Page 69 of Knight of the Sword

“Perhaps not, but now that I’ve found you, I can destroy you.” He raised a hand and began an incantation in a foreign tongue.

Lucifer hesitated, then threw the cannonball down as he sprouted wings and lifted into the air, moving at preternatural speed. Behind him, the white dragon roared and disappeared into the night as well, with Pendragon in hot pursuit.

Sophie turned her attention back to the fight taking place between Michael and Balor. All she could make out was the flaming Sword lunging forward, slashing to the right and left as Michael advanced. Each time, it was met with a clash by an invisible something that sounded heavy and was apparently solid black. Pure evil emanated from that source, but Sophie could not see what it was.

From the distance came the sound of sirens wailing, no doubt summoned by the roars of the dragons and the smoke from their battle.

Tanio moved toward Sophie, his blue hair blazing as he pointed toward the lake. “Call the Kelpies, daughter of Epona.”

Sophie stared at him. “Kelpies?”

“Faerie water horses,” Tanio explained irritably as the fight grew more vicious and the sirens became louder. “They will save you and Michael. Hurry. You don’t have much time before the police will be here. They cannot find the Sword.”

“I don’t have that kind of magic!”

“Yes, you do. The Kelpies will obey you since Epona is their goddess. Water is not my element. I cannot summon them. Send for them.”

Feeling like a fool, Sophie ran to the lake bank. Raising her hands, she concentrated on sending the light through her fingertips. The lake remained placid, the sirens now only a block or two away.

“Nothing is—” She stopped as the water began to stir, swirling in ever-widening circles as something roiled beneath the surface. Rogue waves rose as the water began to churn. Sophie watched in amazement as two sleek, gray heads emerged, followed by powerful equine bodies. The horses rose gracefully above the water, landing on either side of Sophie, lowering their heads as they each bent one leg.

“Hurry up and get on,” Tanio said as Michael raced toward her. “I’ll hold Balor back.”

“But we’ll drown!”

“No, we won’t,” Michael said as he reached her. “Look.”

She looked back at the lake. The water had risen into a spout, creating a hollow vortex in the water. Balor threw more of his black magic at them and one of the Kelpies nudged her as Tanio raised a firewall.

“Go!” he said.

Michael lifted her onto the back of one Kelpie and mounted the other. They leapt through the air and then dove beneath the surface. Sophie felt the wet shock of coldness and clung to the Kelpie’s mane, sure that she would drown as the water closed over their heads, but somehow a bubble of air remained around them. “How can this be happening?” she asked Michael as the Kelpies gently settled on the lake floor.

He grinned and pointed.

Sophie followed the direction of his hand. A beautiful woman stood just beyond their bubble, dressed in an iridescent gown of changing greens and blues that swirled gently with the water’s movement, her blonde hair floating behind her.

“Welcome to my home,” the Lady of the Lake said.

Epilogue

Sophie shook the dampness out of her hair as they emerged from a tunnel into a dry cave. How they had managed to walk in an air bubble on the floor of Lake Pontchartrain she didn’t understand, and something about the tunnel had felt different, almost as though Michael and she had crossed time periods. Still, he had not hesitated when the Lady bade them follow her.

Glancing around the cave, she gasped in awe. What she had thought were electric lights were actually hundreds of candles set into niches that reflected the sparkling facets of thousands and thousands of crystals. A fire was banked in a stone hearth along one wall, and just past it was a darkened passageway.

Footsteps echoed from the passage, along with some foreign mumbling, as an elderly man with a flowing white beard emerged. His vivid blue eyes widened as he saw them. “Not another one,” he grumbled and turned to the Lady. “Couldn’t you have just brought the Sword yourself?”

“Now, Merlin, mind your manners,” the Lady said mildly as though speaking to a child who has been told to do so many times. “Our guest has special powers.”

“Eh?” Merlin looked at Sophie as if he were to about to dissect her to learn what they were. “She’s not a faerie, is she? Nimue is handful enough.”

“No,” Michael answered, “but she’s inherited the blood of Epona.”

Merlin looked startled. “So that’s why the Pendragon was let loose.”

Sophie looked from Merlin to Michael. “Have I had another concussion? Just exactly where am I and why do you refer to this man as Merlin?”

“Because I am Merlin!” His white, scraggily brows furrowed. “Is she as ignorant as the other one?”