The Dragon King Read online

  “Not sure exactly. I’ll tell you what I know later. Just don’t tell the others, all right? Not yet?”

  Qwon shrugged. “Whatever you say, Artie.” Then she held out her arms and they hugged. Artie lost his balance, since he was still standing in the boat, and he awkwardly leaned on Qwon. She kept him from falling over and helped him onto surer footing.

  “I’m glad you’re back. We were starting to get worried. We didn’t know where that portal had taken you. It was the King’s Gate, right?”

  “Yeah, it was crazy.” They walked over the table toward the throne. “How long was I gone?”

  “Just a couple hours.”

  “Where’re the others?”

  “They’re here. Kay was really worried about you, so she started bossing everyone around.”

  “Ha. Maybe she should be the king. . . .”

  They reached the edge of the table and jumped to the floor. “Naw. You’re better at it. Oh, the Green Knight dude and the kid with one arm and a prosthetic leg are here, too.”

  Bercilak and Bedevere. “Great. We’re all together. Let’s go. I got things I need to tell you guys.”

  Together, he and Qwon went to the others, and there was much rejoicing.

  The knights reassembled in the Royal Chamber, now joined by Bercilak and the too-long-absent Bedevere. Numinae was back as well, and Lance was up and at ’em enough to sit in his chair—the one situated before the banner of none other than Sir Lancelot. Sami, however, had left. Kay had taken a moongate coin out of the infinite backpack—the same coins they had used to gate around before Artie had mastered Excalibur’s pommel stone—and opened a portal back to Sweden.

  “He missed his camp too much,” Erik said.

  Artie understood perfectly. “Will he come back if we need him?”

  “Yep, all we have to do is ask,” Erik answered with a grin.

  That made Artie feel better. Everyone sat and Artie told them about the trip through the void, going underwater to talk with Nyneve, and confronting Merlin. Bercilak broke out a twelve-pack of ice-cold Mountain Dews, and the knights enjoyed some well-earned soda pop as Artie broke the news that if they wanted more info on the Grail, they’d have to pay a visit to Morgaine. This was not a popular idea. Artie also described Merlin’s appearance. “He’s definitely gone over to the dark side. Very Darth Vader. Creepy.” He took a sip from a frosty can and sighed.

  “It’s the sangrealite,” Thumb said quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a long story, lad, but the gist is that Merlin rubs liquid sangrealite on his skin.”

  Bedevere, Numinae, and Bercilak gasped as Shallot exclaimed, “Liquid sangrealite? But no one knows how to liquefy sangrealite. It is ancient knowledge, forgotten, impossible.”

  Thumb shook his head. “Not for Merlin. It nearly drove him mad figuring it out, but he did. He had a small key of pure sangrealite at the Invisible Tower, and he changed it, like an alchemist, into a dark tincture. That’s where all the tattoos came from. That’s why no one but people and creatures from the Otherworld could see them.”

  “But I could see them,” Kay said.

  “That is because you’re special, lass. Surely you know that by now.”

  Kay looked down, trying not to let the others see that she was blushing. She loved Tom Thumb, even if he was a shrimp, and it was a nice thing to hear.

  “Anyway,” Thumb continued, “Merlin ran out of the stuff when he sent the three of us to retrieve Excalibur from the Lake. Now he must have more. Much more. It is what makes him so powerful—but it also corrupts him.”

  “As if being half demon weren’t enough,” Qwon observed.

  Kay rolled her eyes. “Seriously.”

  Dred clapped his hands. “It’s the sangrealite he stole from Fenland, isn’t it? That’s what he’s using now?”

  “I’d wager, lad,” Thumb said.

  Lance leaned forward, his blue eyes bright and clear. “Where does he keep it, Tom? Where’s he holed up?”

  Thumb shook his head. “I knew once, but I’ve forgotten—although I’m certain it was on your side, sire.”

  “My side?”

  “Yes. It wouldn’t be safe for him anywhere in the Otherworld—not with you as the king and Morgaine still trying to figure out where he is.”

  “C’mon, Tommy. Try to remember!” Kay pleaded.

  But Thumb shook his head. “I don’t know. . . . I’m sorry. It’s like a hole in my memory. . . .”

