The Invisible Tower by Nils Johnson-Shelton

Author:Nils Johnson-Shelton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

17

CONCERNING THE FONT OF SYLVAN

Artie lowered Excalibur and Bedevere removed his helmet. It turned out he was about sixteen or seventeen. He had long black hair pulled into a ponytail and high cheekbones. He might have been scary-looking in the heat of battle, but even with his yellow teeth he was as goodlooking as one of those rugged types from the Twilight movies Kay liked so much.

“Sorry if I hurt you,” Artie said. Blood dripped from the back of Bedevere’s hand. Excalibur must have nicked it during the fight.

Bedevere glanced at the wound and said, “’Tis but a scratch, sire. I’ve had worse.” He pointed to the long scar on his face.

“I can see that. But, please, call me Artie.”

“No can do, my liege,” he said with a knowing grin. “You just kicked the butt of the Guardian Black Knight of King Arthur’s Court-in-Exile. You’ll have to cut a lot deeper than this to make me call you anything other than my king!”

Artie shook his head. Fighting Bedevere, besting him, and then talking easily with him felt like some sort of homecoming. Artie clapped his hand on Bedevere’s shoulder, and Bedevere nodded knowingly. Bedevere felt it too. It was like they’d been reunited.

Bercilak clapped his empty metal hands together and said, “Well, now that that’s over, we ought to partake in an impromptu knighting ceremony. Don’t you think, Mr. Thumb?”

“Absolutely,” Thumb agreed. “Artie, beating the Black Knight is a big deal. Now you can use Excalibur to anoint those you choose to enter your service.”

“Cool!” Artie said. “Well, I choose Kay; and you, Tom; and Bedevere; and of course you, Bercilak.”

Bercilak let out a hearty laugh like a long roll of thunder. When he was finished, he said, “Good trees, no! The lord of Sylvan—whom I am bound to serve and whom you seek—would not permit it!”

“Wait. What?” Kay blurted. “The guy whose hand we’re supposed to cut off and take to Merlin so he can get out of his prison is, like, your boss?”

“They are the same, Kay,” Thumb said seriously. It was obvious that he already knew—and that he was pretty disappointed about it.

“That’s just the way things are over here,” Bedevere tried to explain. “People have conflicting allegiances all over the place.”

“Well,” Bercilak said uneasily, “it is true that I am somewhat flummoxed. On the one hand I want to help the returned king—but on the other I must honor the pledges I’ve made to my lord Numinae.” He paused. “The sad truth is that, well, I know where Numinae can be found, but I cannot tell you where this is.”

“Why not?” Kay barked.

Artie didn’t get it either. Being a king wasn’t as straightforward as he thought it was going to be.

“Because he is uncertain,” Bercilak said. “If he knew surely that freeing the wizard would be the right thing to do, I deem that he would give you the key. But—and pardon the pun, considering where the key is kept—if on the other hand he thinks it better that the wizard stay put, then he will avoid you for as long as he can.

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.