Home
Andy, battered and beaten, got up off the ground. He retrieved the broken pieces of the Gladius. He couldn't just leave it there. It has served him too well over the years, "What the hell, some museum might want them." He wiped the blood off his face and started back for Terry's truck.
Never breaking stride, he stooped over and picked up the long sword that Joshua had dropped when Andy had shot him. A never known thrill ran up the immortal's arm. The legend alone was enough to excite him, but the discovery of a greater Rune weapon was something that had to be reported back to the commander immediately. But first things first:
His heart pounding Andy jumped into the truck. If he trusted Joshua's word, then Lynn would be back with her father, not that Andy had much faith in the word of a man that wanted only to destroy everything that man had built. Tossing the sword beside him in the cab, he twisted the ignition key and. mashed the gas petal so hard that his bionic leg nearly broke the floor board
The next fifteen minutes were pure hell for the immortal gunsmith.
Between the deep snow and icy roads, he forced himself to slow down before he wrecked the truck and had to walk back to the house.
Finally he reached the small house that had always represent heaven on earth to him. He slammed the shift leaver into park and dashed into the house; only to find that Lynn had been returned to her father, for the first time in what seemed like hours, Andy drew in a breath.
When Lynn saw the dried blood on Andy's face, she broke away from her fathers embrace. She hugged her Uncle fiercely, "Are you ok Uncle Andy?"
"I am now Munchkin?. I am now. But," he added, "I have one more thing to do." Andy headed to his room. When he got there he dug through his gear bag and pulled out the fold come that he'd been issued. "Merlin, this is Andy, contact the commander and tell him I've found Excalibur."
"Living forever is not all that it is made out to be." The voice was firm, almost demanding, yet it echoed kindly in Joshua Becker's ears. It wasn't that the words made no sense; indeed if Joshua had been conscious he would have appreciated the implied kindness.
The last thing the warrior remembered was the shaft of the barbarian's sword driving through his guts. Piercing pain and then a dull numbness were the only fragments of memory that remained of the short battle. After that, everything was a blank and he was nearly sure, well almost, that he wanted to die.
The next thing he heard was the creaking of saddle leather as the armed man that had spoken dismounted the large white stallion. "Now I realize that this may come as a shock, but I can tell you from sad experience, living is better than dying, generally speaking that is."
The stranger's words were so nicely spoken that Josh had to do something. So, with a lot of effort, he opened his eyes. Much to his surprise, indeed to his shock, the early morning sun was not rising as it was when the battle had begun. He glanced up and he could tell by the position of the moon it was well after midnight. "I'm not so sure about that," he replied groggily.
The longer he lay there, the more aware he became of his surroundings. The ground beneath him was moist with dew and a sharp chill covered his right side, chilling him down to the bone. The left however was a nice toasty warm. He raised his head and indeed there was a roaring fire burning in a hastily built fire pit. The flames were a scandalous waste of fire wood that late in the night.
Normally, this late at night, most campfires would have been allowed to bur down to coals as the party slept. At least that was Josh's experience in the three years that he'd been traveling the roads of England as a Journeyman Blacksmith. He could only assume that it had been maintained for his benefit.
"Perhaps it would be best if we introduce ourselves." The craggy face of an old man leaned down, his gray hair tumbling past his ears, I must warn you, I have encountered your kind before, now back to business, I am Arthur Pendragon, "the distinctive sound of metal on metal filled the night, "and this is Excalibur. "Now listen very closely, for thine answer means more to thee than anything else thy long life.
Joshua gasped at the name; Arthur Pendragon, Arthur, King of all the Britons and the man who expelled the Romans from Britain, "Sire," He stammered as he tried to rise to his knees, "Sire, I am Joshua Becker, humble blacksmith."
The edge of Excalibur nicked the edge of the Joshua's throat and fear trembled in his heart. Arthur for his past watched as the blue energy quickly repaired the damage. "It tis as I thought. Well Blacksmith answer me this on thine life, who is thy master?"
"Sire, I studied with my father until three seasons ago when he sent me out to learn from others."