  “A hole the wizard put there, no doubt,” Bedevere said, the thick scar drawn over his cheek wrinkling as he spoke.

  “No doubt,” Thumb confirmed.

  Artie clapped his hands. “Well, on that point maybe I have some good news. The last thing Merlin said at the Lake was, ‘Go home! See what you have wrought! See what gift I have left in your precious Shadyside!’”

  “Could be a trap,” Qwon said.

  “Yes, it sounds squirrelly, sire,” Bercilak added, his giant suit of green armor clattering.

  “Maybe—but what choice do we have? If Merlin left something there—anything—maybe it’ll have some clue that will help us track him down.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Shallot said. “But there is no way you will convince me to visit your side, sire. I’m sorry. I am a fairy, and I belong in the Otherworld.”

  “That’s all right, Shallot. Believe me, half the time I don’t think I belong over here.”

  “You’re doing fine, sire,” Shallot said with a wry smile.

  Artie shrugged. “Thanks. But who does want to pay a visit to the old crib?”

  “I do,” Erik said eagerly.

  “I’ll go with you,” Bedevere said. “It may sound crazy, but the only thing I hate about my injuries is that they’ve kept me out of the mix. You’re stuck with me, sire. I don’t plan on missing any more action.”

  “I should probably stay here, kiddos.” Lance looked wistfully at his still-healing leg. “Numinae says I’ll be back in shooting form in a couple days, but at the moment I’m plowed. Speaking of shooting—while you’re there can you grab my spare bow? It’s in the trunk of my cab, which I left parked in your driveway.”

  “You got it, Lance,” Artie said.

  Kay stood. “You know I’m in, Bro. A shower in our bathroom sounds like winning the lottery at this point.”

  “Ditto,” Artie said.

  “Yeah, you do kind of reek, Artie,” Erik observed.

  There was a pause, then Qwon said quietly, “I’d like to go home too, Artie.”

  They fell silent as Artie looked at Qwon. Of course she wanted to go home! Hadn’t that been what he’d wanted too until this whole Avalon whirlwind? “I know. I promised your mom I’d bring you back, and I will.” He looked from knight to knight. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

  Bercilak shot his arm into the air. “Ooh, sire! Can I come too?”

  Lance turned to the Green Knight. “Uh, I’m not sure that’d be such a hot idea. A walking, talking, empty suit of plate mail isn’t exactly normal, sorry to say.”

  Bercilak lowered his hand tentatively. “But . . .”

  “He’s right, Bercy. Let us check it out first,” Kay said. “Then we’ll bring you over for a nice meal of Mountain Dew and Big Macs. Real American junk food. You’ll love it.”

  Bercilak shook off his disappointment and said, “I’ve waited this long, what’s a little longer?”

  “That’s the spirit,” Kay said.

  Artie turned to Dred. “What about you?”

  Dred beamed. “Of course I want to come to your side! You are my brother.”

  “While you’re in Shadyside, I’ll go to the Library,” Numinae said, “and do some of my own research on the Grail.”

  Thumb jerked his head. “I’ll join you, mate.”

  “Splendid.”

  Kay clapped, “Well, let’s do this!”

  Artie pulled Excalibur from his scabbard and led them to the yard and, finally, back to Shadyside.


  Artie opened a moongate that deposited them smack in the middle of the Kingfishers’ backyard, and he, Kay, Dred, Qwon, Bedevere, and Erik crossed over. It was a dark night in Pennsylvania—no moon, no stars. Barely visible over their fence’s edge, a streetlamp flickered weakly, as if the bulb was dying.

  Artie drew a breath through his nostrils. The air was crisp and fresh, but also tinged with an acrid waft of garbage. It must be pickup day tomorrow, he thought. People here were going about their daily lives.

  He didn’t say it, but he was jealous. He wanted a daily life, too. One that wasn’t so dang nuts.

  He looked to his house. “Well, here we are. Castle Kingfisher.”

  “What time is it?” Kay asked.

  Qwon illuminated the face of her pink digital watch. “Two seventeen a.m.”

  Dred spun in a circle. He took in the tall trees of the suburbs, the Kingfishers’ nice but modest home, the large yard, and Kynder’s neglected vegetable garden. “It doesn’t look that much different from the Otherworld.”

