Orion and King Arthur by Ben Bova

Author:Ben Bova [Bova, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy, cookie429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 9780765330178
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2012-07-02T23:00:00+00:00

7

We were not completely out of danger. That night Ogier feasted us, and Lancelot had to accept the plaudits of one and all as an invincible champion. He looked embarrassed, which everyone took to be humility, the kind of modesty that becomes a true knight.

We dared not eat anything except the sizzling meat of the boar that we saw being roasted on a huge spit in the great hall’s fireplace. Nor would any of Arthur’s men drink anything except water, by his command. He’d had enough of poison.

Ogier ate and drank mightily, but he seemed to have aged twenty years since the morning. He looked thinner, slower, his eyes red-rimmed and watery. Have Aten and Aphrodite already removed whatever it was that made the old Dane so youthful? I wondered.

He agreed good-naturedly that he would return to Denmark and never darken Britain’s shores again.

“If you have knights like young Lancelot in your service,” he said to Arthur as they sat side by side at the long dining table, “then I will keep my army in Denmark and harry the Frisians and Saxons there.”

Arthur smiled graciously. I thought that Ogier’s harrying would only lead to more Frisians and Saxons crossing the sea to Britain, but I was satisfied that the Danes would not invade.

Morganna sat at Ogier’s other side, smiling mysteriously through the entire evening. That worried me. She did not appear to be angry or frustrated that her plot to kill Arthur had failed. She smiled like the Sphinx, like someone who is willing to wait for long ages to accomplish her goal.

The next morning, as we were ready to saddle up and leave Bernicia for the long trek back to Cadbury castle, Morganna came into the sun-drenched courtyard to say farewell to Arthur. Several of her ladies accompanied her.

“Will you go to Denmark with your husband?” Arthur asked bluntly.

Again that Sphinx-like smile. “No, I will stay here. This is my home, not some rude swamp across the sea.”

“But what of Ogier, then?”

“What of him?” she replied carelessly. “He is old and will die soon. He serves me no purpose anymore.”

Arthur shook his head. Then he fixed Morganna with a hard stare. “You wanted to see me killed.”

“I will dance on your grave one day, Arthur.”

He seemed more saddened than alarmed. “What have I done to earn such hatred?”

Morganna smiled again and beckoned to one of her waiting ladies. The woman bore an infant, asleep in a bundle of swaddling clothes.

“This is what you’ve done,” said Morganna, taking the baby in her arms.

Arthur gaped at the child.

“He is your son, Arthur. I will raise him to hate you as much as I do.”

“But Morganna,” he pleaded, “you mustn’t—”

“I will, Arthur. He will know that you are his father and he will hate you with every fiber of his being.”

Arthur simply stared at her, uncomprehending, bewildered.

“I’ve named him Modred,” she said, her smile turning truly evil. “He will be the instrument of your doom.”

Yes, I thought. Aphrodite and Aten and the other Creators would not rest until they had destroyed Arthur.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.