//Is it possible that he truly does not know?"// Arthur thought to his companion.
<It would seem likely,> Excalibur answered in a deep voice. <I sense no deception on his part. If he does not, than it might be beneficial too keep him close at hand.>
//Agreed, the question becomes, should we tell him?//
The following years were good for Joshua and Camelot. In the fifth year the King explained to him about his strange legacy. "I know you shall find this hard to believe, so I ask only that your trust that what I am about to impart to you is the god's honest truth as I know it."
"Sire I know not what you refer to, but if it comes from you well, all know that the King's word bears not only truth but force of law."
Arthur smirked at that misstatement, "If only that were true my young friend. There are among us, men, or perhaps beings that looks like men. In any case that matters not to our tale. They look like men and they have the same earthly desires as men and truthfully they are men in all but one respect, they can not die.
"Sire?"
"Recall the day we first met. Thy clothing was ripped in the distinct manner of a sword thrust and you only remembered the pain. "Joshua, that day you were run through with a sword and your body healed itself."
The look on Joshua's face was all Arthur needed to see, he clearly didn't believe what he was being told. "Blast it all man, haven't you ever noticed that the hot coals burn you yet it leaves no wounds or scars?"
Joshua answered truthfully since he was young and inexperienced, "Nay Sire, I am most careful."
Arthur's grey eyes narrowed. "Give me thy arm," he said as he drew his dagger. The stench of fear filled the small room. "I swear on Excalibur that what I shall do, will bring no permanent harm to you."
Joshua balked at the order for just a second. By all rights he had no reason to refuse his liege lord, but fear battled his duty. In the end, he had to balance all that he'd been given against the word of Arthur. Joshua reluctantly stretched his arm out.
//You have a nasty way of proving your point Arthur//" Excalibur said in a tone that conveyed his disagreement with what the Kine Warrior was about to do. The pair has spent considerable time debating just what to do with the young immortal.
// I can not say I like this choice of action any more than you do, but what other choice is there? You and I both know that eventually one of the others will come looking for him, what then? Do we stand and fight with him hoping that we've chosen the proper side? We've lost too many brothers to this insane game the immortals play.//
// the counterbalance to your argument is: what if he becomes like the others? What if he enjoys the power of being immortal and all the accompanies it?//
// isn't that a risk we've always accepted?//
Arthur could feel Excalibur's thought and the intense doubt the Rune weapon sword felt, but it too could well recall that other immortals had served the Kine well and had paid the ultimate price for that service. // It is a risk,// he conceded, // but one that I feel we best leave for another day.//
// You of all people should understand the risk of acting in haste, in less than optimum conditions. Lord knows we all paid the price for that kind of thinking. No we tell him today, where we control the circumstances, that's final.//
When Excalibur did answer his bearer, Arthur took that for agreement, but knew in his heart that Excalibur was only acceding to his order.
The slice that Arthur cut into the Blacksmith's arm wasn't deep, it was however, life changing. Joshua hadn't truly believed what the king had been telling him until the point he saw the blue energy dancing across his arm, knitting the wound back together.
Joshua gasped, "Tis evil magic."
Arthur clapped Joshua against the shoulder, "Nay son; magic is neither good nor evil, only the one using it can make that determination."
Upon arriving at Camelot, Arthur had set the young blacksmith up with a forge in one of the lower levels of the castle. During the long winter's days he spent all of his time creating and repairing the armor that the Knights of the Round Table wore. In the summer months, he would campaign with the knights, always on the lookout for the raw materials that kept him busy during the long hard winters.
When he was away from Camelot, Arthur's word always rang true in his ears, "You understand that in time others will come looking for you. It is imperative that you seek holy ground and not fight."
It had started when Terry had given in and they all had opened all the presents from Dragan and Company. Neither Terry nor Andy could get the teen to go to bed. She's spent most of the night begging her father to let her take a little ride on her new toy. Finally around midnight, when her arguments had become interspaced with yawns, Terry laid down the law, "Go to bed Lynn. Or the next time you see that thing it will be an antique."