  “It is,” Bedevere assured him. “Cars, planes, too many people. Food is better though. And they have this thing called TV, which is like a sangrealitic picture machine. It’s pretty—what do you say, Kay?—dope.”

  “Sure is, Bedevere. We’ll make a regular teenager out of you yet.” Kay shivered. “But let’s go inside. It’s chilly.”

  Kay kicked along the grass toward the patio, fallen leaves crunching underfoot. The others followed; Artie and Dred brought up the rear. As Kay crossed the deck, Dred stopped and put a hand on Artie’s arm.

  Artie stopped too. “What is it?”

  “Artie, if we have to go to Castel Deorc Wæters to see Morgaine, you should know that the place we were born is . . . well, it’s pretty messed up.”

  Artie frowned. “More messed up than riding a dragon, or being dragged underwater to chat with an aquatic fairy, or fighting an army of dudes on bears?”

  Dred smiled. “Maybe not. But the experiments Morgaine did to make us . . . they’re pretty gruesome.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Dred. It takes a lot to surprise me these days.”

  Kay opened the back door with a key from under the mat, and she and the others went inside. From the corner of his eye Artie noticed the light in the kitchen go on, and then the one in the den.

  Dred continued, “The lab where we were made is horrible. Full of these glass canisters with things in them. Dead things. Babies, kids, and men who look just like you and me except that they’re missing limbs, or they have no eyes, or their skin is turned inside out.” Dred thought for a second. “I guess those ones don’t look anything like us.”

  “Gross.”

  “Yeah. I just thought you should be prepared. I sure wasn’t. If someone could have warned me, I would have appreciated it.”

  “I do. Thanks, Dred.”

  “No prob—”

  They were interrupted by a scream. Artie felt Dred’s nerves jostle, and vice versa. The brothers drew their swords and rushed headlong from the dark into the Kingfisher house, and toward trouble.

  7

  IN WHICH THE PARTY IS UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED

  Artie burst through the door, Excalibur tingling in his hands. Bedevere had leaped onto the kitchen island and Qwon was behind it, her back to the fridge. Artie could hear Kay yelling from the hallway that led to the front door but he couldn’t see her.

  Blocking her was Erik in full berserker mode, bouncing off the walls. He was attacking a very large creature that appeared to have the front end of a saber-toothed tiger and the powerful back half of a rhino.

  Surely, this was Merlin’s “gift.”

  As soon as Artie was through the door, the creature charged. Artie held Excalibur across his face as the sabertooth/rhino raked a massive paw through the air. Artie’s blade cut deep but it didn’t make the creature stop, and the force of its blow knocked Artie over. He slid across the small kitchen table, upended it, and banged his head into the wall, the table collapsing on top of him.

  Dred stepped into the breach, jabbing the Peace Sword at the creature’s head. The creature swung its haunches to the right and Dred thrust the Peace Sword forward. It sank deep into the creature’s furry shoulder. So deep that it became stuck.

  “Ack!” Dred exclaimed, trying to work the sword free.

  Artie untangled himself from the table and knelt. “Qwon, use Kusanagi to call the wind!” Artie could feel each sword in the room as if he were attached to it with invisible thread.

  “What?” Qwon yelled.

  “Call the wind! Kusanagi can—”

  But Artie was struck speechless by a sudden change in air pressure. Windows cracked and shattered. Loose things were sucked into the middle of the room. It grew dark, and then came a low rumble followed by a high-pitched wail. Erik—who had just stuck Gram halfway into the right thigh of the beast—was blown hard into Dred’s chest. Together they were thrown into the den, over the couch, and onto the coffee table. Artie struggled to stay on his knees as he squinted across the kitchen. Qwon stood there, fighting with the power in her hands, her eyes shut and her knuckles white. Bedevere stood next to her, his remaining arm drawn over his face.

  The storm cascaded from Kusanagi in visible waves. It was like Qwon was holding an artillery cannon. Viewed from the outside, the Kingfisher house looked like the scariest, most evil haunted house the world had ever seen. There were flashes of lightning in the windows and billows of mist, and the wind blew so hard that the clapboard siding of the house trembled.

  In the midst of all this, the sabertooth/rhino lowered its head and dug its claws deep into the floor. The wind passed over it, tearing at its fur, making it look like a field of wheat undulating in a summer squall.

