feel up to facing her mother yet. “You tell them, Arianrhod,” she said, jumping off Alba to collect Mordred’s dark fist from the ship. “We’ll get the fire started.”

Cai was right. The fist stank. When she thrust the gauntlet through her belt, it made a squelchy sound. She wondered if it would be too rotten to burn.

But when Elphin used magic to light the sticks Cai had gathered, the fire crackled fiercely. The branches from Avalon’s golden
wood burned with bright purple flames. The mist horses watched from a safe distance, ears pricked.

Back on the jetty, Rhianna could see the knights loading up the ship. They cast glances down the beach, where the queen sat on a rock to watch. But after what Arianrhod had told them, they obviously thought she was saying a tearful goodbye to her Avalonian friend and did not interfere.

She stared at Mordred’s black gauntlet, remembering all the times it had gripped her wrist with its dark magic. “You’ve lost, Mordred,” she said. “My father might not sit on the throne of Camelot, but you
never
will.” She gritted her teeth and squeezed the fist as hard as she could. Pus sprayed her boots, making her jump.

“Steady, Rhia,” Elphin said softly. “He can’t hurt you now.”

She grimaced and cast the gauntlet and its gruesome contents into the flames. The flames turned green as they ate the rotting leather. The fire hissed and spat, making them step back. The queen started down the beach towards them, and Lancelot hurried after her. The mist horses trotted away to a safer distance, whinnying in fear.

Cai gripped the Lance of Truth and stood guard between Arianrhod and the fire. Elphin hummed under his breath. Choking green smoke rose into the air to be blown away by the sweet Avalonian breeze, and the flames died.

Cai warily poked the ashes with his lance. “I think it’s gone, Damsel Rhia,” he said.

Rhianna pushed him aside and stamped
on the smouldering embers. With each stamp, she thought of Mordred’s axe coming down on her father’s head… her mother chained in the dark knight’s tower… Arianrhod trapped in Camelot’s dungeon… the shadrake attacking Cai… Elphin lying in his crystal casket.

“Never again, Mordred,” she whispered, tears blurring her vision. “You’ll never hurt my family or my friends again!”

“Rhia…?” Elphin touched her arm. “Rhia, Cai’s right. He’s gone, and you’ll set fire to your dress if you’re not careful. The knights saw that magic. Dry your eyes, they’re coming.”

She blinked away her tears and stared down at her singed boots, panting. She smoothed her skirt, caught her breath and turned to face her mother and Sir Lancelot. The other knights hurried up behind them, swords drawn. They
watched the Avalonian prince warily.

“It’s all right,” Rhianna said, taking Elphin’s six-fingered hand in hers and holding it tightly as she met her mother’s gaze. “He was just testing his magic to make sure Mordred’s enchantments haven’t harmed it.”

Sir Lancelot looked at the spiral pathfinder glinting around Elphin’s neck. “Seems to work fine,” he grunted. “So, fairy lad, are you coming back with us to take old Merlin’s place at Camelot?”

Elphin looked at Rhianna, his violet eyes luminous. “I will if Rhia wants me to,” he said.