Lynn let out another yawn, one so loud it woke up Recon, who'd been sleeping with his head in Lynn's lap, "Yes Daddy. C'mon Recon? Good night Uncle Andy" Lynn got up with the mixed grace which always seems to follow teens. Her actions set off a flurry of motion: Recon got up which in turn work up all the Kristle which had been napping and using the Saint Bernard as a pillow. Recon glanced over at Andy and than padded after Lynn, followed by the Kristle who lined up behind Recon like a school of ducks after their mother.
"G'nite hon." As Andy watched his niece walk away; he couldn't help but miss the little girl who had loved Christmas so much. He let out a silent sigh, "The more things change the more they stay the same. He turned to Terry, "Do you have any idea what you're in for?"
"In reference to what," Terry sounded uncharacteristically confused.
""Well if don't miss my guess, Lynn and by extension you, just adopted a pack of Krisle and one Gar."
Terry looked over at the fireplace where the Gar had settled in. He hung his head in his hands, "Oh you've got to be kidding," he bemoaned.
Lynn Powell hadn't been asleep for more than two hours when a soft growling sound woke her from a restless sleep. Recon, who'd made himself comfortable in the corner of her room, was staring at her desk. The dog knew what was bothering him and under different circumstance he would have gone back to sleep himself, it was just that he'd never seen this person anywhere else but in Avalon, and that confused him, so he growled.
"Good morning Recon," Merlin's avatar said softly, his voice and image being broadcast from the small computer that Lynn and Recon had retrieve from Avalon.. "Oh don't worry I just need to speak with Lynn."
Lynn wrapped the blanket around her and turned around. "Good morning Merlin, Merry Christmas!."
"And Seasons best wishes to you as well little one. I apologize for the early hour but I wanted to assure myself that no one else would see our little celebration." Merlin glanced around at all the sleeping Kristle, "I see that my timing leaves a bit to be desired."
"That's ok," Lynn admitted, "I can take care of that, Recon, want to go outside?"
The Saint Bernard thought that was a capital idea and unfurled his furry body from the mass of Kristle that were still using him as a pillow. The Kristle woke up and Lynn quickly shushed them with a finger to her lips. "Be very quiet guys, Dad and Andy are still asleep." The gesture was immediately picked up by the small creatures and they were all suddenly shushing each other. Lynn grabbed her coat and carefully opened her bedroom door. Lynn tiptoed past Andy's room and made it to the living room, where she tripped over the Gar, who what still sleeping by the cooling embers of the fireplace.
"What Lyan do," it inquired.
"Shssss Gar, I have to let Recon out and all the Kristle want to go with him. Would you go with them and make sure they stay out of trouble?"
The Gar considered the idea, "Gar do."
"Thanks so much, I'll let everyone back in shortly and we can pretend to be asleep when Daddy comes to wake us up for Christmas morning."
Lynn opened the back door. "Now remember guys," she added as they trooped out into the newly fallen snow, "Shssss. People are still asleep." The Kristle agreed and dashed off after Recon and they started throwing snowballs at each other.
"Ok Merlin I'm back," she said as she closed the door to her room. "Hush field engage," she ordered.
"I have a present for you Lynn," Merlin paused, "But first, I'd like to explain the reasoning behind it. Lately your studies have been excellent but I have notice a change in your behavior and I have to confess it has left me a little alarmed. You spend all your time in here studying and I'm afraid my mannerisms have begun to rub off."
Lynn sat there totally lost. "I don't get it Merlin; I thought you wanted to me to learn this stuff."
"I do... but there is a balance that needs to be maintained. And lately you've been ignoring children your age, so, here is my 'present' to you." A second avatar formed beside Merlin. Lynn this is Tira,"
The second Avatar owed formally, "I am pleased to meet you Lynn Powell."
"Wow I didn't know there was another AI in Avalon."
"Sadly there is not. Tira is a personality overlay based on my records of her. Simply stated you will still be dealing with me in a different personality. I know that there are times that you just don't want to talk with a doddering old man so this is my present to you. What do you think?" He asked hopefully.
"A huge smile split Lynn's face, "I love it. Thank you Merlin!"