  Artie drew Excalibur in front of him again, intent on striking the creature’s undefended backside—but just before he could act he had to duck a large, bulky object that soared over his head.

  It was the microwave.

  “Enough!” Artie shouted, though no one could hear him. “ENOUGH!” he screamed, to no avail.

  He peered across the room. He could barely make Qwon out—the air was so thick with debris—but Artie could tell that she had lost control of her sword’s tempestuous power.

  Bedevere and Artie momentarily locked eyes. Artie pointed Excalibur at Bedevere’s inactive phantom arm and then at Kusanagi. Artie watched as Bedevere’s lips made the word Phantoma! and the ghostly and magical appendage that Merlin had made for him grew from his stump in an instant. He reached down and grabbed Kusanagi around the blade just above the circular handguard. He yanked it quickly, breaking Qwon’s grip. The look on her face was one of shock but also relief.

  The storm died, and the sabertooth/rhino wasted no time. It swiped a huge paw at Erik, who barely dodged it, and then it spun and tried to bite Kay. She backpedaled, holding out Cleomede, and her sword caught the beast across the jaw, drawing a deep cut. Dred and Artie pounced on the wounded animal. Bedevere dropped Kusanagi, launched over the kitchen island, and landed on the thing’s head, trying to draw its attention from Kay. It worked, but now Bedevere was in trouble. The animal was just about to dig its knifelike teeth into Bedevere’s good leg when Dred swung the Peace Sword and sliced off its left front paw. The creature cried out and Bedevere jumped to safety. Then Kay stepped forward and drove Cleomede deep into its side.

  That was it.

  The knights panted and regrouped and finally Artie asked, “Why would Merlin put this poor creature here?” He was not happy that they’d had to kill it.

  “A test maybe,” Bedevere said.

  “And why a sabertooth and a rhino?” Kay wondered. “Does this mean he’s going to attack us with some crazy horde of hybrid animals?”

  “Who knows,” Dred said. “But I wouldn’t put it past—” He made a start as the doorbell rang. “What’s that?”

  Qwon, who looked like she still couldn’t believe she’d made that huge storm, said, “Easy, Dred. Someone’s a
t the front door. That’s all.”

  Kay ran down the hall, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll see who it is.” She checked the hall clock on her way. It was 2:32 a.m. Who rang the doorbell at 2:32 a.m.?

  She reached the door and opened it halfway.

  Two officers stood on the threshold. The older one—short, bald, stocky—had a hand on the grip of his holstered gun and a concerned look on his face. “Good evening, ma’am—er, miss—is everything all right in there?”

  Kay, still panting from the fight, moved so that she blocked the view into the house. Being six feet tall helped. The taller officer craned his neck, trying to get a look inside. “Oh yeah, officers, everything’s fine. The, um, we had a gas leak. Pilot light went out, I guess. The, uh, whatchamacallit”—Kay snapped her fingers a few times—“the compressor on the fridge must have ignited the gas.” She’d seen this in a movie somewhere, and while she had no idea if it was plausible, it sounded good. “We were all upstairs. Kind of a mess, but everyone’s fine.”

  “If there’s a gas leak, we need to call the utility company, miss,” the closest cop said.

  “Oh, don’t bother. Like I said, everything’s fine.”

  The taller cop took a few steps away from the door and bobbed back and forth. “Hey, Ed, isn’t this the Kingfisher residence?”

  The short one squinted. “Yeah. It is.” He turned back to Kay. “Are you Kay Kingfisher?”

  Kay frowned. “That’s right.”

  The shorter one said, “You’ve been reported to the truancy board. You haven’t been in school for weeks.”

  “And your father, Kynder, has been reported missing,” the taller one said.

  Kay’s eyes widened. “Missing? Truant? All due respect, Officer Ed, but that’s crazy.” Wasn’t Merlin supposed to take care of all that with those magical letters?

  “It’s Officer Schwartz, miss.” He tapped the badge on his chest. “And you haven’t been to school since September thirtieth. Neither has your brother—what’s his name?”

  “Arthur,” the other officer said.

  “Yeah, Arthur. And if I got my dates right, your dad has not been seen since October fourth. It is now”—he spoke over his shoulder without taking his eyes off Kay—“What time is it, Carl?”