Child of Time: The Pendragon Line

Part 5: A Lake of Light

Merlin walked ahead of the odd little group with a skip in his step.

"There, it's right there." I said approaching the curve of the old wooden boardwalk.

Laying untouched on the railing was a sparkling god dagger.

I hadn't asked why they kept calling it "a key" although my curiosity was begging me to ask. Something told me I was better off not knowing and to continue to assume this was all a dream. It wasn't my idea to personally escort this troupe of burly men to where I had last seen the dagger. The four of them could easily have found it had they just walked down the path, but no, silently (as always) the giant brute that was Galahad callously grabbed me by the arm and forced me to lead the way.

Not that I did much leading with the ever jubilant Merlin around, who danced and skipped ahead of everyone the entire way.

Out of the corner of my eye I managed to catch small glances of Beowulf walking behind us.

One hand was always resting at his hilt and the other was clenched into a fist I'm not going to lie, he was pretty damn attractive.

In fact, they all were. All of them were tall with Lancelot being the shortest at 6'0" and Galahad towering over the other three. With me smack dab in the center I felt completely overshadowed at 5'4".

Galahad was pretty much carrying me at this point and I had long ago given up exhausted myself from any kind of attempt to struggle free.

Lancelot, at least, looked slightly impressed by my tenacity.

Only once Merlin had picked up the dagger and it was tucked safely into his tunic did Galahad release his vice grip on my upper arm.

I huffed angrily and glared up at him rubbing my arm. It may have been my imagination but I swear there was a glimmer of a crooked smile on his lips.

Beowulf turned to me and bowed, "Thank you for your help."

"N...no...problem." I stuttered.

He grinned and I could feel my face turn red and an arrow of warmth shoot through my body. Quickly I looked away, hoping no one had noticed. What was wrong with me?

With the dagger now safe Merlin let out a sigh, "Well, our quest seems to be complete."

A light breeze blew onto his face, as his hands gripped the wooden railing and his eyes drifted off into the lake.

"With all due respect Merlin, we have yet to find what we are looking for." Said Lancelot, "We should make haste before Jeffrey sends more of his men."

For the longest time Merlin stood silent, watching the water lap gently against a protruding log.

"No Lancelot, our quest is done. I have seen into the girls mind, and that's left is to test her blood."

Lancelot, Galahad and Beowulf stood frozen, silent and staring...at me.

Before I had a chance to utter one single, highly confused word, a pulse ran through the group that felt like an emotional electric shock. It felt like my senses were on fire and all I could do was try to make sense of my surroundings.

Suddenly, swords were drawn and an, all too familiar, mesmerizing aura began emanating from the water.

Too afraid to scream I watched, as the entire lake that was once made of water, became a lake made of light.

A whirlpool of flashing yellow and white orbs began to form under the boardwalk right beneath our feet.

Galahad grabbed me by the waist, wind whipping his hair wildly he gently spun me around and into Beowulf's arms using the turbulent boardwalk to his advantage.

Balancing a sword in one hand and Beowulf caught me like he had done this a hundred times before. Merlin, Galahad, Lancelot and Beowulf all stood in front of me, a twister of glaring light before them and the hard bar of the boardwalks railing at my back.

Flup, flup.

The sound was wet, almost soggy.

Something cold and damp slapped against my leg. I jumped in surprise and looked down to see tendrils of brown sea weed flopping in the wind against the boardwalk, leaving wet skid marks against the wooden floor.

The light of the lake was absolute; the four men were waving their swords, making contact with something I couldn't quite see in the glare of the blinding twister.

I was terrified.

My senses were boggled by the rushing wind and flashing light that it took me a few apprehensive moments to realize that in all the years I had walked and worked by this lake, not once had I see any kind of seaweed. Could seaweed even grow in a freshwater lake? I had no idea.

That's when that familiar cold and damp tendril wrap around my ankles, I fell hard as the seaweeds grip tightened and it pulled me down onto the hard walkway. Looking up I saw a wriggling, flying strand of sea weed shoot above my head and before I could say anything it took hold of Merlin and impaled him.

"Merlin!" someone screamed, it was hard to see who it was through the light.

I watched as the seaweed wriggled its way out of Merlins chest and into his tunic, pulling with it the golden dagger .

Then just as fast as it had come, it disappeared into the lit up water.

Without a last lungful of air I felt myself pulled instantly under the railing and into the light filled lake.

I kicked and fought reaching down to untangle myself but the seaweed was to slick and slimy for me to get a grip on. The more I struggled, the more tentacles came forth out of the bright lighted depth to grab me tightly. First it was my ankles and legs, then my waist and my arms.

My lungs screamed for oxygen as it pulled me deeper and deeper, for while I could hear Merlin and Lancelot's muffled voices arguing above. The last thing I remembered was my lungs giving out and the world turning black.