The Questing Beast by Stephen Clarke

Author:Stephen Clarke [Clarke, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magic Hollow Publishing

Chapter Twelve: Chartering a Ship

As we set out across Festival Fields, walking under the colossal shadow of New Camelot, I couldn’t help but feel gloomy about leaving The Magic Hollow so soon. The short time I’d spent back in the castle felt like coming home after a long vacation. As soon as I started to feel comfortable, it was time to head out again.

The orange hues of the rising sun cast a warm shade across the valley. I could hear birds chirping peacefully and saw a Centaur mother bathing her child in the dwindling Serpentine River. Elibora waved and shouted her goodbyes from the Archery area. I even looked up toward my parent’s old cottage at the top of Centerra. I wanted to soak it all in while I still had the chance.

Isabelle was walking ahead of the group, leading with her massive strides. Gwen and Lance were chatting animatedly. It was hard to feel afraid about what lay ahead at a time like this. Everything would have been perfect if not for the lump in my throat.

I flexed my fingertips, instinctively calling for Excalibur. I felt a cold mist gather in my palm, which immediately faded as if evaporating in the morning sun like the dew on the grass. I shoved aside my feeling of despair and will stronger. “Come on,” I whispered.

Excalibur appeared in my sword hand with a gentle pop, and I let out a triumphant hoorah.

“Ooh,” Morgan shouted, clapping gleefully. “That’s incredible. It’s so beautiful.”

I held Excalibur before me, angling the blade to catch in the morning light. It twinkled like sapphire, smiling and feeling immensely relieved. I slid the sword into a holster strung over my shoulder. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep it summoned, but I decided I’d try to keep it permanently if I could. Once Excalibur was with me, it didn’t require as much willpower to keep it around as it did to summon it. The best way I can describe it was like getting used to a slight itch. It was always there, tugging at me, but so far, I felt I could manage to keep it around. I did worry about what might happen if I fell asleep.

“Was it difficult? Pulling it from the stone?” Morgan asked, walking so close beside me I could feel her tunic brushing against my arm.

“It was like pulling a fork out of a stick of butter,” I said. “It just came right out of the stone.”

“Stop showing off,” Gwen said, looking back at us from the beginning of the massive stone bridge spanning Crystal Chasm and leading to the Hollow’s secret exit. “We better hurry up. We must make it to the Wharf before all the ships start heading out for the day.”

◆◆◆

The area of Centerra closest to the ocean was fortunately nowhere near as dangerous as it was at night when the sun went down. I knew firsthand because it was where Gwen first found me last year. My first look at Centerra and Between felt like stepping into a monster movie.

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