Chapter Seven #2
Sebastian pulled Noelle closer. He had to help Arthur. What was he capable of and would Noelle hate him when it was all over? He tried to give Arthur a reassuring look, but he had no idea how powerful this Morgan was.
“Maybe she won’t try to kill you,” Noelle told him. “You are her son, after all.”
“She will try to kill Arthur.”
“Yes,” she whispered, folding her arms across her chest. “You can’t let her. You can’t let it end the way it did before.”
“You know the stories?” he asked.
“Yes, most people do.”
“Who is she?” Gawaine demanded, pointing to her.
“She is with me,” Sebastian told him. “Touch her and die.”
The knight smiled. “Why do you defend her so, Mordred? What will you do?”
Arthur assured him there was nothing to smile about. There wasn’t a more powerful sorcerer alive than Mordred.
Noelle tugged his sleeve. “Is it true?”
He was about to tell her he didn’t know, when the air grew thick with the smell of apples. Arthur looked toward the left, where the dazzling Christmas tree was, and the slight rift in the air that split it down the middle.
Instinctively, he moved closer to his son.
Sebastian let him stand between them for a moment, liking the fact that Arthur had wanted to protect him, and not hurt him. The man who raised him had never cared about Sebastian’s safety.
The rift opened and the knight Gawaine had called Luke rode toward them on his horse. Behind him, a woman rode bareback on a black stallion, her horse’s mane snapping across her thighs.
His mother. Her skin was alabaster white against her loose black hair waving behind her like a flag.
Her eyes were large and greener than a fresh spring day.
Like his, they slanted upward at the outer edges.
Her cheekbones were high, and her mouth carved like that of a statue.
She was beautiful, like a cold empress, dismounting and walking toward them.
She wore a green gown made of some kind of mesh fabric with silk leaves sewn in to cover her private parts and more. She glided rather than walked and Sebastian wondered if Arthur was affected by her.
“Mordred,” she spoke, and her voice was like music. Was she already trying to weave a spell on him? “My son. He has kept you from me long enough.”
This was real. It was happening. He was Mordred Pendragon.
When Arthur, who was blocking her path, didn’t move out of her way, she waved her arm and he flew across the room.
Sebastian held out his arm and spoke words he instinctually knew, slowing Arthur’s flight so that he landed softly into a wooden table.
“Do you know how long I have searched for you, Mordred?”
“’Tis Sebastian,” he corrected.
“No.” She shook her head and reaching him, she lifted her hand to his face. “You are my Mordred.”
He said a single word. “Stop.” And she did. Her hand remained frozen in the air near his face.
“Do you want to stop recording?” a female, robotic voice asked.
Sebastian looked at the Alexa sitting on Arthur’s kitchen counter. Had it been recording them? His eyes found Noelle. Had she told Alexa to record them? Was this all about the story for her? Just the story. “You were recording us?”
“Who is this, Mordred?” Morgan spat, glaring at Noelle. “Get rid of her.”
Suddenly, Morgan was lifted off the ground and smashed hard into the wall. Arthur stood to his feet and wiped his bloody lip. “Bitch.”
“Arthur,” she said, rubbing her head and getting up. “You’ve changed.”
“That’s what the twenty-first century will do to you,” he told her and moved to stand over her.
They shared some words and accusations. Sebastian didn’t listen to them. His steady gaze was fixed on Noelle. “You can’t use any of it,” he told her softly.
“I know,” she said, looking away.
Without taking his eyes off her, he told Alexa to erase everything it had recorded.
“Was it all just about the story, then?” He had to know. Yet, would she tell him the truth? And if she did care only for the story, what would he do? No one had ever used him for anything before. He’d never cared enough to know for certain. She was different. What should he do?
“Sebastian.” Her voice fell upon his ears the way it had every night for the last two months, familiar and husky. “This is life-changing. Magic is real. King Arthur is real and alive and, so far, doing well. There’s a place called Avalon in another realm!” Tears filled her eyes. “It’s big.”
Without another word, he moved away from her. It was bigger than him. He glanced at his true parents. He hated being a part of them, of all this. He didn’t want this big story taking precedence over him. He just wanted a new life, a fresh beginning.
But something brought him to Arthur. It was as if this had to happen. He had to be here. Why? He had a choice to make. Stand with his father and defeat Morgan, or stand with his mother, as he had before, and defeat Arthur. What would happen after that? He didn’t remember any of it.
“Sebastian,” Noelle called, hurrying after him.
When she said nothing more, he turned back to her. She was there, frozen in her spot, unable to move.
His breath stilled. His blood boiled. Which one of them did this? They would regret it. He wouldn’t hold back any longer.
His heart raced as his other instincts took over.
He had to help Noelle. He held out his hand and closed his eyes.
He called up whatever it was that knew magic.
He felt a wave of anger rising up in him.
His eyes faded from green to gold. He broke the spell with a few words.
He watched Noelle recover, rub her head, and cast him a terrified look.
No time to coddle her now. He had to stop Morgan.
He said some words and she was lifted and gently pushed against the wall.
“Sebastian, don’t let Mordred hurt Arthur,” Noelle called out to him before another, thinner barrier surrounded her like a glass window and her voice could no longer be heard.
Good timing since Morgan decided to hurl another spell at her.
Facing his mother, Mordred held up his hands to block the spell. He added more and her wrists and ankles became bound. He did the same to her knights.
A moment later though, she broke free. She stared at him, wide-eyed. “You’ve become much stronger, my son.”
“Leave her out of this,” he warned her. “And don’t call me your son.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his palm to stop her. “Test me and I will most assuredly kill you.”
“He has poisoned your mind against me,” she accused, pointing at Arthur.