Gates of Eden: The Druid Legacy Boxed Set by Theophilus Monroe

Author:Theophilus Monroe [Monroe, Theophilus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-09-16T22:00:00+00:00

13. The Once and Future King

There’s something mildly emasculating about sitting on the back of a horse while holding onto the waist of another man. My humiliation, however, was easily assuaged by the sight of Roger doing the same. While the size of each of the knights was undoubtedly exaggerated by their bulky armor, Sir Gawain’s larger frame dwarfed Roger—who was a rather large man himself.

Reaching out with my will, I asked Gawain’s horse to add a bit of a buck to its gait. The horse, it seemed, had enough a sense of humor it was willing to comply.

“Arr!” Gawain shouted at his horse as it kicked up its hindquarters mid-stride.

The knight’s frustration, however, was nothing compared to the look on Roger’s face. Only a few feet nearer the horse’s rear than the knight, it was no less enough; the horse’s occasional buck nearly sent him off the animal entirely.

After one particularly rough landing, Roger turned to me wide-eyed, as if he had hoped I could help calm the horse. He knew I could… Ha!

I was so entertained by my own prank I’d almost missed the sight of Camelot Castle as we approached. It was a good-sized structure, though perhaps not as large as one might assume. It was nothing like the Hollywood-styled fortresses one might be accustomed to seeing in the movies. The twin-turreted castle was made of stone. The moat surrounding it was fairly wide and deep, though I could only sense a few snakes and frogs within it. It was not “stocked” with anything particularly frightening. The massive drawbridge squeaked loudly as it lowered.

“We need to get this one checked,” Gawain said as he dismounted the animal, handing its reins over to a young boy who had come from the castle, apparently to stable the knights’ horses. “Perchance it has something stuck in its hoof.”

My grin turned into a raucous laugh, however, when I noticed Roger rubbing his butt, walking a little bow-legged as he approached me, Caladbolg in hand.

“Rough ride?” I asked.

Roger sighed. “You have no idea. I think I bruised my coccyx.”

“A bruised coccyx is never a good thing,” I retorted. “But definitely better than a broken coccyx. You never want to break your coccyx.”

“You just like saying ‘coccyx,’” Roger assessed accurately.

I smiled. “You should have said something. You know, I could have calmed the horse.”

“Never mind it,” Roger said. “I’m sure the pain will fade shortly.”

“I could try and heal it,” I said, feeling mildly guilty about my childish prank.

“Stay away from my coccyx,” Roger said, grinning. “We’ve hardly met! You need to romance me a bit before I let you anywhere near my coccyx.”

I chuckled, somewhat surprised by the Shaman’s levity. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Are you gentlemen ready to proceed?” Lancelot’s booming voice spoke from behind.

I turned toward the knight and nodded.

“Sir Galahad has gone ahead to inform the king’s squire of your presence,” Lancelot explained. “Typically an audience with the king would take some time. I suspect, however, when he learns

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