The years passed quickly for the immortal blacksmith. He found contentment in his work and friendship in the companionship in members of the Knight of the Round Table. Long hours at the forge had built the young man into the strongest man in Camelot and the ladies of the court took notice of him. His bed was rarely empty, but he was careful to keep that portion of his life discreetly behind closed doors. Arthur would never have approved of his actions and Joshua knew that.
Joshua was working late one winter's eve when a voice disturbed him from his work. "So this is where Arthur keeps his pet immortal." The voice was dark and husky and held more than a hint of seductiveness in its timber.
Joshua's eyes briefly lifted from the heated metal that would soon be a chest plate for Lancelot, "Milady is mistaken, I am no ones pet."
"Ah but you are," came the reply from the darkness, "A happy pet, but one nonetheless."
The woman stepped forward and Joshua gasped at her beauty. He guessed that she was just over five feet and weighed in the neighborhood of perhaps 110 pounds. But the glossy black head of hair that flowed around her head made her seem much taller. The most striking feature was the shocking grey eyes, eyes that held promises that Joshua couldn't even guess at, but he could hope. "Is there some service that Milady requires?"
"Such refreshing bluntness, No, I don't suppose that I'm the first lady of breeding that has come down here seeking service. Well than," she let the word hang in the air as she peeled off the simple shift that she was wearing and let it drop to her feet "Perhaps you should at least ask my name before we start rutting."
Joshua's eyes went wide and his member stood to attention. She was right, she wasn't the first, nor would she be the last, but she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her complexion was fair with only a hint of tan on her cleavage. And what a cleavage it was. Her breasts stood up like a maiden's would, without even a hint of sag and they were capped by cherry sized nipples that gleaned darkly against her white skin and they stood at attention as well. Neither scar nor mole blemished the alabaster skin, and strangely, there was not a single hair on her body below her head.
Joshua broke his gaze away from the tapered waist and the lips of her womanhood, which even in the bad light he could see were engorged and reddened in excitement, "mayhap you are correct Milady, knowing thy name would please me," His tone was now tinged with lust.
The woman laughed at his clumsy attempt at cleverness, "Nay, I don't believe that is all that shall please you tonight." She stepped forward and dropped to her knees, "Tis good to see that not only thy arms and chest that have grown large. She dropped his pants to the floor and took him in her hand. "My name is Morgan? Morgan LeFay,"
she murmured as she took him in her mouth.
It was only moments later when her ministrations had him bucking and moaning against the pressure and he spilled his seed. What was lost on the blacksmith, was the fact that Morgan produced a hidden vial and spit a portion of his semen into it. Her mission was complete.
Morgan crawled up Joshua's body, "It's going to be a long night," she said huskily as she wiped her lips, "Your pleasure first, then mine, and then finally, ours."
Morgan LeFay, hidden in the forests just outside of Camelot's gates, stood nude in the night. Highlighted only by the light of the full moon, She prayed at one of the ancient alters that her ancestors had left scattered all over England. An eerie blue glow covered the dark witch and her eyes were infused with the powerful druidic magic's
Immortal Skin, Hair, Semen and Blood,
Bring upon him hatred's dark flood.
Centuries passing will increase the flow
Make the power of this spell grow
Never allowing his soul to mend
Finally to cause mankind's end.
Mordred met Morgan at the edge of the forest when the casting was complete. "I don't understand Mother, How does this help us against Arthur?
"Of course you don't understand. You don't understand because subtly is not your forte, Morgan glared at her offspring. "You fail to see the beauty of this plan. Casting the spell in the old ways will slowly drive this man insane. The beauty of it lays in the fact that his own power will be what drives the spell, we need do nothing more and Arthur's pet immortal shall do the damage for us."
Lynn had been engrossed with the computer that Merlin had given her, she was even more grateful for the Christmas present that he'd loaded into the system. She's spent the past hour getting to know her new companion and had completely forgotten about the Kristle and Recon, a loud scratching at her window reminded her.
"Oh My God, I'm so sorry guys, I'll be right there."
Home |
||
| |
||